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US$189 AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box (16Gbps-TB2)


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Idk why you're quoting me on this, I just answered a question regarding the powering. And at the moment of the answer there was no benchmark result available and no price either.

If you want to use your GTX 780 you have to use another case anyway as there isn't any GTX 780 that fits the Akitio case, unless you want to destroy your Akitio case and open the front. So for the time you're using the GTX 780 just get any ATX PSU that delivers enough power. Switch to the DA-2 once you've got a GTX 970 that fits into the case.

Also don't buy the Gigabyte GTX 970 Mini, it doesn't fit in the case, it's too tall.

Dell DA-2 and GTX 970 works fine, so for that there is no need to search for a bigger PSU. There aren't any other PSUs in the style of the Dell DA-2 that deliver more power anyway. The bigger ones that exist have almost every time a voltage different to 12V, so it's unusable.

For the cables just check 2nd post of this thread -> http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/9426-220w-dell-da-2-ac-adapter-discussion.html

Great info!

Thanks a lot Morv

I went to check 780 Power and the reviews seem to show it its 400W+ :(

I would really need an external PSU.

I was thinking about getting one TFX400. Its small, modular, and gives few more power. The size will be more or less the same like Dell. There are similar solutions from BeQuiet

About the Gigabyte 970 Mini.... i really had the idea it would fit!!

So, is there a lit of cards that fit? Will the normal 970 fit? Or the 970 mini from Asus?

Any 980 that fit?

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In my past research i found that there are plenty of more powerful da2 style psu on ebay. Found up to 300w but they dont have plastic casing and have screw type terminals for wiring so more diy.

If you mean those thingies -> http://www.ebay.de/itm/DC-12V-8A-10A-15A-20A-25A-30A-LED-Trafo-Netzteil-Netzadapter-Fur-Streifen-Stripe-/252047831154?var=&hash=item3aaf38b07 then I know what kind of you're talking about but they're ugly.

Great info!

Thanks a lot Morv

I went to check 780 Power and the reviews seem to show it its 400W+ :(

I would really need an external PSU.

I was thinking about getting one TFX400. Its small, modular, and gives few more power. The size will be more or less the same like Dell. There are similar solutions from BeQuiet

About the Gigabyte 970 Mini.... i really had the idea it would fit!!

So, is there a lit of cards that fit? Will the normal 970 fit? Or the 970 mini from Asus?

Any 980 that fit?

No, the Asus won't fit either, same problem. GTX 980 are too long in general. You won't get anything above the GTX 970 into the case. Comparable usual AMD cards are not available in these lengths either.

GTX 970 that fit are the one from Zotac with 2 fans, KFA2/Galax GTX 970 with 2 fans, Inno3D HerculeZ X2, Inno3D Combat with one fan. That's about it.

Check some of the implementation guides for Apple systems -> Implementation Guides - Apple

There are plenty of GTX 970 implementations so you might get some idea.

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After checking some benchmarks im wondering why would I pay 700e for a Nano, to see 14k score (with OC , default is 12k as seen in Guru), when I can also get Gigabyte 970 Mini (same size) for 320e (-400e almost) and I will do 11500k score (with OC)

In other words, Nano costs 2x more 970 Mini, but only delivers 1.28x more performance (OC Vs OC compare).

R9 Nano doesn’t offer the best performance per value - the selling factor is the size. It’s to be observed that those are desktop computer results and they don’t correlate linearly to eGPUs via Thunderbolt 2. With a R9 390, you can reach ~6% better eGPU 3DMark11 graphics result compared to GTX 970 on a quad core i7 MBP. With default clocks it beats my reference GTX 980 too (the same 6%, look here).

I remember there is an ITX sized R9 380, but the only concern is the stability with the AKiTiO. I’m looking forward to see the first R9 Nano stability and performance results as an external GPU.

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R9 Nano doesn’t offer the best performance per value - the selling factor is the size. It’s to be observed that those are desktop computer results and they don’t correlate linearly to eGPUs via Thunderbolt 2. With a R9 390, you can reach ~6% better eGPU 3DMark11 graphics result compared to GTX 970 on a quad core i7 MBP. With default clocks it beats my reference GTX 980 too (the same 6%, look here).

I remember there is an ITX sized R9 380, but the only concern is the stability with the AKiTiO. I’m looking forward to see the first R9 Nano stability and performance results as an external GPU.

So, if you were about to build a new eGPU system, what would you do?

I'm planning to keep my 780 until next year Q1 - when hbm2 is released. No real reason to buy a 970 when 780ti OC will do the same.

However, this will create some power limitations. So, for now, I'm planning to buy the akitio, leave the box open and feed these fellows with a normal PSU, or even a bequiet SFX (that can handle 450W).

Then, next year, I could just drop in a HBM2.

I'm just wondering if 4x bandwith will start to be a limitation....

BTW, can with the PSU, I can beed both GPU + akitio correct? Do I need some adapter?

- - - Updated - - -

Yep that's the ones :D

I have these to feed my led's at home! hahahah Inside my fake celing

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I'm just wondering if 4x bandwith will start to be a limitation....

BTW, can with the PSU, I can beed both GPU + akitio correct? Do I need some adapter?

Limitation works for other people, right?!

You will have to make this barrel plug and connect it to the same PSU you are using to power the GPU: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/8317-%5Bguide%5D-making-molex-barrel-adapter.html

And please read: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/10061-basic-egpu-hardware-guide-macs.html

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Hey guys, I'm running into a bit of an issue here.

I've been trying to get to run a stock-clocked Titan X on my Akitio. What I've initially done is opened the chassis, plugged the GPU straight into the Akitio, with a molex-to-barrel plug and a 450W Silverstone SST-45SF PSU (80+ gold). It was working well for a couple of months (i.e. it ran Unigine Valley for hours on end), until it started becoming unstable! I have been getting crashes in both Windows and OS X. When it crashes it's usually within an hour or two into gaming on Windows, no matter whether the game put the GPU at 84c or hovering around 45c.

So what I've done is changed the barrel plug to go straight into the EPS plug (i.e. an EPS-barrel adaptor). It still crashes. I've decided to buy a custom ACX cooler for my Titan. Doesn't solve it either, although I won't be getting 84c temps anymore.

The only way I had a stable set up so far is if I used my Sonnet III-D instead. However, this isn't ideal for me as I can't use it on Windows (as I have a MacBook with the 750m dGPU, but I'd love to fix this problem). Saying that, I modified the III-D to use the 450W Silverstone PSU rather than the 300W built-in PSU and I had a 780 Ti run on it, on both Windows and OS X without problems.

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Hey guys, I'm running into a bit of an issue here.

I've been trying to get to run a stock-clocked Titan X on my Akitio. What I've initially done is opened the chassis, plugged the GPU straight into the Akitio, with a molex-to-barrel plug and a 450W Silverstone SST-45SF PSU (80+ gold). It was working well for a couple of months (i.e. it ran Unigine Valley for hours on end), until it started becoming unstable! I have been getting crashes in both Windows and OS X. When it crashes it's usually within an hour or two into gaming on Windows, no matter whether the game put the GPU at 84c or hovering around 45c.

So what I've done is changed the barrel plug to go straight into the EPS plug (i.e. an EPS-barrel adaptor). It still crashes. I've decided to buy a custom ACX cooler for my Titan. Doesn't solve it either, although I won't be getting 84c temps anymore.

The only way I had a stable set up so far is if I used my Sonnet III-D instead. However, this isn't ideal for me as I can't use it on Windows (as I have a MacBook with the 750m dGPU, but I'd love to fix this problem). Saying that, I modified the III-D to use the 450W Silverstone PSU rather than the 300W built-in PSU and I had a 780 Ti run on it, on both Windows and OS X without problems.

Your description suggests that the only change from it's stable to unstable state was time. No change in hardware. In which case it may point to some deterioration of the Thunder2 or the TB cable.

If you haven't modified the Thunder2 as yet, I'd suggest contact AKiTiO advising of your results and ask if they can swap the boards out.

If you have modified the Thunder2 then you may have a hard time to get some cooperation there.

Only two things come to mind then:

1. adding filtering caps to your 12V input : http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/10150-fixing-instability-akitio-thunder2-w-gtx970-when-using-dell-da-2-a.html

2. creating a 75W slot bypass including isolating the power pins as described at http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2-98.html#post122901

I'll add that @goalque has noted that AMD eGPU implementations are unstable with the AKiTiO Thunder2 for reasons we don't entirely understand. Same deal, works fine with a Sonnet III-D.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Quote

Here's the listing of implementations of just Macbook systems like yours. Please review the Details of each to get a clearer idea of what's involved.























