Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box (Best For MacBook Pro) The Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box is officially. The #1 place for Mac Pro graphics cards. GPU upgrades from AMD and Nvidia.
An eGPU can give your Mac additional graphics performance for professional apps, 3D gaming, VR content creation, and more.
eGPUs are supported by any Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac1 running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later. Learn how to update the software on your Mac.
An eGPU lets you do all this on your Mac:
- Accelerate apps that use Metal, OpenGL, and OpenCL
- Connect additional external monitors and displays
- Use virtual reality headsets plugged into the eGPU
- Charge your MacBook Pro while using the eGPU
- Use an eGPU with your MacBook Pro while its built-in display is closed
- Connect an eGPU while a user is logged in
- Connect more than one eGPU using the multiple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on your Mac2
- Use the menu bar item to safely disconnect the eGPU
- View the activity levels of built-in and external GPUs (Open Activity Monitor, then choose Window > GPU History.)
eGPU support in apps
eGPU support in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later is designed to accelerate Metal, OpenGL, and OpenCL apps that benefit from a powerful eGPU. Not all apps support eGPU acceleration; check with the app's developer to learn more.3
In general, an eGPU can accelerate performance in these types of apps:
- Pro apps designed to utilize multiple GPUs
- 3D games, when an external monitor is attached directly to the eGPU
- VR apps, when the VR headset is attached directly to the eGPU
- Pro apps and 3D games that accelerate the built-in display of iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro (This capability must be enabled by the app's developer.)
You can configure applications to use an eGPU with one of the following methods.
Use the Prefer External GPU option
Starting with macOS Mojave 10.14, you can turn on Prefer External GPU in a specific app's Get Info panel in the Finder. This option lets the eGPU accelerate apps on any display connected to the Mac—including displays built in to iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro:
- Quit the app if it's open.
- Select the app in the Finder. Most apps are in your Applications folder. If you open the app from an alias or launcher, Control-click the app's icon and choose Show Original from the pop-up menu. Then select the original app.
- Press Command-I to show the app's info window.
- Select the checkbox next to Prefer External GPU.
- Open the app to use it with the eGPU.
You won't see this option if an eGPU isn't connected, if your Mac isn't running macOS Mojave or later, or if the app self-manages its GPU selection. Some apps, such as Final Cut Pro, directly choose which graphics processors are used and will ignore the Prefer External GPU checkbox.
Set an external eGPU-connected display as the primary display
If you have an external display connected to your eGPU, you can choose it as the primary display for all apps. Since apps default to the GPU associated with the primary display, this option works with a variety of apps:
- Quit any open apps that you want the eGPU to accelerate on the primary display.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Select Displays, then select the Arrangement tab.
- Drag the white menu bar to the box that represents the display that's attached to the eGPU.
- Open the apps that you want to use with the eGPU.
If you disconnect the eGPU, your Mac defaults back to the internal graphics processors that drives the built-in display. When the eGPU is re-attached, it automatically sets the external display as the primary display.
About macOS GPU drivers
Mac hardware and GPU software drivers have always been deeply integrated into the system. This design fuels the visually rich and graphical macOS experience as well as many deeper platform compute and graphics features. These include accelerating the user interface, providing support for advanced display features, rendering 3D graphics for pro software and games, processing photos and videos, driving powerful GPU compute features, and accelerating machine learning tasks. This deep integration also enables optimal battery life while providing for greater system performance and stability.
Apple develops, integrates, and supports macOS GPU drivers to ensure there are consistent GPU capabilities across all Mac products, including rich APIs like Metal, Core Animation, Core Image, and Core ML. In order to deliver the best possible customer experience, GPU drivers need to be engineered, integrated, tested, and delivered with each version of macOS. Aftermarket GPU drivers delivered by third parties are not compatible with macOS.
The GPU drivers delivered with macOS are also designed to enable a high quality, high performance experience when using an eGPU, as described in the list of recommended eGPU chassis and graphics card configurations below. Because of this deep system integration, only graphics cards that use the same GPU architecture as those built into Mac products are supported in macOS.
