DIY eGPU Macbook experiences

[MVC]

Odysseus, each build of OSX requires a specific NVIDIA driver. The message you got indicates you used wrong one.

A little understood secret is that you should be able to use the 260 to allow install of correct web driver.

If you go to our site we gave download links for all NVIDIA drivers listed by OSX build number. Also have a blog post about how to find your current build number.

With my 2014 Mini I am able to reliably get into Windows, the key being to plug TB cable in within seconds of boot chime.

I cal also run more than 2 eGPUS but that has nothing to do with your problem.

Does the Cube power the GTX260? Power plugs on GPUs aren't optional.

Macvidcards.com

Look in FAQ section for driver list

[euqlaog]

I cal also run more than 2 eGPUS

Regular Nvidia PC cards or those eEFI ones? I count the cards per PCIe slot, and not counting dual-GPUs.

[MVC]

My goal right this second is to help Odyseus get his setup running. I already posted screenshots of Mini running 3 external GPUs. Anything I can do with EFI can be also done by others with mmio in EFI shell. So, Mini can run at least 3 Nvidia eGPU is a proven fact. Done.

As far as Odyseus issue, I think that it is important to note that the "TB2 Macs no Nvidia output" issue is something that can only be confirmed ONCE THE CARD SHOWS UP IN SYSTEM PROFILER. With all 3 TB2 Macs I have with the issue the cards looks fine and dandy in the system Profiler. It has right name and the kexts are all loaded. If I install CUDA I can run CUDA-Z and get numbers moving. The "TB2 Macs" issue is that even having it look perfectly happy in profiler it won't EVER output via one of it's ports.

I believe that him seeing the "Your Nvidia Driver blah, blah, blah........... using OS X Default" means he installed the wrong one for his OS. So the NVStartup kext doesn't load and BINGO, nothing. If he shows back up in this thread I'll toss a GTX260 in and see what I get. But KPs and boot loops are a different issue from the TB2 no-output issue.

And I really think Windows issue is also separate. WHEN the TB plug goes in has big influence on success in Windows. Someone in last few days followed my timing advice and got right into Windows.

I am concerned that newbies stumbling on these pages get dragged into the myriad issues and have no clear path, especially when the issues get all muddled together.

Many people don't understand that those plugs on the GPU are mandatory. If they are there, they need to have power run into them.

Many people don't understand that just plugging a PC PSU into the wall and flipping the switch to "On" is not the same as "turning it on".

I firmly believe that MANY people do the mods wrong or don't repair permissions afterward or get into kext dev mode.

Many people don't understand that many early cards don't need the web drivers at all.

Many people don't understand that CUDA isn't needed WHATSOEVER unless they have an App that uses CUDA. (Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, etc) I find it a useful debug tool, but otherwise the guy who wants to play Crysis on his MacBook has no need of CUDA.

And I think many get hung up on "must install nvidia web driver" and then use the package puffer-upper and mod the plists, etc. And, like Odyseus end up with having modded the wrong driver, creating lots of work and getting no benefit.

I am concerned that many people read all the tales of woe and decide that a PS4 or a PC gaming rig isn't such a bad investment to avoid the hassles.

And I have to say that my 2014 Mini is a great gaming setup with eGPU. Doesn't need any fancy eEFI or modded kexts to get into Windows. I just have to pay attention to timing and then I am off for hours of Far Cry 4, skinning leopards, etc.In 3 months of game playing it has crashed maybe twice, it is rock solid stable and crashes no more than my PS4 or X-Box 1.

[Izzard]

[...]

The issue that I'm having is that I cannot boot into Mac OS X or Windows 8.1 while the eGPU is plugged in via thunderbolt. On Mac OS X, I get a kernel panic. On Windows 8.1, I briefly see the Windows 8 logo on boot up and then it goes to a black screen. I've tried powering on the eGPU with and without a monitor attached, and I get the same result. [...] I cannot boot into OS X with the eGPU plugged in. If I plug in the eGPU after boot up, OS X sees the Cube 2 but doesn't seem to detect the GPU

[...]

