Blackmagic eGPU Pro sounds spooky, makes Mac graphics faster

The Blackmagic eGPU Pro is designed to accelerate the graphics of any Thunderbolt 3-toting MacBook with the help of AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics.

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Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.

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Ty Pendlebury

Oct. 31, 2018 10:14 a.m. PT

Blackmagic's next Apple Mac graphics accelerator, the Blackmagic eGPU Pro, will feature an AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics processor.

The unit is designed for Macs with a Thunderbolt 3 port -- such the new Apple MacBook Air -- and Blackmagic says it has 22 times the graphics performance of a 13-inch MacBook Pro .

The tall desktop device was designed in collaboration with Apple and is extruded from a single piece of aluminum, Blackmagic says. It features a "unique thermal cooling system that's been designed to perfectly balance the airflow and dissipate heat more efficiently," or what otherwise looks like a small chimney.

The eGPU Pro is designed to accelerate professional creative software such as DaVinci Resolve, as well as 3D games and VR.

The Blackmagic eGPU Pro features:

AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 GPU
Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
DisplayPort with support for 5K displays
HDMI 2.0 port
85W of charging power
Four USB 3.1 connections

The Blackmagic eGPU Pro will be available in November for $1,199 from apple.com. UK and Australian availability are yet to be confirmed, but that price converts to about £940 or AU$1,700.