Mac mini 2018 and external eGPU enclosure performance thoughts?

[Sven Ortel]

I totally screwed up the topic last time - it should have said mac mini, not imac...

On Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 1:40:06 PM UTC-5, Sven Ortel wrote:

I'm considering to build two new qlab machines for our media lab at UT Austin.

As we generally use 4 HD outputs with up to three HD streams layers on each I am not sure which the best configuration is based on Apple has on offer. Currently, we use 2013 macpros.

I'm curious about how to best utilize the new Mac Minis in this scenario.  The CPU should suffice, but they lack the outputs, so I am considering a sonnet eGPU enclosure (https://www.sonnettech.com/product/egfx-breakaway-box.html) with a Geforce GTX 1080 inside.

I'm hoping to also turn this into a very compact touring rig for qlab shows.

I'm not familiar enough with the inner working of qlab to gauge how much the software would actually be able to take advantage of this set-up. Alternatively, I could just attach a datapath FX4 to one of the new HDMI 2 ports.

Any thoughts on this? Feedback much appreciated.

Thanks,

Sven