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Ok then… the instability is likely due to PCIe power consumption somehow. You may have better luck with a GPU such as EVGA GTX 780 on OS X, it also works with the OS X native drivers. Or go for a bigger eGPU enclosure, not an affordable choice.

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If that helps I tried doing multitasking recently. if I play wow + watch video at the same time I have a 100 % freeze chance after 10mn. wow only is at least a few hours.

Really have no idea whats causing. I wish I could borrow a sonnet from somewhere but can't splash the cash.

also had a evga 770 sc before and it was even worse.

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If that helps I tried doing multitasking recently. if I play wow + watch video at the same time I have a 100 % freeze chance after 10mn. wow only is at least a few hours.

Really have no idea whats causing. I wish I could borrow a sonnet from somewhere but can't splash the cash.

also had a evga 770 sc before and it was even worse.

Thanks for your notes. YouTube on Safari particularly causes freezing, and finally you cannot even move the mouse pointer. I have a pile of GPUs here, hopefully I can find a workaround for a few non-stable cards.

One reason could be that the dGPU of your MBP may have influenced the eGPU not to be working steadily, but I guess this is more likely powering issue.

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Hello, I would like to confirm a successfull x2 setup on t400. With 2 pm3n adapters connected to pe4h adapter. Sleep, restart, everything is working fine, with modified nvidia 275.33 drivers, using gtx 260.

The only thing that is left, is the optimus option. I cant get it to work. I tried with intel drivers from robynasi, and the latest one, dating from nov. of 2012 in combination with nvidia drivers 260, 275, 295 and 306 as suggested, with modified registry key which was blank, for nvinitx. But the nvinitx is nowhere to be found in the system 32 folder, so i expanded it from the nvinitx.dl_ file and copied it over to system 32 folder, and still no options in manage 3d options.

I am using windows 7 64bit, and have 2gigs of ram, intel 4500mhd only (dont have switchable graphic for ati), using setup 1.x i performed 32 pci compaction for igpu and egpu option, port option x2e, with the mentioned methods, and still no luck, for optimus.

So does it depend only on x1 speed to get the optimus functioning or am I doing something wrong?

Please, give me some feedback, I will write a detailed guide how i got it functioning, just to figure out this optimus problem.

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Hi

I was wondering if anyone is interested in a eGPU case.

Along the lines of Parvum Systems style.

Parvum Systems — Cases

I just got a brand new mdx-40a and am keen to start building some.

Max footprint is 305x305

Can do some awesome stuff with it,

Have drawn some plans nothing is final want to see the interest in them first.

Cost would be materials and a little for the wear and tear of the bits but nothing major in that sense, was thinking maybe $25us + Materials

Thanks

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Windows 10 still hasn't been offically released yet so I would say there might be more improvements in DX12 in the near future. Don't hold your breath tho. As for the gaming aspect, the drivers my not be compatible yet so try using the beta drivers from the GPU manufacturer. AS for the hd 4000, most motherboards have it disabled if using a discrete GPU.

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Thanks for this thread guys. So with this option of thunderbolt connectivity, you can essentially increase the horsepower of the GPU in your laptop (by using a more powerful one of course). Am I getting this correct? Sorry I'm a noob to this.

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I don't know if I should ask this here but I have a question. If I have the 2014 macbook pro with iris pro and Nvidia Geforce 750M, if I use an eGPU solution, will the 750M still be taxed and put out heat? or does the dedicated GPU inside the laptop not run when using an eGPU? Thanks

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My setup with win8.1 seemed to be working really well (no need for power delay, always booted with Optimus) and I hadn't needed to do this. However then my windows crashed needing a re install. Following that I couldn't get the egpu to engage always every time as before so I performed the above mentioned steps. Now I have to plug in the egpu just at the right time before windows starts or it hangs on a black screen.

I have 2 questions...

1) are the Optimus mod that we have put in the efi up to date?

2) what commands would I use to restore the backup efi and remove the mod mentioned above?

Is it possible to get a solution without requiring the above modification for internal Optimus to work every time and for the computer to boot every time as long as the egpu is plugged in and powered before hand... I thought I originally had that before my windows went Fubar.....

cheers!

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This guide is based on http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7580-%5Bguide%5D-2014-15-macbook-pro-iris-gtx780%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-a.html#post103029. Many thanks to the awesome people of this forum and especially Tech Inferno Fan and goalque.

