Problem is apple has the AIO-market pretty much cornered. Not everyone wants a big box taking up space on the floor. And then there's the aesthetics..
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iMac Vega 64x, 64, 56 & 48
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Well I thought that maybe a setup with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro and an eGPU would be nice. Because then I don't need my old MacBook and my iMac anymore and I have a machine that is portable which would be very helpful for me as well. Has anyone got experience with a MacBook and an eGPU in Bootcamp? What would interest me is whether you can "close" the MacBook while it's connected to an external display in Windows or does it need to be opened up? And is it complicated to drive the eGPU? Like do you have to do some tricks all the time when you start up your system? And are the CPUs of today's MacBook good enough (also with thermal throttling?) to play games for several hours without any issues?
I have an LG 5k Ultrafine and I would be hesitant about buying it to play games in Windows. The reason is that the Ultrafine is designed to be used with a Mac in MacOS. When you use it in Windows you lose some of its functionality; for example, to my knowledge there is no way to change the brightness of the Ultrafine in Windows. Maybe there's some third party software out there that can provide this functionality but I don't know of any. Furthermore, you cannot use it in 5k resolution in Windows, only in 4k. If you're going to mostly use it for gaming then you might as well buy a 4k monitor which will be cheaper. Also, you would have to buy the latest 5k Ultrafine because only the latest ones can be connected to an egpu via USB C (& they can be also be used with the iPad Pro). The graphics card would also need a USB C out and you would need a moshi cable.
Read post #3 of this thread on egpu.io to see how someone connected an egpu to the latest 5k ultrafine. You will notice that the monitor's speakers and camera do not work under this set up, though you probably still use headphone connected to the mac:
https://egpu.io/forums/gpu-monitor-...lackmagic-that-can-power-the-lg-ultrafine-5k/
You should also find a lot of information about connecting Macbook's to egpus on the egpu.io forum.
But the new RTX cards have USB-C connection right? Can't I just connect that with the display? And as far as the speakers are concerned I use external speakers so that should work right? And I wouldn't use the camera as well!
Yes, I believe the RTX cards have a USB-C connection so that shouldn't be a problem. External speakers should work normally in Windows so that wouldn't be a problem either. I found this video on Youtube which shows that someone has developed some third party software for controlling the brightness on the ultrafine:
I might install this software tomorrow and see if it works.
(Edit: never mind I’m dumb— missed that you mentioned boot camp. Not sure about using a RTX card in boot camp)
I know that i via Bootcamp it works! I‘ve seen it with a Mac Mini and also with a MacBook Air! But the question is whether you can use it with the UltraFine Display!
I also use my iMac for games and work. Primarily for work, but gaming on an iMac is fine IMO if you don't need to play everything in 4K ultra, like most people actually.
I would strongly advice to wait for a new iMac. The current GPU is very outdated. Also, there's a good chance the next iMac will have the same gpu as the upcoming PS5, which will secure you of being able to play the latest games for the coming ~7 years.
Also, many people, including me, believe there's a redesign around the corner, probably somewhere in 2020.
I would strongly advice to wait for a new iMac. The current GPU is very outdated. Also, there's a good chance the next iMac will have the same gpu as the upcoming PS5, which will secure you of being able to play the latest games for the coming ~7 years.
Also, many people, including me, believe there's a redesign around the corner, probably somewhere in 2020.
Thank you krazzix for the advice. I‘ve been waiting for a redesign of the iMac myself but unfortunately I can‘t wait until next year. But the 16 inch MacBook Pro would be a totally new Apple Product which also comes with the new Navi GPUs! I think maybe this would be the best investment as an iMac still has the older Vega GPUs inside! What do you guys think?
I still got one question! Is it possible to use the eGPU under bootcamp and then when I want to use the MacBook mobile use the iGPU under bootcamp as well?
Yes. If you use an NVIDIA card it works pretty much out of the box. But Windows killed eGPU with a Windows update so you will need to be careful with that.
I have never got my 5700XT working in Windows which is irritating. I followed all the guides and nothing worked.
So I would recommend a NVIDIA card. But this won’t work in macOS.
The Vega 58 or 64 is still much more powerful than the low end Navi GPU in the 16" MacBook Pro. Hopefully Apple will offer more powerful Navi graphics in the next iMac update.
