Mac2018 For Mac

The MAC hasn't had a repeat champion since 2011-12, and it's likely that streak extends to five years in a row in 2018. That's due to Ohio taking the top spot in the 2018 MAC predictions as the favorite to win the league. The Bobcats fell just short of reaching the league title game last season and are a heavy favorite in the East Division. Buffalo and Miami aren't far behind the Bobcats, with Akron in the next tier. The picture is a little cloudier at the top of the West Division.

• New Mac Pro 2018

New Mac Pro 2018

Toledo is the defending conference champion but must replace standout quarterback Logan Woodside. Northern Illinois returns one of the MAC's top defenses, while the development of quarterback Marcus Childers could help coach Rod Carey's team win the West once again. Ohio is the Clear Favorite to win the MAC In Athlon's MAC prediction meeting, there was little debate about the projected champion for 2018. Ohio was the clear favorite in the East and is Athlon's pick to win the league this fall. The Bobcats haven't claimed a conference title since 1968, but the drought should end this season.

Coach Frank Solich's team has not recorded a losing record since 2008 and lost all three of its MAC contests last year by seven points or less. Ohio's offense led the conference by averaging 39.1 points a game last season and could be even better in 2018 with a full year of quarterback Nathan Rourke under center. The Bobcats also return one of the MAC's top running backs in A.J. Ouellette, the league's top offensive line and one of the conference's best receiving corps. Solich does have a few holes to fill on defense, especially in the front seven after the departure of linebacker Quentin Poling. Road trips to Miami (Ohio) and Northern Illinois will be tough, but Ohio has a good shot to win 10 games for the first time since 2011.

Buffalo or Miami at No. While Ohio is the clear favorite in the East, choosing between Buffalo or Miami for second in the division was a tough call. The RedHawks got the nod, largely due to a defense that should be among the best in the conference with eight returning starters. Also, Miami had some bad fortune on its side last fall.

After winning six out of the final seven games in 2016, coach Chuck Martin's team was poised to take a step forward in '17. However, an injury to quarterback Gus Ragland limited Miami to 5-7, with five of those defeats coming by eight points or less. Buffalo also had its share of bad luck and injuries at the quarterback spot last fall, but this program is poised to take off in 2018.

Fourth-year coach Lance Leipold returns one of the top pass-catch combinations in the Group of 5 ranks in quarterback Tyree Jackson and receiver Anthony Johnson. Senior linebacker Khalil Hodge is a candidate for All-America honors, anchoring a defense that returns six starters after giving up just 24.8 points a game last fall. Buffalo has to stop the run better after giving up 194.8 yards a game in 2017, but Leipold's team doesn't have many glaring concerns. 30 game in Buffalo between these two teams could decide which team finishes behind Ohio in the East. What's Next for Akronthe Defending MAC East Champs?

Most of the preseason buzz in the MAC East is centers around Ohio, Buffalo and Miami (Ohio). However, the defending champs (Akron) are still in the mix to win the division crown once again.

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Under coach Terry Bowden, the Zips have earned bowl trips in two out of the last three years and used a timely victory over Ohio last November in order to secure the program's first berth in the conference title game since 2005. Akron did have a little good fortune to get to seven wins last fall, using a plus-10 turnover margin to win four games by 10 points or less. Sophomore quarterback Kato Nelson is a rising star, but Bowden has some retooling to do in the supporting cast. The defense is led by linebacker Ulysees Gilbert, who leads a unit with nine returning starters for 2018. After giving up 28 points a game last fall, this group should take a step forward this season.

Akron's schedule features non-conference games against Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa State, along with road trips to Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and Ohio. Don't count out the Zips from the East title picture, but the path to a bowl is challenging.

Get full team previews, schedules, scouting reports, conference predictions, and national rankings. To buy a copy today or visit your local newsstand! Toledo or Northern Illinois at No. 1 in the West? This was the toughest decision of Athlon's MAC prediction meeting for 2018. For the most part, Northern Illinois (outside of the 2016 season for Western Michigan and Toledo last fall) has dominated the MAC West.

