Sonnet Announces New eGPU Docks With AMD Radeon RX 5000 Series GPUs and Support for Pro Display XDR

[MacRumors]

Sonnet has today announced the eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5500 XT and eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5700 docks for Intel-based Macs, featuring increased performance, two USB ports, and support for the Apple Pro Display XDR.

eGPUs can significantly boost a computer's graphics performance by providing a more powerful graphics processor over a fast wired connection, and are often used when a computer's graphics performance is insufficient for demanding tasks such as video editing or gaming.

The eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5500 XT and eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5700 are the newest additions to Sonnet's popular series of portable all-in-one Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processing systems, some of which have been sold by the Apple Store in the past.

The two new models replace the now-discontinued eGFX Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 560 and Radeon RX 570 eGPUs, yet they retain the same form factor while delivering up to 300 percent more performance.

Each dock now includes two USB ports for connecting other devices and a second Thunderbolt 3 port to fully support Thunderbolt displays, including Apple's Pro Display XDR and the LG UltraFine 5K Display. Both eGPU Breakaway Puck models support up to three 4K, 60 Hz displays or one 6K and two 4K displays at the same time.

Sonnet says that its new eGPU docks are designed for professionals who need to run graphics-intensive applications on their Mac, with a focus on portability and external display connectivity, as well as quiet, reliable operation.

The eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5500 XT and eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5700 are available now from Sonnet for $599.99 and $899.99.

Apple's latest M1-based MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini do not support eGPUs.

Article Link: Sonnet Announces New eGPU Docks With AMD Radeon RX 5000 Series GPUs and Support for Pro Display XDR

 

[eoblaed]

Whoops.

Hope they can sell enough over the next 6-12 months to make back their R&D.

 

[weaztek]

I have a Sonnet Breakaway Puck RX570 and it works like a champ. Let's hope Apple adds eGPU support on the new M1s and beyond! Because the M1 graphics performance is good but not great.

 

[guzhogi]

Hopefully, they'll upgrade the Mac mini rack mount enclosure. It still uses PCIe 2.0 slots.

 

[fenderbass146]

I have a Sonnet Breakaway Puck RX570 and it works like a champ. Let's hope Apple adds eGPU support on the new M1s and beyond! Because the M1 graphics performance is good but not great.

It is great for a Macbook Air and 13" with no dedicated graphics...just wait for the real pro machines. I too hope eGPU continue to be a thing, but M1 and the consumer grade stuff they launched is not a good basis for what's to come in terms of GPU

 

[LavenderCaptain]

Presumably they wouldn't have bothered if Apple was going to end eGPU support in the next few months... I would imagine that they have some degree of insider knowledge...

 

[fenderbass146]

Presumably they wouldn't have bothered if Apple was going to end eGPU support in the next few months... I would imagine that they have some degree of insider knowledge...

That’s a big assumption. The ARM Transition is still likely going to take a couple years and Intel Machines will be in use for a lot longer.

 

[Spock]

Seems like a lot of money for an almost two year old card..

 

[UltimaKilo]

Who would pay that for such a terrible and old GPU in 2021? 🤣

 

[Dwalls90]

Presumably they wouldn't have bothered if Apple was going to end eGPU support in the next few months... I would imagine that they have some degree of insider knowledge...

Hopefully, or this was just delayed because of COVID. The GPU's supported were released 18 months ago, so that makes me think it was delayed too. If this had support for the RX 6000 series that was released Nov 2020, that would have been better.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Seems like a lot of money for an almost two year old card..

Agreed... very expensive. The RX 580 ($270) is similar to the 5500 https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-RX-580-vs-AMD-RX-5500-XT/3923vs4060 and the RX 5700 XT can be found for $400.

I have two of the Sonnet breakaway boxes (the 250? and 550) - my wife and I use these with our (2017 and 2020) MBPs with RX 580 graphics cards - works really well - though, we had lots of system crashes until we replaced the Sonnet thunderbolt 3 cable with an Apple one (fixed 99% of the crashes).

I'm interested in the 5700 XT but ... they're so hard to find these days and those that you can find are very expensive vs what they were last year.

