tre87

My PSU had some coilwhine so it had to be replaced and I want to paint the plasticboard where the AKiTiO PCB is mounted The card can give more when it gets the full 16Gbps speed over Thunderbolt and not using ViDock. One thing is also score/points in terms of benchmarks, the other is actual performance and "feeling" in games and GPU load-heavy applications. There is some benchmarks in my original post, but I will post some new ones once my PSU has arrived - - - Updated - - - Yes, that one is the right insertion version which I also mentioned. However, the left insertion riser also works, you just need a bit more cable and you can achieve the same thing. You just double back the cable underneath the GPU

Yes, just try mounting the GPU in the case with only the powered riser cable attached and you will see why the angled riser is needed Regarding my post, I hope to get it updated in the weekend, but that requires my package to arrive today - fingers crossed And just ask if you have any another other questions or something comes up.

It would be best to find the smallest available and one with a "right" oriented insertion. They don't look to have a right insertion version though, but I just measured and there is plenty of room for a left insertion version and it will still solve the problem. Just make sure that you place the AKiTiO PCB close enough for the riser to reach both the AKiTiO PCB and the GPU So go for PC-Ostschweiz - Delock Riser card PCI Express x16 angled 90° left insertion

Hi again Akkarin The problem here is that the powered riser and GPU combined is to high to fit in the case and mounted at its designated place. The powered riser's connector goes directly onto the GPU's connector and therefor the powered riser cable goes downwards and makes unable to fit. To solve that you have 2 options: 1. Cut a hole in the bottom of the case so that the powered riser and connector can fit. 2. Buy an angled riser which angles the powered riser and its connector 90 degrees in order to fit inside the case.

Hi Martin/Akkarin I'll answer your question first: Yes, the powered riser has a molex connecter which you plug in to the PSU. To explain a bit more, some GPU's requires less power directly from the PCIe port and therefor the PCIe port combined with the AKiTiO adapter and the PSU will be enough. For this setup though, that caused it to be unstable due to the lack of power and I didn't like the idea of having to use 2 power outlets/PSU's. So I got the case and mounted it all up and used a powered riser. The powered riser adds standard spec power to the PCIe port and the AKiTiO board without having to use the AKiTiO adapter. So not only does it improve stability (for my setup) to use a powered riser, it also removes the need for 2 power outlets and relying on the AKiTiO adapter. I'm planning on updating my guide a bit very soon as I've changed a few things. I'm just waiting for the last part to arrive at my doorstep, hopefully it will be here today. Once it arrives I can update my guide with a lot more details. Don't hesitate to ask more questions though, my guide doesn't cover everything and your questions provides me with stuff I can update it with Hey jagung Regarding cooling, yes everything is dead quiet if you're not gaming or watching HD movies. HD movies causes the rMBP to make some noise, while the Asus Strix and PSU remains quiet. Even when playing games like Hearthstone the PSU and GPU doesn't turn on the fans. Playing some DayZ/CS:GO/Arma 3 will make them start spinning, but not alot compared to the rMBP itself. So when gaming there is some fan noise, but while coding, browsing and the likes everything is dead quiet For the powered riser I originally bought one from Sintech (see main post for link) because it was angled and easier to fit. However the PCIe cable on that riser was a tiny bit too short and had me worried so I ordered one that looks like the one Akkarin was so kind to link. However, I bought mine via DealExtreme. Here is a link: PCI-e 16X to 16X Riser Card Extender Ribbon Cable w/ Molex Connector - Black + Grey (23cm) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme and if you want to use it in a CM Elite 130 case without cutting you are also going to need a PCI-E Right Angle Riser Card - Free Shipping - DealExtreme It's not hot pluggable in Windows, and I haven't looked into what it takes to be able to do so yet and if it is even possible. Haven't tested in OS X either yet, but perhaps some other eGPU owners on these forums know? So please make a post in my thread if you manage to find out if this is possible or not and if so how to do it Yes, like this one! But as I mentioned in my answer above he also needs a so called "angle riser card" in order to avoid cutting in the case.

