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DIY eGPU Macbook experiences


oripash

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Thanks goalque, that is useful - I didn't know it was necessary to add IOPCITunnelCompatible true to IONDRVSupport.kext as well. I have edited AMDSupport per your instructions, yes.

Which block of the IONDRVSupport.kext Info.plist file to I need to edit? The main text or the "1", "2", or "3" block?

Power brick is the same one nando recommended. Perhaps it doesn't really deliver 120W... I can try another.

IONDRVSupport.kext mod is actually not necessary with the AMDs, but there is incongruity as you said: Checking the console boot log, there are no messages with "IOPCITunnelCompatible needed" or such. If the IONDRVSupport is not modified, you will get the following line to the system.log

Driver "IONDRVFramebuffer" needs "IOPCITunnelCompatible" key in plist

And if AppleHDAController.kext is not modified, you also get this:

Driver "AppleHDAController" needs "IOPCITunnelCompatible" key in plist

To get rid of the warning lines, it's recommended to modify those two as instructed for Nvidia cards. Remember to run sudo nvram boot-args="kext-dev-mode=1”.

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IONDRVSupport.kext mod is actually not necessary with the AMDs, but there is incongruity as you said: Checking the console boot log, there are no messages with "IOPCITunnelCompatible needed" or such.

I noticed the same discrepancy. MaximumBurrito's, symptoms, as described, don't make sense to me unless there is some sort of hardware issue.

MaximumBurrito, perhaps you should double-check the two boards of your AKiTiO are connected properly. Is the short black/yellow power cable dislodged? (Although I wouldn't expect the GPU fans to turn if the GPU can't see the PCIe bus.) If I were you, I would think about getting a simple PCIe card (ethernet adaptor / USB ports or similar) to see if those work. They are cheap and if you value your time/sanity then it's a worthwhile troubleshooting step.

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The pics will help solve the mystery of the PE4C 1.2

While you may not be able to get the eGPU to work, it should at least appear as a device in device manager. If it doesn't appear in device manager then for whatever reason the eGPU isn't appearing on the PCIe bus. A faulty expresscard slot may be one reason. Worth also hotplugging the powered eGPU to see if you get detection as well as sleep, hotplug eGPU, resume.

Hey sorry for the late response but life pulled me away from my eGpu project for a while. I hope your still around and willing to help, and sorry if you feel I left you hangin. Last we left off I had gotten the eGpu with the PE4C 1.2 setup to work with a toshiba laptop, but was unable to get anything whatsoever on my 2008 macbook pro. I was able to fiddle with it for a short time tonight and I've got an update:

I've been able to get the macbook pro to detect the card and install the drivers by using msconfig to check the "base video" option under Boot options Tab. Now the sytem detects both my dedicated gpu (8600m GT) AND the eGPU (gtx 260) but under device manager properties it says: "This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use...).

I've included some pics of the progress I've made tonight:

post-35520-14495000030297_thumb.jpg

ps:

I still have not gotten around to taking off the plate on the PE4C to show you the underside but promise I'll get to that within the next couple nights. Any suggestions as to how I can get this card the resources it needs? So far I think i've got the oldest Macbook pro Egpu setup attempt here with my 2008 MBP 15".

Again thanks for your help so far and I hope your still around! It would be nice if we could get this working on a pre-unibody macbook pro!

post-35520-14495000029187_thumb.jpg

post-35520-1449500002971_thumb.jpg

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Hi everyone, I am new to this forum, and to this whole concept of building computer parts.

I am interested in building an external gpu for my early 2013 rmbp / 8gb ram / 2.4 quad-core i7 / Thunderbolt 1 / 650m.

Can someone explain me the easiest/cheapest/best way to build an egpu for my laptops? What exacts steps do I need to follow? What are all the hardware that I need to buy, or the softwares that I need to install?

I did some research on the subject, but there are many terms I do not understand, which makes the process look very complex, and I dont understand it.

If I would like to get the same performance of a gtx970 on a real desktop, what kind of gpu should I get?

I am very new to these kind of things, so it would also be very appreciated if someone would explain the difficult jargon, like "molex", "jumper", "UEFI"

Thank you very much for your help, it is very, very appreciated RJgAJZdlsYzbjOrAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC

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@Frosk: You can get an idea of what pieces you need here: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-apple/8882-2014-13-macbook-pro-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-handle-win8-1-%5Bphantron.html

You need:

- AKiTiO

- (short) GPU

- computer power supply (ATX standard) with at least 450W

- an power adapter to bring power from the power supply to the AKiTiO, like explained here: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/8317-%5Bguide%5D-making-molex-barrel-adapter.html

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<s>Anyone knows about 2015 13" MacBook Pro will work with eGPU? Especially with Akitio TB2.

I've seen one user has some problem with the Magma enclosure but no further reported.</s>

Never mind that. Just got to page 78 and Nando already answered that.

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<s>Anyone knows about 2015 13" MacBook Pro will work with eGPU? Especially with Akitio TB2.

