Mac mini graphics card change manual#
Mac mini graphics card change full#
Mac mini graphics card change windows 10#
Mac mini graphics card change pro#

Similar to the TB3 15″ MacBook Pro, the x16 PCI Express Controller is reserved for the optional 10Gb Ethernet card (uses 8 PCIe lanes), the x8 PCI Express Controller connects to the two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports closest to Ethernet port (uses 4 PCIe lanes), and the x4 PCI Express Controller connects to the two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports closest to the HDMI port (uses 4 PCIe lanes). On top of that is a pair of Thunderbolt 3 controllers to power four Thunderbolt 3 ports. In a way the Mac mini combines the most desirable elements of a powerful quad-core+ processor with iGPU-only graphics. Also more encouraging is the 65W processor and direct Thunderbolt 3 to CPU connection. This is great news for eGPU users, especially in Boot Camp mode. The 2018/2020 Mac mini is one of the very few desktop Macs without a discrete graphics card.

Mac mini graphics card change pro#

Overview of PCIe Lane Arrangement in Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Pro We captured the PCIe arrangement of the Thunderbolt 3 15″ MacBook Pro (shown on the left) and Thunderbolt 3 Touch Bar 13″ MacBook Pro (shown on the right) in HWiNFO64 and labeled them for reference. The left-side Thunderbolt 3 ports attach to x4 PCI Express Root Port #5 – 9D14.

Mac mini graphics card change full#

Therefore the right-side Thunderbolt 3 ports on these newer 13″ MacBook Pros have full x4 PCIe bandwidth. 2018 & 2019 13″ models use Intel 8th generation quad-core U-processors that provides more PCIe lanes. This is due to the x2 PCI Express Root Port #9 – 9D18 to which these ports attach. Apple Thunderbolt 3 support article states that the right-side Thunderbolt 3 ports on the 2016 & 2017 13″ Touch Bar MacBook Pro have lower bandwidth than the left-side ports. All PCIe lanes are routed through the platform controller hub (PCH). Prior to the 2020 13″ MacBook Pros which use Intel Ice Lake processors (on-die Titan Ridge Thunderbolt 3 controller) all ULV-processor Macs have no direct Thunderbolt 3 to CPU connection. * Indicates a Mac with discrete graphics card as standard equipment MacBook Pro (15-inch, T2 Chip, Mid 2018) * MacBook Air (13-inch, T2 Chip, Late 2018) MacBook Pro (15-inch, T2 Chip, Mid 2019) * MacBook Pro (16-inch, T2 Chip, Late 2019) * MacBook Air (13-inch, T2 Chip, Early 2020) Here’s the list of Thunderbolt 3 Macs that can work with eGPU in Boot Camp. They account for 16 total PCIe lanes directly off the CPU. The x4 PCI Express Controller connects to the right-side USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports (uses 4 PCIe lanes). The x8 PCI Express Controller connects to the left-side USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports (uses 4 PCIe lanes). The x16 PCI Express Controller connects to the Radeon Pro dGPU (uses 8 PCIe lanes). For example we used HWiNFO64 to check the arrangement of PCIe controllers and lane allocation on a Late 2016 15″ MacBook Pro (same as 2017 to 2019 model).

Prior to setting up an external GPU, it’s a good idea to identify the routing of the PCIe connection over Thunderbolt 3 for your host Mac computer to learn about its capabilities. Therefore the ideal Boot Camp eGPU environment is an Intel iGPU-only Mac.Ģ018 15″ Macbook Pro + Radeon VII eGPU – Windows Graphics Settings

Mac mini graphics card change manual#

Win10 1803+ provides manual graphics switching per app/game through Graphics Settings. In a Mac that has an AMD discrete graphics card and no functional iGPU, you would need Windor newer. AMD XConnect/Nvidia Optimus provides internal display loopback acceleration through the Intel iGPU with a Radeon/GeForce eGPU. In order for automatic graphics switching to work, the crucial prerequisite is the Intel integrated graphics card.

Mac mini graphics card change windows 10#

Forum member Sky11 explained the three modes in Windows 10 (AMD XConnect, Nvidia Optimus, and Microsoft Hybrid Graphics) in this post. Let’s discuss graphics switching in Windows briefly. Razer Core X Chroma + RX Vega 64 LC + MacBook Pro + 49″ and 5K Monitors