Windows 8.1: [...] t I can't boot with the eGPU plugged in, and Windows does not detect the eGPU after plugging it in after boot up. I also tried booting into safe mode while the eGPU was plugged in via thunderbolt, and I get stuck at the same black screen. I'm not sure how to debug this further and what else to try. [...]

As MVC has suggested, you could just be falling at the last hurdle here (at least with regards to Windows; you definitely need to sort your driver issue out for OS X). I get these *exact same symptoms* with Window 8.1 / 10 Preview on my 2011 Mac mini unless I get the timing right powered up. You could be so close and not even know it.

Experiment. For me, the right timing for powering up the eGPU's PSU is between 0.5 seconds and 1.5 seconds after pressing the power button on the computer. A fraction too early = Windows boot hangs. A fraction too late = Windows boot hangs. You need to get all Goldilocks on this.

[euqlaog]

My goal right this second is to help Odyseus get his setup running. I already posted screenshots of Mini running 3 external GPUs. Anything I can do with EFI can be also done by others with mmio in EFI shell. So, Mini can run at least 3 Nvidia eGPU is a proven fact. Done.

“I have 3 GPUs running with my 2014 Mini.

2 of them have EFI and 1 is self init.”

So they are not regular Nvidia PC cards.

I am aware of the screenshot, but my point was that are you able to run more than 2 regular Nvidia PC cards on any TB2 Mac via Thunderbolt on OS X? That’s my original argument, and haven’t got an answer. I believe that it is impossible if not counting the dual-GPUs.

My post was not targeted at Odysseus, some general tips for everyone.

[Izzard]

[...] I am concerned that newbies stumbling on these pages get dragged into the myriad issues and have no clear path, especially when the issues get all muddled together.[...]And I have to say that my 2014 Mini is a great gaming setup with eGPU. Doesn't need any fancy eEFI or modded kexts to get into Windows. I just have to pay attention to timing and then I am off for hours of Far Cry 4, skinning leopards, etc.In 3 months of game playing it has crashed maybe twice, it is rock solid stable and crashes no more than my PS4 or X-Box 1.

I totally agree. Despite the best intentions of the moderators, these forums are a labyrinth with a plethora of wrong turns leading to miserable dead-ends. As I've said before, I think what's needed is a Getting Started wiki that we can all contribute to, helping newbies dig their way out of the common mistakes and back onto the path of glorious 3-figure fps gaming.

The first time my eGPU finally showed up (and immediately accepted the driver and started working) in Windows - after many evenings of beating myself up for wasting money on unusable kit - I was over the moon and got that adrenaline rush you get when something finally comes together and works

[MVC]

“I have 3 GPUs running with my 2014 Mini.

2 of them have EFI and 1 is self init.”

So they are not regular Nvidia PC cards.

I am aware of the screenshot, but my point was that are you able to run more than 2 regular Nvidia PC cards on any TB2 Mac via Thunderbolt on OS X? That’s my original argument, and haven’t got an answer. I believe that it is impossible if not counting the dual-GPUs.

My post was not targeted at Odysseus, some general tips for everyone.

Honestly, who cares?

As I stated, anything I can do in EFI, you can do with mmio commands in EFI shell. So if you or Netstor can't rest until you get 3 running, start there. I did it fairly easily but I'm not going to drag all the wires into the same room and do it again.

Again, if I could do it with EFI loaded on a card, you can do the exact same thing in the EFI shell. That is how EFI works. Point being there isn't some hard and fast lock, there just needs to be more EFI testing done. If we made genuine progress with EFI commands, I wouldn't end up having to write a gazillion different EFIs for every card on the planet. I would be thrilled, I spend FAR TOO MUCH time staring at Hexedit screens.

Nobody is going to make any progress with these things unless they get scientific and write things down, record what works and doesn't. The other half of my team is joining eGPU fray in next 2 weeks. We will be further altering the face of this hobby, hopefully turning it a little more mainstream. General OS things we find will be made public knowledge.

