2013 Mac Pro (FP D500 x2) [3rd,12C,E] + RX 5700 XT @ 16Gbps-TB2>TB3 (Mantiz Saturn Pro) + macOS 11.0 [itsage]  

@itsage, thank you so much for your response! As you have given me a clear path! I see you upgraded your processor, can you give me some sense of how well that improve the performance of your system?

Hello @itsage, I'm excited that there is still possibility to connect TB2 eGPU on MacOS 11, huge thanks for the effort to show this to us. I'm also thinking about buying an eGPU to my late 2014 iMac. However I'm a 3D designer and I'd like to first do a little test on 3D rendering.

Would it be okay for you to do a 3D benchmark on Otoy's Octane renderer? Please let me know.
I'll DM you in response.

Best,
Ahron 

@ahr0n, Please post the instructions and and benchmark resources to our Pro Applications sub-forum. I will run it on this setup and post results.

@itsage, Hi, just wrote a post on that sub-forum. I'd be especially interested in TB2 eGPU benchmark score so if you can do this test I'll be grateful ; - )

I've made a few changes to this build. The Mantiz Saturn Pro in black finish matches the Mac Pro better. Even though M1 Mac mini sits next to the eGPU, it gets no action just yet. Still hoping for Radeon ARM drivers in future macOS releases.

Also added to this desk was a 2U rack for a Unifi DreamMachine Pro network gateway. I'm planning on a custom housing for the Mac mini that fits a 1U rack mount to contain NVMe drive and eGPU. The dog likes to hang out in this space because it's warm in the winter months. 😛 

hi all 

i am totally new on this

I have a  8core Mac Pro with 2 AMD FirePro D700 6144 MB and 32 gb ram.

I am looking for an external GPU or 3D modeling and rending animation .

can any one help me out or suggest me what i can buy thank you really appreciated your help . 🙂 

@yas1311, I'd highly recommend the Mantiz Saturn Pro for your 2013 Mac Pro. The graphics card is hard to say because of low supply. If you have the budget, look into Radeon Pro WX 8200 or W5700. Other than these two components, you'd need an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt adapter. Also needed is the Purge-Wrangler script from @mac_editor to enable eGPU functionality on your Thunderbolt 2 Mac Pro.

@itsage, 

hi

thank you for the fast reply

i have the budget for it- because i can not do any amination right now on blender it is to slow. when i am on render cycles 😛 

it is just a plug and play or i have to do a lot :P. i am totally new on system to be honest 😀

@yas1311, 

I like the Eevee near-real-time renderer in Mac Blender. It’s fast! And good for Anime style looks.

Blender Cycles on Mac OS is a CPU only renderer. Same as the other photorealistic renderers available on Mac OS, Arnold and RenderMan

Octane X and Redshift GPU renderers for Mac OS Big Sur are still very much beta software. Octane X crashes. A lot.  

AMD Pro Render 3.0 for Metal, and Indigo Render for OpenCL are the two GPU renderers currently working on Mac OS Big Sur. 

Blender Cycles for Windows does run on GPUs. You would need Bootcamp. 

But GPU prices are robbery. It’s madness. 

Consider waiting for an ARM build of Blender, and an Apple Silicon Mac. 

@mini-i5, thank for the informations really help 😀