I lost all respect for the product when I saw Beats headphones in the promo photo. It says a lot about the focus for the product.
I think not only beats but the book selection on the shelf was sad too.
Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
41–50 of 276 posts
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#42considering that a thunderbolt hub alone is already very expensive and other enclosures are in the ~500 USD range, this is not too bad for a nice looking solution that is well engineered. Imo it lacks performance for the price though.
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#43From the FAQ: > Can I upgrade the GPU chip in the Blackmagic eGPU? > No, the design has been optimized for quiet operation so it’s better suited for creative customers. This means the design is not a simple chassis with a PCIe card plugged in, but an integrated electronics, mechanical and cooling design that cannot have the GPU chip upgraded or changed. $699 and no ability to upgrade makes it pretty clear that they'r…
Huh. They're targeting ... people who don't know any better? I want to see rendering benchmarks (both 1080p/2160p) of this vs external Thunderbolt GTX/1060,1070,1080 enclosures (and AMDGPU equivalents). I mean if it works better and you do a lot of video, then yea, go for it. If it's only marginally better, buy something with a real PCIe slot that's upgradable. Even business customers should not buy this if the bench…
Four years ago I bought a desktop gaming PC (I'm normally a Mac user) with the idea that I could upgrade it over the years to keep it current but avoid replacing the whole thing.
Turns out in practice technology changes enough over that time to only leave the case, and perhaps the PSU. The motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card are all obsolete now. The SSD can be reused but newer technology is much faster.
I don't know what gets saved by upgrading parts rather than the machine. The same amount of electronics are disposed of (or sold on the second hand market)
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#44Acoustic Performance: ~18dB
I did expect a fanless design by Apple :-/
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huh. They're targeting ... people who don't know any better? I want to see rendering benchmarks (both 1080p/2160p) of this vs external Thunderbolt GTX/1060,1070,1080 enclosures (and AMDGPU equivalents). I mean if it works better and you do a lot of video, then yea, go for it. If it's only marginally better, buy something with a real PCIe slot that's upgradable. Even business customers should not buy this if the bench…
Four years ago I bought a desktop gaming PC (I'm normally a Mac user) with the idea that I could upgrade it over the years to keep it current but avoid replacing the whole thing. Turns out in practice technology changes enough over that time to only leave the case, and perhaps the PSU. The motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card are all obsolete now. The SSD can be reused but newer technology is much faster. I don't…
> The motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card are all obsolete now. The SSD can be reused but newer technology is much faster.
Unless you got a bulldozer CPU, I don't believe you. I bet that upgrading just the graphics card would give you 90% of the effect of upgrading everything.
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
> $699 and no ability to upgrade Sounds like a perfect fit for the Apple ecosystem.
I'd bet 99.9% of people buying PC Laptops never upgrade a single chip... Apple's non-pro lines are likely not much different. Apple largely sacrificed that ability (in a few product lines) in favour of creating some of the thinnest laptops available. I don't remember them ever doing that before Macbook Air, for now reason. That said, in this case, I don't see what is being gained by not making the GPU swappable or at…
I upgraded the ram and disk on my 2012 13in MacBook Pro.
The lack of upgradability on the newer machines is a real turn off.
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
> $699 and no ability to upgrade Sounds like a perfect fit for the Apple ecosystem.
I'd bet 99.9% of people buying PC Laptops never upgrade a single chip... Apple's non-pro lines are likely not much different. Apple largely sacrificed that ability (in a few product lines) in favour of creating some of the thinnest laptops available. I don't remember them ever doing that before Macbook Air, for now reason. That said, in this case, I don't see what is being gained by not making the GPU swappable or at…
You can still buy other thunderbolt 3 enclosures. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208544
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#48How does all of this behave when you have an eGPU and a Thunderbolt-attached storage device? In what order do you install those peripherals? Who loses when the CPU wants access to GPU and storage at the same time?
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
> $699 and no ability to upgrade Sounds like a perfect fit for the Apple ecosystem.
I'd bet 99.9% of people buying PC Laptops never upgrade a single chip... Apple's non-pro lines are likely not much different. Apple largely sacrificed that ability (in a few product lines) in favour of creating some of the thinnest laptops available. I don't remember them ever doing that before Macbook Air, for now reason. That said, in this case, I don't see what is being gained by not making the GPU swappable or at…
> I'd bet 99.9% of people buying PC Laptops never upgrade a single chip...
I've added RAM and replaced the HD with a SSD on a laptop I've owned since 2005,and would upgraded more chips if it was possible.
Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huh. They're targeting ... people who don't know any better? I want to see rendering benchmarks (both 1080p/2160p) of this vs external Thunderbolt GTX/1060,1070,1080 enclosures (and AMDGPU equivalents). I mean if it works better and you do a lot of video, then yea, go for it. If it's only marginally better, buy something with a real PCIe slot that's upgradable. Even business customers should not buy this if the bench…
Four years ago I bought a desktop gaming PC (I'm normally a Mac user) with the idea that I could upgrade it over the years to keep it current but avoid replacing the whole thing. Turns out in practice technology changes enough over that time to only leave the case, and perhaps the PSU. The motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card are all obsolete now. The SSD can be reused but newer technology is much faster. I don't…
> The motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card are all obsolete now
How is that at all possible unless it was under powered in the first place? Maybe it can't play some of the latest titles at max settings but a 4 year old machine should be able to run just about everything decently.
What's stopping you from upgrading the graphics card? Looks like plenty of high end cards have PCIe3 support. RAM can always be upgraded, though few games will makes use of the 8GB that was pretty standard in gaming PC's nearly a decade ago. A new CPU won't gain you much gaming wise.
Most games target PS4 level specs anyway, which is now a 5 year old machine.