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Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

blackmagicdesign.com

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Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#61

Post by raitom »

jonbaer wrote: post #5

Does anyone here currently run a eGPU on their MacBook Pro and can share their experience (including what card you are using)?

I’m using an Akitio node 3 with a 1070 on a 2016 15” Macbook Pro. I’m using my mac and macos to work during the day. When I go home, I start windows and plug my egpu to play.

It’s really easy to use on widnows, mostly plug & play. It works so well that I stopped using my old gaming machine.

Main issue though is that you need to plug it to the left thunderbolt 3 port on your mac or the egpu doesn’t work. It also doesn’t work if you plug any other usb-c devices on the right ports. My solution for that is to use a usb-c usb-a hub, plugged on 1 of the 2 usb-c left port, to plug my external ssd and gaming keyboard.

Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#62

Post by GoToRO »

dmix wrote: post #27
cosmojg wrote: post #12

Earlier 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…

My HP laptop died, the integrated GPU died. And HP support said they do not manufacture that motherboard anymore. So what's the point of having it upgradable? Sometimes it works, other times not.

Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#63

Post by PinguTS »

angott wrote: post #39
dmix wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 miss so much my 2009 MacBook Pro, where you could take out the DVD drive and replace it with an additional SSD for a performance boost.

You mean the old PowerBook Series where you could easily swap the batteries on the go and swap the DVD drive for an additional battery.

Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#64

Post by blkhawk »

ryan-allen wrote: post #59
sitharus wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I got the top-end i7 about 5 years ago, it's still fast. I have tried to justify upgrading it many times but I just can't see the benefit in replacing it with something that's just a bit quicker. I can at least upgrade the SSD and GPU without throwing the whole damn thing out, but even then it's hard to justify.

Well any GPU you upgrade can be used in our next system. That said there hasn't been much movement there in the last 2 years or so since the rx480 came out.

I agree with the ssd, tho. The newer PCIe based ones in the m.2 formfactor areso much faster it feels a bit like a waste to buy a sata SSD.

Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#65

Post by Pica_soO »

Its understandable- everyone wants their cellphone to complete the journey of the desktop- but the battery is just to bad. Even with a dedicated chip for drawing - open pubg and the batterys power-supply falls like a rock.

What is a game other- then a lightshow- No-Sleep-Bug?

In my opinion, as long as there is demand and physics unaligned, "building it and they will come" will not archive anything.

So why not instead build a miniserver with gfx cards into WiFi and do the computations for AR, VR and games (mostly downstream data) and catch that with a passive WiFi-Reciever? It is still video displaying - but it does not come with the usual computational burden.

I know, that is a bad architectural choice - away from the expected model, that should batterys get good, would triumph any day now. But if you plan in for that eventuality - you can still program architecturally near neutral and you could walk ahead into the future, not just glimpse it while tied to a charger.

https://passivewifi.cs.washington.edu/files/passive_wifi.pdf

https://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/575153.Energy_Consumption_in_And...

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9934/9551d3ef0e0efc3c54aaab...

Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#66

Post by cupofjoakim »

neya wrote: post #60
whichdan wrote: post #8

From 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…

I think it's not the best deal, but it's so much better than other jokers in this space, because, the alternative I've found is Razor Core series ( https://www.razer.com/sg-en/gaming-laptops/razer-core-v2 ) which is a joke - $500+ ($750 where I live) and it doesn't even include a GPU in it! I'm seriously interested if there's some sort of DIY out there wherein you could just buy a bunch of chips from eBay, put togeth…

The best resource for DIY projects in this space seems to be egpu.io. I found their guide kind of helpful: https://egpu.io/build-guides/

Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#68

Post by jasonjs »

neya wrote: post #60
whichdan wrote: post #8

From 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…

I think it's not the best deal, but it's so much better than other jokers in this space, because, the alternative I've found is Razor Core series ( https://www.razer.com/sg-en/gaming-laptops/razer-core-v2 ) which is a joke - $500+ ($750 where I live) and it doesn't even include a GPU in it! I'm seriously interested if there's some sort of DIY out there wherein you could just buy a bunch of chips from eBay, put togeth…

Even before the more polished products existed, people have hacked together external GPU enclosures, often interfaced to the host's PCIe bus via ExpressCard slots or ribbon cables hanging off of Mini PCIe slots. And more recently, with the interest in cramming many dual-slot GPUs onto a single motherboard for cryptomining rigs, you can find cheap, "barebones stand-alone PCIe slots" (for lack of a better term) for hanging GPUs off of. A quick search turned up a couple of examples:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-PCI-E-to-PCI-E-1X-Expan...

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/60CM-PCI-Express-1X-To-16X-P... (Ingeniously, on this one, they've re-purposed USB 3.0 cables to carry the high-speed PCIe lanes).

Re: Blackmagic eGPU – Thunderbolt 3 external graphics processor

#69

Post by geezerjay »

k3liutZu wrote: post #51
geezerjay wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

You are the 0.01%

No, I'm really not. In fact, the only reason this isn't done more often is because some OEMs defraud their customers by forcing obsolescense into their products, such as intentionally designing them to be very impractical if not impossible to do basic stuff such as cleaning air ducts or replacing a HD.

If you asked any macbook pro owner if they were willing to spend money to double its RAM or HDD capacity I'm sure you wouldn't get many negative answers.

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