System
Enclosure
riser
+PSU
eGPU
bandwidth
mode
Details
OS
Special features
15" Macbook Pro GT650M AKiTiO Thunder2 Y ATX TITAN_Z 10Gbps-TB1 UEFI nesone OSX 10.10 youtube video
AKiTiO Thunder2-opened - DA-2 GTX970 10Gbps-TB1 UEFI w4vz OSX 10.10
AKiTiO Thunder2 - DA-2 GTX970-ITX 10Gbps-TB1 MBR bsohn Win7/OSX10.10.3 AIO, DA-2 input + cooling mods
AKiTiO Thunder2 - ATX GTX970-ITX 10Gbps-TB1 MBR giordy Win8.1/OSX10.10
PE4L 2.1b + EE - ATX HD7970 4Gbps-TBEC2 MBR Rhodesie Win10TP
AKiTiO Thunder2-opened - ATX GTX960 10Gbps-TB1 MBR computersaysno Win8.1 Black painted AKiTiO
AKiTiO Thunder2 Y SFX GTX960 10Gbps-TB1 MBR errin Win8.1
AKiTiO Thunder2 Y ATX GTX750Ti-ITX 10Gbps-TB1 MBR karthikrajanv Win8.1
BPlus TH05 - ATX GTX560Ti 8Gbps-TB1 UEFI shelltoe Win8.1
PE4L 2.1b + EE - ATX GTX760 4Gbps-TBEC2 MBR ScantyChunk Win7




The 120W AC adapter will provide sufficient power to drive your GTX750Ti + TB circuitry. A 60W is insufficient.



My Akitio is arriving next monday with my Dell DA02 Power Supply, I'm thinking on getting a EVGA GTX 750 Ti on Amazon but I just checked that there are no extra PCIE power connectors on the top, do I need to get a PCIe Power Riser or just with a PCIe splitter and barrel can deliver that kind of power to the Akitio?

Thanks in advance.
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My Akitio is arriving next monday with my Dell DA02 Power Supply, I'm thinking on getting a EVGA GTX 750 Ti on Amazon but I just checked that there are no extra PCIE power connectors on the top, do I need to get a PCIe Power Riser or just with a PCIe splitter and barrel can deliver that kind of power to the Akitio?

You will just need to make the 8-Pin -> barrel mod :D

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Ok so i'm having some trouble with my setup

I've got a thunder 2 with an uprated 120W power supply from eBay and an Nvidia 750ti card (powered only from Pcie slot)

I've been researching how this would work for a while and the following information from an Akitio engineer who Nando4 contacted convinced me it was possible.

We implemented the x16 PCIe slot although we only use x4 lanes signal that Thunderbolt can support. By spec the x16 PCIe slot is capable of 75W power while the x4 is spec’ed at 25W.. That means, if the user uses a power supply that is big enough, there is no problem that our design can support x16 &af_placement_id=1&dv=c208c53654769241908caf4bb8c48335"]PCIe card that requires 75W power. I do not know why this post described that many complicated HW reworks. The fact is, no rework is needed. That is the reason why OWC’s PCIe Box has the identical PCBAs as ours but they shipped with the 120W power supply.

By the requirement of Intel/Apple, we need to reserve 30W power for the Thunderbolt circuits because it may need to provide power to the bus-powered downstream devices. That’s why we use 60W power supply but we only leave 25W for the &af_placement_id=1&dv=c208c53654769241908caf4bb8c48335"]PCIe card. For the eGPU application, users do not connect anything else to the Thunderbolt daisy-chain. In such case 10W for the Thunderbolt circuits should be enough and there is 50W to the &af_placement_id=1&dv=c208c53654769241908caf4bb8c48335"]PCIe card. In order to support 75W power to the PCIe card, users can simply upgrade the power to 90W or larger.

However it doesn't seem to work too well. I have it detected and running in OSX with all the kext file modifications but when it's put under load it stutters and you can hear the card making clicking noises.

My assessment of this is that it is suffering from a lack of power. I think every time I hear a click (always associated with frame skipping in game) the card is being starved of power. It's definitely not a faulty card as I tested it in my friends pc and it runs perfectly.

I am aware that there is a mod that can be done which involves soldering parts of the akitio's circuit boards together to bypass a 25w restriction, but as I understand from the engineers advice, this shouldn't be a problem anyway.

Hoping someone can shed some light on the problem for me.

Thanks in advance.

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Ok so i'm having some trouble with my setup

I've got a thunder 2 with an uprated 120W power supply from eBay and an Nvidia 750ti card (powered only from Pcie slot)

I've been researching how this would work for a while and the following information from an Akitio engineer who Nando4 contacted convinced me it was possible.

However it doesn't seem to work too well. I have it detected and running in OSX with all the kext file modifications but when it's put under load it stutters and you can hear the card making clicking noises.

My assessment of this is that it is suffering from a lack of power. I think every time I hear a click (always associated with frame skipping in game) the card is being starved of power. It's definitely not a faulty card as I tested it in my friends pc and it runs perfectly.

