System specs (model inc screen size, CPU, iGPU, dGPU, operating system)
- MacBook Pro 15" Mid 2012 “MacBookPro9,1”
- 2.3GHz Quad Core i7
- 10 GB DDR3 1600MHz
- Nvidia GT650M 512MB dGPU / Intel HD 4000 iGPU
- macOS Mojave 10.14.5
eGPU hardware (eGPU enclosure, video card, any third-party TB3 cable, any custom mods)
- Razer Core X
- Sapphire Radeon RX580 Nitro+ 4GB
- Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter
- Apple Thunderbolt Cable (2.0 m)
- LG IPS231P Display (connected with DVI cable)
Hardware pictures
System overview
Installation steps
- Assembling Razer Core X with RX580
- Disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP) in Recovery Mode
- Installing purge-wrangler and purge-nvda
- Connecting eGPU with Macbook Pro via Thunderbolt cable and Adapter
- Optional: disabling Nvidia dGPU via EFI boot alteration described in post by Gaerraty. It helps with overall power management and temperature of the system since after applying purge-nvda dGPU (Nvidia GT650M) continues to use power unless disabled during the boot of the system.
Benchmarks
Without eGPU
With eGPU
Comments
- It is a great setup, special thanks to Mac_editor, Gaerraty and Clarketus for their guides and posts
- The purge-nvda script can be uninstalled when not used with eGPU and installed again via terminal menu
- Hot plug/unplug of the eGPU is working alright
- Sleep mode and brightness control of internal display does not work
- Internal display does not switch off in clamshell mode, but if the system is sent to the sleep from menu, then internal display switches off after a short time and it is possible to work on external display connected to eGPU
MBP 15" Mid 2012 + Razer Core X + Sapphire RX580
Hello, thanks for the guide and the specs, I have almost the same macbook except for the amount of memory on the Nvidia 650M which in mine is just 512Mb this shouldn't be a problem but I can't try to achieve this withouth expending a lot (for me) o money on the case and the gpu, so... since my goal with this would be to be able to play better, newer games on my laptop, I'm curious about the performance boost I would be getting, I could not tell from the benchmarks if it was good enough for games so do you have any extra info about this that could help me decide wether I should expend the money or not?.
Thank you very much
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Hi, I have added Heaven and Valley benchmark results to the build. The average FPS without eGPU on my system is 1,2-1,4 and with connected eGPU 35-43 FPS (for Ultra and Extreme settings). That kind of performance boost RX580 gives for OpenGL applications. Then if you are considering installing Windows for gaming, it is a bit more complicated setup, which I have not tried. You may check Clarketus build with 2012 MBP and Win10.
MBP 15" Mid 2012 + Razer Core X + Sapphire RX580
OMG, that's an incredible boost, I already have windows installed so I guess I'll be saving for the box then :D, thank you for your answer
Also... I already have catalina, would that be a problem?
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts