Review on Razer Core Aluminum External Enclosure by Bohyun Hansen

When I first bought the Razer Core X, the goal was to enable me to have a 4x 4K display with my (Late 2018) Mac Mini (which is limited to integrated Intel graphics). After reading numerous reviews, I paired it with an AMD Vega 64 (reference card) and it worked right away. I've now bought a second one to pair with the Radeon VII (read on for details) so I can power additional displays and benefit from streaming video to virtual machines. There is now a limitation when using an eGPU that does not apply to Razer. or any other brand. If you're using full disk encryption (APFS, encrypted) on your Mac Mini, you'll need to switch to your Mac Mini's standard HDMI port during boot and/or restart, and then switch back to the eGPU once the system is online. # Workarounds1). If you have a monitor with an additional DisplayPort or HDMI connector, connect the primary monitor to the graphics card in the eGPU and the secondary monitor to the HDMI port on the back of your Mac mini. At boot, switch to your Mac Mini's HDMI port via Display Settings. After your Mac Mini boots up, switch back to connecting your graphics card.2). Back up your data and reinstall macOS (make sure you format the drive before reinstalling) and choose APFS (not APFS encrypted). This issue only affects booting when disk encryption is used, and if removed from the boot sequence, the eGPU will be used by default. If you absolutely do *not* need encryption, I'd go with #2 to minimize problems. # Radeon VII Notes For those looking to use the Radeon VII, this eGPU case *works* very well, although at the time of this review you'll need to ensure you're running *beta* macOS (currently 10.14.5 Beta). . The Radeon VII does not currently work with the standard (non-beta) 10.14 version because Apple does not include drivers for the card in earlier versions. As with disk encryption, you'll see a black screen if you're not using the beta. ? How about pairing with a $400-$700 card? I would say absolutely. If you have a MacBook Pro or Mac Mini with Thunderbolt 3 and need something that you can quickly and easily upgrade with a new card in the future, this is a great case. I originally bought mine for the Vega 64 but recently replaced it. Radeon VII. I bought a second one for the Vega 64, so it's still used on the same Mac Mini (since the Mac Mini supports 2x eGPUs - I add them to the first and third TB3 ports for best results ).