Sachin10

@Sachin10: exactly!

Has your powered riser a capacitor?

Because I guess the capacitor prevents the power to go back to the Akitio/mainboard?

Hey guys!

I've just ordered:

New Macbook Pro 15 with the Iris Pro

AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box

PCIe 16x to 16x Powered Riser (Molex connector)

Asus Strix GTX 970 (4GB)

Corsair RM550

Is there anything I'm missing besides a case? I'll look into a case later on once I got everything working

Is your eGPU already working?

- - - Updated - - -

@Tech Inferno Fan @jacobsson Indeed it does! The shroud slides off easily after removing those 4 screws. You can see how the Akitio had to be bent slightly outward to accomodate the card with the shroud on, but it would have clearly fit comfortably without any alterations.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12802[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12803[/ATTACH]

Don't you need a powered riser?

Bottomline is that I would advice everybody who wants to work with a AKiTiO to get a molex powered PCIe riser card to overcome the 25W. Additional benefit is, that the AKiTiO doesn't need it's own PSU and can be directly powered by the riser.

So I don't need the Akitio power supply (or a self made barel power cable) if I use a powered riser?

More link/reviews:

* The Verge

* PC World

* Tech Radar

* CNet

* Venture Beat

Got my GTX 970 EVGA SC today, will test and if everything run flawlessly on OSX I might sell my Sonnet III-D

has anyone saw the Alienware's 300$ dock eGPU? It's in engadget website 16mins ago.

Here's the link by the way. Alienware Graphics Amplifier hands-on

I wonder what type of cable you can use for this or is this only for alienware laptops?

It is probably a proprietary PCIe x4 connector. See also this discussion on the forum. It would be nice to use a PCIe cable with a standard PCIe x16 connector at one end and a Dell compatible connector at the other end. This way you could use two enclosures: one for PCIe to Thunderbolt (e.g. AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box) one for the graphics card.

It is nice to see that a PC manufacturer is building such an enclosure. I'm interesed in the PCIe connector that Dell is using. It would be nice to use a PCIe cable with a standard PCIe 16x connector at one end and a Dell compatible connector at the other end. This way you could use two enclosures: one for PCIe to Thunderbolt (e.g. AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box) one for the graphics card.

But does Optimus works flawlessly under Windows 8.1?

I don't think anybody has found a solution to use the internal display with the 15" MacBook Pro + GTX 750M. But you have a great setup to use with an external monitor.

Actually, I have not been able to test this setup yet. I'm waiting on my TB-enabled G46VW motherboard to arrive. It may very well need a powered riser, but I know that people have gotten a 760, 780 Ti, and other cards to work without a riser.

Also, what do you mean by "recommended" EVGA cards?

If I have understood it correctly some users are reporting that they need an extra restart of Windows to enable Optimus with other brands than EVGA (example post - see more information in this post).

I've just ordered

Looks like it will be a nice setup. Congratulations!

Can somebody confirm that this and/or this are the correct riser cards? I don't want to wait +/- 20 working days for a Sintech version.

Great input buddy!. Then I've a config.

- Silverstone FT03B-Mini

- 300W Silverstone ST30SF

- MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4GB

This graphics card is too long for the Silverstone Fortress FT03-MINI. The maximum length is 10". I want to build almost the same configuration (see this page) but with a EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked (04G-P4-1972-KR - 2x6 pin) because:

* It is short enough: 9.5” = 241,3 mm

* It is designed to blow the hot air out of the case (and this is recommended for this kind of case, although a dual cooler design might also work because there isn't heat from the processor in the case)

@Sachin10: That Mini Version might be too small. The GTX 970 is longer than the supported 10".

According to the EVGA website this card should be 9.5in - 241.3mm.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to make this more portable. I don't really want to put it into a small atx case, so I'm thinking of constructing something to enclose it.

Most mini-ITX cases are quite big and ugly but I like the Silverstone Fortress FT03-MINI. It doesn't have a large footprint and I realy like the aluminium enclosure. I want to put in on my small desk table in the living room next to my 13 rMBP.

Normally they recommend the reference coolers for graphics cards to blow out the hot air and a SFX power supply. But without a CPU you might be able to use other graphics cards and larger power supplies. But the card length is limited to 10" so some GTX 970 cards will work but I think most GTX 980 cards are too long.

This is my current wishlist:

* EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked (04G-P4-1972-KR - 2x6 pin)

* Silverstone Fortress FT03-MINI

* Silverstone SFX 450W Bronze (300W should be enough but I might build a PC with this hardware)

* Paperclip trick

* Powered riser

* 500 GB S-ATA drive (for my Steam library)

* S-ATA to USB 3.0 adapter

Well that is beyond my current knowledge. You could play safe and just order a EVGA (awesome cards btw). I just ordered the MSI to have a 6+8pin power connector and the semi-passive fan feature.

Do you think 6+8pin power is an advantage? The GTX 970 is rated at 145 Watt so 2x6pin + riser would already give 225 Watt.

So there isn't an advantage anymore in using EVGA graphics card like written in the thread: "UPDATED: 2013 13" or 15" MacBook Pro - Thunderbolt 2 - eGPU Plug and Play - Optimus"

Requirements for Thunderbolt 2 plug and play and out-of-the-box Optimus internal display support:

- 2013 13" or 15" MacBook Pro w/Iris-only graphics *15" models with discrete graphics do not work

- Sonnet SEL (w/x16 riser) or possibly Sonnet SE II (unconfirmed). *Sonnet III-D does not work

- EVGA GPUs (confirmed) or other internally power-controlled card. MSI is confirmed to not enable Optimus out-of-the-box *See below

- External PSU for 8-pin and/or 6-pin auxiliary power (Corsair RM450 recommended for it's silent feature. Also compact and fully modular)

It would hep to clarify which rMBP you are referring to. http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt . Why is it that you believe the Sonnet SEL gives better results than the AKiTiO Thunder2?

I'm interested in the solution of @Dschijn (13" rMBP + AKiTiO Thunder2 + riser (if needed) + GTX970) but apparently in his setup Optimus stopped working.

This thread has become quite long. I've tried to read everything after I got back from vacation but now I'm a bit lost. Is there an easy way to get Optimus working with the Akitio Thunder2? Or is using the Sonnet SEL still a beter solution for using the build in display of the rMBP?

From the back of the Thunder2 to the fan at the front - 18 cm

It would be nice to fit a GTX 960 ITX inside the enclosure when they become available in oktober (alhough we might have to wait longer for the short ITX versions).

Has somebody made a custom enclosure for the AKiTiO to fit the graphics card and maybe a SFX PSU?

Removed: My reply ended up in the wrong thread...

- - - Updated - - -

I understand that installing 8.1 EFI doesn't use the standard Bootcamp way. I'm not sure what exactly to do. Thanks.

My standard Bootcamp installation on a 13" Retina MacBook Pro is with EFI. So I think that all Retina models starting from late 2013 have EFI. You can check this but I forgot how. The Sonnet SEL solution worked for a few guys in this forum but that solution is too expensive in Europe (twice the US price) so I will wait a bit until the cheaper AKiTiO solution becomes available in Europe. I also prefer to be able to use the case (with some extra ventilation) and a short GeForce 960 (ITX) if that comes available in oktober (as rumored).

Hopefully Apple will release a new Mac mini and a 4K Thunderbolt Display. I would prefer the accessibility and upgradability of the Mac mini, the more powerfull graphics of an eGPU and a 4K Thunderbolt Display above an iMac. Although the 24" Dell Ultrasharp UP2414Q isn't bad either. Because I'm used to the Retina display at home is hard to look at the ugly pixels of my 24" Dell Ultrasharp U2410 (1920x1200) display at work. And I don't like the bigger monitors because they require more space.

What is a SWEX?

SWEX = ATX Power Supply Power-On Switch. I also needed to Google this.

If you don't have this you will need to use the paperclip method to power-on your power supply.

I was able to test this setup with dual monitor with my Apple Thunderbolt Display

Thank you for the guide! But I have one question. So you can daisy chain from the AkiTio Thunder2. Does that affects performance or is it the same like using HMDI or DisplayPort?

EDIT: Tech Inferno Fan asked if I could write a full implementation report of my setup, so here it is.

Thanks a lot! Could you show us in more detail how you do the paperclip trick with your SFX PSU? I found this solution on the Corsair website but it looks like you do it differently and cleaner?

Is there an admin that can make sure that this solution is easier to find for new forum members?