While trying to get a handle on it, many people get locked into a mode of thinking that HURTS the effort. All of the "must have a powered riser" stuff was hooey. Yet it was repeated like a mantra because one person said it first.

I hear a dog bark. Someone gets off the elevator. Did the person get off the elevator because the dog barked or did the dog bark because he heard the elevator? Assuming either is dangerous and unsupported. Maybe the dog barked because his owner held a biscuit in the air and the two events had NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH EACH OTHER.

Whether I used EFI or Fairy Dust to make 3 run matters little. If I did it, it is doable and anyone else can do it. But nobody cares. Most people on this board would be THRILLED to get one eGPU working and have no intention or desire to have 3 running so what good does it do to exhume and beat that horse? You said 2 was the limit, I proved 3 could work. Done.

- - - Updated - - -

I totally agree. Despite the best intentions of the moderators, these forums are a labyrinth with a plethora of wrong turns leading to miserable dead-ends. As I've said before, I think what's needed is a Getting Started wiki that we can all contribute to, helping newbies dig their way out of the common mistakes and back onto the path of glorious 3-figure fps gaming.

The first time my eGPU finally showed up (and immediately accepted the driver and started working) in Windows - after many evenings of beating myself up for wasting money on unusable kit - I was over the moon and got that adrenaline rush you get when something finally comes together and works

Very glad I was able to help.

This is what I wish those who have had success could do. Help the newbies.

I am still hopeful that your OS X issues can be solved. Did you try the "nvram -p" command to check that both needed boot args are loading?

[euqlaog]

Honestly, who cares?

...

Whether I used EFI or Fairy Dust to make 3 run matters little. If I did it, it is doable and anyone else can do it. But nobody cares. Most people on this board would be THRILLED to get one eGPU working and have no intention or desire to have 3 running so what good does it do to exhume and beat that horse? You said 2 was the limit, I proved 3 could work. Done.

Everyone who likes to daisy chain AKiTiOs - pondering that should I buy two or three of them? You may be the correct person to ask from because you had 12 of them? And targeting the best eGPU CUDA/OpenCL rendering performance. I think that's a very interesting topic. I am wondering why there is such a limitation with regular Nvidia cards, not the same with regular AMDs. I am not the only one here waiting for the Indigo 4 release with pure GPU rendering and multi-GPU support.

[Izzard]

Very glad I was able to help.

This is what I wish those who have had success could do. Help the newbies.

I am still hopeful that your OS X issues can be solved. Did you try the "nvram -p" command to check that both needed boot args are loading?

Thanks again!

(Also a big thanks - again - to Tech Inferno Fan for helping me get PhysX running on the GTX 970 instead of the CPU, which happens because the NVIDIA driver always saw my Radeon dGPU and disabled Physx. The solution was to disable the PCIe Root Port hosting the Radeon in Device Manager. I will include that in my implementation guide when I get around to it.)

Regarding the "nvram -p" command: yes, it's in amongst all the other accumulated data:

[FONT=Menlo]$ nvram -p
[/FONT][FONT=Menlo]SystemAudioVolume    )[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]boot-args    kext-dev-mode=1 nvda_drv=1[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]fmm-mobileme-token-FMM    bplist00%d[etc…][/FONT]

[MVC]

IIRC, I found that adding 2nd card was great but anything beyond 2 hit the point of diminishing returns. The bandwidth can only go so far in TB2, especially on a Mini.

The nMP may have more potential. I am down to 12 Akitios as I sent #13 to my resident genius. He will have in a week or two, expect some progress.

This community has been in a rut for awhile. Many people seem to have stopped posting once their particular situation is solved. When I first posted about TB2 Macs having issues it looked like I was trying to drum up demand for my own cards. But I think it is pretty established now that most TB2 Macs do in fact have issues, usually with OSX but at least with nMP they can also have Windows issues.

