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hagjohn

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2006
1,724
3,496
Pennsylvania
In order to install b2 & b3, I had to disconnect my eGPU but when it was done, plugged it in and everything worked fine. I had a few screen freezes in 10.15.1, so this is why I installed 10.15.2 b2 & b3. Freezes continued in 2 but I haven't had any freezes in 3. B3 also seems to be a bit quicker on my Mini.

I have no issues booting up to login screen with my eGPU and 5700.
 

defean

macrumors member
Jan 9, 2017
47
27
Were there any reports of the combination Mac mini 2018 + Blackmagic egpu (Radeon Pro 580) being affected? Didn’t find any.

My setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Mlackmagic eGPU / LG 5k) shows black screens during boots and reboots. I.e. on 50-60% of all boots and reboots I see the Apple logo, 1 or 2 seconds of status bar and then the screen goes black. If I'm lucky, after 20sec I see the login screen, if not the screen stays black, until I disconnect the TB3 cable from the monitor and reconnect it which then will display the login screen. After this the combination works flawlessly (until the next boot or reboot). For me that sounds like it's related to what is discussed in this thread.

I just found this thread... For the past 2 month I documented my support odyssey in this thread. (Only strange thing is, that my problems started already with Mojave 10.14.6 when I bought the Blackmagic eGPU)

Now I'm tempted to find a used Blackmagic eGPU Pro to figure out, if this behavior really stops, when I'm using a Vega based eGPU.

And after everything I tried...
_Trying another LG 5k
_Trying different TB3 cables
_Clean installs of Catalina
_Got my eGpu replaced by the Blackmagic support

...it would be somewhat logical, if it's related to MacOS driver issues...
Would be just great if Apple would fix it!
 
Last edited:

Wowmail

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2017
127
89
San Diego, California
I'm sorry your forced to buy another card.. I feel your pain, I did it also. I purchased a Vega 56 in the eGpu and it is now Mac Mini Nirvana. The Vega is buttery smooth. 4k is fantastic.. I re-purposed my 580 into a windows box for My Daughter's home work.

Boot Camp, was a different issue. It had worked fine with the 580.. But the Vega, It errors out and will not load drivers.

I ended up deleting the Boot Camp partition and restored the space back to Mac OS.
I decided to bite the bullet and build a fire breathing gaming rig....

1 z390 mother board .
1 Core I-9 9900ks.
1 Nvidia 2070 Super.
64 GB DDR4
1 Thunderbolt 3 PCI card.
1000 watt power supply.
A slick case with water cooling.

This rig eats games for Lunch.. Yes it cost a pretty penny, But I no longer have to fret driver updates in Boot Camp. I no longer have to pray to the computer spirits that Boot Camp would work, or need constant tweaking.

The Mac Mini is now only Mac OS and it does all my usual work flawlessly. Having a separate Gaming system is so much better in so many ways.. I wish I had never started tinkering with Boot Camp. I swear I spent more time tracking down bugs and glitches, then playing games!

I hope this helps. This Thread has been awesome.
 

jgrove

macrumors regular
Jul 18, 2006
164
112
Hi,

I use a MBP 2018 with a Blackmagic egpu, the set up works fine with beta 3 but the screen only comes on once the login screen is loaded this is consistent with the previous OS. The egpu is working as it lights up. Previously I had a gaming box which was a bit hit and miss, and sometimes froze sometimes requiring a power down and everything and then back up again. Remember egpu support is only official on certain enclosures and devices, and I would imagine Apple tailor drivers to suit.
 

defean

macrumors member
Jan 9, 2017
47
27
I updated to Catalina 10.15.2 (public) beta 3 last night. The bahvior (50% black screens during boot/rebbot) for my setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Blackmagic eGPU / LG 5k) did not change/improve.
 

MacU!

macrumors newbie
Nov 18, 2019
13
3
I updated to Catalina 10.15.2 (public) beta 3 last night. The bahvior (50% black screens during boot/rebbot) for my setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Blackmagic eGPU / LG 5k) did not change/improve.
Thank you for testing it.
 

defean

macrumors member
Jan 9, 2017
47
27
I updated to Catalina 10.15.2 (public) beta 3 last night. The bahvior (50% black screens during boot/rebbot) for my setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Blackmagic eGPU / LG 5k) did not change/improve.

Now tested with Beta 4...... Same issues as before, at least for me...
 

lietsche

macrumors regular
Apr 4, 2006
183
84
My setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Mlackmagic eGPU / LG 5k) shows black screens during boots and reboots. I.e. on 50-60% of all boots and reboots I see the Apple logo, 1 or 2 seconds of status bar and then the screen goes black. If I'm lucky, after 20sec I see the login screen, if not the screen stays black, until I disconnect the TB3 cable from the monitor and reconnect it which then will display the login screen. After this the combination works flawlessly (until the next boot or reboot). For me that sounds like it's related to what is discussed in this thread.

