DIY eGPU Macbook experiences

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Hello everyone,

Wasted a day but cannot solve the issue and get stuff working. Set up is the following:

- MacBook Pro 15" mid 2012, bootcamp Win 8.1 x64, Nvidia drivers v353.06 (the latest for now)

- Gigabyte GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (GTX 970) inside Akitio Thunder2

- powered by Akitio power supply + PSU 500W --> 6+2 and 6 to GPU

The problem is that Windows cannot enable device, in Device Manager system says:

This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12)

If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system.

What can cause the issue? In Mac OS X GTX 970 is not visible in the list however Akitio Thunder2 listed.

Any ideas?

There are several existing eGPU implementations with your exact hardware and software configuration listed at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt . Please follow the steps provided there to get a working solution.

[JohnsonRuan]

There is a thread at Macrumors in the Mac Pro section with a hacked kext. Haven't tried it recently but likely worth a shot.

Yeah I've tried that, doesn't work for me though... Have seen someone saying that it doesn't work for Maxwell.

[LukeHero]

Hi all, I've been lurking for a while on this community gathering information for the build I want to do soon.

I have a Mid 2012 Macbook Pro Retina (GT650M graphics) and want to get an egpu setup going with it.

I've been looking at everyones guides with the PE4C and notice that everybody uses the Sonnet Echo to convert the signal from mPCIe to Thunderbolt. Is this absolutely necessary? I'm sure I read that the WIFI card inside is on mPCIe. Could this be used to connect instead of using the Sonnet Echo? If so, would this allow for playing on the internal screen?

I hope this question is posted in the right section. Thanks for such an amazing resource on egpus! Glad I found this site.

[Dschijn]

@LukeHero: Why not getting an TB enclosure and use the full 10Gbps bandwidth you have

The AKiTiO Thunder2 is perfect for that.

[LukeHero]

@LukeHero: Why not getting an TB enclosure and use the full 10Gbps bandwidth you have

The AKiTiO Thunder2 is perfect for that.

Yeah I have this as an option. But for a cheapest possible solution. If I can plug into the WIFI PCIe port then the cost is only for the PE4C with Dell PSU and the gcard itself. I do agree that the Thunder2 is the ideal solution, but I'm looking at the cheapest option too

[Dschijn]

Sorry I can't answer that. The AKiTiO Thunder2 is already very cheap!

[elie]

Hello ,

Does the egpu work on my new macbook pro ?

i ordered the newest one which has an iris pro and AMD Radeon R9 M370X .

I heard somewhere that if you have a GPU in the macbook it should only be geforce in order to run a eGPU

Regards

[sipman]

Hello Guys.

I'm a new user on this forum, so please forgive me if i bend/break some rules or in other ways irritate you guys by my questions.

I'm putting together a little shopping list for my eGPU.

And i got some questions for that.

Shoppinglist (So far):

1. Akitio Thunder2 PCIe box
   
2. EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti 2GB PhysX CUDA
   
3. Apple 2m thunderbolt cable
   

So to the questions.

1. Would i be able to run the GPU insinde the Akitio box closed up (meaby i need to make some holes for air ? or do the y-split cooling as Dschij does here )
   
2. Since the GPU only uses 60W, do i even need to do any power-boost (adding another PSU ?)
   
3. Wouldnt i be able to just plug the GPU in the Akitio box (with or with out the case) and then run it ?
   
4. Have i missed something here ?
   

To clear up, i've been searching fore these answers for days now, but i jsut cant seem to find any straight answers, so i figured i would ask you guys

I hope you will take your time to answer me,

Thank you all.

[Dschijn]

That EVGA GTX750Ti looks good. Small enough and no extra 6-Pin PCIe plug.

Regarding your questions:

1. The 60mm fan in front could be enough, just try it

2. The PSU is only allowed to provide 60W. The GPU can use up to 60W and even have power peaks over that. Keep in mind that the AKiTiO itself needs 10W (or more) too. So you better get a external 120W PSU with barrel plug (2.5 and 5.5mm plug)

3. Yes

4. The 120W PSU Sth like this: http://www.amazon.de/Original-Netzteil-Laufwerke-Lichtschl%C3%A4uche-LED-Strips/dp/B006Z9TQE6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

You might be able to run the 750Ti with the 60W PSU if you limit the power target to sth like 70% (maybe even less), but that will also lower your GPUs performance.

[sipman]

So if I also buy the 120w psu you suggested, the I should be good to go ?? ...

Do I need to use Windows in order to use the egpu .. or will my rMBP mid 14 iris pro be able to use it in macos ?

Sendt fra min HTC One_M8 med Tapatalk

[Dschijn]

Windows yes, OSX it should with an external monitor (and maybe the 20$ tool...).

[JimPanse]

pardon my bad english. I am getting a Bluescreen after about 5-10 min of gaming on my macbook+akitio thunder2+gtx980 setup. PC ran into a Problem Bluescreen while my PSU stops working. Can someone help with this problem?

