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Help with e-GPU power delay rMBP EFI Windows 8.1 GTX 650ti + Sonnet Echo Express


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Hey guys,

I've been lurking these forums for months, and finally decided to get all my parts together after finding a great deal on a Sonnet Echo Express enclosure.

My setup is as follows:

13" Retina Macbook Pro

Windows 8.1 UEFI booting

Sonnet Echo Express Thunderbolt Enclosure

EVGA 650 ti w/2GB VRAM

So, everything worked great as a proof of concept with a normal ATX power supply so I ordered a 150watt Pico PSU with a 144watt external power brick, as this is the only solution to keeping everything in the original enclosure. I've provided pictures of my setup as well. Now comes the problem. I rewired the power from the sonnet board back into the enclosure to share power with my GPU, so they both power at the same time. This I've found causes Windows to disable onboard Intel graphics and only allows video output through the GPU headers DVI, HDMI. I CAN get it to boot properly If I open the enclosure, and disconnect the 6-pin power connector, and plug it in as soon as I see the loading circle on the Windows 8.1 splash-screen. Full GPU acceleration after that with no issues, and I can run most games on full settings with the resolution set at 1920x1200.

So this brings me to my question, has anyone been able to successfully automate a delay to powering the GPU on startup? I've read about the software available for purchase, but it says in the FAQ that it's only recommended for MBR/BIOS booting, which I'm not using. Other threads show that they've gotten it to work, but I'm wondering if it's because they're manually plugging or switching during the boot process. I could add a switch to my box for the 6-pin GPU power, but that would require a 6-pole single throw switch (which i've not found online yet) or three rocker switches that I'd have to throw at the same time on startup each time I wanna boot to this thing! Any suggestions are more than welcome at this point.

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Hey guys,

I've been lurking these forums for months, and finally decided to get all my parts together after finding a great deal on a Sonnet Echo Express enclosure.

My setup is as follows:

13" Retina Macbook Pro

Windows 8.1 UEFI booting

Sonnet Echo Express Thunderbolt Enclosure

EVGA 650 ti w/2GB VRAM

So, everything worked great as a proof of concept with a normal ATX power supply so I ordered a 150watt Pico PSU with a 144watt external power brick, as this is the only solution to keeping everything in the original enclosure. I've provided pictures of my setup as well. Now comes the problem. I rewired the power from the sonnet board back into the enclosure to share power with my GPU, so they both power at the same time. This I've found causes Windows to disable onboard Intel graphics and only allows video output through the GPU headers DVI, HDMI. I CAN get it to boot properly If I open the enclosure, and disconnect the 6-pin power connector, and plug it in as soon as I see the loading circle on the Windows 8.1 splash-screen. Full GPU acceleration after that with no issues, and I can run most games on full settings with the resolution set at 1920x1200.

So this brings me to my question, has anyone been able to successfully automate a delay to powering the GPU on startup? I've read about the software available for purchase, but it says in the FAQ that it's only recommended for MBR/BIOS booting, which I'm not using. Other threads show that they've gotten it to work, but I'm wondering if it's because they're manually plugging or switching during the boot process. I could add a switch to my box for the 6-pin GPU power, but that would require a 6-pole single throw switch (which i've not found online yet) or three rocker switches that I'd have to throw at the same time on startup each time I wanna boot to this thing! Any suggestions are more than welcome at this point.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9158[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9159[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9157[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9156[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9155[/ATTACH]

Nice work!!

Worthwhile mentioning that other 13" rMBP owners resorted to running MBR/BIOS mode as doing so gives a functional iGPU so can display a eGPU rendered image to the internal LCD . That solution requires a special cable to provide a PCI Reset Delay to allow boot. Full details at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/4570-%5Bguide%5D-2012-13-rmbp-gtx660-sonnet-echo-express-se-%40-10gbps.html .

Unfortunately only the now discontinued BPlus TH05 had a switchable 6.9s or 15s PCI Reset delay. If you wanted a similar one they would need to splice in the PCI Reset Delay circuitry from say a PE4H 2.4 whose schematic is here.

Sonnet have been advise that a PCI Reset Delay would be desirable in their Echo Express enclosures.

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Yeah I've read pretty much every thread in this forum lol. Even if I were to go the MBR/BIOS route, i'd still need to get one of those adapter ribbons, which would require me to create a new case for the whole rig, as you need a PCI-e 8x to 16x ribbon cable. I'll look into those schematics and see if there's a way to add a delay somehow to the Sonnet board, but my hopes aren't very high. I've already tried to power the board with direct current to the solder point of the DC connector inside the enclosure and have had no luck, thus why I currently have the original power pin outside and routing back inside the enclosure. At this point I'm gonna just go pick up three rocker switches and see if I can route them to the backplate for a temporary solution. Certainly there's a way to automatically delay the gpu, or force intel graphics on UEFI booting.

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Certainly there's a way to automatically delay the gpu, or force intel graphics on UEFI booting.

This little nugget being the best info I've seen on getting UEFI + iGPU working was posted by M-Low at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2367-macbook-pro-retina-15-gtx-560-ti-%40-th05-12.html#post37304 where he writes:

Confirmed. eGPU with an Nvidia 3rd gen card on a MacBook Air in Windows 8 64bit works!!!

...

Back to rEFInd boot file - Everything is really well documented in the file, thanks to Roderick. Read the whole thing and you basically just have to take one (#) hashtag off to get the boot file to scan for the hardware. BEST THING: HD4000 works alongside my eGPU at the same time. That's crazy sauce! Boot into Windows 8 from the rEFInd menu... It takes a little longer because there's a 20sec delay while it searches for hardware and it'll show up on your external screen. sweeeet.

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  • 1 month later...

Hey Nando4, you mention the reset delay on the TH05 as a big advantage to the board; has anyone tried to recreate it?

From the schematics link you provided for the PE4L board, it just looks like its just a reset delay chip which connects to the PERST# on the SideA#11 pin. Am I reading that wrong?

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