2020 ($1800) 5K iMac - Will an eGPU improve performance?

[@ricardorgomez]

I was wondering about attaching an eGPU. But it seems like going for the top-end model would suffice. I'd pay extra to have all the performance inside the iMac. Sort of defeats the purpose of an iMac attaching an eGPU.... Thanks for doing this Miles.

[@WarriorsPhoto]

I would rather go for the top end model. That 5700 XT GPU is going to be very good.

[@rvgamerspc]

EGPU is always a good option for imac. you have the advantage of selling the egpu and buying the latest and most powerful on the market without having to sell the imac.

[@DanielMata6282]

I like that! I've never thought about it that way.

[@alex.maxwell]

@@DanielMata6282 He is absolutely incorrect. Because iMac has significant bandwidth limitations when connecting eGPU and working with internal display. eGPU is NOT a feasible option for an iMac (except some really old ones that will receive limited advantage from any sort of modern eGPU)

[@dawfurby]

@@alex.maxwellso he’s the best version of the best gpu supported by the machine. It’s still better and more cost effective than giving Apple an extra 1200 dollars for the upgraded model and then having to stay with that until your next machine.

[@smurfrock]

EGPU makes sense for a laptop. I thought about extending the life of my older IMAC. For example you should do a test to see if you get more performance and how much more or less with an older top of the line IMAC and older lower end IMAC made in the same year.

[@jermberm2788]

I had the exact setup for my 2017 iMac and ended up having odd performance issues, while some apps seemed to improve some others actually got worse, specifically Photoshop and Illustrator. Ended up swapping returning the Egpu for a new iPad and has been much more beneficial utilizing the somewhat still jankey sidecar feature.

[@peterlanephotography]

I have same iMac with 8GB graphic. When I use 46Mpx camera raw files on C1 they need 2sec to de-blur. Very annoying. The only difference n the eGPU is DDR5 vs DDR4 internal. Any guess, will eGPU improve performance?

[@alex.maxwell]

@@peterlanephotography it appears that eGPUs only marginally improve iMac performance, especially when gaming in bootcamp and using internal display, due to TB3 and some other limitations.

[@grillitdaddy]

@alex.maxwell heyyyyy I was looking just for this. I have a 2017 27 inch 5k display desktop with Radeon pro 570. I game on bootcamp windows 10. So no egpu available that will help with gaming performance? You are saving me time and money I think. Lol

[@ton.hoz09]

But I am wondering how would the machine perform when running games using Bootcamp?

[@ton.hoz09]

@Ryan Carter That's amazing, I will definitely look into that. Also wonder what eGPU enclosures are you using?

[@MrBaax]

@Ryan Carter Thank to all guys... just one question: i am planning to buy an eclosures with an amd graphics card... and i don't know if for bootcamp i need some guide or trick, or it's just plug in, donwload driver and play... thanks

[@pepeeze]

IMO, it's still better to get the upgraded iMac since the discrepancies between having a 5700XT directly with 16 lanes of PCIe internally VS having it choke on a Thunderbolt 3 port is not insignificant. I made some tests with a hackintosh and a Mac mini + eGPU set up with the same card (Vega56) and both running on a 8700 (8700K for the hack). The Mac mini + eGPU was a good 15-20% slower than the hackintosh. I ended up upgrading the eGPU with a 5700xt and it did help, but even that did not give me the performance of the hackintosh with the Vega 56 directly attached to it. That being said, I'd love to see an actual comparaison of iMac 5700xt vs iMac 5300 + eGPU 5700xt.

[@animerecortadox]

Yes, makes sense since this is a thunderbolt 3 limitation. Maybe tb4 egpus will be much more faster.

[@toothacheforever8437]

On boot camp I’m getting a 5% performance hit on my egpu with MacBook Pro 16 inch and 980 ti gpu. Which is still incredible. I’m playing games at qhd on max settings getting solid 60 frames.

[@alex.maxwell]

@@toothacheforever8437 iMac and MacBook are completely different devices. Since he has mentioned iMac, it is important to keep in mind that it has additional limitations especially when using internal display with eGPU. Some people call it a loopback bandwidth choke or smth.

[@kayatworkme]

Guys! The question is : now, in Greece, we can buy only i7 with 5500xt gpu. Because we can not choose the gpu. How much faster will be that mode with eGpu 5700xt with i7 and 5500xt 8gb inside? 🤔❤️ thx for your answers

[@alex.maxwell]

It depends on your needs. If you want to be capable of 4K gaming (modern titles) on its gorgeous internal display via bootcamp, then you MUST go for 5700xt. 5700 is also very good for modern gaming, but most people go for 5700xt because it’s 16 GB vs 8 GB vram and much better for long term. 5500xt is just decent and a bad value for the money.

[@thethrottletherapist]

Thanks so much for this video. I’m doing this exact calculation right now....and waiting for the new iMac at the same time. It’s such a hard decision right now. I already have an EGPU connected to my MacBook Pro.

[@zoranm6432]

I’ve got a 2018 15inch MacBook Pro which I use the Razer Core X Egpu with a Sapphire Radeon 5700 XT card and it works really well. If I had the latest iMac I would spec it with the better graphics option and not bother with an Egpu.

[@anmill]

Tried it once - all good in OS X, but if you have an idea to have only one Mac+Window work+games machine, I have news for you: It was so hard to get it to work on windows.... I spent a week with no success and then just sold my eGPU on ebay :(

[@BennyRatiu]

Hey, I recently bought a iMac 5K Retina, 64 Gb RAM, I9 3.6 ghz boost up to 5.0, Graphic Card AMD RADEON 5700 XT 16GB, 2TB SSD... pretty good... BUT when it comes to video editing in FCPX, sometimes it does not work smoothly, not enough GPU I'd say. Which eGPU would you recommend? Thanks a lot

[@Applecompuser]

B & B That’s a good system. It should be working smoothly as is. Reach out to Apple for tech support.

[@animerecortadox]

None egpu by thunderbolt 3 can beat a pcie rx 5700xt.

[@alessiobulfaro]

The old solution with the Mac mini was not bad then, at least you save money

[@vanhaze2000]

Exactly.

[@radimpalus]

I made a similar test with my iMac 2019 with the VEGA 48 GPU and exactly the same eGPU setup as You have in the video and on the benchmark side, I got better results for the eGPU, but when doing any kind of export from Final Cut, I got always much worse results with the eGPU. For example, when I used the internal VEGA, the export took 5min. and with the external 5700XT it took a bit over 6mins. So it means that the VEGA 48 is a very capable GPU.

[@willianaleman6114]

Thanks for the test. It seems that the difference in performance is due to the fact that the eGPU has 8GB RAM while the GPU in the iMac only have 4GB. This is not a fair comparison.

[@BenJoelLush]

Also you can connect eGPU to future computers

[@jackgipson9110]

Good information Miles. Thanks!

[@JustinIacobellis]

Great comparison, Miles! I definitely think an eGPU is only currently necessary for those want to be able to take advantage of future AMD cards, while being able to retain the same iMac. The current offerings from Apple definitely seem sufficient for most of today's workloads. Quick question though, why did the internal GPU greatly outperform the 5700 XT in the Unigine Heaven benchmark?

[@whatsthatthere]

late to the response but I'd guess it's due to the eGPU having to go imac > egpu > egpu > imac display for gaming related work loads which greatly impacts performace, if it was imac > egpu > external display connected to the egpu and you game on that, then there will be a vastly better experience. Whilst for rendering etc it gets offloaded to the egpu

[@RealSoundReviews]

Very interesting question. Could be killer to test resolve using both at the same time. Thanks

[@jankkhvej]

is i5 enough to fully load 5700 xt? I think not, and that's the reason why Apple provides 5700 xt only with i7.

[@bencorwin]

So I've heard that the Radeon Vega 56 and 64 perform identically in eGPU form. I'm assuming that this is because of the thunderbolt 3 bottleneck. So at what point are new eGPU card setups pointless to buy if the data rates top out at the Vega 56 rate?

[@animerecortadox]

Yes, youll need thunderbolt 4.

[@JudgeFredd]

I don't get it when comparing it with your previous Mac mini + eGPU comparaison where eGPU results were slower. Where is the performance bottleneck ? Obviously not due to TB as here the eGPU is better than the intdgrated graphic card...

[@emmabentley7945]

Recently purchased a 2020 Macbook Pro base model last month and this month a CoreX EGPU. Best decision I ever made.

[@KhariConception]

Good vid. Since I only have the 2019 27” with the 3.0 x 6 core i5 and the paltry 570 4GB, I definitely need a eGPU soon. First, I need to find a affordable 4TB storage system that’ll connect via Ethernet since we are only given 2 Thunderbolt ports. My 4TB lacie drive is USB-C, but it isn’t a SSD, so maybe it’ll work fine with a USB-C to normal USB adapter. I have 52gb of RAM & something is telling me that I’m better off upgrading the graphics instead of RAM.

