tusctodd

Has anyone put a 1070/80 in their egpu setup to see if there are worthwhile performance gains or if the TB2 connection mutes any improvement?

came across this today.

https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox2-egpu.html

On 6/29/2016 at 3:52 AM, Lieve said:

Hi everyone,

I've been reading this forum for quite a while, but this is my first post. I've been able to find a used Sonnet Echo Express III-D at a decent price so I decided to give the whole eGPU thing a go.
I added a Zotac GTX980 and split cable, basically recreating MrHappyPills rig. Everything arrived yesterday but before I  start I wanted to make sure I'm doing everything right and not blowing up my mac.

 

So, my config is as follows:
- Macbook Pro Retina 13-inch, late 2013 w/ Intel Iris
- 2 partitions on my SSD drive: OSX 10.11.5 and Windows 10 installed via bootcamp

- external DVI monitor

 

IF the hardware is working properly, and if I understood your guides and posts, I need to:

 

Windows 10

------------------

1. boot into Windows

2. make sure I have the latest Intel drivers

3. connect the eGPU

4. download Nvidia drivers

5. reboot with alt-key, choose Windows, connect eGPU, wait, boot Windows

6. enjoy games on external monitor and start studying the Optimus stuff 

OSX El Capitan

------------------

1. disable System Integrity Protection via terminal

2. connect the eGPU

3. download and run goalque's script, automate-eGPU.sh

4. reboot and enjoy acceleration (I'll be only using the GTX for 3d rendering, Octane and Iray)

 

An I making things too simple?

Did I miss out on something very important?

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

 

 

A friend of mine did the exact same procedure you have detailed.  The only problem he had was the aux power cable.  

He ended up removing the casing from the power supply and wired it directly to the posts.  After that, everything work flawlessly.

Good luck!

On 6/29/2016 at 10:29 AM, Creativie said:

Did you install the razer GPU switcher prior to connecting the eGPU via thunderbolt?

The GPU switcher was not necessary on my laptop as I only have the integrated graphics.

On 6/10/2016 at 11:05 PM, dmilin said:

@tusctodd

I have the exact same setup as you and when I went to install, I realized that it would only let me install the Razer version on Windows 10. I have Windows 8.1. What are you using? If you are on 10, did you find a way to make Optimus work?

I am using windows 10.

I haven't had a problem with Optimus working.

I can use either the internal or external screen.  (typical performance hit when using the internal screen.  If I remember correctly my firestrike score was 8400 on the internal screen and ~10,000 on the external screen)

I've been really happy with my current setup.

On 6/16/2016 at 3:28 PM, Creativie said:

Could you maybe write a detailed steps on how you got this working? I have 2015 mbpr 13" and tried it and it does not work! (Stuck at the spinning wheel if I try your method). Also how are you connecting the GPU with every start up without restarting? It seems like the razer GPU switcher doesn't support Thunderbolt 2 connection...

edit: this is on windows 10 fully updated

My wife has a 2015 mpbr 13".   I can confirm I only get the egpu to boot successfully about 10% of the time.  

I was frustrated enough to give up on the 13" because the 15" works 100% of the time.

I have been following a story about someone who had made the core hot pluggable on a Dell XPS15.  Out of curiosity, I wondered if the same setup would work on my TB2 Egpu setup.   I can confirm that it does.

My Setup:

Egpu - Akito

Macbook Pro 15 (2015) (integrated only)

Nvidia 980 

Software installed:

latest Intel video drivers

Nvidia drivers from Razer, NOT Nvidia  (http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-core-updates).  After reading the blog it appeared the drivers directly from Nvidia did not work correctly at this time.

Razer Synapse 2.0 (may or may not be needed.  I only tried with it installed)

1.Installed all the software

2. Reboot with Egpu unplugged

3. Plugged in Egpu

Observations:  At first the system appeared to freeze for about 5 seconds.  After that the Nvidia driver loaded and everything performed normally.

Nope.

I stumbled upon this by accident.  I'm not certain if it works 100% of the time but so far, for me, it has.

I have a 2015 13" Macbook Pro.  Like many of the users on this forum, I have to use the timing trick to get Windows to load the drivers from my external graphics card.  Most of the time it works no problem, but every now and then I get the infinite spinning orbs and the machine simply hangs.

