Hi Everyone
New to the forum, I own a late 2012 mac mini and I was thinking of doing a graphics upgrade. And after reading a bit around still not clear what can I do with my setup, especially since I already upgraded to Mac OS Catalina. If anyone could give me some advise I will be grateful.
My specs are:
Mac Mini Late 2012
2,3Ghz i7 4 core
16 Gb Ram
500 GB SSB
Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB
Many thanks
Late 2012 Macmini
2,3Ghz i7 4 cores
16GB RAM
500 GB SSD
@hans-st, I guess you mean here?
https://egpu.io/best-external-graphics-card-builds/
It was the first place I looked
no 2012 mac mini´s with Catalina OS (10.15.x), many on Mojave, none on Catalina
Late 2012 Macmini
2,3Ghz i7 4 cores
16GB RAM
500 GB SSD
@hans-st, Yep I guess at some point, someone with more knowledge than I will find a good set up if any with Catalina.
Will think about downgrading Catalina, didn't like it when it came out, now i can tell you it does work very well, I like it
Thanks
Late 2012 Macmini
2,3Ghz i7 4 cores
16GB RAM
500 GB SSD
Unfortunately, Thunderbolt 2 Macs don’t have native eGPU support in macOS Catalina.
So you would need the take the extra step of using the Purge-Wrangler script or using the automate-eGPU EFI boot loader.
@mini-i5, Hi there!
I did some reading regarding pure-wrangler but it seemed it is all with Mojave mac minis, great to hear there is hope.
What would be a good combination of GPU + external box that could work with my machine?
I am not trying anything fancy with my set up, I am looking for an improvement in graphics for 3D designing and some rendering. I will be using Sketchup, Vray, etc
Many thanks 
Late 2012 Macmini
2,3Ghz i7 4 cores
16GB RAM
500 GB SSD
Hi, I like my Powercolor Gaming Station ($250) because it’s pretty quiet, like the Mini.
The AMD RX580 8GB is a pretty good deal now at around $180.
With Catalina you can also use the newer AMD Navi Architecture cards. The RX 5500 XT model is slightly faster than the RX580 and is around $200.
I’ve been happy with PowerColor and Saphire brand cards.
@mini-i5, Hi there, many thanks for your help!!!
I forgot to say I am based in Spain, it seems the most common boxes here are
Sonnet EGFX (350-550-650W)
Ther Powercolor you are recommending is very expensive due to import taxes
Would the Sonnet or Razer Core X work with my MacMini?
Saphire Cards are easy to get here
Many thanks once again
Late 2012 Macmini
2,3Ghz i7 4 cores
16GB RAM
500 GB SSD
Yes, I had a Sonnet box before that worked well with my Saphire card.
The 350 should be powerful enough for the RX580 or 5500XT cards.