Catalina & eGPU...

[RC12]

I’ve been following this thread for months. Hopefully this is the end of it lol I’ll report back once I can test with my RX 590.

UPDATE: IT WORKS!!!! No boot screen unfortunately, but it loaded right to the log in screen. Only downside was the login screen was set at a much lower resolution, I typically run my system at 3840x1600. That can be fixed by enabling automatic login. Either way, I'm happy I won't have to worry about waking up to a Mac mini running at insane temperatures after an update and stuck at a black screen again!

 

[MarkAtl]

I’ve been following this thread for months. Hopefully this is the end of it lol I’ll report back once I can test with my RX 590.

UPDATE: IT WORKS!!!! No boot screen unfortunately, but it loaded right to the log in screen. Only downside was the login screen was set at a much lower resolution, I typically run my system at 3840x1600. That can be fixed by enabling automatic login. Either way, I'm happy I won't have to worry about waking up to a Mac mini running at insane temperatures after an update and stuck at a black screen again!

Excellent news. Glad I held off buying a replacement for my RX 580.

 

[defean]

I updated to Catalina 10.15.5 public beta 2. The Boot Rom version changed again (1037.120.79.0.0 (iBridge: 17.16.15274.5.3,0)), but the behavior (black screens during boot/reboot) for my setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Blackmagic eGPU (RX580) / LG 5k) did again *not* improve (in my case).

I read the reports of some people saying, that their RX5x0 based eGPU setup runs fine now (with the 10.15.5 beta), but my setup with the Blackmagic RX580 eGPU is still showing black screens during boots. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but so far, if I boot 5 times, there will be at least one black screen.

A new issue showed up since 10.15.5 public beta 1. Very rarely, on a cold boot, my eGPU won't even start/initialize. In this case, when the Mac Mini is up and running, I unplug/replug the TB3 cable, which is running from the Mini to the eGPU and that will then start the eGPU and dislpay the login screen.

 

[RC12]

I updated to Catalina 10.15.5 public beta 2. The Boot Rom version changed again (1037.120.79.0.0 (iBridge: 17.16.15274.5.3,0)), but the behavior (black screens during boot/reboot) for my setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Blackmagic eGPU (RX580) / LG 5k) did again *not* improve (in my case).

I read the reports of some people saying, that their RX5x0 based eGPU setup runs fine now (with the 10.15.5 beta), but my setup with the Blackmagic RX580 eGPU is still showing black screens during boots. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but so far, if I boot 5 times, there will be at least one black screen.

A new issue showed up since 10.15.5 public beta 1. Very rarely, on a cold boot, my eGPU won't even start/initialize. In this case, when the Mac Mini is up and running, I unplug/replug the TB3 cable, which is running from the Mini to the eGPU and that will then start the eGPU and dislpay the login screen.

Just upgraded to beta 3. During the install, eGPU refused to start up, cause my Mac mini to restart over and over. Unplugging the eGPU allowed the update to go through. I’ll report back after more testing

 

[frou]

10.15.5 final has a new Boot ROM: 1037.120.87.0.0

Seems promising to have fixed the blank screen boot issue with my Sonnet eGPU + Vega64, but need more mileage to be sure.

EDIT: Nope. Tried another reboot and the permanent blank screen happened. Screw the jabronis at Apple failing to fix this for release after release after release.

 

[MacU!]

razer corex with rx580 here.
first reboot after 10.15.5 update: no boot screen, after 3 minutes or so login sreen appears ( the behavior of mojave
let me reboot again.
[automerge]1590587098[/automerge]
second reboot, login screen appears again.

 

[RC12]

Just had a chance to test 10.15.15 myself. With a Razer core X and RX 590, the system fails to boot up when initiating the update. I have to unplug the GPU for the update to go through. After the update, it allows me to boot, but mixed results.

very disappointing. I thought we were past this Apple

 

[nyskifan]

Successful cold boot on mac mini 2018 + Sonnet enclosure + 5700XT after upgrading to 10.15.5. I have not tested further but it is already an improvement over 10.15.4...

 

[Maccotto]

I have a question, the Vega 56is better than Rx580?
Have it the boot problem?

 

[Toonartist]

I seem to be able to reboot without the headless HDMI plug after the 10.15.5 update. So far I've only tested by shutting down followed by switching on and not, restart. In the past Restart ended up with a permanent black screen. When using Shutdown, I don't get the progress bar when restarting but I can live without that.... I guess.... I'm going to have to test "Restart"...