[@synoykkassey1277]

The new AMD GPUs came out recently. Imagine an imac pro with 6900xt or imac 27 with 6900xt egpu 🤤. Hoping to see it in the future. Great review man. Thank you

[@kenallen6688]

I had one.. It wouldn't work with the Razer egpu😢 lost $400 in the process of getting another card that would work... and it only half works. Never buy Razer products again..

[@blasta42]

My goal is to use 3 4K@60Hz monitors with the 13” MBP, which only supports 2 of them. Any advice on how to get there? My thought was an eGPU, but wondering if there are other ways

[@NeilLund]

Do you think there's any bottlenecks possibly caused by the T2 chip at all or is that not relevant in these tests with the file type you've been running tests with?

[@simon_gwnyt]

Is a egpu a case where u can connect a gtx/rtx into, and then it will boost your graphics?

[@Webprof68]

Sorry i have stupid question. I want to pimp my iMac 5k 2017 inside is an Radeon Pro 580 8 GB. For working with Final Cut very slowly. Now i saw your Video and i understand not all. I buy the Razor Core X and the AMD Radeon RX6800XT and my iMac works Faster with Final Cut ? And i need not a second Display ? I use the i Mac Display ? Is that right .

[@MG-wt3di]

Hello! I have Mac mini 2018 and MacOs 10.15.6. I would like to buy Razer Core X and AMD Radeon™ RX 5700 XT (from Gigabyte). So the question is will this graphic card work with Core X on my Mac mini in MacOs 10.15.6? I did not find any information on the Razer website about supporting 5700 card in MacOs. But in your video you use MSI Radeon XT card with Razer Core X box. Could you help me? Thank you!

[@asalimi]

What's that system monitor on the menu bar?

[@papaynugroho9128]

Is this compatible with imac mid 2011 2,5" ?

[@eggsdenny]

I have the i7 imac 2020 with 5500xt. I want to do some gaming on external display at 1440p, would egpu setup be worth? Mostly play wow and currently can’t play large battle grounds or heavy world areas without dropping frames

[@spaded513]

you install it in the thunderbolt 3 right?

[@faboloushood3271]

I still have my 2014 late retina iMac 27. Do you guys recommond I upgrade the eGPU for it since sometimes watch 4k video with lag

[@MichaelGGarry]

If you live only in MacOS, then the eGPU can make sense over upgrading to the i7 model. However if you need Windows bootcamp as well........let me tell you, go with the internal upgrades every day. eGPU + bootcamp is just a PITA you don't need in your life. I'll be selling mine as soon as I get to buy the iMac......

[@SignorLuigi]

Sorta a fork in the road question, but what eGPU enclosure and graphics card would you recommend for a 2018 Mac Mini? Not looking for ultimate performance. Looking more for biggest bang for the buck. Thanks. BTW, I was FIRST! 🤣

[@9to5Mac]

www.ebay.com/itm/Mac-mini-i7-36-256-Razer-Core-X-5700-XT-eGPU-LG-5K-UltraWide-Bundle/264827941181 Selling a Mac mini Bundle!

[@SignorLuigi]

9to5Mac Man, that is a nice package deal! I have the same Mac Mini, but with a 1TB internal SSD. Just the eGPU and 32GB of RAM is worth over $1000. Thanks for the great info! You have given me a really good idea. I'm going to start looking for a used RazorCore X enclosure that comes with a 5700 GPU on eBay first. Thanks so much for the kindness of your reply. Such things are not just on me.

[@tommy666NO]

Great video. Thanks.

[@petebro8893]

Nice video !

[@jirkadolezal8127]

May I ask if the mac will work even if I don't connect a monitor? Will it affect performance? Thank you

[@animerecortadox]

Same for me. I want to know if an external monitor is necessary. Cause a bought the mac initialily for the amazing 5k display.

[@riverrat_uk]

good morning from the UK and I want to say thank you for your video. I wonder if you can help me I have a 2019 iMac. 64bg ram and a rtx 580 built in. I'm running the AI software called fooocus, little bit like stable diffusion. it is painfully slow to generate images. 15 to 25 mins. some people said about getting a Egpu. but people keep giving miss leading information. are you able to recommend if it is worth it to go external?? as would cost me about £600 for a 12gb card etc

[@saadmouti7879]

Any supportt for Nvidia GPUs?

[@riteshvalanju7550]

Can i amd rx570 on macbook

[@jennifermedia6288]

Does the mac have to be running 10.15. Catalina ? I wondered if this worked with my 2017 iMac

[@jvb3796]

Thank you for the great video. I have a question about an external graphics card. I am working with an Imac pro from 2017. 3 GHz Intel Xeon W 10 cores. 64GB 2666MHz DDR4 with a Radeon Pro Vega 64 16GB graphics card. I am working in cinema 4d and the Redshift (still and animation) . My question is the following, even though my Imac works acceptably with these programs, when I use the rendering in real time with the gpu, I lack speed and also the fans do not stop sounding. I'm wondering what would be the external egpu graphics card connected to the Imac that would allow me to improve the rendering speed. Do you think it's worth it and finally if you think it's worth it, can you give me a suggestion on the graphics card. Thanks in advance.

[@brandoneckert2694]

What would you say is the best epgu for a 2017 iMac?

[@brandoneckert2694]

Graphics card and not chassis*

[@carlosg.garcia-ruiz3833]

I am using a Mac mini - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid-State Drive with a Razer Core X Chroma eGPU and a XFX RX 5700 XT Triple Dissipation 8GB GDDR6 3xDP HDMI Graphics Card RX-57XT83LD8. The eGPU is connected via thunderbolt 3 to the Mac Mini and the LG 4K monitor is connected via HDMI to the eGPU. I am experiencing crashes all the time while using Chrome and Civilization VI on Steam. I am calling for help, any recommendations?

[@TRESNUEVES]

Interesting Id like to see this first hand. Maybe you should post a video about it. @9to5mac Can you comment on this ?

[@L44z12]

Which keyboard is that?

[@9to5Mac]

Logitech Craft amzn.to/2Y1hpx0

[@NERV0USMONKEYS]

Does this work for a late 2015 IMac 27 “?

[@caspererlandson453]

Im running a 5500 xt on a late iMac 27. Big Sur works fine, but in bootcamp im having issues getting the card to work. Btw, you only have thunderbolt 2 so you need an adapter and a script (purge wrangler) to get it to work.

[@JulianFernandez]

what about older imacs? Let say an 2017... I wanna use that beautiful display with a more competent machine. Anyone?

[@valecharliewalbaumsearle9827]

Hey Miles, thanks for that video! I have a couple of questions… I have an iMac 5k 27” 2020, running a 3.6 10-core i9 processor and a AMD Radeon Pro 5700 TX 16 GB. Would you recommend the blackmagic eGPU or Razer core X (with which GPU?) for graphics, mainly after effects and cinema 4d. Thanks!

[@MichaelNJ853]

Does that setup struggle to render 4k FCP projects?

[@RobertoFotografie]

I have a macbook pro late 2018, intel core i9 6 core and razer core x and AMD RadeonPro W5700 video card. You who are an expert recommend it to me? I work mainly with adobe premiere and lightroom. Greetings from Sicily

[@demographus]

Nice, am searching for a eGPU for my HP Elitedesk!

[@nelizmastr]

Unless it's an EliteDesk Mini, it should have a PCIe slot, at worst a low profile one. You can still fit a GTX1650 low profile in there, though. Don't forget the performance loss you get due to bandwidth constraints over thunderbolt.

[@watsonkshy]

for the 5700XT, you need a dummy display adapter to get the best performance from the eGPU otherwise the 5700-XT will throttle down Max Tech did a video on this. so the review is semi flawed kzbin.info/www/bejne/aX7agaGZpa-nfJI.

[@Nithish.Krishna]

The way you say 2020 5k Imac 27inch is heard like 2025 Imac 27 inch. Which made me think am I the one who is living in 2020. 😅😅

[@WarriorsPhoto]

That's funny and I guess he speaks a little off. (:

[@kenallen6688]

I have the same set up but with a Razer Chroma and a 16gb card. You only get half the performance of your card when in an egpu. (Its in the fine print). On Davinci the imac doesnt try to use the egpu much. The inbuilt card carries the load. It was definitely not worth doing. Razer supoort is non-existent, so forget that if you have issues. Ill never buy another razer product again. Honestly, for the extra $300.. buy the upgrade.. Itll kick ass..

[@2nd-place]

No point in buying a 6-core desktop in 2020. Might as well go for the built-in 5700XT. But I already have a year and a half old 2019 model with the i9 and Vega 48 so I’m good for now. If I was upgrading now I’d just wait a bit longer for Apple Silicon which is going to blow away Intel.

[@sriramsundar8388]

You look so young! How old are you, 20 maybe?

[@SJSOmar]

Does the iMac support the RTX 2080 super

[@9to5Mac]

MacOS does not have native support for RTX graphics cards

[@VikrantKoushikOfficial]

💥 Prediction 💥 Prediction 💥 Prediction 💥 1. No Optional Macs :- After when the ARM Macs will come, there will not be That "Customize your Mac" option available. Coz instead of Assembling Each parts, they're gonna use SoC like mobile devices with will be sorted Pre-Built. So (Like iPhone & iPad) there'll probably the 256+8/512+16 & 1TB+32G configuration available direct to Buy 2. No Upgrade :- Even though Developer Kit supoorts Expandable RAM slot, future Mac Destops (Not the Mac Pro Now) won't support Any Upgrade. Even the Current Mini is just and CPU upgrade, we will soon see a Refresh with More Compact form factor 3. Not Anything "Pro" :- Most Popular 3 macbooks separate themselves with Thunderbolt port, Generation of processors & integrated GPU. But as the ARM will have the same generation to all & no GPU, So there'll be just The Basic Screen Size Difference. (Or, Suttle Changes which won't make smaller macbooks Less powerful - Like 11Pro & Max) 4. No Macbook Air :- Name of the Macbooks will probably changed, The Air will may be called simply Macbook (12") & the Remaining two (14" & 16", no 1299&1799 option) will be the Pro Macbooos with just the screen, Camera & Speaker difference 5. RIP Hackintosh :- as the MacOS depends on the hardware (for same we cant make Hackintosh on Unsupported Hardware), after the transition period will over, & the last Intel mac stop supporting the Upcoming Version, then the Hackintosh will also gonna die due to lack of CPU Support. ❤️

[@geobeatz1303]

Cant believe Apple makes u pay nearly 2 thousand dollars for their product and it can barely open 4 tabs without making your room a microwave

[@RealLYS]

iMac already could have a 5700XT inside now. This is stupid.

[@May3yad3]

Let them shout from mountaintops Isaiah 42:11 that's Muslims during pilgrimage to Mecca google image ( day of Arafat ) Sela mountain mentioned in Isaiah 42:11 is in ( Madina ) city of prophet Mohamad ( Google map it ) kedar mentioned in Isaiah 42:11 that's the arabs kedar is the 2nd son of Ishmael son of Abraham you can find in Genesis 25:13

[@RodolphosTechchannel]

People are never satisfied

[@technofeeliak]

It's not literally night and day. It's figuratively night and day. You could say the difference is night and day. What you're actually saying is the sun will come up when you're using this egpu and without it the moon will rise and it will be night time... literally. Literally means exactly what you say, as you say it, no exaggeration. It just is night and day. This misuse of the term literally is something from about 25 years ago, so I can testify to history repeating itself. The difference back then is, we didn't have access to information the way we do now. So this is indefensible. Also, the threat globalism represents to culture is real, which is why meaning is more important than ever. If you take away a person's ability to express themselves, reduce their vocabulary to simple phonetics and grunts, you take away a person's power to influence. What that leads to, if you can't explain/express yourself effectively, is physical violence. Overall your video does a good job of taking the audience through tests to justify the use of an egpu.

[@kcmoviemkr]

Huh?

[@lijianzhao5274]

What the heck of these graphs? Start from 0 and then 10 and then 20 and then 25? Please don't take these small tricks to exaggerate the truth.

[@lijianzhao5274]

And also the 3rd graph, the number of minutes is not corresponding to the number of lines. Too unprofessional.

[@deedouglas6615]

make more videos get m1 working

[@SignorLuigi]

First! The first time I've been first!!

[@mavfan1]

First time I've downvoted your comment for saying "first"!!!!!!!!

[@SignorLuigi]

mavfan1 Well deserved downvote. I felt so "dirty" posting it and still don't understand why I did. I usually try to follow the advice, "Before you do something ask yourself, Would an idiot do that? And if they would, do not do that thing." I failed.

[@angelabigbaby3033]

Great video it was really good

[@Miguel-fm8xh]

Great content!