Creativie

Thanks a lot! I managed to get it work! Odd thing though, is it normal to have a non-functioning internal speakers after the eGPU setup is complete?

DSDT override didn't work for me, for the creation of dsdt.aml, i get 5 Errors Intel ACPI Component Architecture ASL Optimizing Compiler version 20131115-32 [Nov 15 2013] Copyright (c) 2000 - 2013 Intel Corporation Compiler aborting due to parser-detected syntax error(s) dsdt_MacBookP.dsl 9971: Zero), \_SB.SGDI (0x01020015)), \_SB.SPMV (0x01020015, Zero), If (LOr (LEqual (Arg0, 0x03), Error 6126 - syntax error, unexpected PARSEOP_IF, expecting ',' or ')' ^ dsdt_MacBookP.dsl 9972: LEqual (Arg0, 0x04))) Error 6126 - syntax error, unexpected ')' ^ dsdt_MacBookP.dsl 9976: }, If (LEqual (Arg0, 0x05)) Error 6126 - syntax error, unexpected ',' ^ dsdt_MacBookP.dsl 9981: }, If (LNot (OSDW ())) Error 6126 - syntax error, unexpected ',' ^ dsdt_MacBookP.dsl 9984: })) Error 6126 - syntax error, unexpected ')' ^ ASL Input: dsdt_MacBookP.dsl - 9988 lines, 294991 bytes, 3554 keywords Compilation complete. 5 Errors, 0 Warnings, 0 Remarks, 0 Optimizations and ultimately resulting in no aml file.

Okay! I will try that when I get home, thanks!

Thanks for the reply! The issue is when booting windows after EFInd is installed and the script is loaded. Windows will just freeze at the boot logo (spinning wheel eventually freezes) and I have to force restart... I can't get to the steps you are describing above.

@Casey_S Can you help me with enabling iGPU on the 2016 15" tbMBP? I installed reFInd and tried to use the script, but windows did not boot and just froze up on me at the booting logo.

I've added it to my post, I hope this is the right thing

I will get it done as soon as possible! I am getting a 4K monitor so I will do the benchmark there as well.

I've added an alternative in the guide, have that a try for the next time you boot up. What problem are you facing? Is this happening right after your installation restart?

I am noticing a lower success rate in my booting method... I will look into this tomorrow and see if i can increase this

I wouldn't close the case if you don't have any ventilation. From what I know, I think you need to modify the case in order for the 6pin connector to fit without too much bending.

Retina Macbook Pro 13" does not have a dGPU (Only has Intel Iris 6200). I didn't tweak any to disable my Iris graphics since nVidia has an optimus support.

There is currently no pascal driver support for macOS. Under Windows 10, the games run fine on the retina display.

I play SC2, DotA 2, Overwatch, and GTA 5. I think there is a bottleneck when playing GTA 5, but for the other 3, it is fairly good.

I noticed that too, I checked with GPU-Z and it has 8 GB. I think it's just the unigine thing. I have not tried connecting to OS X since I read that the support is not there...

