Are EGPU issues fixed in 10.15.2 Catalina

Ok, I booted up day 3 now and it did not boot 4 times to video. I can tell the way the eGPU fans seem to keep hanging RPM in a medium to high and never falling to the low to no RPM.

5th time I tried CMD+OPT+P+R which now that we don't have a sound on boot I had to just listen to the eGPU fans increase in RPM. It took a little while longer but eventually I see my Ultrawide Samsung show some pink horizontal lines and then the login prompt.

Still appears to be an issue.

• Sonnet 550w + Vega 56 via TB3
• Thunderquad 2 SSD/HDD bay via TB3 to TB2 adaptor
• Sonnet Echo 11 TB2 dock w/ Blu-ray and (2) SSD's - TB2 chained from above

I think for folks using the onboard HDMI you'll always get a video feed. I had this same issue when I mistakenly enabled File Vault. Since that doesn't activate the TB3 ports eGPU would fail to start so I had to turn it off. But the video issue persists randomly.

At this point it comes down to what monitor are you trying to run. 4K @60hz doesn't seem to work via HDMI on OS X. So then your in a sea of trying to find adaptors like USB-C to DisplayPort 1.2 but my understanding is then I would have to go app by app and enable eGPU Support. No?

I'm not entirely sure why a 4k HDMI plug would make a difference. It just allows you to change the resolution from 1080p to 2160p for the HDMI Plug.

If you Mirror your displays and your Main display that is plugged into your eGPU and used as the default monitor(Optimized For) for example is 1080p then the HDMI Plug would emulate 1080p.

However, what I have not tried is that if your HDMI Plug is 1080p and main monitor is a 4k. If you set your main display in 4k resolution. I wonder what would happen to the HDMI 1080p Plug.

Ultimately, I am using a 4k HDMI Plug, not sure if I'm allowed to add links but here it is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C4TWZRM/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ATzoEbDQJE7M9

Also, from the eGPU I tried

• Display Port to Display Port
• Display Port to HDMI
• HDMI to HDMI

They all work just fine on my setup.

Finally had time to try the the dual HDMI and DisplayPort cables going into my 30-inch monitor. Works, but with SNAFUs:

• During restart you get the Apple logo and progress bar back, but when the system is fully ready to go, everything defaults to the HDMI monitor imput. So you have to fire up the System Displays preferences and use the Arrangement option to pull the menu bar to the eGPU/DisplayPort screen. Every time. At least you aren't pulling cables, but It Is Annoying (TM).
• Alternatively, if you click on "Display Mirroring", then everything defaults okay but the screen refresh runs at the lowest common speed, so even though you are getting the monitor signal from the eGPU/DisplayPort, you run super slow and everything stutters as you drag windows around on the screen.
• Consequently - I'm going back to the Mini-then-eGPU startup routine
• Will be interesting to see how things work when the blind HDMI 4K plug arrives in a couple of weeks (yep - not a typo - I'm in Australia…)

Click on the Following button to change it to Follow and then refresh the page. There was one page I had to do that 3 times before it took.

Also 10.15.3 was released today so maybe it will have a fix for your problems. I don't use an eGPU so can't test.

Apple will never discuss publicly and suggested or extant problems until they have determined there is a problem, have fixed the problem, and has then announced the release of the fix.

Keep in mind that many reported problems are not usually bugs or bugs that require a fix. Apple watches such reports carefully while collecting reports. They will analyze the reports to determine if there truly is a bug that is serious enough to require fixing. What Apple will not do is release any information until they are good and ready. They are very secretive.

Most people who come here with a problem are unable to approach the issue logically and scientifically. As a result we get all sorts of strange reports that are almost worthless. So, we try to interpret each one like it's in a foreign language looking for the occasional hint as to what the poster is trying to communicate. Then we have to form a solution for what we think is the problem. Sometimes, like in your case, we can't provide a simple and precise solution. So, we provide, instead, possible solutions for you to try hoping one of them might work. I go from the simplest possibility to invasive surgery. Each problem is unique and some are pretty lame. I'm often surprised how few people who have just bought a new product, find it doesn't work or they don't know what to do, never consider just going back to the Apple Store to get it fixed. If it was their car, then the dealer is the first place they go or call.

Sorry, that's my gripe of the day but it wasn't aimed at you. It's probable that a change in macOS or your hardware's firmware has introduced an issue with the firmware and/or hardware in the eGPU box. This sometimes happens. Apple lets all manufacturers who make compatible products get copies of macOS, iOS, tvOS, etc. before new versions are released so they can test it with their products to work out any problems either at their end or Apple's. But some simply won't be bothered or won't test until the final product is released by Apple. That means the user may have a wait before the problem is removed.

Unfortunately the latest 10.115.2 BREAKS the eGPU support which was introduced with 10.15.1

I'm using the ASUS XG-Station-Pro eGPU with MSI RX 5700 Mech OC + Mac Mini 2018.

I had to go back to doing what worked with the original Catalina release. Make sure the eGPU is turned off. Now turn on the 2018 Mac mini. Wait a minute or so for it to start up, THEN turn on the eGPU. The user login screen will then show and you can use the screen as normal.

Do not have the eGPU running when restarting the Mac mini - all you get is a "black screen of death". There might be a signal, but no image. Very frustrating. Consequently there is no Apple startup logo or progress bar.

Sheesh - does anyone bother to test these things?

I believe the black screen results from the GPU card lacking Apple boot ROMs. I used to have one in my Mac Pro that lacked boot ROMs. It would start with the black screen but shortly it would work after the computer booted up.

the startup screen not displaying progress would indicate the EFI boot ROM is not available on that card, in which case an image should appear once you get to the login screen.

Despite having GPU drivers installed they won't become available until the boot processes is complete.

Apple may support the architecture of these cards but they may modifications to display in the pre-boot environment and depending on the vendor that does not insure consistence.

All that aside the articles posted do appear to indicate Apple busted something and this is why my MacPro 5,1 is a great Windows machine when you need an Nvidia solution.

> I believe the black screen results from the GPU card lacking Apple boot ROMs.

Everything worked fine when I had the RX580 in the XG-Station-Pro and the Mac Mini running 10.14.x Mojave. Things have been seriously broken/ weird since Catalina came along.

Oddly enough, 10.15.1 was actually workable with the new RX5700 (broken with the RX580), although there was no booting progress bar. 10.15.2 killed this. It never loads a viewable screen no matter how long you wait, just the "black screen of death".

So it isn't just a case of be-patient and the login screen will show. It doesn't. Like I said earlier, you have to start the computer with the eGPU turned off, wait a minute or so and then turn the eGPU on. You won't get the start-up sequence, but you'll get the login screen. SNAFU

Same thing happening for me with 10.15.2 and your delayed power up of the eGPU works.

I have a Radeon RX Vega 64 inside a Razer Core X. I was getting the black screen on boot up. I was able to get a full normal boot up if I set my Display Preferences to "Default for display" but switching that to "Scaled" would cause the black screen boot.

Now I can get a full boot up even using "Scaled" if I power up the Mac Mini first then wait about 30sec and switch on the eGPU.

Annoying way to have to boot up but it works.

> I was able to get a full normal boot up if I set my Display Preferences to "Default for display"

Sounds like a good idea so I tried it for my RX5700/ XG-Station-Pro/ McMini combination…. alas didn't it work. Permanent Black Screen.

Am not surprised though, different GPU architecture, different eGPU housing. Even if it did work, it wouldn't be a viable solution as the text on my 32-inch monitor would be absurdly small =/

Back to the Mac/eGPU powerup two-step.

I'm on the mac mini 2018, razer core x, rx580.

No problems on 10.15.1 but encounter blank screen on bootup right after upgrading to 10.15.2.

My display settings is already set to "Default for display" and i still encounter the same problem. I'm too lazy to power off the eGPU, wait 30sec etc. What i have done is i force shutdown the mac, turn it on again. Sometimes it works on 2nd try. Sometimes on the 3rd. But the display will come up.

Avoid 10.15.2 if you are using eGPU.

Same here ... after the update to 10.15.2 the EGPU support is broken on my 2018 Mac mini (Razor Core X & Sapphire Vega 64). Black screen on boot and the mac mini becomes hot after some time ...

I've been really happy with 10.15.1. I've tried to restore my system to 10.15.1 from time machine but boot support is still broken ... dang !

Not a nice X-mas present ... thank You not Apple ...

The "solution" doesn't seem to be permanent ... I've been struck with a black screen at boot again ... reconnected internal HDMI and disconnected EGPU ... still black screen ... multiple reboots with resetting NVRAM and PRAM ... now its the system is running again (without EGPU) ... giving up and waiting for a fix from APPLE ... wake up guys !!!