2019 13" MacBook Pro [8th,4C,U] + GTX 1080 Ti @ 32Gbps-TB3 (AKiTiO Node) + Win10 1903 [cnon297]  

Nice and clear post! Pretty respectable fps in TR too, this is a video I found to compare "real" desktop performance, not much in it!

Would love to see more games benched.

Posted by: @eightarmedpet

Nice and clear post! Pretty respectable fps in TR too, this is a video I found to compare "real" desktop performance, not much in it!

Would love to see more games benched.

Thanks!  I have a 2650 x 1440 monitor and will add SOTTR benchmarks for comparison to the video you posted.  I'd expect a performance penalty from TB3 but it would be nice to see the practical results.

Right now I'm about 24 hours into a Furmark burn-in on the eGPU build above.  I'm optimistic that this build is stable.  But given AKiTiO's warning I'd like to back that up with more than just benchmarks and high res gaming.

As requested I added more game benchmarks altho they're limited to the Tomb Raider series at present.   All 3 games are benchmarked at their default settings for "High" and whatever the Max is for the game.  

This was partly to try and push the AKiTiO Node 400W PS as much as possible.  I also added info on Furmark burn-ins.  So far the Node + MSI 1080Ti Gaming X has been rock solid!

@cnon297

Thanks so much for this post! I am considering the same MacBook Pro you have along with either my current ASUS GTX 1080Ti or a new Radeon VII eGPU build.

I use an Alienware 1900R (120hz w/ Gsync) so it was relieving to see another user with a refresh rate above 120hz and it working well.

Do you have any experience when it comes to VR gaming with this current setup? Fortnite? I am looking to compare my current desktop config with this to see if the FPS penality is light enough for me to consider my first MacBook and eGPU as worth while.

@tyler-2

If you haven’t committed to the 2019 dual TB3 13” MBPro I’d consider a 2018 13” MBPro with 4 TB3 ports.  I decided on the 2019 model in part because of Apple’s trade-in policy.  They gave me a $900 credit for my 2015 15” MBPro.  If money was less a concern I’d have gone with a 2018 13” MBPro i5 refurb with 4 TB3 ports.  This model costs more (even refurbed) but can still run High Sierra (bonus for Nvidia owners) and has extra resources in Windows 10 - you can disable 2 of the 4 TB3 ports instead of Bluetooth.

Radeon VII:  I’ve been eyeing this card since it was released back in January.  For a gamer the R7 is more of a side-grade from a 1080Ti.  I still want to buy it if only to have the ability to game in both macOS (pre-Catalina) and Win10.  But if you’re going to buy the R7 it’s a good idea to also buy the NETSTOR HL23T-Plus since it solves TB3 issues specific to the R7:

https://egpu.io/netstor-hl23t-plus-review-singular-focus/

I haven’t used VR & don’t own Fortnite.  The FPS penalty varies but IIRC it can be as high as 15-20% for TB3 depending on the game.   If you want to compare game benchmarks at different settings LMK.  For excellent Fortnite benchmarks & actual gameplay on different MacBooks & eGPUs try the Max Tech Youtube channel.  They’re also great for video rendering benchmarks (not my thing but very interesting nonetheless).  

Awesome to see it worked "out of the box" and I hope you're enjoying the experience. I'm having a little more trouble.
In fact, I just bought the Razer Core X and a RTX 2070 Super. Long story short, I get the dreaded error 12, so I'm in the process of troubleshooting. I use the exact same Macbook as you, but with less RAM (8 GB) and a super small 128GB SSD.

I wonder, did you update windows or leave it at the initial version? Latest should be 1909. I was reading that 1909 broke egpu usage for some people here on the forum.

Anyways, I might "downgrade" to a 10-series card, as this RTX really doesn't like me, as it seems. I also tried it with an older 2019 H1 .30 build, but that just froze my MBP everytime I connected the Core X. I've also disabled Bluetooth and the built in Camera, just as you were describing in your old post. Still the same issue though.

If you've got a tip for me, I'll gladly take any hints anyone can spare.

Cheers!

Hi @Spectr

So not much enjoyment recently 🙁  I just received my repaired 2019 13” MBPro from the local AppleStore last night.  Prior to repairs I deleted Win10 in case it came back with a different SSD.

