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US$233 HighPoint RocketStor 6361A PCIe Chassis (16Gbps-TB2)


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Sep-2015 Tech Inferno Fan>> now is USD$233 at b&h photovideo HighPoint RocketStor 6361A Thunderbolt 2 PCIe ROCKETSTOR 6361A . Nice.

Ok so been lurking for a while and decided to post as I can't find the information on what i'm looking for.

I'm interested in the HighPoint RocketStor 6316A (HighPoint RocketStor 6361A Thunderbolt™ 2 PCIe Chassis) and how it could potentially be used as a compact all in one eGPU solution

It's attractive for a couple of reasons:

- It's not too expensive, $340 on amazon

- It's thunderbolt 2

<strike>- It natively supports 16X PCIe cards (Unlike AkiTio 2 which needs a riser)</strike>

- It supports full hight and 7.85" (which would support the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti

- It has an external 50W power supply

The power supply is its only downfall, way underpowered) BUT it's externally connected to the unit by a DC jack.

<strike>Should the power supply be upgradable, then this offers an all in one solution to en eGPU unlike the messy AkiTio thunder 2 which myself and many others are put off by.</strike>

Anyone have any insight into whether it would be possible to simply plug a 300W version of the power supply into the HighPoint RocketStor 6316A's DC jack? Perhaps its not possible, but I wanted to ask as I couldn't find any information on the unit on the forum.

EDIT: I'd like to use the eGPU on a 2012 Mac Mini i7 on OS X (Not bootcamp).

IMG_434046.jpg

product_page_rs6361a_size.jpg

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Ok so been lurking for a while and decided to post as I can't find the information on what i'm looking for.

I'm interested in the HighPoint RocketStor 6316A (HighPoint RocketStor 6361A Thunderbolt™ 2 PCIe Chassis) and how it could potentially be used as a compact all in one eGPU solution

It's attractive for a couple of reasons:

- It's not too expensive, $340 on amazon

- It's thunderbolt 2

<strike>- It natively supports 16X PCIe cards (Unlike AkiTio 2 which needs a riser)</strike>

- It supports full hight and 7.85" (which would support the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti

- It has an external 50W power supply

The power supply is its only downfall, way underpowered) BUT it's externally connected to the unit by a DC jack.

<strike>Should the power supply be upgradable, then this offers an all in one solution to en eGPU unlike the messy AkiTio thunder 2 which myself and many others are put off by.</strike>

Anyone have any insight into whether it would be possible to simply plug a 300W version of the power supply into the HighPoint RocketStor 6316A's DC jack? Perhaps its not possible, but I wanted to ask as I couldn't find any information on the unit on the forum.

EDIT: I'd like to use the eGPU on a 2012 Mac Mini i7 on OS X (Not bootcamp).

The HighPoint RocketStor 6316A has worse specs than the AKiTiO Thunder2. 50W AC adapter, <strike>7.87" length card</strike> and costs significantly more.

You have made an incorrect assumption. An AKiTiO Thunder2 can accept a native x16 card but still the 60W AC adapter limits is application for your purposes. So consider the following. Ensure you deduct 10W from the PSU rating as overhead to run the Thunderbolt circuitry.

GTX750Ti without PCIe power connectors

* http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2.html + replace the supplied 60W AC adapter with a US$17.50-shipped 120W one from ebay

* 80W Sonnet EE SE I : http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/9476-%5Bupdated-%5D-%24329-sonnet-ee-sel-%5Bnew%5D-%24349-sonnet-ee-se-i-16gbps-tb2-discussion.html#post128285

GTX750Ti with PCIe power connectors

* 120W http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/8848-%24299-owc-mercury-helios-16gbps-tb2-discussion.html

GTX980/970/960/780Ti/760/670 cards

http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2.html + external ATX PSU + http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/8317-%5Bguide%5D-making-molex-barrel-adapter.html -> open the chassis if get a long card that doesn't fit as explained.

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I’ve been aware of this products for some time, but they don’t officially support 75W slot power and DC jack’s theoretical max wattage is 80W. However, I believe that it’s easily DIY’able as AKiTiO, because of a bigger molex (maybe a standard 4-pin?) connector, here some detailed pictures:

HighPoint RocketStor 6361A Thunderbolt 2 PCIe Expansion Chassis - Apple Store (U.S.)

It’s a bit more expensive than AKiTiO in Europe, 66€ price difference in Germany (259€ vs 325€)

Mix Computerversand GmbH

Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box Erweiterungsgehäuse

Only worth the price if gives AMD R9 series stability.