I tried out the brightness changing software on my display and unfortunately it still doesn't alter brightness properly. In Windows, the Ultrafine seems to be set at about medium brightness. All this software can do is lower the brightness down from that initial brightness setting, but it can't increase the brightness above this initial setting. I find the brightness that Windows sets the Ultrafine to be a bit low sometimes so the inability of the software to increase the brightness to what the monitor's capable of isn't very good.
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In my personal case, after a bad experience with the 2019 iMac i9 Vega 48 512 SSD, which died (logic board burned) in the first days of use, I decided to try an alternative approach. I bought a Clevo laptop to replace my 2011 i7 MBP.
€1,400 is the final price that I paid for this laptop including taxes (Clevo N970 series rebranded by a German manufacturer, bought from a Clevo reseller via Amazon) and the computer has the following specs:
- 17,3 inch FHD 144Hz IPS screen with excellent colour calibration.
- desktop 8 core CPU i7 9700 (between 7,500 and 8,000 Geekbench 5 multicore score in this system configuration) (upgreadable to an i9 9900, if necessary, but the 9700 is very powerful).
- GPU Nvidia 1660 ti (full, no Max Q) with a similar OpenCL Geekbench 5 score (60,000) to the Vega Pro 64 and much cooler, that I can also upgrade to RTX 2080 (laptop version) later when I want. And iGPU Intel UHD 630.
- 64 Gb RAM 2666 HyperX, in dual channel mode and included in the price.
- 500 Samsung 870 plus M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD (that I will replace with a Samsung EVO 860 that costs €124, and I will install also a Crucial P1 1TB M.2 SSD for €99 in the additional M.2 bay, so in total I will have 2,5tb ssd in the laptop for €224 more, instead of 512).
- Specific advanced cooling design to avoid thermal throtling with independent coolers and heat pipes for CPU and GPU and low noise.
- 180w power supply. But I can buy a power supply up to 330w.
- Supports up to 4 active displays at the same time.
- Several ports including 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2, A, C (I need to test the TB3 capabilities of the USB C port), 2 USB 3.0, and a USB 2 (to install various OS). HDMI2, 2 minidisplay ports, one for each GPU, and high speed multi card reader integrated.
- Swappable 62Wh battery (up to 8.5 hours with the iGPU), you can take with you various batteries and swap them if necessary.
- Possibility of installing various OS (Win, Linux, Mac, etc.) in the same laptop (including dual or triple OS boot) using advanced BIOS settings. The computer comes with no OS installed.
- HD webcam 1080 and HD microphone array with noise cancelation.
- Various audio interfaces integrated (including Sound Blaster Cinema 5, Realtek audio, etc.).
- 2 Years full warranty (Apple only gave me 1 year in Europe without Apple Care).
This laptop is totally upgradeable (CPU, GPU, Ram, Storage, wifi card, screen, keyboard, battery, etc.). The CPU and the rest of the components are upgradeable (and the cooling systems is prepared for the upgrades), so I can put a i9 9900 later with liquid metal for example. Also, all the components, except the wifi card (that I can change for €20 for a compatible one), including the logic board are totally compatible with different OS: Win 10, Linux and MacOS.
For my usage, a comparable new Macbook Pro 16 i9 (similar specs, with a lower tier GPU 5500M) would cost €5,000, and it is not upgradableo or fixable. Yes, the MBP retina screen has more resolution and is better, you have a touchbar and it has more TB3 ports (4 vs 1). But the €3,600 of price difference and the possibility of upgrade all the components was more appealing for my use case. Maybe I will end using more Windows 10 for music production and not only for gaming, who knows
I have been using my 2011 MBP for almost 9 years now. It is a perfect machine. It is still working as the first day. A wonderful hardware. For me it is a pity to have to decide for another hardware manufacturer. But the silly pricing, the poor design and cooling and the very limited upgreadability of the new iMacs and MBPs (and other laptop pc manufacturers) have forced me to take this decision, after spending €4,000 on an iMac that died in less than 14 days of use due to a very poor heat management design, and that I had to return.
€1,400 is the final price that I paid for this laptop including taxes (Clevo N970 series rebranded by a German manufacturer, bought from a Clevo reseller via Amazon) and the computer has the following specs:
- 17,3 inch FHD 144Hz IPS screen with excellent colour calibration.
- desktop 8 core CPU i7 9700 (between 7,500 and 8,000 Geekbench 5 multicore score in this system configuration) (upgreadable to an i9 9900, if necessary, but the 9700 is very powerful).