I've seen one user has some problem with the Magma enclosure but no further reported.</s>

Never mind that. Just got to page 78 and Nando already answered that.

franknickzhang has it working, but just with Optimus. No external display yet.

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Hello,

I actually own an early 2013 rMBP 13 inch with a nice Akitio Thunder 2 eGPU setup.

I am curios whether I can upgrade my Macbook to a 2015 one because of the newer Broadwell CPU and TB2. Is it possible to run an eGPU on a 2015 rMBP? Or should I grab a refurb mid 2014 one?

:chuncky:

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Hello,

I would like to know how much the difference in performance is between TB1 and TB2 especially when using a eGPU.

I actually own a rMBP 13 with TB1 and plan on upgrading to a rMBP 13 with TB2.

Thanks!

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Hello,

I actually own an early 2013 rMBP 13 inch with a nice Akitio Thunder 2 eGPU setup.

I am curios whether I can upgrade my Macbook to a 2015 one because of the newer Broadwell CPU and TB2. Is it possible to run an eGPU on a 2015 rMBP? Or should I grab a refurb mid 2014 one?

:chuncky:

We only have very little informations about 2015 MBs. One user got it working:

franknickzhang has it working, but just with Optimus. No external display yet.

Here: http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/9949-2015-13-macbook-pro-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-%5Bfranknickzhang%5D.html

Hello,

I would like to know how much the difference in performance is between TB1 and TB2 especially when using a eGPU.

I actually own a rMBP 13 with TB1 and plan on upgrading to a rMBP 13 with TB2.

Thanks!

Take a look at this, the difference between TB1 -> TB2 should sth like x4 1.1 -> x4 2.0: GeForce GTX 980 PCI-Express Scaling | techPowerUp

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I'm fairly new to this, but as far as what I've read, you will have to use windows 8.1 if you have a dGPU on your macbook.

I've read about a work-around, however it did not look that easy ( Think it was called kewt or something that line ) .

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Thanks for the guide. I have success with similar setup:

Macbook Pro 17" early 2011 and

Akito Thunderbolt +

nVidia GT 970 (+PSU & whatnot)

What's so interesting is that the system works with the daisy-chained elgato thunderdock which gives me a lot more ports to use it with. I tried with the DIY 1.2 which I got for my other rMBP early 2013, but I could not get it to work with the thunderdock (without the thunderdock it's fine). With the thunderdock the compaction keep hanging, I assume that it's because of all the extra stuffs that snug in there.

Another thing noted with this system is that it may work without DIY 1.2 because nVidia card got recognized and worked without any error. However it's really on-and-off and having to replug the thunderbolt drives me crazy (BIOS really freaked out when it sees a graphic card attached to thunderbolt). With EFI boot, it works flawlessly 10 out of 10 times.

I also used this guide By Popular Demand: My "Better Than Bootcamp" Guide to Installing Windows 8 : mac to help with installing Windows 8.1 EFI without the need for a second machine. If you install it from a clean disk it will not give you trouble with the error before finishing up (which I assume has something to do with it unable to modify the EFI partition created by MacOS). Then you can restore Mac as outlined by that guide. Also you won't need to create the new partition called Windows Boot as suggested by the guide, because after installing Windows 8.1 it will create a new recognized boot option called "EFI Boot" and it will work as well (save you 128MB of disk and some troubles of partitioning really).

If you run into trouble partitioning the disk for MacOS, simply run an extra line when doing the diskpart in setup:

create partition primary

After creating the Windows partition as outlined in the guide. It will create a new partition with the rest of the empty space. Then you can format it using Disk Utility and install MacOS after done with the Windows Installs.

So I would like to setup something similar.

Currently I have a 17" Macbook pro late 2011 with i7 and 16gb ram.

My goal: to run new and upcoming games on my computer (internal LCD).

What would I need to buy to do this?

I'm not from the US so these aren't very specific

I understand I would need the following:

  1. [h=1]Akitio Thunder - so something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Akitio-AK-T2PC-TIA-AKTU-Thunder2-
    PCIe-Box/dp/B00LTAUTHE/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431970734&sr=1-1&keywords=Akitio
    [/h]
  2. GPU - I'm thinking GTX 960 - like so: MSI GTX 960 GAMING 2G GeForce GTX 960 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready SLI Support ATX Video Card - Newegg.com
  3. PSU - less sure what I need exactly - Amazon.com: Antec SL400 SmartPower 400W 20 Pin 4 Pin +12V Switching ATX Desktop Power Supply: Electronics

Am I missing anything?

Given I buy all this and follow through the guides it should all probably work out right?

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@m1sk: The MSI cards are very "big", so you will not be able to put it all into the AKiTiO itself or even think about closing the case! The PSU is crap, seriously get a 450-500W branded PSU.

If you like it a little experimental you can buy a Dell DA-2 external PSU and follow this thread: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/9426-220w-dell-da-2-ac-adapter-discussion.html

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Hi my egpu setup on mac always crash. The "About My Mac" does not shows my GTX750TI on Graphics section unlike many others. Does it matter ? Can anyone please help ?