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post-28870-14494999824216_thumb.png

If someone missed out my previous post, those huge molex connectors and thick wires look nice. What if you just power them via two 4-pins from the ATX PSU? No need to make a molex-to-barrel adapter as with the AKiTiO, just a theory ;) Without the outer shell, you might be able to attach a double wide GPU there. 66€ more expensive than AKiTiO...

Total lengths: 6361A 10.29” (26.1cm) vs AKiTiO 9.17” (23.29cm)

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]14631[/ATTACH]

If someone missed out my previous post, those huge molex connectors and thick wires look nice. What if you just power them via two 4-pins from the ATX PSU? No need to make a molex-to-barrel adapter as with the AKiTiO, just a theory ;) Without the outer shell, you might be able to attach a double wide GPU there. 66€ more expensive than AKiTiO...

Total lengths: 6361A 10.29” (26.1cm) vs AKiTiO 9.17” (23.29cm)

Advantages over the AKiTiO Thunder2

* looks like a 9.5" card like the (now discontinued) EVGA GTX970 SC/FTW would fit with fans removed.

* fitting longer cards like 10.5" cards like EVGA GTX970 SSC/FTW+ or MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G where the performance is at? Hmm... have no clear picture of the plate for the fan mount. Does that and the top bar just unscrew off the bottom plate? If so then it eliminates bending the chassis as we are with the AKiTiO.

* looks like a molex end on the x16 board and TB board so can plug an ATX PSU directly into it. Nice.

* enclosure is 16cm tall. Would the outer cover clear tall cards with overhanging heat pipes? I'm leaning towards no.

Disadvantages

* not an attractive device when ran without outer shell. Too industrial with sharp edges compared to the softer, more consumer orientated AKiTiO's looks.

* US$349-shipped versus US$189+shipping for AKiTiO

Would I buy it? Not for US$340. US$220 would get my interest.

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  • 4 months later...
Advantages over the AKiTiO Thunder2

* looks like a 9.5" card like the (now discontinued) EVGA GTX970 SC/FTW would fit with fans removed.

* fitting longer cards like 10.5" cards like EVGA GTX970 SSC/FTW+ or MSI GTX970 Gaming 4G where the performance is at? Hmm... have no clear picture of the plate for the fan mount. Does that and the top bar just unscrew off the bottom plate? If so then it eliminates bending the chassis as we are with the AKiTiO.

* looks like a molex end on the x16 board and TB board so can plug an ATX PSU directly into it. Nice.

* enclosure is 16cm tall. Would the outer cover clear tall cards with overhanging heat pipes? I'm leaning towards no.

Disadvantages

* not an attractive device when ran without outer shell. Too industrial with sharp edges compared to the softer, more consumer orientated AKiTiO's looks.

* US$349-shipped versus US$189+shipping for AKiTiO

Would I buy it? Not for US$340. US$220 would get my interest.

now the rocketstor 6361a has become available at a price point at 230$ and is now cheaper for me than the akitio would you still recommend the akitio? i dont care about the psu and the exterior i just want the best and easiest method/device

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The AKiTiO is better known here, guess the support here might be better with that.

Still, the 6361 looks nice as well, as long as you will just use the PCB. The PCB design gives us a lot of nice possiblities. Should be worth a try :D

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now the rocketstor 6361a has become available at a price point at 230$ and is now cheaper for me than the akitio would you still recommend the akitio? i dont care about the psu and the exterior i just want the best and easiest method/device

US$233 from B&Hphotovideo: HighPoint RocketStor 6361A Thunderbolt 2 PCIe ROCKETSTOR 6361A . Nice.

The same set of ITX cards that fit with AKiTiO Thunder2 would fit this chassis. If that's what you intend to do then no problem.

Same Dell DA-2 power mods for that AC adapter would be needed. ATX PSU use here *might* be easier since looks like could attach 2 molex leads directly and so bypass the need to create a molex-to-barrel adapter.

It's only when trying to adapt longer cards that a closer look at the chassis would be required to figure how to make it fit.

Oh and one other benefit could be AMD cards working here whereas they've been problematic with the Thunder2.

Would be great if a eGPU user took a leap of faith on one of these and reported their implementation experience.

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I'd definitely choose RocketStor. Actually I might order one. If it turns out to be stable with R9 AMDs, I see no reason to use AKiTiO.

EDIT:

I thought first the price drop was in Europe too... hmm, have to rethink about this.

It's likely that the 4-pin molex is for providing power to the TB board, not to PCIe board. We know that AKiTiO works as back powered but it's risky to assume the same with this product. I don't know what would be the most safe approach to try straight 4-pin plug connection. Multimeter tests may reveal something, but can we be sure?

