Jump to content

US$189 AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box (16Gbps-TB2)


Recommended Posts

OSX or Windows?

Only tried Windows at this moment. But now I'm looking to solve the problem that no USB flash drive or USB external hard drive is working under Windows 8.1. My 0,5TB SSD is mainly for OS X so I need to move my Steam & Origin library. I'm downloading >700MB updates so I hope this will fix it.

Update: Windows is missing the driver for the USB Flash Drive. No problem for mouse, keyboard, gamepad, ... but USB Flash or USB External drives don't work anymore. Reinstalled Bootcamp drivers and update Windows but that doens't change my problem. That why I hate Microsoft so much. Things stop working for no reason...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tested my AKiTiO rig today:

MBPr late 2013, 13", 8GB, i5

AKiTiO Thunder2, MSI GTX 970, be quiet! 500W, no riser!

Followed goalques guide and have it running under Windows 8.1: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7580-%5Bguide%5D-2014-15-macbook-pro-iris-gtx780%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-a.html

Benchmarks (compared to my desktop rig, both external monitor):

MacBook vs. Hackintosh

3dMark - Fire Strike: 9763 vs. 12367 (Graphics Score) - 78,9% of desktop performance

Unigine Valley - ExtremeHD: 1232 vs. 2274 (Score) - 54,2% of desktop performance

What I don't like:

- AKiTiO PSU and board are noisy (electric noise)

- MSI GTX 970 was noisy in my desktop system as well (electric noise)

Will do more benchmarks (any wishes?) and will try a powered riser.

Could you post pictures of your setup?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay so I have changed my mind I am deciding to go with a Gigabyte ITX GTX 970 so that I am able to completely fit it in the enclosure with it sealed. I just need to order the card, Akitio, TB cable, and PSU. Let me know if any of you have used the new Gigabyte card because I am still undecided on what card I would like to use. I don't want to use a riser however for portability purposes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay so I have changed my mind I am deciding to go with a Gigabyte ITX GTX 970 so that I am able to completely fit it in the enclosure with it sealed. I just need to order the card, Akitio, TB cable, and PSU. Let me know if any of you have used the new Gigabyte card because I am still undecided on what card I would like to use. I don't want to use a riser however for portability purposes.

ASUS/Gigabyte ITX GTX970 are too tall to allow AKiTiO Thunder2 outer shell to fit over them

The ITX cards are taller than other cards. The Gigabyte you mention is 129mm tall. Here's some photos of a 122mm tall ASUS ITX GTX670 in an AKiTiO Thunder2 AKiTiO Thunder2 + ASUS ITX GTX670 - Imgur which is too tall to allow the outer shell to fit over it. It has the same dimensions as the just released ASUS ITX GTX970:

Acquire a shorter but longer dual-fan Zotac/ELSA/Galax/Inno3D/Leadtek GTX970 to fit the enclosure *with* outer shell cover on

More suitable to achieve your aim would be the slightly longer and shorter (111mm) dual-fan cards by covered this thread's first post. Removing the video card's fan shroud and AKiTiO enclosure's left side fan will allow it to fit like shown for a Zotac here. The shell could be useful then for portability purposes and removed when gaming. If wanting to game with the shell on then would need to drill it for airflow and use very low profile PCIe power connectors to allow clearance.

Bend the AKiTiO leftside plate to fit longer cards

If you're going to operate the card without the outer shell then why not get a longer card such as a 9.5" EVGA SC/FTW and bend the AKiTiO left side faceplate to accomodate it? Their 111mm height wiould allow the outer shell to fit mostly over them during transport. The bent portion providing some rear protection to the protruding portion. Example:

http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7598-%5Bguide%5D-2012-mac-mini-gtx770%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-osx10-9-4-a.html

http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8030-%5Bguide%5D-2013-15-macbook-pro-gt750m-gtx780%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-a.html#post109807

Then again, there's a whole stack more options if are OK bending the enclosure. Eg: 10.6" long cards like a 141mm tall MSI GTX970 Golden Gaming Edition or 111mm tall reference GTX970, both standard with protective rear backplates. The reference one's cooler pushing airflow across the breadth of the card so. It's short enough to have the AKiTiO outer shell on with the protruding portion giving convenient access to the PCIe power plugs. Reference GTX970 looks great too.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card Silver 9001G4012510000 - Best Buy

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (Require Min. 500W Power Supply) - Newegg.com

MSI Global GTX 970 GAMING 4G Golden Edition

Go the naked option?

