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


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Can you boot Windows without the eGPU. Plug in an power the eGPU when Windows is running and try to install the drivers.

Sadly it's still the same. If I'm not wrong bootcamp doesn't support hotplug for TB :(

Thank you anyway

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I can confirm that my AKiTiO unit also does not receive any power from a powered riser, it only turns on when plugged in via its own power source. I've tried multiple risers.

I just tried the Akitio without its own power source today. Mac OS X detects it. But I'm not so sure about bootcamp.

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Hi All! Just wanted to share a piece of information - I recently (last week) purchased an AKiTiO Thunder2 box from Amazon. Before Amazon, I went to B&H (in-person) and was informed that AKiTiO had discontinued the Thunder2 PCIe box and that B&H would be receiving a new model in the next one to two weeks.

Compare: Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box Expansion Chassis AK-T2PC-TIA B&H Photo (listed as "Discontinued")

To: Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Expansion Chassis AK-T2PC-TIA-AKTU B&H (listed as "Usually ships in 7-10 business days")

The old version seems to have the manufacturer model number AK-T2PC-TIA and the new version carries the number AK-T2PC-TIA-AKTU. The AKiTiO website also lists AK-T2PC-TIA-AKTU as the current model number: AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box | PCI Express Expansion Box with Thunderbolt 2 Interface | AKiTiO.

Does anyone know what the change was that AKiTiO made? Does anyone have the new version yet? I'm pretty sure the one I got from Amazon is the old version, as it carries the model number "T2PC-TIA."

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Okay so I have been using my EGPU in Windows for about a week now and everything has been great other than a few crashes here and there but I expected that. Today I decided I would get it to work in OS X. I did not have the "joy" that I did have in Windows. I have modified all KEXT files, installed the CUDA driver and NVIDIA Web Driver. Allowed signing of driver certificates in terminal, I cleared my KEXT cache. However when I boot into OS X after following the startup procedures all it shows up as is "Display" as you can see below, If anyone could help me figure out why this is happening it would be greatly appreciated @Tech Inferno Fan @Dschijn @Sachin10 @entzoe

. 13520d1420512201t-screen-shot-2015-01-05-8.34.11-pm.png

Also just some pictures of my setup in case you guys are interested

13521d1420512241t-img_2723.jpg13522d1420512253t-img_2688.jpg13523d1420512266t-img_2687.jpg13524d1420512295t-img_2690.jpg13525d1420512341t-img_2726.jpg

If these images seem disproportionate it's because I scaled them to 2560x1440 to upload them here. (I know I posted this in the wrong forum before so here it is in the right forum now)

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Never mind I just did not have the graphics driver selected, it now totally works in OS X and is recognized by iStats Menu and shows the load of it. If anyone wants anymore photos, or specs I would be happy to provide them because I could not have done this without this community! I will EVENTUALLY make a video of my setup but that is in due time.

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Hi!

I've been having a lot of trouble with my eGPU. First off, my specs:

Windows 8.1

ASUS ROG G750

24 gigs ram

GTX 970 with ThunderTek PCIe to Thunderbolt adapter

Corsair CX 600, 12v@46A

I have tried the troubleshooting steps in the guide.

Now, on to the problem. The eGPU is hooked up through a thunderbolt cable to the adapter, and then from the adapter to an x4 to x16 (unpowered) riser. The GTX 970 is then plugged into the PSU and then into a monitor. When attempting to set up the eGPU, the computer will only detect the card if it is not connected to the psu; otherwise, it disappears from the device manager. When connected, the card receives code 12 or code 43 errors, but can usually be resolved. When the eGPU is connected, it refuses to run on the external monitor, probably due to the fact that it's not plugged in. This really is a problem, because I have been trying to get this working for the past couple days, to no avail. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Never mind I just did not have the graphics driver selected, it now totally works in OS X and is recognized by iStats Menu and shows the load of it. If anyone wants anymore photos, or specs I would be happy to provide them because I could not have done this without this community! I will EVENTUALLY make a video of my setup but that is in due time.

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7910-diy-egpu-macbook-experiences-20.html

Glad that fixed it.

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Hi all

So I've been able to get my GTX 970 running on my Mac Mini Late 2012 using Akitio Thunder2. Windows seems to be running fine. However, there seems to be complications with the eGPU + OS X... For one, the computer itself is running a lot slower in OS X than it usually did before. There is a noticeable delay compared to previously. Another thing is that there's no sound through the HDMI connection. I'm super worried about this since I work in Photoshop and After Effects and as soon as I run either programs, it slows down to a crawl. It never performed like this before. What did I do wrong? Please let me know when you can. Thanks!

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Never mind I just did not have the graphics driver selected, it now totally works in OS X and is recognized by iStats Menu and shows the load of it. If anyone wants anymore photos, or specs I would be happy to provide them because I could not have done this without this community! I will EVENTUALLY make a video of my setup but that is in due time.

Hello @Shadow_Bullet, I would like to congratulate you on your successful build. I myself am about to build one which is very similar to yours, which is a MBP13 Late 2013 + GTX 970 + Akitio + OS X 10.10.1

I have some questions to ask regarding your build. Hope you are able to share some of your experience.

1. How did you power your Akitio PCIE board ? with a powered riser or with the Atikio adapter ? from you pictures it seems like you are using the Atikio adapter, I’ve read on other threads that the power from the adapter isnt sufficient enough and may experience some problems.

2. From your pictures, I can see that you were able to fit in a full size GTX 970 card onto the Atikio PCIE tray, did you have to modify the tray in order to fit the card ? I’m planning to build a custom case or maybe to buy a mini itx case, but if the Atikio tray can be still be used to hold the GTX 970, I wouldn’t mind saving some money and time using your method.

