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MBPr + eGPU gaming fan noise?


Dschijn

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I am now sure that the most noisy buzzing sound comes from the AKiTiO PSU (and only when the GPU is doing intensive tasks). I was keeping it close to the eGPU. I thought from the beginning that the reason for the sound was only my GPU. After I attached my molex-to-barrel-adapter, still similar, but not at all disturbing sound for me from the eGPU when doing some graphically demanding tasks. The sound varies and sometimes it is almost nothing. I guess the sound comes from the electronic parts of the EVGA GTX 780, not the fans actually. To be sure that the source is not the AKiTiO's PCIe board, I tried to test with a powered riser, but for some reason the eGPU is not detected... when GPU plugged straight into the x16 slot, it's always detected. I am sure, it was working earlier with a riser, but I tested with a different riser because I modified the original.

mnrc has some kind of noise problem as well here, he is saying that the SEL board makes a strange sound.

I can confirm the SEL made a somewhat annoying scratching/buzzing sound when the GPU was being used, such as any time 3D graphics were displayed. Performance seemed not affected, though games would occasionally skip a beat and this would coincide with the sound skipping as well.

I have now sold the SEL and am considering buying a new one. However, I would prefer an Akitio if, and only if, it can work with a 750Ti with no auxiliary power connectors.

In other words, can you confirm that using the Akitio with a powered riser, then using a barrel to molex connector to power the PCIe slot alone would make the card work? Would there be no need to power the Akitio board itself? Can the Akitio PSU alone power the entire card like this?

Thanks for confirming, or if there are other possible solutions!

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I can confirm the SEL made a somewhat annoying scratching/buzzing sound when the GPU was being used, such as any time 3D graphics were displayed. Performance seemed not affected, though games would occasionally skip a beat and this would coincide with the sound skipping as well.

I have now sold the SEL and am considering buying a new one. However, I would prefer an Akitio if, and only if, it can work with a 750Ti with no auxiliary power connectors.

In other words, can you confirm that using the Akitio with a powered riser, then using a barrel to molex connector to power the PCIe slot alone would make the card work? Would there be no need to power the Akitio board itself? Can the Akitio PSU alone power the entire card like this?

Thanks for confirming, or if there are other possible solutions!

arclord has the EVGA 750Ti as well and he cannot get it work even if using a powered riser (look here). A powered riser gives that 75W to the PCIe slot alone, and enough for the TB card too. You should never use a powered riser + DC power jack at the same time with AKiTiO.

My Gigabyte GTX 750Ti (GV-N75TOC-2GI) works well via x16 PCIe 25W + 6pin 75W, though haven't done so comprehensive testing as with the GTX 780. This card fits inside the AKiTiO's chassis if the fan is removed, but the outer shell doesn't because of the curved metal bar on top of the GPU. When using with the powered riser only, GPU is detected in device manager but it says "Windows has stopped the device because it has reported problems (Code 43)". Reinstalling drivers doesn't fix this. 6pin plug is a requirement.

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Hmmm... Seems like he is talking about powering the card through the Thunder2 without using a riser? Seems like nobody tried to power a card using a powered riser that was fed by the Akitio's power supply using a barrel to molex connector.

But even if this works, I wonder if that 60w power supply would provide enough power to everything...

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I think arclord has tested without and with the powered riser, and he told that Win8.1 hangs after a reboot. In theory, his EVGA 750Ti which is only dependent on PCIe power should work with a powered riser, but I don't know why it doesn't. I got GTX 780 working with my Mac mini, but had to wait very long time, over a minute with just a black screen (no Windows logo or spinning circle) until the login screen appeared. With SSD installed, the booting time reduced to approximately 30 seconds on Win8.1. But the NUC is not the same as Mac mini so we cannot make any conclusions.

60W isn't enough to power both the 750Ti and AKiTiO's TB card, and moreover PCIe 2.0 x16 slot is specified to feed 75W. All the possible power options are discussed on the other thread here.

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Yeah, seems pretty unlikely to be able to run a 750ti without auxiliary connectors in a Thunder2 without an external PSU. Pretty much rules out the most compact solution. I hope they release an updated model without slot power restrictions!

Until then, I guess the Sonnet SEL does a decent job, other than on price haha.

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