Hello, I've decided to upgrade my eGPU set up with a new card GTX 1070 FE. I thought I'd share some benchmarks and my booting process with the forum to let you guys know that 2015 Macbook Pro 13" eGPU setup works! As stated on the nVidia website, the FE GTX 1070 TDP is 150W, so I thought I'd give it a try with my previous dell DA-2. I bought the components off of eBay so setting up hardware was mainly plug & play. It was pretty simple to set up, but as many of you already know, 2015 Macbook Pro 13" is pain in the ass to get the drivers working (ie. get past the spinning wheel) Hardware: AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box - I bent the chassis to fit the FE GTX 1070 EVGA GTX 1070 FE Dell DA-2 AC Adapter Akitio Egpu 8 Pin to 2 x PCI E 6 Pin Super Low Profile No Latch 1 x Barrel | eBay (This is not for sale anymore) LG 22MP67HQ External Monitor (But this setup works with internal display as well) Hardware Preparation 1. Open and slide out the AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe box and insert desired GPU (GTX 1070 in my case) 2. Plug the cables into appropriate pins 3. Do not power on the eGPU or connect it to your Macbook until you have everything set up on the software side of things on Windows 10 Software Preparation 1. Install Windows 10 via Boot Camp - Internal drive worked fine for me 2. Install Boot Camp drivers 3. Update Windows 10 to the latest version via Windows Update 4. Update Apple software 5. Download the latest nvidia software (368.39 when this was written) Please read the following before you proceed with your set up. Let's Connect (Only Applicable to 2015 13" Macbook Pro's) 1. Power on the eGPU (Plug it to power) 2. Boot Macbook 13" to Windows 10 by pressing alt after the chime. 2. Once startup is complete, plug the TB2 connector to the Macbook 3. Open Device Manager to check if the thunderbolt hardware is detected. (It should say Microsoft Basic Display Adapter) 5. Once you check that the Macbook detects your eGPU, open up the driver .exe that you downloaded and run it as administrator. 6. Press Agree Terms of Service, and click Custom Installation. Make sure you've checked everything and press Install. 7. Once the installation is complete, the driver wizard will ask you to restart your computer. Press "Restart now" 8. Wait until it restarts. (Always press Alt after to get into boot selection menu) ** Now this step is very tricky. For Windows 8.1 users, the computer should restart without touching any of the connection, but for windows 10, the restart might freeze at a black screen. - If your computer freezes (ie. black screen, but your backlit keyboard is still lit), then force shutdown the Macbook. - Turn off the eGPU and make sure it's completely off. (ie. no green light from Thunder2) Do not disconnect your TB2. - Wait 10-15s and power on the eGPU - Turn on your Macbook and go to boot selection (If your Macbook does not boot, force shutdown and unplug the eGPU from power. Then, boot into Mac OSX by pressing alt after the chime. Log in, then press apple logo -> shutdown) - You may get stuck at the spinning wheel. If this happens to you just force shutdown and repeat the above process again (force shutdown, power off eGPU, wait 5-10s, power on eGPU, boot by pressing alt and selecting windows 10) **If you get stuck at the spinning wheel more than two times, the windows will automatically put the system under automatic repair. Let it proceed and do not unplug thunderbolt cable, then restart. Sometimes this allows the Macbook to boot successfully. **If nothing works after 2-3 tries, turn off eGPU and unplug thunderbolt. Then boot into windows 10 and uninstall nvidia drivers. Try again from the top. 9. If everything works, then your Macbook should be able to detect your GPU with a proper driver. Check this under device manager. Now, some of you may ask how they will be able to go back and forth between OS X and windows, here are the steps that I took. Windows -> OS X 1. Click "Shutdown" (DO NOT CLICK "RESTART" - This gave me a bad result, causing me to reinstall Windows again) 2. Power off the eGPU once the Macbook is fully shutdown 3. Unplug TB2 connector once the AkiTiO box is fully powered off 4. Turn on and boot into OS X via boot selection OS X -> Windows 1. Power on your eGPU 2. Turn on your Macbook and go to the boot selection 3. Select Windows and wait until the spinning wheel shows up. 4. As soon as it shows up, plug in the TB2 (The timing is crucial) (** If you have a infinite spinning wheel, simply try again, but ideally this should not happen) Alternative Booting Method I've noticed relatively high failure rate using my OS X -> Windows booting or just a simple booting method, so I've tried this alternative and it seems to be working successfully. This only applies if your eGPU was able to set up successfuly before after the installation of nVidia drivers. 1) Plug TB2 Cable to Macbook (make sure it was to the port where you originally plugged in your eGPU) 2) Power on Akitio eGPU 3) Power on Macbook 4) Boot via boot selection menu If there is no chime, or there is an infinite spinning wheel, consult to my troubleshooting section. Benchmarks All done on my external monitor (1080p) 3Dmark on 4K LG 27UD68-W monitor: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/13925733 Troubleshooting The idea is to crash the system (ie. BSOD) to initiate the Automatic Diagnostics by windows 10 when booting up. This will reset if your driver didn't load after the bootup or have an infinite spinning wheel. If you encounter the infinite spinning wheel... 1) Power off the Macbook 2) Unplug power for your eGPU and wait 5-10s 3) Turn eGPU back on 4) Power on the Macbook and boot to windows via boot selection screen (alt) The problem will only solve once the Automatic Diagnostic tool asks you to restart the computer. 5) Press restart and boot via boot selection - If the Macbook does not power on, simply force power off and repeat steps 1-4 again 6) After few tries from steps 1-5, you should be able to reboot into windows with nVidia Drivers loaded. Be patient and make sure not to uninstall the driver if it fails to load. If it fails to load the drivers... 1) Press Restart 2) Boot via boot selection - If it doesn't boot (ie. no chime) at all, force power off and proceed to steps 1-5 mentioned above. - Be patient!!! Good luck!! Cheers! Creativie

Was your evga card founders edition?

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

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

Hi, I am looking to upgrade my GPU to GTX 1070 and was wondering if the Dell DA-2 will still be able to power the GTX 1070. The required power for the card is 150W and I know that the required power for GTX 970 is 145. It should theoretically be able to power it right?

For some reason, I can't get the graphics card connected via HDMI to the monitor... I use an external monitor that's connected to the Macbook via display port adaptor (DVI). I didn't do efi patch as I was told it is not necessary for the 2015 models.