Thanks to a high-powered offense, the Rockets won the conference last season and finished 11-3 overall. However, a key cog (quarterback Logan Woodside) has finished his eligibility. Toledo has one of the nation's top receiving corps and a solid group of running backs to ease the transition for the new quarterback. However, the edge in the West is likely to swing back to DeKalb.

The Huskies return six starters – including standout end Sutton Smith – from a defense that allowed only 22 points a game in 2017. The offense should take a step forward under sophomore quarterback Marcus Childers. Toledo does not have to play Ohio – the projected MAC champion – in the regular season but takes on Northern Illinois on the road. The homefield advantage for the Huskies could decide which team wins the West. The state of Michigan It's no secret the strength of the MAC West is at the top with Toledo and Northern Illinois. Additionally, there's a bit of a gap to the next tier of teams, headlined by Western Michigan.

As expected, the Broncos took a step back last fall from their 13-1 record in 2016. Under first-year coach Tim Lester, Western Michigan fell to 6-6 and lost three out of its last four games. An injury to quarterback Jon Wassink hindered the offense during that late stretch, but the junior is set to return to full strength in 2018. Wassink should improve in his second year as the starter, and the offense is led by one of the MAC's top lines and running back units. The biggest concerns for Lester rest on defense. The Broncos return four starters after giving up 29 points a game in 2017 and lost cornerback Sam Beal to the NFL Supplemental Draft. Will Western Michigan take a step forward and rebound into a winning record?

If the Broncos slip, Central Michigan or Eastern Michigan would be next in line for the No. 3 spot in the West. The Chippewas must replace quarterback Shane Morris and a couple of key receivers, but coach John Bonamego returns a solid foundation on defense. The development of quarterback Tony Poljan could decide whether or not CMU returns to a bowl game in 2018. Eastern Michigan had its share of bad luck last fall, slipping to 5-7 after reaching the postseason in 2016.

The Eagles lost all seven games by 12 points or less, including a five-point defeat to MAC champ Toledo. Coach Chris Creighton's team is a wild card team to watch this fall. The Eagles are strong in the trenches, but need to break in a new quarterback after Brogan Roback's departure.

Iowa graduate transfer Tyler Wiegers is expected to start. Similar to rival Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan's bowl hopes could hinge on how fast the offense develops under a new signal-caller. Improvement at Ball State and Bowling Green Bowling Green and Ball State both finished 2-10 last season, but both programs could show small improvement in 2018. The Cardinals were hit hard by injuries on offense last fall, losing quarterback Riley Neal and running back James Gilbert for most of the season.

As a result, Ball State slumped to 11 th in the MAC in scoring, averaging only 17.9 points a game. With Neal and Gilbert back in the mix, that should take some pressure off a defense that surrendered 40.7 points a game last fall. Bowling Green's hopes of improvement hinge on the sophomore duo of quarterback Jarret Doege and running back Andrew Clair. Regardless of how the development of those two players, the Falcons need new coordinator Carl Pelini to improve a defense that gave up 38 points a game in 2017.

While both teams won't challenge for the league title, doubling the win total from last fall is a realistic expectation. MAC 2018 Unit Rankings. Best RB Units Best WR Units Best OL Units Best DL Units Best LB Units Best DB Units 1.

Last Updated: September 20, 2018 To enable your Mac to handle the demands of Virtual Reality (VR) games or Augmented Reality (AR) and work with a, an External Graphics Processing Unit (eGPU) is essential. Even if you’re not interested in VR gaming or apps, an eGPU is a modest investment that makes a massive improvement to the performance of your Mac. However, not all eGPUs are compatible with the MacBook Pros or iMacs so you have to be careful which one you choose. So we’ve done the hard work for you and looked at the best eGPUs for Mac users in 2018. What Is An eGPU? An eGPU is basically an external unit that houses a powerful graphics card which will allow your MacBook Pro or iMac to deal with graphic intensive applications. Not only this but an eGPU unit turns your humble MacBook into a powerful desktop gaming system or 4K video editing system capable of competing with the very best.

Advanced 3D graphics platforms such as, which are way beyond the capabilities of current Macs, suddenly become accessible with an eGPU. It also means that highly demanding games can be played at maximum resolution on Mac – something that current Macs struggle with or can’t handle. Most exciting of all however, is that eGPUs open-up the world of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to Mac users. The great thing about an eGPU is that because it’s external, you can leave it at home for gaming or VR use and still enjoy the portability of your MacBook if you want to take it with you somewhere. EGPUs are not all about gaming though. They can also provide much greater number crunching power when it comes to analyzing data with, forecasting, big data and more.

System Requirements For eGPUs Unless you’re lucky enough to own one of the latest which can handle VR out of the box without the need for an eGPU, you’ll need to make sure your Mac meets some basic minimum requirements. The main requirement Mac users should be looking for in an eGPU is that it supports Thunderbolt 3 as it requires the high data speeds of up to 40Gps that only Thunderbolt 3 connections can deliver to your Mac. This means ideally you need a MacBook Pro from 2016 onwards or an iMac from 2017 as they are the only Macs which have Thunderbolt 3 ports. However, with a MacBook Pro from early 2015 or iMac from mid 2015 or later using a, you can also connect an eGPU unit.

However to use a VR helmet too, you’ll need a Mac with an Intel Core i5 chip or higher. This is because the that officially supports macOS is the HTC Vive which requires an Intel Core i5 or higher present in 2015 Macs. The following Macs only have Thunderbolt 2 ports although those made before 2015 do not have the Intel Core i5 chip:. MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) and later. iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015). iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015). iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) through 2015.

Mac mini (Late 2014). MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) through 2015. MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) through 2015.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) However, we generally don’t recommend daisy-chaining an eGPU unit via a Thunderbolt adapter. It’s not officially supported in High Sierra or Mojave and you’ll get more reliable performance by using a Mac which already has a Thunderbolt 3 port. EGPUs & Graphics Cards The other major thing you’ll need of course is a graphics card to put inside the eGPU unit (unless you buy an all-in-one solution like the excellent portable ). You have to be careful with this because not all graphics cards are supported by macOS High Sierra and Mojave yet.

At the moment, AMD graphics cards based on Polaris are the safest bet which includes the Sapphire Pulse and WX range. In particular, the works perfectly and is a safe option for Mac users if you want to save yourself compatibility headaches.

Note that you should think twice before using NVIDIA cards for now as although NVIDIA has updated its recently and has issued for the ultra powerful to work on Mac, there are still some issues with them working with eGPUs on High Sierra. Most users have found more success with AMD cards but as High Sierra is updated and the price of the Titan X comes down, there will be better support. Another thing to bear in mind is that if you’re using a MacBook Pro, you’ll need to make sure that the eGPU unit can provide enough power to power both the graphics card and charge your Mac. The eGPU chassis needs to provide at least 85 watts of charging power to achieve this. All the eGPU units reviewed in this article all provide enough power to do both but if you choose a different model, double-check this with the manufacturer. You’ll also need to be running the very latest version of macOS 10.13 High Sierra or macOS 10.14 Mojave so make sure you’ve updated through the App Store. Throughout early 2018, Apple has been slowly updating High Sierra to perform better with eGPUs as initially there were various bugs and stability issues such as having to log in and out of macOS when you connect and disconnect eGPU units.

The provided much better support for eGPUs with fixes for connection issues, acceleration for Metal, OpenGL or OpenCL and support for more VR headsets. The are always at the cutting edge of VR development but you can only install them if you’re a member of the Apple Beta Software Program. Although the beta versions offer enhanced VR support earlier, it’s recommended that you wait for the final releases as beta versions can be unstable and conflict with other apps on your Mac. MacOS Mojave & eGPUs The latest version of macOS Mojave brings the best eGPU support yet. The biggest improvement is that Mojave allows you to use your MacBook Pro or iMac display as your main monitor.

Previously, the full benefits of using an eGPU were only fully realized with an external monitor connected to your Mac. Even better, it also allows you to choose which applications benefit from eGPU acceleration. Unfortunately, NVIDIA cards still aren’t supported in Mojave and our advice is to stick to AMD for now. Now you’re better informed, here is our list of the best eGPUs for Mac of 2018 in order of ranking.

There are three things that make the the best eGPU for Mac currently available: convenience, size and Apple endorsement. Convenience because it’s an all-in-one setup. It’s an eGPU unit with a Radeon RX 570 graphics card built-in – there’s no need to buy and fit a separate graphics card to go in it. We love the size because it’s the only portable eGPU for Mac on the market.

EGPUs are pretty large units and take quite a bit of space on your desk – they’re certainly not designed to be portable. The Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Puck is the exception because at 6x2x5.1 inches, it’s small enough to put in your rucksack or laptop bag and take with you. Finally, Apple officially endorse both Sonnet’s Puck and Breakaway Box (see review below) as recommended eGPUs for macOS. Despite it’s size, you don’t need to carry your MacBook Power supply with you either because it can charge your MacBook. The other impressive thing for an eGPU this small is that there are ports three DisplayPorts and one HDMI port meaning you can connect up to four 4K displays.

There are two models of the Puck – the and which have a Radeon 560 and Radeon 570 card inside respectively. The 570 is a few hundred dollars more expensive but is more powerful and worth if it if you don’t want to hassle of upgrading in a few years time as VR apps and games on Mac really take off. Pros: No need to purchase a graphics card – it’s all included The only portable eGPU for Mac Connect up to four 4K displays Extremely quiet Cons: Power Pack is quite large The is officially endorsed by Apple to developers so you can safely say that it provides rock solid compatibility with Macs. In fact, Apple are selling the Sonnet eGPU as part of its for $599 for those that want to develop VR apps and games on Mac.

The kit is only available to members of the Apple Development Program however and includes the Sonnet eGFX Breakway Box, AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB graphics card and Belkin USB-C to 4-port USB-A hub. This is actually a very good deal because although you can buy the Sonnet eGPU cheaper on it’s own, the will set you back several hundred dollars plus you’ll need to purchase the However, if you’ve already got a graphics card, it’s cheaper to buy the Sonnet eGFX and Thunderbolt Hub. If you’re not part of the Apple Developer Program though, you can’t take advantage of the Apple deal anyway and have to purchase everything seperately. What we like about the Sonnet is that it’s extremely quiet.

In fact even under extensive use and heavy load we’re yet to hear the fans whir. It comes with its own 350W power supply and the neat thing is that once connected to your Mac via Thunderbolt 3, it actually provides power to your Mac too – useful if you don’t have access to a power supply. Like most eGPUs, it’s extremely easy to slot in a graphics card and your Mac will automatically detect it when you connect the Thunderbolt cable. If it doesn’t for any reason, try logging in and out of your Mac as High Sierra is still a bit temperamental when it comes to eGPU plug and play although the latest updates to High Sierra have improved this. On the downside, it does feel like a big unit especially if you don’t have much space on your desk. It dwarfs most external drives and it needs to be fairly close to your Mac due to the rather short 0.5m Thunderbolt 3 cable. There used to be a few minor bugs with High Sierra such as the device not appearing in the “About This Mac” Menu but these also have been fixed with the latest High Sierra updates.

Some Adobe applications don’t appear to utilize the full GPU memory though and this may take longer to fix if Adobe need to issue a fix. Note that the Sonnet also does not support running Windows through Boot Camp.

We don’t recommend this anyway now that High Sierra supports eGPU units but if you are thinking of, bear this in mind. You can watch an interesting setup of a Sonnet Breakaway being used with an HTC Vive Headset to play VR games on High Sierra.

You can also how the Sonnet Breakaway eGPU makes some impressive improvements to 4K video editing on Mac. Pros: Extremely quiet Supports Thunderbolt 3 Easy to plug and play graphics card Also charges your MacBook Pro (only 550W and 650W Models – not the 350W) Cons: Size – extremely big if you’ve got a small desk Thunderbolt cable length (0.5m) Some bugs with High Sierra but improving Does not support Boot Camp The is currently the biggest competitor to the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box and retails for around the same price. Akitio is based in California and specializes in doing everything in-house designing and creating new Thunderbolt peripherals such as and now eGPUs. The products are extremely reliable, functional and are quickly gathering a dedicated following. Like the Sonnet, the Akitio Node is very easy to set up and use with plug and play support for graphics cards.

