2015 MBP 15" w/ dGPU R9 m370x + EVGA gtx 980 TI?

[unapalada 1]

Hi guys,

 

I've been following some of the eGPU guides very closely as I've decided to piece together my MBP 15" 2015 with the AMD R9 with an EVGA gtx 980 TI so I can virtually do almost anything with one laptop ranging from music production, to heavy gaming and with the upcoming Oculus and HTC Vive, thought I could throw that in the mix as well.

 

Using this link: https://odd-one-out.serek.eu/thunderbolt-2-egpu-setup-using-akitio-thunder2/ 

 

I did want to see if I've got everything good to go as I'm no pro at this and basically able to piece together things thanks to the help of reading so much on this site. So thank you so much to users like TheGrreatGatsby and Dschijn helping me understand the what and how-to!

 

First of all, 

 

Specs:

2.5 ghz quad-core

16 gigs RAM

1 TB SSD

 

Including bootcamp, win 10 home (UEFI)

 

Things I've got (or yet to receive):

 

AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe box

PCI-Express PCI-E 8X to 16X Riser Card Flexible Ribbon Extender Cable w/Molex

EVGA 500w 80 plus power supply

Many sized screw drivers to modify the PCIe box if needed

 

I was also going to purchase the Dell 180W DA-3/DA-2 AC Power Adapter Plus Cord for OptiPlex Ultra Small Form Factor but was unsure if it was needed or not as it wasn't specified on the above link that I used to convince myself I could do this.

 

 

There isn't much or none at all that have info on combining the 980 TI with this 2015 15" MBP so I was wondering if anyone could assure me that I have the right bits and pieces and ultimately if it would work or not.

 

 

Thank you for your help and hope my questions could be answered!

 

Cheers

[Dschijn 329]

Hey,

 

please DO NOT use more than one PSU in the whole eGPU setup! You should power the GPU and the AKiTiO from one single PSU (e.g. the EVGA 500W). Please skip the Dell DA-2! Be aware that you would need an adapter cable to power the AKiTiO: e.g. https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/6543-guide-making-a-molex-to-barrel-adapter/

Why are you going to use a riser? You want to use the GPU away from the AKiTiO?

 

I was using the EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid recently and was very pleased with my 15" Intel Iris only MBPr.

[unapalada 1]

Hello!

 

Right, won't use the Dell adapter.

Basically I'm missing the molex to barrel adapter to go from the EVGA 500w to the AKiTiO?

 

Riser... just so I have the option to take it out and/or install it into the AKiTio I guess.. is that dumb?

 

Oh great, thats very reassuring that you've done it as well, even with such an overkill GPU

 

EDIT: just found this which would suffice I presume?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-molex-to-12v-5-5mm-x-2-5mm-DC-barrel-plug-AKiTiO-Thunder-PSU-adapter-/262323515108?hash=item3d13b32ee4:g:1gwAAOSwKtlWtWi4

Edited March 7, 2016 by unapalada
adding a link

[Dschijn 329]

Riser cable have often been the cause for problems for some people here. Especially "beginners" are going crazy looking for the "bad part" in their system when it's not running smooth. Using a riser is possible, often withouth problems, but you should be aware of the problem.

Riser are great if you want to put the GPU+PSU into a case, e.g. the Cooler Master Elite 130 (here you will need 2 riser!).

And if you use the riser, better use the barrel plug mod and not power the system through the molex on the riser!

 

Regarding your part list:

- maybe consider a 2m Apple TB cable

- maybe consider a adapter to power on the PSU (or do the paper clip trick)

- Barrel plug + this cable: "2xMolex -> 6-Pin PCIe" or get an "8-Pin ATX EPS extension cable" (not 8-Pin PCIe).

[unapalada 1]

I see, okay thanks for the heads up. What would you do in this situation? 

For now I'll use it without the attached molex since I've ordered it already

 

Although I am getting slightly lost in terms of what needs to be going where but I think I get it.

 

Let me try get my head around things and I'll ask more questions if needed, thanks so much again!

[JohnEnglish 10]

I'm really interested in doing this same set up, however, I'd probably put the card into a computer case. 

[unapalada 1]

6 hours ago, JohnEnglish said:

I'm really interested in doing this same set up, however, I'd probably put the card into a computer case. 

Yeah I think it'll be good for the long run too with such a beast of a card, won't have to upgrade for a while

 

I can't wait to start piecing things together..

[unapalada 1]

On 3/7/2016 at 2:03 AM, Dschijn said:

 

I was using the EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid recently and was very pleased with my 15" Intel Iris only MBPr.

 

Could I ask of your setup of this?

 

Really don't wanna fuck this up...

[Dschijn 329]

1 hour ago, unapalada said:

 

Could I ask of your setup of this?

