DIY eGPU Macbook experiences

[Dschijn]

For Windows 8.1 try this: https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/6727-guide-macbook-enabling-optimus-internal-lcd-mode/

Or try Windows 10

[Kr4nG]

I just had a huge problem updating the web drivers. After it wanted me to restart my mac os wouldnt load. Once loaded it was stuck in the tiny mode again. Like 4 K resolution on my display. After 3 hours of messing around i disabled the csrutil command again and it seemed like it started working back to normal. Is the csrutil command suppose to be enabled or should i leave it disabled. I tried to enable it and it broke the computer again. Left it at 4k resolution and it seemed like my intel cpu was not being detected. I can explain in detail what i did to fix it but it would take a while. Simple answer is to leave it disabled for me or else it wont work after the nvidia update that was just released.

[Kr4nG]

Let me add that the diable monitor app resolved the border issue i had. I only need the app when i use egpu in clam mode. 

 

Also, when using the egpu in mac osx i cant let the mac sleep or else it would cause a crash. Any fix to this? I remember it would sleep without a crash only like 2 times. Do I need to plug in the tb cable into the slot closest to the usb or closest to the mag connector. 

 

 

Do i leave the "automatic gpu switching to save battery" checked on or off. 

 

 

Thanks

[allancavenz]

Hey guys,

 

Anyone have benchmarks from 3dmark for an akitio thunder2 egpu using a gtx980 ti (or even a titan x)?

Just looking to see how much of a step up in performance it will give me from my gtx 970 thunder2 egpu.

 

Couple stats from my existing setup below:

 

http://www.3dmark.com/sd/3791173   http://www.3dmark.com/fs/7548370

 

Thanks a heap!

Allan

 

Edited February 21, 2016 by allancavenz

[hongi]

I have Akitio2 + GTX 970 + DA 220w

It connects to MBPr Mid 2014 with GT750m

 

I got one problem with this DA 220W but don't know how or what is wrong with my set up.

Here is the pic of my wiring https://dl2.pushbulletusercontent.com/xne6bghnrJe2oMaAEzZobDqcN3ZhvCd6/20160220_230246.jpg

 

When i plug just only the power of the Akitio, all the lighting came on but when i plug both 6 pin to the GTX970, everything just stop. The green light on the power supply also gone.

What is wrong with my set up? Any comment?

 

I followed this guide 

 

[Dschijn]

@allancavenz I upgraded to an GTX980Ti a week ago, can do some benchmarks later and post them here.

 

@hongi Are you 100% sure you are matching the correct pinout of the DA-2? ground 3x on the upper side and 12V 3x on the lower side.

 

Edit:

@allancavenz There you go:

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/10878725?

Edited February 21, 2016 by Dschijn

[allancavenz]

@Dschijn Thanks for that! Same CPU as I've got so it's a good comparison. 
It's about where I thought it would be for the firestrike result but your result for skydiver was strangely low? The firestrike score is the one that counts anyway though.
I'll have to put a few pennys aside for 980 ti upgrade sometime in the near future I think.

[Dschijn]

Ahhhhh hang on! I have a 120fps limiter currently enabled, will rerun without!

 

@allancavenz Here it is: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/10879615?

Edited February 21, 2016 by Dschijn

[--Alex]

Hi,

 

I'm a new member here.   I just built an EVGA TitanX + AKiTiO Thunder 2 + 1000W power supply system, and have it up and running on my 2013 Mac Book Pro & thunderbolt display.

 

I spent a few hours figuring out power supply wiring and bending open the AKiTiO case.  I used C clamps to helped flatten the bent section out, but it is still not very pretty.  At least the external enclosure fits.

As far as benchmarks, the octane benchmark gave me score of 127 for the Titan X alone ,   and a score of 139 for the  GT 750M + GTX TITAN X.

 

The basic guide was incredibly helpful, along with 2 other guides:

 

The automate eGPU script

https://github.com/goalque/automate-eGPU

 

 

and

How to compile tensorflow with CUDA support on OSX

https://medium.com/@fabmilo/how-to-compile-tensorflow-with-cuda-support-on-osx-fd27108e27e1#.aggzip20a

 

 

 

 

[Kr4nG]

2 hours ago, --Alex said:

Hi,

 

I'm a new member here.   I just built an EVGA TitanX + AKiTiO Thunder 2 + 1000W power supply system, and have it up and running on my 2013 Mac Book Pro & thunderbolt display.