However, I did experience some of the issues you mentioned - a Windows 10 update & an Apple BootCamp update.  I recovered from both using the Windows 10 Restore feature which downgraded to the version I originally installed:  “Windows 10 May 2019 Update” or Win10_1903_V2_English_x64.iso

I hope you’re able to stay with the RTX 2070 Super!  Nvidia enabled software ray tracing on 10 series cards.  But even my factory over-clocked MSI 1080 Ti Gaming X was sluggish on low settings in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.  It’s subtle but ray tracing definitely adds to the visuals in games!  Otherwise AMD wouldn’t be bringing it to their upcoming cards.  

RE: Razer Core X:  IMO the Core X is a major upgrade over my Akitio Node:  It has room for 3-slot cards (vs 2), 100W charging (vs 15W), can handle more power-hungry GFX cards with 650Watt PS (vs 400W), and doesn’t require Win 10 resources for additional (non-TB3) ports.  I suspect your issues are Win10 resource-related rather than from the Core X or RTX card.  Note that Core X Chroma adds GigE, USB ports, & LED lighting which require additional Win10 resources over the Core X.  It’s probably possible to get it working with our model MBPro over time.  But the Core X should be easier.

Hints.  Aside from software updates, the issues I’ve had were due to the limited Win10 resources with our particular model MacBook Pro.  So here are some things to try:

• Disconnect any USB-C hubs and accessories you may have.  I bought a 7-in-1 hub with Ethernet, HDMI, SD card slot, & 3 USB ports.  Next I bought an RF mouse with USB transmitter (to replace my BT mouse) as well as connecting a USB Apple Keyboard so I could run Win10 in clamshell mode.  Unfortunately these take precious Win10 resources!  And there doesn’t appear to be a reliable way to release all of those resources even if the devices are no longer attached - possibly unless you’re an experienced registry user.  But it helps to disconnect & disable as many as possible.  Win10 Restore can recover from these issues if you give it enough storage.
• Disable the Nvidia High Def Audio device in the Win10 Device Mgr.  This gets installed with the graphics driver and is convenient if your monitor has speakers or a headphone jack.
• If these fail, try a clean install of BootCamp + Win10 using the same ISO and procedure as I did.  Make certain to do this without attaching any hubs or peripherals besides the eGPU even after you’re finished!  Once everything is working create a Restore point in Windows 10.  Then increase the storage setting for Restore.  By default the setting is small and won’t allow you to go back far enough if you have multiple updates.  
• If you plan on adding peripherals purchase a USB-C hub that has only USB-A ports.  That way Win10 won’t install drivers for HDMI, Ethernet, SD storage, or other devices that may reduce your Win10 resources.  Afterwards be cautious about plugging in more devices to the USB hub.  Win10 will automatically install drivers for each and you may end up disabling the eGPU. Restore will likely bail you out of these situations if you gave it enough storage.  

Bottom line:  I wish I included the Windows 10 Restore feature and increased storage setting as part of the procedure in my builds!  It’s the best recovery tool available short of a clean install!  

I wish you the best of luck with your Core-X / RTX 2070 Super build!  Please share your build experience after you get it working.  I’m interested in your impression of ray tracing features.

Hi @cnon297, I'm extremely impressed with your detailed and sophisticated answer. I will definitely let you know what and how it worked out for me in the end. The info you provided is super useful for me and possibly other 2019 13" MBP owners out there.

I will stick with the Core X, as it definitely isn’t the issue. I've just ordered a non-super RTX 2070 and 1080 for comparison and will reinvest some time trying to get this to work once they arrive in around two days.

Sidenote: I own a 2019 15" Razer Blade (GTX 1070 dGPU) that works fine with the Blade (Time Spy benchmark). But even when connecting an eGPU to Windows (Razer device to Razer device) it's just not plug & play. The first-time User Experience is bad and the official guide that comes with the Core is useless. Anyways, after I got it working, I reinstalled drivers and ran a few benchmarks. I even played and finished the storymode of the new CoD Modern Warfare. And let me tell you, this was one underwhelming experience if I've ever seen one. High graphics and RTX on (@ 1920x1080 on a 4k display - yikes) gave me extremely different results across different levels. I had to constantly re-adjust and finetune graphics settings to get at least 60 FPS. Now I believe this is due to the game being demanding + not so well optimized + the eGPU performance loss. I believe that especially the eGPU performance loss is the main culprit, because the built in dGPU is an absolute beast (as well as the Core i7 and 16GB of DDR4 RAM), so when comparing the external 2070 SUPER with the internal 1070 in real-world tests while playing real games (Geraldo 3, Mudrunner, Fortnut, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Cod MW and GTA V).

