Morv

I have a 2012 Retina MacBook Pro (HD4000 and GT650M), 16GB RAM. I have an AKiTio Thunder 2, a KFA2/Galax GTX970 and a Dell DA-2 (powering AKiTio via barrel mod)

I installed Windows 10 on an external USB SSD, I installed it following this guide BleepToBleep: Mac: Install Windows 7 or 8 on an external USB3 or Thunderbolt drive without using bootcamp

If I boot into Win10 with the eGPU connected, Windows acts like it isn't there. I see no code 12 devices in Device Manger, nothing freezes, nothing odd happens at all.

If I boot into OS X, I can see the Thunder 2 listed but there is no sign of the GTX970.

The GTX970 works in another PC, so I know that that is functional.

I'm at a loss, I was expecting to at least errors with it plugged and then I could work to resolve those.

edit; I see that this was moved to the end of large sticky thread, can I ask why this forum is organised like that? I have found it confusing to navigate when trying to find information before. (this isn't me having a moan, I'm just curious as to why things are like this!)

Have you installed the Bootcamp software for Windows 10? There included is the Thunderbolt driver(afaik) so that might be the reason that you're not seeing anything regarding the Thunder2 or the GTX 970.

For OS X, have you actually run goalque's script or why did you post there without any further information on what you've done and what not? I saw your post over there.

@Philipp_Riedl: Press "⌘ + Shift + 3" to create a screenshot of your whole deskopt. Press "⌘ + Shift + 4" to draw a rectangle whose content will be saved as a new screenshot. There's no need to take screenshots with a camera.

In my past research i found that there are plenty of more powerful da2 style psu on ebay. Found up to 300w but they dont have plastic casing and have screw type terminals for wiring so more diy.

If you mean those thingies -> http://www.ebay.de/itm/DC-12V-8A-10A-15A-20A-25A-30A-LED-Trafo-Netzteil-Netzadapter-Fur-Streifen-Stripe-/252047831154?var=&hash=item3aaf38b07 then I know what kind of you're talking about but they're ugly.

Great info!

Thanks a lot Morv

I went to check 780 Power and the reviews seem to show it its 400W+

I would really need an external PSU.

I was thinking about getting one TFX400. Its small, modular, and gives few more power. The size will be more or less the same like Dell. There are similar solutions from BeQuiet

About the Gigabyte 970 Mini.... i really had the idea it would fit!!

So, is there a lit of cards that fit? Will the normal 970 fit? Or the 970 mini from Asus?

Any 980 that fit?

No, the Asus won't fit either, same problem. GTX 980 are too long in general. You won't get anything above the GTX 970 into the case. Comparable usual AMD cards are not available in these lengths either.

GTX 970 that fit are the one from Zotac with 2 fans, KFA2/Galax GTX 970 with 2 fans, Inno3D HerculeZ X2, Inno3D Combat with one fan. That's about it.

Check some of the implementation guides for Apple systems -> Implementation Guides - Apple

There are plenty of GTX 970 implementations so you might get some idea.

After checking some benchmarks im wondering why would I pay 700e for a Nano, to see 14k score (with OC , default is 12k as seen in Guru), when I can also get Gigabyte 970 Mini (same size) for 320e (-400e almost) and I will do 11500k score (with OC)

In other words, Nano costs 2x more 970 Mini, but only delivers 1.28x more performance (OC Vs OC compare).

Idk why you're quoting me on this, I just answered a question regarding the powering. And at the moment of the answer there was no benchmark result available and no price either.

Stupid question. Sorry Tech Inferno Fan

Didn't notice that one.

In other words, if I want to use Akitio but keep myself portable, is there any 12V output like the dell, but with 300w for eg? Im asking it just in case I want to keep my 780 gtx until next year

I don't want to take an entire PSU with me...

EDIT: Just saw this one:

Seasonic SS-300TFX 300W 80 Plus Bronze

Its very small and delivers few extra W. I could try to mod it.

What do you think?

BTW, what kind of connector mods do I need for the dell?

Is the dell feeding both GPU and akitio ?

