Sonnet unveils new eGPU bundles featuring AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT

Credit: Sonnet Technologies

Sonnet Technologies has announced a number of eGPU product bundles featuring AMD's flagship Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card that can bring the card's capabilities to the Mac.

First announced back in October 2020, the Radeon RX 6900 XT is a high-end card that features the company's RDNA 2 architecture, 80 computer units, 128MB of AMD Infinity Cache, and 16GB of dedicated memory. AMD cards are the only PCI-E cards supported by Apple's Mac lineup, either in a Mac Pro or via eGPU on a MacBook Pro or other device.

To that end, Sonnet has unveiled a number of eGPU bundles, including models in its DuoModo and eGPU Breakaway Box lines. For Mac users, they can take advantage of the Radeon RX 6900 XT via Thunderbolt.

The DuoModo xMac mini/eGPU Desktop bundle, for example, includes an RX 6900 XT and a preconfigured DuoModo expansion system that includes a module to hold a Mac mini. Users can also opt for a 2U rackmount enclosure.

AMD's DuoModo eGPU Module includes the Radeon RX 6900 XT and a DuoModo eGPU module that allow users to build their own DuoModo system, though enclosures are sold separately. This particular bundle is suited for Mac devices with Thunderbolt ports, and is also available in a rackmount configuration. The module starts at $1,249.99.

Finally, AMD announced a pair of eGPU Breakaway box bundles that feature the flagship RX 6000. The Thunderbolt to GPU PCI-E systems feature a built-in connection hub for USB devices and Ethernet connectivity, and can connect to a Mac via Thunderbolt. The boxes start at $299.99 for the 750 unit and $349.99 for the 750ex unit.

No matter which bundle or enclosure a user chooses, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Graphics Card retails for $1,799.99 on Sonnet's website.

The eGPU bundles are only compatible with Intel-based Macs as this point, since Apple's M1 models don't currently support GPU solutions.

More information about the eGPU options can be found at Sonnet's website.

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5 Comments

Eric_WVGG

said about 2 years ago

> includes a module to hold a Mac mini

Odd that anyone would be releasing hardware that only works with Intel Macs at this point. Unless Sonnet knows something the rest of us don't… :smiley:

darkvader

said about 2 years ago

Eric_WVGG said:

> includes a module to hold a Mac mini

Odd that anyone would be releasing hardware that only works with Intel Macs at this point. Unless Sonnet knows something the rest of us don't… :smiley:

It's not odd at all. Anybody who needs a powerful GPU isn't going to be buying a M Mac any time soon, if ever.

Also:

"Compatible with macOS 11 | Windows 11 & 10"

Clarus

said about 2 years ago

Eric_WVGG said:

> includes a module to hold a Mac mini

Odd that anyone would be releasing hardware that only works with Intel Macs at this point. Unless Sonnet knows something the rest of us don't… :smiley:

I’d like to think that the Apple Silicon eGPU restriction is temporary, or maybe confined to the M1. What is more true is that the total market of Windows and existing Intel Macs is still quite large.

But the cost/benefit calculation of an eGPU has completely gone underwater since the pandemic-driven chip shortage causing GPU prices to skyrocket. I am currently still using an eGPU with my Intel 13” MacBook Pro (integrated graphics only of course) while I wait for the better-than-M1 Macs to come out, and I am sure glad I bought when I did (2018). The popular Radeon RX580, while outdated now, still meets my needs and cost me less than $200. You can’t find it that cheap today. But here’s the kicker…while the RX 6900 XT being pushed by Sonnet for use in the article benchmarks 3 to 4 times faster than my RX580, it’s retailing for ten times the price!

If the next gen Apple Silicon M1x or whatever comes with a GPU that perform in the range of 50-60% of the GPU performance of an RX 6900XT, most users will not find it worth it to get an eGPU. Because while the technology would exist to beat it in an eGPU, the total cost of the eGPU enclosure plus fast enough graphics card would be punitive. The Sonnet combo of the lower-end Breakaway Box plus 6900 XT is $2100 retail.

That is why, even though I use an eGPU today, I will not be heartbroken if Apple Silicon never supports it. I feel like future Apple Silicon will be capable of enough GPU performance that adding an eGPU will not add enough performance for the staggering additional price, especially considering the bandwidth limit of Thunderbolt 3/4. The only way an eGPU will be economical again is if conditions change enough that GPUs can flood the market and lower prices considerably.

keithw

said about 2 years ago

I just purchased this card (January 2022) and it works great. It directly drives my Apple Pro XDR Display at full resolution. It also gave my aging iMac Pro (2017) a new lease on life with graphics performance that outperforms ANY M1-based Mac that has been released to date (Basemark GPU overall score 12708, Geekbench 5.4.4 Metal score of 161601.)

Marvin

said about 2 years ago

Clarus said:

Eric_WVGG said:

> includes a module to hold a Mac mini

Odd that anyone would be releasing hardware that only works with Intel Macs at this point. Unless Sonnet knows something the rest of us don't… :smiley:
If the next gen Apple Silicon M1x or whatever comes with a GPU that perform in the range of 50-60% of the GPU performance of an RX 6900XT, most users will not find it worth it to get an eGPU. Because while the technology would exist to beat it in an eGPU, the total cost of the eGPU enclosure plus fast enough graphics card would be punitive. The Sonnet combo of the lower-end Breakaway Box plus 6900 XT is $2100 retail.

An M1 Max Duo (expected in an iMac Pro this year) will match a 6900XT, M1 Max is around half the performance. M2 Max on 3nm in 2023 should be able to get within 30% of it but external GPUs will improve by then too.

Eric_WVGG said:
Odd that anyone would be releasing hardware that only works with Intel Macs at this point. Unless Sonnet knows something the rest of us don't… :smiley:

There are over 100 million Intel Macs in use and under 30 million M1 Macs. While new buyers will continue to buy M1 Macs and grow that userbase by around 30 million every year, those Intel Macs get sold on. There will likely be 100 million Intel Macs in use for a few years from now. Sonnet is a small company, it says here 26 employees:

https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/sonnet-technologies-inc-irvine-ca

If they make a 30% margin on a $2100 sale, they make $630. To cover $1.9m payroll, they'd need to sell just over 3,000 units. These are the kind of businesses that depend on PCIe support in the Mac. For a company like Apple, a few thousand units is nothing but it can mean the difference between these companies being able to stay in business or not.

They made rack solutions for the cylinder Mac Pro:

https://www.sonnettech.com/product/legacyproducts/xmacproserver/index.html

If Apple goes with a smaller Mac Pro design again, they can make a rack for that with some slots for storage and PCIe cards and Apple wouldn't have to make one.