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Final Cut Pro with eGPU Question
I bought a new external GPU (Radeon RX580) for my 2012 iMac (Mojave 10.14.6) and it works great with Apple Motion 5 but I don’t notice any difference in Final Cut Pro X (10.4.8), even after selecting it in Preferences > Playback. I read that that FCPX still uses the internal card for certain tasks, even if there is an external GPU attached. The problem is that FCPX is constantly freezing up and lagging severely. Does anybody have any experience with this and can help me figure out a solution? Thank you in advance.
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7 Replies
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The latest update of Final Cut Pro X broke internal eGpu functionality. Before the update, when you were able to select prefer eGpu under the inspector, the eGpu functioned well.
Here is a discussion in regards to the matter at eGpu.io
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/catalina-not-using-my-blackmagic-egpu/
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Thank you for your response. It seems that the eGPU is a waste of money at this point. I guess I will return it. Thank you again.
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It depends on circumstance. To power the built in display, the eGPU for Final Cut Pro X has definitely been severely crippled, except for rendering out a project. On the other hand, if you use the eGPU with an external display, the performance will bely improved (i.e connect eGPU to iMac, and then connect a display to eGPU, and run Final Cut Pro X on external display.
Hopefully this issue will be addressed and fixed eventually, since Apple intended for eGPUs to act vas a modular upgrade for MacBook Pros. With that said, I would question if your 2012 iMac would potentially suffer bottleneck problems, since I’m guessing you’re using the eGPU with a Thunderbolt 2 to thunderbolt 3 adapter. Apple officially supports Thunderbolt 3 to power an eGPU, and I wonder if your Thunderbolt 2 would unofficially be fast enough.
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After a little search, apparently people on egpu.io has successfully used Thunderbolt 2 with eGPUs, such as the Sonnets, so if you wish to dabble, try plugging in an external monitor to the egpu, and see what performance you get.
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Thank you for your response. I plugged the external monitor directly into the eGPU card via HDMI and it is just a blank screen. I can see that it is powered up but nothing is showing. I selected it in Final Cut Pro as well. Any ideas?
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A lot of variables. First thing I would try is to disconnect the eGPU from you iMac, unplug the eGpu cable from your iMac, and plug it back in. I find myself doing this every so often, particularly if my MacBook Pro was sleeping.
If that doesn’t sort it out, consult with this.
https://egpu.io/setup-guide-external-graphics-card-mac/#tb3-enclosures
Or better, ask one of the friendly people of egpu.io. They would know their stuff a lot better.
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That is awesome info – Thank you for all of your help
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