Supported eGPU configurations
It's important to use an eGPU with a recommended graphics card and Thunderbolt 3 chassis. If you use an eGPU to also charge your MacBook Pro, the eGPU's chassis needs to provide enough power to run the graphics card and charge the computer. Check with the manufacturer of the chassis to find out if it provides enough power for your MacBook Pro.
Recommended graphics cards, along with chassis that can power them sufficiently, are listed below.
Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPU products
These products contain a powerful built-in GPU and supply sufficient power to charge your MacBook Pro.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPUs:
- Blackmagic eGPU and Blackmagic eGPU Pro4
- Gigabyte RX 580 Gaming Box4
- Sonnet Radeon RX 570 eGFX Breakaway Puck
- Sonnet Radeon RX 560 eGFX Breakaway Puck5
AMD Radeon RX 470, RX 480, RX 570, RX 580, and Radeon Pro WX 7100
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Polaris architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Pulse series and the AMD WX series.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- OWC Mercury Helios FX4
- PowerColor Devil Box
- Sapphire Gear Box
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 350W
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
- PowerColor Game Station4
- HP Omen4
- Akitio Node6
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 56 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 56.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- OWC Mercury Helios FX4
- PowerColor Devil Box
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
- PowerColor Game Station4
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, Vega Frontier Edition Air, and Radeon Pro WX 9100
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 64 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 64, AMD Frontier Edition air-cooled, and AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
AMD Radeon RX 5700, 5700 XT, and 5700 XT 50th Anniversary
If you've installed macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or later, you can use these graphics cards that are based on the AMD Navi RDNA architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 5700, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
Learn more
- Learn how to choose your GPU in Final Cut Pro X 10.4.7 or later.
- To ensure the best eGPU performance, use the Thunderbolt 3 cable that came with your eGPU or an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cable. Also make sure that the cable is connected directly to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, not daisy-chained through another Thunderbolt device or hub.
- If you have questions about Thunderbolt 3 chassis or graphics cards, or about third-party app support and compatibility, contact the hardware or software provider.
- Software developers can learn more about programming their apps to take advantage of macOS eGPU support.
1. If you have a Mac mini (2018) with FileVault turned on, make sure to connect your primary display directly to Mac mini during startup. After you log in and see the macOS Desktop, you can unplug the display from Mac mini and connect it to your eGPU.
2. If you're using a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2016 or 2017, always plug eGPUs and other high-performance devices into the left-hand ports for maximum data throughput.
3. macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later don't support eGPUs in Windows using Boot Camp or when your Mac is in macOS Recovery or installing system updates.
4. These chassis provide at least 85 watts of charging power, making them ideal for use with 15-inch MacBook Pro models.
5. Playback of HDCP-protected content from iTunes and some streaming services is not supported on displays attached to Radeon 560-based eGPUs. You can play this content on the built-in display on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac.
6. If you use Akitio Node with a Mac notebook, you might need to connect your Mac to its power adapter to ensure proper charging.
NVIDIA TITAN RTX
NVIDIA TITAN RTX is built for data science, AI research, content creation and general GPU development. Built on the Turing architecture, it features 4608, 576 full-speed mixed precision Tensor Cores for accelerating AI, and 72 RT cores for accelerating ray tracing. It also includes 24 GB of GPU memory for training neural networks with large batch sizes, processing big datasets and working with large animation models and other memory-intensive workflows. And don’t forget, TITAN was purpose-built for our developers but it’s also still the world’s fastest gaming GPU!
Are you looking for the compute capability for your GPU, then check the tables below.
NVIDIA GPUs power millions of desktops, notebooks, workstations and supercomputers around the world, accelerating computationally-intensive tasks for consumers, professionals, scientists, and researchers.
Get started with CUDA and GPU Computing by joining our free-to-join NVIDIA Developer Program.