CONFIGURATION

  • Apple MacBook Pro 13" Retina / 256GB / 8GB (Late 2013), with Iris graphics
  • AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box
  • bequiet! System Power 7, 500W
  • Bitspower 24 PIN ATX PSU adapter to start the PSU
  • MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
  • PCIe 16x riser with powered molex
  • a 90° PCB riser
  • Apple 2m Thunderbolt Cable
  • Cooler Master Elite 130

SOFTWARE INSTALLING

  1. Install Windows 8.1 64 bit from a USB stick by using ISO file. This is a standard Boot Camp installation.
  2. After installing Windows, download and install all Windows updates.
  3. Update Boot Camp drivers (Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5640) and shut down
  4. Do the hardware preparing part 1-8
  5. Install Nvidia driver 340.52 (Drivers | GeForce)
  6. Shut down MacBook Pro and continue from the hardware preparing step 8
  7. Apply following steps to get Optimus internal LCD mode working: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8106-%5Bwip%5D-2013-15-macbook-pro-iris-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win8-1-osx10.html#post110489. Without this Optimus would only sometimes work as detailed in the spoiler.

    OS: Windows 8.1 (64bit)


    Reinstalled windows as described above. Installed the lastest Nvidia Driver (v344.16) and the latest Intel Graphics Driver (v15.36.7.64.3960)!
    Optimus is working by:
    100% if external screen is main display
    Optimus fails by:
    100% (after a reboot) if internal screen is setup as primary display and external screen as extended display.
    The following situations are (not) working:
    - booting with external display, internal and external display are working
    - external screen as main screen
    - window mode "Ungine Valley" can be dragged between both screens, always powered by the GTX 970
    - booting without external display, internal display is working
    - Optimus is working
    - hot plug (plug and play) of the external display works on the fly in windows
    - unplugging the external display works, internal display still works and windows is not crashing
    - internal screen as main screen works, but fails after a reboot!
    - external display as 2nd display works
    - reboot without external display -> internal display is switched off (Optimus fails!)
    - plugging in the external display while internal display is black works, external screen is now main screen, internal screen is still off (Optimus fails!)
    - changing setting to extend the display to both screens doesn't work, internal screen is still off (Optimus fails!)
    - shut down, unplugging TB, plgging in TB, booting, internal screen is still off (Optimus fails!), previously setup extended display is off
    - device manager: Intel Iris is not found (turned off?)
    - setting up to extend the screen between both displays (external is main display)!
    - the previous step is compulsory! Without it, the next step will have NO effect
    - reinstalling Intel Graphics Driver works, reboot is showing internal display again
    - internal screen as main screen
    - reboot without external display -> internal display is switched off (Optimus fails!)
    - device manager: Intel Iris is not found (turned off again!)


HARDWARE PREPARING

  1. Open AKiTiO's box by a normal screwdriver, take out the PCIe board, attach the riser and the GPU to its x16 slot
  2. Attach PSU's power cable (blue) to the GPU and do the "paperclip trick" as shown in picture 1.
  3. Attach DVI/HDMI cable to the GPU (if using a back bracket, I wasn't able to fit DVI-cable because the plastic part was too wide) and use any external monitor you like (4K would be nice to test with this setup)
  4. Place something under the GPU so that it will be steady (a removed front panel is perfect for this)
  5. Attach AKiTiO's 60W power plug to the DC jack of the PCIe board
  6. Connect TB cable
  7. Power up AKiTiO's box (green light should appear) and the PSU at the same time (I use a power strip with a switch on the floor)
  8. Turn on MacBook Pro (blue light should appear). If it is booting to OSX partition, change startup disk to Boot Camp partition from the OSX preferences.

BENCHMARKS

Optimus results (internal vs. external display):

3dMark_FireStrike (Graphics Score): 8785 vs. 9976 (88% performance of external display)

3dMark_11(Graphics Score): 12981 vs. 13773 (95% performance of external display)

Valley_ExtremeHD(Score): 1922 vs. 2104 (91% performance of external display)

Results (eGPU external display vs. Hackintosh):

3dMark_FireStrike (Graphics Score): 9976 vs. 12367 (81% performance of Hackintosh)

Valley_ExtremeHD(Score): 2104 vs. 2274 (92,5% performance of Hackintosh)

Results (eGPU internal display vs. Hackintosh):

3dMark_FireStrike (Graphics Score): 8785 vs. 12367 (71% performance of Hackintosh)

Valley_ExtremeHD(Score): 1922 vs. 2274 (84,5% performance of Hackintosh)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13311[/ATTACH]

POWER CONSUMPTION

Combination of GPU, ATX PSU, AKiTiO [without PSU], molex powered riser:

Idle ~ 21W

Valley ~ 150-160W (max. 180W)

3dMark11 ~ 200W (max 215W)

3dMark13_Sky ~ 195-200W (crashes after entering the cave)

3dMark13_Fire ~ 170-200W (max. 210W)

Furmark ~ 215W (max. 220W [100% power target])