Edit ..... and.... the 1st attempt at "Restart" rather than shutdown failed. Black screen and didn't reboot. However, unlike previous times updates which used to result in not being able to restart until an HDMI cable was re-installed directly to the mini, I was able to force shutdown and startup without any additional mucking around. I then attempted a restart a 2nd time and this also worked.

So, the latest update does seem to be a step forward. Will attempt a few more restarts.

edit 2....

Restart success is intermittent. Some work some fail. However, "Shutdown - Startup" and "Force Shutdown - Startup" have all booted up correctly. So, there seems to be something going on with the way the system restarts that it doesn't like which is causing intermittent problems.

------------
2018 Mac min - external TB3 SSD - Razer Core X - powercolor red dragon Vega 56.

 

[melvinlusk]

For what it's worth, I'm able to boot without problems using solely the eGPU connected to my two monitors via DisplayPort with the 10.15.5 update.

 

[melvinlusk]

I have a question, the Vega 56is better than Rx580?
Have it the boot problem?

Are you asking if the Vega 56 is better than the RX580 in general? The answer is yes....

Some people are reporting boot problems with both cards, but more seem to be having more trouble with the RX580.

I have a Vega 64 in an OWC Mercury Helios FX, and two LG 4K monitors connected to it via DisplayPort. I'm able to boot fine with macOS 10.15.5.

 

[ek9max]

Hmmmmm. I just got a sonnet 560 pick today to see how much it improved my UI lag I was getting on my Mac mini with 4k display. Worked wonders and I’m quite happy.

I got excited and figured I ordered a razor core x and used 580 since it wold be around the same price as the sonnet 560 puck....

now I’m worried about my order.

 

[Stephen.R]

I think I’m ready to jump into this hot mess now. My options locally (ie without importing) are:

Various Akitio cases;
Asus XG station pro;
Asus ROG XG station 2;

My plan at this stage is to pair a base Akitio Node (ie non pro, non titan) with a 5500xt.

I don’t game, I just want better responsiveness in desktop apps (running 2 4K displays on a 2018 i7/64GB Mac mini). The basic Node case has a few advantages from my perspective: it uses a regular PSU which means (a) no external box/wall wart and (b) it’s ridiculously simple to upgrade if I should need to (it seems unlikely to me that low-medium range stuff I’d use would need more than what the factory PSU requires but it’s nice to have the option to upgrade it)

If not for the constant reports of 5x0 series cards having terrible support I’d probably lean that way (Remember: modest requirements) but the 5500 doesn’t seem that much more expensive here.

So, is there some piece of the picture I’m missing, in terms of what’s available and what I intend to buy?

Any experience/advice available is appreciated.

 

[Queru]

Mac Mini 2018 i5 + Sonnet eGPU 550 with RX580.
About 9 months since update to Catalina. Keep getting problems with booting - white screens, no boot screen at all, every update bring new problems. I’m more than sick and tired with it. I’ll never buy Mac mini again. Not sure about more apple products at this point as problem is not fixed for so many months now.

 

[tigo013]

MacBook Pro 16” with Core Razer X + Radeon VII.

Everything works normal when you plug in the eGPU after turning on the computer. However, when restarting the machine in clamshell, the boot-up screen would appear at times and at other times it would not appear. When it doesn’t appear, I’d have to open the laptop to log in there. Then, although I’m logging in directly on the laptop itself. Sometime it would load up fine with the egpu still plugged in and sometimes it would crash.

I called up apple support, to try to get a definitive answer to this confusing situation. They said, that only the listed graphics cards + external enclosures are officially supported - everything else is luck.

Given the confusing behaviour of the machine. I decided to turn-off file-vault, and try to reboot the machine with the egpu plugged in. It worked consistently, - I am now able to restart the machine in clamshell, - with the boot-up screen loading up on the external monitor and everything is working fine.

Conclusion from this. Apple needs to push out the egpu drivers to outside the encrypted data files of the user. User profiles can be encrypted in file-vault, - but all else - drive related need to sit outside of it.

I’m finally content with the machine. It’s been a pain since its purchase, and the egpu.

 

[stillcrazyman]

2018 Mini i7/32GB with 10.15.5 installed - auto login.

Asus XG Station Pro w/ Asus Vega 56.

DP connect to monitor from eGpu - black screen all the way to login. Keep HDMI connected.
With HDMI connected to Mini then to display - boot screen, normal use.

So, my work around remains. Boot up with HDMI from Mini to Display, then power on eGpu, switch inputs on display, disconnect HDMI from Mini.

*Edit - Restarts do not appear to work with DP connected. To switch inputs, I have to completely shut down.

 

[ek9max]

Hmmmmm. I just got a sonnet 560 pick today to see how much it improved my UI lag I was getting on my Mac mini with 4k display. Worked wonders and I’m quite happy.

I got excited and figured I ordered a razor core x and used 580 since it wold be around the same price as the sonnet 560 puck....

now I’m worried about my order.

Got my Razer X core/RX580 hooked up today. Wakes/sleeps/boots perfect first try. It's only been a couple hours so far. But it seems perfect.

Seems quiet and under my desk I can BARELY hear this thing.

Ran some benchmarks in geekbench 5. OpenCL and Metal are about 10x+ better than the integrated 630 chip on my mac mini and about 3x better than the Sonnet Puck 560 I had on for the last couple days.

Fluidity is about the same as the sonnet 560 and WAY better than without either on my scaled 4k display.

This is probably overkill as I don't do any gaming or much video editing at all.... But I NEEDED the sonnet 560puck to make the UI seem smooth, and this Razer X core with a used market RX580 was about the same price.

I'm happy.

 

[MacU!]

is the 10.15.5 supplemental update safe to upgrade to?

 

[tigo013]

For me it was. No hiccups and all is working. Can restart the machine in clamshell with the boot screen loading on the external monitor and everything is good.

 

[MacU!]

crying...
the supplemental update broke the login screen fix again...
rx580 and core x

 

[MacU!]

with egpu connected
win 10 reboot to mac: no login screen
mac reboot to win 10: works

 

[dspdoc]

This thread is freaking me out! I just ordered a new mini and a Sonnet 650 / 5700 XT combo. Is this all still broken? No boot screens, black screens, hangs etc...?

 

[rake_mistry]

Finally took the plunge and upgraded to 10.15.5 last night. Had hope that things would work properly based on feedback from people with similar setups (Mac mini 2018 with Razer Core X and RX 580), but unfortunately...

Still unable to boot properly using just the eGPU ?

HOWEVER, I've discovered a "new workaround". Previously, I had to have a display connected directly to my Mac mini during boot in order for things to work. Without one (displays connected solely via eGPU), I would get a black screen, GPU fans going crazy, no fun.

What I've noticed now is that if I connect a display directly to the Mac mini before shutting down, I can disconnect that display before starting up and boot properly using just the eGPU. Unfortunately this is still a workaround and still requires the use of a display connected directly to the Mac mini, but it feels a bit nicer not having to deal with connecting/disconnecting a display during startup.

This whole song and dance is a total sh*tshow and entirely Apple's fault (my setup was working perfectly under Mojave, I held off on Catalina because of this issue but then they introduced the same problem to the last Mojave update). I've submitted countless bug reports and crash reports, even sent Craig an email once as a Hail Mary, but it seems that Apple truly doesn't care.

 

[dspdoc]

Finally took the plunge and upgraded to 10.15.5 last night. Had hope that things would work properly based on feedback from people with similar setups (Mac mini 2018 with Razer Core X and RX 580), but unfortunately...

Still unable to boot properly using just the eGPU ?

HOWEVER, I've discovered a "new workaround". Previously, I had to have a display connected directly to my Mac mini during boot in order for things to work. Without one (displays connected solely via eGPU), I would get a black screen, GPU fans going crazy, no fun.

What I've noticed now is that if I connect a display directly to the Mac mini before shutting down, I can disconnect that display before starting up and boot properly using just the eGPU. Unfortunately this is still a workaround and still requires the use of a display connected directly to the Mac mini, but it feels a bit nicer not having to deal with connecting/disconnecting a display during startup.

This whole song and dance is a total sh*tshow and entirely Apple's fault (my setup was working perfectly under Mojave, I held off on Catalina because of this issue but then they introduced the same problem to the last Mojave update). I've submitted countless bug reports and crash reports, even sent Craig an email once as a Hail Mary, but it seems that Apple truly doesn't care.

Have you tried this?: