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Radeon RX 580 Graphics

Hello all -


My old (2011) Mac mini died recently and I bought a new 2018 model that comes with Mojave and motherboard Intel UHD Graphics 630. Almost immediately I noticed the graphics were much slower when playing games, such as Call of Duty 2, than my previous 2011 model. FPS was less than half of what I was getting before and the disparity between me and other players' speed was much more pronounced. So I took the plunge and bought a Mercury Helios FX eGPU chassis from OtherWorld computing and an AMD Radeon Pulse RX 580 GPU card. I expected pronounced improvement with this combination.


Alas graphics performance with the new GPU was significantly WORSE that was I was getting with the built in graphics. FPS is almost half as slow as without the eGPU. CoD2 is almost unplayable at this point, all the other players are in fast motion like a cartoon. I did graphics optimization with the new card in the game before getting these results. Do graphic cards generally need extensive tweaking to get optimum performance? If so, how is that accomplished? Where would i find instructions for the same?


Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks - Randy.


Posted on Jan 18, 2019 2:49 PM

Reply
19 replies

Jan 19, 2019 7:52 AM in response to Randy Knowles

For optimal performance when playing on Mac OS:

1) Connect your preferred gaming monitor directly to the RX 580 gpu (10-30% fps penalty on monitors connected directly to mini)

2) If you have a display connected directly to the Mini then either:

----- a) Find the game in finder, right click on it, select 'Get Info', and check 'Prefer External GPU'

-or- b) Go to Display Preferences and make sure an eGPU connected monitor is your primary display (has the white bar over it in Arrangement tab).

Jan 19, 2019 4:28 PM in response to hcsitas

The display is an ASUS PB298Q, and it's plugged directly into the RX 580 HDMI port. When I check the display in System Information it shows AMD Radeon RX 580. I recently bought a new game that is rated as requiring advanced graphics and is supposed to NOT work with Intel built-in graphics, Transport Fever. It works correctly so I assume the RX 580 is actually working, at least so to some extent.


Thanks for your reply. - Randy

Jan 19, 2019 11:37 PM in response to Randy Knowles

Looks like a driver issue. The AMD support page

https://www.amd.com/en/support/graphics/radeon-500-series/radeon-rx-500-series/radeon-rx-580

makes no mention of MacOS so it’s possible you’re handicapped with a bare bones configuration that could explain the inconsistent results you’re seeing.


With support from AMD ruled out, your best bet (unfortunately) would be to shop for a card that explicitly includes Mojave compatibility. All the best!

Jan 20, 2019 3:57 AM in response to Randy Knowles

If you are seeing worse performance on the 2018 vs. the 2011, chances

you may have installed some 3rd party software or hardware driver

that is not working well with macOS Mojave or something that is

causing conflicts with the new security chip in the 2018.


I suggest downloading Etrecheck from the MacApp Store, run it,

and post the results here and we may be able to see any

problematic items.

Jan 20, 2019 6:22 AM in response to Randy Knowles

This is sounding like an issue specific to CoD. Maybe CoD's 'optimization' saw you had a dGPU and automatically maximized the settings/resolution and you just need to drop to a lower preset. Maybe CoD is hard coded to only use the iGPU giving you the performance hit of an indirect connection on top of the week UHD 630 performance. Maybe you were mistaking jerky lag movement for low fps. Maybe something else entirely.


If you want an objective test try downloading the free version of Unigine Valley and run benchmarks with and without the eGPU. For example when running the 'Extreme' preset my 2018 mini scores 6.5 fps when using the UHD 630, and 23.8 fps when using an RX 460 eGPU. If your 580 scores less than my 460 then you will know your eGPU setup has a problem.


@hcsitas: MacOS has included native Polaris drivers since Sierra, so users aren't supposed to try and download additional drivers from AMD.

Jan 21, 2019 2:10 PM in response to padams35

padams35 - To clarify about optimization - I called the Apple store first and asked if CoD2 would run under Mojave. They told me the Apple Store version was "optimized" for Mojave. Then I first started CoD2 after installing the eGPU, I got a message asking if I wanted the graphic settings optimized for the new graphics adapter. I answered yes to that question and the settings in the game changed automatically. I have CoD2 set to display FPS in the upper right corner, that is how I know that FPS performance had gotten steadily worse.


I am unfamiliar with Engine Valley and very much appreciate your suggestion. I'll follow up on that. FPS in CoD2 on the old Mac mini (2011) with AMD Radeon HD6630M graphics on the motherboard was consistently over 125. On the new mini with Intel UHD 630 graphics it was under 60 and with Radeon 580 in the low 30's.


Thanks again - Randy

Radeon RX 580 Graphics

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