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Thanks Dschijn I was surprised at how easily everything came together once I got all the parts and using your guide made it really simple. Bummer :/ my PSU is definitely ATX The next case I was looking was the Cooler Master Elite 130; but you had switched from that to the Silverstone Raven. Were the problems with ventilation bad enough to result in overheating? Also would a 450W supply be enough for the GPU and for the fans in the Cooler Master Elite 130? 1) Okay, so if I wanted to get the best performance out of my external display and eGPU I would extend the displays but make my external monitor the main monitor? Then would I just decrease the brightness on my MPB? Will that not still be drawing some processing power from the eGPU? 2) Yeah I was worried about that I read that you can't really do much about it either... Do you think it would be worth it to do an RMA just to see if all the 960s are like that? Did you feel better after having switched 5 of them or was it more a waste of time? Mine isn't as bad as the video linked either but it is definitely noticeable, especially when it is sprawled out in front of me on a desk. I'm hoping maybe it will be more muffled when its in an enclosure. Do you know if a SFX PSU causes less coil whine than an ATX PSU? Thanks again!

@Dschijn Hey Dschijn, a few months later and I finally got all the parts I needed to make my eGPU and I've assembled it! I decided I am probably going to be getting a case and pretty much followed your guide step by step to put it together (thanks!). Only differences are that I am using a different PSU and a EVGA GTX960 instead of a 970. I will probably end up getting the Silverstone Raven case you have as well. However there are two things though I have been unsure about... 1) I thought that I needed to install Optimus internal LCD to get my my internal MPB display to run; however, after the first time I shut down my computer, it booted up again with the GPU running and the internal display booted up as well. The first time my MPB internal display was non-responsive and I had to install Nvidia drivers via my external monitor but now I can have both monitors running extended and the graphics card still works. Does this mean that I do not need to install Optimus? Also, will this mean I be taking a hit in performance if I am using the internal vs. the external? If so, what would be the best way to load games onto the external if both displays are running? Duplicate/ Only show desktop 2? 2) I can't recall if any of my desktop PCs ever made a noise because they were cased in but now that I have the eGPU spread out on my desk, once I boot up a game the GPU starts to whine like crazy. Similar to this: Do I have a defective card / is there anything I can do about the noise? Thanks!

Nvm I managed to figure it out. I needed to have a mini display port to dual dvi because the single dvi-d was not sufficient for 144hz. No nvidia control center required. After plugging in the dual dvi adaptor the 144hz option popped up. The screen is suddenly brighter though...

I'm not sure if I am posting this in the wrong forum or maybe this is a combination of two forum topics (eGPUs and displays) but here it goes: Basically I wanted a external monitor to run on my 15'' mid 2014 macbook pro (no integrated graphics, only iris pro 5200) because I am in the works of making an eGPU for it. I decided to go with the Benq XL2411Z because it seemed like a well rounded monitor and it had a 144hz refresh rate. Now that I've started using it, I have been unsuccessful in achieving anything higher than 60hz. I've been told that if you are running OSX that it is impossible because that is a limit set by apple; however, I have seen people say that they are able to get the 144hz on Windows. So far I have had no such success. I had a HDMI cable connected, then read that in some cases HDMI will not be able to achieve 144hz. So I tried a DVI cable via the mini display-port to DVI adapter, but that did not solve the problem either. A lot of people on other forums have mentioned that they are able to fix this by simply opening their Nvidia control center; however, because I don't have dedicated graphics, all I have is the 'intel integrated control center' which isn't very helpful. The graphics card I am planning on attaching is the evga gtx 960 so I will have to download the drivers for that later (once I get all my parts) but I was wondering if I am missing something here? tl;dr: 1) Do I need a DVI cable to get 144hz or can I achieve 144hz through HDMI? 2) Is it possible to get 144hz without having nivida control center? Thanks!

Ah okay! Thanks for the help Dschijn, I'm gonna try ordering the parts and will see how this goes . Btw, is there anywhere I could post to see if anyone from Canada has previously ordered an AKiTiO Thunderbolt 2 PCIe expansion? There doesn't seem to be many options and I just want to make sure before I bite the bullet. The other parts I know I can pick up locally

Would that be much of a problem? I mean aside from it not being astetically pleasing? You have a similar gpu but it's the 970 and you have a case for it. Is the enclosure necessary or is there a different gpu you would recommend ? I mean, I suppose any gpu that fits into the 217 mm frame could still be put in but are there any mid budget gpu's that are small enough and still have reasonable power? Or am I sacrificing too much just so that I can fit it into the AKiTiO box?

@Dschijn Thanks for the reply! Definitely Windows 8.1, I have a bootcamp partition I was going to primarily (/solely) run it on. Oh wops, I entirely overlooked the PSU pin power connector. Just a few questions: When I am looking at video cards, to run the internal display do I have to use a EVGA card so that it will be plug and play? So would that mean if I were to say use a EVGA GTX 960 which has an 8pin, use a 6 to 8 pin adaptor to be able to run the GPU then also get a powered riser to fit into the x16 slot of the AKiTiO to the GPU? Is that correct? Thanks again!

Hey I've been lurking around the forum for awhile and have finally decided to make a eGPU utilizing thunderbolt2; however,I'm still a bit apprehensive and want to be sure I am purchasing the correct items for what I want to accomplish. What I currently have: - Mid 2014 Retina Macbook Pro 15'- base model, no discrete graphics - PSU - Corsair 450 VX - pulled it out of my old desktop rig What (I think) I should be looking at getting based on what I have read: - AKiTio Thunderbolt2 box - trying to locate one for a reasonable price (I live in Canada and unfortunately online resellers e.g. @ amazon.ca have them posted for 482 cad, literally double and then some compared to amazon.com) - x16 PCIe riser - Low-mid range video card (+/- ~200 usd range) Ideally I want to be able to use the internal retina display and based on the squinks post having a macbook pro without the discrete graphics appears to be desired to run Optimus (?); however it is also updated to 2013 but does not mention 2014 models. Also, squinks post mentions using a different chasis, the Sonnet Echo Express SEL? So is it better to use the AKitio or better to use the Sonnet SEL instead? If anyone could shed some light on this, it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!