The Akitio Node has a PCIe (x16) slot that will take full-sized and also double-width cards. The Node also has a built-in power supply which can help if not enough power is getting to your graphics card. The Akitio Node is pretty quiet although the extra power supply makes it slightly noisier than the Sonnet. On the downside, like the Sonnet it’s also a very big unit and takes up a lot of space on your desk. It’s also quite soft at the front of the unit so be careful when moving it around not to dent it. It does however have a useful carry handle on the back which makes it a bit easier to transport and move around than the Sonnet.

If you want to try installing Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp, the Akitio does support too but as mentioned earlier, there’s really no need to do this now that High Sierra supports a growing number of eGPUs. Pros: Easy to set up and use Accepts all sizes of graphics card Includes extra power supply Supports running through Boot Camp Cons: Size Power supply makes more noise than Sonnet Thunderbolt cable length (0.5m) The main attraction of the is that it has an extra Thunderbolt 3 Dedicated DisplayPort to add another monitor to your display setup.

Other than that, there aren’t many differences between it at the standard Akitio Node although it has a metallic finish and a handle on the top rather than on the sides. It’s also a bit noisier than the Akitio Node which in itself is a bit noisier than the Sonnet although nothing that becomes too disturbing or disruptive.

There is a mesh panel which helps dissipate the heat from the fans too. Unless you need an extra monitor, you don’t really need the Akitio Node Pro which retails in the region of around $350 – almost $100 more than the standard version. However, it’s definitely well worth the extra dollars if you’re going to be doing VR video editing because of the added 4K monitor support Pros: Extra Thunderbolt 3 port for connecting external monitor Metallic finish Handle on top rather than at the back Cons: Noisier fans than the Akitio Node Thunderbolt cable length (0.5m) Price The is a Thunderbolt 3 compatible eGPU unit with an extra 5 USB 3.0 ports and an Ethernet connection port. There’s also room for a SATA connector if you want to add an external hard drive to it. Setup of the Mantiz Venus is very easy as your Mac will automatically detect and install the necessary drivers to run graphics cards in it. On the downside, the HDMI refresh rate seems to be quite low for VR gaming although it’s not clear if this is an issue with a box or High Sierra. Like the Akitio Nose, it also supports both VR gaming in Windows via Boot Camp and macOS High Sierra.

The Mantiz Venus is also almost twice the price of the Akitio Node and Sonnet at just under $400 but will mainly appeal to those that want plenty of USB 3.0 ports. Pros: 5 USB 3.0 Ports Sleek metallic finish Easy to setup Cons: Price No carry handle Thunderbolt cable length (0.5m) The eGPU works with both AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards. The Helios FX is a good option for video editors as it supports PCIe cards including Red Rocket and AVID Pro Tools for video editors.

It’s quite a big unit and log enough to accept full-sized, double width GPU cards and provides enough power to run both the eGPU and charge your MacBook Pro at the same time. The OWC Mercury Helios FX is endorsed by Apple to be fully compatible with High Sierra.

Although OWC state that it’s fully compatible with NVIDIA cards, Mac users should stick to AMD for now as there are still incompatibility problems with NVIDIA cards and High Sierra. Pros: AVID Pro Tools support Fully compatible with both AMD and NVIDIA cards Accepts full length and width GPU cards Cons: Lack of ports NVIDIA support not much use on Mac at the moment These are currently the best eGPUs for MacBook Pros and iMacs on the market. One common practical problem we noticed with all of them was the length of the Thunderbolt 3 cable that comes with them. Since the manufacturers only provide a 0.5m cable, it means you must have the large units close to your Mac which isn’t always convenient if you haven’t got much space. However, for an extra 50 bucks you can get which are definitely worth the investment so that you can store the units on the floor or away from your Mac. If you have any questions about these eGPUs or have problems using them with your Mac, let us know in the comments below and we’ll try to help. If you enjoyed this article, you may also be interested in our – NVIDIA’S impressive solution to gaming on Mac (although it doesn’t support VR).

You can also see below what an eGPU can do when connected to your Mac.