What I have found that may bypass this issue is to plug a device into a USB2 port.  I did it with my mouse by accident.

To sum it up:

1) Boot Windows

2) plug in TB2 when spinning orbs start

3) if Windows boots normally (done)

4) If Windows hangs at the spinning orb screen, insert USB2 device

5) SHOULD boot into windows normally at the point.

Perhaps some other users can try this and either confirm or deny that it works for them.

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this project.  It made setting up my external box really easy!

6 hours ago, THOMASRAJA said:

Hi, finally it works, I plug the tb cable on the same time of the boot chime and it works 100% of time ! 

 

I run Unigine Valley Benchmark in full screen 1920x1080 on internal screen and I have a score of 850 it is normal ? 

 

Check your device manager.  Even though the device shows up in the list, it may not have a driver loaded.

On 12/14/2015 at 2:45 AM, THOMASRAJA said:

Hi all,

 

Now, I do my first eGPU with my setup :

 

2015 rMBP 13" with Intel Iris 6100 and 2,7Ghz i5.

 

My eGPU is an EVGA GTX 950 2go in an Akitio enclosure with  a corsair 430 PSU

 

My problem is, when I boot in win 8.1 (to have Optimus) everytime I hva a Black Screen or the Windows Boot circle and after 10 minutes a black screen...

 

Before doing this EFI mod I can boot into win 8.1and I saw my GTX 950 but I can only set Iris 6100 for the internal display

EDIT : I do a clean install of all and I reinstall Os X 10.10 instead of 10.11.2  (to try) I'll install Windows 8.1 via Bootcamp and try to set GTX 950 for my internal screen.
How to see if the eGPU works on internal screen  ? In PhysX ?

(Sry for my bad English... )

Under Windows 8 on the 2015 series macbook pros, you have to wait for the spinning balls to start BEFORE you turn on your EGPU.  This works about 95% of the time depending on my timing to turn the EGPU on.  

If you turn it on too soon you will black screen. 

If you turn it on too late Windows will crash due to a driver error.

DO NOT install the optimus EFI hack used for pre-2015 models.  It is not required and may cause more problems.

I've done a bit more experimentation, and I've found a method that works for me reliably. I have found it does not matter whether the GPU is powered up or not. Switching it off/on at the wall doesn't seem to matter.

Steps would be:

1) Have Macbook Pro powered off, Thunderbolt cable unplugged

2) Turn on Macbook Pro. When the internal display is turned on/it starts booting Windows, plug in the GPU. Ideally before the 'circle' starts on Windows startup

3) See if it works. If not, power off, and try again.

Using this method I've achieved about a 50% success rate when starting up. It also means that you can 100% avoid 'black screens' when starting.

I have found that you should plug in the GPU after you have already selected Windows, rather than at the boot partition selection screen.

I have found that if you wait until the spinning balls start before you plug in the EGPU it works 100% of the time.

I have also found that you can hot plug the EGPU after already in windows but sometimes it doesn't load the driver, even though the device shows up in the Device Manager.

Hello,

Yes. Both displays will work. What I noticed was that if the internal display was the primary display, it used the laptop video for both screens. If the external monitor was the primary display, then the Nvidia card was used for both screens.

I used the external monitor as the primary and the laptop as an extended screen. Worked flawlessly.

I primarily use my setup for gaming, OSX and Windows. One benefit I never realized was how cool the laptop remains during extended gaming sessions.

Good luck!

One thing I forgot to mention is in Windows, the loss of control of the brightness for the laptop screen. I tried the sleep method, close the lid and reopen, but every time Windows would blue screen on me.

I found a utility called SBright. It allows me to turn off the display without the laptop going to sleep. Touch a key or the trackpad and the internal diplay turns on again. Then the brightness controls work again. It isn't perfect but it works.

MBPr 2014 and the GTX980 does work in OSX.

It does not work on the internal screen. It only works on an external monitor. To use the 980 you need to make the external monitor your primary display.

There is a guide on this site to modify the 3 files needed for the Nvidia driver to recognize the 980. Follow it and it should work like a champ.