Expect some changes coming.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks again!

(Also a big thanks - again - to Tech Inferno Fan for helping me get PhysX running on the GTX 970 instead of the CPU, which happens because the NVIDIA driver always saw my Radeon dGPU and disabled Physx. The solution was to disable the PCIe Root Port hosting the Radeon in Device Manager. I will include that in my implementation guide when I get around to it.)

Regarding the "nvram -p" command: yes, it's in amongst all the other accumulated data:

[FONT=Menlo]$ nvram -p
[/FONT][FONT=Menlo]SystemAudioVolume    )[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]boot-args    kext-dev-mode=1 nvda_drv=1[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]fmm-mobileme-token-FMM    bplist00%d[etc…][/FONT]

Well, next step is to find someone else with same machine and see if they have same issue. The drivers support GTX970. So issue is either with entire line (i.e., everyone with your machine will have trouble) or only with your specific machine. (i.e., bad hardware or software)

It is one or the other.

[Izzard]

I've come to the same conclusion. And apart from this issue of the eGPU not quite working in OS X (I had similar symptoms with the AMD R9 280X showing as "7XXX" and not outputting/detecting a display) I don't have any other issues with this machine... plus it's working great in Windows. Since I haven't seen anyone here with my exact combination of computer / enclosure / GPU, my working theory is that it's my particular combination that doesn't work, rather than my specific mini.

Sooo... anyone out there got a 2011 Mac mini, an AKiTiO and a GTX 970? goalque had that combination here... ..but only talked about Windows.

[euqlaog]

I've come to the same conclusion. And apart from this issue of the eGPU not quite working in OS X (I had similar symptoms with the AMD R9 280X showing as "7XXX" and not outputting/detecting a display) I don't have any other issues with this machine... plus it's working great in Windows. Since I haven't seen anyone here with my exact combination of computer / enclosure / GPU, my working theory is that it's my particular combination that doesn't work, rather than my specific mini.

Sooo... anyone out there got a 2011 Mac mini, an AKiTiO and a GTX 970? goalque had that combination here... ..but only talked about Windows.

It's been a while, but my 2011 Mac mini - AKiTiO - GTX 980 combination worked great on Yosemite. I can confirm the current situation with the latest Nvidia web driver, I will also check the Boot ROM/SMC version and get back to you. If you still have an AMD card, I am happy to help with that as well.

[Izzard]

It's been a while, but my 2011 Mac mini - AKiTiO - GTX 980 combination worked great on Yosemite. I can confirm the current situation with the latest Nvidia web driver, I will also check the Boot ROM/SMC version and get back to you. If you still have an AMD card, I am happy to help with that as well.

Thanks, goalque. I sent the AMD card back - sticking with the 970.

[Madeupword]

Hey folks! Utmost respect to the community for its advancement in eGPU technology. The discovery of Akitio Thunder2, removal of powered riser, and most recently PCIe pin cable to 12v dc barrel possibility in a span of 9 months.

My only objective is to run graphic intensive games smoothly at High/Ultra settings on a 1080p external display in Windows 8.1/10 for the next 3 years with minimal tinkering. I have limited time for gaming, hence only select titles. Otherwise, I have no need for a PC or an eGPU.

I was ready to shop for an eGPU until the recent surge in eGPU troubleshoot in the community. A conventional PC setup appears to be more stable.

1. Should I pursue an eGPU or should I shop for a PC instead?

2. Can I use the following parts?

ATX PSU Power Adapter Cable Connector 4 Pin Molex to 12V DC 2 5mm x 5 5mm Barrel | eBay

Jump Start EPS ATX 24 Pin Power Supply Without A Motherboard Jumper Connector | eBay

3. Will the setup below work?

2013 15” Macbook Pro GT750M + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (Akitio Thunder2) + Win8.1

Objective:

To run graphic intensive games smoothly at High/Ultra settings on a 1080p external display in Windows 8.1/10 for the next 3 years with minimal tinkering.