No idea what you are asking.

Please include details. Are those screen shots yours?

Can't help by guessing

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Hi MVC,

Yes, those screen shot are mine.

I have follow the instruction to mod the NVidia Web Driver and changed those kext files. I have my TB1 connected to Akitio with GTX750TI, pcie riser with molex 4 pin from 500w PSU, and output it to Dell 27 4k monitor. The screen did show up, but I will get Kernel Panic randomly (while browsing web or even if I restart my mac). The Kernel Panic reasons are not always the same. One things, I realized that my new GPU never shows in "About My Mac" graphic section (attacted pic), but it did show in the Display section.

Should I uninstall the NVidia driver and redo all over again ?

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newon,

Look and see that the 3 kexts you modded all loaded, but also list "loadable - no"

The System profiler means nothing, the fact that it shows up in the 2nd screen is good enough. Make it primary display and maybe that will change, but that isn't the issue causing KPs.

Check the kexts and if they are OK, I imagine it may be your powered riser. I never found them to help, only make things more unstable.

And I imagine that you will have trouble getting 4K output anyhow, as 2012 rMBP on blacklist for 4K via MST.

Might work on SST, I will plug my machine in with 750Ti tonight when done working and see what I get.

I have same 2012 rMBP and found it very easy to eGPU with.

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Please don't use the AKiTiO PSU at any time! You could damage your setup. Only use a PC PSU like the Antec you already have.

Did you buy and used the molex to barrel plug?

When you boot into Windows 8.1, the card is in Device Manager/Precision X finds the card? Do you get a display signal if you connect a display directly to the eGPU (not the MacBook display).

Have you connected all the power plugs to the card?

Molex to barrel plug or powered riser? If you use the barrel plug, you don't have to use the powered riser. Can you test the GPU in another system? Can you test your setup with another PSU?

Can you upload a picture of you setup so we can see how you wired everything?!

this is the photo of my setup

https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2015/05/19/IMG_3187copia.jpg

now there is an other problem, when i'll start the computer and the DIY setup 1.2 it says: EGPU NOT FOUND and everything is connected !!!

- - - Updated - - -

Please don't use the AKiTiO PSU at any time! You could damage your setup. Only use a PC PSU like the Antec you already have.

Did you buy and used the molex to barrel plug?

When you boot into Windows 8.1, the card is in Device Manager/Precision X finds the card? Do you get a display signal if you connect a display directly to the eGPU (not the MacBook display).

Have you connected all the power plugs to the card?

Molex to barrel plug or powered riser? If you use the barrel plug, you don't have to use the powered riser. Can you test the GPU in another system? Can you test your setup with another PSU?

Can you upload a picture of you setup so we can see how you wired everything?!

this is the photo of my setup

https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2015/05/19/IMG_3187copia.jpg

now there is an other problem, when i'll start the computer and the DIY setup 1.2 it says: EGPU NOT FOUND and everything is connected !!!

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Hi all,

Really wanting to get this egpu setup due to sluggish performance on external display under parallels. I figure this is because Iress is struggling under the load.

I recently purchased a 2015 13" MBP with internal gpu only. Has anyone got this to work with such a model?

Cheers

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Apple released the new 15" rMBP equipped with AMD Radeon R9 M370X, 80% faster graphics performance:

Apple - Press Info - Apple Introduces 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch Trackpad & New $1,999 iMac with Retina 5K Display

Seems that Apple has switched to AMD side. Is that a coincidence that every AMD eGPU that I have tried, detects an external monitor in OS X regardless of the MBP model, newer TB2 or older TB1. Would the 2015 13" MBP be easier with the AMD card? Hmm.

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this is the photo of my setup

https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2015/05/19/IMG_3187copia.jpg

now there is an other problem, when i'll start the computer and the DIY setup 1.2 it says: EGPU NOT FOUND and everything is connected !!!

But you get a display signal from that eGPU?

Is the eGPU listed in the device manager?

Did you do the paperclip trick to start the PSU? (please only use the PC PSU, don't use the AKiTiO PSU)

Can you test your setup with another PSU?

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Do you think after this MBP release, eGPU with AMD GPU will work better than nVidia?

Desktop R9 300 series are just around the corner. I have quite a lot experience with the AMD eGPUs, in OS X and Crossfiring them in Windows. OpenCL is what matters to me most. Apple’s mentioned 80% speed bump sounds incredible, but we don’t know if that’s generally, OpenCL or OpenGL. We are getting closer to the point where mobile GPUs catch up the desktop ones in performance. I had a Y510P / 755M SLI, but at that time it felt like a hot jet engine when gaming. I hope to stick to eGPUs in the future as well if they still are near plug-and-play.

As an AKiTiO user, it’s good to keep in mind older posts (look here) regarding AMDs. It’s obvious that AMDs have potential, and I would be very curious to hear more experiences. Unfortunately I don’t know if the new 2015 models are more compatible with AMD eGPUs, so I threw a question along with some remarks.

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