System specsÂ
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
2.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16 GBÂ RAM
dGPU :Â NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2 GB
iGPU : Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB
used the egpu on win10 (as far as I know, mac still doesn't support the 6000 series as they are still new).
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eGPU hardware
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Razer Core X + SAPPHIRE Nitro+Â Radeon RX 6800 XTÂ 16GB GDDR6
Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter
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Installation stepsÂ
I mostly followed this post :
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- downgrade windows to version 1903 (1909 didn't work and I received the error 12)
I followed this post ( https://egpu.io/forums/pc-setup/egpu-fail-after-update-to-windows-19-03/ ) under "Download any windows ISOs". - Disable windows update, unfortunately, I'm stuck in the older version of windows, and I don't want windows to start updating since there are problems in the newer version of windows. I disabled it by running the command "sc config wuauserv start= disabled" in the Command Prompt.
- download the latest Bootcamp drivers from https://www.bootcampdrivers.com  (In my case, Adrenalin December 2020 Red Gaming edition)
- In the folder you downloaded, extract DDU Â (if not included in future versions, download it directly)
- Reboot into safe mode (hold shift while pressing reset, After your PC restarts to the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart. Then when the computer boot, choose option 4 [source : https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-10-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234 ])
- Run DDU, remove drivers for NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel without restart.
- Reset the computer, hold option so you see the OS picker (Windows and OSX)
- Plugin the eGPU (both TB2 ports on MBP work), the led lights on the gpu should start working. choose to boot into windows.
- Open Device Manager, verify your graphics adapter shows up as Microsoft Basic Display Adapter
- run the "setup" application from the files you downloaded from bootcampdrivers, in order to install the drivers.
I would recommend watching the video linked in those files so you will know what to do (also how to use DDU if you struggle with it) [ ] - at this point, you (hopefully) should be done! I encountered lots of stuttering when I tried to game on the gpu, I read that this can be solved by going Device Manager, find the dgpu, right-click it and then click uninstall device. This solved the stuttering problem for me, this way the egpu is the only gpu that will be in use.
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BenchmarksÂ
Before the egpu playing on the computer was impossible, if it was more demanding than Minecraft, the fps was bellow 10.
now, the games I tested so far works pretty well.
borderlands2 wend from 30-40 fps to ~300fps
no man's sky went from ~7 fps to 70-90 fps
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I also tried VR on my oculus quest (wirelessly with virtual desktop, didn't try using a link cable).
Half-Life: Alex works great for me. one of the games I look the most to play.
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overall, the performance is not as great as the card is capable of, it is limited by the thunderbolt2 connection, but this is to be expected.
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CommentsÂ
I would not recommend it :
- I am stuck at an older version of windows, Â and can't upgrade
- No support (hopefully, yet) for 6000 series on macOS
- sometimes the audio doesn't work, but I found that connecting my headphones to my USB mic's 3.5 jack worked.
- performance is lower then the card's capabilities.
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On the other hand, I am able to game on my computer now.
But if you don't have the hardware already, you probably be better off building a new PC.