2014 15" MBP Iris + GTX780@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1 [goalque]

[euqlaog]

CONFIGURATION

 

• Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina / 256GB / 16GB (Mid 2014), with Iris Pro graphics only
• AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box
• Silverstone Strider ST45SF-G 450W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply (v. 2.0)
• Self made connector to power up PSU ("paperclip trick")
• EVGA GeForce GTX 780 6GB SC w/ EVGA ACX Cooler
• Apple 2m Thunderbolt Cable

 

 

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

 

HARDWARE PREPARING

 

1. Open AKiTiO's box by a normal screwdriver, take out the PCIe board and attach 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
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.

Picture 1.

After a few seconds Windows login screen should appear. If it shows up in the internal (retina) screen and a waiting circle seems to be a little slow, as well keyboard inputs to the username/password fields, this is good news. You have optimus enabled and both screens will work smoothly after logged in.

What if the exernal screen is working only and internal is black? This is nothing to be worried about. The GPU will work at full performance, but if you like to try enabling internal screen and do some 3K gaming, do the following:

 

1. Go to the screen resolution settings (Control panel > Appearance and Personalisation > Display > Screen resolution), and select "extend these displays", drag your internal screen to the left side if it is not there yet and check "make this my main display".
2. Shut down your MacBook Pro
3. Wait about 10 seconds
4. Turn on your MacBook Pro (by keeping alt/option key pressed down, and quickly select the Windows partition)
5. If the internal screen stays black, try again from step 1

 

When you have enabled Optimus, do not select "restart", instead always select "shut down", because restarting might disable the Optimus.

There are three power solutions at the moment, choose only one of them

1) By using self made Molex to barrel (2.5mm/5.5mm) plug adapter. The GPU is attached directly into x16 slot. No need for AKiTiO's 60W power adapter. Take into account that power goes through the TB card and x4 slot, which is specified to carry only 25W, but according to my power consumption tests it is able to eat much more. This does work for most of the GPUs as they don't seem to use that 75W. A powered riser is preferred, because we don't know how safe this is with more power consuming GPUs from x16 slot. However, if you choose this method, please protect the 4-pin cable connecting the TB card and PCIe board.

 

Picture 2.

2) A non-back-powered riser + molex-to-barrel adapter.

3) A back-powered riser. If you choose this, nothing shouldn't be attached to DC jack of PCIe board.

PERFORMANCE

Note: The new Intel Core i7-4770HQ 2200Mhz CPU is not recognized correctly

3DMark06: 25688

3DMark Vantage (graphics): 37776

3DMark11 (graphics): 11832

3DMark Fire Strike (graphics): 9431

Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0: Direct3D9/1280x720 2xAA windowed/Basic: 2580 (FPS 102.4)

Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0: Direct3D11/1600x900 8XAA windowed/Extreme: 1488 (FPS 59.1)

CUDA-Z

GAMING (FPS)

 

 

GAMING (FPS)

Tomb Raider (performance test, default high/ultra/ultimate settings)

Retina 1920 x 1080	External 1920 x 1080
high 129,7	high 161,2
ultra 92,2	ultra 111,2
ultimate 63,2	ultimate 72,5
Retina 2880 x 1800	4K monitor (3840 x 2160)
high 62,3	high 54,4 **
ultra 50	ultra 37,2 **
ultimate 35,3 *	ultimate 27,1 **

Battle Field 4 (test range)
 

Retina 1920 x 1080	External 1920 x 1080
medium 98	medium 167
high 61	high 84
ultra 54	ultra 70
Retina 2880 x 1800	4K monitor (3840 x 2160)
medium 61	medium 61 **
high 31	high 18 **
ultra 26	ultra 16 **

*) maximum power consumption ~ 185W PSU (measured) + 60W AKiTiO's power adapter (not measured) ~ 245W

**) Samsung UHD 28" Monitor, powered riser (method 3), and Nvidia driver 344.65

I really like this setup, you have the portability of a laptop combined to higher end graphics at home. There might be a workaround for OSX as well that I will test some day.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

@goalque, you have a dedicated thread now There are two things you could do to still improve performance further:

1. Apply a negative offset to your CPU using Throttlestop or XTU. That will allow turbo boost to higher multipliers. Based on my own testing and that of others you may be able to get a stable offset between -80mV to -120mV. That should net you another 100-200Mhz top end performance. REF: http://forum.techinferno.com/throttlestop-realtemp-discussion/6958-haswell-step-backwards-ivy-bridge-i-have-some-shocking-tdp-results.html#post95181

2. Since you have the IrisPro 15" Macbook, you could force a x1.2Opt (5Gbps + x1 pcie-compression) eGPU link rather than 16Gbps. That might give a better 3dmark6 result. If you want to try, cellophane tape lane2 onwards to force the card to x1 as shown here.

