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In Dec 2018, I replaced my venerable MacBook Pro with a Mac mini 2018 that I named @OzzieGuillen. Top-line processor and everything. I usually run him headless, dual-booting Win10 for games and OS X for real work, and remote in with Splashtop from my iPad. I love him. 1/
@OzzieGuillen The 2018 Mac mini comes with an integrated GPU, the Intel UHD Graphics 630, which is fine for most things. However, @CivGame updated the art for the Gathering Storm expansion and it looked so pretty and I had to have it. HAD TO. 2/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame Well, external GPUs are a thing now for @Apple and @Radeon provides proper drivers and everything. So I bought a Radeon Vega 64 ($400 at @microcenter, booyah) and a @Razer Core X enclosure and put it all together last night. Problem was, the Razer Core X wouldn’t turn on. 3/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer So the @Razer Core X comes in two major pieces: a substantial 1/16″ steel casing and a rail-mounted structural bit where all the important bits mount up. I did everything I could think of: reseating the card, replugging cables, validating that all the cables worked, etc. 4/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer I was ready to RMA it. But then I noticed there was a little Hall effect sensor on the end of the enclosure rail. 5/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer .@Razer doesn’t want you to run the Core X caseless, so they have a Hall effect sensor on the end of the rail to validate that the case is actually closed. Problem is, these sensors are tetchy. I tried bending the rail stop forward to make better contact, but no dice. 6/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer I didn’t want a neodymium magnet, the instinctual response, near the rest of my electronics. But I did have some thin kitchen magnets on hand. So I grabbed a diamond sock @WhiteSox magnet, slapped it on the front of the rail, and slammed the whole thing back together. 7/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer @whitesox Brief aside: I don’t mind acquiring minor injuries as long as I get a cool bruise out of it. When the handle of the Razer Core X slips under force you effectively punch the edge of the steel case. Which I did. Hard. 8/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer @whitesox I rapped all four fingers pretty good, and a day later they’re still sore but not producing any bruises yet. I’m disappointed, as if nothing else using a @Razer product ought to guarantee cool changing colors. Maybe I should install Synapse. 9/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer @whitesox Anyway, I flipped the switch and got a heartbeat. Woohoo, we’re in business! Did a cursory systems status look. 10/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer @whitesox @Radeon provides Boot Camp-specific drivers that installed cleanly on Win10, but I need the headless HDMI adapter coming today in the mail to stream output from the Vega 64. Not a bad result. 11/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer @whitesox eGPU works natively in OS X, even for passing video to @splashtop, but @AspyrMedia still sucks (as expected/feared). Not as great as I had hoped, but not as bad as possible. I’m hoping the HDMI adapter gives me a better resolution set to choose from for streaming to iPad. 12/
@OzzieGuillen @CivGame @Apple @Radeon @microcenter @Razer @whitesox @splashtop @AspyrMedia And that’s how I fixed my computer, named @OzzieGuillen, with a @WhiteSox magnet. 13/13
