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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Gents,

Unfortunately it looks like we've lost some very important threads posted since Dec-11. The reason is as Brian writes at Announcements - DIY e-GPU Projects copied into spoiler:

Dear Tech|Inferno Members: T|I has suffered a catastrophic data loss due to one of our box's failing and losing all the data it contained. Unfortunately, our only option was to go back to our last viable copy of T|I which dates back to December 11, 2014. We are deeply sorry for any loss of posts or data as a result of this. If you subscribed as a T|I Elite member on or after December 11, 2014, please contact us immediately so that we can restore your membership. As a bonus, we will give all new members from December 11th to January 2nd 2015 an extra free month of T|I Elite Membership.

Thank you,

T|I Team

Urgent action required to recover lost threads

Reviewing the google cache of the DIY eGPU area, I've linked the google cache copy of threads created since Dec-11 and the owner who created it. If you are listed, would you mind reviewing the content and reposting the thread again? There was some real groundbreaking work done in the Macbook/TB2 area, particularly by @nesone, @MVC and @sedor .

This needs to be done urgently before the google cache is updated with the current threads (which are from Dec-11) and these newer threads will disappear.

<strike> @sedor - [WIP] 2013 MacPro (nMP) + GTX680@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + OSX10.10 | >> COPY << </strike> -> done!

<strike> @nesone - [GUIDE] 2013 13" Macbook Pro + 2 X Titan_Z@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + OSX10.10 | >> COPY << </strike> -> done!

<strike> @nesone - [GUIDE] 2012 15" Macbook Pro + Titan_Z@10Gbps-TB1 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + OSX10.10 | >> COPY << </strike> -> done!

<strike> @MVC - Which TB2 Macbooks allow monitors to be used on eGPUs in OSX? | >> COPY <<</strike> -> done!

<strike>@Dschijn - [GUIDE] 2014 15" Macbook Pro Iris + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1 | >> COPY <<</strike> -> done!

@AlexN - iMac 21" mid 2011+ eGPU+ second Monitor

@willgameforfood - [WIP] 15" HP ZBook 15 +GTX560@2Gbps+c-EC1 (PE4H 2.4a) + Win7

@Adex - [WIP] 15" Dell E6520 + R9_280X@4Gbps+c-EC2 (EXP GDC 7.0) + Win7

@Rustyman22 - Old Asus X52de (AMD RS880) with PE4C-PM100C V2.0 Pcie 1x 2.0 problem

<strike>@Khenglish - [WIP] 15" Clevo P150EM + GTX580@4Gbps+c-mPCIe2 (PE4L 2.1b) + Win7</strike> -> done!

<strike>@PJ²³ - [WIP] 13" Dell E6330 + GTX460@4Gbps+c-EC2 (PE4L 2.1) + Win8.1 </strike> -> done!

<strike>@hishamkali - [WIP] 17" Dell M6500 + GTX970/GTX460@8Gbps-mPCIe1^4 (PE4H 2.4a) + Win7/Win8.1</strike> -> done!

Thank you,

Nando

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  • Founder

Once again our sincerest apologies to the community. We're going to be working overtime tomorrow to speed up our plans to migrate to an entirely new software platform and are re-writing our backend from scratch. We anticipate a complete upgrade of T|I in about 2-3 weeks. Unfortunately, the data we lost is not recoverable by us so we'd appreciate it if you could repost any relevant threads. We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again.

Thanks

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This is a backup copy of a thread originally posted by @nesone but lost as noted at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8557-data-loss-urgent-action-reqd-recover-lost-threads.html#post116814 . Hoping @nesone reposts it but until that happens this is a copy of the google cache which I expect will be flushed in the next day or so.


This is my third AKiTiO Thunder2 Setup with 2 x Titan Z and 13'' MacBook Pro TB2. TB2 let me attach 2 Titan Z via daisy chain.

Mac Thunderbolt 1 can hold 1 TITAN Z

Mac Thunderbolt 2 can hold 2 TITAN Z

Two Titans Z setup and Benchmark Pics:

http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13453d1418581828-_g6a6246.jpg" id="attachment13453" rel="nofollow">_g6a6246.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13454d1418581871-_g6a6250.jpg" id="attachment13454" rel="nofollow">_g6a6250.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13456d1418581908-_g6a6256.jpg" id="attachment13456" rel="nofollow">_g6a6256.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13457d1418581924-_g6a6272.jpg" id="attachment13457" rel="nofollow">_g6a6272.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13458d1418581983-_g6a6273.jpg" id="attachment13458" rel="nofollow">_g6a6273.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13459d1418581997-_g6a6275.jpg" id="attachment13459" rel="nofollow">_g6a6275.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13460d1418582018-_g6a6278.jpg" id="attachment13460" rel="nofollow">_g6a6278.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13461d1418582057-_g6a6281.jpg" id="attachment13461" rel="nofollow">_g6a6281.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13462d1418582072-_g6a6286.jpg" id="attachment13462" rel="nofollow">_g6a6286.jpghttp://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13463d1418582091-_g6a6287.jpg" id="attachment13463" rel="nofollow">_g6a6287.jpg

Parts:

AKiTiO:

http://www.amazon.com/Akitio-Thunder2-PCIe-Box/dp/B00LTAUTHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418580832&sr=8-1&keywords=Akitio" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Amazon.com: Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box: Computers & Accessories

PCI-E 16X to PCI-E 16X Riser:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271448008328?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">PCI E Express x16 to 16x Molex Powered Riser Adapter Card Safer Version | eBay

Corsair AX1200i

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Digital-Modular-Platinum/dp/B008Q7HUR0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418582264&sr=8-1&keywords=ax+1200i" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Amazon.com: Corsair Professional Series AX 1200 Watt Digital ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum (AX1200i): Computers & Accessories

Drivers:

http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/80070" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.nvidia.com/download/driver...

https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-dow" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-dow...

Software:

---textwrangler---

http://www.textwrangler.com/products/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Bare Bones Software | Products...

---PackageMaker---

https://idmsa.apple.com/IDMSWebAuth/login?&appIdKey=891bd3417a7776362562d2197f89480a8547b108fd934911bcbea0110d07f757&path=%2F%2Fdownloads%2Findex.action" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://idmsa.apple.com/IDMSWebAuth/l...

---Cuda-Z---

http://cuda-z.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://cuda-z.sourceforge.net

Process for Yosemite - Link:

eGPU parts - Link:

Thanks!

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After several years of happy eGPUing with my Acer Aspire 3820TG, I decided to have an upgrade.

My first choice was a Dell E6330. It provides a Gen2 capable express card slot and two free non blacklisted mPCIE-slots (unfortunately not usable for X2). There are successful implementations for the 12" and 14" variants of this device. Until it's verfied that everything works properly, I'll be using my old GPU (EVGA GTX460). I hope that my SFX PSU (Silverstone ST45SF) will be sufficient for modern cards aswell.

I ordered a PE4L-EC100A from China because my favourite adapter PE4C-EC100C V2.1 was out of stock. Two days later the PE4C was available again and I placed my order. Fortunately bplustech didn't respond to my cancellation request (read on).

The PE4C was the first package to arrive. I had the DSDT override already in place, my E6330 didn't lower the TOLUD as experienced by Tech Inferno Fan with his E6230. When it came to GPU load, I had random BSODs. I could exclude a GPU or PSU defect, since the combination worked flawless in my old setup. Using Setup 1.30 I lowered the bandwidth to Gen1 and everything was fine.

Yesterday my PE4L arrived and with this one the Gen2 link works properly. I was quite happy that the order wan't cancelled.

This are my scores (old card - old benchmarks):

  • Gen1 (E6330)

    [*]Gen2 (E6330)

Setup:

  • Hardware
    • Dell Latitude E6330
    • 8 GB RAM
    • SSD: Crucial M500 240GB
    • HDD in DVD bay
    • PE4L-EC100A

    [*]Software

    • Windows 8.1
    • DSDT override
    • Setup 1.30 (just required for Gen1 link test)

Unfortunately the E6330 has a defective ethernet port and I will return it to the reseller. If they don't return the fixed notebook, I'll probably get this model again or go for a E6440.

Since my girlfriend already uses the 3820TG, I decided to distress my almost discarded office notebook Dell E6510 with an egpu implementation. This time the DSDT override was a little bit tricky, but I finally managed it by using an older version of iasl (win-20140926) an a PLD patch from RehabMan's repository.

Scores E6510, setup as obove:

Conclusion: the GTX460 is my bottleneck xgreedy_dollars.png.pagespeed.ic.NFQ8d90pi3.png

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This is a backup copy of a thread originally posted by @nesone but lost as noted at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8557-data-loss-urgent-action-reqd-recover-lost-threads.html#post116814 . Hoping @nesone reposts it but until that happens this is a copy of the google cache which I expect will be flushed in the next day or so.


This is my second AKiTiO Thunder2 Setup with a Titan Z and MacBook Pro for Octane Render C4D plugin. I show all the parts that I use for the setup, plus how I install drivers and edit the .kext files.

Process for Yosemite - Link:

eGPU parts - Link:

Parts:

AKiTiO:

http://www.amazon.com/Akitio-Thunder2-PCIe-Box/dp/B00LTAUTHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418580832&sr=8-1&keywords=Akitio" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Amazon.com: Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box: Computers & Accessories

PCI-E x16 to PCI-E 16X Riser:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271448008328?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">PCI E Express x16 to 16x Molex Powered Riser Adapter Card Safer Version | eBay

Corsair RM1000

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-80PLUS-Gold-Certified-Supply/dp/B00EB7UIZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418581087&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+rm+1000" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Amazon.com: Corsair RM Series 1000 Watt ATX/EPS 80PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supply - CP-9020062-NA RM1000: Computers & Accessories

Drivers:

http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/80070" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.nvidia.com/download/driver...

https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-dow" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-dow...

Software:

---textwrangler---

http://www.textwrangler.com/products/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Bare Bones Software | Products...

---PackageMaker---

https://idmsa.apple.com/IDMSWebAuth/login?&appIdKey=891bd3417a7776362562d2197f89480a8547b108fd934911bcbea0110d07f757&path=%2F%2Fdownloads%2Findex.action" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://idmsa.apple.com/IDMSWebAuth/l...

---Cuda-Z---

http://cuda-z.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://cuda-z.sourceforge.net

Thanks!

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This is a backup copy of a thread originally posted by @MVC but lost as noted at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8557-data-loss-urgent-action-reqd-recover-lost-threads.html#post116814 . Hoping @MVC reposts it but until that happens this is a copy of the google cache which I expect will be flushed in the next day or so.

<hr>

Still the same, external monitor is not detected with a Mid 2014 15" MBPr Iris Pro only on OS X. However, the GPU is detected under system report, so CUDA calculation might be possible.

I can now report that I am able to make this combo output to at least 1 external display in OSX. If I see the bootscreens show up on external display, all is well. I only played with this for short time using an external USB drive. If the bootscreens showed up on internal display I would only get black on external. Oddly, I could not enter proper clamshell mode, not sure if due to external boot drive or what.

i can confirm that both eEFI GTX680 4GB and GTX780 6GB functioned identically. Using a GTX980 Mac Edition EFI for cMP DID NOT SHOW BOOTSCREENS AND NEVER ALLOWED EXTERNAL DISPLAY.

i think someone should track which TB2 Macs are allowing eGPU with display in OSX. We will need to find common denominator, possibility there is a blacklist buried in drivers somewhere to keep displays from initializing if they weren't announced at EFI boot.

will post screen shots when I can get HD connected to a machine on Internet.

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This is a backup copy of a thread originally posted by @sedor but lost as noted at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8557-data-loss-urgent-action-reqd-recover-lost-threads.html#post116814 . Hoping @sedor reposts it but until that happens this is a copy of the google cache which I expect will be flushed in the next day or so.

<hr>

This guide is based on goalque's guide ( <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8199-%5Bguide%5D-2013-13-macbook-pro-gtx980%4016gbps-tb2-netstor-na211tb-win8-1-osx10-10-a.html" target="_blank">[GUIDE] 2013 13" Macbook Pro + GTX980@16Gbps-TB2 (Netstor NA211TB) + Win8.1/OSX10.10</a> )

<b>HARDWARE:</b>

<ul><li style=""><a style="" sl-processed="1" href="https://www.apple.com/au/mac-pro/specs/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">MacPro 2013 (nMP), 6 Core, 64GB RAM, 2x AMD FirePro 500</a></li><li style=""><a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24200-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2.html" target="_blank">US$200 AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box (16Gbps-TB2)</a></li><li style="">PCIe Riser Cable with powered Molex</li><li style="">PCIe Riser Card ( <a sl-processed="1" href="http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_41788/merkmale.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Delock Produkte Delock Riser Karte PCI Express x16 BTX rechts gerichtet</a> )</li><li style="">Cooler Master Elite 130</li><li style="">BeQuiet PurePower L8 530W PSU</li></ul>

The Elite 130 isnt a very shine case, but it is able to hold a ATX PSU and a fullsize graphics card.

I am going with the GTX680 instead of the planned GTX980, because I wasn't able to run CUDA applications with the GTX980 - it was recognized correct, CudaZ also shows the 980 but no tool used the card.

<b>SOFTWARE:</b>

You need: NVIDIA Web Drivers, CUDA Driver (if you want to use CUDA), TextWrangler...

I followed the guide of goalque ( <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8199-%5Bguide%5D-2013-13-macbook-pro-gtx980%4016gbps-tb2-netstor-na211tb-win8-1-osx10-10-a.html" target="_blank">[GUIDE] 2013 13" Macbook Pro + GTX980@16Gbps-TB2 (Netstor NA211TB) + Win8.1/OSX10.10</a> ), it doesn't matter if you are using a MacBook or MacPro the steps are (of course) always the same.

<b>PEPARING THE CASE:</b>

1. I removed everything out of the Akitio Case and used the Akitio-Hardware to mark inside of the Elite 130 where I have to drill new holes. I used screws with nuts as spacer (that way I was more flexible in adjusting it).

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13501d1419097717-egpu_elite130_01.jpg" id="attachment13501" rel="nofollow"><img title="egpu_elite130_01.jpg" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13501d1419097717t-egpu_elite130_01.jpg" alt="egpu_elite130_01.jpg" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a>

2. does it fit? yes...

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13502d1419097969-egpu_elite130_02.jpg" id="attachment13502" rel="nofollow"><img title="egpu_elite130_02.jpg" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13502d1419097969t-egpu_elite130_02.jpg" alt="egpu_elite130_02.jpg" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a>

3. I've done the same with the Riser Card, used a graphics card to get the correct position - then I connected the riser card by using the riser cable with the Akitio. Also I connected the Molex with the power cable of the PSU.

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13503d1419098063-egpu_elite130_03.jpg" id="attachment13503" rel="nofollow"><img title="egpu_elite130_03.jpg" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13503d1419098063t-egpu_elite130_03.jpg" alt="egpu_elite130_03.jpg" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a> <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13504d1419098099-egpu_elite130_04.jpg" id="attachment13504" rel="nofollow"><img title="egpu_elite130_04.jpg" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13504d1419098099t-egpu_elite130_04.jpg" alt="egpu_elite130_04.jpg" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a> <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13505d1419098129-egpu_elite130_05.jpg" id="attachment13505" rel="nofollow"><img title="egpu_elite130_05.jpg" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13505d1419098129t-egpu_elite130_05.jpg" alt="egpu_elite130_05.jpg" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a>

4. ...of course we need the PSU itself also in the case

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13506d1419098241-egpu_elite130_06.jpg" id="attachment13506" rel="nofollow"><img title="egpu_elite130_06.jpg" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13506d1419098241t-egpu_elite130_06.jpg" alt="egpu_elite130_06.jpg" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a>

5. lets get in the GTX680

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13507d1419098390-egpu_elite130_09.jpg" id="attachment13507" rel="nofollow"><img title="egpu_elite130_09.jpg" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13507d1419098390t-egpu_elite130_09.jpg" alt="egpu_elite130_09.jpg" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a>

SYSTEM PROFILER , LUXMARK, CUDA-Z:

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13508d1419098680-newmacpro_systemprofiler_gtx680.png" id="attachment13508" rel="nofollow"><img title="newmacpro_systemprofiler_gtx680.png" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13508d1419098680t-newmacpro_systemprofiler_gtx680.png" alt="newmacpro_systemprofiler_gtx680.png" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a> <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13509d1419098753-macpro_02_luxmark_sala_gtx680.png" id="attachment13509" rel="nofollow"><img title="macpro_02_luxmark_sala_gtx680.png" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13509d1419098753t-macpro_02_luxmark_sala_gtx680.png" alt="macpro_02_luxmark_sala_gtx680.png" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a> <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13510d1419098818-macpro_04_cudaz_gtx680_an_nmp_direkt.png" id="attachment13510" rel="nofollow"><img title="macpro_04_cudaz_gtx680_an_nmp_direkt.png" src="http://forum.techinferno.com/attachments/diy-e-gpu-projects/13510d1419098818t-macpro_04_cudaz_gtx680_an_nmp_direkt.png" alt="macpro_04_cudaz_gtx680_an_nmp_direkt.png" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" border="0"></a>

When rendering the eGPU uses about 180-200 Watts, so far it runs pretty solid.

<b>Next steps:</b>

- getting a SWEX (if there is a shop in Germany offering it)

- figuring out why the 980 isn't used for CUDA and then swapping the 680 with it.

Many thanks also at Dschijn for giving me more infos, helped me a lot to finish this project in a short time.

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Replies to the opening post were . . .

Wow, superb discovery! <img src="http://forum.techinferno.com/images/smilies/smile.png.pagespeed.ce.HpCntQets-.png" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" border="0"> Can we now make a conclusion that your custom EFI flashed GTX 780 is the key for enabling an external <a sl-processed="1" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=computer+monitor&_frs=1" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink" class="vglnk"><span>monitor</span></a> in OS X? Or is the external <a sl-processed="1" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wintec-FileMate-8GB-SWIVEL-USB-Flash-Drive-Black/15074239" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink" class="vglnk"><span>USB </span><span>drive</span></a> required? I preferably like to keep OS X in internal <a sl-processed="1" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ssd&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Assd&ajr=0" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink" class="vglnk"><span>SSD</span></a>, it's my primary OS. I have ran Win8.1 from the external <a sl-processed="1" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ssd&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Assd&ajr=0" target="_blank" title="Link added by VigLink" class="vglnk"><span>SSD</span></a>, but no experience of OS X erternally yet. Would it work also from internal drive?

My remarks on models that support eGPU screen output without special EFI rom:

- 2011/2012 Mac mini

- 2013 13" MBPr

- 2013 15" MBPr Iris Pro + 750M (needs a reboot)

Confirmed not to work:

- 2013 15" MBPr Iris pro only, two TI users have said that it does not work, but they both used Maxwell card and I haven't got reply if they only tried HDMI. Nvidia web drivers do not support HDMI with 750Ti/GTX970/GTX980 cards.

- 2014 15" MBPr Iris Pro

- 2014 Mac mini

This is a Nvidia GPU specific issue, partially Mac hardware as well, and the question is where is this blacklist buried? The same problem was in Mavericks, and there I actually saw an error message in system console log as I compared to 2013 13" MBPr boot logs to find differences. I don't remember what it exactly said, but this might be useful for you to track down the reason. In Yosemite, this log line vanished. I am also beginning to believe this is made on purpose by the requirement of Apple, and Nvidia has put the blacklist to its web drivers, or it's in Apple's firmware.

And why I said Nvidia specific? Well, try any AMD card and you will be amazed. Will do some further testing before I say more. Merry Christmas to all! :)

Sorry I wasn't clear, I was only using the external USB drive on mid 2014 rMBP because it was someone else's freshly opened X-Mas present and I couldn't muck around with system files and kext dev mode and whatnot. In a few weeks once it has a few scratches and the "new" wears off it will be easier. I would actually guess that internal drive would be better, especially as it was the 5,400 rpm drive I yanked out of 2014 Mini. Beachballer's delight.

Maybe the question should be.... What TB2 Macs DON'T have issue running external display via eGPU in OSX? Seems like nMP similarly afflicted.

RE: EFI clarification

Hey, don't remember creating separate thread, maybe too many drinks at airport bar? Anyhow, it occurs to me reading my post that the whole EFI thing is very confusing, I think I need to be more clear.

When Apple went Intel in 2006 they were ahead of EFI game. They created their own version as there was no unified standard yet. It was something we shall call "EFI32". Shortly after this they decided to create a 64bit implementation, which we shall cal "EFI64". This was used on cMP (Classic Mac Pro aka, "Cheese Grater Mac Pro"). I can not speak for what was used on other lines of Mac but they also differed somewhat. AMD cards after X1900 have used something known as EBC, which will function on either EFI32 or EFI64. Note that beyond these phrases it also matter whether a rom is UGA or GOP. I won't delve into that here but it also matters.