If want a long card, but don't want to bend the AKiTiO chassis to fit it, then can either extend the PCIe slot using a PCIe riser OR remove the AKiTiO circuit board and run it naked. Only problem there is some of the AKiTiO circuit board would be exposed. Example:

http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7580-%5Bguide%5D-2014-15-macbook-pro-iris-gtx780%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-a.html#post103029

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RE: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8030-%5Bguide%5D-2013-15-macbook-pro-gt750m-gtx780%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-a.html#post109807

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12846[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]12847[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]12845[/ATTACH]

Late 2013 15" Macbook Pro GT750M + GTX780@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2 without riser)

AKiTiO Thunder2 is not big enough for ]GTX 780 get in. So I bent the box of AKiTiO TB2 :Banane45:

Anyone knows how to disable GT 750M? I cannot use eGUP in the inner screen.

Do I need to modify the EFi?

And in the Win8.1, Iris Pro is disabled, I cannot use inner screen with GTX 780. Using OSX 10.9.5.

Thanks

Is there a way that you can take off the part that you bent like with a screwdriver?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Tech Inferno Fan Is there any more photos of an EVGA card in the enclosure with it bent that you can find?

There's a EVGA GTX770 at http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7598-%5Bguide%5D-2012-mac-mini-gtx770%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-osx10-9-4-a.html#post104243 . Though that post is a bit unusual. If you look carefully you'll see a 9.5" GTX760 and a 10.5" GTX770 in there. I've made a note of it.

EVGA's GTX970's are 9.5" with the pcie power connector about 3/4 way across so would be awkwardly placed beneath the AKiTiO top cover if using it that way.

EVGA's GTX980 are 10.5" so would get the same ease of access to pcie power as the above linked EVGA GTX770. Problem is the GTX980's are pricey.

Only other GTX970 card that is 111mm tall, 10.5" long, PCIe connectors on the far left and is available in the US is the reference GTX970: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card Silver 9001G4012510000 - Best Buy . Though it's not going to get a high binned ASIC that can be greatly overclocked.

I did find a 111mm, 10.5" Gainward GTX970 in the Chinese market. Has a backplate too and runs a 1266Mhz boost clock. This would be perfect for use with a bent AKiTiO. °üÓÊ˳·á ¸ûÉý GTX970 ÕÔÔÆ°æ 4GD5 ÃëGTX780·ÇÓÎÏ·ÖÁ×ð°æ OC°æ-ÌÔ±¦Íø. Don't seem to see them in on any Western sites :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

INFO: TomsH found a GTX970/980 has between 42-55W draw from the PCIe slot

We see the 3.3V/12V 'motheboard' (ie: slot) draw of the GTX970/980 cards tested below varies from from 42W to 55W total. This gives some confidence that the AKiTiO 12V/5A (60W) AC adapter could provide sufficient power to drive the slot when using such cards inserted directly into the Thunder2's PCIe slot. That's without a PCIe riser as we've seen implemented.

From Nvidia GeForce GTX Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Results

<h3>Stress Test Power Consumption</h3>

If the load is held constant, then the lower power consumption measurements vanish immediately. There’s nothing for GPU Boost to adjust, since the highest possible voltage is needed continuously. Nvidia's stated TDP becomes a distant dream. In fact, if you compare the GeForce GTX 980’s power consumption to an overclocked GeForce GTX Titan Black, there really aren’t any differences between them. This is further evidence supporting our assertion that the new graphics card’s increased efficiency is largely attributable to better load adjustment and matching.

<table class="editorTblTablecenter editorTblSize100 editorTblStyleStyle1"><tbody><tr class="tblEven"><th>Power Consumption Under Max. Load<br></th><th>Gigabyte GTX 980<br>Windforce OC<br></th><th>GeForce GTX 980 <br>Reference<br></th><th>Gigabyte GTX 970<br>Windforce OC</th></tr><tr class="tblRow"><th>PCIe Total</th><td>237.63 W<br></td><td>122.70 W <br></td><td>192.46 W <br></td></tr><tr class="tblEven"><th>Motherboard 3.3 V</th><td>0.98 W</td><td>1,83 W </td><td>2.15 W </td></tr><tr class="tblRow"><th>Motherboard 12 V</th><td>41.07 W </td><td>52.83 W<br></td><td>48.36 W </td></tr><tr class="tblEven"><th>VGA Card Total</th><td><strong>279.68 W </strong></td><td><strong>177.36 W</strong></td><td><strong>242.97 W </strong></td></tr></tbody></table>

The values above have potential consequences for the everyday operation of these graphics cards, as they represent what can be expected when running performance-hungry compute-oriented applications optimized for CUDA and OpenCL.</p>

Worth noting that A New Power Consumption Test Setup - Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 And 980 Review: Maximum Maxwell points at a cooperation between the PSU and video card to deal with spikes. Those spikes would be on the PCIe power plug end requiring a good PSU there for stable operation.

The PSU doesn’t supply a constant 12 V supply voltage. Spikes that empty the secondary capacitors and the slower power supply that tries to fill them back up again cause voltage fluctuations that the graphics card's five phases must take care of. All of these interactions make our measurements more complicated than a log of averages would suggest.

