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Are eGPUs really plug and play?

gusping

gusping

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 12, 2012
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I'm thinking of the small things like when I put my Mac mini to sleep, will the eGPU automatically go to sleep, and wake up when I wriggle the mouse to wake up the Mac? I read a commen/thread a few weeks ago and they said they had all sorts of issues with this.
 
I saw that same comment, but don't recall what the issue was.

My eGPU has worked in lockstep with my mini and monitor from day 1. It doesn't matter whether I use DisplayPort or HDMI, and I have used two different video cards, an RX 590 and an RX Vega 56. I'm using an Asus XG Station Pro as an external GPU enclosure, and an Asus ProArt PA32UC as a monitor.

Note that if you use FileVault, Mojave currently does not support the use of an external GPU during a FileVault boot.
 
F-Train said:
I saw that same comment, but don't recall what the issue was.

My eGPU has worked in lockstep with my mini and monitor from day 1. It doesn't matter whether I use DisplayPort or HDMI, and I have used two different video cards, an RX 590 and an RX Vega 56. I'm using an Asus XG Station Pro as an external GPU enclosure, and an Asus ProArt PA32UC as a monitor.

Note that if you use FileVault, Mojave currently does not support the use of an external GPU during a FileVault boot.
Click to expand...

So no issues with the GPU fans running whilst your Mac mini is asleep or anything like that? Good to hear! Is it really easy to use? If I got one, I'd just like it to be plug and play with my 4K monitor.

Ah ok, so you just simply turn FileVault off?
 
gusping said:
So no issues with the GPU fans running whilst your Mac mini is asleep or anything like that? Good to hear! Is it really easy to use? If I got one, I'd just like it to be plug and play with my 4K monitor.

Ah ok, so you just simply turn FileVault off?
Click to expand...

The fans are off most of the time when the mini is awake, let alone when it's asleep. They only come on if the GPU is busy.

I don't use FileVault. There's a procedure for using an eGPU with FileVault, but I don't know the details.

I've found using the eGPU dead simple.
 
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F-Train said:
The fans are off most of the time when the mini is awake, let alone when it's asleep. They only come on if the GPU is busy.

I don't use FileVault. There's a procedure for using an eGPU with FileVault, but I don't know the details.

I've found using the eGPU dead simple.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your answers! Straight to the point, just what I like to see. Say I got an eGPU with an RX580. Do I plug the eGPU enclosure into the Mac mini via TB3, then using display port (or HDMI), plug in however many monitors I want to use straight into the ports on the GPU? Is that it?
 
gusping said:
Thank you for your answers! Straight to the point, just what I like to see. Say I got an eGPU with an RX580. Do I plug the eGPU enclosure into the Mac mini via TB3, then using display port (or HDMI), plug in however many monitors I want to use straight into the ports on the GPU? Is that it?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Mac mini to eGPU enclosure via Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Video card to monitor via HDMI or DisplayPort cable. It can vary, but both my cards have had two HDMI ports and two DisplayPort ports.

If you're interested, there is a lot of eGPU/Mac mini info in this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/external-gpu-egpu-resources.2154653/
 
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