Systems with no discrete GPU or GPU with less than 2GB of VRAM.

Upscaling of SD to HD with cutting-edge AI averaged 850% faster.

Video Noise Reduction went from a crawl (4fps) to real-time (24fps) for playback.

Motion graphics test with Motion Blur & 3D averaged 50% more frames per second for playback.

Exports were an average of 2-5x faster.

Rendering was an average of 3-5x faster.

Assets included footage up to 8k, with most of it being UHD.

Various footage formats were used in the tests, including: RED, HEVC, h264, Canon, and Arri RAW.

Tests were designed around common post-production pain points (see below).

The tests focused on video editing tools: Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Adobe Premiere Pro, Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve, and Topaz AI.Three systems were tested-a 2018 MacMini, a 2019 MacBook Pro, and a 2018 iMac. Adding an eGPU gives a serious speedup for Intel Macs for a fraction of the cost of buying new equipment. OWC had several practical tests performed focusing on eGPU usage for Mac-based content creators. It allows your system to leverage the dedicated processing capabilities using a desktop Graphics Card card (like the AMD 6800XT.) What’s the TL DR? An eGPU does help you work faster A box (like an Akitio Node) connects to your Macintosh via Thunderbolt 3. What is an eGPU?Īn eGPU is an external Graphics Processing Unit. This post is the first in a set of materials to help you extend the life and performance of your Intel Mac, primarily focused on content creators.

Do you work in Video? Or work with 3D? Do you create content regularly?Īn eGPU can make a practical difference in some of the most painful “waiting around for my computer” moments.

2012 mac mini egpu