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  • 2 months later...

I would be willing to take a crack at it. I have started ordering things to make an eGPU for a Late 2013 Retina with 750M. Have already ordered the PSU and am hopping to get the Sapphire R9 390 during a deal. I can return the PSU and PCIe Chassis if it does not work out but I can not return the card for an Nvidia ect.

If there is nothing obviously wrong with this enclosure I will go ahead with it and give it a shot. I would be stuck with an unstable card if this does not though but willing to take that chance.

I am aware that the card is too long to fit inside the chassis, I will test outside first and if it works I will modify the chassis.

Update: Ordered GPU and cables. Ordering the PCIe Sunday.

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It looks like it uses a 7mm x 2.5mm barrel plug by comparing the thunderbolt port to the barrel size (crude I know) which is going to make making a barrel adapter hard. Will know for sure when I have it in my hand but it does not look like it is a standard barrel plug.

Update: Found a higher res image (thanks Apple) could very well be a 5.5 x 2.5mm.

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Hey there! I'm curious how the assembly goes because I'd like to build something similar.

I have a macbook pro 13" late 2014 i5 128gb ssd

In Canada the 6361A is cheaper than getting an Akitio. (200 cheaper?)

I'd like to buy the radeon r9 nano for the setup (small and powerful is why, also because I want a free sync 2k monitor: ASUS MG279Q)

And I'd like a clean simple power solution that isn't as atrocious as the akitio ones on here (in terms of aesthetics)

I see a DC plug in the 6361A. Is it actually possible to power the egpu via AC DC adaptor, such as this one through that port? Amazon.com: Dell Extra Slim 19.5V 12.3A 240W Replacement AC Adapter For Dell Alienware M17x, M17x10-1847DSB laptop, Dell Alienware M18x, AM18X-6732BAA: Computers & Accessories

because if it is that would be so much cleaner.... it'd be as elegant as my MacBooks charger.

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Hey there! I'm curious how the assembly goes because I'd like to build something similar.

I have a macbook pro 13" late 2014 i5 128gb ssd

In Canada the 6361A is cheaper than getting an Akitio. (200 cheaper?)

I'd like to buy the radeon r9 nano for the setup (small and powerful is why, also because I want a free sync 2k monitor: ASUS MG279Q)

And I'd like a clean simple power solution that isn't as atrocious as the akitio ones on here (in terms of aesthetics)

I see a DC plug in the 6361A. Is it actually possible to power the egpu via AC DC adaptor, such as this one through that port? Amazon.com: Dell Extra Slim 19.5V 12.3A 240W Replacement AC Adapter For Dell Alienware M17x, M17x10-1847DSB laptop, Dell Alienware M18x, AM18X-6732BAA: Computers & Accessories

because if it is that would be so much cleaner.... it'd be as elegant as my MacBooks charger.

On the opening post you can just make out the DC jack uses a 12V input, just like the AKiTiO Thunder2. So the linked AC adapter running at 19.5V is not compatible.

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Status update: I have got it all setup and working but there has been some stability problems, probably similar to the AKiTio Thunder 2. It works fine and is stable in Windows 8.1 for about 5 - 10 min and then either freezes or black screens. I have not been able to install AMD Crimson due to it saying there is no AMD card but I was able to import the windows driver to get video output. Mac support has its issues too with not liking two monitors. Both Windows and Mac were stable at one point but then something changed and its unstable now. Trying Windows 10 now to see how that works.

I do have FileVault enabled which I know has been talked about possibly affecting Mac support but like I said it was stable at one point.

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Windows 10 is a lot more stable than 8.1 for me. The crashes where common at the very start but after a while it become stable. I raw stress test and memory tests for 30min it was stable enough that I could play some Insurgency after (Was a blast at max settings 120fps). Once trying to launch Just Cause 2 though it died. In the process breaking the win install due to force shutting down the computer.

When it crashes there seems to be two types.

Type 1: Hardware cursor gets large and pixelated then sometimes static like screen output and then video drops.

Type 2: Sudden freeze resulting in stuttering audio and eventually black freeze.

Type 1 happens soon after boot within 5 - 15 min unsure why but seems to have stopped.

Type 2 the one I have been having problems with recently is interesting as it does not happen with load or idle. Does not crash the system only the GPU.

Type 2 is what happened the last time after it was running for over an hour with fluctuating load. I clicked display settings in JC2 and at that instant the audio stuttered and had to shutdown the card.

