Best eGPU for Mac

[CalebTech212]

I do video editing. It has been a hobby, but I am trying to get set up for it to be my job.

I am looking at equipment to make the process faster and better.

 

My editing program is FCPX.

I use a MacBook Pro 2019.

Processor - 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Graphics - Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 1536 MB

 

I am looking at getting an eGPU and am wanting advice on what would be best to use, should I buy it new or used, and any other advice.

 

What I was planning on getting is the Razer Core X enclosure.

 

Razer has a list of GPUs for the enclosure that are compatible with Mac OS.

I do not know very much about graphics cards so I don’t know which would be best.

 

Compatible AMD graphics chipsets:

• Radeon ™ RX 6600XT
• Radeon ™ RX 6700XT
• Radeon ™ RX 6800XT
• Radeon ™ RX 6900XT
• Radeon ™ RX 5000 Series
• Radeon ™ RX Vega Series
• Radeon ™ RX 500 Series
• Radeon ™ R9 Series
• Radeon ™ Pro Series

 

Thank You!

[Zando_]

How much is the enclosure + GPU? You'd likely be better served by selling the current MBP, and putting that + the eGPU cash towards a 16" M2 Macbook Pro. 

[DrMacintosh]

30 minutes ago, CalebTech212 said:

I do video editing. It has been a hobby, but I am trying to get set up for it to be my job.

I'd honestly sell that machine and look at a 13" M2 MacBook Pro. You could honestly get away with a 15" M2 MacBook Air, but you'll want the fan built into the Pro for sustain renders and large projects.

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-inch

 

If you get any upgrades and budget is a concern, get more memory first. You can always edit off of external storage.

 

The hardware accelerated video encoders/decoders are way faster than the ones in traditional dGPUs today.  Here's a demo of the 13" M2 MacBook Pro:

 

[Bitter]

Vega and Polaris may not have good or full hardware support in some editing applications, so make sure whatever you pick out will actually work with your software.

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Bitter said:

Vega and Polaris may not have good or full hardware support in some editing applications, so make sure whatever you pick out will actually work with your software.

They're using Final Cut Pro, it will work with any hardware Apple supports. Just as @DrMacintosh noted, the dedicated en/decoders onboard M series chips make them far, far faster than brute forcing it with Intel/AMD hardware (even in brute force, pretty sure M chips are still faster by a good margin). Especially in Final Cut, which is Apple's home turf. 

[jaslion]

55 minutes ago, CalebTech212 said:

I do video editing. It has been a hobby, but I am trying to get set up for it to be my job.

I am looking at equipment to make the process faster and better.

Get a new macbook m1 or better.

 

The amount of money spend on a dock + gpu will get you basically the entry level m1 which is going to be WAY faster than even the best gpu you can put in there due to having dedicated accelerators.