This piece is not a technical explanation on what is happening. I wanted to document what I found and hear from other people as well on the potential fix, and possibly Unity and game developers’ input to actually fix the problem. Apple Silicon does make an enticing platform, hence, more the reason why this will never be fixed properly, so every bit of info could be helpful to the actual users and players on Intel Macs.
Tagged eGPU
Accelerate an App for Internal Display on macOS Mojave
So the reason why I kept the draft was that Apple’s choice of eGPU handling in Mojave, is plain weird; it’s straight-forwardly bizarre. Settings like this should have been added to System Preferences or anywhere it can dictate its decision system-wide. Because Mac doesn’t, now we have to identify each application. There are scripts that suggest to remedy this by ticking all the boxes for you, but so far it did not work in all cases, such as the one I’ve posted. Hopefully we would see something more solid in near future.
How PC and eGPU Communities Morphed into Bait-and-Switch Props
We can always openly criticize multinational IT manufacturer’s policies on internet. But activism is not an excuse for information quarantine. There are bad posts and articles revolving around toxic pseudo craftsman cultures these communities are brewing. If their information cannot be applied universally, then that is merely a proof of concept. If that contents are coarse and illegible, they are raising a ruckus, not a rock concert. I can’t believe a bait-and-switch scheme was naturally cultured through internet exclusivism.
May 18, 2018
Quick Announcements This week’s post is delayed, as late as tomorrow. It will cover how to use eGPUs on internal displays (i.e. on your laptop, or all-in-one desktop). While eGPU on internal display is natively supported by Apple, each App has to opt-in in utilize it. This means most of the applications that are already released to the public are unlikely to adopt eGPU capability. I am yet to find any documentation on lists of apps that support eGPU. It appears there is only limited number of application which added support for eGPU, or multiple graphics card, no less.
Beta Software is not a Press Release Copy
So if you are inclined to test the new features of any softwares, be it Mac or iOS, do so at your own discretion. Because that slideshows were meant to explain the upcoming product development, not the product itself. And if you happen to write about one, at least quote it from the manufacturers, not the coupon booklet.
eGPU is Now Back on older Thunderbolt Macs with Scripts
Let me know if there is any questions or concerns.
State of eGPU Support on Coming High Sierras
To summarize, if you are on eGPU, hold out on public beta programs until the native eGPU support sheds the beta sign. If you own TB1/2 machines running with eGPU, 10.13.4 could hit with some bad news; you may end up holding out on updates until Apple reintroduces TB2 compatibility. Ultimately, I can already see Apple laying out features that will be newer standard exclusives, —e.g. certain higher end graphics card only works through TB3— so it would be a safe bet to invest in USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 machines. Hopefully Apple will bring rest of the Mac Desktop lines up to…
Jan 1, 2018
I did set up a system to auto-publish any remaining tips articles if none is published under op-ed, but I had to halt the system in mid-December with all the things happening. Later down in the road, I’ll be simply uploading tips articles instead if there is any irregularities. Perhaps this up-coming December can be different from the last one.
How to Upgrade Stock Fans on AKiTiO Node
After all this modding, I had to come to the terms that competing products with ‘just works’ approach are more sound solution. The only defense for Node, at this point, is that you can upgrade your eGPU down in the line to make a power-hogging, yet silent, real deal workstation. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the new generation of enclosures will need streamlined design with customization in mind, much like PC cases, with significantly lower prices; and it can’t look sweeter than it should.
AKiTiO Node with RX 580 on macOS High Sierra
That being said, AKiTiO Node for $250 may not be a good bargain after all. Competitors like Sonnet cut quite close at $270 with smaller PSU, but more silent and ‘it just works’ approach. As an average user, this unit could interest you as a semi-PC building unit. But as a professional, this is a hassle nobody signed up for. Perhaps in the future we can expect more streamlined generation that will allow a pro user to upgrade whatever they want at the justifiable price point.
Mac Mini with eGPU (AKiTiO Node) Review
As for the High Sierra, the answer is a brute no. So far I haven’t seen any hacks or scripts that enable graphic cards aside from that 4 selections. Any information from eGPU.io on the topic of freely choosing graphic cards seemed grim. It may be doable, but it may not be immediately available. My game plan at this stage would be: equip yourself with all the necessary gears but with a lesser graphic card, and buy supported the graphic card after High Sierra is announced. Optimally, Apple would add more GPUs to its selection of eGPUs.
High Sierra Second Public Beta is Here
Second public beta of High Sierra with rather grim news. Aside from obvious bug fixes, eGPU.io confirmed High Sierra is more confining than that Sierra is and was. The drivers aside from Radeon RX 470/480/570/580 definitely exists in High Sierra and can be found rather easily. My testing showed High Sierra was able to “grab” the RX 560, but could not actually utilize it. Currently Apple is not allowing the use of other graphics card as eGPU. Which brings me to the next point, with cryptocurrency and any other various reasons to spike the prices for high-end GPUs, Apple’s selection…