2014 15" MBP Iris + GTX760@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1 [Call]

[Call]

2014 Macbook Pro Retina 15" Iris GPU only model.

AKITIO Thunderbolt PCIE Box.

2M Apple Thunderbolt cable.

X16 toX16 riser with molex connector .

Corsair RM550 PSU.

MSI N760 2GD5/OC ITX.

ATX Power switcher.

Windows 8.1 EFI installation + Bootcamp driver.

Very simple step:

1 All parts connect together.

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

3 Power on Macbook pro.

4 Start windows.

5 Install driver

6 Well done.

When you starting windows internal LCD auto off.

Intel iris gpu auto power down when starting windows (Cant find iris 5200 in device manager).

Restart windows no need power off PSU,Nothing to do, start windows egpu auto detect.

3dMark 11

P7233

X2749

Sorry for my poor english...

[badbadbad]

That's really great news! Finally a much cheaper TB2 solution.

Now, to get it small and compact in preparation for any next gen mini cards..

[Downsidebloom]

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

[HeavyClocker]

Great news for me,I Just bought myself Macbook Pro Retina 15" with Iris pro/8GB RAM/256SSD from Apple for 1529 USD(Refurbished but OK for me)

And I also bought Akitio from B&H from 201 USD.But I have to wait 1 month to test them(I'm living at Turkey,I'm waiting for my friend to deliver my equipment:D)

[mnrc]

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).

[badbadbad]

that looks a lot like my original prototype before i built my custom board and made a case. the major issue with making it smaller is meeting gpu power requirements

We can try using a few smaller options: using the 8-pin Dell DA-2 240W adapter, using an ATX to DC adapter (Pico PSU), or the largest option which is to use the ST45SF-G. Not sure how to do the wiring on AkiTiO though.

[Hien Van]

Wow great news! Have you managed to make it works under Mac OS?

[Dogtooth97]

Such a great news! But I still not sure this system can be run on my rMBP15(with 750m)

[d0bb]

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

[d0bb]

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..

- - - Updated - - -

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

- - - Updated - - -

Cant work with 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 on this..

I'm using a late 2013 MacBook Pro 13inch, would this support windows 8 efi? And is your 280x unstable or running it via the Akitio is unstable?

[lunitik007]

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..

I'm planing to use current BIOS WIN7 install and my is not retina MBP but its the same model with 650m 1GB.

What do I need for AKiTiO GTX 660 to work under bootcamp.

Thanks.

[Call]

I'm using a late 2013 MacBook Pro 13inch, would this support windows 8 efi? And is your 280x unstable or running it via the Akitio is unstable?

Yes, my Powercolor 280x running via Akitio is unstable. .

2013 MacBook Pro13" is support Windows 8 EFI.

[d0bb]

Thanks call! Kind of a bummer I can't use a 290.. It would've saved me a ton of money lol

[d0bb]

Or do you think it's still possible to run an r9 290?

[hbomb2k]

Awesome, just bought one cant wait to see if i get similar results!!

[Sachin10]

When you starting windows internal LCD auto off.

Intel iris gpu auto power down when starting windows (Cant find iris 5200 in device manager).

Restart windows no need power off PSU,Nothing to do, start windows egpu auto detect.

Have you tried to enable Optimus to work with internal (retina) display?

[euqlaog]

I can confirm that Optimus works at least with EVGA GeForce GTX 780 and Gigabyte's 750Ti on Windows 8.1. I have the MacBook Pro with an Iris Pro only. After a straight reboot internal display remains black with GTX 780 (external display is recognised always), but works again after a few tries as I go to display settings and check "make this my main display", shut down, restart with alt/option key down and then select a Windows partition quickly. Anyway, after the first successful retina display detection, shutting down, waiting for a few seconds, and then restarting seems to be the most preferred way with GTX 780.

Powered riser is not required, but if you use it, AKiTiO's power supply is not necessary. You can take out the backplane + thunderbolt card from the box and put full length, more powerful GPU directly connected to the x16 slot and use AKiTiO's power supply as it is or 12V Molex to 5.5/2.5mm barrel plug adapter cable from ATX PSU. Unfortunately it seems that there is that 25W limit, so that 750Ti cannot work without connecting 6pin power plug. I tried with my own 12V barrel plug which should feed enough power (if making this kind of cable, make sure that you are using correct polarity and test it with multimeter). Anyway, great news is that GTX 780 works with 8pin + 6pin plugs connected (150W + 75W) and the rest 25W from the PCIe slot, maximum total power is 250W which is just enough for GTX 780.

Does anyone know why the 4-pin power cable to the thunderbolt card has to be connected when using a powered riser? Lights turn on, but GPU is not detected.

[lordromanov01]

...

Powered riser is not required, but if you use it, AKiTiO's power supply is not necessary. You can take out the backplane + thunderbolt card from the box and put full length, more powerful GPU directly connected to the x16 slot and use AKiTiO's power supply as it is or 12V Molex to 5.5/2.5mm barrel plug adapter cable from ATX PSU. Unfortunately it seems that there is that 25W limit, so that 750Ti cannot work without connecting 6pin power plug. I tried with my own 12V barrel plug which should feed enough power (if making this kind of cable, make sure that you are using correct polarity and test it with multimeter). Anyway, great news is that GTX 780 works with 8pin + 6pin plugs connected (150W + 75W) and the rest 25W from the PCIe slot, maximum total power is 250W which is just enough for GTX 780.

