Anyone using MacBook Pro with multiple monitors and eGPU?

[Anonymous]

Greetings, I'm considering a move away from my 27" iMac desktop to full time use of my MacBook Pro in ArchiCAD. The intent is to add two external monitors and utilize the new eGPU (external graphics card).
Before I jump into making the investment in the monitors and eGUP has anyone done this and what has your experience been with it? Performance is the primary concern. Are there any monitor/eGPU co combinations that people are finding better than other for work with ArchiCAD?
My current MacBook Pro hardware is: (15-inch, 2017), 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3, Intel HD Graphics 630 1536 MB.
Cheers,

[poco2013]

I'm using Archicad 21 on a MacBook Pro (2013) with two Asus VE27 (27") monitors. Performance is good but not great. You have a later machine so your performance may be better. Note that you'll probably also need a thunderbolt hub because of the limited ports on the mac. OWC makes a good one. I don't know about the future though, since Apple announced they are dropping support for OpenGL which Archicad uses.

Probably you should look into that. However, the dual screen works very well for me now?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply. I have looked into the Open GL issue and note that Apple haven’t said that they will kill it immediately, though they are going to push developers slowly to Metal. (“...this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Apple has only barely supported OpenGL of late, and Metal is clearly its priority. The company told developers at the conference that "existing and soon-to-be launched apps can still use it" and "this will remain so for some time," but nevertheless told developers that, ideally, "new projects should target Metal from their inception."...”) So there may be some time still for ArchiCAD under the next few releases.
Are you using and eGPU by any chance? I’m curious as to how that’s working for anyone as an ArchiCAD user.
Cheers,

[Karl Ottenstein]

spodonahue wrote:
Greetings, I'm considering... full time use of my MacBook Pro in ArchiCAD. The intent is to add two external monitors and utilize the new eGPU (external graphics card).
... Performance is the primary concern. Are there any monitor/eGPU co combinations that people are finding better than other for work with ArchiCAD?

The only general benchmark I've seen - not with ARCHICAD - is this one from February, connecting an eGPU to a 2016 MacBook Pro (13"):
http://barefeats.com/rmbp_node_pro.html

The improved FPS rates over the base Intel graphics would suggest smoother AC navigation. (The speedier OpenCL is not relevant, as AC doesn't use it.).

Looking at Cinerender in AC 22, the graphics card is hardly used there, either... moments of all cores being utilized at 100% though. I have seen with Final Cut Pro X that the Vega 64 graphics on my machine is utilized at nearly 100% during rendering and transcoding/compression ... so if you do much video work with FCPX, the eGPU would probably be a big help there.

The huge cost of the eGPU thunderbolt 3 box and video cards (equal to the MacBook Pro itself) wouldn't seem to justify going that route. And, that's even if you can find the GPU you want: the absurd bitcoin "mining" pseudo-industry is gobling up supply.

[Lingwisyer]

Other than basic acceleration, I did not think that ArchiCAD utilised GPUs that much...


Ling.

[mendezarcediego]

I have been using an eGPU setup with a Radeon RX Vega 56 Air Boost 8G OC and a Dell UltraSharp 27 @ 2560x1440 resolution and performance has been outstanding in terms of stability and a great improvement in terms of performance. We have a large model that became very slow to maneuver in 3D and 2D and the performance improvement with the eGPU was extremely evident. We currently share the eGPU between laptops for intensive 3D projects but we are so happy with our investment that we will buy another one really soon.

[mi_jan]

I’m Currently using a 27” Apple Cinema Display with an adapted from mini Dvi to USB-C to connect to my MacBook Pro 15” touchbar 2017. I cant charge my computer with it so I need to use 2 of my 4 ports just to use one screen and power.

For this reason Ive been looking into a newer screen that will charge my computer and a secondary screen of the same size without charging capability and leave my laptop closed.

If i get both monitors and no eGPU do you guys think I would have performance issues, and just be better off with one monitor? (Mainly run teamwork files but often multiple simultaneously with hotlinks)


I was thinking something like this for the main one.
https://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-27UD88-W-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B01CDYB0QS/?tag=imoreb-20&ascsubta...