2019 16" MacBook Pro (RP5300M) [9th,6C,H] + RTX 2080 Super @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Sonnet Breakaway 550) + Win10 [tsygna]  

Nice setup! The images aren't showing up. Let me ask you, are you plugging the eGPU before booting or hot plugging after Windows is fully loaded?

@rycco

Photos are fixed now, see above.

I don't think it matters if plug in or turn on, but what has been working is that I activate (either turn on or plug in) after Windows is booted up and running. Windows recognizes it, activates the appropriate drivers etc and then it's good to go.

I just verified that what definitely works is to have the eGPU turned on but not plugged in, then once Windows is up and running plug it in. Windows will recognize the eGPU in the device manager but may not automatically activate it so you have to check. If it doesn't automatically activate it, you can just manually do it there in device manager and then should work fine.

@tsygna You have more than 5 posts now so you can attach photos directly to our forum.

@itsage

@rycco

Awesome, thanks! Yes I've attached the benchmark images above you should be able to see now.

Keep in mind when looking at the results, I have the very cheapest base 16" MPB model i7 6-cores with the 4GM Radeon Pro 5300M dGPU and 16GB RAM. I was originally planning on getting the base i9 8-core, upgrade the dGPU to the 8GB 5500M, and 32GB RAM, but I changed my mind when I saw the difference in computing power between desktop GPUs and decided to go this route instead.

I just got the 8-Core i9 version, 32GB Ram and 5500M 8GB. I tried the 5700XT on it but wasn't too satisfied with the results plus the Laptop's Fans were ramping up pretty high. 

With this setup, in Windows, can you say if the Laptop Fan speeds/sounds were high/loud?

Thanks

@nathan_ramos

No the fans didn't turn on at all during any of the 3 tests above - the computer was totally silent and cool as well as the eGPU for that matter. But again remember since this is an Nvidia card I was running it only in Windows, not the MacOS side.

I am surprised as a 5700XT is very nice... what are your benchmark scores? Are you talking about Windows benchmarks or MacOS? As far as I understand from my limited knowledge and experience, Radeon GPUs give you the flexibility and additional value of being able to use the eGPU in both Window and MacOS, but Windows will generally produce better results and higher benchmark scores in general.

However as a test for fun, I did just download Battlefield V and ran the game with everything on ultrahigh settings with 3080 x 2160 resolution at 60Hz. I was getting 40 - 50 fps and the computer fans definitely kicked in hard-core and the eGPU still remained silent. I don't really notice or mind fan noise because I'll either have the speakers turned up or headphones on and won't hear it anyway. If I were going to play a lot of Battlefield V and similar games, in hindsight I think the 8-core i9 would actually be noticeable pragmatically better, but even with an 8-core i9 in a new 16" MBP, I think the 2080 ti would probably be overkill without better CPU cooling.

@tsygna

Posted by: @tsygna

what are your benchmark scores?

I didn't run the typical benchmark scores; what I ran was the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare since this was the main reason for my purchase. I was getting All the way up to 120 FPS but then it dropped/stopped screenplay in MultiPlayer mode down to 10 FPS. Seemed like it glitched which was probably due to the lack of updated drivers. I know the latest bootcampdrivers.com were released in Nov to help support the 5700 XT but didn't help much for this game. The Color and textures in this game were pretty bad.

Posted by: @tsygna

I think the 2080 ti would probably be overkill without better CPU cooling.

That's what my concern was. I would opt to bring this to LANs with friends instead of a console but I didn't want it to sound like I was flying a drone inside the house. The internal fans kick on faster with the gaming tests than with just a GPU test like most others have performed.