So if using a GTX 760 (max power 170W) one wouldn't need the powered riser? It uses two 6-pin plugs so that's 75W + 75W + 25W (from PCIe) = 175W. Is that cutting it too close?

EDIT: I got that wrong before: the 760 has 6-pin and 8-pin plugs so power shouldn't be a concern, even with overclocking

[euqlaog]

So if using a GTX 760 (max power 170W) one wouldn't need the powered riser? It uses two 6-pin plugs so that's 75W + 75W + 25W (from PCIe) = 175W. Is that cutting it too close?

If GTX 760 doesn't draw more than 175W, I think that you don't need a powered riser, given that 25W is enough from the PCIe such as it is for GTX 780. ATX/SFX PSU is needed in this situation. With a normal computer motherboard, x16 PCIe 2.0 slot outputs up to 75W, but I couldn't find any information if some graphics cards require that max 75W.

By the way, I am still not sure about 25W limit, because 750Ti model I am using, requires that 6-pin plug according to this:

Gigabyte GTX 750 Ti OC review | Graphics cards Reviews | TechRadar, but there exist cards that don't have this connector (EVGA - Products - EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti - 02G-P4-3751-KR).

I am planning to make a custom box without powered riser, because the double width back panel is removable and therefore making a longer enclosure much easier (but have to make holes to attach AKiTiO's card combination to the side). Not yet sure, if I will use a SFX or ATX size PSU inside. Because the GPU and thunderbolt controller are very close together, some fan in front of the box is needed to avoid heat problems.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

If GTX 760 doesn't draw more than 175W, I think that you don't need a powered riser, given that 25W is enough from the PCIe such as it is for GTX 780. ATX/SFX PSU is needed in this situation. With a normal computer motherboard, x16 PCIe 2.0 slot outputs up to 75W, but I couldn't find any information if some graphics cards require that max 75W.

By the way, I am still not sure about 25W limit, because 750Ti model I am using, requires that 6-pin plug according to this:

Gigabyte GTX 750 Ti OC review | Graphics cards Reviews | TechRadar, but there exist cards that don't have this connector (EVGA - Products - EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti - 02G-P4-3751-KR).

I am planning to make a custom box without powered riser, because the double width back panel is removable and therefore making a longer enclosure much easier (but have to make holes to attach AKiTiO's card combination to the side). Not yet sure, if I will use a SFX or ATX size PSU inside. Because the GPU and thunderbolt controller are very close together, some fan in front of the box is needed to avoid heat problems.

Pictures please

Given the high interest in the AKiTiO Thunderber2 PCIe to accomodate eGPUs, would you mind posting pics of your power arrangement and of the GTX780 installed to bring the installation to life?

Yes, the other interest would be in cards limited to slot-only power (max75W). We'll have to wait for someone to post their installation results there.

It's looking like the AKiTiO is the first affordable TB2 enclosure capable of hosting high performance cards without requiring a PCIe riser. This accessible technology now significantly raises the desirability of TB2-equipped notebooks.

[d0bb]

I have ordered all my parts, as well as a Galaxy 770. What is the OSX workaround for this setup? Goalque that setup looks stellar! I'm going to be tossing mine into a CM 120 Advanced Mini Itx Case. Can you tell me how you took out the AKITIO board of the enclosure??

[euqlaog]

I have ordered all my parts, as well as a Galaxy 770. What is the OSX workaround for this setup? Goalque that setup looks stellar! I'm going to be tossing mine into a CM 120 Advanced Mini Itx Case. Can you tell me how you took out the AKITIO board of the enclosure??

Thanks! The workaround is described here:

maxserve blog: (MacOSX 10.9.4 edition) How to recognize GPGPU via Thunderbolt external PCIe Box at MacOSX

I just used a screwdriver, no other tools required to take out the board and back panel. Good luck with your Galaxy 770!

[Sachin10]

Thanks goalque for the pictures of your setup!

Has somebody found out how to use Optimus to drive the internal display with the AKITIO Thunder2?

[euqlaog]

You're welcome Sachin10. I gave some instructions in my first post of this thread to enable Optimus, but it depends on the chosen graphics card. Once got it working, it should be like plug and play. 3DMark11 score with internal display was a bit lower than external, but still very efficient to play GPU and CPU intensive games with retina display only.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

You're welcome Sachin10. I gave some instructions in my first post of this thread to enable Optimus, but it depends on the chosen graphics card. Once got it working, it should be like plug and play. 3DMark11 score with internal display was a bit lower than external, but still very efficient to play GPU and CPU intensive games with retina display only.

@goalque, you're the first to do a 15" Macbook Pro + GTX780@16Gbs-TB2 eGPU implementation using a AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box + ATX PSU + molex-to-barrel adapter. You also didn't use a PCIe riser, but instead plugged straight into the AKiTiO box. This being a significant development over the Sonnet enclosures that did need a PCIe riser due to slot/chassis constraints.

Would you like to do a full implementation report of how you did it, along with benchmark results? This is a first and would be very helpful to others wanting to do the same as have all user submitted implementation reports. I'm happy to help you with the formatting of it if you like. Thanks.