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2014 13" MBP + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1/OSX10.10.3 [ba10s118]


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Hello guys! 

I decided to make a decent post now - showing my progress so far! 

Arma 3 inspired case!

post-35805-14495000178373_thumb.jpg


Hardware

2014 13" Macbook Pro Retina 
i5-4278U 2.6Ghz CPU
HD5100 Iris iGPU
128gb SSD 8GB Ram
Henge Docks 
Apple TB->Ethernet (Daisy chained to Akitio)
AOC 29" 21:9 screen (temporary - 4k next) 
Akitio Thunder 2 PCIe 
KFA2 GTX970 OC mini 
Corsair CX430M (Current power supply) 
Dell Da-2 Power supply (Is bought - waiting for it)

Software/OS

Bootcamt /w uEFI mod
Windows 8.1 Enterprise 64bit as main. 
OSX Yosemite 10.10.3
Nvidia 352 driver (win)

Mods
 

  • Power supply mod (Da-2 upcoming!)
  • Akitio Case mod



Hardware for mods

6mm2 Wire (red+black)
0.75mm2 Wire (red+black)
XT60 power plug (rated to 65 amp)
5.5x2.5mm DC-barrel
3x60mm fan grill
2x92mm fan grill
Heatshrinking tube
Ribbon gun
Dremel multi tool
Assorted soldering items


MOD: Cables inside the Akitio box ( Including DC-barrel mod ) 




MOD: Power supply DA-2




MOD: Akitio Case




Final touch!




Benchmarks

Here are some benchmarks - for some odd reason, 3dmark tells me that I have a 4710HQ, when I use a i5-4278U

3dmark13-FS.GPU=10476
3dmark11.GPU=13182

post-35805-14495000177982_thumb.png


Errors/fails Experienced during the building process

After installing Win 8.1 via bootcamp, the Akitio would boot /w a black screen (internal and external)
Solution: uEFI mod install required

Apple Thunderbolt to ethernet would cause black boot screen when Akitio and ethernet adapter connected
ATBN=Apple thunderbolt nic
Solution: The ATBN must NOT be connected in the akitio, the ATBN must be connected to the TB2 port closest to the magsafe. Start the PC, open boot selection, wait for about 1.5 minute - start from there.

 

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And the final touch has been done to the product.

However - I experience some odd situations.

Windows boots into something gpt if I have anything USB connected? WHY ?

And If i try to use my Apple thunderbolt-> ethernet adapter, I boot to black screen - It works without the Akitio box. FIXED Let apple nic initialize in boot selection for about a minute

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Beautiful work. In case you've missed it, bsohn has found an excellent place for a native Dell DA-2 input port and on-off switch at http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/10099-2012-15-mbp-gt650m-gtx970%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-win7-osx10-10-3%5Bbsohn%5D.html#post134675, giving a factory appearance.

Your guide is almost ready to be shuttled into the guides section. To be added to the appropriate spot on the leaderboard at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt would you mind running 3dmark13-Firestrike and 3dmark11 on an external LCD attached to your eGPU and linking the result URL?

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Yeah have the problem with the USB as well. Have to boot without any USB drives attached!

I hope someone finds a solution for this - it's kinda annoying.

Beautiful work. In case you've missed it, bsohn has found an excellent place for a native Dell DA-2 input port and on-off switch at http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/10099-2012-15-mbp-gt650m-gtx970%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-win7-osx10-10-3%5Bbsohn%5D.html#post134675, giving a factory appearance.

Your guide is almost ready to be shuttled into the guides section. To be added to the appropriate spot on the leaderboard at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt would you mind running 3dmark13-Firestrike and 3dmark11 on an external LCD attached to your eGPU and linking the result URL?

Thanks!

Yes I saw his nice work, however I wanted a decent plug that could handle a lot of amps, and I had some XT60 laying around.

Here are some benchmarks - for some odd reason, It tells me that I have a 4710HQ, when I use a i5-4278U

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4710HQ,Apple Inc. Mac-189A3D4F975D5FFC

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4710HQ,Apple Inc. Mac-189A3D4F975D5FFC

The benchmarks seems fairly low ?

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The benchmarks are looking good :)

I'm running some OC benchmarks, so far all stable.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/7139932?

Aaand I can't push the limit further:

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/7140018?

<dt style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px 14.8125px 8px; border-width: 2px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; clear: left; float: left; width: 259.4375px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 21px; background-color: rgb(240, 240, 240);">Core clock</dt><dd style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px 14.8125px 8px; border-width: 2px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; width: 422.5px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 21px; background-color: rgb(240, 240, 240);">1,266 MHz</dd><dt style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px 14.8125px 8px; border-width: 2px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; clear: left; float: left; width: 259.4375px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 21px; background-color: rgb(240, 240, 240);">Memory bus clock</dt><dd style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px 14.8125px 8px; border-width: 2px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; width: 422.5px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 21px; background-color: rgb(240, 240, 240);">1,973 MHz</dd>

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  • 1 year later...

Hey.  I saw that you have a henge dock.  Is it the vertical one?  Are you able to connect the eGPU through the thunderbolt adapters on the dock?  Got my Akitio working, but not through the dock.

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