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2014 15" MBP Iris + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1/OSX10.10 [Dschijn#2]


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  • 2 months later...
i have MBPr 2015 with discrete graphic amd r9 m370x. can i run with external GPU under OSX yosemite or el capitan?

Yes, but only with an external monitor connected to the eGPU (for gaming).

Rendering, like Octane, can be done on any monitor (even the internal).

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Are you able to test Breaking Point (ARMA3) or Day Z? Both are very GPU intensive so would be cool to see what sort of FPS the system can manage :)

Arma 3 and DayZ (standalone and Arma 2 derived mods) are VERY CPU intensive - Arma 2 almost exclusively. Arma 3 is a bit more GPU dependent depending on your settings, but regardless of OP's results I'd look to CPU for the cause of any potential FPS woes.

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If games are very CPU intensive, I would say that the CPU clock speed will drop to 2.8-3GHz because of the amount of heat generated.

On the topic of CPUs, I've been looking at a few different MBPs to go with - you seem to have experience with at least a few - I was wondering if you had any broad comments about the differences observed between i5 dual core and i7 MBPs, and I'm also interested in the performance difference between the i7 clock speeds available - starting at 2.2 and going up to maybe 2.6 or 2.8 base clock I think?

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In general you can say that the base clock is the guaranteed minimum clock speed under load. So faster CPUs are indeed faster. I am a fan of the middle CPU option as it gives you a faster CPU for an "ok amount" of money. When playing CPU intensive games, you really need the last bit of performance.

Keep in mind that 13" dual core CPUs are already excluded from some games or run noticeable worse than quad core CPUs.

I recommend to lower the CPU voltage in Windows and maybe lower the boost clock speed as well to get stable clock speeds.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Question about your fan setup. I'm doing the same thing with two noctua fans and they seem to run extremely fast. In idle before boot up the fans are very slow and quiet. Once the system starts the fans ramp to about 45% and the sound of the air is quite noticeable. During this idle time in Windows or Mac, the gpu stays very cool and I'm sure the fans are going much faster than they need to be so I'd like to slow them down. Under load the speed increases slightly and the card gets to about 80degrees and holds there with fans at 53%.

How loud is your fan setup and are you using any resistors? The sound of the airflow with mine are definatly louder if not as loud as the stock fans at this speed. I'll try some speed reduces and see if they make a difference, I know I have quite a bit of headroom in the pwm range anyway.

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@HammerFET:

So you connected the fans to the GPU directly and control them by PWM on the 4-Pin plug?

The problem is that the GPU is controlling the fans by checking the tacho signal, so your fans run at the same speed as the stock fans. But bigger fans are louder at the same rpm as small fans.

I created a custom fan profil in Windows for my GPU with EVGA Precision X or MSI Afterburner. For low temperatures I lowered the PWM signal to 20%, which is the lowest and about 1100rpm and quiet. For load I increase the PWM signal to (cant check right now, but I guess) 55% which is the full speed of the fans (about 2200rpm). Any higher PWM signal will NOT result in higher fan speeds.

My temperatures are mostly below 80°C but can reach 80°C in games like GTA V or FarCry 4 -> games that can put 99-100% load on the GPU.

For OSX there is currently no way to lower the fan speed, the only way would be to flash an edited BIOS to the GPU inside a regular PC (not in the AKiTiO)!

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@HammerFET:

Any higher PWM signal will NOT result in higher fan speeds.

My temperatures are mostly below 80°C but can reach 80°C in games like GTA V or FarCry 4 -> games that can put 99-100% load on the GPU.

!

Dschijn thank you for you detailed guidelines. I have built a similar setup with galax 970. I also cut the side of akitio for 2 black 120mm akasa filters. Thus I am using stock fan with the 970 and I wonder if noctuas improved your cooling (I am ok with the sound) . Also I wonder if I should cut the top for exhaust exit. Although I haven't tested it with full load, it showed similar temperature figures.

BTW 12V 16mm LED Power Push Button Switch fits perfectly to the front. I cut the corners of two 60mm fans and placed it in between. Unfortunately blue LED one's clicker died after 10 clicks and I switched to the red instead. Waiting your comments.

post-38973-14495001121935_thumb.jpg

Cheers!

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@toxec: It helped a bit. I am still hitting 80°C with that fans but with a good overclock. Most important is to have a good air intake. Making a good exhaust is helping the air to get out of the case and lowering the "force" needed to press air into the case.

Good job with the button :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

@Dschijn I drilled around 3985 2mm holes at the top, bottom and side of the box as @seefew 's grey akitio setup. Drilling only the side increased the inner air pressure and limited air flow. Opening the top and the bottom helped a lot. Now on idle it works around 20-33℃ and on full load it works around 55-72℃. As mentioned above I am using 2X60mm fans in the front and stock 970 fan without overclock.

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On the other hand I am using a generic 8pin-6pin cable setup with dell adapter. The power switch is connected between a power line and adapter's pin. Thus cables are a bit longer than required (creating around 1-2 microfarad in total) and touching graphic card and board. Therefore I am considering direct soldering to the graphic card's back or at least a minimalist setup as @seefew to have efficient frequency. Thus I do not know whether I should get rid of the power switch. I like how it works but I worry if it charges electricity to the mac's thunderbolt socket when it starts first.(I am not using grounded magsafe so I guess it should be fine either way). I might solder a line between akitio's capacitor and dell adapter's switch pin to benefit 3V coming from mac's thunderbolt socket. Thus I wonder If waking akitio's board and the graphic card with mac's power will have an affect on the booting sequence resulting mac not to start on the external graphic unit.(always on unit is not an option)

BTW does anyone tested magma roben 3tx?

