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Hi all! I've searched the forums without luck. I've completed my Mac mini monster setup: Mac mini 2014 os X 10.11.6 i5 2,8Ghz 16GB RAM 2 x SSD (Sata3 + PCIe) Akitio with Nvidia GTX 970 4GB Everything works like a dream, it is incredible but... when the Mac mini sleep for a long time it doesn't wake up anymore, it seems like it turn of completely. For example i left my Mac mini few hours ago since i needed to go to bed, this morning the Mac mini was turned off. Can it be a kernel panic? Can it be sleep mode? Any hint? Thanks so much!
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No issue up to now, everything is stable, easy and cheap setup. However, Nvidia Optimus isn't working with latest Nvidia drivers. Hardware: - Mac mini Late 2012 (MD387LL/A) / Macbook Pro Retina Late 2013 (ME293LL/A) - Akitio Thunder2 - Zotac GTX1050Ti - Samsung T3 Portable SSD - 250GB (for Windows To Go) - DC 12V/12.5A from Aliexpress Setup: - Install Windows 10 as Windows To Go with Rufus; - Install Bootcamp; - Reboot to Windows with Akitio connected and install latest Nvidia Driver; System Start: - Connect External SSD with Windows To Go to your Mac; - Power up and hold down ALT keyboard; - Connect Akitio and wait 2-4 minutes; - Choose Windows from boot menu; sorry guys, I can't attach files here, every times it gives me an error. I uploaded images and benchmarks to my google drive here
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Hi guys, I´m planning to buy Mac Mini to have a second setup with my 970 Zotac + Akitio Thunder 2. I would like an i7 Mac Mini but prices are still high so I´m going to an i5 processor, so I´m trying to decide between to models 2012 i5 2,5 Ghz Thunderbolt 1 or 2014 i5 1,4 Ghz. In one hand the 2012 model is the most upgradable Mac Mini being possible to use 16 GB RAM but it´s Thunderbolt version is 1 on the other hand the 2014 model is not RAM upgradeable but it´s Thunderbolt is version 2. What do you thing? Go to 2012 or 2014? Does anybody can help me? Any benchmarks? Thank you so much!
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TL;DR: 2012 Mac Mini w/ GTX970 in AkitioTB2 setup installed smoothly & continues to work reliably. ~300% OpenGL performance increase over built-in Intel graphics. Thanks to all who came before me, especially [goalque] with the fantastic "automate eGPU" script. ------ UPDATE 2016-11-06 Setup continues to work flawlessly under OS X 10.11.6. eGPU and monitors are recognized shortly after system power-on 100% of the time. Sleep / wake works fine. Same reliability as built-in graphics, just a lot faster. NOTE, after some security updates were applied (through the App Store updater,) it was necessary to connect a display to the HDMI port, then re-run the 0.9.9 version of automate-eGPU. (But I did not have to turn off system integrity protection again.) ------ UPDATE 2016-05-26 Setup continues to work flawlessly under OS X 10.11.5. GPU / monitors are recognized shortly after system boot-up 100% of the time. Sleep / wake works fine. Same reliability as built-in graphics, just a lot faster. ------------ Setup Specs & Parts **See firmware revisions & other details in footnotes at bottom of this post. Pre-existing hardware/software CPU: late-2012 Mac Mini, Core i7/2.6Ghz (macmini6,2) / 16GB RAM / 500GB Samsung EVO 850 SSD (internal SATAIII bus) OS: OS X 10.11.4 "El Capitan." (Setup initially done & tested under Mac OS X 10.10.5 "Yosemite") Displays: 2 x DELL U2412M, 1920 x 1200 each panel = 3840 x 1200 total pixels. Each display connected via a DVI cable directly to eGPU card. Other peripherals: (2) USB 3. drive docks (for SATA drives) from different makers. Fujitsu ScanSnap ix500 (USB3). (3) printers of various kinds. All-in-one USB card reader. New eGPU hardware (all purchased through Amazon) eGPU: ZOTAC-brand GeForce GTX 970 [hereafter called "GTX970"] basic edition (2 fans,) part #ZT-90101-10P eGPU enclosure: Akitio