If anyone has any idea on what could be causing the random drops I would be open to test things.

Here are the GPU-Z logs of the last 3 crashes if they provide any help. (Ignore the small group in beginning thats the NVIDA gpu)

Crash 1: Crash 1 - Pastebin.com

Crash 2: Crash 2 - Pastebin.com

Crash 3: Part 1: Crash 3 part 1 - Pastebin.com 2: Crash 3 part 2 - Pastebin.com

As for Mac support I have not been able to get it to boot, just getting a black screen. Have not messed with it at all as Windows is my main priority at the moment to stabilize. Also I am currently using a CX750M as my EVGA 650 got delayed.

Edit:

GOOD NEWS!

I am 99.99% sure the issue is the PSU as I have been able to monitor the amps in and watch it drop to almost zero before crashing as well as voltage being 11.65. If it turns out that this is the case than this enclosure should be stable with R9 3xx cards. Now I get to work on Mac integration. Will be posting in a provision thread from here on out as to not clutter this thread.

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@YukonAppleGeek:

I suppose that you haven’t tried a direct 2 x 4-pin molex from an ATX PSU? May be too adventurous. Does it pass 3DMark11 and 3DMark13, including physics? My R9 2xx cards & AKiTiO were stable only when stressed, and crashed always after a few rounds of physics test. R9 390 didn’t crash in physics loop, but in other sections it did.

Thanks for testing! Looking forward to see some pictures :)

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  • 1 month later...

@goalque I have tried connecting the molex directly and that powers it as well but still crashes.

Looking for any suggestions on what I can try to get it stable. I have a 960 that I can test to see if its a R9 390 specific issue like the Thunder.

 

I plan on retuning the enclosure by Feb 1st if we are unable to make it stable, will repurpose GPU and PSU for a computer latter down the line.

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7 minutes ago, YukonAppleGeek said:

@goalque I have tried connecting the molex directly and that powers it as well but still crashes.

Looking for any suggestions on what I can try to get it stable. I have a 960 that I can test to see if its a R9 390 specific issue like the Thunder.

 

I plan on retuning the enclosure by Feb 1st if we are unable to make it stable, will repurpose GPU and PSU for a computer latter down the line.

 

Can you post pics of how you've cabled it all up as well as a photo of your PSU's power ratings? Am curious if you are using a barrel connector from your PSU is patching through a molex to the internal molex connector.

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2 hours ago, Tech Inferno Fan said:

 

Can you post pics of how you've cabled it all up as well as a photo of your PSU's power ratings? Am curious if you are using a barrel connector from your PSU is patching through a molex to the internal molex connector.

Here are some pictures http://imgur.com/a/QhJQq, note this is with the 960. I also have a barrel plug that takes power from PCIe cable but am trying molex at the moment.

 

Have not had a single crash from the 960 so this enclosure could be 100% stable with Nvidia.

eGPU
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  • 1 month later...

Thought I would give an update on my setup. I now have a Asus 980 TI Strix and it perfectly stable.

 

I personally think this enclosure is much better than the Thunder2 specifically for not needing to make a barrel plug (something I did at first though). Windows is tricky to get it to boot but that is a Windows thing and does work (have not tried setup 1.3). Another thing that is nice about this enclosure is it has auto on/off support meaning if it is not connected to a computer the gpu is completely powered off. It also has two fan headers if your case needs them. The enclose that is a very nice all aluminum though is not able to be used unless you use a single slot gpu sadly.

 

TL;DR Great solution alternative to the Thunder2 for only $30 more ($219 B&H Free/Shipping) with much easier setup and features.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks all for the posts and pictures in this thread. Based on all your finding I went down the path of the Highpoint. The cost was the same as the AKiTiO from B&H so it was a no brainer. Really like the molex plug idea to power everything (no power plug sticking out the case), and the clean, simple extraction of the PCIe card from the housing to do the initial tests was a plus. I figured if it didn't perform as expected, then I could always re-purpose. Currently ticking over happily with a EVGA 980Ti Hybrid.

I have unrelated software/hardware issues running daVinci Resolve with NVIDIA based internal GPU's on a couple of iMacs (see this thread) but very happy with this card

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On January 8, 2016 at 0:31 AM, YukonAppleGeek said:

Here are some pictures http://imgur.com/a/QhJQq, note this is with the 960. I also have a barrel plug that takes power from PCIe cable but am trying molex at the moment.

 

Have not had a single crash from the 960 so this enclosure could be 100% stable with Nvidia.

wow!!! I'm liking this!!! I'm getting one today and will try the molex setup directly from PSU:)

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