 

1. AKiTiO Thunder2

2. Apple 2m TB cable

3. 500W be quiet! PSU

4. PSU starter plug (paperclip trick)

5. Cooler Master Elite 130

6. flexible riser x16 to x16

7. DeLOCK 41788 PCIe x16 Riser

6./7. alternative: Li-Heat Riser like this in Type-A: http://www.highflow.nl/hardware/videokaarten/li-heat-pci-e-gen-3.0-ribbon-flexible-riser-cable-black.html

---------------

8. EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid

9. 2x Noctua NF-F12 2000rpm industrial fans

10. 5,25" bay fan controller with 0-12V range

11. mini PWM to normal PWM adapter (to control the Hybrid pump via voltage on the fan controller): http://www.moddiy.com/products/Mini-4%252dPin-GPU-to-4%252dPin-Fan-Adapter.html

 

[unapalada 1]

7 hours ago, Dschijn said:

 

1. AKiTiO Thunder2

2. Apple 2m TB cable

3. 500W be quiet! PSU

4. PSU starter plug (paperclip trick)

5. Cooler Master Elite 130

6. flexible riser x16 to x16

7. DeLOCK 41788 PCIe x16 Riser

6./7. alternative: Li-Heat Riser like this in Type-A: http://www.highflow.nl/hardware/videokaarten/li-heat-pci-e-gen-3.0-ribbon-flexible-riser-cable-black.html

---------------

8. EVGA GTX 980 Ti Hybrid

9. 2x Noctua NF-F12 2000rpm industrial fans

10. 5,25" bay fan controller with 0-12V range

11. mini PWM to normal PWM adapter (to control the Hybrid pump via voltage on the fan controller): http://www.moddiy.com/products/Mini-4%252dPin-GPU-to-4%252dPin-Fan-Adapter.html

 

 

wow, sounds pretty amazing..

 

So I think I'll follow these steps: 

1. paperclip into EVGA 500w psu

2. plug gpu using riser into the AKiTiO

3. power gpu with psu

4. thunderbolt cable into laptop

 

should work right?

[wokermin 0]

3 hours ago, unapalada said:

 

wow, sounds pretty amazing..

 

So I think I'll follow these steps: 

1. paperclip into EVGA 500w psu

2. plug gpu using riser into the AKiTiO

3. power gpu with psu

4. thunderbolt cable into laptop

 

should work right?

remember those with AMD R9 M370X will have to do extra steps to make the laptop recognize the 3rd graphic card just like Gastby did.

I'd recommend buying a PSU Jump Starter Bridge instead of doing the paper clip trick (works the same but just more secured)

And of course just like Dschijin said, use 1 PSU to power your whole system and avoid using riser if you can. 

[also plug the monitor to the GPU :D] 

[unapalada 1]

2 hours ago, wokermin said:

remember those with AMD R9 M370X will have to do extra steps to make the laptop recognize the 3rd graphic card just like Gastby did.

I'd recommend buying a PSU Jump Starter Bridge instead of doing the paper clip trick (works the same but just more secured)

And of course just like Dschijin said, use 1 PSU to power your whole system and avoid using riser if you can. 

[also plug the monitor to the GPU :D] 

 

Yep I'm aware of the tweaks that I'll have to do.

I see, what would be the more secure alternative instead of using the riser? (I have decided not to use the molex on the riser if that changes anything)

 

I think I'll get the jump starter!

[Dschijn 329]

Oh I forgot to mention the barrel plug adapter! I made a 8-Pin ATX EPS -> barrel plug adapter, which is just another 12V source and hopefully a bit more reliable than 2x molex.

[unapalada 1]

34 minutes ago, Dschijn said:

Oh I forgot to mention the barrel plug adapter! I made a 8-Pin ATX EPS -> barrel plug adapter, which is just another 12V source and hopefully a bit more reliable than 2x molex.

 

Thanks again for everyones help!

 

I've ordered everything and just need to wait approximately 2 weeks so I'll be back here to update everyone.

 

Thank you!

[wokermin 0]

17 hours ago, unapalada said:

 

Yep I'm aware of the tweaks that I'll have to do.

I see, what would be the more secure alternative instead of using the riser? (I have decided not to use the molex on the riser if that changes anything)

 

I think I'll get the jump starter!

For me, I just bended the Akitio  case to connect the card directly to the board (eliminating any possibilities of error while using a riser). The open chases gives a lot of open air for the card to cool itself so i just left it out without making any case for it (not planning to move it anywhere so i don't see the point of it beside protection and look cleaner). 

Also there is option to buy a PSU switch thingy, which might becomes quite handy if you don't want to reach out to the PSU itself to turn it off. But again, i don't see the point of spending money on that

[unapalada 1]

PSU switch thingy?

 

beneficial?

[GTX_TITAN_X 10]

Hey,we've got the same thing to do!I haven't bought my 980TI yet but now I'm doing my software works to enable my iGPU in windows10.Seems you need to enter the safe mode after run the apple_os-set.efi to get the iGPU working then back to windows to get 980ti work correctly.Otherwise you will get a blue flash screen then reboot to refind.But DX12is available soon and seems can use both AMD and NVIDIA graphic card in the same time.I'm not pretty sure these steps are needed at that time.

[unapalada 1]

Oh awesome!

 

wow really?

 

could you tell me what you had to do software wise incase I get the same thing happening to me?

On 3/8/2016 at 5:25 AM, Dschijn said:

On 3/9/2016 at 4:01 PM, wokermin said:

 

On 3/9/2016 at 4:01 PM, wokermin said:

 

 

[unapalada 1]

sorry for the quoting..

 

my browser can't get rid of it for some reason and its really annoying.. accidentally pressed save..

[GTX_TITAN_X 10]

I have done the software work,it's pretty disgusting to enable so much things. But if you have done it, after that is extremely simple

[unapalada 1]

what did you have to do?

[unapalada 1]

Hi again everyone, just wanted to thank you all for your help, I've got it all set up and working completely perfectly!

Although I have to extend the display to get it working for some reason, otherwise everything was pretty much plug and play! 

 

and I did have to disable and uninstall the dGPU, but thats fine for me!

 

Cheers!

[unapalada 1]

Hello again,

 

I've come across a slight issue after many hours of using my freshly setup egpu.

approximately 9 hours into using it, the whole system stopped suddenly and I was no longer able to use it.

 

after looking up device manager, I've been hit with an error 12 ( This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system. (Code 12) )

 

so this would mean I have to do a DSDT override but I'm just wondering why I was able to use the card for so long without any problems?

I had restarted many times just to triple check everything would keep loading the way it would but to get this suddenly is a bit annoying.

and so I was wondering if anyone knew an easier fix before I start trying to tinker the DSDT override

 

any help would be great!

 

thanks always

[NaxHz 0]

On ‎23‎.‎03‎.‎2016 at 2:56 PM, unapalada said:

Hello again,

 

I've come across a slight issue after many hours of using my freshly setup egpu.

approximately 9 hours into using it, the whole system stopped suddenly and I was no longer able to use it.

 

after looking up device manager, I've been hit with an error 12 ( This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system. (Code 12) )

 

so this would mean I have to do a DSDT override but I'm just wondering why I was able to use the card for so long without any problems?

I had restarted many times just to triple check everything would keep loading the way it would but to get this suddenly is a bit annoying.

and so I was wondering if anyone knew an easier fix before I start trying to tinker the DSDT override

 

any help would be great!

 

thanks always

 

Same problem here, got unexpected code 12 very often.

 

I'm using the same MacBook Pro with M370 dGPU as yours, the same AKiTiO Thunder2 case and a GTX 960 2 GB Gaming Super Clocked from EVGA, and both powered by an EVGA 500W ITX PSU.

Software side I'm using Windows 10 Pro 64 bit (UEFI) with everything up to date, untouched Boot Camp drivers and the latest Nvidia desktop display driver downloaded direct from their website.

 

Sometimes I can boot into Windows with eGPU detected and enabled successfully, sometimes only detected with code 12 and sometimes just nothing but black screens on both internal display and external monitor.

And even I'm using eGPU right now, next minute when I reboot to install some programs and software updates, it fails to boot with eGPU enabled and report code 12 again, very annoying.

Disenabling dGPU didn't work for me, after rebooting another error code (I think it's code 35?) appeared, told me I should contact my manufacturer to update the BIOS (sorry, what?!?!) Enabled dGPU again and I got code 12 again.

 

Sorry, but I have no idea how to fix this, just keep trying reboot. I'm also researching for a solution...

I will follow this thread and keep my eye on this issue.

 

[unapalada 1]

Oh thank god I'm not alone hahah

 

I feel like if we did a DSDT override it should work without any problem, I feel like the eGPU doesn't have a completely clean path to boot up into because of both dGPU and iGPU but I don't exactly know as I'm no expert on the small details.

 

Although I feel like its helped when, I uninstall the dGPU, scan for changes then it comes up with "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter" then disable it and then restarting.

 

I used to follow the boot up steps here quite religiously: https://odd-one-out.serek.eu/windows-10-egpu-setup-optimus/

 

but like you said, I can just keep restarting and 80% of the time I'll get lucky with the eGPU hahah

although I won't be laughing when it doesn't boot up at all anymore..

 

would be nice for a solution but doesn't seem like anyone has one as of yet unfortunately D: