Mac mini 2018, 2xLG utrafine 5k, eGPU

[goodbye_harmony]

Hi folks. Getting my head around eGPU stuff

I can see that if I want to run my 2 5k LG UltraFine monitors off the new Mac mini I need an eGPU.

(currently running them restricted res using TB2 adaptors from a trashcan Mac Pro 2013)

Because the LG's are Thunderbolt 3 input only, am I limited to the Blackmagic eGPUs or is there another option?

Cheers

 

[xoanohn]

Hi folks. Getting my head around eGPU stuff

I can see that if I want to run my 2 5k LG UltraFine monitors off the new Mac mini I need an eGPU.

(currently running them restricted res using TB2 adaptors from a trashcan Mac Pro 2013)

Because the LG's are Thunderbolt 3 input only, am I limited to the Blackmagic eGPUs or is there another option?

Cheers

I don’t think Blackmagic will work either since it only has 2 thunderbolts. One for the Mac and one for the display. The ultrafine doesn’t daisy chain.

 

[goodbye_harmony]

My understanding is you plug one into the Mac and one into the eGPU?

 

[lantree]

Looks like your going to be limited to the Blackmagic.
I found this on 9 to 5 Mac , it’s worth the read.
https://9to5mac.com/2018/08/02/2018-macbook-pro-amd-vega-64-egpu-video/

I was hoping to use the vega 64 with the Apple display, but I’m not sure it’s possible.

 

[Spankey]

Hi folks. Getting my head around eGPU stuff

I can see that if I want to run my 2 5k LG UltraFine monitors off the new Mac mini I need an eGPU.

(currently running them restricted res using TB2 adaptors from a trashcan Mac Pro 2013)

Because the LG's are Thunderbolt 3 input only, am I limited to the Blackmagic eGPUs or is there another option?

Cheers

You are limited to the Blackmagic with the LG 5K UltraFines period. Not sure if you can daisy chain one monitor to the other.

 

[Kurri]

Dang, if what everyone is saying is true and you are stuck with the black magic, then you are stuck with that card. Black magic is not upgradable. Not future safe

 

[killawat]

You are limited to the Blackmagic with the LG 5K UltraFines period. Not sure if you can daisy chain one monitor to the other.

Off the shelf, yes absolutely.

Op if you're wiling to do some hacking though you might be able to fire up both monitors with full eGPU acceleration.
Naturally you can have full acceleration on one display and app level acceleration on the display connected to your Mac mini.

But the Radeon Pro WX 9100 has enough ports for three 5k displays.

The trick is that you will need one of these (at a minimum, or something more elegant to power the cards).
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Min...927.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.75e44c4dhJVPQv
Then two of these
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GC-Titan-Ridge-Thunderbolt-Component/dp/B07GBZL93X

Then you would feed 2/4 inputs from from the radeon pro to the titan ridge card and it will offer you the 5k TB needed to drive the display.

This specific example is academic but the folks over at eGPU.io have been using this recipe for a while. I'd consult them first for this type of work flow since its pretty unique.
https://egpu.io/forums/gpu-monitor-...n-2-x-lg-5k-with-usb-c-conections/#post-38216

 

[Hessel89]

Hi folks. Getting my head around eGPU stuff

(currently running them restricted res using TB2 adaptors from a trashcan Mac Pro 2013)

This guy made them work at 5K 60hz (supposedly) on his D300 Mac Pro 6.1... Not sure if it's legit though...

 

[Spankey]

For me, too much work to get working on a regular basis. If you are stuck with the monitors though I guess there is a workaround. Not the most elegant solution.

 

[StellarVixen]

Get some real 5K monitor, one with DisplayPort, not this. This is for people who are limited to Thunderbolt only, you have more than two DP on your eGPU, whatever GPU you choose.