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220W Dell DA-2 AC adapter discussion


jacobsson

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Almost everything has arrived now! I have modified the 6 pin y splitter to fit the barrel plug for the AKiTiO but I cannot get the AKiTiO green light to come on. I used the paperclip trick so now the DA-2 light is green instead of orange. Am I doing something wrong or is it working normally? This is without the card attached.

Can you post a picture? Is the Thunder2 connected by Thunderbolt?

Ah the thunderbolt cable! Yes it works now! Thanks again.

Just now waiting for my 6 pin to 8 pin adapter and I should be good to go!

Edit: My card seems to fit with the fan still in the enclosure. Should I switch it round so it blows out the front to help with cooling do you think? As the card will be drawing in air from the front so this fan could act as an exhaust.

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Got everything hooked up & working great with the DA2 + (2) 6 pin PCIe splitters + Screw Terminal 2.5mm x 5.5mm barrel adapter!

Only issue I ran into was fitting all of the wires into the screw terminals. 3 wires twisted together and stuffed into each terminal seems very tight fitting with a bit of exposed wire. I know this isn't recommended....and the photo makes it look even worse :-/

post-35001-14495000114343_thumb.jpg

I was going to use some electrical tape and see if I can clean this up a bit. Any other suggestions from you guys?

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Got everything hooked up & working great with the DA2 + (2) 6 pin PCIe splitters + Screw Terminal 2.5mm x 5.5mm barrel adapter!

Only issue I ran into was fitting all of the wires into the screw terminals. 3 wires twisted together and stuffed into each terminal seems very tight fitting with a bit of exposed wire. I know this isn't recommended....and the photo makes it look even worse :-/

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14992[/ATTACH]

I was going to use some electrical tape and see if I can clean this up a bit. Any other suggestions from you guys?

Nice but exposed wires like this can be problematic. Put some electrical tape at least to be safe :) try also to cut the end bit of the wires to be able to insert them more ? Last resort you can cut a few filaments from each individual wires to thin the combined result.

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I think you can spare the middle wire of each color. Most Molex->PCIe adapter only provide 2x12V instead of 3x12V, so it should also work for you. If it makes the wires fit even better… :)

Additionally shrink tubing and/or electric tape should be applied!

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So here is the picture of my cables, still works like a charm, can't await my GTX 970 *sobbing* :D

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14994[/ATTACH]

Looking good. I see you used one side of the split only to power the 970. I instead spread the load by using one split from each to be "safe". Nice work.

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Looking good. I see you used one side of the split only to power the 970. I instead spread the load by using one split from each to be "safe". Nice work.

Both ways can put loads up to 150+W to one of the splits.

Imho Morvs way is even a bit better because the barrel plug can draw up to 80-90W (75W PCIe slot + 10-15W of the AKiTiO).

So one of his splits is using 80-90W on the barrel and up to 150W on the other (2*75W 6-Pin PCIe).

Your way you can create loads of 75W on one split (1x6-Pin PCIe) and 155-165W on the other (1x6-Pin PCIe = 75W and 80-90W = 75W PCIe slot + 10-15W of the AKiTiO).

Still, both ways seem to work and before you can create such high loads the DA-2 will probably die.

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Both ways can put loads up to 150+W to one of the splits.

Imho Morvs way is even a bit better because the barrel plug can draw up to 80-90W (75W PCIe slot + 10-15W of the AKiTiO).

So one of his splits is using 80-90W on the barrel and up to 150W on the other (2*75W 6-Pin PCIe).

Your way you can create loads of 75W on one split (1x6-Pin PCIe) and 155-165W on the other (1x6-Pin PCIe = 75W and 80-90W = 75W PCIe slot + 10-15W of the AKiTiO).

Still, both ways seem to work and before you can create such high loads the DA-2 will probably die.

Here goes my thinking lol. Good to know, if mine melts i let you know :)

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Alternative way to wire a Dell DA-2 to a AKITiO Thunder2 posted at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7910-diy-egpu-macbook-experiences-89.html#post134046

Since nobody answered to my post #881 i´ve do it by t&e. What should is say, one step will work, the GTX660Ti is accesible. :D

@All:

There is also an other solution to get power into the enclosure if some tools (aka. soldering Iron, mini drilling machine) your friends, and you are willing to invest some work, .

Here´s a little workaround In short:

desoldered the barrel jack from the PCB

make some solder points on the PCB

desoldered the power connector form a Dell Optiplex GX620

solder the new power connector to the PCB

solder two wires for to power the PCIe plugs of the GTX

Plug in the jack from a Dell DA-2, power up the system, lean back and enjoy

:54_002: OMG, your warranty void if you do so :67: , sh** happens, but it works quite fine for me

little Impression:

17788960909_7382171f11.jpg

<A HREF=http://i.imgur.com/zgphNeq.jpg><img width=400 src=http://i.imgur.com/zgphNeq.jpg></A>

Once all my works finished i´ll illustrate and describe more detailed what i've done.

Greetings

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Both ways can put loads up to 150+W to one of the splits.

Imho Morvs way is even a bit better because the barrel plug can draw up to 80-90W (75W PCIe slot + 10-15W of the AKiTiO).

So one of his splits is using 80-90W on the barrel and up to 150W on the other (2*75W 6-Pin PCIe).

Your way you can create loads of 75W on one split (1x6-Pin PCIe) and 155-165W on the other (1x6-Pin PCIe = 75W and 80-90W = 75W PCIe slot + 10-15W of the AKiTiO).

Still, both ways seem to work and before you can create such high loads the DA-2 will probably die.

Glad to hear Morv's way is acceptable. I have mine rigged up as w4vz suggested but my wire length is very short from the barrel plug to the first pcie graphics connector.

@Morv any tips on how to fit 3 wires into each of the screw terminals? I find it very tough to get them firmly seated (with a moderate tug, I can usually pull one of the wires loose).

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@Morv any tips on how to fit 3 wires into each of the screw terminals? I find it very tough to get them firmly seated (with a moderate tug, I can usually pull one of the wires loose).

I think it is totally fine to use just 2 wires each ;)

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@Morv any tips on how to fit 3 wires into each of the screw terminals? I find it very tough to get them firmly seated (with a moderate tug, I can usually pull one of the wires loose).

I've spread the single wires of each cable like a hand fan and then put them all together in another. Then I've twisted them. I've tried to pull the cables out of the screw terminal but they're not easily removable.

Apart from this I've also used 2 wires before I started using the DA-2.

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I've spread the single wires of each cable like a hand fan and then put them all together in another. Then I've twisted them. I've tried to pull the cables out of the screw terminal but they're not easily removable.

Apart from this I've also used 2 wires before I started using the DA-2.

I still don't know how in the world you got 3 wires in there. I can barely get two ;-) Maybe your screw terminals are better than mine

I think I may try to use a ferrule and crimp the wires together before I insert them into the screw terminal. I'd feel more comfortable if they were seated better. Even with the two wires in each terminal, when i moved my Akitio on my desk I lost power when one of the wires moved a little bit.

http://wiki.ztex.de/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=en:ztex_boards:ztex_fpga_boards:psu2-02-640.jpg

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@computersaysno: Maybe the wires he got had a smaller inner diameter and by that can fit more easily. What you can do is use a scissor to cut 20% of the strands in you wires off, just to make them less… :D

In reality I probably was not twisting them tight enough. I tried pretty hard with my fingers but maybe I should be using pliers to wind them tighter. If I can source some ferrules, I may try that option. Twist the 3 wires together, insert them into ferrule, crimp, then insert into screw terminal and tighten. Maybe that will work better for my application ;-)

Edit: So as it turns out, it seems I was not stripping the wires long enough for the screw terminal to bite onto. Best method is to separate the strands like a fan, as Morv suggested, and be sure to twist the wires together well to where they're not coming apart at all. It's best to keep them kind of long, and push as much as you can into the terminal. Try to keep exposed wire to a minimum and make sure they don't come out of the terminal with a slight tug. If any exposed wired, cover it with electrical tape. Now I'm waiting for a new pcie splitter to come in the mail because I wasted a bunch of wire trying to get it to work!

