2019 13" MacBook Pro [8th,4C,U] + RX Vega 56 @32Gbps-TB3 (AKiTiO Node) + macOS 10.14.6 & Win10 1903 [cnon297]  

Why choose a Vega 56 with the 5700 XT out and big Navi on the way?  I wanted something that would work in both my ’09 Mac Pro (10.13) and ’19 MBPro eGPU (10.14).  Other factors like mature drivers, lower price, 2-slot width & quiet cooler design also played a role.  [UPDATE: added Windows 10 with help from @itsage.  Most replies were from the original macOS-only build.]

 

 

Computer: 

2019 CTO 13” MacBook Pro 1.4GHz 4-core i5-8257U, Iris Plus 645, dual TB3, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

 

eGPU:

AKiTiO Node + PowerColor Red Dragon Vega 56 with 8GB HBM2 VRAM + 0.8m TB3 cable

 

Monitor:

Asus ROG PG279Q, 1440p, 165Hz, 4ms, Display Port 1.2, HDMI 1.4, G-Sync

 

OS:

macOS 10.14.6, Windows 10 1903 v1

 

 

Hardware setup:  

The PowerColor Red Dragon Vega 56 is 2-slots wide and easily fits inside the AKiTiO Node without issue.  And at 210W it’s well within the power budget of both my AKiTiO Node and Mac Pro.  It also frees up a slot in the Mac Pro vs my 2.5 slot 1080Ti.  A Plugable.com 0.8M TB3 cable was used to connect the Node to the 13” MBPro.  

 

 

Procedure: 

For macOS 10.14.6+ it doesn’t get any easier than this:

 

1- Connect TB3 & video cables to the Node and 13” MacBook Pro.

 

2- Turn on the 13” MacBook Pro and log in.

 

3- Turn on the display, then the Node.  Vega56 is quickly recognized!

 

I hesitate to call this a “build” as it was far too easy to setup in macOS.  To enable eGPU acceleration for apps that don’t automatically recognize it; right click on the app to access “Get Info.”  Then check the box for “Prefer External GPU.”  Most apps are located in the Applications folder.  However, some Steam apps are located in sub-folders in ~/Library/ApplicationSupport/Steam/steamapps/common

 

Eject the eGPU before disconnecting it or turning it off.  This is done from the top right of the menu bar.  However, sleep mode works well even if you’re using your MBPro in clamshell (closed-lid) mode.  So eject is only needed if you intend to power down to move your setup or swap graphics cards.  You can reconnect the eGPU anytime after logging into the MBPro.  I’ve had no luck powering up the eGPU before logging in, YMMV.

 

macOS 10.15 Catalina:  I don’t plan to upgrade to 10.15 (again) anytime soon.  The loss of 32bit apps puts a long time Mac user like me in a real bind.  My iTunes lib is offloaded to an external drive, lost dashboards, etc.  But no sense heading further down this rabbit hole for now…

 

Windows 10:  At 1st I used a clean install of Windows 10 1903 v2 that I downloaded from Microsoft.  It had previously worked for my Nvidia builds but failed for my Vega56 build.  Thanks to a suggestion by @itsage I switched to Windows 10 1903 v1 which worked immediately!  It was not available at Microsoft.com but can be found here:  https://tb.rg-adguard.net/public.php as build 18362.30.  I also started with the latest AMD drivers from bootcampdrivers.com as well as DDU to remove the default AMD drivers.  Currently the Vega56 only works on my 27” external 1440p monitor, not the MBPro 13” Retina display.  This is not a problem for me since I typically have my MBPro in closed lid mode when using an eGPU  If I get the 13” Retina display issue resolved I’ll add the results below.

 

 

Performance:  In macOS the PowerColor Red Dragon Vega 56 is faster than my 980Ti and can even surpass my 1080Ti at 1080p and lower settings.  Tho in fairness both Nvidia cards are running older macOS & at least 1 older app (Tomb Raider 32bit).  The Red Dragon triple fans are quiet and will come to a stop if there’s no load.  They’ve only run at max speed briefly a couple of times during testing.  At max they’re loud yet still quieter than the reference blower design of my Radeon 7970.  Unlike the 3-slot Red Devil 56, my 2-slot Red Dragon 56 has only a modest factory overclock with the BIOS switch moved towards the display connectors.  The remaining BIOS position is a silent mode which causes a great deal of stutter & is best avoided IMO.  LED lighting is minimal & only illuminates the Red Dragon emblem on top of the card.  It can be shut off with the 2nd slider switch if desired.

 

Vega 56 buzz:  There is a slight buzzing sound emitted by the Red Dragon PCB under load.  This occurs even when the fans are stopped.  The buzzing isn’t loud but it is audible over the fans when running.  Over time I’ve found this mildly annoying - like I need to open the Node cover to let an imaginary fly out 🙁  It occurs only during gaming, not rendering (GeekBench, LuxMark).  It’s actually quieter than the buzzing a fly would make tho still noticeable.  Speakers or a headset drown it out.  The buzz isn’t detectable with the Vega 56 installed in my ’09 Mac Pro.  

 

AMD Win10 driver stability:  During testing I ran into several app crash issues and 2 black screens.  Unlike the online reports, I didn’t have to shut down from the black screen issues since my 13” MBPro simply rebooted itself.  By comparison I had no such issues under macOS!!  Coincidentally AMD just released a major driver update at the time of this build update (03/02/20) that was specifically intended to address stability issues.  I installed the new driver and haven’t had an issue since.  However, since I was partly through benchmarking I noticed the new driver was about 10-15% slower at 1080p.  IMO I’ll take a small fps hit in exchange for rock solid stability any day!  But if faster fps is more important, install the January 2020 drivers on bootcampdrivers.com instead.  Or maybe wait a bit until they optimize the new drivers…

 

 

Benchmarks:

Each result below was the highest of 3 runs. 