It would be so awesome to get this working, not only for the eGPU part, but also for the battery performance in Windows So keep those updates comming!

Have you seen this post: Win7 x64 booting natively via EFI (no BIOS emulation) - Page 42 - MacRumors Forums? And tried their tool? I was gonna test it later today.. https://github.com/0xbb/gpu-switch

Yes it is, but I mostly use Windows. When I do use OS X, it is for long coding sessions in Xamarin and lots of browsing and it's been totally stable in those scenarioes

I doubt you will be able to make the internal monitor working, cause you need the iGPU in order to utilize Optimus. If you manage to get it working, then please post since a lot of people will be happy around here :-) Nice! I'm rocking 2xDelll U2711 with 2560x1440 resolutions. Thats more than enough for me resolution wise. I'm going to replace one of them for either the Acer or the Asus 27" IPS with G-Sync once they get put on the market. Regarding the performance loss I saw someone somewhere calculate it (I'll see if I can find the actual post) and that was everything from 10% to 40%. But give it a go and posts your results here. I would be really interested to see

Hi Akkarin, I haven't had any error 12. Where does this error show/occur? In Windows/OS X and what does it do? Can you post a screenshot and full info about your setup?

Hi parczefal and welcome I've actually tried this and it works, however you will loose a great deal of performance. Still runs better that way compared to the dGPU when talking the internal display, but only tested this for a short amount of time and haven't really used it.

If you've really read the thread twice, how is that you don't get that it doesn't boot? As mentioned multiple times in the thread, once you hit the power button, nothing happens! So it doesn't matter what OS you use, what OS you have installed or anything related to the OS. The screen stays black and there is no POST and you never reach anything OS related. And that is the problem... Don't call out people or information if you don't know whats going on!

Thanks for the answers! Where do I download the ThrottleStop 7.0 beta? And can you post a quick guide or screenshot on how to set it up?

I have just undervolted my rMBP CPU with -75mV as well, but I have one quick question. Does the Intel XTU Tool have to be running for the changes to be applied or are they saved in BIOS so that I can close the XTU Tool?

I have this problem as well! I connect all cables and turn on the eGPU, then the Macbook 5 seconds after. Sometimes it boots on the first try, but mostly it requires a few attempts. It doesn't bother me that much, cause once it is up and running it is completely stable! However, it would be nice with some sort of solution. My setup is as follows: AKiTiO Box Powered Riser Corsair 550W PSU Asus Strix nVidia GTX970 rMBP with dGPU (750M)

My setup is running perfectly today, no issues whatsoever I actually completed Far Cry 4, playing in 2560x1440 and max'ed settings, so you won't have any troubles there. Just make sure to update the game so that it can utilize multiple CPU cores. Besides Far Cry 4, I've played a shitload of Hearthstone and just recently started playing CS:GO again and picked up ARMA 3 with various mods. Everything is running smooth, no GPU related crashes at all, only mod crashes in ARMA 3, but that is very common Regarding the optimus support, I haven't looked into it recently. I don't need the internal display at home where I use the eGPU. But you could do a search for it, i know that various coommunities are working towards getting the iGPU enabled via a hacked BIOS. But for now you will have use an external monitor

Hi jazzyjester! Nice hardware and congrats, you're gonna love that setup once you've got it up and running For the plastic board, its actually a small cheap chopping board from IKEA. We had a few unused ones in house and I just cut of the end with the handle and then had a perfect square that fitted inside the case. From there on I just placed the board in the case and marked where to make 4 holes for mounting the board in place. Then proceeded to markup holes for the AKiTiO board. Only thing you have to pay attention to is to have room for the graphics card. So don't have any board taking any place under the 2x expansion slots (where ths graphic card is going to be mounted). For drilling the holes, a hand drill should be just fine as long as you have some proper drills. Don't go to fast though, you don't wanna melt the holes, but drill them The included cable is just fine, however I bought an Apple cable (2 meters) since the included one is very short and I mounted the CoolerMaster case under my desk. Hope that answers everything for you

