First of all, i really want to thank all of you, this forum is just amazing, you are doing a really great job and thanks to you i now have the perfect gaming netbook i ever dreamed about.
This is my first post and i want to share my experience with you.
I love my MacBook pro, it's the perfect machine for me. I also loved my PC for gaming but i decided to sell it il order to buy a great enclosure for a great video card. My aim was to transform my MacBook Pro into a macOS powerful working Station using Metal and FinalCut Pro, and also Windows 10 for Gaming. I play WOW and also demanding games such as The Witcher 3.
So I choose the Mantiz Venus + Sapphire Nitro+ RX580 witch is perfect for gaming on a FullHD display.
The Venus is connected to:
- My external TimeMachine HDD
- A Logitech G19 Keyboard with built-in USB Hub on witch are plugged my G13 and a G600 Mouse.
- The 3-port USB 2.0 hub of my BENQ Monitor
- Internal 256GB Samsung SDD
Using MacOS High Sierra Beta 4
The installation was just a dream of plug-and-play, i won't get details on it as many others did before me.
Using Windows 10:
Here are the steps i followed to make it work:
- Installing latest Windows 10 ANNIVERSARY EDITION with BOOTCAMP on internal SSD (250GB for MasOS+250GB for Windows)
- Let bootcamp install all the drivers, then upgrade to CREATORS EDITION
- Once it's done, go to Device Manager > by connections and disable "PCI Express Root Port #9 - 9D18"
- Make sure your computer is set to boot on BootCamp partition
- Shut down the computer
- Make a USB Stick with Apple_set_os.efi as describe here (Thank you so much Goalque!)
- Plug the USB Stick on a free usb port of the Mantiz Venus
- Turn the Mantiz ON and plug the TB3 cable on the rear left TB port of the Mac (the nearest from ESC key)
- Hold the ALT key on the keyboard and turn on the Mac. Then choose to boot with external USB Stick (EFI boot). No need to hotplug the TB3 cable at windows logo.
- Let the magic do it's job: Windows 10 Creators Update downloaded all the drivers and recognized everything. I saw my BenQ monitor turning on, the "AMD Xconnect" Notification, and so on. It works just perfect, as it should.
I don't need to hotplug, i think it's a really good thing 😉
The USB Stick stays plugged into the Mantiz and everytime i want tu use Windows with EGPU i boot with the Alt key as described in step 9. The Mantiz Venus is recognized by Windows as a "Acer DynaVivid Graphic Dock"Â
Hope this post will be helpful.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Great looking setup! Would you like to share a screen capture of the PCIe bridge to “PCI Express Root Port #9 – 9D18“?
Of course! that's it:
Sorry, my system is in french 😉
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Great setup.
It also looks like you wouldn't sacrifice much performance when running a mid-range GPU like the RX 580 on the internal instead of external display (in your case only about 12%)!
I am actually looking into buying the same (or very similar).Â
 Do you by any chance have tried out PUBG on your setup and could share how it performs? 😛Â
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
AMD XConnect has gotten very efficient in closing the gap between internal display performance vs. external. Another advantage of the RX 580 is that macOS will always have eGPU support for it.
@MBAir10: I'll try to play PUBG within a couple of days and i'll post the performance. Here is another bench:
As my setup is running very well, I'm planing to change my RX580 (witch has only 4GB of VRAM) with the upcoming Vega 64 😉
@itsage: Yes, in fact i was very surprised by AMD Xconnect and i really like it!Â
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
I got the Akitio Node with Rx 480. I can't make it work on the left side in windows 10. Only on the right side. is there anything I can do fix that? its the 13¨ MBP late 2016 with touchbar. So I'm only getting TB 2 speed.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
I'm not an expert with akitio node, but i read somewhere the firmware must be updated by installing intel TB drivers...
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Great set up and great post... I wish I hadn't given up on my AMD card now....