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

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I think you need to plug in the 2.5mm DC jack to provide power to the mainboard. The yellow/black molex plugs is for the mainboard to supply power to the thunderbolt daughterboard.

Based on my analysis of the AKiTiO board this should not be necessary if using a PCIe riser/extender with 12V input. Those 12V PCIe slot tracks should lead back to the 12V line that feeds the daughterboard.

[arclord]

Based on my analysis of the AKiTiO board this should not be necessary if using a PCIe riser/extender with 12V input. Those 12V PCIe slot tracks should lead back to the 12V line that feeds the daughterboard.

If the daughterboard can be powered by the PCIe riser/extender with 12V input, it would be great. One less connection! Will test it when I get my PCIe extender with 12V molex plug.

[jacobsson]

@intelligence

There should be a chance fitting the pretty powerful GTX670 mini (17cm), even w/o modifications, in the closed enclosure. Drilling air holes on sides and top is unavoidable though to avoid overheating the card.

Also from my sign you can see that I made an 3D-printed enclosure for the exp gdc, work very good since it has a lot of air holes.

it's quite a stable build with thickness of ~3mm, it actually surprised me!

Aluminum is nice for thermal conductivity, but of course much harder to work with since it can't be printed out =)

If you know a good "tinsmith" (not sure if this is the correct word) that can help you this could be an awesome build.

What GPU are you planning to use?

The great thing about the ASUS GTX 670 mini is that it should be able to fit (170mm) inside the closed case and be powered by the 220W DA-2, there is even room for some OC since the TDP is only ~170W.

Of course one could wait for the GTX800 series (which is rumored to utilize the same thermal design as the "mini" did) and hope that they make some short and powerful high-end cards.

[Defo]

Has anyone been able to confirm whether or not the slot actually only delivers 25W? Or if that it can be easily modified? (without riser + molex)

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Has anyone been able to confirm whether or not the slot actually only delivers 25W? Or if that it can be easily modified? (without riser + molex)

Nobody as yet. Maybe you could be the first? The board looks to have plenty of 12V tap off points. Means could create an slot 12V/75W input by soldering in a a molex lead or floppy molex connector . Still not sure why AKiTiO have a 25W rating given they are using a 60W AC adapter. There is a 35W discrepacy. Is that an allowance for the Thunderbolt attached devices (two of which each can draw 10W each), and then maybe 15W for the daughterboard?

[Downsidebloom]

is it possible to use a powered riser to avoid issues with the 25w rating?

[jacobsson]

is it possible to use a powered riser to avoid issues with the 25w rating?

Yeah that should be an option for avoiding power starvation.

But that is also not a very practical solution though, so it would very useful to know if the slot provides enough by itself.

@Defo I also wonder if there is any marking/rating on the fuse itself?

[fiosky]

Yeah that should be an option for avoiding power starvation.

But that is also not a very practical solution though, so it would very useful to know if the slot provides enough by itself.

Do you mean that you need a bigger additional external enclosure? What are the other drawbacks of this approach? I'm asking because I wanted to get myself such a Thunder2 and use it with a powered riser in a bigger enclosure with a 300W psu.

I understand that it would be a really nice solution to have a sleek external psu and use the original case with gtx 670 mini, but the only difference/advantage is the sleeker case, isn't it?

best regards

[jacobsson]

Do you mean that you need a bigger additional external enclosure? What are the other drawbacks of this approach? I'm asking because I wanted to get myself such a Thunder2 and use it with a powered riser in a bigger enclosure with a 300W psu.

I understand that it would be a really nice solution to have a sleek external psu and use the original case with gtx 670 mini, but the only difference/advantage is the sleeker case, isn't it?

best regards

That's exactly my thought, a sleek implementation that could be easily transported, yet nice looking so that my GF stops complaining =)

Of course one could just scavenge the PCB, use a powered riser and ATX for power Mad Max -style (no judgement)

[sm0kes]

I wish I had the soldering / electrical skills to help figure this out. I'm patiently waiting to see if a nice compact and clean solution is possible with this box (e.g., Akitio + 670 Mini/760 ITX + Dell DA-2 brick).

[Downsidebloom]

Can you use the akitio to run on the internal screen? (retina mac lcd)

[Defo]

Any way to get around having to use riser + molex?

In other words, can the AKiTiO be modified to supply full power to the slot?

[jacobsson]

Any way to get around having to use riser + molex?

In other words, can the AKiTiO be modified to supply full power to the slot?

Are you the guy owning the Akitio or have I confused myself? =)

[lunitik007]

Has anyone tried AkiTio with macbook pro, does it work with win7 under bootcamp.

Price is no longer $200 its $270...

[Hien Van]

B&H still lists it as $201

Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box Expansion Chassis AK-T2PC-TIA B&H Photo

[Defo]

Are you the guy owning the Akitio or have I confused myself? =)

My bad, posted in wrong thread. Meant to ask the author of this thread: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7453-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-fully-support-macbook-pro-15-iris-model.html

But no, I don't own an Akitio

[Defo]

@author - Any way to get around having to use riser + molex?

In other words, can the AKiTiO be modified to supply full power to the slot?

[jacobsson]

My bad, posted in wrong thread. Meant to ask the author of this thread: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7453-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-fully-support-macbook-pro-15-iris-model.html

But no, I don't own an Akitio

Oh so it's @arclord that ownes it?

[lunitik007]

Will this setup work on MBP 15 mid 2012 (650m) with bootcamp win7 64bit?

Planing to use GTX 660 for eGPU.

Thanks

[Defo]

Oh so it's @arclord that ownes it?

Don't know if arclord owns one, but it seems call does.

[M-Low]

I'm patiently waiting to see if a nice compact and clean solution is possible with this box (e.g., Akitio + 670 Mini/760 ITX + Dell DA-2 brick).

@sm0kes The above is quite possible. @Call was able to power the thunder2 boards with only the x16 riser molex connector. He states,

Power on PSU (AKITIO Box power is supplied by X16 riser molex connector, No need original power adapter)

>> here.

A clean solution is easily workable. See what I did with my TH05 >> here.

(I will be selling that setup, including the TH05, power brick, and case assembly once my x16 riser arrives as I'm working on a new solution. Anyone with an older MacBook with Thunderbolt 1.0 could use this to it's full potential — much much better than non-Thunderbolt implementations)

[badbadbad]

What parts are needed to connect the molex to the 8-pin? Can't seem to find the right connectors.

If we do not have yet the Dell DA-2, can we use a 200W Pico PSU to power the x16 riser instead? This could probably eliminate the need for an 8-pin adapter.

[Call]

Is it possible to use the internal LCD? Would take advantage of the retina screen.

If you use EGPU, In windows 8 Cant find Iris pro gpu In device manager ,So cant use the internal LCD.......

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Very nice! This is the current best and cheapest solution we have.

Can you answer the question from the other thread? Can you confirm that the powered riser is necessary? Does the Akitio not provide enough power through its original PCIe slot?

(Of course, this would matter more with a 750Ti, since the 760 requires way more power anyway).

Till now, powered riser is necessary, because original power adapter only 65W, EGPU need 75W from pcie. I will order 4P PIN to DC 5.5 2.5MM to test 25W limitation.

[Call]

I'm really interested in this setup,

I'm thinking my setup would be this:

r9 290 (used for 250$)

Akitio enclosure 240 with shipping

Power supply 50$

ATX Power Supply Jumper 24 Pin No More Paperclips | eBay 20$ with shipping

PCI Express PCIe 16x Riser Card Ribbon Extend Cable Molex Power Capacity Filter | eBay

for just under 600$

Would this setup work? I'd buy it and test in the coming weeks. Please share your thoughts

I have powercolor 280x, It is work with akitio pcie box, but unstable(Freeze after few minutes in windows 8), I dont know what is the problem. I have another AMD Radeon HD 3450, It is fully work with akitio pcie box..

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@author - Any way to get around having to use riser + molex?

In other words, can the AKiTiObe modified to supply full power to the slot?

I will order 4P PIN to DC 5.5 2.5MM to test Akitio 25W limitation.

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Will this setup work on MBP 15 mid 2012 (650m) with bootcamp win7 64bit?

Planing to use GTX 660 for eGPU.

Thanks

Cant work on 2012 mid rMBP 15" with 650M, because 2012 mid rmbp cant fully support EFI windows 8 installation. When you install nvidia driver in EFI windows 8 will blue screen.........Maybe need DIY egpu 1.3 in bootcamp mode , But I cant succeed in this..

[Defo]

I will order 4P PIN to DC 5.5 2.5MM to test Akitio 25W limitation.

That would be great! I'm hoping that the Aikidio is eligible for use with a bigger power brick in order to get the full 75W from the slot.

Have you tried to get optimus to work? Shouldn't be a problem according to this thread.