Sonnet refreshes portable eGPU Breakaway Puck line with more powerful processors
Sonnet has announced a pair of eGPU Breakaway Pucks for Thunderbolt 3 Intel-based Macs which can greatly improve performance compared to built-in GPUs.
Sonnet eGPU Breakaway Pucks with Radeon integrated graphics
The eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX5500 XT and eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5700 are portable all-in-one eGPUs. These small pucks can be mounted to your desktop Mac or tossed in a bag for mobile needs.
The pucks are updated models from previous generations with up to 300% performance improvements in the same form factor. The eGPUs now have two USB ports for connecting peripherals and a second Thunderbolt port for an additional external display.
The two breakaway boxes have integrated Radeon graphics that are meant to be a big upgrade from whatever GPU is installed on your Intel-based Mac. The eGPU can also accelerate your external monitor when applicable, and supports powering up to four external displays.
Sonnet previously introduced more powerful eGPU enclosures boxes with 750W power supplies. These are larger devices, with users needing to provide their own AMD PCI-E GPU card.
Minus the power supply, the eGPU Breakaway Pucks measure 6 inches wide by 5 inches deep by 2 inches tall. At this size they can easily be placed in your computer bag for on-the-go work.
The breakaway boxes support three external monitors out of the box, but can have a fourth monitor when using the Dual DisplayPort adapter. These eGPUs are not compatible with M1 equipped Macs, nor can they be upgraded by end-users with new PCI-E cards.
Sonnet eGPU Breakaway Pucks with Radeon integrated graphics
The eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX5500 XT and eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5700 are portable all-in-one eGPUs. These small pucks can be mounted to your desktop Mac or tossed in a bag for mobile needs.
The pucks are updated models from previous generations with up to 300% performance improvements in the same form factor. The eGPUs now have two USB ports for connecting peripherals and a second Thunderbolt port for an additional external display.
The two breakaway boxes have integrated Radeon graphics that are meant to be a big upgrade from whatever GPU is installed on your Intel-based Mac. The eGPU can also accelerate your external monitor when applicable, and supports powering up to four external displays.
Sonnet previously introduced more powerful eGPU enclosures boxes with 750W power supplies. These are larger devices, with users needing to provide their own AMD PCI-E GPU card.
Minus the power supply, the eGPU Breakaway Pucks measure 6 inches wide by 5 inches deep by 2 inches tall. At this size they can easily be placed in your computer bag for on-the-go work.
The breakaway boxes support three external monitors out of the box, but can have a fourth monitor when using the Dual DisplayPort adapter. These eGPUs are not compatible with M1 equipped Macs, nor can they be upgraded by end-users with new PCI-E cards.
eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5500 XT:
- Second Thunderbolt 3 port for additional 6K display
- DisplayPort 1.4 port for a 4K monitor
- HDMI 2.0 port
- Two USB 3.2 Type A ports
- 60W laptop charging
- 4GB GDDR6 video memory
- 30-bit color HDR support
- $599.99 on Amazon
eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5700:
- Second Thunderbolt 3 port for additional 6K display
- DisplayPort 1.4 port for a 4K monitor
- HDMI 2.0 port
- Two USB 3.2 Type A ports
- 60W laptop charging
- 8GB GDDR6 video memory
- 30-bit color HDR support
- $899.99 on Amazon
Comments
If I get time this week, I'll install the RX5700 I have on hand in my eGPU case. Should be a close approximation, if not identical.
We'll eventually (macOS 12) see the return of eGPU support in ASi Macs when Apple releases SoCs with similar GPU performance to discreet GPUs. It's obvious [to me] that Apple does not want to cannibalize sales of higher end Intel systems while they're waiting to release ASi versions to replace them.
/theory
No specific timetable, but it's coming.