- GPU Nvidia 1660 ti (full, no Max Q) with a similar OpenCL Geekbench 5 score (60,000) to the Vega Pro 64 and much cooler, that I can also upgrade to RTX 2080 (laptop version) later when I want. And iGPU Intel UHD 630.
- 64 Gb RAM 2666 HyperX, in dual channel mode and included in the price.
- 500 Samsung 870 plus M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD (that I will replace with a Samsung EVO 860 that costs €124, and I will install also a Crucial P1 1TB M.2 SSD for €99 in the additional M.2 bay, so in total I will have 2,5tb ssd in the laptop for €224 more, instead of 512).
- Specific advanced cooling design to avoid thermal throtling with independent coolers and heat pipes for CPU and GPU and low noise.
- 180w power supply. But I can buy a power supply up to 330w.
- Supports up to 4 active displays at the same time.
- Several ports including 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2, A, C (I need to test the TB3 capabilities of the USB C port), 2 USB 3.0, and a USB 2 (to install various OS). HDMI2, 2 minidisplay ports, one for each GPU, and high speed multi card reader integrated.
- Swappable 62Wh battery (up to 8.5 hours with the iGPU), you can take with you various batteries and swap them if necessary.
- Possibility of installing various OS (Win, Linux, Mac, etc.) in the same laptop (including dual or triple OS boot) using advanced BIOS settings. The computer comes with no OS installed.
- HD webcam 1080 and HD microphone array with noise cancelation.
- Various audio interfaces integrated (including Sound Blaster Cinema 5, Realtek audio, etc.).
- 2 Years full warranty (Apple only gave me 1 year in Europe without Apple Care).
This laptop is totally upgradeable (CPU, GPU, Ram, Storage, wifi card, screen, keyboard, battery, etc.). The CPU and the rest of the components are upgradeable (and the cooling systems is prepared for the upgrades), so I can put a i9 9900 later with liquid metal for example. Also, all the components, except the wifi card (that I can change for €20 for a compatible one), including the logic board are totally compatible with different OS: Win 10, Linux and MacOS.
For my usage, a comparable new Macbook Pro 16 i9 (similar specs, with a lower tier GPU 5500M) would cost €5,000, and it is not upgradableo or fixable. Yes, the MBP retina screen has more resolution and is better, you have a touchbar and it has more TB3 ports (4 vs 1). But the €3,600 of price difference and the possibility of upgrade all the components was more appealing for my use case. Maybe I will end using more Windows 10 for music production and not only for gaming, who knows
I have been using my 2011 MBP for almost 9 years now. It is a perfect machine. It is still working as the first day. A wonderful hardware. For me it is a pity to have to decide for another hardware manufacturer. But the silly pricing, the poor design and cooling and the very limited upgreadability of the new iMacs and MBPs (and other laptop pc manufacturers) have forced me to take this decision, after spending €4,000 on an iMac that died in less than 14 days of use due to a very poor heat management design, and that I had to return.
It was not due to poor heat management. Sometimes you get bad units. But my i9 2019 is still going strong and many others here are doing fine. It’s not a design flaw. You just received a bad unit.In my personal case, after a bad experience with the 2019 iMac i9 Vega 48 512 SSD, which died (logic board burned) in the first days of use, I decided to try an alternative approach. I bought a Clevo laptop to replace my 2011 i7 MBP.
€1,400 is the final price that I paid for this laptop including taxes (Clevo N970 series rebranded by a German manufacturer, bought from a Clevo reseller via Amazon) and the computer has the following specs:
- 17,3 inch FHD 144Hz IPS screen with excellent colour calibration.
- desktop 8 core CPU i7 9700 (between 7,500 and 8,000 Geekbench 5 multicore score in this system configuration) (upgreadable to an i9 9900, if necessary, but the 9700 is very powerful).
- GPU Nvidia 1660 ti (full, no Max Q) with a similar OpenCL Geekbench 5 score (60,000) to the Vega Pro 64 and much cooler, that I can also upgrade to RTX 2080 (laptop version) later when I want. And iGPU Intel UHD 630.
- 64 Gb RAM 2666 HyperX, in dual channel mode and included in the price.
- 500 Samsung 870 plus M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD (that I will replace with a Samsung EVO 860 that costs €124, and I will install also a Crucial P1 1TB M.2 SSD for €99 in the additional M.2 bay, so in total I will have 2,5tb ssd in the laptop for €224 more, instead of 512).
- Specific advanced cooling design to avoid thermal throtling with independent coolers and heat pipes for CPU and GPU and low noise.