Geekbench4	Score macOS	Score Win10
Vega 56 Metal	122055	n/a
Vega 56 OpenCL	129556	170800

 

LuxMark v3.1 (OpenCL)	Samples/Sec macOS	Samples/Sec Win10
Hotel Lobby	4308 K	5282 K
Neumann Microphone	16529 K	19832 K
Luxball HDR	26600 K	28527 K

 

Unigine Valley:

ext = Asus 1440p monitor, int = MBPro 13” Retina display, m=macOS, w=Win10

Setting, Display	Average fps	Minimum fps	Maximum fps	Score
Extreme, ext	69.6m / 85.0w	30.1m / 28.6w	122.4m / 161.3w	2910m / 3555w
Extreme, int	47.3m	25.8m	83.0m	1978m
Extreme HD, ext	56.1m / 69.3w	26.6m / 29.6w	99.9m / 127.2w	2349m / 2900w
Extreme HD, int*	40.3m	23.2m	60.9m	1687m

 

Tomb Raider: 

V-Sync was set to off.  Tho the Retina display was mostly capped at 60Hz (Tomb Raider bug?).

Setting, Display	Average fps	Minimum fps	Maximum fps
1440x900 High, int	60.0m	59.2m	60.9m
1080p High, ext	230.6m / 241.9w	176.9m / 176.0w	282.0m / 290.0w
1080p High, int*	60.0m	59.1m	60.9m
1440p High, ext	164.1m / 173.0w	131.5m / 134.0w	200.0m / 206.0w
1440p, High, int*	62.7m	54.4m	70.6m
1440p Ultimate, ext	63.8m / 90.1w	52.8m / 70.0w	74.7m / 110.0w
1440p Ultimate, int*	43.6m	37.5m	47.8m
2560x1600 High, int*	58.1m	50.3m	65.1m

 

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 

V-Sync was set to off.  External monitor benchmarks are in clamshell mode (slightly faster).

Setting, Display	Overall fps	Mountain fps	Syria fps	Geotherm fps
1440x900 High, int	82.66m	103.27m	71.71m	71.37m
1080p High, ext	92.94m / 89.57w	118.46m / 131.73w	78.19m / 73.92w	79.83m / 60.70w
1080p High, int*	67.81m	81.91m	59.51m	60.71m
1440p High, ext	72.96m / 74.53w	90.61m / 99.29w	60.59m / 65.88w	65.65m / 57.08w
1440p High, int*	46.16m	51.11m	43.31m	43.61m
1440p Very High, ext	67.34m / 63.12w	85.09m / 81.02w	57.13m / 56.22w	58.09m / 51.05w
1440p Very High, int*	43.75m	49.13m	41.09m	40.57m
2560x1600 High, int*	42.58m	46.42m	39.66m	41.08m

*using the RDM utility to enable hidden resolutions on the 13” Retina display in macOS.

 

 

Miscellaneous Items: 

• Clamshell mode:  I bought a USB-C to 4-port USB-A 3.0 hub (BYEASY) from Amazon to reduce Win10 resources compared to hubs with HDMI, SD cards, etc  The USB-C side is a captive adapter and can serve as a USB-A to 4-port USB-A 3.0 hub (BYEASY).  An Apple wired keyboard & Logitech wireless mouse transmitter are attached so I can use the notebook in clamshell mode in macOSX & Win10.  
• Power Delivery:  Despite only 15W PD the AKiTiO Node + 13” MBPro work well together!  For light use (browsing, spreadsheets, etc) 15W is enough to maintain 100% battery charge.  Gaming or benchmarking will slowly discharge the 13” MBPro battery tho it shows that it’s being charged during this time.  Afterwards the Node slowly charges the MBPro back to 100%.  This may not work as well for 15” & 16” MBPro models with larger power requirements.  

 

 

Conclusion:  It’s surprising how well the Vega 56 benchmarks in macOS vs Win10 - with macOS sometimes performing faster due to Apple’s excellent AMD driver optimization!  Compared to my 1080Ti however, my Vega 56 is much slower in Win10 despite being occasionally faster in macOS.  It makes me wonder how much better GTX cards could be in macOS with updated drivers.  I bought my MSI 1080Ti Gaming X because it was the best performing (quiet & fast) Gfx card for the money at the time (2017 = pre-feud).  And I was hoping not to buy a newer card for years.  But performance has lagged ever since in macOS once the Apple-Nvidia feud became public.  I’m not picking sides since I really don’t give a rat’s arse about AMD vs Nvidia, Mac vs PC, Ford vs Chevy, etc!  I simply don’t like my expensive Gfx hardware being hamstrung by what amounts to petty bickering between 2 major corporate entities that seem to care less about their customers than themselves!  Message to Apple & Nvidia:  Screw the finger pointing, just work it out!

 

Despite the frustration it’s been a thrill to finally have an eGPU that works in both macOS and Win10!  I wish it was my MSI Gaming X 1080Ti instead for performance reasons - not to mention the investment ($780US in 2017).  But my Red Dragon Vega 56 is a good match for my 1440p monitor and gaming at high settings with 144Hz refresh in both macOS and Win10!  And at $276US (Amazon renewed) it’s a good combination of performance and value (IMO).