Blog
Apr 01, 2019
Image copyright © Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. 2019
I originally wanted to write a blog post about raving how great the new Blackmagic eGPU is. I wanted to tell you how much I like it and how easy it is to get a full desktop setup with only plugging in 1 cable. I wanted to rant about PC GPUs not being able to drive a 5K display. That is until I ran some benchmarks and oh man, those don't look great.

I ran the Blackmagic eGPU (not the Pro) against a Radeon RX 580 and a Radeon Vega 64 in a Hackintosh PC enclosure. And as you can see from the chart above the eGPU didn't fare that well in terms of performance against a traditional PC setup. The difference is staggering. The 700 EUR Radeon Pro 580 eGPU's performance is closer to the Intel Iris Plus 655's performance, that comes with my 13" MacBook Pro, then to a 4GB PC graphics card that costs around 150 EUR. If you are buying the Blackmagic eGPU, you are sure not buying it for the performance.
OK, the performance is not great, but here's the thing. You only max out a graphics card on a MacOS machine during A) gaming or B) photo or video editing or C) intense 3D graphics workloads. I can't think of anything else. If those 3 things is what you do, please don't buy an eGPU, buy the new 2019 iMac with a Vega 48 or the iMac Pro, or wait for the new Mac Pro that must be a unicorn by now judging by how long we have to wait for this machine. Buy the Blackmagic eGPU if you have a normal MacOS workload like office work, audio work, programming etc. Then it's great to only have 1 MacBook, you can carry around and put it in a desktop setup from time to time. You can have a 5K display (also not needed for gaming) and you can plug in additional hard drives into the eGPU and connect the whole desktop setup to the MacBook using 1 cable. For that it's great.
I haven't tested the Blackmagic eGPU Pro, but from what I see, I can't really recommend it. It costs around 1300 EUR and presumably won't increase the GPU performance by a lot. Stay with the lower end model.
And oh yeah, I also tested a simple HDMI cable using an HDMI/USB-C adapter on a 4K display and the performance was horrible. Glitches everywhere and only 30 Hz refresh rate.
More
Jan 12, 2019 - My New Silent, Small Hackintosh for 600 EUR
Nov 22, 2018 - Instacast is Now Free and Open Source
Sep 12, 2018 - What makes a Mac Pro a Mac Pro
Jul 14, 2018 - Why you Should Build a Hackintosh
Apr 16, 2018 - Why the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Is Not a Good Vlogging Cam
Apr 09, 2018 - ProRes RAW is Here
Apr 03, 2018 - Is the Nokia Steel HR Smart Watch an Apple Watch Killer?
Mar 04, 2018 - Workaround for Buggy DNG Handling in macOS
Mar 03, 2018 - Colorcast 0.5 Adds Support for Cinema DNG, Anamorphic De-Squeeze and Slow Motion
Feb 06, 2018 - Open-Source Objective-C API for Magic Lantern
Feb 06, 2018 - Colorcast v0.4 Includes RAW Engine And Supports Magic Lantern
Jan 25, 2018 - Thoughts on the DJI Mavic Air
Jan 24, 2018 - Why I bought a Sony Alpha 7 Mark II in 2018
Jan 18, 2018 - Using Metal Performance Shaders with Core Image
Jan 15, 2018 - Night-Mode For Your iOS App
Jan 15, 2018 - What’s Color Grading and Why You Want That
Jan 09, 2018 - My Review of Gearo.de
Dec 27, 2017 - Everything That's Wrong with Hackintosh
Dec 21, 2017 - Colorcast Alpha v0.3 Available
Dec 19, 2017 - RX Vega 64 Hackintosh for High-End Video Work
Sep 07, 2017 - Colorcast Alpha v0.2 Available
Aug 31, 2017 - First Alpha Version of Colorcast Available
Jun 01, 2015 - Vemedio Product Development Has Been Discontinued
Apr 16, 2015 - Audio Books vs. Podcasts
Mar 21, 2015 - Rejected for Weak Linked Frameworks
Mar 19, 2015 - Ideas for A Better App Store
Mar 05, 2015 - Auto-Layout works
Jan 12, 2019My New Silent, Small Hackintosh for 600 EUR
Nov 22, 2018Instacast is Now Free and Open Source
Sep 12, 2018What makes a Mac Pro a Mac Pro
Jul 14, 2018Why you Should Build a Hackintosh
Apr 16, 2018Why the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Is Not a Good Vlogging Cam
Apr 09, 2018ProRes RAW is Here
Apr 03, 2018Is the Nokia Steel HR Smart Watch an Apple Watch Killer?
Mar 04, 2018Workaround for Buggy DNG Handling in macOS
Mar 03, 2018Colorcast 0.5 Adds Support for Cinema DNG, Anamorphic De-Squeeze and Slow Motion
Feb 06, 2018Open-Source Objective-C API for Magic Lantern
Feb 06, 2018Colorcast v0.4 Includes RAW Engine And Supports Magic Lantern
Jan 25, 2018Thoughts on the DJI Mavic Air
Jan 24, 2018Why I bought a Sony Alpha 7 Mark II in 2018
Jan 18, 2018Using Metal Performance Shaders with Core Image
Jan 15, 2018Night-Mode For Your iOS App
Jan 15, 2018What’s Color Grading and Why You Want That
Jan 09, 2018My Review of Gearo.de
Dec 27, 2017Everything That's Wrong with Hackintosh
Dec 21, 2017Colorcast Alpha v0.3 Available
Dec 19, 2017RX Vega 64 Hackintosh for High-End Video Work
Sep 07, 2017Colorcast Alpha v0.2 Available
Aug 31, 2017First Alpha Version of Colorcast Available
Jun 01, 2015Vemedio Product Development Has Been Discontinued
Apr 16, 2015Audio Books vs. Podcasts
Mar 21, 2015Rejected for Weak Linked Frameworks
Mar 19, 2015Ideas for A Better App Store
Mar 05, 2015Auto-Layout works