No problems

Here yo go: Ebay This one has capicitors, they are just one the opposite site of the cable on the picture. I asked the seller, but ended up finding another one before he got back to me

1. If you have the same model as I do, then you have the dGPU (nVidia) and therefor Optimus will not currently work in BootCamp. I don't know if it will work in OS X, but some other implementations/guides can properly answer that You need the Optimus tech for the internal screen to be able to utilize the nVidia eGPU. 2. On all NEW MacBooks, using a normal BootCamp installation should result in a Windows 8.1 (UEFI). For the cable part it is really simple, look at my guide and use the links to view the layout of the 24-pin cable. If you are in doubt about anything, just ask and I will reply ASAP. -> Feel free to throw me a PM if you want some further assistance over mail/skype.

They don't! Unless you play a CPU intensive game! Running FurMark only results in the GPU fans start spinning, the MacBook remains quiet! Playing games like League of Legends, Call of Duty AW and recently Far Cry 4 all makes the CPU load quite a bit and therefore the fans start spinning - - - Updated - - - I can't see any other things that should cause any troubles other than the Powered Riser, unfortunately my knowledge about it is also limited. But they are dirtcheap, so I would recommend a proper riser with a capacitor. Could also be a defective GPU? If possible, could you try the card in a full PC setup? What triggers that thought is that it the problems only occurs under high load... - - - Updated - - - Damn! I'll try to ask some of my friends if they have it on their Steam account. If they have I can borrow theirs and give it a run. On the other hand, all other games I've played has no issues at all. So I can't see why ARMA 3 shouldn't work! If you get this setup with a GTX 970 I would almost guarantee that you would be able to wreck ARMA 3's FPS limit

Hi, where can I obtain ARMA 3 Breaking Point? Is it free or will I have to buy it? Remember that if you want to play on the rMPB screen, you will need the Inten GPU version of the MacBook. Also, my external monitors supports 2560x1440, so the resolution should get up there - - - Updated - - - I haven't experienced any crashes or significant stutter at all, some stutter might occur due to it being a poor console port or lack of updated drivers. I played 4+ hours of Far Cry 4 yesterday without any problems other than som stutter when traveling the map, but I won't blame the setup since my friends with full PC setups experience the same thing. Yes, my powered riser does have a capacitator soldered to it. This is the riser im using: ebay So my guess is that your powered riser might be the problem here! What GPU do you have?

For anyone considering an AKiTiO setup, I've updated my implementation post with a full guide, images and benchmarks! Click here -> tre87's eGPU implementation | 2014 15" Macbook Pro GT750M + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1 Enjoy

Hi! Sorry for being so slow to get back to you. I updated the entire post just now so can see a small guide and some more images! If you need some more info, just ask The case is awesome and IMO one of the best for this setup -> - Smallest case to house a full ATX PSU - Lots of mounting wholes - Very robust, even after removing the optical drive mount - Fits all GPU's due it's length - Comes with a 120mm fan that dosen't make any noise when using a silencer - - - Updated - - - Hmm... I think the best thing for you is to take my component list and look each part up manually. I ordered from a lot of different places and everything is so damn expensive here in Denmark

