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2016 Macbook Pros and eGPUs


leocanela

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13 hours ago, goalque said:

And says “Unsupported”? Then it’s a firmware issue. Akitio Node is compatible:

 

https://www.akitio.com/blog/articles/akitio-thunderbolt3-devices-macbook-pro

@goalque, I think they changed it. They say Akitio Node is not compatible and the other thunderbolt 3 devices show up as "unsupported".

Bizon just released their ioverpriced ($650) solution today, claiming it works normally, plug and play, osx or bootcamp: https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox3-egpu.html/

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1 hour ago, leocanela said:

@goalque, I think they changed it. They say Akitio Node is not compatible and the other thunderbolt 3 devices show up as "unsupported".

Bizon just released their ioverpriced ($650) solution today, claiming it works normally, plug and play, osx or bootcamp: https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox3-egpu.html/

If it is really "works normally with 2016 mac + plug and play + osx or bootcamp" then it is firsts solution in Apple Egpu market without "problems".

Then price is ok. Compare to other solutions that still have tons of bugs.

 

Personally, i do not trust this promo on Bizon's website, until first real implementations/reviews/tests will be available online.

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So, the real question are:

 

-Why does Bizon-box supposedly works flawlessly, and not the others?

 

- Is there something that can be done to make others work on OSX?

 

I think we will have to see a Bizon TB3 working in real life :)

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On October 31, 2016 at 6:18 PM, goalque said:

Not alarming if the speed activates to 20Gb/s x2 with a Belkin 40Gb/s cable and TB3 chassis.

 

This should lead you on the right track:

 

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/10057-automate-egpu-efi-mac-bootscreen-on-egpu/&do=findComment&comment=151531

 

However, I suppose that you’ve already done so. Hopefully the problem is due to the bidirectional TB3-TB2-adapter. How did you check Metal acceleration? If OpenCL works, the -clpeak option may give us clues about transfer bandwidth in GBps (enqueueWriteBuffer/enqueueReadBuffer).

 

Thank you for the quick response! I revised the script to alter X4100 rather than X4000 since 10.12.1 beta. OpenCL does not work. System Profiler does not show "Metal: Supported" like it would with older MBP and MBA (even when I have an external display plugged in). The external display has output through the eGPU but OS visuals are lagging.

 

I want to think it's the TB3 <-> TB2 adapter. I'll have another adapter today to test and report back.

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I love how there's no Late 2016 MacBook Pro in any of Bizon TB3 enclosure photos yet they claim full plug-n-play. The port layout in the rear looks identical to AKiTiO Thunder3 and Thunderbolt 3 dev kit. - http://www.inxtron.com/products/thunderbolt3-hdk

Edited by theitsage
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47 minutes ago, theitsage said:

I love how there's no Late 2016 MacBook Pro in any of Bizon TB3 enclosure photos yet they claim full plug-n-play. The port layout in the rear looks identical to AKiTiO Thunder3 and Thunderbolt 3 dev kit. - http://www.inxtron.com/products/thunderbolt3-hdk

 

Ahaha, lol,

I've just sent questions to Bizon support team.

They ignored my questions about "plug and play" and "How to fit/connect two 8pin cables".

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1 hour ago, theitsage said:

I love how there's no Late 2016 MacBook Pro in any of Bizon TB3 enclosure photos yet they claim full plug-n-play. The port layout in the rear looks identical to AKiTiO Thunder3 and Thunderbolt 3 dev kit. - http://www.inxtron.com/products/thunderbolt3-hdk

This HDK is not for resale and is not intended for the retail market.

I am sure that the internals are the same.

 

1 hour ago, rozhkov said:

They ignored my questions about "plug and play"

They use my script. Looks good though. +$350 extra price for the shiny enclosure without thermal certification or electrical safety label.

 

They don’t care about hardware certification or software licenses, unstoppable unless Apple/Intel lawyers come tapping on their shoulders.

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21 minutes ago, goalque said:

This HDK is not for resale and is not intended for the retail market.

I am sure that the internals are the same.

 

They use my script. Looks good though. +$350 extra price for the shiny enclosure without thermal certification or electrical safety label.

 

They don’t care about hardware certification or software licenses, unstoppable unless Apple/Intel lawyers come tapping on their shoulders.

