eGPU support for MAC OS release

Question

Hello,

I'm using X-Plane on MAC OS High Sierra on a MacBook pro 2017 that support external GPU's (Graphic Processing Unit) that embeds Radeon RX570. Model is Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Puck Radeon RX570. it's supported by both Mac OS and Windows 10 actually

I use it with a few video/image processing software that already support it, some games do as well.

I can see that X-Plane doesn't recognise eGPU's connected to laptop at the moment. Any plans to support it ? That would be great as it would allow to use X-Plane with much better performance, good graphics and no lag on compliant laptops and personally my MacBook pro while I travel... ?

Comments

Extremely interested in the Mac OS e-gpu combination.  Is there any way we can contribute to helping fix this bug?

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edited response

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It would be (very) nice if Laminar deals with this or advises if they have dealt with it.  There are a lot of X-Planers who use Macs.  When I left PC's for Macs several years ago, Microsoft's FS had no Apple/Mac application, so I turned to X-Plane.  I've got a new MacBookPro and a Blackmagic eGPU Pro.  The graphic support, the horsepower are there.

X-Plane is clearly the best flight sim out there.  It needs to be tweaked a bit to capture the large and growing Mac user community.

Answer 1

We have an open bug feature request on this, but I do not know if or when our developers will look into it. We are a fairly small team, and there're always a lot of features competing for development time.

Comments

eGPUs become popular among Mac power users because the built-in GPUs are typically not really good (except iMac Pro for now). It would be nice if x-plane can fix this issue.

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please look at this. The reason I bought x-plane was because it runs on my Mac.

The eGPU works great in other games and apps.

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see https://questions.x-plane.com/16054/terrible-fps-with-an-external-gpu

for more folks wanting this.

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We have actually talked directly with AMD about eGPUs. As best we understand, these must be used with an external monitor to accelerate graphics-apps like X-Plane on an iMac or laptop, so that the eGPU can feed the monitor directly. You may also need to set the external monitor to the 'main' monitor in system prefs too, if X-Plane keeps getting the wrong GPU.

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Hi @jroberts, thanks for the update. But it still doesn't perform as expected with an external monitor. I have VEGA 56 eGPU setup with 1440p resolution. X-Plane gets ~10fps in low settings.

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To look into this further, we will need to see a copy of the log from this test. Please send a bug report here.

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Thanks @jroberts I've submitted my Log.txt file.

To be clear - I have GTX1060 6GB eGPU connect to a windows machine via a Thunderbolt 2 cable. It gave me a really good FPS on high setting.

However VEGA 56 on Mac via Thunderbolt 3 gives me ~10FPS on medium.

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yes, please please please add egpu support for macs!!!

I love X-plane, and I love my Mac - together with my new Blackmagic egpu this should be the perfect combination!

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I hope this fix gets prioritised soon

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Running a 2017 27" iMac 5K with the 580 graphics card and getting in the low 20's with two external monitors and all the sliders in the graphics setup set to minimums.  Ugh.  Although there isn't a lot of support for Macs in the gaming community, the professional pilot community is different and you should look into how robust the market is for a high performance Mac solution - especially with eGPU hardware.

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I also hope this is fixed as soon as posible, as Apple has open a new field with its support for eGPUs.

Thanks.

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I also hope that eGPU support is added/fixed. I am running an iMac 2017 5K with a Blackmagic eGPU.

Thanks

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Please get this issue fixed as it really effects us Mac users.

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Have you noticed any FPS difference running X-Plane with and without the eGPU?

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There is no difference until X-plane supports the EGPU. I would not buy until this is fixed.

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Thanks, beta 11.30b7 build 113011 64-bit on a iMac 2017 5K Mac OS 10.14.1 with my Blackmagic eGPU works great now. I am able to run windowed with a monitor off the eGPU and the main iMac Screen with very nice frame rate.

Thank you.

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So, are eGPU supported by X-Plane in beta 11.30? Or does it automatically work with external monitor connected to the eGPU?

I've got a Mac mini 2018 with an external monitor recently, and the quick tests that I've made are disappointing, as I was expecting. I hope this is because of the very limited gpu included by default, and that this could be improved by an eGPU, when supported by XP. That's the only reason I'd buy it, I don't need a eGPU for my work (graphic design and music).

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There has been no change on this. The expectation is that users with an eGPU will have it plugged into a second monitor. We do not expect it to work with the built in monitor. If you have this set up as described and still see problems you can file a bug with detailed information about your set up and the log.txt.

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"The expectation is that users with an eGPU will have it plugged into a second monitor. "

Why would that be a logical expectation? Only if you have a desktop like an iMac in which case you probably wouldn't bother with an eGPU.

If you have a MacBook Pro you will use an eGPU as your main monitor in all cases. So yes this does need fixing. And it does work in Windows bootcamp!???

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I'm using a Gigabyte RX480 gaming box with a MacBook Pro and have the current X-Plane 11.30b7. There's no change with the beta - the eGPU does not work correctly with the Mac version of X-Plane. This is true in all configurations:

- using an external monitor as the display

- using the internal monitor as the display with Mac Mojave's "Prefer eGPU" checked

- using the internal monitor with a headless ghost adapter in the eGPU

Note it's not that is doesn't work. Mac's Activity Monitor confirms it is using the eGPU at 100%, and some graphic features like SSAO, which do not work with the integrated graphics, work with the eGPU plugged in. It's that the frame rate with the eGPU is 20 fps lower than the integrated Iris 540 graphics. The exception to this is when the plane is over water, in which case the frame rate is 60 fps (versus the integrated graphics 40 fps). In this case, turning the plane so that land is visible quickly tanks fps to single digits (even if autogen is set to minimal).

As others have mentioned, if I run X Plane in Windows Bootcamp with an external monitor, the eGPU works better, giving me a consistent 10 - 15 FPS boost versus integrated graphics. The boost still seems low, though, for an RX480.

I hope Mac eGPU support is added at some point. X-Plane is one of the main reasons I purchased an eGPU.

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Hi, jroberts.

Is there any news on adding/fixing eGPU support for macOS?

Thanks.

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A year on and still not fixed :(! This is poor from X-plane and the Laminar team. Come on guys, this is not a feature request per se. This is about getting the software to recognise and utilise all the available hardware at the OS' disposal, or letting Xplane pass onto the OS the such handling of graphics in the same way as Final Cut X or Adobe Premier can. My RX580 will soon become obsolete/outdated, if it isn't already, before a fix is made :s

Answer 2

From al I can gather X-Plane will work with a EGPU with an external monitor as the gPU is not depending on X-Plane. Hopw that helps. Just make sure whoever you purchase from has a return policy just in case.

Comments

No, that is not quite true. 

It will work (almost), but you get frame rates that are a fraction of what you get with the on board GPU. It is un-useable. So don't bother at present. But this is known to developers and is the bug mentioned above.

If the latest beta has fixed this as ptrebian  suggests then we'll all be happy. 

But it does work perfectly in Bootcamp. I have x-plane running with my MacBook pro 2017 and eGPU in windows Bootcamp. Though the issue here was getting the eGPU to work in Bootcamp which can be a bit tricky depending on your Mac, firmware etc. I had to install the non-official bootcamp video drivers to make it work.

But I just wish the developers would fix X-plane then I wouldn't have to boot to windows to fly.

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Actually you need X-Plane to embed eGPU support otherwise it wall only recognise the built-in video adapter.

I confirm that X-Plane still does not support eGPU using latest beta