So why go through all the suffering and burning through free-time getting the eGPU to work under bootcamp when I already own a Blade 15 (native Windows 10 obv.) you ask? I'd like to sell the Blade and just keep the Mac. I can still get around 2k€ for it (6 months old).

Btw, what happened to your MBP that you had to return it?

Cheers mate!

Edit: Oh, an just to clarify. When I installed the mentioned version of Windows, how do I prevent all the updates from installing? I mean I know how to block them, but when first connecting the eGPU to Windows, doesn't it need an initial set of drivers it gets via Windows Update? Or can I just offline-install the latest NVIDIA drivers (pre-downloaded and copied to the bootcamp partition). You write the drivers were auto-downloaded for you, but how did you keep Windows from installing either quality/security and feature updates? User group policy?

Edit v2.0: It works! Let's hit it lads! It's 4:25 AM here in Germany and I have to get up for work in a few hours so I'll hit the sheets now, just want to share that it works now. And pretty straightforward actually. I did a quick in-browser WebGL benchmark, that worked fine (not sure if that's even relevant lol). Will document exactly what I did and what versions of everything I am running. I'll also post some benchmark results so we can compare your 1080 ti. Good night!

Hi @Spectr

Congratulations on your eGPU success!!!  I bet it felt great to resolve the issues and get it running!! 

MBPro repairs:  I’d recently bought a USB RAID which worked great except the MBP would crash & reboot every time I ejected it.  At the same time I connected the RAID the MBP battery stopped charging.  Apple techs tested & the TB3 ports were fine.  They shipped it out to replace the top case under warranty.  It’s working fine now tho I returned the RAID while the MBP was out for repair - just as a precaution.  

Per Apple techs, the USB RAID eject issue may have been caused by old drivers:  I’d migrated the new 2019 MBP from my 2015 MBP with High Sierra.  The 2015 MBP itself was also a migration.  I’d wanted to keep my previous apps, docs, libraries, email, etc.  It’s also why I can’t upgrade to Catalina - too much to loose w/o 32bit apps (I tried Catalina & downgraded).  But I also miss dashboards, back to my Mac, Time Capsules, extra ports, SD card slots & other features that we’ve recently lost.  While I’m still an Mac user; I’m not quite the die-hard fan-boi that I was previously.  

@spectr,  do you know how you got your 2070 super to work? I seem to be having the same issues as you with the same macbook version (freezing when connected on most recent windows). If part of it was disabling bluetooth, are you able to re-activate it later? I'd kind of want to use it for controller and headphones.

@heidi_anderson I actually abandoned the project altogether and returned the 2070 super as well as the egpu case. I also testes a normal 2070 and 1080 and all three worked fine. Reason being the bad combination of TB3 efficiency loss and bottleneck caused by the weak CPU (weak for gaming that is, otherwise totally fine) in our version of the MBP. With RTX on I managed to achieve only minor performance gains over my dGPU 1070 Razer Blade 15 from last year, so in the end I decided to stick with it for some time longer, until maybe the new Razer PC (NUC + GPU combo) is released.

Anyways, I'm still happy to help: I resolved the freezing issue by disabling bluetooth and the built-in camera just as OP describes. It is possible to reactivate BT after the eGPU is connected and then use it with e.g. a bluetooth XBOX One controller. Windows version is also quite important. I installed the 1903 iso and blocked all updates from happening.

Sidenote: Since our base-model MBP has only two TB3 connections, that means that you have only one left for any connections (and should install Windows Bootcamp on the internal SSD). When I connected my keyboard & mouse, the MAC always crashed immediately. So I did all my testing either with the controller or external USB-mouse and the internal keyboard (instead of my Razer Black Widow lite).

If you have any more questions, fee free to ask. Cheers!

@spectr, Yeah I also kinda gave up on making egpu work with bootcamp, I think I'll just build a pc for windows gaming. I do like using the egpu+amd card in mac os though, super easy to use and my (super limited list) mac compatible steam games work well.