Apple’s macOS 10.13.4 brings full external GPU support to recent MacBooks

https://thenextweb.com/apple/2018/0...full-external-gpu-support-to-recent-macbooks/



Apple’s latest macOS update is the one we’ve all been waiting for. Available now, version 10.13.4 brings support for external graphics cards (eGPU) first announced last June at WWDC.

The update solves one of the biggest disadvantages for Apple’s pro-level users. After increasingly shifting even the highest-end MacBooks more toward the consumer end of the spectrum over the last few years, professional video editors, 3D modelers, or VR developers were stuck with relatively mediocre (and non-upgradeable) GPUs — and only on the 15 inch models. The 12 inch MacBook and the 13 inch MacBook Pro still rely on integrated graphics.

By moving to an external GPU, Apple is giving pro-level users the horsepower they’ve been clamoring for, while continuing to focus on battery life, form factor, and keeping the price down for non-pro users.

Unfortunately, support is for AMD GPUs only for now.

 

That is interesting, I still run my late 14 retina imac on El Capitan and wanted to finally switch to High Sierra. Do you by chance know if the better metal support helps with SotA's performance?

 

I'm going to invoke the magic word because this is going to need Dev confirmation.

@Berek , some help please

 

Article on Apple's original 2017 announcement here:

https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-bringing-vr-external-graphics-and-game-engines-to-mac/

 

https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/

PCI Express vs. Thunderbolt - How much performance drop of your GPU you will have if you put it in eGPU

In all benchmarks we can see that, if we play games with FULL HD 1920 x 1080 Resolution (1080p) on External Display the Thunderbolt Number is not a big deal, BUT if we use the laptop Internal Display - the best Thunderbolt we have, the less performance drop we will get and also if you have better video card you will have more performance drop because - better FPS will make more bandwidth, if you use higher resolution than 1080p on External Display you will have less performance drop because of lower FPS:

[Note: I have no figures for an equivalent comparison for the Mac since these aren't available yet]

 

I updated my system from El Capitan to High Sierra and SotA feels much smoother now. FPS feel higher (while I switch on the debug bar I don't track / compare FPS between scenes, releases and OS X versions) but more important the game had some small "hitching" since the last two releases. This is now completely gone.

 

Sota is pretty smooth for me except for in big scenes like Ardoris or Spite. Then it's kinda pokey. And changing the resolution doesn't seem to make too much difference honestly. I'm playing it on a 580 with 8GB which is roughly a 1060.

The BIGGEST annoyance is that SoTA will not remember my graphics resolution and I have to set it from 5k to 144op every. single. time.

It's early days for eGPUs yet but given my current card I'm not really in the market. Not until the prices on Vega come down or the next gen happens.

SoTA is the only game my Mac struggles with. Which is a bit crazy, because this is the second computer that I bought with a new graphics card mainly for the few games I play via Steam, including SoTA. And SoTA is the only demanding / unoptimized one. I get insane frames on Bioshock Infinite for example.