Thunder2 [hereafter called "Akitio"] as described elsewhere on these forums. part #T2PC-TIA-AKTU eGPU external power supply (hereafter called "PSU") : EVGA "Supernova" 550G2 (550 watts), ATX-style power supply, part #220-G2-0550-Y1 eGPU cabling: good-quality GPU-card power cabling came included with the EVGA 550 G2 PSU above. I also ordered a custom-made 4-pin to 5.5/2.5mm barrel adapter to run the Akitio off the PSU, ~$20 on eBay, and a pair of low-profile, "right-handed" 6 pin cables also from eBay. Total cost ~$700 w/ tax & ship. New Software driver (free download) NVIDIA Web Driver CURRENT: 346.03.06f01 Past Versions: 346.02.03f05 (Originally tested driver, worked fine with OS X 10.10.5 and 10.11.3) eGPU hardware setup, driver install, testing Unpacking Notes 3 product cartons shipped in 1 Amazon delivery box. No damage to boxes. Did note a very major rattling sound, metal-on-metal, in the Akitio box. Turned out to be a blank slot cover plate and screw, completely loose & knocking about inside Akitio unit itself (!). With bare circuit boards exposed inside I feared there might be damage but the Akitio unit works normally so far, no worries there. The EVGA 550-watt PSU comes with a full complement of high quality ATX-spec power cables, and also includes a handy & professional-looking tester block to make "the paper clip test" a no-brainer. But it turns out that on the 24-pin wiring harness itself there must be a bad ground, because the included tester block did not work (!). After a call to EVGA tech support (24/7, American english speaking, highly competent,) they had me do an actual paper-clip test and we verified that the issue was just a bad ground in the wiring harness, no problem with the PSU itself. So I am using a paper clip for now. See more about the paperclip below. The Enclosure (Akitio Thunder2) I read elsewhere that this particular ZOTAC GTX970 card (part #ZT-90101-10P) fits inside the Akitio enclosure "without modifications," i.e. completely inside the Akitio, without having to permanently bend open the rear metal flap of the Akitio box. This is a bit misleading for 2 main reasons: 1) In order to get the card to fit at all, even with the Akitio case cover removed, you have to remove both the case fan on the Akitio box, and the metal fan shroud from the GPU card. (These are reversible changes, i.e. you just unscrew the parts.) 2) In order to have the card fit completely inside a closed Akitio case, custom low-clearance GPU-card power connectors (ATX --> 6-pin PCI power) are required. This has been discussed in other posts. 3) Even with the proper low-clearance connectors, if you close the Akitio case completely you must use a fan on the outside of the Akitio to draw air through the box for cooling. In mild climates and with mild usage (i.e. 3d cad modelling where the GPU usage is light) this might be adequate. For continuous / hard use, e.g. 3D gaming, I am sure that the other mods I've seen that involve cutting large air-flow openings in the side and/or top of the Akitio case would be required. But as far as just testing the basic setup with the Akitio case top not installed, this you can do without any permanent modifications. (This was important to me because I wanted the option to return some or all of the parts if things weren't working.) You will definitely need a screw driver and 30 minutes or so. I had to un-mount the rear case fan on the Akitio Thunder2 to get the GTX970 card to fit inside, and remove the fan shroud on the GTX970 card itself. The Power Supply I purposely over-sized the PSU: I wanted it to operate quietly, have a long life, feed the GTX970 all the power it needs, and have headroom for future upgrade to a higher-wattage card. This model also has a 7-year warranty. I have a barrel-connector adapter cable on order from eBay so that I can power the Akitio box off this PSU too, tidying up cabling and eliminating any possibility of ground loop current. Here's a photo of "the paperclip solution" I am currently using to get the PSU to activate and supply power. I took off the tape that is usually on it to keep the paperclip from slipping out. Note that the "TOP" of the connector in the photo is the part with the clip on it. (Be sure to get the orientation correct.) The Power Connections Current setup has everything powered from the PSU: (2) low-profile PCI 6-pin cables for the GPU, and (1) 4-pin molex-to-barrel adapter for the Akitio. When I first tested the setup I did not have a 4-pin-molex-to-barrel adapter, so at that time I just used the provided 60W power brick for the Akitio, and I had no problems with that. (But YMMV, watch out for ground-loop issues when running w/ separate power supplies.) The GTX970 Card As mentioned above I had to remove 4 screws to lift off the metal fan shroud on the GTX970. A completely reversible change in case the card needed to be returned, or if I want to re-sell the card later when I upgrade. The card slotted neatly into the case with some care, it sits square, plumb, and level with the cover off. (Haven't tried putting the Akitio cover on yet.) Data / Video Connections Thunderbolt cable from Akitio to Mac Mini's Thunderbolt-1 (10 Gbps) port. 2 DVI cables from the 2 displays to the 2 DVI ports on the GTX970 card. Software / Driver Install The Akitio box & GTX970 were fully powered up & connected at time of driver install. Downloaded most-recent version of "automate eGPU.sh", ran it in auto mode. Took about 2 or 3 minutes to complete. No errors or warnings occurred. Rebooted, displays came right up without any issue. No problems. Thanks again to [goalque] for making this so easy. Benchmarks: I made no special effort to optimize, i.e. I had my full load of normal apps running in the background, i.e. Mail, Firefox, Safari, Filemaker Pro. Nothing extremely CPU or GPU-intensive, all apps basically idle during benchmarks. Cinebench R15 OpenGL: Before (internal Intel HD4000 graphics): ~19 FPS After (external GTX970 card): ~57 FPS Speedup: about 300% Unigine Valley 1.0: Preset: "Extreme HD" (all settings maxed, 1920 x 1080 full screen): Score 1898, 45.4 FPS avg, 19.6 min, 84.7 max Preset: "Basic" (1280 x 720, windowed, medium quality): Score 2084, 49.8 FPS avg, 23.7 min, 61.7 max Cuda-Z 0.10.251 64-bit (note: requires install of free Mac OS X CUDA driver from Nvidia) Operational Notes (will update in future months) Reliability - Under all conditions & OS's, from 10.10.5 Yosemite through current 10.11.4 El Capitan, I not had any stability, GPU-related crashing, or pixelation/screen-glitch issues. Stress-tested by running Unigine Valley + CUDA-Z in the background for an hour continuously. Noise - GTX970 card: No coil whine. With a bare card the fans are barely audible from 3 feet away in a quiet room (~38 dB(A) background in the room,) with no cover on the Akitio box. Noise - Akitio box: The case fan that comes with the Akitio box is lower-quality Sunon model which has a quiet but noticeable hum. I will be replacing this with a high-quality fan at some point. Noise - PSU: Dead silent so far, fan does not even turn on due to low power draw / cool ambient temps. [Comment: This is a very good-quality power supply.] Note: These noise figures are with ~55ºF / 90% rel. humidity in winter. Will update these noise remarks in summer when it is ~90ºF ambient / ~40% RH. Heat - GTX970: Copper heatsink tubes stay at ambient temperature when card is idle. Under stress-testing running BOTH Unigine Valley at Ultra settings AND CUDA-Z in "stress test" mode, I estimate the heatsink tubes at ~140ºF by touch. But even under heaviest continuous load the GTX970 fans never spun up past idle. Will update this in future when I complete a closed-case / cover-on-the-Akitio-box setup. Heat - PSU: case is barely warm to the touch so probably ~78ºF or so. System integration: Putting the Mac to sleep works flawlessly, no delays or glitches. Once in sleep mode the GTX970 powers down completely, fans