Dschijn

Ok send you in a PN

get the 220W DA-2

Corsair Graphite 380T will work, but you will need an angled riser! also the case is huge and a lot of space is "wasted" unused.

Me? No! I am using a Iris only MBPr and can resolve the idle load bug by sending my MacBook into Hibernate.

I am currently using a CoolerMaster Elite 130 again, that is similar to the SILVERSTONE sugo 08.

If there is a "load bug" in idle, you should try and send the MacBook into Hibernate, wait 1min, power it on (press alt!) and boot back into Windows.

@ElectricCreep I wouldn't use the TB connection too much with additional SSDs. One SSD might be alright, but multiple and a high bandwidth might limit the eGPU. So I would say it's better to use the 2nd TB Port on the MacBook. But I am not sure if the two ports offer independent bandwidth or if they are combined. I am using external SSDs with USB 3 and am very pleased. Of course not the best way to use an SSD, but good enough for some games/data. What Retina MacBook is it? With Iris only or with a dGPU as well? With a longer GPU and a relocated AKiTiO you must use a PCIe riser. Often they can cause problems, but ordering a high quality one is fine. Try and look for Li-Heat x16 PCIe riser which is shielded.

You can solder a switch easily into the DA-2 cable Not really sure about the difference between TB1 and TB2. But TB2 is like x4 2.0 and TB1 like x4 1.1: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/7.html

Can you please write more about the eGPU itself!?

What is your eGPU?

@QuestionGuy Why not considering the Dell DA-2? Would make it a bit more portable. But a regular PSU will as well I would still recommend to use the barrel plug way, because soldering the cables to the AKiTiO directly will eliminate you RMA chances (warrenty) and loweres the possible reselling value. If you want to close the AKiTiO case, you will need a 90° 6-Pin cable, yes! Also keep in midn that you must improve the cooling of that case. Jump starting a PSU is always done with the paperclip trick (connect remote and ground) of the 24-Pin plug. 1) Since the 2011 15" MBP has an AMD dGPU inside, it might not work to use the eGPU on the internal display. Better get used to the idea that it might only work with an external display. Especially in OSX, there is currently no real way to use the eGPU on the internal display for gaming! 2) I tried to explain in the main post what kind of cards fit. Best way is to take a look at product pictures of the PCB and make sure it is not too wide and has the short length. 3) I am pretty sure any MacBook will start to throttle, especially the older MacBooks with the Thermal Paste overkill on the heatsinks. 4) Should be fine. Edit: Take a look at older build with the same MacBook/year. E.g.:

@allancavenz That CPU has 8 cores/16 Threads.

@maarten Make the external display your primary desktop!

Can you run Firestrike as well?

Ahhhhh hang on! I have a 120fps limiter currently enabled, will rerun without! @allancavenz Here it is: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/10879615?

Please focus on 4k for now, thanks. Anything else is just not on the market yet and by that not worth to discuss!

Currently there isn't even an interface to power 5k... Imho that is really offtopic!

Shouldn't we talk about the present and near future? Currently you are just trolling...

@allancavenz I upgraded to an GTX980Ti a week ago, can do some benchmarks later and post them here. @hongi Are you 100% sure you are matching the correct pinout of the DA-2? ground 3x on the upper side and 12V 3x on the lower side. Edit: @allancavenz There you go: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/10878725?

8k?

Looks good to me

Uhhhhh… The STRIX cards are huge. You better check forums where they are discussing the cases themself!

A Thunderbolt Display will only work in Windows on a Mac with working Optimus. The performance will decrease since it will run in Optimus mode. There is no adapter to make the TBD work on sth else as a TB port. A CD will work if you find a GPU that has miniDP plugs. E.g. some Gainward cards have miniDP.

Good job!

I don't think an eGPU will help your TB Display situation. Can't you daisy chain the TB Displays?