Furmark ~ 225W (max. 230W [105% power target])

Furmark ~ 240W (max. 240W [110% power target])

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13312[/ATTACH]

Combination of GPU, ATX PSU, without riser [AKiTiO PSU in use!], measured on the ATX PSU:

Idle ~ 12,5W

Furmark ~ 150W (max. 155W [100% power target])

Furmark ~ 158W (max. 160W [105% power target])

Furmark ~ 165W (max. 167W [110% power target])

Without riser [AKiTiO PSU in use!], measured on the AKiTiO PSU:

Idle ~ 10W

Furmark ~ 70W [100% power target]

Furmark ~ 74-75W [105% power target]

Furmark ~ 78-80W [110% power target]

imho a powered riser is almost compulsory. The AKiTiO PSU specifications are output 12V, 5A = 60W. Furmark, which is of course no real world scenario, is exceeding the PSUs specifications. Might work for temporary peaks in games (real world scenario).

PROBLEMS

- GTX 970 is making a "coil noise", which is appearing in all 3d load situations (low and high FPS). This card will be exchanged by the webshop I bought it from.

- Pictures, web links to benchmarks and anything else has to wait until (earliest) Monday, because I will send the card back and not at home until monday.

UPDATE

Was able to install the GTX 970 in OSX 10.10 Yosemite, following @Mark guide: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8059-%5Bguide%5D-2013-15-macbook-pro-gt750m-gtx780ti%4016gbps-tb2-sonnet-ee-iii-d-osx10-10-a.html

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12881[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]12882[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]12883[/ATTACH]

BUT after changing to the OSX Default Graphics Driver, the eGPU setup is spoiled again… Can't fix it with reinstalling the WebDriver, kext editing, fixing and shutdown+boot.

eGPU isn't recognized anymore :(

PICTURES

Note: MSI GTX970 with coil whine was replaced by EVGA FTW GTX970

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13306[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]13307[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]13308[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]13309[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]13310[/ATTACH]

Hi!

I've just started to setup my eGPU with:

Akitio Thunder 2

GTX 960 mini Gigabyte

Coolermaster 650w (Paperclip)

So my problem is I can't install the Nvidia drivers. I've put the GPU into the PCI slot in the akitio box. Then I've connected the akitio Power supply. And then I've connected the 6-pin Cable into the GTX 960 from the Cooler Master.

I'm booting up my mac (Mid 2014 13'') and pressing alt. When the bootcamp selection start I turn on the coolermaster and the akitio PSU. After that I press boot windows (windows 8.1 preview). When I'm searching for the egpu i cannot find it in the device manager either in OSX.

When I trying to install the Nvidia drivers (the newest one) it says ''Nvidia Installer cannot continue'' ''The graphic driver could not find compatible Graphics hardware''.

The fans on the GPU started the first time I booted the computer (That was in OSX) and after that thay never started again.

The akitio box blue and green light is up. I've connected the akitio through thunderbolt (ofcourse).

I've put a HDMI Cable from the GTX 960 to my external Acer minitor and made it as the main screen in windows 8.

Could you guys help me out? Why dosent my computer detect the GPU? I've tried the troubleshooting steps in the forum but it doesnt work. Help.

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Hi!

I've just started to setup my eGPU with:

Akitio Thunder 2

GTX 960 mini Gigabyte

Coolermaster 650w (Paperclip)

So my problem is I can't install the Nvidia drivers. I've put the GPU into the PCI slot in the akitio box. Then I've connected the akitio Power supply. And then I've connected the 6-pin Cable into the GTX 960 from the Cooler Master.

I'm booting up my mac (Mid 2014 13'') and pressing alt. When the bootcamp selection start I turn on the coolermaster and the akitio PSU. After that I press boot windows (windows 8.1 preview). When I'm searching for the egpu i cannot find it in the device manager either in OSX.

When I trying to install the Nvidia drivers (the newest one) it says ''Nvidia Installer cannot continue'' ''The graphic driver could not find compatible Graphics hardware''.

The fans on the GPU started the first time I booted the computer (That was in OSX) and after that thay never started again.

The akitio box blue and green light is up. I've connected the akitio through thunderbolt (ofcourse).

I've put a HDMI Cable from the GTX 960 to my external Acer minitor and made it as the main screen in windows 8.

Could you guys help me out? Why dosent my computer detect the GPU? I've tried the troubleshooting steps in the forum but it doesnt work.

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I will post some pictures later.

Parts:

N23JF - discrete motherboard with EDP

THRH4 - EDP cable

K8X8M - lcd back cover EDP (was only comparing both back covers for a minute and did not see difference)

M1WHV - FHD lcd AUO AHVA

Funny thing there's no camera connector on motherboard with EDP.

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