If you want to use your GTX 780 you have to use another case anyway as there isn't any GTX 780 that fits the Akitio case, unless you want to destroy your Akitio case and open the front. So for the time you're using the GTX 780 just get any ATX PSU that delivers enough power. Switch to the DA-2 once you've got a GTX 970 that fits into the case.

Also don't buy the Gigabyte GTX 970 Mini, it doesn't fit in the case, it's too tall.

Dell DA-2 and GTX 970 works fine, so for that there is no need to search for a bigger PSU. There aren't any other PSUs in the style of the Dell DA-2 that deliver more power anyway. The bigger ones that exist have almost every time a voltage different to 12V, so it's unusable.

For the cables just check 2nd post of this thread -> http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/9426-220w-dell-da-2-ac-adapter-discussion.html

It could be possible with and adapter, it would be easier to handle it, if just the pci-e signal is going through the propriatary port. So you "just" would need a Alienware propriatary to thunderbolt 3 adapter.

Nope. Thunderbolt needs chips on both ends to verify a proper legit connection. So you don't simply create an adapter that converts the Alieware connector to Thunderbolt.

That's why EXP GDC and PE4C don't(=can't) offer HDMI to Thunderbolt cables in their way cheaper adapters compared to Akitio Thunder2.

At least in the past Intel wouldn't allow such products because they have control over who is allowed to create Thunderbolt products. Maybe it will change with Thunderbolt 3 but I don't think so.

Cant we use this Alienware amplifier in any other TB2 supported laptop?

No, of course not. The amplifier connector is proprietary and designed by Alienware to work with their notebooks only. The amplifier is not connected via Thunderbolt.

Just watch the video on the site linked by Shez.

It's still cool though. Not wanting to bash the product but I see the future in one connector for all kinds of devices and that is Thunderbolt.

I have an alienware laptop with graphics amp, and when using an AMD gpu it does work with the laptop screen through enduro. There is nothing special about the graphics amp connection, it is a pci-e 3.0 x4 connection. There is some proprietary alienware software, but I believe that just turns on/off the mux to switch between egpu and dgpu. The igpu is connected to the laptop screen. AMD had released a special version driver called the graphics amp driver when the graphics amp came out. But now I hear that any recent AMD driver should work. So not sure why custom egpu solutions still can't use the internal screen.

Also, all the TB3 egpu demos have been using the external screen. There is no guarantee that TB3 will support using the laptop screen so far.

But the connector is special, isn't it? Locking you out from using it with any other notebook that is not "amplified".

With Thunderbolt you might buy one eGPU adapter and use it with multiple different notebooks that simply provide a Thunderbolt slot.

Apart from this I don't see a reason why TB3 eGPUs won't enable internal display. It's just a PCIe connection that connects a graphics card, same as your graphics amp. Also it's already working but most people use Nvidia cards because either AMD cards are showing problems with Akitio adapter(TB2) or they wan't to profit from Optimus compression when using mPCIe or Expresscard connections.

Alienware Graphics Amplifier: Alienware Graphics Amplifier | Dell

good price with included a 460 Watts Power Supply.

Update: looks like it's not Thunderbolt 3

Those Amplifier thingies are using Alienware's own proprietary connector. So you can only use them with the Alienware notebooks that are capable of using them.

I'm finishing my setup with AKiTiO Thunder2, and to my surprise using 2 x Thunderbolt cables actually decrease performance if compare to 1 x Thunderbolt cable. I'm using Far Cry 4 for testing. 1 x Thunderbolt cable gives me 68 fps on native resolution, meanwhile 2 x Thunderbolt cables gives me 45! fps. I'm confused. Can anyone confirm or refute?

Also i've noticed that in implementation hub under 'bandwidth' column some values like 16Gbps-TB2 are present. AFAIK TB2 has 10Gbps bandwidth.

2 cables for what and how?

16 Gbps is correct for Thunderbolt 2.

10 Gbps is Thunderbolt 1.

Thunderbolt 3 will be 32 Gbps.

I have installed Windows 8.1 on USB drive. Hibernation mode on win 8.1 is not available at all. Both my Win7 and Win8 installed in MBR mode. Do you have EFI Win8?

Yes, EFI Win 8.1 Pro. Usual installation via Bootcamp. Additionally I applied the Optimus mod from here -> http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-apple/8558-%5Bguide%5D-macbook-enabling-optimus-internal-lcd-mode.html

Without the mod I didn't have Sleep or Hibernate available anyway with eGPU attached but no load on "System" either. After applying the mod I had the load and I'm following the described procedure from above successfully to get rid of it since then.

Hibernate is not working too. This options is available, but it only logging off and disables the screen. Any activity instanlty turns the display on. It is definetely not hibernation mode.

Optimus mode is enabled and working well.

That's strange. Late 2013 is basically Mid 2014 model. The only reason it's not working like for me may be that you're using Windows 7. Maybe consider switching to Windows 8(.1) or 10.

Don't use Sleep, use Hibernate. Using this for months now. If you don't have this option(idk anymore), then apply the Optimus mod for use of the internal screen with the eGPU. This enables the Sleep as well as Hibernate options(if the 2nd one isn't present before). Sleep doesn't work though like Tech Inferno Fan mentioned.

My boot is always: 1. Boot into Windows with eGPU on, hibernate when in log in screen. 2. Leave eGPU on, boot Windows again, the circle only moves a tiny bit and then you're at login screen again. The constant load of "System" is gone.

Edit: Ah, I just see that Hibernate is available, your powercfg excerpt shows it. So give it a go and see what happens.

Fury Nano looks promising! But... it needs 175W! Any idea how to properly supply this wattage?

The same way that we fire a GTX 970 with the mostly same needed wattage: A Dell DA-2. Or any other ATX PSU.

ITCM - 리뷰 - AMD ë¼ë°ì˜¨ R9 나노 최초 입수 (korean site)

If these images of the Radeon Fury Nano represent the reality then this card seems like the holy grail for our beloved Akitio case

But is very optimistic and not "right" to rely on, especially on sth like kickstarter.

What I wrote is in no way meant to be a positive aspect. There will be enough eGPU products coming up as there's a lot of money to grab.

I think these guys only want to reap their share as long as the Thunderbolt eGPU has not arrived in the mainstream. For now until the spread of TB3 devices it's still "Oh look, we create something new, give us your money so we can do it!"...

Sure, competition is nice and everything, but I'm not interested a bit in their product.

My question is how would they ensure compatibility across the osx platforms, and also how, if attempted, will they ensure plug n play capability with bootcamp partitions.

My guess: As they are already writing about Thunderbolt 3 in their product they'll make use of the "official" support of these eGPUs which will probably make the operating systems boot without hassle. The current problems mostly involve the startup of the Macbook where the EFI is blocking or getting into a wrong state because of the eGPU. Once successfully booted the Thunderbolt eGPUs already work without further problems. So, get rid of the startup problems and the rest is already done for them.

I defenitely need help getting rid of error 12 on my MacBook Pro Late 2013. I tried both DIY eGPU Setup 1.3 and 1.2.

PCI compaction on 1.3 gives system freeze at the end if i choose 'all pci devices' or 'all except SATA, PATA, USB, SSD, ect' (or maybe just both of my keyboards stops working). If i choose only eGPU or eGPU + iGPU and boot to windows, my GTX970 won't even displayed in Device Manager. While PCI compatcion procedure is executed, i always see 6 errors in a row complaining something about overlapping 'bridge should not overlap..."

With DIY eGPU Setup 1.2 PCI compaction of 'iGPU + eGPU' or 'eGPU' always fails no matter what options i choose. If choose 'all pci devices' or 'all except ...' i see only a message kind of '11 new external methods found. Reparsing' and system freezes. Maybe i should wait a little longer, i dont know.

What else can i do?

Why do you need Setup 1.3? Late 2013 models are known to be plug and play without further modifications of Windows, both iGPU only and GT 750M models.

Which eGPU adapter are you using?

Do not buy this. You would limit yourself to 5 Gbps instead of the 16 Gbps your Macbook is capable of. Additionally the Akitio costs less than this bundle, currently 217$ on Amazon.com for example. If you buy a Dell DA-2 to power your eGPU you'd have an additional ~25$ or about 40-50$ for a usual ATX PSU. Both variants would cost less and will provide you with the full bandwidth that you can get.

Hi.

My eGPU setup:

Nvidia GTX 980 Ti (reference)

Corsair VS450

AKITIO Thunder2 PCIe Box\

MacBook Pro Retina 16GB 650M.

Software:

Windows 8.1.

MSI Afterburner.

Latest Nvidia drivers.

Problem:

When i trying to play any game my external monitor goes to black screen. Sometimes it goes black when i just started the game, sometimes when i played a game for hour(less or more). I think my PSU does not give enough power to eGPU, isn't it?

How are you powering the Akitio? Riser or barrel plug mod? Akitio PSU(I don't hope so)? The VS450 should deliver enough as reference needs only 1 x 8 pin and 1 x 6 pin PCIe plugs(makes 300W together as max. consumption by PCIe specifications) and not 2 x 8 pin like most of the gaming custom models where the PSU might come too short.

Thanks for the answer! I will try to do molex-to-barrel adapter. In the future, I plan to use Dell ZVC220HD12S1. It is more compact and, together with the eGPU it will look better. I would be happy if you know the instructions how to connect this adapter to Akitio. As far as I understand it will be enough power for my GTX970.

See http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/9426-220w-dell-da-2-ac-adapter-discussion.html.

The PSU you mentioned is the Dell DA-2 and that's already in use by some of us. It's really easy if you use 2 6 pin PCIe splitters but you can also order an already complete cable set from eBay.

See http://forum.techinferno.com/mac-os-x-discussion/10399-silverlight-egpu.html for a similar problem.

Try setting your internal screen as your main screen followed by trying to play the video in Safari.

@Woosypan: You've got any friend that could lend you his graphics card? Or you give him a visit to test it at his place. This way you might check if it's simply the graphics card that's making trouble in whichever way or if it's maybe the adapter that is faulty. Another point might be to obtain Setup 1.3 and either do some magical compaction stuff or whatever(idk that much about it) or force the connection to x1.1 so you can if your connection is simply not stable. This happens.

Additionally, although I can understand your situation, posting the same stuff in different threads won't magically let a solution fall from the sky. The DIY experiences thread is usually well visited so if you haven't got a solution presented it may be because it's difficult to find.

So right now I have working egpu as posted earlier : Akitio thunder2, an ATX PSU and an EVGA 660sc. It's working fine but I'm curious of the power it consumes and can handle, the gpu has only one 6-pin connector, so I have that and the Akitio power supply powering everything, I have a powered riser cable on the way, so my question is- should I use the powered riser + 6 pin + Akitio PSU? Or leave as is? Or should I use the powered riser + 6 pin and no Akitio PSU? Thanks in advance

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Do not(!) use a powered riser, they're not recommended and cause instability. Buy a Dell DA-2 PSU and this cable -> Akitio Egpu 8 Pin to 2 x PCI E 6 Pin Male and 1 x ID 2 5mm OD 5 5mm Barrel | eBay

Then you fire up graphics cards up to 220W. GTX 970s are running fine with it for example.

If you don't live in the USA and you don't want to import that cable, then just buy 2 6 pin PCIe splitters (1 6 pin PCIe -> 2 6/8 pin PCIe).

And don't fire that GTX 660 with the Akitio PSU, you're probably torturing it as it only has 60W. It's strange that it's running at all.

After applying the Optimus mod you have Sleep enabled but it's useless because your machine will simply restart after trying to wake up.

Hibernation on the other hand works perfectly even if you shut your eGPU off between boots. I have to use hibernation to get rid of the constant load on "System". After boot at login screen I hibernate without logging in and then I simply boot Windows again and everything is fine.

GTX 690 is an internal SLI setup. You don't really want this at all on your already limited bandwidth if it's possible to run at all. Sell it and get a single core GPU.