Razer Launches New Core X External Graphics Enclosure, Adds Mac Support to Razer Core Lineup

[FattyMembrane]

The price and power delivery are nice, but this doesn't seem to offer any ports besides the single USB-c for connecting it to your computer. Most other options include a few USB ports so you can leave your other peripherals attached to the graphics dock and just unplug one cable when you need to take your machine on the go.

 

[Anson_431]

Now if only Razer would release Synapse 3 for mac...

LOL Exactly. It's kinda annoying to have to wait for ages for each Synapse update that's important to our daily use... ==

 

[geromi912]

I can't help but notice Razer seems to have a habit of "borrowing" designs from brands that are currently or were popular at the time. First MacBook Pro, then now the new Blade looks eerily similar to the XPS lineup from Dell.

Don't get me wrong, I own and am using a Razer Blade Stealth. But then I just can't help but have to point that out...

Now if only others would “copy” their cooling system and specs

 

[chfilm]

This will vary from app to app; because the GPUs used in this kind of enclosure are expected to be much more powerful than any internal equivalent, it should be a bit like making the system forget the internal GPU even exists. However, there have been reports of rough spots with apps and games rolling out support, so you would be well-advised to research how your particular use case is going to benefit from this.

That said- App interfaces on 5K screens should be a solved problem on its own by now- chances are if you're seeing performance issues there, there should something that can be done to remedy that on your machine. Whether or not that's something for you to solve, or something for Adobe to solve, well...

Well yes of course this shouldn’t be something we even have to talk about these days. But go have a look at the google search results for “Lightroom iMac pro slow”. It’s quite shocking actually. And after effects is just the same. Simply scrolling through the timeline can be a pain in the ......

 

[Internet Enzyme]

I dont understand how something as fundamental as a gpu can be hot-swappable and plug-and-play. I guess the computer could just fall back to the internal gpu if the egpu is unplugged but im not sure how programs would react I dont know if a gpu works like the cpu in its schceduling and speculative execution but it sounds like unplugging a gpu would be very problematic for a few minutes

 

[chucker23n1]

I dont understand how something as fundamental as a gpu can be hot-swappable and plug-and-play.

It's not that fundamental any more. You can run macOS without any GUI at all. And with Windows Vista and newer, for example, the graphics subsystem can crash entirely and will just relaunch — neither the kernel nor running apps will be affected.

 

[alexkent]

I need a Thunderbolt 2 version so I can bypass the unstable D300 cards in my 2013 Mac Pro. The D300s have the same fault as the D500 and D700s that Apple are replacing, but Apple won't admit it and fix them.

You can use a TB3 eGPU case with your TB2 2013 Mac Pro. Use Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter and a TB2 cable; put the adapter at the eGPU case end instead of the Mac end of the cable. You can run the LG Ultrafine Thunderbolt 3 displays from a 2013 Mac Pro in the same way.

 

[prasand]

That thing is huge. I prefer Razer's previous design.

 

[Eightarmedpet]

Does the iMac Pro come with a decent graphics card for games built in?

It comes with the best AMD card available for gaming right now. However, the 580 in the normal iMacs doesn't perform far behind in actual gaming benchmarks for some reason (CPU?).

 

[lowendlinux]

Will there be any option to get these EGPUs functioning with the classic Mac Pro? AFAIK there is no thunderbolt PCI card available for the classic.

Is a TB 3 card for the classic worth wishing for or is that not possible?

Why would you want an eGPU for a computer with PCIe lanes, just buy the card and plug it in and save $300

 

[Appleaker]

I can't help but notice Razer seems to have a habit of "borrowing" designs from brands that are currently or were popular at the time. First MacBook Pro, then now the new Blade looks eerily similar to the XPS lineup from Dell.

Don't get me wrong, I own and am using a Razer Blade Stealth. But then I just can't help but have to point that out...

No I don’t think they borrow, they are definitely inspired by Apple but part of that is because they have a similar approach to design and build quality, and Apples notebook design is good.
I don’t think this years design is inspired by the XPS, it is more like its own thing. It looks similar to the XPS 15 in some ways because of the thinner bezels, and as a result, the more rectangular design.
I have to say I don’t like the squared off corners but the rest of the design is great. The squared off corners put a dent in the otherwise near perfect laptop, the only improvements I can think of now is an additional Thunderbolt 3 port and a 16:10 display, the movement of the power button, and maybe a biometric unlocking system (as well as more rounded corners).

 

[Anarchy99]

V1 are not compatible with Mac due to using an older TB3 chip...

#FAKENEWS

but don't worry you are officially correct in a manufacturer supported kinda way.

Ive used a razor core on my rMBP following this guide
https://egpu.io/forums/builds/2016-...re-os-x-win10-clover-dsdt-in-memory-override/

for older non thunderbolt3 machines you need apple's Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter
[doublepost=1527107277][/doublepost]

Why would you want an eGPU for a computer with PCIe lanes, just buy the card and plug it in and save $300

I would want one to share with my MPB for example
shucking and installing the gpu to a from my eGPU to my Mac Pro and back again would be annoying, just saying there is a use case hypothetically.

that said sadly because apple used Xeons in there Mac Pro's and no chipset for even modern Xeons support thunderbolt add-on cards its not a thing and won't be

 

[mazz0]

Depends on whether an gimped, underclocked gaming vega (Radeon Pro my arse) that consumers more power than a full GP102 is “decent” to you.

It’s not.
[doublepost=1527115872][/doublepost]

It comes with the best AMD card available for gaming right now. However, the 580 in the normal iMacs doesn't perform far behind in actual gaming benchmarks for some reason (CPU?).

You sure it’s not the mobile version the non-Pro iMacs come with? So it’s a fully clocked, fully powered modern AMD graphics card, the one that’s comparable to a GTX1080*? Another poster seemed to suggest it was the underpowered mobile version, like in other Macs. If that was the case, I’d be tempted to get one of these expansions, if I would afford an iMac Pro anyway, especially if they updated it to take Nvidias. But then, I’d probably also have a Windows PC for games, as indeed I do now, so maybe not...

*I don’t think AMD do a 1080Ti equivalent

 

[bernuli]

Why would you want an eGPU for a computer with PCIe lanes, just buy the card and plug it in and save $300

True, but i then have to worry about satisfying the power requirements either by buying a low power card or some sort of external power supply. I figure if I am going to go external might as well keep it simple.

 

[FoxMcCloud]

You think so? That’s the price for just the enclosure. You still have to buy a graphics card.

Well it is cheaper than the previous.

And it looks good. It’s not over the top gamer transformer design with leds everywhere.

So yes. I do “think so”

 

[ikir]

Depends on whether an gimped, underclocked gaming vega (Radeon Pro my arse) that consumers more power than a full GP102 is “decent” to you.

Stop trolling, Vega is a wonderful architecture. iMac Pro have fast GPU and as you can see in PC world most modern games put Vega 64 higher than GTX 1080. Sure 1080Ti it is still the king, but the price is very high too. Radeon have retaken high end GPU market, and they are quite good in Metal and OpenCL which should interest Mac users

 

[lowendlinux]

True, but i then have to worry about satisfying the power requirements either by buying a low power card or some sort of external power supply. I figure if I am going to go external might as well keep it simple.

It's not difficult to get the extra power you need internally from the power supply, second most GPUs that are going to be plug and play don't require more power than the old girl can give

 

[geromi912]

Stop trolling, Vega is a wonderful architecture. iMac Pro have fast GPU and as you can see in PC world most modern games put Vega 64 higher than GTX 1080. Sure 1080Ti it is still the king, but the price is very high too. Radeon have retaken high end GPU market, and they are quite good in Metal and OpenCL which should interest Mac users

On what planets does vega 64 beat 1080 in gaming on average? And the one on iMac pro is GIMPED and only performing at around 85% of a full vega card. Why? Because the power consumption is too ridiculous for this laptop-on-stick. A 1080 at 180w TDP would not have needed underclocking to prevent it burning through the screen (m295x iMac anyone?)
Price? This is Apple we’re talking about right? I’m SO sure price is the first thing they have to worry about when literally any other manufacturer with 10% apples net worth can use 1080Ti/quadro P6000 in their pcs and REAL workstations.
OpenCL must be so important to Apple. Is that why it’s outdated on macOS?
Metal? The proprietary low level API that Apple CHOOSES hardware to optimise with right?

 

[Eightarmedpet]

It’s not.
[doublepost=1527115872][/doublepost]
You sure it’s not the mobile version the non-Pro iMacs come with? So it’s a fully clocked, fully powered modern AMD graphics card, the one that’s comparable to a GTX1080*? Another poster seemed to suggest it was the underpowered mobile version, like in other Macs. If that was the case, I’d be tempted to get one of these expansions, if I would afford an iMac Pro anyway, especially if they updated it to take Nvidias. But then, I’d probably also have a Windows PC for games, as indeed I do now, so maybe not...

*I don’t think AMD do a 1080Ti equivalent

I’m not that up on my GPU knowledge so maybe the other guy is close to right? I’ve never heard of a mobile Vega card though so maybe they are just clocked differently (which app always does) to reduce heat. I’m using a 1070 in a Sonnet box to game in windows and it’s a great experience (2k, 60fps+, high settings on PUBG).

 

[Anson_431]

No I don’t think they borrow, they are definitely inspired by Apple but part of that is because they have a similar approach to design and build quality, and Apples notebook design is good.
I don’t think this years design is inspired by the XPS, it is more like its own thing. It looks similar to the XPS 15 in some ways because of the thinner bezels, and as a result, the more rectangular design.
I have to say I don’t like the squared off corners but the rest of the design is great. The squared off corners put a dent in the otherwise near perfect laptop, the only improvements I can think of now is an additional Thunderbolt 3 port and a 16:10 display, the movement of the power button, and maybe a biometric unlocking system (as well as more rounded corners).

I totally get it how and why they went with the MacBook Pro design previously due to its durability, but this year just had me conflicted... I was saying that it's similar to the XPS line due to both the screen, and the hinge design on the side that made me felt like I was staring at an XPS. But to be fair, the design is not a direct copy (especially when it looks like a baby between a MacBook Pro and an XPS lol).

I do agree on what you said though, if only then would also not make the ribbon cable of the monitor visible too.

Good day!

 

[Appleaker]

I totally get it how and why they went with the MacBook Pro design previously due to its durability, but this year just had me conflicted... I was saying that it's similar to the XPS line due to both the screen, and the hinge design on the side that made me felt like I was staring at an XPS. But to be fair, the design is not a direct copy (especially when it looks like a baby between a MacBook Pro and an XPS lol).

I do agree on what you said though, if only then would also not make the ribbon cable of the monitor visible too.

Good day!

Yeah, the changes I would make to the design would be to centre the display between the top and bottom bezels, to then make the edges slightly more curved (not as much as the last one, but more than it is now), and then put the power button at the centre where it used to be. Obviously there is the ribbon cable issue to fix as well, although its not clear if that was just for the review units.
With those changes I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it, but as it is now I’m not sure. One thing I suppose I am glad about is that they didn’t go as far as Dell does by positioning the display at the top, with the only large bezel being the chin at the bottom. I really dislike that approach, the worrying thing is that if Razer didn’t have the camera to consider, they would have done that.