[seefew]

......If I can plug into the WIFI PCIe port.....,

If I am not mistaken, the MBP's Wifi card has no standard mPCI, it's proprietary to Apple

[JimPanse]

Solved the Problem by using a better PSU. switched from 500w EVGA to 750w be quiet! Now everything is running buttery smooth

[Dschijn]

Solved the Problem by using a better PSU. switched from 500w EVGA to 750w be quiet! Now everything is running buttery smooth

That is interessting. 500W have not been enough?! Which 500W PSU was it?

[sipman]

#998

I'm not sure what tool you are referring to ?

How i imagine my setup is:

1) My samsung 4k monitor connected to the eGPU via DP.

2) My eGPU connected to my laptop (DUH)

3) My retina screen on the laptop uses the iris pro and the 4k-monitor uses the eGPU.

Is this possible, will the fact that the retina screen uses the iris pro, stress my CPU in a way that can affect the performance ? Would i be better of just running 2 external monitors of the eGPU ?

[Dschijn]

@sipman: In Windows it should work, yes. Can you use a non 4k monitor for the first implementation? There have been problems with using a 4k right out of the box.

For OSX:

The implementation in OSX is a bit messy. This guide should help: http://forum.techinferno.com/mac-os-x-discussion/10135-egpu-under-osx-pdf.html

I can't tell if 4k will work and if you can get display output signal with the guide. It's possible that you need the 20$ from netkas: http://forum.techinferno.com/mac-os-x-discussion/8619-tb2-macbooks-allow-monitors-used-nvidia-egpus-osx-4.html#post134703

[ba10s118]

That is interessting. 500W have not been enough?! Which 500W PSU was it?

I think it must have been related to stability on the 12v line.

[Dschijn]

I think it must have been related to stability on the 12v line.

Yeah I guess, but with a 500W EVGA PSU? Must have been an old one.

[ba10s118]

Yeah I guess, but with a 500W EVGA PSU? Must have been an old one.

Well I assume its like CPU lottery - some time's you're just unlucky ^^

[LukeHero]

If I am not mistaken, the MBP's Wifi card has no standard mPCI, it's proprietary to Apple

Ahh I see, thanks for the info

[Simurgh5]

Hey guys,

I am completely new to this field – but I got hold of the Sonnet and the GT 750 Ti so I wanted to try it. (I read some experiences that this very configuration is easy plug and play.) As you might expect from a newbie, it did not work out so far.

Here's what I did:

1) I plugged the card into the Sonnet's 16x PCIe slot.

2) Connected Power and TB to the Macbook.

3) Connected my external display (tried both HDMI and DVI)

4) Turned on.

What happened:

Both screens stay black (I know the internal LCD won't work.).

The Sonnet spins up and then spins down. The graphics seem to start because its fans also spin up.

I tried a variety of things, plugging the graphics at different stages of the boot process:

start plugged – black screen

plug in during OS selection screen – system freeze

plug in right after selecting OS – system freeze

plug in any later – card is not recognized/used

In the MacOS System profiler I can see that a card is detected in the Sonnet – but it is not recognized as a graphics card.

I searched in the forum here but to be honest – I don't know how to proceed and which of the suggestions are valid in my case.

I would appreciate any help very much.

All the best

Simurgh

EDIT: it doesn't work both on MacOS or Windows (Bootcamp) and I have the NVIDIA drivers installed on Windows.

[Dschijn]

- turn on MB

- hold alt key

- wait for chime and boot selction

- switch on eGPU

- boot OS

[Tsrizchris]

Hi everyone!

I found this forum today, and it looks really cool! I was looking around at potential solutions for playing high-graphics games like Star Citizen on my Macbook Pro (Early 2013) without needing to go for a whole new computer. I just had one quick question -- A lot of the solutions that I'm seeing use Thunderbolt 2, which runs at 20 Gbps. My macbook, sadly, was part of the last line to run Thunderbolt 1 at 10 Gbps.

If I wanted to make a setup using a Graphics card like the GTX 970, would using a TB1 connection significantly reduce the quality? Additionally, do products advertising use for TB2 work for computers running TB1?

Thanks!

[ozmartini]

Hi everyone!

I found this forum today, and it looks really cool! I was looking around at potential solutions for playing high-graphics games like Star Citizen on my Macbook Pro (Early 2013) without needing to go for a whole new computer. I just had one quick question -- A lot of the solutions that I'm seeing use Thunderbolt 2, which runs at 20 Gbps. My macbook, sadly, was part of the last line to run Thunderbolt 1 at 10 Gbps.

If I wanted to make a setup using a Graphics card like the GTX 970, would using a TB1 connection significantly reduce the quality? Additionally, do products advertising use for TB2 work for computers running TB1?

Thanks!

I'm in the same exact boat as you, my friend. Ordered the 970, Akitio, and PSU and JUST realized my Macbook was thunderbolt 1. The performance is going to be (from the little research i've done) like between 80-85% of the GPU. Regardless, I'm still going to try doing it.

BUT I have a question for everybody else. What do I do to get it working?? Honestly I read several guides and this is the only one that makes sense to me : http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-apple/4271-2013-11-macbook-air-gtx570%404gbps-c-tbec2-pe4l-2-1b-win7-%5Bkloper%5D.html

However he said the pci.bat file is different for every laptop; he lost me at the last step. Once I get the parts I'm gonna actually try this though, can't try it without a gpu XD.