3. On OSX, I read that you were able to sort out the default driver issue on OSX. Have you experience any lag or delays when using software tools like adobe illustrator or video editing programs or any work softwares ? on another thread someone posted experiencing delays/lag when running softwares like adobe illustrator and after effects on OS X + EGPU.

4. As an everyday use setup question. My Macbook usually stays at home but occasionally I will take it out to work outside from home, I almost never shutdown my Macbook and I usually put it to sleep mode even when I’m travelling with it in my bag. My question, when getting home and reconnecting the macbook to the EGPU do you need to restart OS X in order for the EGPU to be working or is it simply by reconnecting the EGPU thunderbolt cable OS X is able to detect the EGPU without requiring a restart ?

5. Have you tested any native OS X games - Steam ? any issues ?

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Hey,

I recently received the Thunder2, and I really like the quality and build of this case. Would it be possible to implement the GTX970?

I got my eye on the Asus GTX970-DCMOC-4GD5 which is just 170mm long. However it requires 8-pins power connection.

Do you think it's possible to get a better power adapter for the Thunder2, and solder an 8-pins connection in the case? How much watt power adapter do I require?

Thanks for the advice.

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You could try and get a very powerful Laptop PSU (more than 200W, better 250-300W) and solder an 8-Pin adapter to it. But that would be a hell of a DIY ^^

Here is someone stuggeling with the limited power offered by a Laptop PSU: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8304-gtx970-dell-da-2-test-results.html

With that you could provide the 8-Pin power directly to the GPU (careful with the correct Pins, maybe you need an adapter so rearrange the Pins to match the PCIe specs).

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You could try and get a very powerful Laptop PSU (more than 200W, better 250-300W) and solder an 8-Pin adapter to it. But that would be a hell of a DIY ^^

The selection is very limited, the adapter has to have 12V output, small form factor, fanless, affordable and ~24A (If these conditions aren't met then an ATX PSU would probably do a better job).

Finding such ac-adapter has given me headache for a long time!

I've looked into the 19V Alienware m18x 330W AC-adapter and I've found an expert in this area, modifying the output voltage would be too advanced even for him, plus the adapter is craazy expensive too.

However, there is still one VERY interesting option left, which I'm now investigating: The 280W PS3 PSU (the model with 12V 23.5A and plastic housing).

This PSU can be had for $10 - $15 incl. shipping and might be able to support a GTX 970!

It will need some DIY cabling first, I'll report back when I've managed to test it (have it at home on my table ready for mod).

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Quick update on my situation:

I've just finished testing my set up with a GTX 460 and I'm happy to report that the system is definitely more stable than with the GTX 670. I managed to run 3dMark Firestrike, Skidiver and Unigine Heaven Extreme continuously for several hours without a hitch. Naturally, performance is much worse than with the GTX 670 but everything else is comparable (even power draw since the TDPs are similar) which seems to confirm the hypothesis that my problem was in the GPU and not the rest of the set up. I'll keep running tests to verify these initial results - I have an AMD R9 290X that I may end up testing as well.

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Glad to see yours seems to work proper now. :)

I have to admit that my system (with the GTX760) is still not perfect. I still run into the aforementioned problems, but A LOT less frequent. It feels almost stable. But my gtx760 and gtx770 are from the same manufacturer (Gigabyte). Maybe their BIOS or internal workings isn't well suited to be used for e-gpu purposes. So I might search for a similar gpu from another manufacturer and see how that works out.

Thanks for posting your update though. Always happy to see ppl getting their problems resolved. :)

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Helo. I am new at forum. First i want tell hello to everybody :)

I read a lot about akitio thunder2 pcie box,i must tell its great product for what i have read.

Now i have a qustion. I plan to buy gtx 750 ti for my mac mini 2012. That graphic card need only 60w power. Now i am corious will it work with akitio thunder 2?

do i need more power or is that all i need. thank you everybody for such great forum. sorry for my bad english,i am from Croatia :D

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Helo. I am new at forum. First i want tell hello to everybody :)

I read a lot about akitio thunder2 pcie box,i must tell its great product for what i have read.

Now i have a qustion. I plan to buy gtx 750 ti for my mac mini 2012. That graphic card need only 60w power. Now i am corious will it work with akitio thunder 2?

do i need more power or is that all i need. thank you everybody for such great forum. sorry for my bad english,i am from Croatia :D

Welcome. Yes, there is one GTX750Ti implementation running purely off the 60W AKiTiO Thunder2 AC adapter without any riser. See http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8569-%5Bguide%5D-2011-11-macbook-air-gtx750ti%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-osx10-10-a.html#post116853

Recommend you also review specific implementations for your machine at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt

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Welcome. Yes, there is one GTX750Ti implementation running purely off the 60W AKiTiO Thunder2 AC adapter without any riser. See http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8569-%5Bguide%5D-2011-11-macbook-air-gtx750ti%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-osx10-10-a.html#post116853

Recommend you also review specific implementations for your machine at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt

thank you for quick answer. that is good if work without any riser.

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I have a ASUS GTX 970 MINI, corsair rm 450, akitio thunder 2 and an external monitor. I plugged the card into the akitiobox directly and powered the card with the corsair power supply. Then I connect the card to an external monitor using hdmi cables and applied paperclip trick. When i start in windows, both the fan of the power supply and the card runs, but the card does not get recognized under device manager. The only thing under graphic adapter is the gt750m from my mbp.

I tried infall driver but the card still can't get recognized.

Any help plz?

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