stop spinning. Akitio case also appears to sleep properly. Wake-from-sleep also works without any issues: 1 mouse click & everything fires up normally. Disconnecting & re-connecting display cables (i.e. HDMI / DVI) works fine & is auto-detected on the fly in the normal way. However, the GTX970 itself (via Thunderbolt cable) must remain connected, it is not "hot-pluggable." Note: The "built in" Mac OS X Nvidia drivers do not work with this card in an eGPU configuration. You must use the "NVIDIA Web driver." Performance Analysis TL;DR the GTX970 takes a ~15-20% performance hit when communicating over Thunderbolt 1. Subjectively the GTX970 is just plain fast, it handles Unigine Valley at "Ultra" settings (maxed out) without stutter or lag. Using my CAD software (Vectorworks 2016) with complex, hi-polygon-count models (>10K to 100K polygons) in OpenGL rendering mode is a dream. Very smooth 3D pan/zoom/rotate experience even with Vectorworks OpenGL settings maxed out & all features on. (Anti-aliasing, edges, shadows, etc.) Many other threads on this forum have exhaustively analyzed the performance impacts of various connection methods (PCIe / Thunderbolt / ExpressCard / etc,) please refer to those for in-depth discussion and test results. Closing Thoughts Thanks again to all who came before & shared their experiences & suggestions. If anyone has or is considering a similar setup & has questions or wants me to try testing a configuration feel free to ask. FAQ's: Q. I just updated from OS X 10.9.x / 10.10.x / 10.11.x to the latest revision and my card is no longer recognized?? A. Major OS updates seem to reset the System Integrity Protection flag. You need to reboot into a Recovery Partition, then open Terminal and do "csrutil disable". Then reboot and re-run the latest automate-eGPU script. Q. Can I use the provided Akitio 60-watt power brick to power the Akitio case, with a separate ATX power supply for the GPU card at the same time? A. In theory this is not optimal because there could be ground-loop current issues. But in practice I did this for over a week (waiting for a barrel connector to arrive) and I experienced no problems whatsoever. YMMV and use caution. Footnotes: -------------- Mac Mini (late-2012,) 16GB RAM Model Name: Mac mini Model Identifier: Macmini6,2 Processor Name: Intel Core i7 Processor Speed: 2.6 GHz Number of Processors: 1 Total Number of Cores: 4 L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB L3 Cache: 6 MB Memory: 16 GB Boot ROM Version: MM61.0106.B0A SMC Version (system): 2.8f0 Serial Number (system): C07KMxxxxxx (redacted) Thunderbolt Bus (on board): Vendor Name: Apple Inc. Device Name: Mac mini UID: 0x0001000D1421FFA0 Route String: 0 Firmware Version: 23.4 Cable Firmware Version: 1.1.0 Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.12.3 AKiTiO Thunder 2 Box Vendor Name: inXtron Device Name: AKiTiO Thunder 2 Box Vendor ID: 0x41 Device ID: 0x236 Device Revision: 0x1 UID: 0x00410236155001A0 Route String: 1 Firmware Version: 24.1 Port (Upstream): Status: Device connected Link Status: 0x2 Speed: Up to 10 Gb/s x2 Current Link Width: 0x1 Cable Firmware Version: 1.1.0 Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.14.0 ZOTAC GeForce GTX 970 card Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Type: GPU Bus: PCIe PCIe Lane Width: x4 VRAM (Total): 4095 MB Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de) Device ID: 0x13c2 Revision ID: 0x00a1 ROM Revision: VBIOS 84.04.36.00.6e ==== Kernel_2016-03-18-120144-Mac-mini.zip Kernel_Panic_2016-03-18-120144-Mac-mini.zip
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Hi all! Still work in progress, i will publish photos soon. Mac mini 2014 - i5 2,8Ghz 16GB RAM 512GB PCIe blade SSD 960GB SanDisk Ultra2 SSD sata3 Just a quick benchmark for show you 15x increase performance!!! Valley 4K high 2x iris 5100 integrated: fps 1.9 score 78 Nvidia GTX 970 AKitio: fps 32.4 score 1357 updste: selling it at 550€! final result!
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Before start I have to thanks Tech Inferno Fan and FricoRico for advice, I almost give up and put Rx480 into the box for sales. Here! I better tell you about issue of my current setup as I know some of you planning to get eGPU, so you won't have to headache later on. I will post what I remember first and add up later. This setup are not running with DIY eGPU Setup 1.30 since I have no PayPal account, if you want me to try then please get 1 license from Tech Inferno Fan for me. Issue - Windows side - First avoid running Windows 10 1607 Anniversary update (Continue Below) - Currently can't find a way for iGPU to run (Error 45 - Not Connect) / This can be problem when you try Boot option since eGPU will operate after Windows Load. - New driver not working after 16.8.3 (Series 16) / 10.9-10.10 (Series 21) will show error 43 - Beware of power issue of PCI Express slot draw. For power use 1 Rail per board molex else Rx480 will not operate and keep restart after Login Windows 10 - Riser will not work with high load (Not sure of Themaltake P5 Riser) - Driver still buggy (You may face Error 12, 43, 31 during setup up to what you choose) Issue - Mac side - Only work with macOS Sierra - With 10.12, Every time you boot have to unplug HDMI/DisplayPort else will result in Boot Freeze (But got Metal running) - With 10.12.1 Beta4 Can boot with display on but Metal is not on (In testing) My system Mac mini 2012 with i7 3615QM - 16GB RAM - Thunderbolt 1 Highpoint RocketStor 6361A - TB2 x16 Case XFX GTR Rx480 Black Edition Seasonic X-650 Power Supply Cooler Master Elite 130 Before I start all this I test my system with ATI HD5850 first, everything smooth plug and play experience. Compare with my old desktop (i5-750) I test most system with FF XIV Heavensward Benchmark since I have it on my nas and easy to test. Preset setting 1 720p - Preset 1 Desktop HD5850 Score: 6715 Mac mini eGPU HD5850 Score: 5799 With this I confidence that Rx480 will be working 100%, so I go with AMD... hah nightmare. Start with Rx480 on Windows 10 BOOTCAMP (MBR) About Windows 10 1511 and 1607 As issue said, for RX480 Driver that can be use with eGPU is Windows default 16.6 to 16.8.3 (old series) with new series 16.9+ will result in error 43. AND!! AMD old driver are no go with Windows 10 1607 - This will result in system freeze with gibberish black greenish screen during game play, AFAIK Overwatch is not playable. Anyway benchmark can be fully run on 1607 without problem. But Windows 10 1511 also have some issue with Driver installation and stability, for me I cannot get Compatibility Mode show up in 1511 but 1607 is fine. (When compatibility mode on I seem to get about 3%-5% boost over normal in static benchmark) Ok, let's start. My setup run with Normal Bootcamp with 2nd drive kit of macmini Boot with eGPU off if you have multi monitor connect over HDMI port else Intel HD won't get driver install 1. Install Windows 10 1511 2. Install Bootcamp driver 3. Turn off and power on eGPU then Boot Then this will have 2 option, second one have about 50% chance that it will work. 4a. Install Crimson 16.9+ (It will result in error 43 but don't mention it) go for 5a 4b. Install Crimson 16.8.3 (This is the best one that work during 1st installation, but if it not then Black Screen) go for 5b 5a. If you go for 4a then do DSDT Override now (search for it). 6a. Install driver by extract AMD 10.8.3 and go with Update driver select "Let me choose" browse /Packages/Drivers/Display/WT6A_INF/C0306357.inf and select Rx480 You will have a driver without Vulkan API Install but able to run benchmark and games. or you can try install normal way thru AMD Setup, if lucky and install went smooth you will have fully operate driver with Vulkan and compatibility mode but I mostly end up with GPU fan whirl and freeze. ***Extra*** You can try use AMD Cleaner at this step and don't restart then install Crimson 16.8.3 Setup, if success you will have full driver with compatibility mode. END A. 5b if you able to complete driver installation (XConnect running) then do DSDT Override (or skip but I run in some problem when in games) But if you get black screen go 6c. 6b Just Restart and everything will work fine. You have optimal install experience, but iGPU still no way to work. 6c You can use AMD Cleaner and go retry with 4a. and follow 4a route. Windows Benchmark Score (Ref = RX480 Original base on GURU3d.com) Time Spy 3816 Graphics score 3941 Graphics test 1 26.15 FPS Graphics test 2 22.25 FPS CPU test 3235 CPU test 10.87 FPS Ref 10890 9389 IN Fire Strike (V1.1) Graphics score 12007 Graphics test 1 57.19 FPS Graphics test 2 48.02 FPS Physics score 8013 Physics test 25.44 FPS Combined score 3950 Combined test 18.37 FPS Ref 5316 5132 IN Fire