I just found this thread... For the past 2 month I documented my support odyssey in this thread. (Only strange thing is, that my problems started already with Mojave 10.14.6 when I bought the Blackmagic eGPU)

Now I'm tempted to find a used Blackmagic eGPU Pro to figure out, if this behavior really stops, when I'm using a Vega based eGPU.

And after everything I tried...
_Trying another LG 5k
_Trying different TB3 cables
_Clean installs of Catalina
_Got my eGpu replaced by the Blackmagic support

...it would be somewhat logical, if it's related to MacOS driver issues...
Would be just great if Apple would fix it!


Thanks,

I did a clean install to Catalina on a different partition (Mac mini 2018, 6-core, 32GB RAM) and a Blackmagic eGPU Radeon Pro 580 and have no issues whatsoever. Everything is smooth and performance in FCPX 10.4.7 for example is improved compared to Mojave.

Lucky me.
 

jgrove

macrumors regular
Jul 18, 2006
164
112
i am pretty confused now, I use a 2018 MBP with the Blackmagic eGPU.

With the egpu connected but the MBP powered down and the lid shut, open the lid, Apple logo displays on laptop screen. The Login In screen once loaded appears on my main display, but I have never got the Apple logo on my display, only on the laptop. I believe the manual to the egpu tells you to connect it once the computer is booted up. I have no idea if this is normal, but I occasionally get disconnects, but this is likely the cable. Certainly and interesting thread. Hopefully Apple can sort this out with software and firmware updates.
 

lietsche

macrumors regular
Apr 4, 2006
183
84
Thanks,

I did a clean install to Catalina on a different partition (Mac mini 2018, 6-core, 32GB RAM) and a Blackmagic eGPU Radeon Pro 580 and have no issues whatsoever. Everything is smooth and performance in FCPX 10.4.7 for example is improved compared to Mojave.

Lucky me.

FWIW:

LG 34" connected via HDMI to Blackmagic eGPU
 

defean

macrumors member
Jan 9, 2017
47
27
I updated to Catalina 10.15.2 (public) beta 3 last night. The bahvior (50% black screens during boot/rebbot) for my setup (Mac Mini 2018 / Blackmagic eGPU / LG 5k) did not change/improve.

Now tested with 10.15.2 (final)...... Same issues as before, at least for me...
 

melvinlusk

macrumors member
Jun 11, 2019
54
8
Ponchatoula, LA
I upgraded to 10.15.2 last night, and now the problem has returned for me, which is even more concerning because I have a Vega 64 eGPU. I didn't have this issue on 10.15.1 with the Vega, although I did have it with the the RX 580. It also won't boot if I have my SATA card in the OWC Mercury connected via Thunderbolt.
 

frou

macrumors 65816
Mar 14, 2009
1,287
1,786
I upgraded to 10.15.2 last night, and now the problem has returned for me, which is even more concerning because I have a Vega 64 eGPU.
Same here after the new Mojave update (18G2022).

It's the updates of the BootROM causing this, not the macOS itself. This Mini has never ran Catalina.
 

stevemr123

macrumors 6502
May 27, 2010
323
226
Yeah, Apple managed to ruin eGPU for everybody now on the 2018 Mini. At least as a Polaris user now I don't feel disadvantaged over Vega users lol. :)

Now instead of white screen of death I get a blank black screen and even the boot logo is gone. Turning the eGPU off/on does not help either, I have to boot with eGPU disconnected altogether. So the situation worsened.
 
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rmt37

macrumors newbie
Oct 3, 2008
17
3
@stevemr123 Is that the fix? Boot first, then plug it back in? I don’t have an HDMI monitor handy, so I’m kind of driving blind with this 10.15.2 update. I can’t even get the Mini to show up over VNC. (Mac Mini 2018 with eGPU Vega 56 to Displayport connected CinemaDisplay)
 

lietsche

macrumors regular
Apr 4, 2006
183
84
FWIW

10.15.2 Mac mini 2018 + Blackmagic eGPU 580: no issues whatsoever. Monitor connected to eGPU.
 

melvinlusk

macrumors member
Jun 11, 2019
54
8
Ponchatoula, LA
I give up. Integrated graphics is better than dealing with this nonsense. Fortunately the Vega 64 works fine in my Windows/Gaming PC.
 
Last edited:

MarkAtl

macrumors 6502
Jul 9, 2019
402
407
I was about to buy a Vega 56 to replace the RX580 but glad I didn’t.

Will update to 10.15.2 and cross my fingers.
 
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