I'm aware of a DIY eGPU user doing power stability tests with their AKiTiO Thunder2 using a various combinations of of the supplied 12V/5A AC adapter, a ATX PSU and 220W Dell DA-2 to power the slot + PCIe power. Fingers crossed, the results will be made public sometime soon.

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Tech Inferno Fan hmmm, do you know of any right angle 6 pin power adapters? This way it would be plugged into the card at a right angle connection instead of a top connection to better allow cable management

Quite a few on ebay-US: PCI-E LOW 90 DEGREE. Would absolultely be necessary to if intending to run a 9.5" EVGA GTX970 in the AKiTiO with it's top shell on since the PCIe connectors are about 3/4 of the way across the card.

Would be most interested to see photos of that configuration. A good balance of performance and practicality from the limits imposed by the AKiTiO chassis.

Note too that if intending to run with the AKiTiO case on then the superclock version has a vertical heatsink fan arrangement to blow air out the sides better than the dearer FTW version whose heatsink fins distribute air up and down. Can see what I mean at http://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2240691.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The invention seems like a good idea , but the problem I see him , if I understand correctly , I can only use graphics cards fit inside the box ?

That is, I had thought just buy a

Asus Nvidia GTX750TI -PH -2GB GDDR5 , it operates inside that box ? I do not want to spend more than € 150 on a graphics card .

Greetings .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Tech Inferno Fan

Have you test the AKiTiO with a Titan Z?

Im trying and is crashing my osx when I use Octane Render.

It recognize the card but it add an Nvidia GPU chipset.

The setup works perfect with my Titan Black but not with the Z.

Setup:

MacBook Pro Mid 2012 (10.9.4)

Akitio

Powered Riser

850 PSU

Titan Black

(Testing Titan Z, not working)

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Tech Inferno Fan

Have you test the AKiTiO with a Titan Z?

Im trying and is crashing my osx when I use Octane Render.

It recognize the card but it add an Nvidia GPU chipset.

The setup works perfect with my Titan Black but not with the Z.

Setup:

MacBook Pro Mid 2012 (10.9.4)

Akitio

Powered Riser

850 PSU

Titan Black

(Testing Titan Z, not working)

Thanks!

This could be because the Titan Z has basically 2 GPU's inside one and that could mess with the way OS X deals with handling it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The screwdriver can not take off the part, u will need Dremel 4200.

Take a look of what it looks like now.:Banane01:

post-30015-14494998889455_thumb.png

post-30015-14494998890025_thumb.png

post-30015-14494998890496_thumb.png

post-30015-14494998891062_thumb.png

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anybody tried an AKiTiO Thunder2 eGPU with a Thunderbolt hard disk daisy chained or on a Thunderbolt second port?

I'm really interested in any reports of the performance impact and stability implications- read entire thread so hope I didn't miss any!

I don't really get how x4 PCI-e 2.0's 16 gigabits of bandwidth gets muxed by the controller into 4 TB channels,

are they counting the bandwidth of the display portion or something?

Any of the reasonably priced HDD's I'd be considering are bus powered and appear to be TB1 only:

Get info about the cutting-edge portable Thunderbolt drive by Buffalo

I'm running with a late 2013 rMBP 13", and would be going the ATX PSU-only route.

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anybody tried an AKiTiO Thunder2 eGPU with a Thunderbolt hard disk daisy chained or on a Thunderbolt second port?

I'm really interested in any reports of the performance impact and stability implications- read entire thread so hope I didn't miss any!

I don't really get how x4 PCI-e 2.0's 16 gigabits of bandwidth gets muxed by the controller into 4 TB channels,

are they counting the bandwidth of the display portion or something?

Any of the reasonably priced HDD's I'd be considering are bus powered and appear to be TB1 only:

Get info about the cutting-edge portable Thunderbolt drive by Buffalo

I'm running with a late 2013 rMBP 13", and would be going the ATX PSU-only route.

Cheers!

I did tried that. I have a MyBook Thunderbolt Duo I daisy chain my Akitio. I didn't noticed any difference or impact on the performance on my system.

My mac mini and akitio is connected to MyBook Duo 2 TB port.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

I managed to get my GTX 970 to work on Windows 8.1. However there's one issue: Windows crashes and restart whenever I boot up Battlefield 4. That was only on my internal screen. I'm able to test it on an ext display for now.

And I also tried to get it to work on OSX 10.10.1. I was able to get the card detected in Yosemite but failed to get ext display to work. So basically it's not working on OSX.

Any advice?

Thank you :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Sachin10 Can you post some photos of your Gigabyte GTX 970 Mini-ITX card in the Akitio Dock? I am curious to see how it fits compared to a normal card like the EVGA GTX 970.

I have changed my order to an EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked (04G-P4-1972-KR) because I will mount it inside a SilverStone FT03 Mini case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.