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DIY eGPU Macbook experiences


oripash

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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?

the problem is that the egpu doesn't appear in the device manager, (5 days ago it works) the macbook recognize the akitio and the thunderbolt but not the card... i can't trying with an other PSU, i'm talking with the EVGA support and are saying that i have to flash the bios but it's impossible for me because is not recognized. maybe i will do an RMA again

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the problem is that the egpu doesn't appear in the device manager, (5 days ago it works) the macbook recognize the akitio and the thunderbolt but not the card... i can't trying with an other PSU, i'm talking with the EVGA support and are saying that i have to flash the bios but it's impossible for me because is not recognized. maybe i will do an RMA again

Can you please summerize your whole setup again?

How do you start your setup?

- Turn on Mac

- press and keep pressed the alt key

- wait for the "gong" signal and the boot drive selection

- switch on your eGPU

- boot

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my setup is:

Antec VP550F

EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0

Akitio Thunderbolt

16x - 16x Pcie riser molex

thunderbolt cable from akitio

Macbook Pro 15 early 2013 TB1 - Bootcamp Win 8.1 pro 64bit

I start my setup in this way:

1 turn on the psu

2 connect it to my mac

3 turn on the mac (i set the turn on automatically on bootcamp)

4 diy egpu 1.2

5 here the egpu is not recognized

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my setup is:

Antec VP550F

EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0

Akitio Thunderbolt

16x - 16x Pcie riser molex

thunderbolt cable from akitio

Macbook Pro 15 early 2013 TB1 - Bootcamp Win 8.1 pro 64bit

I start my setup in this way:

1 turn on the psu

2 connect it to my mac

3 turn on the mac (i set the turn on automatically on bootcamp)

4 diy egpu 1.2

5 here the egpu is not recognized

You could firstly try the steps at http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/9949-2015-13-macbook-pro-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-%5Bfranknickzhang%5D.html#post132900 to try to get eGPU detection going.

Any reason why you don't do a UEFI install of Win8.1? By all accounts it's plug'n'play eliminating needing to use Setup 1.20. There is the added benefit of being able to activate the iGPU if usin a GT750M equipped Macbook by applying some tweaks.

The simple way is do a Win8.1 UEFI installation is to use Disk Utility to create a second partition in MacOS Extended (Journaled) format. Then reboot your system to Win8.1 by holding the OPTION key and selecting the USB media in UEFI format. Then when Win8.1 setup starts, point it to the created partiiton and allow it to install itself. Reboot into Windows.

Furthermore, if you have detection issues with your eGPU then please follow the following if have the Iris Pro model: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-apple/8558-%5Bguide%5D-macbook-enabling-optimus-internal-lcd-mode.html

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My problem is that the egpu, from 3 days ago, it is not longer recognized, the fans are moving strangely, them are doing just very small movements. i'm going to do a UEFI installation because, as you said, i will have a lot of benefits but now if my gpu doesn't work i don't know how can i flash the bios so i'm f""""d.

The EVGA support offer to me to pick the card up with UPS and flash/exchange it

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My problem is that the egpu, from 3 days ago, it is not longer recognized, the fans are moving strangely, them are doing just very small movements. i'm going to do a UEFI installation because, as you said, i will have a lot of benefits but now if my gpu doesn't work i don't know how can i flash the bios so i'm f""""d.

The EVGA support offer to me to pick the card up with UPS and flash/exchange it

Doubtful that it's a problem with the card. Mine made the same "strange small movements" before setup. It's just trying to communicate with your CPU. Are you using the internal screen? If so, do you have an external screen you could try plugging in to?

Also, mine didn't show up in the Device manager until I installed the correct drivers. Go to the manufacturer's site as shown in your instruction booklet and download your model's specific GPU drivers. See if it shows up.

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Hi guys,

Just a quick question. If I use my Sonnet SE II daisy chain port to use my Ethernet adapter, what potential effect would there be on my graphics solution (I use a 780TI on an external monitor instead of Optimus).

It all works and I haven't noticed any difference during normal gaming sessions but I would like to hear the theory behind it.

Thanks,

Jamie

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my setup is:

Antec VP550F

EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0

Akitio Thunderbolt

16x - 16x Pcie riser molex

thunderbolt cable from akitio

Macbook Pro 15 early 2013 TB1 - Bootcamp Win 8.1 pro 64bit

I start my setup in this way:

1 turn on the psu

2 connect it to my mac

3 turn on the mac (i set the turn on automatically on bootcamp)

4 diy egpu 1.2

5 here the egpu is not recognized

You could firstly try the steps at http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/9949-2015-13-macbook-pro-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-%5Bfranknickzhang%5D.html#post132900 to try to get eGPU detection going.

Any reason why you don't do a UEFI install of Win8.1? By all accounts it's plug'n'play eliminating needing to use Setup 1.20. There is the added benefit of being able to activate the iGPU if usin a GT750M equipped Macbook by applying some tweaks.