- Learn about the CUDA Toolkit
- Learn about Tesla for technical and scientific computing
- Learn about Quadro for professional visualization
- Learn about Jetson for AI autonomous machines
If you have an older NVIDIA GPU you may find it listed on our legacy CUDA GPUs page
Click the sections below to expand
Tesla Workstation Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| Tesla K80 | 3.7 |
| Tesla K40 | 3.5 |
| Tesla K20 | 3.5 |
| Tesla C2075 | 2.0 |
| Tesla C2050/C2070 | 2.0 |
NVIDIA Data Center Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA A100 | 8.0 |
| NVIDIA T4 | 7.5 |
| NVIDIA V100 | 7.0 |
| Tesla P100 | 6.0 |
| Tesla P40 | 6.1 |
| Tesla P4 | 6.1 |
| Tesla M60 | 5.2 |
| Tesla M40 | 5.2 |
| Tesla K80 | 3.7 |
| Tesla K40 | 3.5 |
| Tesla K20 | 3.5 |
| Tesla K10 | 3.0 |
Quadro Desktop Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| Quadro RTX 8000 | 7.5 |
| Quadro RTX 6000 | 7.5 |
| Quadro RTX 5000 | 7.5 |
| Quadro RTX 4000 | 7.5 |
| Quadro GV100 | 7.0 |
| Quadro GP100 | 6.0 |
| Quadro P6000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P5000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P4000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P2200 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P2000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P1000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P620 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P600 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P400 | 6.1 |
| Quadro M6000 24GB | 5.2 |
| Quadro M6000 | 5.2 |
| Quadro K6000 | 3.5 |
| Quadro M5000 | 5.2 |
| Quadro K5200 | 3.5 |
| Quadro K5000 | 3.0 |
| Quadro M4000 | 5.2 |
| Quadro K4200 | 3.0 |
| Quadro K4000 | 3.0 |
| Quadro M2000 | 5.2 |
| Quadro K2200 | 3.0 |
| Quadro K2000 | 3.0 |
| Quadro K2000D | 3.0 |
| Quadro K1200 | 5.0 |
| Quadro K620 | 5.0 |
| Quadro K600 | 3.0 |
| Quadro K420 | 3.0 |
| Quadro 410 | 3.0 |
| Quadro Plex 7000 | 2.0 |
Quadro Mobile Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| RTX 5000 | 7.5 |
| RTX 4000 | 7.5 |
| RTX 3000 | 7.5 |
| T2000 | 7.5 |
| T1000 | 7.5 |
| P620 | 6.1 |
| P520 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P5200 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P4200 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P3200 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P5000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P4000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P3000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P2000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P1000 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P600 | 6.1 |
| Quadro P500 | 6.1 |
| Quadro M5500M | 5.2 |
| Quadro M2200 | 5.2 |
| Quadro M1200 | 5.0 |
| Quadro M620 | 5.2 |
| Quadro M520 | 5.0 |
| Quadro K6000M | 3.0 |
| Quadro K5200M | 3.0 |
| Quadro K5100M | 3.0 |
| Quadro M5000M | 5.0 |
| Quadro K500M | 3.0 |
| Quadro K4200M | 3.0 |
| Quadro K4100M | 3.0 |
| Quadro M4000M | 5.0 |
| Quadro K3100M | 3.0 |
| Quadro M3000M | 5.0 |
| Quadro K2200M | 3.0 |
| Quadro K2100M | 3.0 |
| Quadro M2000M | 5.0 |
| Quadro K1100M | 3.0 |
| Quadro M1000M | 5.0 |
| Quadro K620M | 5.0 |
| Quadro K610M | 3.5 |
| Quadro M600M | 5.0 |
| Quadro K510M | 3.5 |
| Quadro M500M | 5.0 |
Desktop Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA NVS 810 | 5.0 |
| NVIDIA NVS 510 | 3.0 |
| NVIDIA NVS 315 | 2.1 |
| NVIDIA NVS 310 | 2.1 |
Best Nvidia Gpus For Machine Learning
Mobile Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| NVS 5400M | 2.1 |
| NVS 5200M | 2.1 |
| NVS 4200M | 2.1 |
GeForce and TITAN Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 3090 | 8.6 |
| GeForce RTX 3080 | 8.6 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | 8.6 |
| NVIDIA TITAN RTX | 7.5 |
| Geforce RTX 2080 Ti | 7.5 |
| Geforce RTX 2080 | 7.5 |
| Geforce RTX 2070 | 7.5 |
| Geforce RTX 2060 | 7.5 |
| NVIDIA TITAN V | 7.0 |
| NVIDIA TITAN Xp | 6.1 |
| NVIDIA TITAN X | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 Ti | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 1070 | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 1060 | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 1050 | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX TITAN X | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX TITAN Z | 3.5 |
| GeForce GTX TITAN Black | 3.5 |
| GeForce GTX TITAN | 3.5 |
| GeForce GTX 980 Ti | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 970 | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 960 | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 950 | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 3.5 |
| GeForce GTX 780 | 3.5 |
| GeForce GTX 770 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 760 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 750 Ti | 5.0 |
| GeForce GTX 750 | 5.0 |
| GeForce GTX 690 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 680 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 670 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 660 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 650 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 560 Ti | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 550 Ti | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 460 | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTS 450 | 2.1 |
