Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Telos101

macrumors regular
Apr 29, 2016
219
886
Ireland
I assume these dudes are running Bootcamp. VR software for macOS just doesn't exists. Gaming on macOS? Come on? Seems useful though but a little misleading, No?

I think the idea is to encourage future support for macOS in these sectors.

I didn't see anywhere where it claimed gaming on macOS. I'd think gaming on a Mac running Bootcamp is a safe assumption though.
 

iKnowMr.Jobs

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2010
273
96
I remember shortly after the first Macbook Pros with Thunderbolt shipped and wondering if an external GPU would be possible (I remember an old podcast by the guys at The Verge wondering the same thing). Glad to see something like thing finally become a reality without being ludicrously expensive.
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,140
19,677
I was all ready to buy the heck out of this thing until I realized my mid-2012 rMBP doesn't support TB2. Which is a shame, because not being able to run a 4K display, it's the machine that could use this the most. Guess I'll have to keep waiting until I can figure a new iMac into my budget—well that and until Apple releases a new one. Guess I should have plenty of time to save up!
 

blahbrah

macrumors 6502
Nov 9, 2006
332
220
I wish these dudes the best and I like the scrappy look of their video but anyone who's been following eGPU stuff is rightly skeptical since we've seen at least like 5 of these products get announced but never come out.
 

Devie

macrumors 6502a
Aug 30, 2004
556
319
Adelaide, Australia
Razer Core already does this. Chuck in any gpu you want and off you go.
No Mac support and is stupidly expensive. Though is a dedicated eGPU that's getting good reviews.

I hope these things get standardization and start pushing out to market.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U and rdav

thisisnotmyname

macrumors 68020
Oct 22, 2014
2,438
5,251
known but velocity indeterminate
I'm confused, how is this different from existing thunderbolt pcie enclosures?

With other boxes you can buy it and know it will ship to you. They lack the Vegas like thrill of throwing down money and maybe receiving a product or maybe getting a string of emails talking about how great it will be when you receive it after your tenth schedule delay in 2022.
 

GeneralChang

macrumors 68000
Dec 2, 2013
1,676
1,513
We've hoping for external GPUs for so long now; I remember when Thunderbolt first came out, that was one of the ideas MR readers were really excited about. A thin, light laptop with great battery life for portability - then just plug in an external GPU if you want to do high end gaming. Shame it never really materialised.

I really hope Apple are considering this. They wouldn't even have to really do any work. Just release an SDK to allow this functionality on OS X and 3rd party graphics manufacturers can do the hard part of releasing the hardware. I know it would be massively popular.
Amen!
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
I was all ready to buy the heck out of this thing until I realized my mid-2012 rMBP doesn't support TB2. Which is a shame, because not being able to run a 4K display, it's the machine that could use this the most. Guess I'll have to keep waiting until I can figure a new iMac into my budget—well that and until Apple releases a new one. Guess I should have plenty of time to save up!
I run my 48" 4K "monitor" from the DisplayPort 1.1 on my Early 2011 MBP, but at 30Hz.

Thunderbolt 1 would not be a problem for eGPU 4K@60Hz for lighter graphics and video decoded on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madd the Sane

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
Been waiting for this potential.

I'd love a future-gen 12" MacBook that's as small and light as ever, with sufficient CPU power for my needs (it's nearly there), and MASSIVE GPU power as-needed via an optional brick. Attach whatever display you like and enjoy your "desktop."

Meanwhile a MacBoo Prok will do, and I'll rationalize lugging the weight by enjoying the larger screen. But I do LOVE those thin and light MacBooks!

P.S. Thunderbolt 3 please. High-speed connections, USB, and video-out (even audio maybe) are FINALLY coming together in one connector. Let this painful transition happen as quickly as possible! I will gladly suffer through keeping adapters stuck on a few of my old cables for a year or two.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U and rdav

JackANSI

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2011
558
413
Well the "Akitio Thunder2" is on amazon for $219 basically the same thing, just stick a gfx card in it

"The PCIe (x16) slot accepts half-length, full-height, double-width cards and provides a maximum of 25W."

Good luck with that.


---------------------------

The project comes five months after Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey suggested VR headset support for the Mac was "up to Apple," and that the company needed to "prioritize higher-end GPUs." If Apple builds a machine that can handle the hardware, Oculus VR would "love to support Mac," said Luckey.

I love that burn he laid on Apple. Just freakin' awesome people like that call Apple out on their BS.
 

ThisIsNotMe

Suspended
Aug 11, 2008
1,849
1,062
Would have snapped one up in a heartbeat if it included a couple of USB ports and an ethernet port. Would have made a great 'all in one' docking station replacement for the Thunderbolt display. Maybe even an option for power as well.

Oh well. Back to the drawing board.
 

Flint Ironstag

macrumors 65816
Dec 1, 2013
1,330
743
Houston, TX USA
Truly ridiculous that it's taken so long for this market to mature. Intel demonstrated eGPU years ago on TB1 / LightPeak. Anyway, these guys are missing the mark, or at least not realizing their potential. There are droves of iMac and Mac Pro users who could benefit from this, and who would spend more for something better than a 970. Why do I only see this advertised as a laptop upgrade?

For what it's worth, I like One Stop Systems and am hoping to test a unit shortly. If it works, I'm loading it up with Pascals, 1070s at the minimum. They take card capacity, power, and cooling seriously. The big dog holds (4) full length, full height, double wide GPUs. Cooling looks sensible, and it has dual 550W power supplies. Not cheap @ $2650 though. But this could pay for itself in one project.

http://www.maxexpansion.com/desktop-enclosures

http://www.maxexpansion.com/cube3-metal-expansion-enclosure-8-pcie-x8-slots

Don't hear too much about them. Would love to know if anyone has used one or seen reviews.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U

melendezest

Suspended
Jan 28, 2010
1,693
1,579
I'm personally waiting on a number of factors to come to fruition in order to even consider replacing my Macs.

A working, Apple-suported, and reasonably-priced implementation of this is one of them.

TB3 in USB-C, and larger than 2TB internal SSDs are the others.

Until then I will remain on 2011 machines, lest the PC world release something I want before Apple does (unlikely).

So, I'm targeting 2020 as a replacement date for my 2011s. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flint Ironstag

TechZeke

macrumors 68020
Jul 29, 2012
2,454
2,287
Dallas, TX
$600 is 60-70% of the way to a decent Gaming PC with a GTX 970.

If you can afford a $1000-$2000 laptop and a $600 GPU enclosure, you can probably at least save up the money to get a gaming PC. This literally makes no sense at that price.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rdav

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,140
19,677
If they could get a quad-core chip into the 13" MacBook Pro I'd be all over that plus this thing plus a ~32" 4K display.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U

EGOvoruhk

macrumors member
Feb 19, 2009
37
0
The problem with that one is that it doesn't officially support graphics cards so it might not work. No support if it doesn't.

This Wolfe the same problem. It's an issue with Thunderbolt 2, not the product, which is why the non-Kickstarter version will only be available in Thunderbolt 3

But you can actually buy an Akito today
 

Flint Ironstag

macrumors 65816
Dec 1, 2013
1,330
743
Houston, TX USA
This Wolfe the same problem. It's an issue with Thunderbolt 2, not the product, which is why the non-Kickstarter version will only be available in Thunderbolt 3

But you can actually buy an Akito today
The Wolfe is clearly positioned as an external GPU solution. What are you talking about? They posit that TB2 works just fine, with the caveat that internal display may see slight performance degradation.
 
Last edited:

GeneralChang

macrumors 68000
Dec 2, 2013
1,676
1,513
Ah, I've always wanted to see a serious attempt at implementing this capability. I'll be interested to see how it turns out. Could something like this replace my dedicated gaming rig?

It's possible. I'm open to it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.