Configuration:

Late 2013 15” MacBook Pro with Retina Display and GT 750M(dGPU)

Specs:

2.3Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i7-4850HQ (Turbo Boost up to 3.5Ghz)

16GB 1600MHz RAM

512GB PCIe-based SSD

Nvidia GeForce GT 750M with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM

DELL UltraSharp U2414H 24” Monitor

Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box

Corsair RM650 Fully-Modular Power Supply Unit (PSU)

Asus GeForce GTX 970 DC Mini (GPU)

4-pin MOLEX to 12V DC 2.5mm x 5.5mm Barrel Adapter

ATX PSU Jumper

Thunderbolt Cable

HDMI Cable

Hardware Preparation:

Insert GPU to PCIe slot on Akitio

Connect PSU cable to GPU

Connect PSU cable with molex-to-barrel adapter to Akitio

Connect PSU jumper to PSU

Connect HDMI cable from GPU to external display

Software Installation:

Install Windows 8.1 via Boot Camp

Install Windows updates

Install Boot Camp drivers

Install external display drivers

Download latest Nvidia drivers and shut down

Boot to OS X, select Windows 8.1 partition as startup disk

Shut down and power off

Initial Boot Process:

Connect Thunderbolt cable from Akitio to Mac

Power up PSU & Akitio

Power up Mac, which should boot to Windows 8.1 partition

Install latest Nvidia drivers and shut down

Power off Mac and PSU & Akitio

Power up PSU & Akitio

Power up Mac, which should boot to Windows 8.1 partition

eGPU should be enabled and ready for use

Subsequent Boot Process:

If on OS X, select Windows 8.1 partition as startup disk

Shut down and power off Mac

Connect Thunderbolt cable from Akitio to Mac

Power up PSU & Akitio

Power up Mac, which should boot to Windows 8.1 partition

eGPU should be enabled and ready for use

Reboot Process from Windows to OS X:

Shut down Windows 8.1 and power off Mac

Power off PSU & Akitio and disconnect Thunderbolt cable from Mac

Power on Mac and hold ALT/OPTION and select OS X partition

Select OS X partition as startup disk if necessary

Pardon for the length of post. Please do note hesitate to provide any advice.

Thank you!

[Tech Inferno Fan]

My only objective is to run graphic intensive games smoothly at High/Ultra settings on a 1080p external display in Windows 8.1/10 for the next 3 years with minimal tinkering. I have limited time for gaming, hence only select titles. Otherwise, I have no need for a PC or an eGPU.

I was ready to shop for an eGPU until the recent surge in eGPU troubleshoot in the community. A conventional PC setup appears to be more stable.

1. Should I pursue an eGPU or should I shop for a PC instead?

Please review the existing eGPU implementations for your system and decide for yourself: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt

[Dschijn]

Hey folks! Utmost respect to the community for its advancement in eGPU technology. The discovery of Akitio Thunder2, removal of powered riser, and most recently PCIe pin cable to 12v dc barrel possibility in a span of 9 months.

My only objective is to run graphic intensive games smoothly at High/Ultra settings on a 1080p external display in Windows 8.1/10 for the next 3 years with minimal tinkering. I have limited time for gaming, hence only select titles. Otherwise, I have no need for a PC or an eGPU.

I was ready to shop for an eGPU until the recent surge in eGPU troubleshoot in the community. A conventional PC setup appears to be more stable.

1. Should I pursue an eGPU or should I shop for a PC instead?

2. Can I use the following parts?

ATX PSU Power Adapter Cable Connector 4 Pin Molex to 12V DC 2 5mm x 5 5mm Barrel | eBay

Jump Start EPS ATX 24 Pin Power Supply Without A Motherboard Jumper Connector | eBay

3. Will the setup below work?

2013 15” Macbook Pro GT750M + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (Akitio Thunder2) + Win8.1

Objective:

To run graphic intensive games smoothly at High/Ultra settings on a 1080p external display in Windows 8.1/10 for the next 3 years with minimal tinkering.