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Hi all! First and foremost, thanks to all that have pioneered the eGPU and simplifying the process as much as we're able thus far. I've been keeping tabs for a while on the projects and recently built a gaming PC to fill the void that my Macs cannot. While things are very much in favor of the SFF (small form factor) gaming rigs, I still prefer the mac OS and their adoption of gestures on the track pad. Having a pretty capable late 2012 iMac (3.4 i7, 680MX, 24GB RAM, 1TB Fusion) I felt it silly to have a more equipped OC'd 4790k and GTX 970 just for gaming purposes and have found this forum invaluable in figuring out how to get eGPUs working for macs (Windows 7 Ultimate only so far).

I've recently built out an Akitio+Zotac GTX 970 mini GPU, initially using an ATX PSU and then upgrading to a Dell DA-2 PSU. Both options seem to work great (I think I have less issues with the ATX PSU and the general "Error 12" complex over the Dell option). Each time I've had the "Error 12" issue it seems that usually followed some overlarge of power (in the instance of the Dell DA-2, removing the power plug from the Akitio before it fully discharged and caused a spark from the plug itself), and I fix it typically by discharging the PSU and moving the power and video plugs around.

In any case, just wanted to say thanks and get some posts started so I can be more helpful to the community. Now I just need to work on testing out the GPU for use on OS X.

**Note - can we update the details for the Zotac 970 to state that it fits, but you have to remove the GPU shield and also the fan from the Akitio box? I think I found a fan that is half the width and may fit either internally or on the outside between the case and the faceplate.

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I've recently built out an Akitio+Zotac GTX 970 mini GPU, initially using an ATX PSU and then upgrading to a Dell DA-2 PSU. Both options seem to work great (I think I have less issues with the ATX PSU and the general "Error 12" complex over the Dell option). Each time I've had the "Error 12" issue it seems that usually followed some overlarge of power (in the instance of the Dell DA-2, removing the power plug from the Akitio before it fully discharged and caused a spark from the plug itself), and I fix it typically by discharging the PSU and moving the power and video plugs around.

In any case, just wanted to say thanks and get some posts started so I can be more helpful to the community. Now I just need to work on testing out the GPU for use on OS X.

**Note - can we update the details for the Zotac 970 to state that it fits, but you have to remove the GPU shield and also the fan from the Akitio box? I think I found a fan that is half the width and may fit either internally or on the outside between the case and the faceplate.

Could you specify the different "problems" with the DA-2 to the ATX PSU?

The Zotac is listed here: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2.html

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Could you specify the different "problems" with the DA-2 to the ATX PSU?

The Zotac is listed here: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2.html

Hi Dschijn. The only issue I've had thus far has been the system not recognizing the eGPU after boot up (i.e., black screen). When I check "Manage Devices" I see the "Error 12" not enough resources allocated..blah, blah, blah. I rarely had this issue when using the ATX PSU and a molex to barrel plug power supply. My process has been to have the GPU fully powered on before booting up. Any time I encountered the "Error 12" issue it was after some crash after a successful boot up. To get things rectified, I've had to unplug all the cables and replug things in (sometimes in new places like moving the Thunderbolt cable to a new port or the mDP cable). Overall, I've successfully booted up with eGPU in a fully powered on state nearly all the time into Windows 7 Ultimate (no Win8 yet). Bear in mind I've only been messing around with eGPUs for a few days, but it's all worked pretty well (in Windows) without any futzing around.

Regarding the Zotac GPU comment, I was more looking to add notes that state we do need to remove the Akitio's internal fan for the GPU to fit into the case. I was under the impression that it would fit after removing the GPU shroud. Certainly an easy mod, but just want to make sure people know there is some modification still needed when using this card (I previously was using the Gigabyte 970 mini, which fits in the case, but is too tall for the outer enclosure). As a point of comparison, the Zotac has been much quieter than the Gigabyte card. Benchmarks were pretty much the same between the cards as well.

One thing that has made me laugh is the size of the Dell DA-2 power brick. It's not that much smaller than the ATX PSU I was using before (and also just a little smaller than the Akitio box). IT'S SO HUGE!!

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  • 2 weeks later...
So here is the picture of my cables, still works like a charm, can't await my GTX 970 *sobbing* :D

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14994[/ATTACH]

Thanks for this! Just to be clear, this (my terrible drawing) is what you have done right?

*EDIT: Ignore the 2nd photo. Not sure why it's there or how to remove it!

post-36358-14495000280777_thumb.jpg

post-36358-14495000280272_thumb.jpg

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