Hi again,
after I upgraded this year to a 2019 MacBook Pro (didn`t want to throw away my eGPU für a M1-Mac) it took me some time until I started this project again to get it running with Windows and to write down my progress (and to upload it here of course).
Thanks to @Alejandro_torres for his description on his build. It helped a lot.
System Specs:
- 2019 MacBook Pro Intel I9-9880H @2.3 GHz
- 16 GB DDR4 RAM
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- AMD Radeon Pro 5500M
- macOS 11.5.2
- Windows 10
- External Monitor: Still Acer 28“ 4K-display KG281K
eGPU Hardware:
- Razer Core X
- Asus AMD Radeon RX 5700 OC
Hardware Pics:
For Hardware-Pics see my former post here. Except for the MacBook and a new (longer) Thunderbolt-Cable, the hardware is exactly the same, perhaps with a bit of more dust on it. I plan on upgrading to a new Graphics Card next year in the hope the prices might perhaps drop again. Here's pic of my working and gaming desk:
Installation:
macOS: Plug and play. Problems occur only if i disconnect the eGPU accidentally while in use or if I used the MBP for some time before plugging in the eGPU. But until now no problem occurred, that a restart could not fix.
Windows:
As usual this takes some time, but it works quite well.
- Installation steps:
- Part one: Basic Installation steps
- Create Bootcamp-Partition, Install Windows and Bootcamp
- Do all Windows-Updates and Apple Software-Update (yes, it sounds crazy but I did it just to see if it would work)
- Download current driver-package from bootcampdrivers.com
- Install Avira, Steam, Spybot and Malwarebytes
- Deactivate all Windows-Updates (if it works, I don`t want to ruin it) - Here`s a german walkthrough of what I did: https://praxistipps.chip.de/windows-10-automatische-updates-deaktivieren-so-klappts_39589
-
- Part two: Doing the magic
6. Start in Windows safe mode: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-safe-mode-windows-10/
7. Run DDU for Intel and AMD-drivers (part of the bootcampdrivers-package)
8. Restart to macOS
9. Download automate-eGPU EFI from eGPU.io
10. Allow mac-boot from external storage: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208330
11. Restart to Windows 10
12. Create a small eGPU-EFI-Partition
13. Restart to macOS
14. Download apple_set_os v0.5 for Apple-T2's bootx64.efi (v0.5)
15. Open EFI disk from desktop then go to /EFI/Boot
16. Rename /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi to /EFI/Boot/bootx64_original.efi
17. Copy bootx64.efi from step 1 to /EFI/Boot
18. Restart to Windows
19. Install bootcampdrivers-software
20. Turn off, Plug in eGPU to the Thunderbolt port on the left side that is farther away from you, restart in the following process
- Boot process to Windows with eGPU
- Press Option key to get to the startup-volume chooser
- Choose EFI-Boot, press „q“ and choose Windows partition
- Disconnect eGPU when Windows shows the boot-circles and connect to the corresponding Thunderbolt port on the right side (the one farther away from you)
- Once Windows is booted, disconnect your eGPU, login to Windows 10 and wait until Windows has booted up (usually about 30 to 60 seconds after you see your desktop)
- Connect your eGPU again to the port you chose at the restart (left side, farther away from you)
Benchmarks:
Geekbench 5.4.1:
CPU:
macOS: Single Core: 1126, Multi Core: 6753
Windows: Single Core: 1138, Multi Core: 6954
GPU:
macOS:
iGPU: Metal: 4694, OpenCL: 5167
dGPU: Metal: 27562, OpenCL: 30868
eGPU: Metal: 54635, OpenCL: 50179
Windows:
eGPU: OpenCL: 24063, Vulkan: 35800
Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0 in macOS (added on September 10th, 2021):
eGPU - Basic Setting: FPS: 166.8, Score: 4203, min FPS: 17.5, max FPS: 317.4
eGPU - Extreme Setting: FPS: 75.3, Score:1896, min FPS: 11.0, max FPS: 156.2
And, to finish my entry once and for all, the other benchmarks I did in Windows on September 12th, 2021:
Note: I did overclock the GPU to the maximal possible clock speeds in the AMD-tool, so the results are understandable a bit higher than in macOS. If anyone can give me a hint how I can overclock the card in macOS, please give me an hint.
Unigine Heaven Benchmark in Windows with eGPU:
eGPU - Basic Setting: FPS:250.8, Score: 6315
eGPU - Extreme Setting: FPS: 107.7, Score: 2713
And last but not least I did a Cinebench-run for the CPU (yeah, I know this has nothing to do with the eGPU, but I did it anyway, so if you want to take a look for a better comparison):
macOS:
Single Core: 1112
Multi Core: 8398
Windows:
Single Core: 1097
Multi Core: 6658
Comments:
I am not planning to switch to Windows 11 or to ARM-Macs anywhere soon. Thanks for this site and all the help you provided! You are great!