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  • 1 month later...

I was able to achieve much better CPU scores in 3d Mark with the trick to send my MB into Hibernate mode after a fresh boot into Windows 8.1. Without that trick my system would have a constant CPU load of 10-20% by some process. Sending my MB into Hibernate is solving this issue.

 

With that, -80mV on the CPU and fans working at full blast I got this result:

Score 9318

Graphics Score
11029
Physics Score
9668

That is a gain in 1300 points in Physics and 300 in the overall score:

Before: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6911334

After: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/9979912

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  • 2 weeks later...

@ljwebb236 Well… I would need someone to compare it to.

My aim was to use bigger fans to move more air and have a more quiet eGPU. In summery I am running the GTX970 overclocked with a boost over 1400MHz and between 75-80°C with the two fans running at 2000rpm.

Additionally the fans are so close to the wall of the case, that they only bring in fresh air into the system and not have the risk the recycle used/warm air.

 

In general the stock fans are enough and good and my system has room ro improve as well.

Edited by Dschijn
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  • 4 weeks later...

@Dschijn Can you post a picture of how you cut the case for the DA2 plug? It looks like a nice place for the plug.

 

I've used hot glue to stick the plug and the switch to the GPU's grill. Thing is - I can't use the 2 slot card holder from akitio anymore - that would be without cutting it. I don't really want to cut it so I think I'm going to do a rewire.

I've ordered this custom cable that you guys were talking about.

 

I spent a ton of time trying to get the pins out and back in, broken pins & whatnot. I hope this cable would help me do better wiring.

 

As you can see in the photos, the wires are not so long and they're going into the back of the board - which is not great. Then if I close the case, the thick cable would touch the copper pipes and I'm afraid that this would damage the cable when it really heats up. Did you remove Akitio's fan? I haven't removed it for now and I'm not sure if that's necessary. I could keep it and put it the other way around so that it pulls air from the case

 

For now, I'm feeding all the DA2 12V positions into the GPU and I'm also using Akitio's PSU.

I've read about some instability issues so I've built a small PCB with 3 2200uF 24V capacitors. Do you guys think these would work fine?

Would using both Akitio's PSU and the DA2 work fine? Or is it just a matter of many cables? I figure that if I use both PSUs, there wouldn't be any need for the capacitors.

 

I'm also thinking about not using the barrel plug, but soldering the cables to the back of the case plug. 

 

 

 

 

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IMG_7193 copy.jpg

Edited by razvani
PICTURES
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@razvani Sorry, no more pictures, because the eGPU is in the mail :(

But that plug can be been on the first post with the DA-2 plugged in. From the backside the cut is on the right of the case screw and the plug itself snuggles into the gap that is inside the case betwen the back of the case and the lower end of the GPUs i/o shield.

On your picture it would be the very bottom left from the inside.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dschjin,

       I have finished my eGPU and have been playing games flawlessly on them. I want to follow the same exact build you have minus a few electrical things but I am just wondering on the fans for the side of the case. I am just wondering which of these fans will work, if I order two of them, 

http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-Ultra-Silent-140mm-NF-P14/dp/B002XISTXM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608031

 and if they do work, if this wire would work as well to connect them to the graphics card. 

http://www.moddiy.com/products/4%252dPin-PWM-Fan-Connector-(Male)-to-4%252dPin-Mini-GPU-Fan-Connector-(Female).html

 

http://www.amazon.com/OKGEAR-n-a-140mm-Chrome/dp/B0012UWHYY/ref=pd_sim_147_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=41EneBlsqDL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1A1BT0MG96HJTE4E9X2W

 

I want to make cuts on the case, but I want to make sure I have all the parts I need. Please let me know if you have any advice. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

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I doubt that a 140mm fan will fit...

I used 92mm fans that are very slim, just 14mm thick, the Noctua A-Series NF-A9x14 you linked.

For the connection to the GPU I used this one, to connect two fans at once: http://www.moddiy.com/products/4%252dPin-VGA-PWM-Mini-Connector-to-Dual-PH-Mini-4%252dPin-Fan-Cable-Splitter.html

And of course a pair of 92mm black fan grills.

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5 hours ago, Dschijn said:

I doubt that a 140mm fan will fit...

I used 92mm fans that are very slim, just 14mm thick, the Noctua A-Series NF-A9x14 you linked.

For the connection to the GPU I used this one, to connect two fans at once: http://www.moddiy.com/products/4%252dPin-VGA-PWM-Mini-Connector-to-Dual-PH-Mini-4%252dPin-Fan-Cable-Splitter.html

And of course a pair of 92mm black fan grills.

I appreciate the feedback, I will send pictures when I am all done, thank you.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Dschijn,

     So I got all my supplies together today and I noticed that the splitter and the power cable that comes off the fans are two different sizes, the fan I bought is the NF-A9x14 I linked previously, is there a fix to this problem like an adapter, or did I get the wrong fans. Side note: the splitter you linked fits perfectly on the graphics card so now I just need the fans to plug it into. Thank you.

 

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Uhhhhh damn. I am so sorry. I linked the wrong splitter. It should have been this one: http://www.moddiy.com/products/Mini-4%252dPin-GPU-to-2-x-4%252dPin-PWM-Fan-Adapter.html

 

Really sorry. You can still use the splitter you bought, but you would have to solder new plugs on it.

Edited by Dschijn
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