| 2.1 | |
| GeForce GTX 590 | 2.0 |
| GeForce GTX 580 | 2.0 |
| GeForce GTX 570 | 2.0 |
| GeForce GTX 480 | 2.0 |
| GeForce GTX 470 | 2.0 |
| GeForce GTX 465 | 2.0 |
| GeForce GT 740 | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 730 | 3.5 |
| GeForce GT 730 DDR3,128bit | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 720 | 3.5 |
| 3.5 | |
| GeForce GT 640 (GDDR5) | 3.5 |
| GeForce GT 640 (GDDR3) | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 630 | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 620 | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 610 | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 520 | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 440 | 2.1 |
| 2.1 | |
| GeForce GT 430 | 2.1 |
| 2.1 |
GeForce Notebook Products
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| Geforce RTX 2080 | 7.5 |
| Geforce RTX 2070 | 7.5 |
| Geforce RTX 2060 | 7.5 |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 1070 | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 1060 | 6.1 |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 980M | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 970M | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 965M | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 960M | 5.0 |
| GeForce GTX 950M | 5.0 |
| GeForce 940M | 5.0 |
| GeForce 930M | 5.0 |
| GeForce 920M | 3.5 |
| GeForce 910M | 5.2 |
| GeForce GTX 880M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 870M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 860M | 3.0/5.0(**) |
| GeForce GTX 850M | 5.0 |
| GeForce 840M | 5.0 |
| GeForce 830M | 5.0 |
| GeForce 820M | 2.1 |
| GeForce 800M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 780M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 770M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 765M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 760M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 680MX | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 680M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 675MX | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 675M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 670MX | 3.0 |
| GeForce GTX 670M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 660M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 755M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 750M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 650M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 745M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 645M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 740M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 730M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 640M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 640M LE | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 735M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 635M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 730M | 3.0 |
| GeForce GT 630M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 625M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 720M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 620M | 2.1 |
| GeForce 710M | 2.1 |
| GeForce 705M | 2.1 |
| GeForce 610M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 580M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 570M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 560M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 555M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 550M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 540M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 525M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 520MX | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 520M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 485M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 470M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 460M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 445M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 435M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 420M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GT 415M | 2.1 |
| GeForce GTX 480M | 2.0 |
| GeForce 710M | 2.1 |
| GeForce 410M | 2.1 |
Jetson Products
Nvidia Gpus For Mac Os
| GPU | Compute Capability |
|---|---|
| Jetson AGX Xavier | 7.2 |
| Jetson Nano | 5.3 |
| Jetson TX2 | 6.2 |
| Jetson TX1 | 5.3 |
| Tegra X1 | 5.3 |
Frequently Asked Questions
On Windows computers:
- Right-click on desktop
- If you see 'NVIDIA Control Panel' or 'NVIDIA Display' in the pop-up window, you have an NVIDIA GPU
- Click on 'NVIDIA Control Panel' or 'NVIDIA Display' in the pop-up window
- Look at 'Graphics Card Information'
- You will see the name of your NVIDIA GPU
On Apple computers:
- Click on 'Apple Menu'
- Click on 'About this Mac'
- Click on 'More Info'
- Select 'Graphics/Displays' under Contents list
For Tesla for HPC and supercomputing applications, go to www.nvidia.com/object/tesla_wtb.html
For GeForce for entertainment, go to www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html
For Quadro for professional visualization, go to www.nvidia.com/object/workstation_wheretobuy.html
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