Configuration:

Late 2013 15” MacBook Pro with Retina Display and GT 750M(dGPU)

Seems good

Take a look here: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-apple/9802-2013-15-macbook-pro-gt750m-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win10tp-%5Biregret%5D.html

[Mark]

Thanks MVC, Izzard and goalque for taking the time to talk about the Maxwell issue. I apologise as I wasn't able to get around to trying to fix the issue with Yosemite, because I got caught up with other things. However, from what I can understand, MVC, the kexts did not work for Izzard, and in that case I pretty much doubt that it would work for me either.

I suppose that the only solution to this issue for now is to use an earlier version of OS X with the appropriate driver. I am stuck with 10.10.1; I currently have 10.10.0 and it's causing screen glitches with my 4k monitor (i.e. there is tearing halfway along the screen when I drag any windows). I will now have to source a copy of 10.10.1 (as 10.10.2 also made my mouse pointer disappear on the right half of my screen).

I know that this is also a problem with my monitor, as it is actually a screen made up of 2x1920x2160 panels.

[euqlaog]

Thanks, goalque. I sent the AMD card back - sticking with the 970.

I compared those three kext that you shared on pastebin, but they all have an unnecessary IOPCITunnelCompatible key at the end of the file before the last ending dict-tag. Everything else was identical to my Mac mini 2011 kexts.

However, when I modified them as you including also an extra space character after true-tag in NVDAStartup.kext, GTX 980 was still detected.

1) remove all the IOPCITunnelCompatible keys and trues at the end of files, run sudo kextcache -system-caches, shut down, and restart.

2) try first without CUDA installed. It may cause some problems on computers with AMD GPUs:

Avoid installing NVIDIA CUDA drivers on computers with AMD GPUs

We have the same Boot ROM version, but your SMC version (1.75f0) is different. This cannot be changed:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201518

I hope this information helps. If still behaving the same, we have to look closer at system console log.

[MVC]

Mark, I believe that you and Izard have completely different issues. His machine type has not been noted for issues in the past. TB1 Macs typically are rather easy for OSX and a little tougher for Windows, if they are on MBR.

Your machine is known for being one of the few TB2 machines that can achieve screen output from eGPU in OSX. The kexts I posted had an error in the HDA part, but I don't think most people use the audio out to their monitors anyway, as it typically requires yet another hack.

You should be able to have your Titan show up in System Profiler with right name and 6143 Meg's of RAM. It is only screen output that should be tricky and there was a recent discovery with that gfx switch app that may help you.

I have 4 TB Macs here that I test with. None of them have acted any differently in 10.10.3 then in past versions. One is a 2014 rMBP (iris only). I test on a Dell 5K and an Asus PQ321 4K. In OSX resolutions are limited via a blacklist on certain machines, but yours shouldn't be on that list.

I will fix the broken HDA kext and post them again. If your Titan is a standard first gem Titan it doesn't even require the Web Drivers. I have one of each Titan here so I can verify.

[henrikhoe]

Guys

Need help deciding. I can get a late 2013 top specced 15" macbook pro retina for almost the same price as a new 2015 13" retina macbook pro.

Now my gut tells me i want the new 13". Because of battery life, force touch, and faster SSD storage.

But on the other hand, the 15" has a faster CPU. Now the questions comes, when it comes to gaming and a egpu setup. How much difference will the quad core i7 do against the i5 dual core in the 13" retina. If i get much higher fps im leaning towards the 15".

[Dschijn]

That depends on the games… Easy games run perfectly fine with the dual core CPU. But new and demanding games need a 4 core CPU as a minimum (like Far Cry 4). To me Battlefield 4 was not running smooth on a dual core CPU.

[Morv]

Guys

Need help deciding. I can get a late 2013 top specced 15" macbook pro retina for almost the same price as a new 2015 13" retina macbook pro.

Now my gut tells me i want the new 13". Because of battery life, force touch, and faster SSD storage.