 

[groovyf]

Just sold a RX560 puck and replaced with a Razer Core X + RX 5700XT. $900 (or probably £800-£900) isn't cheap for that new RX 5700 puck, but it's got portability going for it at least.
My own setup, considering the price I sold my RX560 puck for on eBay, cost around £200. (A new Razer Core X and a 2nd hand 5700XT)

 

[guzhogi]

Who would pay that for such a terrible and old GPU in 2021? 🤣

Unfortunately, Mac users. Look at the GPUs Apple has builtin to its Macs.

 

[magbarn]

Great deal....if it had a 6800xt inside....

 

[Dwalls90]

That’s a big assumption. The ARM Transition is still likely going to take a couple years and Intel Machines will be in use for a lot longer.

I don't agree. The Macbook Pro 16" is the only real candidate for this product, as it's the only laptop (noting the Mini isn't a laptop, but could use this, however has moved to M1 already) that hasn't moved to the M chips yet. While the current M1 GPU is only average, I think the GPU functionality that will be offered in the next M chip will be much more powerful. We're expecting to see the ARM MBP 16" before the end of 2021, but I think it will be earlier, meaning this solution is even less relevant.

I also think barring the Mac Pro and iMac Pro (if this isn't killed off, since it was just a stopgap between the old and new Mac Pro), the ARM transition will be finalized by the end of 2021. This is also consistent with the rumor mill:

Macs with the new chips will be released in both the spring and the fall. Apple is working on versions of the new MacBook Pro and entry-level and high-end iMac models that will come in 2021, along with and a new Mac Pro workstation that will be released in 2022

Apple Silicon: The Complete Guide

Apple introduced the first Apple silicon Macs back in 2020, marking the start of its transition away from Intel's chips. Apple's custom chips...

www.macrumors.com

 

[macsound1]

Ugliest Bluetooth speaker ever 🤣

 

[markusMaximus12]

Will hooking the LG Ultrafine 5K up to this thing and my MBP16 (2019) mean my laptop fans won't be screaming all day now when it's using the internal GPU?

 

[Bytor65]

Presumably they wouldn't have bothered if Apple was going to end eGPU support in the next few months... I would imagine that they have some degree of insider knowledge...

More likely they found out well into product development, that eGPU support was ending on ARM Macs and decided to release it anyway for current Intel Mac users.

I expect that not only is eGPU dead on ARM Macs, but it's the end of third Party GPUs in any form. ARM Macs will only have Apple GPUs.

 

[legis_arvum]

Obsolete before release, haha

 

[Plutonius]

Presumably they wouldn't have bothered if Apple was going to end eGPU support in the next few months... I would imagine that they have some degree of insider knowledge...

I doubt that Sonnet has insider information about this and the company would most likely not take the risk of releasing an eGPU because they think that Apple might support the eGPU on the M1.

It's more likely that their eGPU has been in the design pipeline for awhile and that they were surprised at the pace Apple has implemented the M1.

I'm sure that Sonnet hopes that Apple ends up supporting eGPUs on the M1 and also that Sonnet at least breaks even on this eGPU.

 

[LeadingHeat]

The two new models replace the now-discontinued eGFX Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 560 and Radeon RX 570 eGPUs, yet they retain the same form factor while delivering up to 300 percent more performance.

I was thinking to myself “wow, now seems like a good time to buy those EOL models!” And then I read that the successors are that much faster. Haha no thanks I’ll stick with the new ones thank you.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I'm interested in the 5700 XT but ... they're so hard to find these days and those that you can find are very expensive vs what they were last year.

Why is that?

 

[adamw]

I have the RX 560 Sonnet Puck for 2 of my Intel Mac Minis (2018) and they are great. I have several of the new M1 Mac Minis now, so need for eGPUs now. But nice to see Sonnet supporting the legacy Intel Macs that have Thunderbolt 3 ports with these new external video options.

 

[Psychicbob]

Got hyper-excited for a millisecond there. Thought it was for M1

 

[Zdigital2015]

Seems like a lot of money for an almost two year old card..

The Radeon 5700 is barely 18 months old at this point and they didn’t ship right after they were introduced, it took months to get them into the channel. The time between intro and on sale for AMD is absurdly long and has been since 500 series was introduced.