- 180w power supply. But I can buy a power supply up to 330w.
- Supports up to 4 active displays at the same time.
- Several ports including 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2, A, C (I need to test the TB3 capabilities of the USB C port), 2 USB 3.0, and a USB 2 (to install various OS). HDMI2, 2 minidisplay ports, one for each GPU, and high speed multi card reader integrated.
- Swappable 62Wh battery (up to 8.5 hours with the iGPU), you can take with you various batteries and swap them if necessary.
- Possibility of installing various OS (Win, Linux, Mac, etc.) in the same laptop (including dual or triple OS boot) using advanced BIOS settings. The computer comes with no OS installed.
- HD webcam 1080 and HD microphone array with noise cancelation.
- Various audio interfaces integrated (including Sound Blaster Cinema 5, Realtek audio, etc.).
- 2 Years full warranty (Apple only gave me 1 year in Europe without Apple Care).
This laptop is totally upgradeable (CPU, GPU, Ram, Storage, wifi card, screen, keyboard, battery, etc.). The CPU and the rest of the components are upgradeable (and the cooling systems is prepared for the upgrades), so I can put a i9 9900 later with liquid metal for example. Also, all the components, except the wifi card (that I can change for €20 for a compatible one), including the logic board are totally compatible with different OS: Win 10, Linux and MacOS.
For my usage, a comparable new Macbook Pro 16 i9 (similar specs, with a lower tier GPU 5500M) would cost €5,000, and it is not upgradableo or fixable. Yes, the MBP retina screen has more resolution and is better, you have a touchbar and it has more TB3 ports (4 vs 1). But the €3,600 of price difference and the possibility of upgrade all the components was more appealing for my use case. Maybe I will end using more Windows 10 for music production and not only for gaming, who knows
I have been using my 2011 MBP for almost 9 years now. It is a perfect machine. It is still working as the first day. A wonderful hardware. For me it is a pity to have to decide for another hardware manufacturer. But the silly pricing, the poor design and cooling and the very limited upgreadability of the new iMacs and MBPs (and other laptop pc manufacturers) have forced me to take this decision, after spending €4,000 on an iMac that died in less than 14 days of use due to a very poor heat management design, and that I had to return.
Has anyone got information about how the iMac Pro performs compares to the standard iMac?
[automerge]1574240824[/automerge]
And thank you wardie and skyfire for your replies.
Here is the link for the GPU speed iMac Pro on the new game Shadow of the Tomb Raider, - compared to other configurations.
https://barefeats.com/shadow-of-tomb-raider-on-pro-macs.html
and
iMac Pro with various eGPU upgrade boxes..
https://barefeats.com/iMac-Pro-Four-GPUs.html
..
Now you know why I use a 2012 MP with Vega 7
Here is the link for the GPU speed iMac Pro on the new game Shadow of the Tomb Raider, - compared to other configurations.
https://barefeats.com/shadow-of-tomb-raider-on-pro-macs.html
and
iMac Pro with various eGPU upgrade boxes..
https://barefeats.com/iMac-Pro-Four-GPUs.html
..
Now you know why I use a 2012 MP with Vega 7
This provides a good way to directly compare modern gaming performance of the Vega 64 to the Vega 48. I've just gone and run the same benchmarks in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (i.e. the same graphics settings - high preset, TAA on, VSync off) on my Vega 48 at the same resolutions and this is what I got:
1920x1080 = 67fps
2560x1440 = 48 fps
3840x2160 = 28fps
The Vega 64 got 87fps, 59fps and 34fps in the same resolutions respectively. This means that for gaming, the Vega 64 really isn't worth it since at 1440p and 4k it provides only a modest increase in fps and it costs a lot of money over the Vega 48 to do it. Also, this shows that neither card is suitable for 4k gaming in recent graphically intensive games.
Those benchmarks are running under OSX Catalina. I think the performance that really matters for gaming is while running bootcamp using the latest bootcamp drivers if necessary. I don't think you will be able to get decent 4K performance with any iMac unless you use an egpu and a separate monitor. I would be happy with decent 1440 performance under windows with modern games.
It is also possible that I have received a bad iMac with a manufacturing problem, yes. My main concern is, however, the crazy temps that I experienced with the iMac during the few days before the computer finally died. I use Logic Pro X with several synth and sampler tracks and advanced audio effects.
For the moment, I will use the mentioned Clevo laptop i7 9700 and GTX 1660 ti as a temporary solution while I wait for the next iMac Pro 2.