Can Millumin use an eGPU ?
Yes.
An eGPU is an additional graphic card, that is connected to the computer via a Thunderbolt/USB-C cable.
You can find many information on this post by Apple, and on the eGPU.io website. Please note that the Apple Silicon computers do not support eGPU.
For example, the combo Razor Core X + Gigabyte Radeon RX Vega 56 works great for around US$800.
It's plug-and-play (mount in less than 5 minutes, no screwdriver needed), and it features 4 to 6 HDMI/DisplayPort outputs depending on model. Such an eGPU can be used with any Mac having Thunderbolt 3 (even a MacMini).
From our tests (this is not a limit), it can output 3 x 4K@60 with 3 x 4K@30 HAP movies.
A more recent alternative is the combo Razor Core X + Gigabyte AORUS Radeon RX 5700 XT (around US$850 and requiring macOS Catalina 10.15 or higher).
To use an eGPU, we recommand to use macOS 10.13.6 or higher, and the HAP codec.
It is also important to connect all your displays to the same GPU, and run Millumin from this very same GPU.
In the case of an eGPU, you should not use your internal display to show Millumin's interface, but rather run Millumin from a display directly connected to the eGPU. This avoids costly data transferts from the external GPU (making all the calculations) to the internal GPU.
In brief, everything should go one-way :
If you really want to display Millumin's interface on your MacBookPro's LCD, be sure to activate the option "Disable Workspace" (see menubar Output
). So there will not be much data transfert via Thunderbolt/USB-C.
You can check performances directly from Millumin, in the Monitor window (see "Window" menubar) :
Lastly, eGPUs are not supposed to be transported once assembled. If you plan to carry your eGPU, it is recommended that you remove the graphic card from the eGPU and place it in its original foam-packaging during transport.
To learn more about the eGPU hardware, you can read this technical post by Apple.