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Better late than never, Apple will now officially add Mac eGPU drivers for Thunderbolt 3 equipped Macs in MacOS 10.13.4. This is welcome news to many iMac and Mac Pro users desperate to put more GPU power behind various power hungry applications such as DaVinci Resolve.
Answering this question first requires answering an underlying question of what is Thunderbolt.
Thunderbolt was developed to simultaneously support the fastest data and most video bandwidth available on a single cable, using both PCI Express and DisplayPort protocols. With Thunderbolt 2, this was 20Gbps, while with Thunderbolt 3 the speed was doubled to 40Gbps.
Thunderbolt 3:
Thunderbolt 3 allows you to utilise 4 lanes of PCI Express with a total bandwidth of 2750MB/sec outside of your host system.
A Thunderbolt to PCIe enclosure, such as the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box provides power and high bandwidth PCIe for compatible desktop cards, not only GPU’s but even video I/O cards and non-GPU cards such as the RED ROCKET-X.
I witnessed a Sonnet eGPU Breakaway Box unofficially running a Radeon GPU on a MacBook Pro twelve months ago at NAB 2017 but it required some back-end tweaking and was very “unofficial”.
Now the wait is over, and Apple have released the requirements in a new document, which you should definitely familiarise yourself with if you’re planning to take the plunge.
With eGPU support in macOS 10.13.4, you can:
Apple have so far listed only the Radeon GPU’s below:
Be sure to check the full requirements explained in the Apple configuration document to make sure you match up the right eGPU enclosure for the GPU you want to use.
For mobile post production users that carry a Macbook Pro with them on set, or for editing and grading on the road, the new Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Puck could be just what you’ve been waiting for.
With an integrated Radeon RX570, the Mac compatible Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 570 provides 4GB of GDDR 5 GPU memory in a compact form factor that you can throw in your gear bag or backpack and hit the road. It will need mains power, so it’s not an unplugged solution.
I am sure many of you with older Thunderbolt 2 equipped Macs will be asking if you will be able to use an eGPU too. Unfortunately the answer is no.
If you’re on the fence thinking about replacing an older Mac, this news may be enough to push you into a decision on a new Macbook Pro or iMac.
This is long awaited news for many, and promises to supercharge post production users on the go.
Are you going to add a eGPU to your Mac? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Richard Lackey is a cinema camera and workflow specialist, colorist (CSI member), producer & writer with 10+ years of industry experience. Richard has a passion for cinema technology & beautiful imagery.