Hey guys, I've finally decided to get myself a eGPU set-up to have a better gaming experience for myself. My set up is an easy plug & play type of set-up, so regarding hardware I am pretty much a noob. I've read many forum posts saying 2015 Macbook Pro 13" is giving a lot of users "spinning wheel" problem. I, myself, had this issue, but after writing down alternative procedures every time for a week, I think I have a solution for those who carry this Macbook (I've actually uninstalled and reinstalled Windows 10/8.1 so many times that now if I see the windows set-up logo, I cringe a little). I will start off with the hardware first, but as I mentioned above, this was a plug & play; therefore, I think it would be best to read other similar guides to find an alternative. (DA-2 cables were from eBay and they are not on sale anymore) Hardware: AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box EVGA GTX 960 2 GB SC (ITX version) Dell DA-2 AC Adapter Akitio Egpu 8 Pin to 2 x PCI E 6 Pin Super Low Profile No Latch 1 x Barrel | eBay (This is not for sale anymore) Hardware Preparation 1. Open and slide out the AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe box and insert your desired GPU (Has to be a single fan in order to fit inside of the chassis without modification, eg) ASUS GTX 970 Mini, EVGA GTX 960, Gigabyte GTX 960/970 ITX) 2. Plug the cables into appropriate sockets(?). 3. Do not power on the eGPU or connect it to your Macbook until you have everything set up on the software side of things on Windows 10 Software Preparation 1. Install Windows 8.1/Windows 10 via Boot Camp 2. Install Boot Camp drivers 3. Update your Windows 8.1/10 to the latest version via Windows Update 4. Download the latest nVidia driver (BUT do not open the .exe) - Mine is running under 362.00. I tried 364.51 and noticed that it was being inconsistent so I pretty much threw this away. Please read the following before you proceed with your set up. Let's Connect (Only Applicable to 2015 13" Macbook Pro's) 1. Power on the eGPU. 2. Boot your Macbook to Windows 8.1/10 2. Plug the TB2 connector to the Macbook 3. Open Device Manager 4. If everything is done right, then there should be a tag under display saying "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter" - This means that the connection is established between your Macbook and the Thunder2 5. Once you check that the Macbook detects your eGPU, open up the driver .exe that you downloaded and run it as administrator. 6. Press Agree Terms of Service, and click Custom Installation. Make sure you've checked everything and press Install. 7. Once the installation is complete, the driver wizard will ask you to restart your computer. Press "Restart now" 8. Wait until it restarts. (Always press Alt after to get into boot selection menu) ** Now this step is very tricky. For Windows 8.1 users, the computer should restart without touching any of the connection, but for windows 10, the restart might freeze at a black screen. - If your computer freezes (ie. black screen, but your backlit keyboard is still lit), then force shutdown the Macbook. - Turn off the eGPU and make sure it's completely off. (ie. no green light from Thunder2) Do not disconnect your TB2. - Wait 10-15s and power on the eGPU - Turn on your Macbook and go to boot selection (If you have a black screen, simply force shutdown and power off the eGPU. Then unplug the TB2 and boot into OSX. Log in then shutdown. Repeat above steps afterward) - You may get stuck at the spinning wheel. If this happens to you just force shutdown and make sure Windows repair isn't causing this problem. Then try again. (I got mine working after my 2nd attempt) 9. If everything works, then your Macbook should be able to detect your GPU with a proper driver. Check this under device manager. Now, some of you may ask how they will be able to go back and forth between OS X and windows, here are the steps that I took. Windows -> OS X 1. Click "Shutdown" (DO NOT CLICK "RESTART" - This gave me a bad result, causing me to reinstall Windows again) 2. Power off the eGPU once the Macbook is fully shutdown 3. Unplug TB2 connector once the AkiTiO box is fully powered off 4. Turn on and boot into OS X via boot selection OS X -> Windows 1. Power on your eGPU 2. Turn on your Macbook and go to the boot selection 3. Select Windows and wait until the spinning wheel shows up. 4. As soon as it shows up, plug in the TB2 (The timing is crucial) (** If you have a infinite spinning wheel, simply try again, but ideally this should not happen) I hope this guide has been helpful to you. This is more of a boot-guide than a hardware set up. As I was reading the forum threads, many people were having issues with the 2015 13" Macbook pros. I hope my method will solve your issue. Please write down below to let me know if it worked or not. I've tested this on both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 and it has worked 100% of the time (Replicated this three times each. ie. fresh installed Windows three times each) Thanks for reading and here is a potato pic of my eGPU hardware. New guide with GTX 1070 is here : -Creativie

I don't have any connections other than DVI -> display port adaptor -> laptop. I also can't get the windows to boot, it's either spinning wheel. When I hotplug the eGPU, it says "The drivers for this device are not installed" or not even detected under device manager. 2015 13" macbook here also....

I have an issue connecting HDMI directly to the GPU. The set up works when i connect it to the HDMI to macbook but not when i connect it to the GPU to monitor. Am i doing something wrong?

Yeah, the card is GTX 970 Asus. I am not planning on closing the case due to ventilation issue (and I certainly don't have the tools to mod the case). Do you think GTX 970 is worth the price considering my Macbook's CPU (13" 2015 i5) will probably bottleneck? Or should I just grab GTX 960 because of this?

Hi, I have a eGPU setup with GTX 960 and I decided to upgrade the graphics card to GTX 970. I noticed that it isn't a 6-pin, but rather a 8-pin female on GTX 970. I found this cable on ebay and wondering if this would work in powering GTX 970 with 2 6-pin cables from the modified DA-2 Power supply? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/141904025866?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT