How an eGPU can help the performance of your DAW and OBS.

[jbehrmusic]

I created an updated video from my first one a few weeks ago, and I believe this video is more detailed and has better testing within it. Let me know what you think

https://youtu.be/Pxbui_JjNfs

[n o i s e f l e ur]

WTF is an OBS when it's at home? Probably obvious to some but a new one on me.

Watched as much of that vid as I could just out of curiosity and . . . well, that's five or so mins of my life I'll never get back.

Long story short - dGPU is more capable than iGPU . . . something something a few plugins support hardware accel for GFX. The problem with the hypothesis put forward by the OP is that for quite a while now the iGPUs built into the CPU are more than capable of accelerating 2D GFX, and modern systems aren't particularly starved of memory bandwidth.

It won't make a whole lot of difference either way basically, and given that some software seems to have a preference for (or issues with) nVidia or AMD GPUs it may even prove detrimental. Waves plugins I'm looking at you . . . Or do a search on Ableton Live issues with nVidia - or is it AMD this month?

[jbehrmusic]

WTF is an OBS when it's at home? Probably obvious to some but a new one on me.

OBS = Open Broadcaster Software. Used for streaming on Twitch

Watched as much of that vid as I could just out of curiosity and . . . well, that's five or so mins of my life I'll never get back.

Cool, thanks for the feedback

Long story short - dGPU is more capable than iGPU . . . something something a few plugins support hardware accel for GFX. The problem with the hypothesis put forward by the OP is that for quite a while now the iGPUs built into the CPU are more than capable of accelerating 2D GFX, and modern systems aren't particularly starved of memory bandwidth.

Objectively and demonstrably, you're wrong. When using an external monitor and/or a dual monitor setup (which most producers have), an eGPU has great benefits. Especially when streaming, as mentioned by the OBS in the title.

It won't make a whole lot of difference either way basically, and given that some software seems to have a preference for (or issues with) nVidia or AMD GPUs it may even prove detrimental. Waves plugins I'm looking at you . . . Or do a search on Ableton Live issues with nVidia - or is it AMD this month?

Quite the opposite. Seems like you didn't watch much of the video, or even glance at the end test results.

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Correct.

The heavily front-loaded rapid-fire bombardment of company and product names accompanied by logos, product images etc look like some form of affiliate marketing scheme, despite the fact you appeared to be negging the products.

If you're saying there's actually steak on the end of all that sizzle, I'm telling you I waited too long at my table and ended up walking out before ordering.

Mostly here we tend to be interested in DAWs etc, not streaming over Twitch, and my experience is iGPU isn't much of an impediment at all, and in some cases having one (Intel) onboard can be a lifesaver if an app doesn't like your particular flavour of dGPU.

But hey, if you want to extoll the virtues of eGPU because it works for you - have at it.

[jbehrmusic]

The heavily front-loaded rapid-fire bombardment of company and product names accompanied by logos, product images etc look like some form of affiliate marketing scheme, despite the fact you appeared to be negging the products.

The logos/images of computers are common ones used by people. I never say to buy one specific brand of anything, throughout the whole video. I make generalized statements about PC/laptop types and which can benefit from an eGPU. Majority of the logos/images I put on screen, I don't even own. Again, these were examples of common hardware/software that I see being purchased and talked about throughout various forums and YouTube videos.

If you're saying there's actually steak on the end of all that sizzle, I'm telling you I waited too long at my table and ended up walking out before ordering.

In my first video, I more went straight to the point. People got confused, and also didn't understand where the benefits came from. In the 2nd video (the one you watched), I made it more extensive and thorough, to cover all aspects. Just because you don't see a benefit, or can't understand why a benefit exists, doesn't mean there isn't one. As you said, you apparently only watched a few minutes, and felt you wasted your time.

Mostly here we tend to be interested in DAWs etc, not streaming over Twitch, and my experience is iGPU isn't much of an impediment at all, and in some cases having one (Intel) onboard can be a lifesaver if an app doesn't like your particular flavour of dGPU.

OBS is not just for streaming over twitch. It is also for creating content, whether that is on YouTube, Twitch, or somewhere else. Every video I have created and edited, has started with OBS. And after adding an eGPU to my setup, my productivity has increased by a good margin.

Some apps will prefer your internal GPU over the external GPU, but that is also why it is so flexible, because you can prioritize specific apps (if you want) to prefer the external GPU. Which I show in my video.

But hey, if you want to extoll the virtues of eGPU because it works for you - have at it.

It doesn't just work for me. It works for many other people out there who have tried it. Just try to do your research before coming to some half-baked conclusion about something you don't seem much interested in to begin with. And to show you a few threads to prove my point further, here are other people who have benefited from using an eGPU to help DAW productivity.

- https://www.reddit.com/r/Logic_Studio/c ... gic_pro_x/
- https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=235774
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250758469

[n o i s e f l e ur]

OBS is not just for streaming over twitch. It is also for creating content, whether that is on YouTube, Twitch, or somewhere else. Every video I have created and edited, has started with OBS. And after adding an eGPU to my setup, my productivity has increased by a good margin.

Some apps will prefer your internal GPU over the external GPU, but that is also why it is so flexible, because you can prioritize specific apps (if you want) to prefer the external GPU. Which I show in my video.

It doesn't just work for me. It works for many other people out there who have tried it. Just try to do your research before coming to some half-baked conclusion about something you don't seem much interested in to begin with. And to show you a few threads to prove my point further, here are other people who have benefited from using an eGPU to help DAW productivity.

- https://www.reddit.com/r/Logic_Studio/c ... gic_pro_x/
- https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=235774
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250758469

Oh, I'm extremely interested in the subject, have no doubts about that. On the matter of research I presume you ran tests across multiple hardware / software combinations and can tell us the cause of the issue? Is it affecting certain specific models, is the issue confined to certain OS releases, have subsequent updates done anything to mitigate the issue?

I mean, if eGPU is the solution you must have some idea what the actual problem is right? Because if you do, it'd be great if you could post details here in the forums! Details of your research that is, what toolset you used, the methodology - you know, technical stuff.

Like - what does DTrace tell you?

[jbehrmusic]

Oh, I'm extremely interested in the subject, have no doubts about that. On the matter of research I presume you ran tests across multiple hardware / software combinations and can tell us the cause of the issue? Is it affecting certain specific models, is the issue confined to certain OS releases, have subsequent updates done anything to mitigate the issue?

I don't have the money or time, nor do I have a research and development team at my disposal, in order to run various tests on multiple hardware/software setups. I ran multiple tests using my own hardware/software, in which the results told an objective truth, which you cannot deny.

I mean, if eGPU is the solution you must have some idea what the actual problem is right? Because if you do, it'd be great if you could post details here in the forums! Details of your research that is, what toolset you used, the methodology - you know, technical stuff.

You don't have to be technical in order to find problems with a product and/or piece of software. I'm sure you have heard of software testers? Or game testers? Who find bugs/issues with the thing they are testing, and report back to the people who originally worked on the product. You want me to troubleshoot the kernel and go in depth on the technical side, when that's completely irrelevant to my findings. I worked in an IT environment for over a decade, and when rolling out a new piece of software or hardware, we only handed it out to a select number of people. Those people reported back their issues they experienced with it, and let us know. Should I have told them to run more tests themselves and dive deep into the kernel and/or BIOS and start messing around with settings they don't understand? Your suggestions are not only impractical, they are illogical.

You also didn't address any of the points I made in response to your accusations of negging the products or promoting some specific brand. This is probably why I didn't respond to you any further after Feb 10, because you seem to want a one-way conversation.