Search the Community

Hi All, I'm new to the forums but I found a lot of great information here so I thought I would share. I have successfully run an NVIDIA GTX 1070 with my Early-2015 Macbook Pro. My setup is the following: - Akitio Thunder2 PCI-E Box - NVIDIA GTX 1070 - Powered 16x PCI-E Riser - EVGA NEX650G PSU (I know it is overkill, it was my only option in a pinch. Paperclip trick for power.) I have outlined the pieces, my excitement and some issues at my blog. Issues: - I initially had an issue where my system would not boot correctly with the eGPU powered and plugged in. The screen remained black and no boot chime. Booting into and shutting down from OSX solved this issue but it occasionally returns. - The first PSU I tried (EVGA 500W) would spontaneously turn off when I started using the GPU at high load (e.g. intense gaming). I replaced it with the EVGA NEX650G which I had from an old project. - Windows 10 still holds issues for me. I often have to get to the boot screen (holding alt at boot) and then plug in the eGPU + Power before selecting Windows. Even then I have a high failure rate (>70%). Windows 10 often hangs at the loading screen (spinning circles) and never moves on. This happens 3/4 times. I am currently re-installing windows 10 to see if it helps. When I get through to windows the eGPU works great. Tried with Witcher 3 @ 1080p with ultra-high settings. I believe that Optimus is also running with the current driver. If there are any requests for benchmarks, I am happy to do them. I am new to this world though and therefore don't know the defaults. Nas [EDIT: 23/06/2016] After using the setup for a number of days, I have come across a few problems and solutions. I am using a 2015 Macbook Pro and others on this forum have had issues making eGPU builds with this macbook. After installing Windows >5 times and Linux > 3 times, here are my outcomes: Issues: -> Windows 10 or 8.1 installed via bootcamp to the local disk barely works. One boot out of every 20 allows you access to the GPU, otherwise infinite spinning wheel or blank screen. -> Linux is a bit tough too as we are using an integrated graphics card. From what I have understood, to get the eGPU working you must uninstall the nouveau drivers and use bumblebee (for optimus on linux). Still trying to make that work. Solution: -> To get the setup working on Windows, install to an external drive. Following that, every time you want to use the eGPU do the following: 1) Turn off everything 2) Plug in the eGPU -> Thunderbolt2 3) Power up the eGPU and wait for ~10s 4) Turn on the Macbook Pro while holding alt and get to the boot option screen 4.1) It the GPU starts up but the mac does not, hold the power button until the GPU dies down and then try again. If it fails repeatedly, boot into Mac OSX and then shut down. 5) Success! This above technique has allowed me to boot around 7 out of every 10 times I try. I am now running Windows 8.1 but I shall also try this technique with windows 10 sometime. Much better. [EDIT: 03/07/2016] I created a 3D printed enclosure for my Akitio board! Check it out on my blog: https://nasiryahm.wordpress.com/2016/07/03/3d-printing-an-egpu-case/ Or on my post in TechInferno: