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http://egpu.io http://egpu.io

forrestthewoods 4y ago
Their #1 rated eGPU is from 2018. They don't measure latency. Their gaming FPS benchmarks don't list either resolution or quality settings, when they're even available. Their top 2 eGPU recommendations for mac don't contain benchmarks when running on mac. Yeah, the eGPU market is a disaster and the review quality is terrible. I personally wouldn't touch eGPUs. Which is a shame because I absolutely adore the concept.
- oneplane 4y ago
  I used an Akitio Node 3 with RX580 for years, works fine on macOS, Linux and Windows on both Thunderbolt 2 (reduced performance) and Thunderbolt 3. Only reason I stopped using it is because I used it less and had more use for it on Linux than anywhere else, so it's permanently installed in a Linux desktop machine now. It works passthrough to a Windows VM as well. The Intel Mac it was connected to is no longer used with more than 2 displays so the internal GPU works well enough, and an M1 has no problems with it either. For the time where I used it, it was a perfect solution for me; lots of portable use, but when working from home more the portability aspect isn't worth much. Add to that that GPU usage on-the-go is pretty much gone for me (most GPU workloads just run on AWS for me now), and having a high-power GPU connected to a laptop just doesn't help me with anything. If in the future I'd need more local GPU power than a mobile device (in a form factor I enjoy) can handle, maybe it'll be interesting again. Have one at home, another at an office, only move the laptop between places...
- izacus 4y ago
  What a bizarre set of complaints. What "latency" would you like to measure? It's PCI-express, the latency has to be the same as the builtin GPU to function. The #1 eGPU is #1 because it still works reliably and well. I have one and it's a reliable product that does what it says on the tin - provides an external cradle for a GPU. As for lack of Mac benchmarks - Apple dropped support for eGPUs, so why would they benchmark a legacy unsupported system?
  - forrestthewoods 4y ago
    > What "latency" would you like to measure? How long from user input to pixels changing. > the latency has to be the same as the builtin GPU to function. Objectively false. A few years ago it was very common for Windows laptops with discrete Nvidia GPUs to have increased latency when using the discrete the GPU. The reason is that the frame buffer had to be copied from the discrete GPU to integrated to monitor. Now maybe this doesn’t matter and you don’t care. But I’d like to know. The fact that it’s rarely done is a serious lack of rigor IMHO. My intuition is that it varies by chassis. I’d be shocked if they’re all the exact same! eGPUs are still significantly slower than having the GPU built in. Maybe they’re bottlenecked due to the connection, I dunno. It’s something that I thought would have gotten better in the past four years. But maybe eGPUs are even an worse deal now!

Their #1 rated eGPU is from 2018. They don't measure latency. Their gaming FPS benchmarks don't list either resolution or quality settings, when they're even available. Their top 2 eGPU recommendations for mac don't contain benchmarks when running on mac. Yeah, the eGPU market is a disaster and the review quality is terrible. I personally wouldn't touch eGPUs. Which is a shame because I absolutely adore the concept.

oneplane 4y ago
I used an Akitio Node 3 with RX580 for years, works fine on macOS, Linux and Windows on both Thunderbolt 2 (reduced performance) and Thunderbolt 3. Only reason I stopped using it is because I used it less and had more use for it on Linux than anywhere else, so it's permanently installed in a Linux desktop machine now. It works passthrough to a Windows VM as well. The Intel Mac it was connected to is no longer used with more than 2 displays so the internal GPU works well enough, and an M1 has no problems with it either. For the time where I used it, it was a perfect solution for me; lots of portable use, but when working from home more the portability aspect isn't worth much. Add to that that GPU usage on-the-go is pretty much gone for me (most GPU workloads just run on AWS for me now), and having a high-power GPU connected to a laptop just doesn't help me with anything. If in the future I'd need more local GPU power than a mobile device (in a form factor I enjoy) can handle, maybe it'll be interesting again. Have one at home, another at an office, only move the laptop between places...
izacus 4y ago
What a bizarre set of complaints. What "latency" would you like to measure? It's PCI-express, the latency has to be the same as the builtin GPU to function. The #1 eGPU is #1 because it still works reliably and well. I have one and it's a reliable product that does what it says on the tin - provides an external cradle for a GPU. As for lack of Mac benchmarks - Apple dropped support for eGPUs, so why would they benchmark a legacy unsupported system?
- forrestthewoods 4y ago
  > What "latency" would you like to measure? How long from user input to pixels changing. > the latency has to be the same as the builtin GPU to function. Objectively false. A few years ago it was very common for Windows laptops with discrete Nvidia GPUs to have increased latency when using the discrete the GPU. The reason is that the frame buffer had to be copied from the discrete GPU to integrated to monitor. Now maybe this doesn’t matter and you don’t care. But I’d like to know. The fact that it’s rarely done is a serious lack of rigor IMHO. My intuition is that it varies by chassis. I’d be shocked if they’re all the exact same! eGPUs are still significantly slower than having the GPU built in. Maybe they’re bottlenecked due to the connection, I dunno. It’s something that I thought would have gotten better in the past four years. But maybe eGPUs are even an worse deal now!