tre87's eGPU implementation | 2014 15" Macbook Pro GT750M + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1 Last update on November 16th 2014! My setup is as follows:Laptop: Macbook Pro 15 Retina (Mid 2014) /w dGPU (nVidia GT 750M)GFX: Asus GTX 970 Strix 4GBeGPU: AKiTiO Thunder2 PCI-E BoxPSU: Corsair RM550PCI-E: 16x Powered RiserCase: Cooler Master Elite 130Thunderbolt cable: Apple Thunderbolt Cable (2.0 Meters)Extra: Plastic board for mounting, superglue, black wire, cable strips and a standard on/off powerswitch. (Also had a fan silencer from a Noctua fan I used on the front mounted case fan to reduce its noise to nothing. It's not required for this build, but like like to have NO noise :))Images More images can posted if someone requests it :)[ATTACH=CONFIG]13147[/ATTACH] Front: Large image[ATTACH=CONFIG]13149[/ATTACH] Side (Case shield off) -> Yes, some screws are missing. Was taken while i was testing the riser placements :) ScreenshotFirestrike:GTX 970 (+ GT 750M PhysX)Validation:GPU-ZBuild Hardware:1. Remove the CM Elite 130 case shield and unscrew the 92mm side fan and it's mount!2. Remove the front of the case and drill out the rivets and unscrew the 2 screws to completely remove the optical drive mount.3. Open up the AKiTiO box and take out the curcuitboard.4. Place the AKiTiO board on the plastic board aligning the TB ports and power to point towards the back (where a motherboard would have been) and measure out where to drill and make holes for the motherboard risers5. Then place the plastic board on the bottom of the case and mark out the holes for mounting.6. Drill all the holes -> Small holes for the AKiTiO board so that you can super glue the motherboard risers (comes with the case | image for the layout). Place the other wire in the above or underneath black wire (Ground).11. Remove the case front and pull both wires thrue the bottom right USB port and put the case front back on.12. Insert both wires, one in each end of the on/off switch and mount it like you see in the Front image above.13. Install the powered riser in the AKiTiO board and the other end to the GPU.14. Mount the GPU in the case. (I used a cable strip from the GPU fanshield to the case to tighten the card in the opposite end of the case mount. Otherwise it won't be stable!)15. Install the 6+2-pin PSU cable for GPU and the 12V Molex PSU cable for the powered riser. Remember to connect the front mounted case fan as well with a molex connector! I also used a silencer (one of those that comes with a Noctua fan to slience the fan to no noise at all).16. Use some cable strips and sort out any loose cables to make room for the front fan to make some airflow.17.Put the case shield back on and let the fun begin.Note: You won't need the AKiTiO power adapter. Everything will be powered by the PSU.Prerequisites:1. Install Windows 8.1 (UEFI) on your MacBook2. Have the newest nVidia drivers downloadedSoftware (+Power up):1. Connect the Thunderbolt2 cable from the AKiTiO board to your MacBook.2. Power on the eGPU via your on/off switch. (Note: If you have a Corsair RM series PSU and/or the ASUS/MSI GTX 970/980 the fans wont spin on power on. They will start spinning once the PSU/eGPU is under load)3. Power on your MacBook.4. It sometimes helps to halt the bootup by holding down the option key and give it a few seconds before booting Windows. (Thunderbolt devices apperantly needs some initialization time)5. Once you reach the Windows logon screen the MacBook display should flicker and turn off while your external monitor(s) will come on (Might take a few seconds since it is actually installing the GPU drivers). If that happens everything is good! :) If you have the iGPU version of the MacBook you will properly use the MacBook screen as Optimus will be engaged immediatly.6. Login and start your nVidia driver installation. Choose the custom option in the installer and tick the Clean installation before installing.7. Once the GPU driver installtion is complete -> Reboot and your eGPU is ready to go! Enjoy! :DExtra Made a post about this setup at the danish hardware forum HardwareOnline.dk (Danish) -> My alias on there is ZazzY:Post (In english using Google translate)My thoughts so far... At the time of writing this I've had this setup up and running for 14 days. I've been using it everyday for both professional work and gaming! I'm a .NET developer and I use my MacBook for designing, developing, browsing and lots of gaming with my friends. And the gaming part is really an outstanding experience with this eGPU setup.So far the last 14 days has been a blast! The setup is TOTALLY stabile. I haven't had one crash or anything! All games run smooth and the whole thing ran over an entire weekend of none stop gaming, I didn't even restart during an almost 48 hour period of pure gaming! :) Let me just say that this setup goes beyond my expectations and that I can see myself using this setup for LOOOONG time!More experiences and thoughts will come once I've have a lot more experience! All I can say is, don't wait for this - do it, DO IT NOW! :Banane10:--->Please comment or ask any questions you may have... I'll answer as soon as possible. More will be added to this post as my time with this setup increases! :)