Albert DuBalay Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Quick question : is CM2 optimized for (or able to take benefit of) eGPU solution under MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) ? Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 From what little I've read eGPU supports OpenGL apps, like CM. CM isn't explicitly coded to support eGPU, but I don't believe that it needs to be though. I assume, but don't know for certain, that the eGPU may need to be set as the Primary display. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMHO Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Try a ticket to the tech support. AFAIK MacOS CM is not a "native" app developed for MacOS from scratch - it's a rebuild of Windows app using some third-party libs/SW so it may be trickier that it seems. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 On 1/26/2020 at 4:47 PM, IMHO said: Try a ticket to the tech support. Yes, do this. They are the ones with the answers. On 1/26/2020 at 4:47 PM, IMHO said: AFAIK MacOS CM is not a "native" app developed for MacOS from scratch - it's a rebuild of Windows app using some third-party libs/SW so it may be trickier that it seems. That is not my impression. Having said that I do not know one way or another - and neither does @IMHO - The game doesn't really use UI widgets from either OS it gets a full screen windows and uses Open GL to render everything - the UI the models and the environment. There would be little need to have a UI compatibility layer to port a Windows app to the Mac. The simplest way to go would be to write a small OS specific shell that can find the files and resources it needs and kicks off the main window and then have the exact same code make the Open GL calls to render the game UI and environment. But that is only my impression. Perhaps @IMHO recalls a post I missed and can set me straight - please. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMHO Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 (edited) On 1/29/2020 at 7:49 PM, IanL said: But that is only my impression. Perhaps @IMHO recalls a post I missed and can set me straight - please. Yeah I do remember a post introducing MacOS port and mentioning some third-party libs provider. I had a MacBook Pro back then with a Bootcamp Win partition created solely to run CM. But that was years and years ago so I don't think I'll find it. A friend of mine wasted well over a grand for eGPU box and a decent video card. Some games can be goaded into working - some are not. But to succeed I'd have decent understanding of MacOS internals Edited February 2, 2020 by IMHO 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert DuBalay Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Thanks for the proposed answers. Has anybody around used a Mac with an eGPU on any CM games ? Any benefits ? I’d like to check on that before dashing any money out thanks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Interesting https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac/best-egpu-mac-3673105/ Can't see any reason why it shouldn't work with CM - it just needs someone to be first to test. What Mac are you planning to use it with? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Ian directed me to this thread to answer some of the basic questions. I think IMHO's memory is playing a small trick on him. The original Mac port was done by a 3rd party developer (i.e. a partner), but it was a ground up MacOS build. I do not think there is any 3rd party products in Combat Mission at all, just direct support for the OpenGL API. All UI elements are derived from homegrown code and run through OpenGL's API. As long as the eGPU works correctly with OpenGL, then Combat Mission should work on it. However, due to the nature and age of OpenGL and Combat Mission, I'd not be surprised if there are issues with a piece of hardware that hadn't even been conceived of when CM and OpenGL were developed. Certainly we've done nothing to support eGPU or optimize for any specific OS (Mac or Windows). Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert DuBalay Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) Thanks Steve for those clarifications. That is very clear then. I think that in practical terms for the Macs it means there is no need to aim for the most bullish eGPU - or also GPU - (then saving some bucks for more CM modules ) as from recent test bench I have seen there is not much difference on OpenGL between a say medium eGPU and a high end eGPU that costs twice the price ; that would not be the case if all was built in for the “new” 3D Metal API. Which by the way makes CM usable on a LOT of machines (and not only the most recent ones) - I am still running it on a 10 year old 15” MacBook Pro ... (and I praise BF team here). May be in a not so distant future I will change it for something a little more powerful but not investing too much on GPU or eGPU then. Thanks for the quick answer!! And all this fantastic work. Great job Edited February 3, 2020 by Albert DuBalay Typos 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Yup, I think you can save your money for better things. I'm not sure how much of a benefit the eGPU provides. Unless OpenGL is customized to take full advantage of it my guess is there won't be much improvement. If anybody does wind up using CM on a eGPU I'd love to know how well it works. Thanks for the thanks! Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMHO Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 @Battlefront.com, Steve, thanks for the clarifications! @Albert DuBalay, 1. I'd be careful with what to expect from big investments into hardware. If you plan to buy eGPU solely for CM then your money will buy more fun if invested in more CM tites. I can compare CM on MacBook Air with integrated Intel graphics at 1440x900, same at 2560x1440, Win7 box with dual NV GTX 690 at 2560x1440 with 4GB VRAM and a Win10 laptop with NV1070 at 1920x1080 with 8Gb VRAM. There's a noticeable difference on MacOS when jumping from 1440x900 to 2560x1440 but the latter is really pushing meagre Air capabilities way way over the limit. And though somewhat slow the game still plays decently at this resolution. There's obviously a difference between MacOs and both Windows machines but there's absolutely no difference between dual GTX 690 and 1070 even though there's a gap of many generations between them. 2. This friend of mine who bought MacBook Pro + eGPU is kind of unhappy with the investment. Not all the games are playable and those that do offer say half the bang that can be expected from fast NV graphics. We were upgrading at more or less the same time - I preferred a MacBook Air for casual use (cheap) and another Win/NV1070 one (expensive back then) for gaming-on-the-go. He bought an expensive MacBook Pro with Radeon and an eGPU box with expensive NV graphics. The verdict is the former is better. If, say, you have a top MacBook Pro then, most probably, you won't see much difference with eGPU. CM titles are really well optimized for relatively slow hardware. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert DuBalay Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 @IMHO Thanks for the contribution. That will for sure help in my future upgrade choice. Cheers 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert DuBalay Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 On 2/3/2020 at 10:22 PM, Albert DuBalay said: Thanks Steve for those clarifications. That is very clear then. I think that in practical terms for the Macs it means there is no need to aim for the most bullish eGPU - or also GPU - (then saving some bucks for more CM modules ) as from recent test bench I have seen there is not much difference on OpenGL between a say medium eGPU and a high end eGPU that costs twice the price ; that would not be the case if all was built in for the “new” 3D Metal API. Which by the way makes CM usable on a LOT of machines (and not only the most recent ones) - I am still running it on a 10 year old 15” MacBook Pro ... (and I praise BF team here). May be in a not so distant future I will change it for something a little more powerful but not investing too much on GPU or eGPU then. Thanks for the quick answer!! And all this fantastic work. Great job I have performed further searches and I think I have to take back part of what I have mentioned before. Indeed - and on the paper at least - the type of GPU card does matter for OpenGL performances. The test bench results I was mentioning are actually indicating a 40% to 50% gain between a "medium" GPU (Radeon Pro 560X) and a "high end" GPU (Radeon Pro Vega 16 or 20 - nearly same) in favour of the latter. Does it worth +$600 price difference ?? it does not say ... Also what it does in real life on CM titles and as part of an eGPU mode is another matter I guess for which the web is for now short of answers. As anybody some benchmarks / screen captures with CM products to propose ? .... and for the guys at BattleFront (Steve ?) would you please share with us what is the best recommended config to enjoy CM at its best for visual performances ? What type of config are you using when game testing ? Thank you 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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