Razer Launches New Core X Chroma eGPU

[MacRumors]

Razer today announced the launch of the Razer Core X Chroma, a new addition to its eGPU lineup.

The Razer Core X Chroma improves on the existing Core X eGPU with a new 700W power supply, additional ports, and customizable Razer Chroma lighting, which Razer is known for. Chroma lighting can reproduce more than 16 million colors and is used in Razer products from keyboards to notebooks.

Like other Razer eGPUs, the Razer Core X Chroma is compatible with Thunderbolt 3-equipped PCs and Macs, including Apple's Thunderbolt 3 notebooks. Razer eGPUs are designed to give notebook owners a way to play desktop class games and take advantage of a more powerful GPU for GPU-intensive tasks.

The Razer Core X Chroma is compatible with a range of desktop PCIe graphics cards, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX, GeForce GTX, and Quadro cards along with AMD XConnect-enabled Radeon and Radeon Pro cards.

Razer is using the same general enclosure design for the Core X Chroma, with a black aluminum casing that features a side window to show off the colored lighting. Graphics cards can be inserted using a simple drawer-style slide and lock mechanism and a single thumbscrew.

There's a Gigabit Ethernet port included, along with four USB 3.1 Type-A ports. It supports up to 3 slot-wide desktop graphics cards that require up to 500W of power, and for Macs, it supplies up to 100W of power for charging purposes.

Razer is pricing the new Core X Chroma at $400, and it is available for purchase from the Razer website starting today.

Article Link: Razer Launches New Core X Chroma eGPU

 

[WaxedJacket]

Here's hoping they actually sell this as a barebone system/case in the near future. Love the style of it.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Ugly Razer logo is gone so now it’s more attractive for Mac owners.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Forgive my ignorance, but don’t the cards themselves still need to be compatible with MacOS? If modular is what Apple’s going for with the Mac Pro, I would expect to see a lot more compatibility than present.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

Forgive my ignorance, but don’t the cards themselves still need to be compatible with MacOS? If modular is what Apple’s going for with the Mac Pro, I would expect to see a lot more compatibility than present.

That’s assuming the kind of modularity we get with the 2019 Pro is based on open PCIe interfacing rather than custom sandboxed bespoke Apple modules. Who the hell knows what they’re going to do. It would be cool if the new Pro was basically just like the old one with a smartened up case and a version of macOS that properly supports cutting edge Nvidia hardware and ray-tracing but Apple doesn’t seem interested in any of that

 

[macduke]

Forgive my ignorance, but don’t the cards themselves still need to be compatible with MacOS? If modular is what Apple’s going for with the Mac Pro, I would expect to see a lot more compatibility than present.

I think a lot of people who buy these enclosures are considering bootcamping into Windows and using the eGPU for gaming if they're going the Nvidia route. I am considering it for my 2019 5K iMac.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Forgive my ignorance, but don’t the cards themselves still need to be compatible with MacOS? If modular is what Apple’s going for with the Mac Pro, I would expect to see a lot more compatibility than present.

All Radeon cards are compatible. Nvidia hasn’t released official drivers for new cards since Kepler. People using newer Nvidia cards ( 9 series Maxwell, 10 series Pascal) have been using an unsupported beta feature of their drivers.

 

[iJohnnyCretiu]

Has anyone tried gaming using one of these on the new iMacs?

 

[69Mustang]

Has anyone tried gaming using one of these on the new iMacs?

Jeff Benjamin at 9to5Mac went nuts and demo'd it on an MBA.
https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/11/how-to-2018-macbook-air-boot-camp-egpu/

 

[Tdubv]

I’ve been playing on a non chroma one for months now.

 

[Pakaku]

It may just be a small detail, but I like that there's an ethernet port in the thing itself. It's like a no-brainer for a lot of gaming, and would be perfect for the ideal docking station I'd personally want if I didn't already use a desktop.

 

[DeepIn2U]

It may just be a small detail, but I like that there's an ethernet port in the thing itself. It's like a no-brainer for a lot of gaming, and would be perfect for the ideal docking station I'd personally want if I didn't already use a desktop.

But what is the speed of the Ethernet or RJ45 cable interface?

10/100/1000/10000 ?

 

[redpandadev]

This looks like a quality product that can enable a wide range of usage scenarios. I have no need personally but have long been curious:

1) Can an eGPU accelerate the built-in display of an Apple notebook or iMac?

2) I’ve heard that driver support on Mac is limited - is there a range of drivers available outside of what ships with macOS? Are there any cases where third party drivers overlap with Apple’s? If so, are there performance benefits?

3) What is eGPU support like in Windows? Can a VM take advantage (perhaps even without a virtual layer)?

And a comment: it seems like Apple really needs to look at providing strong APIs and support for developers (ATI & Nvidia) to create their own drivers - or perhaps this is something that already exists but isn’t being used (no market)?

 

[PickUrPoison]

Here's hoping they actually sell this as a barebone system/case in the near future. Love the style of it.

It is bare bones; there are no video cards included.
[doublepost=1555478232][/doublepost]

But what is the speed of the Ethernet or RJ45 cable interface?

10/100/1000/10000 ?

Given the target market, I can’t imagine it being anything except an RJ-45 GbE port (10/100/1000)

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Answers below

1) Can an eGPU accelerate the built-in display of an Apple notebook or iMac?

Yes

2) I’ve heard that driver support on Mac is limited - is there a range of drivers available outside of what ships with macOS? Are there any cases where third party drivers overlap with Apple’s? If so, are there performance benefits?

There are third party drivers for some devices but macOS supports all Radeon cards and the SSDs and expansion cards that require universal standard drivers such as XCHI, NVME etc.

3) What is eGPU support like in Windows? Can a VM take advantage (perhaps even without a virtual layer)?

Windows support isn’t as clean as macOS. There are vids on YouTube.

VM doesn’t use these things.

Visit egpu.io forum

 

[star-affinity]

Ugly Razer logo is gone so now it’s more attractive for Mac owners.

Seems it's still there.

https://d4kkpd69xt9l7.cloudfront.net/sys-master/root/haa/h1a/9172182106142/core-x--gallery7.jpg

Edit:
No, sorry – I see now that image I linked to is of the older ”Core X” not ”Core X Chroma”, so you're hopefully correct.

 

[Zorn]

2) I’ve heard that driver support on Mac is limited - is there a range of drivers available outside of what ships with macOS? Are there any cases where third party drivers overlap with Apple’s? If so, are there performance benefits?

There are third party drivers for some devices but macOS supports all Radeon cards and the SSDs and expansion cards that require universal standard drivers such as XCHI, NVME etc.

3) What is eGPU support like in Windows? Can a VM take advantage (perhaps even without a virtual layer)?

Windows support isn’t as clean as macOS. There are vids on YouTube.

I think it's still missing support for the Radeon VII, although possibly with 10.15 beta in June. Also - Windows eGPU support on a Mac is a complete flaming garbage dumpster. I tried this setup on a MacBook Pro for a while before getting way too fed up with all the hacky "workarounds" required. Even in macOS with a Vega GPU, putting the computer to sleep would cause the GPU to spin its' fans up to 100% and just sit there like that all night long until the computer woke back up. eGPU and any Mac computer should honestly be labeled an experimental pre-alpha.

Seems it's still there.

https://d4kkpd69xt9l7.cloudfront.net/sys-master/root/haa/h1a/9172182106142/core-x--gallery7.jpg

Edit:
No, sorry – I see now that image I linked to is of the older ”Core X” not ”Core X Chroma”, so you're hopefully correct.

The only Razer logo at least on the Core X is on the opposite side from where the GPU is installed...generally the side that will be visible is the one with the mesh window that lets you see your GPU.

 

[avkills]

All Radeon cards are compatible. Nvidia hasn’t released official drivers for new cards since Kepler. People using newer Nvidia cards ( 9 series Maxwell, 10 series Pascal) have been using an unsupported beta feature of their drivers.

You are completely wrong about how users have been using nVidia 9 and 10 series cards. Apple stopped making drivers; so nVidia has been making them instead (nVidia Web Driver); they are not Beta drivers. These drivers are not only used by hackintosh users; but also people with pre-trashcan MacPros. So the fact that Apple and nVidia can't come to terms and get drivers working for Mojave is also screwing users with genuine kit.

Apple probably can't come to terms that the old Mac Pro with a updated modern nVidia GPU spanks the **** out of the Trashcan.

 

[Gudd]

They need to put a quieter power supply in there, not a more powerful one. I have the earlier core X together with a RX580 and the power supply fan is annoying to say the least. And Apple needs to improve their end. Bootcamp support is officially not there at all and unofficially, while it can be done it's flaky as hell, often taking several reboots to get Windows to come up cleanly. So much so I gave up and just moved the BC partition to a VM instead.

What's way more annoying though is the amount of time it takes to disconnect the thing. Apple insists that it shuts down and restarts all running applications before you can remove the cable and this can take minutes which isn't great if you are in a hurry. If it doesn't disconnect quickly I usually just yank the cable and dismiss the warning that tells me I shouldn't do that.

All in all, I wouldn't buy another eGPU. Mine is basically just used as an expensive dock. Windows is a PITA and gaming on the Mac is still only so-so with my MBPro. I guess if your Mac is your only computer then maybe it's worth a shot.
[doublepost=1555505967][/doublepost]

The only Razer logo at least on the Core X is on the opposite side from where the GPU is installed...generally the side that will be visible is the one with the mesh window that lets you see your GPU.

Generally speaking it doesn't 't matter what it looks like. Unless you're in a noisy office or not at all sensitive to noise then you are going to want to buy as long a thunderbolt cable as you can afford and tuck the thing as far under your desk and away from your ears as you can. So you're not going to care about flashy lights or logos when it's down by your feet or even better still, in a cupboard out of the way because you're not going to be able to see it

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

You are completely wrong about how users have been using nVidia 9 and 10 series cards. Apple stopped making drivers; so nVidia has been making them instead (nVidia Web Driver); they are not Beta drivers. These drivers are not only used by hackintosh users; but also people with pre-trashcan MacPros. So the fact that Apple and nVidia can't come to terms and get drivers working for Mojave is also screwing users with genuine kit.

Apple probably can't come to terms that the old Mac Pro with a updated modern nVidia GPU spanks the **** out of the Trashcan.

I am the very first person to report using Maxwell cards and have been the main tester of GeForce on the Mac Pro and other forums. In late 2014 we discovered that Maxwell 9 series had been silently activated in the 6 series/Quadro Kepler drivers.

6 months later Nvidia officially admitted the 9 series had been silently activated but it was a beta.

The driver page still doesn’t announce official 9 and 10 series support. It’s still officially a download for the Kepler architecture.

Before you randomly accuse someone of things you should check yourself before you wreck yourself. Not just online but in real life too. Peace.

 

[WaxedJacket]

It is bare bones; there are no video cards included.

Yes but that's not what you'd consider barebones in what I was referring to. A case/motherboard/psu where you add the ram, cpu, gpu. I guess I wasn't specific enough: I'd like this to be similar to a Shuttle PC.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Yes but that's not what you'd consider barebones in what I was referring to. A case/motherboard/psu where you add the ram, cpu, gpu. I guess I wasn't specific enough: I'd like this to be similar to a Shuttle PC.

Oh an actual case for your whole computer, not just an eGPU enclosure... gotcha.

 

[Michvuee]

Might as well build a PC.

 

[ekwipt]

Might as well build a PC.

Doesn't make sense if you need a MBP though, I think it's a great option between the two

 

[MacsRgr8]

Wouldn't it be great if an affordable Mac mini with the newest Intel-series CPU were made available... then add one or two eGPU's....

The new Mac mini sounds great, until you start configuring it. It simply gets far too expensive.