 

I spent a few hours figuring out power supply wiring and bending open the AKiTiO case.  I used C clamps to helped flatten the bent section out, but it is still not very pretty.  At least the external enclosure fits.

As far as benchmarks, the octane benchmark gave me score of 127 for the Titan X alone ,   and a score of 139 for the  GT 750M + GTX TITAN X.

 

The basic guide was incredibly helpful, along with 2 other guides:

 

The automate eGPU script

https://github.com/goalque/automate-eGPU

 

 

and

How to compile tensorflow with CUDA support on OSX

https://medium.com/@fabmilo/how-to-compile-tensorflow-with-cuda-support-on-osx-fd27108e27e1#.aggzip20a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have the cuda installed but can you explain what the other stuff is? What is it for and is it even necessary for games at least?

 

 

[--Alex]

On February 22, 2016 at 7:24 PM, Kr4nG said:

 

None of the other stuff is necessary for games.  Octane is a nice offline renderer.  Tensor flow, and caffe are for machine learning.  Working with convolution networks on a mac is a good reason for an eGPU.

BTW:  The caffe benchmarks on my system are equivalent or better than using Nvidia K20s. 

 

On February 22, 2016 at 7:24 PM, Kr4nG said:

 

 

 

 

I have the cuda installed but can you explain what the other stuff is? What is it for and is it even necessary for games at least?

 

 

 

[--Alex]

One more helpful hint:

 

I discovered that I had power issues because of my UPS.  I was using a Cyberpower 390W that was just fine for my MacBook, monitor and external devices.  Not quite good enough for the eGPU setup.  Luckily, running the caffe cifar10 full training dataset exposed a shutdown message for loss of power. 

 

Does anyone have any ideas how to increase the airflow in the AKiTiO enclosure?   It was extremely hot running some tests, the ports on the GPU were hot to touch and I had to take the external enclosure off. 

[allancavenz]

@Dschijn  Thanks for running that again. Interesting seeing the 980ti running as an eGPU versus the other stats in 3dmarks' results for desktop PCs. Obviously the CPU on a laptop like ours is a limiting factor but desktop PCs are getting up to almost double the performance in that benchmark with a single 980ti - http://www.3dmark.com/sd/3459668

I guess there's a limit on the ability of thunderbolt2 - think it needs more like 30gbps rather than the 20gbps available. Obviously thunder 3 is heading this way, but makes me think a hackintosh desktop might be my next move for 4k multi monitor if I ever do that.

[Dschijn]

@allancavenz That CPU has 8 cores/16 Threads.

[allancavenz]

5 hours ago, Dschijn said:

@allancavenz That CPU has 8 cores/16 Threads.

@Dschijn this is true... there were some 2.5/3ghz quad core cpus in there further down that still ran very high numbers. I just think the 20gbps of thunder2 might not quite be enough when getting up to a card like that. Still an awesome setup as an egpu though. Just pondering on what to do for a nice 4k multi monitor rig in future.

[DannyFK]

Hi to everybody again,

Some weeks ago I wrote this:

 

"Hi to everybody.

 

I made my own eGPU using an external PSU. With the goalque script I got on all the system in OS X, but I'd like to use on Windows because I heard that the performance can improve.

I have a problem because my system on Windows 10 (Bootcamp installation) recognize the eGPU but it's unable to use (code 12). It attempts to connect to the external display but the Windows logo freezes and turns to the internal display using the dGPU (Geforce 650M). I realize that Windows don't recognize the Intel 4000 HD Graphics. My Mac specs are:

 

- 2012 MacbookPro Retina mid 2012

- 16 GB RAM.

- iGPU Intel 4000 HD Graphics.

- dGPU Geforce 650M.

 

Somebody could help me? 

 

The second issue is that using the DELL DA2 power source when I am using the eGPU on OS X during some minutes, it shut down and the system crashes. I suppose that it could be a electrical power up issue. What do you think?

 

Thanks to everybody in advance.

Danny."

 

Please somebody can help me?

THANKS A LOT.

[Dschijn]

What is your eGPU?

[DannyFK]

Zotac GTX 970 using Akitio Thunder2

[Dschijn]

Can you please write more about the eGPU itself!?

[DannyFK]

Now I am powering with an external PSU that works fine. I mean, using Mac OS X I have no problems. The problem is when I try to use it on Windows 10. I made the partition on the hard drive and it looks like to work, but the Windows logo screen freezes on the external display and then return to the Mac screen. In the device manager I can see that the eGPU, but it indicates code 12.

 

I installed the latest drivers for Windows but it continuing with the code 12. 

I have MacBook Pro Retina mid 2012 with 16 GB and i7. iGPU: Intel HD 4000 and dGPU GeForce 650M.

 

I have to do something else apart of configuring the hardware, starting as you indicates Windows with the eGPU and install the NVIDIA drivers?

 

Thanks.

Edited February 28, 2016 by DannyFK

[sgrit]

Dear TechInferno forum members,

 

I have a MBP (17-inch, Mid 2010) with an i7 2,66 Ghz Arrandale processor and my built-in graphics chip GT 330M is fried. In my current situation I can use the integrated HD Graphics (using "gfxCardStatus") but it doesn't need a lot of explaining that my performance is limited somewhat.

 

My question is if it is possible to use an eGPU with my laptop using the ExpressCard/34 that my MacBook Pro is equipped with (it sadly lacks Thunderbolt ports). I would like to use it (mainly) in my Bootcamp setup, but using it in OS X would be a serious boon.

 

Does anybody have experiences with a similar model, or has heard of cases where it was done? And if so, what are your/their experiences?

 

Kind regards,

and thanks for any help,

 

Stefan

Edited March 3, 2016 by sgrit

[aldwinjimenez]

@Dschijn @Tech Inferno Fan @goalque 

good day experts!

I have a problem with my egpu set up. When i hot plug it it is recognized by device manager without error but i cant run any games. Also tried doing other boot up method like tranj10 and dschijn method but its always stuck a infinite spinning wheel or bsod or it freezes

 

thanks in advance for the help

 

build:

macbook pro retina 13 2015

akitio thunder2 pcie

evga gtx 960 (single fan)

evga g2 750w psu

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by aldwinjimenez

[kblack21]

@valix2fr I saw your issue and it seems similar to mine. I've traded in 2 gpu's and 2 psu's (Though I don't regret getting the evga 500 PSU to replace my Corsair, it is so much better) but I still kept getting no device detected. So I Bit the bullet and got another Akitio, and that solved my problem.

 

Still i'm kind of inquisitive and didn't see what was wrong with my original Akitio, so I by chance tried pulling the board out the enclosure. What I found was that the chip with the thunderbolt ports was a little loose from the chip with the PCI E slot (Posibly from when I altered the box for my Titan), so I disconnected them and reconnected them. Then I tried the old Akitio again for kicks, and it worked perfectly.

 

So i'm not sure if you messed with your Akitio, but it's worth giving this a shot.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

On 24/2/2016 at 8:37 AM, DannyFK said:

Now I am powering with an external PSU that works fine. I mean, using Mac OS X I have no problems. The problem is when I try to use it on Windows 10. I made the partition on the hard drive and it looks like to work, but the Windows logo screen freezes on the external display and then return to the Mac screen. In the device manager I can see that the eGPU, but it indicates code 12.

 

I installed the latest drivers for Windows but it continuing with the code 12. 

I have MacBook Pro Retina mid 2012 with 16 GB and i7. iGPU: Intel HD 4000 and dGPU GeForce 650M.

 

I have to do something else apart of configuring the hardware, starting as you indicates Windows with the eGPU and install the NVIDIA drivers?

 

Thanks.

 

Danny, several users with this Macbook have reverted to a MBR/bios  installation of Win7/8/10 and then use DIY eGPU Setup 1.20/1.30 software to eradicate error 12:  http://tiny.cc/Setup1x

[Dschijn]

@aldwinjimenez Can you try hotplugging when Windows is actually booting?