johndshea Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 what kind of power riser do i need a buy to work stable? can this work with any kind of power supply? for example 400w?Hi, @VladoKc. Here are the parts I used. Amazon.com: Qody PCI-E Extension Cable: 16X to 16X (powered): Computers & Accessories ORhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GUKRX6S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Amazon.com: EVGA 500W 80PLUS Certified ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply 100-W1-0500-KR: Computers & Accessorieshttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LTAUTHE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti with G-SYNC Support 2GB GDDR5 128bit, Dual-Link, DVI-I, HDMI, DP Graphics Card (02G-P4-3751-KR): Computers & AccessoriesI also purchased a GTX760, which I now run instead of the 750Ti most of the time (more stable than the 750Ti, and can be run without a powered riser since it can accept an 8-pin plug from the ATX PSU):http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HPS4B00/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Inferno Fan Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Right now, I'm running the 750Ti off the AKiTiO's power alone, with the enclosure on too. And it seems to be running fine! @johndshea, can you update the opening post to reflect your current experience, particularly stability, when running the GTX750Ti off the 60W AKiTiO PSU alone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VladoKc Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Hi, @VladoKc. Here are the parts I used. Amazon.com: Qody PCI-E Extension Cable: 16X to 16X (powered): Computers & Accessories OR http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GUKRX6S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Amazon.com: EVGA 500W 80PLUS Certified ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply 100-W1-0500-KR: Computers & Accessories Amazon.com: Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box: Computers & Accessories Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti with G-SYNC Support 2GB GDDR5 128bit, Dual-Link, DVI-I, HDMI, DP Graphics Card (02G-P4-3751-KR): Computers & Accessories I also purchased a GTX760, which I now run instead of the 750Ti most of the time (more stable than the 750Ti, and can be run without a powered riser since it can accept an 8-pin plug from the ATX PSU): Amazon.com: MSI Computer Video Graphic Card N760 2GD5/OC ITX: Computers & Accessories Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. Thank you for the post,you help me a lot I am look for gtx 750 ti because price,the gtx 760 is little too more for my budget right now :/. Is there some other good graphic card in price range gtx 750,of course with stabile performance? i plan spend about 200$ for graphic card. I am from Europe,here is AKiTiO more expensive than in US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndshea Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 @Tech Inferno Fan certainly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadfan130 Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Hi i got a gtx 970 mini and i directly plugged the card into akitio box and connected the box to my mbp. Then i connected the card with psu and applied paperclip trick. The akitio box is powered by its psu as well. The thing is the fan on the card spins when i plug the thunderbolt cable into my mbp. However it can not get detected. I tried the same set up with my mba, still the card could't get detected and drivers can not be installed saying no compatible hardware found. Did any of the problem happen to u? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndshea Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 @shadfan130 you need to force the Nvidia drivers to install and then modify them so that they will recognize your GPU. I recommend you follow the process outlined by @nesone at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cPOB9qmPjaE. Basically, you have to do some modifications to the NVIDIA web drivers to get them to install, program your NVRAM so it accepts unsigned drivers, modify some kext files, and you're set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadfan130 Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 @shadfan130 you need to force the Nvidia drivers to install and then modify them so that they will recognize your GPU. I recommend you follow the process outlined by @nesone at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cPOB9qmPjaE. Basically, you have to do some modifications to the NVIDIA web drivers to get them to install, program your NVRAM so it accepts unsigned drivers, modify some kext files, and you're set.Hi Im running it at windows 8.1 not OSX. I haven't tried OSX yet since it it much complicated than win 8.1. But even under win8.1 i can not get my card detected(but gpu fan running). Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndshea Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Unfortunately I don't think I have much insight to share. My windows 8.1 didn't recognize the card until I had installed the Nvidia drivers, but it did just fine once I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
precision01 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hello. First I would like to thank johndshea, the author of this thread, and everyone else for the help building this setup!I've just done a setup almost identical to johndshea:- Macbook PRO Retina 13" (late 2013)- OSX Yosemite 10.10.1- Windows 8.1 via bootcamp- Akitio Thunder 2 PCI-e Box- Zotac Geforce GTX 750 ti 2gb- Installed latest nvidia drivers (download from nvidia on jan/23/2015Important! I´m not using any external power, just the standard Akitio Thunder 2 package.Results---------I could successfully do this eGPU setup both on OSX Yosemite 10.10.1 and Windows 8.1.Just a few benchmark numbers:3DMark (2013) - Fire Strike Standard Graphics 1920x1080 (Windows 8.1)I've ran 3dMark Firestrike Standard and a got a 3.554 score.This is a little disappointing to me, since on a similar spec PC this GTX 750 ti can do a 4.500 score. So it is a loss of 20% in performance, where I was expecting a 10% loss.Other tests-------------I´ve build this setup mainly for GPU rendering purposes on 3D Softwares using Octane Renderer, but also for gaming (most of the time iRacing).iRacingWhat I experienced in general is a satisfactory result. As in 3dmark, the game is running, like, 20% slower than when was connected to a PICe slot on a similar specs PC. In general the GPU is temperature is low most of the time.But sometimes (after 20-25 minutes racing), I´m getting significant frame rate drops, where it drops from 60fps (I´ve mannualy set this frame rate limit on iRacing) to 35 - 40 fps without any reason.I don´t know if this is related to drivers issues, power issues, temperature issues (althought temperature seems normal), or something else.So, I must ask: Am I missing something important here? Would I have a more stable experience with external power? Can I still improve that 3dmark score from 3500 to at least 4000? Can someone ( johndshea?) run 3dmark to compare with my 3500 score? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndshea Posted January 27, 2015 Author Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hi, @precision01, I'd love to run another benchmark to compare but unfortunately I no longer have my 750Ti. I upgraded to a GTX 970 (because I have no impulse control, apparently), which is also running beautifully with the rest of the original setup. Sorry!A 20% loss of performance seems pretty high for the bandwidth bottleneck created by Thunderbolt 2. I have a theory that the bottleneck effect on the AKiTiO is not in fact due to the limits of Thunderbolt but rather is due to the fact that the AKiTiO is actually a 4-lane PCIe connection and is therefore limited to 5gbps. This would explain why I found virtually no performance difference between my TB1 MBA and my TB2 MBP, but I haven't been able to get any other forum members to confirm this for me. In terms of your framerate issues, I might try testing your GPU with external power and a powered riser if that's cheap and easy for you. It might also be interesting to see whether this improves your benchmarks as the 750Ti might be a bit power-starved using only the AKiTiO's "supposedly 25w, technically 60w, apparently 80w" power supply.Here's the big question - how stable is your current setup? I had some instability issues running without a powered riser. If your setup is stable, I would propose that AKiTiO+750Ti may be the current "gold standard" for a low-budget eGPU build. Relatively low cost ($230 for AKiTiO, $130 or so for the 750Ti), decent performance (outperforms the 750m in the latest Nvidia MBP), and extremely simple setup (no external power or risers required). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschijn Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 3DMark (2013) - Fire Strike Standard Graphics 1920x1080 (Windows 8.1)I've ran 3dMark Firestrike Standard and a got a 3.554 score.This is a little disappointing to me, since on a similar spec PC this GTX 750 ti can do a 4.500 score. So it is a loss of 20% in performance, where I was expecting a 10% loss.External or internal screen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
precision01 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 External or internal screen?External screen. I didn't had time to try to make the egpu setup work on internal screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euqlaog Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Regarding internal screen, take a look at here. 3DMark Fire Strike test does not show the best internal screen performance even if you have TB2, but you can improve the result significantly by selecting lower resolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschijn Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Ok, Overall score or just graphics score? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
precision01 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hi, @johndshea, thanks for replying.I pretty much agree with you about the 4-lace PCIe connection of Akitio Thunder 2 pie box. Even if that's the case, I believe that we can be satisfied with the fact that Akitio setup cost much less than other manufacturers solutions.Since I live in Brazil, very specific computer parts, like this eGPU setup had to be imported from US, but finding common parts like a powered riser is easy. I can try to use this powered raiser thing, but I must admit that I still didn't understand very well how does this powered riser connect to the PSU and o the GPU.Since most Geforce GTX 750 ti doesn't have any 6 pin power connector (mine is from Zotak), I believe that a powered riser is the solution, right?I would like to know how much Watt power Akitio is really feeding the GPU. Is it 25w (I doubt), 60w or maybe more? Hope someone has equipment to do a test to confirm that.About stability, when quitting iRacing (in Windows 8.1) I had a few black screens due to nvidia driver fail (windows said that!), but after 2 or 3 seconds the screen was back again without any apparent issue.In OSX 10.10.1, I don't remember to have had issues, but I didn't test too much.When I first read your post, I was already almost sure that this setup is the "Golden standard" for low budget eGPU. Both on notebook check and toms hardware you can find benchmarks to confirm that this Akitio + GTX 750 ti setup is 3x to 4x faster than discreet 750m.By the way, integrated intel Iris PRO 5200 is usually 5-8% faster than Geforce 750M, which makes me wonder what's the point in Apple putting 2 GPU's with the same performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschijn Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I would like to know how much Watt power Akitio is really feeding the GPU. Is it 25w (I doubt), 60w or maybe more? Hope someone has equipment to do a test to confirm that.Yes, I ran some tests with my first GTX 970. The first test is the one you might be interested in (from my first Guide):Without riser [AKiTiO PSU in use!], measured on the AKiTiO PSU:Idle ~ 10WFurmark ~ 70W [100% power target]Furmark ~ 74-75W [105% power target]Furmark ~ 78-80W [110% power target]Combination of GPU, ATX PSU, without riser [AKiTiO PSU in use!], measured on the ATX PSU:Idle ~ 12,5WFurmark ~ 150W (max. 155W [100% power target])Furmark ~ 158W (max. 160W [105% power target])Furmark ~ 165W (max. 167W [110% power target])Combination of GPU, ATX PSU, AKiTiO [without PSU], molex powered riser:Idle ~ 21WValley ~ 150-160W (max. 180W)3dMark11 ~ 200W (max 215W)3dMark13_Sky ~ 195-200W (crashes after entering the cave)3dMark13_Fire ~ 170-200W (max. 210W)Furmark ~ 215W (max. 220W [100% power target])Furmark ~ 225W (max. 230W [105% power target])Furmark ~ 240W (max. 240W [110% power target]) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
precision01 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi, @Dschijn. Thanks for sharing your project. Your power tests shows that apparently Akitio standard PSU is probably enough for Geforce GTX 750 ti.And your GPU benchmarks confirms that we have to expect an average loss of 20% of performance for the eGPU, if compared with the card directly connected to the PCIe slot.I will do the tests with a external PSU + powered riser to check if I have the same results and I hope to share them here ASAP.- - - Updated - - -Ok, Overall score or just graphics score?Hi, @Dschijn. I don't really know. I will repeat the tests and pay attention to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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