Strike Extreme (V1.1) Graphics score 5618 Graphics test 1 28.99 FPS Graphics test 2 21.11 FPS Physics score 8018 Physics test 25.46 FPS Combined score 2346 Combined test 10.91 FPS Ref 2753 2783 IN Fire Strike Ultra (V1.1) Graphics score 2809 Graphics test 1 14.62 FPS Graphics test 2 10.49 FPS Physics score 7943 Physics test 25.22 FPS Combined score 1362 Combined test 6.34 FPS Unigine H 57.5 1448 8.6 119.4 Extreme FF XIV Benchmark - Preset 1 720p REF Score: 11344 (my card with i5 750) Driver 10.8.3 - Score: 11990 Driver 10.8.3 - Score: 12375 (Compatibility Mode on) LuxMark 3 14325 (I got around 11000 on macOS) SteamVR 6.1 8775 0 0 I got some issue during writing this article, fan spin 100% without doing anything and still spinning. Mac side - macOS Sierra Require monitor connect with iGPU unplug/turn off eGPU 1. Boot into macOS Recovery 2. Disable SIP (search "Rx480 Sierra" and you will get all How-to) 3. Edit AMDRadeonX4000.kext (/System/Library/Extensions) info.plist (copy and edit other place) add 0x67DF1002 after/before 0x67EF1002 4. Run kext Utility to repair permission turn on eGPU 5. Run goalque's automate eGPU script via terminal 6. Set goalque's script in -a mode Anyway I still can't find a way to boot with hdmi/display port plug-in without freeze in 10.12 Hardware Setup CoolerMaster Elite 130 is totally for Highpoint RocketStor 6361A For power use 1 Rail per board molex else Rx480 will not operate and keep restart after Login Windows 10, we are not using GTX. This cause me a few day to find issue and fix since I saw other people use 1 rail to power both molex (This is thanks to Tech Inferno Fan and FricoRico) I can fit anything without drilling any hole. Btw I use 2x120mm Noise Blocker PL-1 fan by mounting 120mm in side HDD bay since we didn't need any extra drive. (I remove CM fan out since it is so loud) For board mount I use upside down 4 female HEX M3, 2x6mm and 2x8mm since the bottom panel is level. (I don't drill just use for support since I will loce GPU card anyway) Mount TB board and GPU, there some trick to bring silver back plate there but it is not hard... just try it. Complete For my setup there is no soldered or drill any hole to case. I feel safer with this. EDIT: 26/10/2016 Add extra picture of 3 pin -> 2 pin FAN Cable Now my fan start stop with system. (it just arrived from China)
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Hello fellas. This is my 3rd eGPU setup. I had an Akitio and Sonnet III-D setup before. By far, I think this is the easiest setup I had compared to the previous two. Maybe because I am not just too adventurous of adding extra effort with creating or dealing with molex-barrel plug and riser. That is just me. Again, it will be to someone's preference towards their eGPU setup. Got a last pair from a certain seller of this Rocketstor TB2 at Amazon for 218$ two weeks ago. Current price right now is around $234 +/- The setup is pretty straight forward similar to @Scooter's setup. I removed the 2 molex cables from the two board and replace it with the molex cables from the PSU. I bent the fan section of Rocketstor to accommodate the length of my GTX 970. For the reason that I don't have to remove the board from the case. I'll look for some small and clean enclosure in the future to house my setup. The Hardware Mac Mini Late 2012 on OSX El Capitan 10.11.4 GTX 970 SC 4GB Highpoint Rocketstor 6361A Corsair CX500 (80) Paper clip method Shitty monitor for now After putting the hardware together, I just have to run @goalque's automated eGPU script and everything went smoothly!
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Hello, I'm new to this forum and the whole eGPU world. I bought a Bizon Box with a Nvidia Geforce GTX 960 2GB. I'm using it for Second Life because it runs really hot on my laptop which is a mbp with intel iris pro. when i launch FireStorm Viewer it logs in ok but runs worse than the macbook pro. Here are my specs CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3615QM CPU @ 2.30GHz (2300 MHz) Memory: 16384 MB OS: Mac OS X 10.11.5 Darwin 15.5.0 Darwin Kernel Version 15.5.0: Tue Apr 19 18:36:36 PDT 2016; root:xnu-3248.50.21~8/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64 Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 OpenGL Engine OpenGL Version: 2.1 NVIDIA-10.11.10 346.03.10f02 libcurl Version: libcurl/7.38.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1i zlib/1.2.8 J2C Decoder Version: KDU v7.7.1 Audio Driver Version: FMOD Ex 4.44.61 Qt Webkit Version: Vivox Version: Vivox 4.6.0017.21209 I am running a 5400 RPM Sata Drive, but i don't think it would cause it to run like that. i did try it in windows and got better response, but the fact is i use mac for a reason. any help is much appreciated!! Thank you in advance! Jeff