I am aware that there is a mod that can be done which involves soldering parts of the akitio's circuit boards together to bypass a 25w restriction, but as I understand from the engineers advice, this shouldn't be a problem anyway.

Hoping someone can shed some light on the problem for me.

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like your 120W AC adapter isn't capable of delivering the power required by your GTX750Ti under load. Maybe a faulty AC adapter? Can you try another?

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I can get another off eBay.

Is it definitely not a 25w limitation set by the slot?

Another problem I have is that I can only get it working by outputting from the graphics card itself, but then I have one of my monitors which isn't being driven by the eGPU. Is there a way to get it running so I can display output from my mac (mini 2012) rather than the card?

Thanks for your help.

Edit: this is the same power supply I got off eBay http://www.lightmalls.com/hr-091210a-ac-dc-adapter-charger-12v-10a-switching-power-supply-100-240v

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I can get another off eBay.

Is it definitely not a 25w limitation set by the slot?

Another problem I have is that I can only get it working by outputting from the graphics card itself, but then I have one of my monitors which isn't being driven by the eGPU. Is there a way to get it running so I can display output from my mac (mini 2012) rather than the card?

Thanks for your help.

Edit: this is the same power supply I got off eBay Buy HR-091210A AC/DC Adapter Charger 12V 10A Switching Power Supply (100-240V) , from for $18.87 only in Main Website. Worldwide Fast Free Shipping!

There is no 25W limitation on the slot.

Read the first quote from http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2-120.html#post129670

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There is no 25W limitation on the slot.

That's what I figured but I wanted to be sure as i've read about people soldering together parts of the thunder 2 to supposedly bypass the restriction.

As Nando4 said it could just be a bad PSU.

Anyone know of a way which I can monitor the GPU's power usage in OSX?

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Another problem I have is that I can only get it working by outputting from the graphics card itself, but then I have one of my monitors which isn't being driven by the eGPU. Is there a way to get it running so I can display output from my mac (mini 2012) rather than the card?

What?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Ok so i'm having some trouble with my setup

I've got a thunder 2 with an uprated 120W power supply from eBay and an Nvidia 750ti card (powered only from Pcie slot)

I've been researching how this would work for a while and the following information from an Akitio engineer who Nando4 contacted convinced me it was possible.

However it doesn't seem to work too well. I have it detected and running in OSX with all the kext file modifications but when it's put under load it stutters and you can hear the card making clicking noises.

My assessment of this is that it is suffering from a lack of power. I think every time I hear a click (always associated with frame skipping in game) the card is being starved of power. It's definitely not a faulty card as I tested it in my friends pc and it runs perfectly.

I am aware that there is a mod that can be done which involves soldering parts of the akitio's circuit boards together to bypass a 25w restriction, but as I understand from the engineers advice, this shouldn't be a problem anyway.

Hoping someone can shed some light on the problem for me.

Thanks in advance.

Upgraded 120 watt power supply? Like this: http://m.ebay.com/itm/120-Watt-12V-10-Amp-AC-Adapter-For-LP-12100-120W-12VDC-10A-Power-Supply-Cord-/400735120941?nav=SEARCH

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I'm planning on re-enclosing my akitio thunder2 boards and have some questions about power distribution.

1. Am I correct in assuming that all pcie slot power is routed through the 4 wire cable and thunderbolt card, and that this system is capable of providing 75 watts?

2. If I connected the gpu to the thunderbolt card directly through a riser or something (not using akitio's pcie board) would it work? (Supplying 75w through the 4 pin cable of course)

Thanks in advance.

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2. Yes! But riser cards can cause stability problems, because they have bad quality in general.

If I custom fabbed a PCB instead of using a riser would there be more instability than using the AKITIO itself? I can't think of any reasons it would.

Also, i was scrolling through the first 20ish pages and saw that some guy tried to power the thunderbolt card using his ATX PSU, and was unable to get the card dectected in windows. Does that mean I must power the thunderbolt card with the barrel connector through the pcie board? That would kind of suck.

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@Orowheat: There are multiple ways of powering the AKiTiO and the GPU. You can:

- make the barrel plug mod

- solder wires direktly to the barrel connector on the AKiTiO PCB or the back of the PCB

- use a powered riser

I can't imagine the cusom fabbed riser you mentioned, that sounds way too complicated. "The guy" with the undetected GPU could be any reason... please link! Could be a "beginner", AMD card user, power riser user,....

I have to say, I managed to run my 1. and 2. setup with a powered riser without problems, but the bad quality of the risers was the cause for a lot of problems for some people.

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