We at MacVidCards have been creating EFI cards for use in cMP machines. Due to budding interest in getting this tech into newer Macs I got a few (OK, a dozen) Akitio boxes and started playing. I discovered that Apple has been playing fast & loose with EFI.

At some point, the Windows world went UEFI. Yes, this is supposed to be a standard but Apple has decided to shun it. These UEFI roms have included both the traditional PC BIOS as well as a UEFI rom. I can't speak for how they work in a UEFI PC but I can tell you how they have traditionally worked in a Mac.

The very first EFI card in a Mac Pro was a 7300GT, it used the EFI32 to introduce the card at boot time, values set (keys) were then passed on to the OS to load drivers. With the first ATI (now AMD) card EFI, they tried to go straight EFI. The card ONLY had an EFI. This presented a problem with their new "BootCamp" tech since there was no BIOS to run in Windows. So they used an ugly, clumsy kludge. In every Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1's boot rom lies a little stillborn X1900XT BIOS. It can never be updated or over/underclocked, etc. It is buried there just so those Macs can run Bootcamp.

They decided that wasn't going to work for future (thankfully) despite the fact that they could have limited cMP cards to only those that existed in boot rom. SO all future cMP cards needed 2 roms on the EEPROM chip to work, an EFI to introduce the card at boot and give the "boot screens" and then a PC BIOS that actually ran the thing in the OS. Cards without EFI never got to desktop because nothing handed the card over to OS.

A clever guy named Netkas was a Hackintosh guy. He saw all the lovely drivers that got shipped with each version of the OS and saw potential. Why not create a little extension that would play the part of EFI and introduce WHATEVER CARD YOU WANTED at boot and load the drivers into OS? ATY_Init was born. This is what we used for cards in 10.6 that didn't have EFI.

We at MVC meanwhile wrote EFIs that gave cards boot screens and made many new cards possible that existed in OS but not in retail word with EFI. Netkas and I became friends, partially because I had resources to test his software in a larger variety of configs than any other single entity. Whether you know it or not, you have all been benefiting from his tech. Both AMD and Nvidia knew a good thing when they saw it. They began including the very functionality of his ATY_Init in their drivers, Nvidia started with 10.7.3 I believe, don't recall when AMD did.

Every single one of your eGPU implementations has relied on this self-init ability of drivers for OS X use. I reasoned that just like cMP benefited from EFI for cards, this new eGPU stuff might also. The EFI for these machines isn't the same as what worked on cMP, it also isn't the same as PC UEFI. It is yet another Apple bastardized version. (keeps out the riff raff)

The exciting thing is that I have found a way to write these such that the eGPU acts like an internal card. It shows the boot screen, seconds after you push the power button. BOING and the screen pops up. hold down the "Option" (Alt) button and choose between your boot disks. Again, this is allowing the eGPU to function like an internal card. I allows the card to punch through whatever Apple has done to disable eGPU display support on TB2 Macs in OS X. It also solves "Code 12" issues going into Windows as the card was defined before OS loaded.

Currently I have to solder a larger EEPROM on the card to accommodate existing PC BIOS, UEFI, and this new EFI. From henceforth I shall refer to this as mEFI to denote that it is different from the EFI for cMP. So, a GTX780 6GB for cMP will function like a standard PC 780 when used in eGPU and a mEFI GTX780 will function like a PC card when used in cMP. I am going to try to put all of these together in a file but not sure if you can have 3 different EFIs all there along with PC BIOS and the digital signature modules as well. Getting very crowded on that EEPROM chip.

We will be offering some version of these cards for sale at some point. Not sure if I will ever bother making enclosures as they are around and making a useful one seems to irritate the powers that be. They only let them out as neutered and useless devices.

As we do not have the resources to make these cards for everyone, I am hopeful that Nando4 and others will find OS fixes to allow these cards to run in other TB2 machines without our complicated and bothersome mEFI.

An Nvidia card that has been booted via self-init drivers is indicated by rom revision field saying either "Preset 1.0.0" (usually OS X default drivers) or "V.BIOS Version xx.xx.xx.xx.xx" (Nvidia Web Drivers). Also you will frequently notice that they report 1MB less Video Ram in Sys Profiler. (4GB card says "4095" instead of "4096" or 2GB card says "2047" instead of "2048". Cards that are EFI booted will have our name in Rom Revision field and report correct amount of RAM, as noted in screen shots.ss.jpgscreen-shot-2014-12-22-7.50.17-pm.pngscreen-shot-2014-12-22-7.14.39-pm.png

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Replies to this thread were . . .

<b>This is supercomputing in action</b>

@<u><a sl-processed="1" rel="nofollow" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/members/nesone.htm" target="_blank">nesone</a></u> , whoah that's some serious supercomputing 4xTITANs going there. Congratulations <img src="http://forum.techinferno.com/images/smilies/21_002.gif" alt="" title="21 002" class="inlineimg" border="0"> You give an example of why Intel would not want eGPU processing using their Thunderbolt technology. Doing so cannabalizing their core CPU market. More at <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8130-why-intel-not-allowing-thunderbolt-egpus-ideas-inside.html" target="_blank">Why are Intel not allowing Thunderbolt eGPUs? Ideas inside.</a> .

<b>Pls attach each TITAN Z to it's own TB2-16Gbps ports to double bandwidth</b>

One very important point here. Your 2013 13" MBP has two 16Gbps-TB2 ports.

You currently have daisy chained your two Titan Z cards off a single 16Gbps-TB2 port. So if they both saturate the link at the same time, each would receive 8Gbps.

The way to get the full 16Gbps-TB2 bandwidth for *each* Titan Z is you'd remove the daisy chaining TB cable between the two AKiTiO Thunder2 boxes and instead use it to wire the second AKiTiO Thunder2 directly to the second TB2 port. In that way you have 2 x AKiTiO Thunder2 units, each attached to their own 16Gbps-TB2 port on the 13" MBP.

That will change the PCI IDs being used so please re-test to confirm your OS and software works correctly there.

You can see this is how squinks got his SLI GTX780Tis running also on a 2013 13" MBP at <a sl-processed="1" href="http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7326-%5Bguide%5D-2013-13-macbook-pro-gtx780ti-sli%4032gbps-tb2-sonnet-ee-sel-win8-1-a.html#post100318" target="_blank">[GUIDE] 2013" 13" Macbook Pro + GTX780Ti-SLI@32Gbps-TB2 (Sonnet EE SEL) + Win8.1</a> using this suggested wiring arrangement.

Can you please try this and advise if it works?

Yes, I did. I connect one Atikio on each TB2 port an it give me the same numbers. As soon I get back from vacation I will post some pics.
I will be able to quantify the limits of additional cards/enclosures after Holidays. I don't plan to have Titan-Zs but I will be able to use 6 enclosures and 6 @780 cards.

We will be able to find limits of daisy chaining and the bus getting saturated, if anyone is interested.

nesone, did you ever try an external display? Can you run Uningine Valley in OS X ? I am trying to find out if there are TB2 Macs which can run external displays in OS X via the self-init drivers.

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@sedor, glad to hear that my guide was helpful. I suppose you are using a custom EFI flashed GTX680 or the original Mac edition to get screen output, right? Do you get the screen output via eGPU + GTX980 or just from the nMP's own display interfaces (AMD FirePro)? And what CUDA apps aren't working with it? Have you tried OpenCL accelerated apps? AKiTiO and reference GTX980 should work together, but I haven't tested much GPGPU use.

MVC's theory might be correct that a 2014 MBP, nMP and 2014 Mac mini cannot detect the external monitor via eGPU on OS X, if the GPU is not EFI flashed.

MacRumors Forums - View Single Post - The Smoking Gun, Apple working on eGPU on Thunderbolt for nMP and others

He isn't using a custom EFI, the screen shots show that. One common thing with self-inited cards is that the RAM count goes down by 1 Mb, not sure why. So the 4096 Megs becomes 4095. With the EFI, RAM is full amount.

He may not have even tried to output to display via the 680, the shots don't show it running display. That is a very good question. I will have a current TB2 rMBP here very soon to speak of, hopefully I get to try it out before I leave town for Holidays.

He isn't using a custom EFI, the screen shots show that. One common thing with self-inited cards is that the RAM count goes down by 1 Mb, not sure why. So the 4096 Megs becomes 4095. With the EFI, RAM is full amount.

He may not have even tried to output to display via the 680, the shots don't show it running display. That is a very good question. I will have a current TB2 rMBP here very soon to speak of, hopefully I get to try it out before I leave town for Holidays.

]Yep, he has self-flashed that card then, not one of your cards.

From http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24200-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2-83.html#post117125

Hmmmmm... Good point! My first setup was with a different card (started with the GTX680, which is flashed for Mac and after all worked I switched over to the GTX980)...

Btw: a test with a Radeon 5770 (Mac) was a total fail, it didn't work.

I am very interested in this if the theory proves correct. A few more tests and we can confirm this.

@sedor, glad to hear that my guide was helpful. I suppose you are using a custom EFI flashed GTX680 or the original Mac edition to get screen output, right? Do you get the screen output via eGPU + GTX980 or just from the nMP's own display interfaces (AMD FirePro)? And what CUDA apps aren't working with it? Have you tried OpenCL accelerated apps? AKiTiO and reference GTX980 should work together, but I haven't tested much GPGPU use.

MVC's theory might be correct that a 2014 MBP, nMP and 2014 Mac mini cannot detect the external monitor via eGPU on OS X, if the GPU is not EFI flashed.

MacRumors Forums - View Single Post - The Smoking Gun, Apple working on eGPU on Thunderbolt for nMP and others

Yes, a custom EFI - a original Mac Edition wasn't available and just offers 2GB RAM, I wanted to have more :P

For me it was of no interest using that card with a own display, the AMDs of the nMP are doing that job good enough - my main intension for getting a eGPU at the nMP was to become able using CUDA apps at the nMP.

He isn't using a custom EFI, the screen shots show that. One common thing with self-inited cards is that the RAM count goes down by 1 Mb, not sure why. So the 4096 Megs becomes 4095. With the EFI, RAM is full amount.

