System specs
27" iMac late 2015 17,1, (thunderbolt 2)
3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
32GB Ram
1 TB Fusion
AMD Radeon R9 M390 2GB
MacOS Catalina 10.15.2
eGPU hardware
XFX AMD Radeon VII
Apple TB3->TB2 adapter + OWC 0.5m TB2 -> TB2 cable
Display port cable to Samsung UE590 28" 4k monitor
Installation steps
Followed the steps outlined here: https://github.com/mayankk2308/purge-wrangler/blob/master/README.md
For disabling the SIP, I left out the "$" in the instructions linked above. This maybe code speak that I was to ignore regardless.
Benchmarks
I bought this egpu purely for 4k video work in davinci resolve. I am curious about gaming, so I've included a few gaming benchmarks. I've yet to really get into Davinci Resolve with this setup, but I will update this post once I've done so.
Geekbench 5 scores. This a massive difference between Metal and OpenCL. With the 5700xt and RX580, there wasn't such a large gap between Metal and OpenCL.
Geekbench 5 OpenCL with internal display accelerated:
The following benchmarks are with the external display accelerated:
Comments
I've previously tested the 5700XT (returned it) and the Sapphire Pulse RX580. The 580 is a solid card and outperformed the 5700XT in all but the Unigine tests. The VII just went on sale and I really wanted a 16gb card as I work with 4k media. So far in all tests it's blowing the doors off both of those cards. Hopefully in Davinci Resolve 16 I'll really see a bump. Yes, I have the fan issue when in sleep and turned off. I don't find it annoying as I've disabled sleep mode and I rarely turn off the machine but whenever I do I'll just turn off the Razer Core X.
For comparisons sake, here is my 5700XT build: https://egpu.io/forums/builds/2015-27-imac-r9-m390-6th4c-xfx-5700-xt-16gbps-tb2tb3-razer-core-x-macos-10-15-1-koncept_zero/
Here is my RX580 build: https://egpu.io/forums/builds/2015-imac-171-6th-4c-i5-skylake-amd-rx-580-20-gbps-tb2-razer-core-x-macos-catalina-10-15-1-for-davinci-resolve-tested-5700-xt/
2018 Mac Mini (8th,6C,B) + Radeon VII @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Razer Core X) + macOS 10.15.2
I've found that if I disconnect the egpu from the menu at the top of the OS, I can sleep the mac. Then I just turn off the egpu. When I wake up the mac, I then flip the switch to the egpu and the 2nd screen turns on. Simple as that. No fan issue.
2018 Mac Mini (8th,6C,B) + Radeon VII @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Razer Core X) + macOS 10.15.2
Davinci Resolve 16 is still not good with my setup. Even after making optimized media and render cache. It's got to be the tb2, CPU, and lack of pcie ssd that's holding it back as the egpu isn't getting much use.
For gaming, this setup is great, even in Mac Os.
2018 Mac Mini (8th,6C,B) + Radeon VII @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Razer Core X) + macOS 10.15.2
@koncept_zero Which internal drive does your 2015 27″ iMac have? If it’s a Fusion setup, the internal PCIe drive slot can be used. It’s actually PCIe 3.0 so you can take advantage of the highest performing NVMe drives available. The required component is Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter.
@koncept_zero Which internal drive does your 2015 27" iMac have? If it's a Fusion setup, the internal PCIe drive slot can be used. It's actually PCIe 3.0 so you can take advantage of the highest performing NVMe drives available. The required component is Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter.
Yes it's the 1tb Fusion. I think I'm goign with a mac mini setup. The 2015 is just not worth spending money on outside of the egpu imo.
2018 Mac Mini (8th,6C,B) + Radeon VII @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Razer Core X) + macOS 10.15.2