 

They probably haven't made enough for the lawyers to get involved. :rofl:

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4 hours ago, goalque said:

They use my script.

Answer from Bizon's support:

we now have our own software

 

5 hours ago, rozhkov said:

They ignored my questions about "plug and play"

New answer from Bizon's support:

The Razer Core is not exactly plug and play

If you are asking about hot-plugging, it is currently not supported by the macOS and Windows.

 

5 hours ago, rozhkov said:

How to fit/connect two 8pin cables

New answer from Bizon's support:

The BizonBOX with 400W has 2 8-pin PCIe auxiliary power connectors for the graphics card inside.

 

What? Then how to get 300w? firstly i have to connect 2 8pin to 1 8 pin bizonbox, then this 1 8pin to 2 8 pin video card  ?

 

I think i got important info about this company, maybe moderators  or pro-users can write special topic / summarise it.

rip-off alert: BizonBox 3 is an overpriced and has incorrect description on the website :-)

Edited by rozhkov
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11 hours ago, rozhkov said:

What? Then how to get 300w? firstly i have to connect 2 8pin to 1 8 pin bizonbox, then this 1 8pin to 2 8 pin video card  ?

Look at their 400W bundle photo - https://goo.gl/ipVoFn

They have custom ordered 400W PSU (from FSP company as they answered) with standard 8Pin EPS connector and then it's splitting up inside to two 8Pin PCIe connectors (https://goo.gl/pWNvqs).

Edited by devild
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11 hours ago, rozhkov said:

Answer from Bizon's support:

we now have our own software

..

I think i got important info about this company, maybe moderators  or pro-users can write special topic / summarise it.

rip-off alert: BizonBox 3 is an overpriced and has incorrect description on the website :-)

 

Bizon will soon be price blitzed out of the market by AKiTiO Node. Their only point of differentiation will be "their" software and supposed support, both of which I'm confident have been heavily derived from the DIY eGPU publicly posted information. Apple owners seemingly with deep pockets and willing to pay for turnkey solutions.

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Don't know if it's related: TB3 dock and peripherals maker Plugable reports,

"The version of OS X on the new MacBook Pros (late 2016) will not work with existing [Plugable] Certified Thunderbolt 3 docks and adapters (released prior to November 2016). These existing devices use Intel’s Thunderbolt 3 chipset (Alpine Ridge) in combination with the first generation of [Texas Instruments] TI USB-C chipset (TPS65982). Apple requires the 2nd generation TPS65983 chipset for peripherals to be compatible. Certification of solutions across different device types is still in-progress for this 2nd generation chipset."

http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/03/new-macbook-pros-thunderbolt-3-compatibility/

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On 11/1/2016 at 3:55 PM, fakebanana said:

I just installed Razer Synapse, the Razer GFX card switcher, and the Nvidia drivers - I didn't have to do anything special (and I suspect the Razer software isn't actually required). When I installed Windows 10, I noticed that the Intel thunderbolt software that's normally present wasn't installed. I installed a copy, but got an error when running it that "This application is not supported on Boot Camp. (Thunderbolt devices and networking will work correctly).

 

I did notice that when I use the short passive cable that came with the core, the Core seems to power cycle itself a lot more on boot than with the active cable (they both work though). 

 

One last caveat is that while the Core will power the MBP, if you've got the Apple power brick plugged in (so that the MBP is drawing from that instead), Windows will blue screen if you unplug the power.

I got my razer core today and am having trouble with my 2016 MBP base 13" and a 980Ti.  Could you provide a few more specifics on the sequence of your installs?  Did you install synapse, switcher, and nvidia before plugging in the core?  Are you using the 364.72 driver version linked to on the razer site or the latest directly from nvidia (375.## i think).  Did you shutdown the system before plugging in?  Can you provide a link for the thunderbolt software you reference?  I haven't seen any notifications for this either.  I

 

I installed synapse and switcher, shut down windows, plugged in, started windows.  When logged into windows, I immediately got:  USB not recognized notification, a device setup installing device window, and a prompt to update synapse.  The install window and synapse updates complete and prompt a restart.  After the restart, the device manager shows what's in the attached image.  The core itself looks to be ok, but the 980Ti an an "Unknown USB device" both have errors.  It is curious that the nvidia audio device looks to be ok though.  I have no monitor connected to the gpu in the core.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

IMG_0122conv.jpg

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4 hours ago, RB.mac said:

I got my razer core today and am having trouble with my 2016 MBP base 13" and a 980Ti.  Could you provide a few more specifics on the sequence of your installs?  Did you install synapse, switcher, and nvidia before plugging in the core?  Are you using the 364.72 driver version linked to on the razer site or the latest directly from nvidia (375.## i think).  Did you shutdown the system before plugging in?  Can you provide a link for the thunderbolt software you reference?  I haven't seen any notifications for this either.  I

 

I installed synapse and switcher, shut down windows, plugged in, started windows.  When logged into windows, I immediately got:  USB not recognized notification, a device setup installing device window, and a prompt to update synapse.  The install window and synapse updates complete and prompt a restart.  After the restart, the device manager shows what's in the attached image.  The core itself looks to be ok, but the 980Ti an an "Unknown USB device" both have errors.  It is curious that the nvidia audio device looks to be ok though.  I have no monitor connected to the gpu in the core.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

IMG_0122conv.jpg

I saw someone mention something about needing to install the Intel thunderbolt drivers in bootcamp. I would also try and install the latest NVIDIA drivers from their site.

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6 hours ago, RB.mac said:

The only thunderbolt software or drivers i found was at the link below which was updated in 2014 so thought it may not be applicable. I'll give it a go this evening though. Thanks

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23742/Thunderbolt-Intel-Thunderbolt-driver

Just for the fun of it try and plug a monitor into the eGPU and see what happens.

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On 11/4/2016 at 3:05 PM, rwssoccer1 said:

Just for the fun of it try and plug a monitor into the eGPU and see what happens.

 

I did manage to get this to work.  No luck on using eGPU to run anything on internal display only so far.  I can start a game on external display and drag in windowed mode to internal display but really not the use case I was intending.

 

 

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12 hours ago, RB.mac said:

 

I did manage to get this to work.  No luck on using eGPU to run anything on internal display only so far.  I can start a game on external display and drag in windowed mode to internal display but really not the use case I was intending.

 

 

Hmm I am betting that is where the switcher from Razer comes into play. I bet this would work with the Macbook using the AMD dGPU and an AMG in the eGPU since they have the xConnect technology that basically lets you switch between internal and external graphics cards. Hopefully a solution to your problem comes out as these become more popular. At least you can game using an external display. 

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4 minutes ago, Mark said:

 

That's great news! What did you do to get it to work? Did you do the same thing as you would on a TB2 MBP?

 

Exact same process with the addition of Apple TB3-TB2 adapter. It was not working in 10.12 and 10.12.1. 

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@theitsage

I guess you heard the “whoosh” sound ;)

 

The text “Metal: Supported” is misleading - at least in previous builds.

The macOS 10.12 supports both v1 and v2 Metal feature sets. To confirm whether RX 470 is supported, follow these steps:

1) Install Xcode + command line tools: xcode-select --install

2) nano ~/Desktop/metaltest.swift

3) Copy-paste:

import Metal
var supportedDevices: [MTLDevice] = MTLCopyAllDevices()
if (supportedDevices.count > 0)
{
    for device in supportedDevices {
        var isSupported_v1 = device.supportsFeatureSet(MTLFeatureSet.osx_GPUFamily1_v1)
        var isSupported_v2 = device.supportsFeatureSet(MTLFeatureSet.osx_GPUFamily1_v2)
        print("\(device.name), supported (v1): \(isSupported_v1), supported (v2): \(isSupported_v2)")
    }
}
else
{
   print("No supported devices found")
}

4) ctrl+X -> Y
5) cd ~/Desktop

6)

swiftc -sdk $(xcrun --show-sdk-path) -target x86_64-apple-macosx10.12 -o metaltest metaltest.swift

7) ./metaltest


It’s worth to try IndigoBench when OpenCL works. Remember it’s only a half of the 32 compute units. HD 7970 keeps the lead in OpenCL due to optimized drivers.

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On 11/5/2016 at 11:21 PM, RB.mac said:

 

I did manage to get this to work.  No luck on using eGPU to run anything on internal display only so far.  I can start a game on external display and drag in windowed mode to internal display but really not the use case I was intending.

 

 

How did you get your core to work? Can't get mine to work. Still stuck on the Error Code 12.

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