He may not have even tried to output to display via the 680, the shots don't show it running display. That is a very good question. I will have a current TB2 rMBP here very soon to speak of, hopefully I get to try it out before I leave town for Holidays.

As said above, I am using a flashed GTX680 - to be honest I don't know how it is flashed (got it from eBay), but this card shows the bootscreen (when using it at my cMP).

@all: Haven't tested it with a display at the GTX680 as my old TFT died a few days ago, today I got a old one from a neighbor. So I connected it to the card and powered up my system, the display stays black!

But as I mentioned above, this wasn't a important point for me, I have no need for that card showing a signal at the display - anyway if there is anything I can test/do to figure out what's going on/has to be done - I am open to help! Now, this makes me curious and I wan't also to know how we can fix that!

btw: the Radeon 5770 still refuses to run.

We have been working on EFIs different from cMP.

They are eGPU EFIs, giving boot screens on latest Macs.

I have a theory that TB2 Macs have become much more difficult to get eGPU screen output in OS X.

Let us know if you are able to get output.

@all: Haven't tested it with a display at the GTX680 as my old TFT died a few days ago, today I got a old one from a neighbor. So I connected it to the card and powered up my system, the display stays black!

But as I mentioned above, this wasn't a important point for me, I have no need for that card showing a signal at the display - anyway if there is anything I can test/do to figure out what's going on/has to be done - I am open to help! Now, this makes me curious and I wan't also to know how we can fix that!

btw: the Radeon 5770 still refuses to run.

As you have GTX680 correctly named under system report, I believe all the necessary kexts are loaded. I don’t know what display interface your monitor is connected, but you can try other cables and connectors as well. MVC says “GTX680 4GB cards lost upper DVI port after 10.9.2.”

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=19537133&postcount=205" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">MacRumors Forums - View Single Post - GTX680 4GB - ROM Image - Full Boot Screens, Full Clock Rates & PCI-E 2.0 - 5GT/s</a>

As I happen to have GTX980 too, I can test the CUDA compatibility with my Macs, just name one application? (preferably a free one). For all the GPGPU users, this is very welcome news:

<a sl-processed="1" href="http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/motion-graphics/fusion-7-now-free-coming-mac/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fusion 7 now free and coming to Mac: complete version of the After Effects and Nuke rival given away by Blackmagic - News - Digital Arts</a>

Their product use OpenCL:

<a sl-processed="1" href="https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/fusion/compare" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/pro...fusion/compare</a>

- OpenCL Acceleration of computationally intensive tools

- OpenCL GPU accelerated for real time interactivity and rendering

- Fuses tool kit for development of OpenCL custom tools.

The display is connected with DVI, I can try out a Displayport->DVI Adapter tomorrow.

Using that card at my cMP, I get a signal.

For testing CUDA:

Just found one app which is free (demo) available -> Octane, you can get the demo there: https://render.otoy.com/downloads.php and some test-scenes are at the same page, at the bottom ( direct link to download for the scenes: https://render.otoy.com/downloads/Oc..._DemoSuite.zip )

Octane refuses to run without a CUDA card, so far it seems everything fine as it openes - but if you want to render a scene (take for example the hallway scene and click at the left pane at ... "Render Target DL") you'll see nothing happens. With the 680 it starts to render, with the 980 nothing happenes.

If you look at the Preferences / CUDA Devices you'll see all available cards - there are (with the 980) no Cores shown just a "?". Now this will fit to what I have seen what CudaZ shows:

GTX680: Multiprocessors 8 (1536 Cores)

GTX980: Multiprocessors 16 - no cores shown

Question is... is this caused by the drivers?

OpenCL runs fine with the 980, there it is running smooth.

The display is connected with DVI, I can try out a Displayport->DVI Adapter tomorrow.

Using that card at my cMP, I get a signal.

For testing CUDA:

Just found one app which is free (demo) available -> Octane, you can get the demo there: https://render.otoy.com/downloads.php and some test-scenes are at the same page, at the bottom ( direct link to download for the scenes: https://render.otoy.com/downloads/Oc..._DemoSuite.zip )

Octane refuses to run without a CUDA card, so far it seems everything fine as it openes - but if you want to render a scene (take for example the hallway scene and click at the left pane at ... "Render Target DL") you'll see nothing happens. With the 680 it starts to render, with the 980 nothing happenes.

If you look at the Preferences / CUDA Devices you'll see all available cards - there are (with the 980) no Cores shown just a "?". Now this will fit to what I have seen what CudaZ shows:

GTX680: Multiprocessors 8 (1536 Cores)

GTX980: Multiprocessors 16 - no cores shown

Question is... is this caused by the drivers?

OpenCL runs fine with the 980, there it is running smooth.

Good observations. It seems that the CUDA driver is not fully functional with the GTX980. My 2014 15” MBPr shows the question mark too. The problem can also be partly application specific, because CUDA-Z beta works, though not showing cores either. Hopefully we will see better support in the future.

FYI, here is a screenshot of OctaneRender Demo version rendering hallway scene:

octanerenderer_demo.png

15” MBPr + AKiTiO + GTX780 6GB, not EFI flashed.

Good observations. It seems that the CUDA driver is not fully functional with the GTX980. My 2014 15” MBPr shows the question mark too. The problem can also be partly application specific, because CUDA-Z beta works, though not showing cores either. Hopefully we will see better support in the future.

FYI, here is a screenshot of OctaneRender Demo version rendering hallway scene:

octanerenderer_demo.png

15” MBPr + AKiTiO + GTX780 6GB, not EFI flashed.

Lets hope they update CUDA in the next time, I think this problem will happen with all other new cards too.

Nice, seeing the 780 really working - which one is that? 6GB of memory?

Lets hope they update CUDA in the next time, I think this problem will happen with all other new cards too.

Nice, seeing the 780 really working - which one is that? 6GB of memory?

Perhaps go back a CUDA version or two for 980?

as far as display out on eGPU I am noticing quite a few folks with TB2 Macs giving up on this (in OSX). Might be good to start tracking which work and which don't and seeing what the determining factor is

Will try other CUDA versions!

Only thing reg. running a display at the eGPU I can try is, if this works with my mid 2011 iMac.

Lets hope they update CUDA in the next time, I think this problem will happen with all other new cards too.

Nice, seeing the 780 really working - which one is that? 6GB of memory?

It's my first eGPU card, EVGA GTX 780 6GB SC w/ ACX cooler.

It's my first eGPU card, EVGA GTX 780 6GB SC w/ ACX cooler.

Thanks! Found a ASUS 780 with 6GB here, the EVGA isn't available - will try that ASUS.

Has anyone ever reported using a nMP with eGPU and getting display output in OS X?

I am puzzled why there are so few nMP owners on here.

Has anyone ever reported using a nMP with eGPU and getting display output in OS X?

I am puzzled why there are so few nMP owners on here.

I've tried it right now, using the GTX680 (which is flashed for showing the bootscreen) I don't get a signal at the display.

Is there anything I can do for trying to figure out what causes this?

I am wondering if this: http://amfeltec.com/products/flexible-x4-pci-express-4-way-splitter-gpu-oriented (Amfeltec GPU-oriented 4way splitter) can be used with a external case like the Akitio if I want to run more than one eGPU.

Has someone already tried?

That splitter looks fun.

Yes, I am really curious if such a splitter will work and how it would be best combined with a Akitio.

(Or, but that doesn't belong to this thread, but it is also an option for me: using it with a cMP)

For CUDA on Maxwell, try 6.5.25.

6.5.25 works - but looks like the drivers are still not really done for the new generation of cards, the CUDA cores are still not recognized.

As far as nMP, here is a crucial test, try Mavericks vs Yosemite. I think that Yosemite may have introduced a new set of hurdles, esp on TB2 Macs.

Hmmmmm... Mavericks, that means I must see if I can grab a unused external drive and install Mavericks on it.

As far as the GTX680 being flashed for boot screens, as I explained in a rather wordy post there are now AT LEAST 4 different versions of EFI out there for GPUs. Apple being Apple they have chosen to NOT use UEFI like Windows world. They have also chosen not to use the EFI that was on cMP but instead yet another non-standard EFI.

If you look through my recent posts here you will find it, long & wordy.

I'll look for it!

For this test I have just chosen the 680 because I know that this card worked fine when used at my cMP, my other cards are unflashed cards and I have never used a display at them.

I will have a nMP here in a few days.

Look forward to definitive answers on eGPU questions on these.

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This is a backup copy of a thread originally posted by @Dschijn but lost as noted at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8557-data-loss-urgent-action-reqd-recover-lost-threads.html#post116814 . Hoping @Dschijn reposts it but until that happens this is a copy of the google cache which I expect will be flushed in the next day or so.

Replies posted to this thread (summarized):

Very nice work. Only optimization point I can make is to do with the Haswell i7-quad CPU. You can undervolt it, allowing the system to either run cooler or turbo boost for longer and/or at higher multipliers. The details of how to do that using XTU or Throttlestop software is at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8106-%5Bwip%5D-2013-15-macbook-pro-iris-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-osx10.html#post114357 . If you decide to do that, please post your settings as well as the newer (faster) 3dmark13-Firestrike and 3dmark11 bench results along with your opening post.
Undervolting is easy with XTU. Simply drag the "Dynamic CPU Voltage Offset" slider under "Manual Tuning - Core" to the left, push apply, and start Prime95 Small FFTs. If voltage is too low your system will then almost instantly freeze.

I can go down to -125mV but at -130mv it's freezing after applying. I began with -100mv and was pushing it lower in small steps.

You will see the difference it does regarding temperatures when you run Prime95 without and with undervolting. Without undervolting max. temperature was about 100°C and with undervolting it was at about 90°C. As Prime95 loads the CPU at it's full potential(including HT threads, always 100%) this is a temperature you will most probably never see while gaming.

Thanks guys! XTU was indeed very handy and easy to use. Can't go below -100mV though. But -100mV is already helping a lot! Can monitor that the CPU can Turbo Boost much better into higher frequencies.

Unfortunately the benefit can't be seen in Firestrike!

But I did some other test which I am going to add now in the main post.

Ok I think Firestrike is not a good test for that, because it is not so demanding (and just for a short peroid of time). With fans set to 100% I get a higher physics score (9751) because the thermal throtteling doesn't kick in and the CPu can constantly boost.<br>

This are are my 100% fan results (with -100mV offset and without the offset): <a sl-processed="1" href="http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/5083393" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7,Apple Inc. Mac-3CBD00234E554E41</a>

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