But on the other hand, the 15" has a faster CPU. Now the questions comes, when it comes to gaming and a egpu setup. How much difference will the quad core i7 do against the i5 dual core in the 13" retina. If i get much higher fps im leaning towards the 15".

I'd ask myself if I will take the device with me very very often and how important gaming is. If your carrying it around very much you may or may not notice it. I myself have got the 15" MBPr Mid 2014 because I'm using a backpack everytime anyway and I wanted to replace my desktop which I used for current games. If gaming is about playing things like LoL, CS GO, Minecraft or such stuff you'll probably be fine with the 13". If your serious about current games like GTA V, DayZ, Battlefield 4, Witcher 3 and such, take the 15". The CPU is more or less equal to Intel desktop CPUs when running on turbo clocks and even on base clock it's fine(I'm running it only on base clock so the fans will shut up and I'm really fine with it, playing said games except Witcher 3). With 4 real cores and HT you'll be fine for another few years regarding the CPU power. The 13" U-CPU may limit generally in near future and/or your graphics card.

Force trackpad may be nice to have but you'll be fine with the usual trackpad as well, it's really great. I doubt you'll notice the speed increase of the SSD as they are already faster than usual SATA SSDs.

Battery life is about 10 hours when typing stuff and browsing usual sites now and then...movies from storage about 5-6 hours. Avoid Flash at all cost as it sucks the battery like nothing else, horrible stuff.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Guys

Need help deciding. I can get a late 2013 top specced 15" macbook pro retina for almost the same price as a new 2015 13" retina macbook pro.

Now my gut tells me i want the new 13". Because of battery life, force touch, and faster SSD storage.

But on the other hand, the 15" has a faster CPU. Now the questions comes, when it comes to gaming and a egpu setup. How much difference will the quad core i7 do against the i5 dual core in the 13" retina. If i get much higher fps im leaning towards the 15".

2015 13" MBP is Broadwell. 2013 15" MBP is a one-gen older Haswell system hence the worse battery life.

If they are the same price then it's a no-brainer. For eGPU use, the Iris Pro 15" MBP is the way to go. You'll see 70-100% better CPU performance. Any cpu-bound games will register that performance improvement. If you get a i7-4850HQ (2.3Ghz) or better you can use Throttlestop to unlock a further +400Mhz.

The i7-quad higher performance also extends the usable lifespan of the notebook.

If you want the other subtle improvements: battery life, force touch, faster SSD then you'll need to wait for the Broadwell refresh of the 15" MBP. Will only happen when Intel releases the quad-core Broadwell mobile CPUs. Those new 15" MBP Broadwell systems will certain not be the same pricerange as a Broadwell 13" MBP.

[Izzard]

I compared those three kext that you shared on pastebin, but they all have an unnecessary IOPCITunnelCompatible key at the end of the file before the last ending dict-tag. Everything else was identical to my Mac mini 2011 kexts.

Yeah, actually I knew that but I also knew that wasn't causing the problem (and I have since tried with MVC's kexts - made no difference).

2) try first without CUDA installed. It may cause some problems on computers with AMD GPUs:

Avoid installing NVIDIA CUDA drivers on computers with AMD GPUs

Hmm, now this is an interesting thing to investigate since more than a few of the guides I read said to install the CUDA driver. They made it sound essential. And - unlike your Mac mini - mine *does* have an AMD GPU in it. That page says it should be fine installing CUDA if you have both an AMD *and* an NVIDIA GPU; they're advising not installing CUDA if you *only* have an AMD GPU.

...however, since my AMD GPU (soldered to the logic board, unfortunately) is also what was impeding Physx from working in Windows, perhaps it is interfering here too. Worth a shot! I will remove the CUDA driver and report back.

[henrikhoe]

Thanks for helping me decide guys, seems it is a no brainer. I dont realy need a portable computer so since the price is so good on the pristine rMBP 2013 top specced model, i think i will go for that