The simple way is do a Win8.1 UEFI installation is to use Disk Utility to create a second partition in MacOS Extended (Journaled) format. Then reboot your system to Win8.1 by holding the OPTION key and selecting the USB media in UEFI format. Then when Win8.1 setup starts, point it to the created partiiton and allow it to install itself. Reboot into Windows.

Furthermore, if you have detection issues with your eGPU then please follow the following if have the Iris Pro model: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-apple/8558-%5Bguide%5D-macbook-enabling-optimus-internal-lcd-mode.html

Did you notice that he has an Early 2013 model as you said 750M and Iris Pro?

@nikyork93:

- Windows 8.1 supports native UEFI 2.0 or later.

- UEFI hard disks require GUID partition table (GPT) instead of MBR.

If you look at the Bootcamp Info.plist, you see the key word “PreUEFIModels”, and MacBookPro10 (Early 2013) is on that list. I remember something that if forcing EFI installation, there will be GPU and audio errors.

Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5621 includes Windows 8.1 drivers for MacBook Pro 15” Early 2013: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1720

Hopefully this helps.

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If you don't flash the card or do some crazy two power supplys at the same time stuff... the GPU is fine.

Flashing through the TB connection is actually possible, but it requires the GPU to be visible under device manager, power adapter plugged in, and enough battery charged. I have done a couple of flashes for my AMDs successfully via TB2. There is a bit difference if using UEFI VBIOS or not.

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I have a MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013) with Thunderbolt 2 (1.3 GHz Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM)

I'm planning on the following:

AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box

EVGA GTX 960 2GB GDDR5

Corsair 550w PSU

Pci Express 16x To 16x Powered Pci-e Riser Cable Adapter Extension

2m Original Apple Thunderbolt Cable

I understand that EVGA branded cards won't require fiddling with the order in which you start things up, and I understand you need a riser to power the 960.

What do you guys think? Sound like a decent plan for gaming in bootcamp? Should this be as easy to set up as it sounds? (ie. attach everything together, plug it in, boot into windows, install drivers and done..?)

Also if anyone knows if the 960 fits inside a Thunder2 chassis would be grateful to know!

Note: Not planning on using the GPU under OS X at all, nor external monitors.

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Hi,

I joined this forum to get some answers from people who have more experiences in designing eGPU's and what not. But I'm not sure which thread I can post this question, if needed please move it to another section if needed or point which thread I should post this.

Okay now on my question: First off I bought myself an 27 inch' iMac 2011 mid-2011 with two Thunderbolt 10 ports (up to 10 Gbps) with i7 Core [email protected] Ghz along with AMD Radeon 6970m 2GB gpu. However I know iMac's are not upgradeable and I know it give me perhaps 1-2 years worth of gaming until it requires a better video card. That's why I've been researching a lot and I found this amazing forum along with users showing off their eGPU's. But most of them are notebook and not iMac's. So here are my questions.

1. Is it possible for me to have a eGPU for my iMac?

2. I was planning to get Vidock Nano, but I saw a forum post that it's a rip off. Is it useful for All-In-One iMac's? Why do you consider it as a rip off?

3. I want a eGPU that doesn't expose the graphic card out open, I would like to seal it shut like this picture here.

post-35890-14495000093974_thumb.jpg

4. Is it possible I can just use AMD Graphics card? I'm not a AMD fanboy, I found a Mac Edition graphics card (which is used for old 2008-2010 Mac Pros) and I would assume it wouldn't mess with OS X system. But I rarely use it, I use Windows 7 Bootcamp more often. I wouldn't mind giving Nvidia a try, I just don't want my iMac to get confused with the drivers or whatever it is.

I'm interested in this eGPU project, it's very interesting and sure it's kind of expensive, but it's better than getting a new computer. I'm happy with my iMac so far. I just want to stay with it for next 4-8 years and I would like to test my abilities of building and creating something.

I'm extremely new at Thunderbolt, eGPU, and vice versia. I would like everyone to explain to me what is Thunderbolt is used for. As well recommendations for me to setup eGPU for iMac mid-2011. Just a reminder this iMac can hold up to 10 Gbps.

I know eGPU's are suppose to be for notebooks. But I would like to ask users who are heavily experienced to answer my questions and give me suggestions. And Mods/Admins, if needed you're free to move this thread if you can or ask me to post it on concern thread via link please.

Thank you!

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Doubtful that it's a problem with the card. Mine made the same "strange small movements" before setup. It's just trying to communicate with your CPU. Are you using the internal screen? If so, do you have an external screen you could try plugging in to?

Also, mine didn't show up in the Device manager until I installed the correct drivers. Go to the manufacturer's site as shown in your instruction booklet and download your model's specific GPU drivers. See if it shows up.

yes i'm using an external monitor connected to the gpu by HDMI. i have installed the correct driver for my gpu. (the egpu works fine, with black screen of death during the game but works, until 3 days ago)

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For fitting cards please take a look at the first post here: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2.html

- The EVGA 960 is fine, if it is the 1xfan version.

- You MBA only has TB1. MBAs got TB2 in 2015

- You don't need a riser if you use a recommended molex -> barrel plug : http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/8317-%5Bguide%5D-making-molex-barrel-adapter.html

Gaming in Windows should be fine, but very new and demanding games might have problems because they need 4 cores.

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Hi CD8 - I'm faily new here aswell, but I can tell you what I've been told so far.

Consider using the case, a DC barrel, a 6pin molex to dual 6 pin molex and a DA-2 dell charger instead.

Check how I'm planning to do.

http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/9426-220w-dell-da-2-ac-adapter-discussion-5.html#post133386

If you use the DC-barrel - you don't need the pci-e riser, and you can use the case.

I know that the Galaxy 960 and 970 will fit inside the case, and instead you could drill some airholes.

I've bought a Atikio (Hopefully receiving it tomorrow) and I will be using a MBPr 13" 2014 with bootcamp win 8.1.

But consider if your CPU will become a bottleneck towards your gtx960, and maybe a gtx 750ti might fit it more realistically ?

EDIT ! Haha you beat me Dschijn

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yes i'm using an external monitor connected to the gpu by HDMI. i have installed the correct driver for my gpu. (the egpu works fine, with black screen of death during the game but works, until 3 days ago)

Hmmm...maybe check your pcie connectors on your graphics card? Perhaps one of them is poorly seated? I had strange connection issues until I finally realized one of my pcie plugs had come disconnected slightly during our "mad scientist" set up routine.

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Thanks for the tip guys!

I can't believe I didn't realise I only had TB1... Will that significantly bottleneck me?

I'm probably going to go with a 960 or 970 just because I will upgrading to a Skylake MacBook of some description when they release.

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i've checked well, i tried also to connect the gpu directly to the akitio without the 16x -16x extension cable but nothing... same problem. it's really strange because 3 days ago it works and now no more signal... i think i will do an RMA again

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I can't believe I didn't realise I only had TB1... Will that significantly bottleneck me?

To me MBA and TB1 is fine enough. If you upgrade later, that's a better setup.

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i've checked well, i tried also to connect the gpu directly to the akitio without the 16x -16x extension cable but nothing... same problem. it's really strange because 3 days ago it works and now no more signal... i think i will do an RMA again

Yes, quite strange to all of a sudden not be recognized in the eGPU setup. Any notable software changes or driver updates done prior to failure?

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Thanks for the tip guys!

I can't believe I didn't realise I only had TB1... Will that significantly bottleneck me?

The tb2 will run at 16gbps due to the way pci-e is built - which is equivalent to PCIe 2 x4 (or PCIe 3 x2) = 2GB/s , TB1 would be theoretical half that speed.

Check out anadtech's article about the PCI-e impact on the bandwidth.

Finally if we take one further step to PCIe 3 x2 (2GB/sec), we see performance continue to drop on a game-by-game basis. Crysis, Metro, Civilization V, and Battlefield 3 still hold rather steady, having lost less than 5% of their performance versus PCIe 3 x16, but DiRT 3 continues to fall, while Total War: Shogun and Portal 2 begin to buckle. At these speeds DiRT3 is only 72% of its original performance, while Shogun and Portal 2 are at 81% and 92% respectively.

post-35805-14495000094686_thumb.png

As you can see - It seems like the bandwidth needed for something of the scale of a HD7970 requires at least 16Gbps, and if you decrease that by using TB1 you would theoretical see a way higher deduction in FPS.

Bare in mind - this is just the results for these games, other games showed minimum significance, but lets assume worst case scenario.

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I tried to flash nvidia and nvflash stopped when in eGPU

Did the guy with dead card say how he "turned on PSU"?

Without a paperclip or SWEX mentioned I am curious. Flipping the switch on a PC PSU does nothing more than let it wait to be told to turn on.

And hearing "RMA again" is painful. If he has in fact blown up 2 cards then he is definitely doing something wrong, and EVGA is picking up the tab.

Powered riser is begging for trouble. Not having swex or paperclip is begging for trouble. When power only gets to half of a card, it can flow in wrong direction, burning things up.

TB2 actually has less bandwidth than PCIE 2.0 x4. Can be shown quite easily with PCIE SSD. Read up at Barefeats.com. He got same results I did, the blade SSDs are faster in x4 slot in cMP then in a TB2 chassis.

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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.

Thanks, MVC.

I am going to try without riser and at the same time also will get the molex to barrel converter. Did you test your 750ti with Macbook 2012 retina ? How did it go ? Do you mind to share your setup ?

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