Doing both the above may see you hit 3dmark06 score nearer to 30k and give a higher position in the DX9 section of the leaderboard at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-thunderbolt-expresscard-mpcie-egpus.html#post89707

[euqlaog]

I will take a look at your suggestions, thanks! Those tests were done by using Windows default "high performance" power plan.

EDIT:

@Tech Inferno Fan: I tried your 2nd performance tip, but it gave lower score in 3dmark06 test. I try to keep these tests realistic. Retina performance was a nice surprise in gaming. In BF4 test range, there is only one player, but it is smooth in multiplayer as well. 6GB VRAM may help when more pixels to be updated. I think that there are not many games that take advantage of it.

[d0bb]

Hey goalque,

how did you install the drivers with no card plugged in? Thanks

[euqlaog]

Hey goalque,

how did you install the drivers with no card plugged in? Thanks

I updated my instructions. eGPU should be plugged in when installing Nvidia drivers.

[Bismuth]

THank's for the thread!

Did you try BF4 for a long run? Like a multiplayer game during 1-2hours? The performances are stable?

(I assume that my 2013 late MBP retina with IRIS (non pro) must be 100% compatible?)

[tempywempy]

CONFIGURATION

• Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina / 256GB / 16GB (Mid 2014), with Iris Pro graphics only
  
• AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Box
  
• Silverstone Strider ST45SF-G 450W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply (v. 2.0)
  
• Self made connector to power up PSU ("paperclip trick")
  
• EVGA GeForce GTX 780 6GB SC w/ EVGA ACX Cooler
  
• Apple 2m Thunderbolt Cable
  

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
   

HARDWARE PREPARING

1. Open AKiTiO's box by a normal screwdriver, take out the PCIe board and attach 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.
   

...

I really like this setup, you have the portability of a laptop combined to higher end graphics at home. There might be a workaround for OSX as well that I will test some day.

@goalque

& @Nando8, @Call and @entzoe (due with your vast knowledge)

I've been a lurker now for quite some time. Due to the fact I probably have the worst rMBP (Late 2012, 15" 650M) model, I've pretty much read and concluded that eGPUs are not in favor (in terms of using internal LCD, which is all I'm actually interested in).

However, another thing I'm only interested in is using OSX for gaming (I play a lack many games) and enjoy using OSX doing so, just wish/want a more powerful card. That being said, is it possible to use this same setup for a Late 2012 15" rMBP w/ 650M with internal LCD (gsxstatusswitcher/optimus/etc)? I'd rather NOT deal with windows seeing I already have to do that for a living already...

Man what I wouldn't do just to have a OSX eGPU w/ internal display. Might as well start curing cancer... ::sigh::

[euqlaog]

THank's for the thread!

Did you try BF4 for a long run? Like a multiplayer game during 1-2hours? The performances are stable?

(I assume that my 2013 late MBP retina with IRIS (non pro) must be 100% compatible?)

Yes, and I haven't seen even a single crash due to eGPU failure yet, only a few times some freezes in the game itself but I think they are general driver issues and bugs in BF4. In 64 player Team DM, I prefer to use the retina screen at 1680 x 1050 resolution with HIGH setting (> 70FPS) and VSYNC enabled, which gives very smooth gaming experience.

Your late 2013 MBPr 13" should be fully compatible with my setup, but if you plan to play BF4, you won't get the same retina experience, because BF4 is CPU sensitive and quad core is recommended. Though most of the games should be playable when using external screen.

[euqlaog]

I've been a lurker now for quite some time. Due to the fact I probably have the worst rMBP (Late 2012, 15" 650M) model, I've pretty much read and concluded that eGPUs are not in favor (in terms of using internal LCD, which is all I'm actually interested in).

However, another thing I'm only interested in is using OSX for gaming (I play a lack many games) and enjoy using OSX doing so, just wish/want a more powerful card. That being said, is it possible to use this same setup for a Late 2012 15" rMBP w/ 650M with internal LCD (gsxstatusswitcher/optimus/etc)? I'd rather NOT deal with windows seeing I already have to do that for a living already...

Man what I wouldn't do just to have a OSX eGPU w/ internal display. Might as well start curing cancer... ::sigh::

Welcome to the forum! My setup is only compatible with late 2013 or mid 2014 MBPr models with Iris or Iris Pro only graphics. Unfortunately I cannot say anything about late 2012 models or those that have dedicated graphics card. What I have seen here before, Optimus (internal screen support) is possible only with the models having integrated graphics.

Regarding OSX gaming, and if I could choose, I would never install Windows on my Mac, but OSX platform does not have such a large collection of the games compared to Windows and Optimus does not exist in OSX, so it is impossible to get benefit of the eGPU into the internal retina screen. GPU switching is automatic and designed by Apple, and that gfxCardStatus doesn't help in eGPU implementations. Would be a nice hack, who figures out how to switch eGPU into the internal screen.

However, entzoe has proved that Steam gaming is really possible with a Mac mini. I had chance to test those kext modifications to 13" MacBook Pro (late 2013), and it did work on the external screen, but for some reason I cannot get the same result in my mid 2014 MBPr 15" with Iris Pro. External screen stays black, but the card is recognised under system report:

I would appreciate if someone has an idea why?

[entzoe]

Welcome to the forum! My setup is only compatible with late 2013 or mid 2014 MBPr models with Iris or Iris Pro only graphics. Unfortunately I cannot say anything about late 2012 models or those that have dedicated graphics card. What I have seen here before, Optimus (internal screen support) is possible only with the models having integrated graphics.

Regarding OSX gaming, and if I could choose, I would never install Windows on my Mac, but OSX platform does not have such a large collection of the games compared to Windows and Optimus does not exist in OSX, so it is impossible to get benefit of the eGPU into the internal retina screen. GPU switching is automatic and designed by Apple, and that gfxCardStatus doesn't help in eGPU implementations. Would be a nice hack, who figures out how to switch eGPU into the internal screen.

However, entzoe has proved that Steam gaming is really possible with a Mac mini. I had chance to test those kext modifications to 13" MacBook Pro (late 2013), and it did work on the external screen, but for some reason I cannot get the same result in my mid 2014 MBPr 15" with Iris Pro. External screen stays black, but the card is recognised under system report:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12470[/ATTACH]

I would appreciate if someone has an idea why?

@goalque are you using an HDMI cable? Does it work with Windows but not in OS X? Can you check if your HDMI is bi-directional, otherwise switch how you connect the cables. Try also using DVI cables.

I had this issue too last time, my screen was blank, little did I know my HDMI cable is NOT bi-directional (it has arrow on the HDMI), so I had to switch the connection orientation.

[euqlaog]

@goalque are you using an HDMI cable? Does it work with Windows but not in OS X? Can you check if your HDMI is bi-directional, otherwise switch how you connect the cables. Try also using DVI cables.

I had this issue too last time, my screen was blank, little did I know my HDMI cable is NOT bi-directional (it has arrow on the HDMI), so I had to switch the connection orientation.

Thanks! I have a DVI-only monitor, and have tested with Apple's HDMI cable + HDMI-to-DVI-converter, and DVI alone, but no luck. I guess the reason is different resolution, quad core CPU or the Iris Pro. In Windows, external monitor works every time. Let's hope that OSX Yosemite will be eGPU friendly

[entzoe]

Thanks! I have a DVI-only monitor, and have tested with Apple's HDMI cable + HDMI-to-DVI-converter, and DVI alone, but no luck. I guess the reason is different resolution, quad core CPU or the Iris Pro. In Windows, external monitor works every time. Let's hope that OSX Yosemite will be eGPU friendly

Interesting. What is the max resolution of your External Monitor? have you tried changing your rMBP's resolution and lower it down a bit?

Remember my MBP 13 i5, I was able to make it work on eGPU except that when I play videos it shows pixelated output. Also the resolution on my MBP doesn't fill the whole screen, but on the external it does. And this MBP is laggy.

[euqlaog]

Interesting. What is the max resolution of your External Monitor? have you tried changing your rMBP's resolution and lower it down a bit?

Remember my MBP 13 i5, I was able to make it work on eGPU except that when I play videos it shows pixelated output. Also the resolution on my MBP doesn't fill the whole screen, but on the external it does. And this MBP is laggy.

It is 1080p. Tried almost everything, I try to play more with SwitchResX, and will tell if I find a solution.

[tre87]

First of all, thanks for the guide! I have just ordered the AkiTiO box and it should arrive next week and I'm picking up my MBP 2014 with Pro Iris next week as well

I have some questions I hope you don't mind answering.

1. Is it correct that I don't spot a PCI-e riser?

2. I'm going for a GTX 780 as well. Do you know if Asus, Zotac or the other brands will work just like the EVGA you have or?

3. How stable is it for gaming? I'm hoping to shoot some bad guys when Far Cry 4 launches!

4. Did you manage to get the external monitor to work in OS X?

Thanks!

[euqlaog]

First of all, thanks for the guide! I have just ordered the AkiTiO box and it should arrive next week and I'm picking up my MBP 2014 with Pro Iris next week as well

I have some questions I hope you don't mind answering.

1. Is it correct that I don't spot a PCI-e riser?

2. I'm going for a GTX 780 as well. Do you know if Asus, Zotac or the other brands will work just like the EVGA you have or?

3. How stable is it for gaming? I'm hoping to shoot some bad guys when Far Cry 4 launches!

4. Did you manage to get the external monitor to work in OS X?

Thanks!

You are welcome!

1) Correct. I haven't experienced any power problems with EVGA GTX 780 6GB version when attached directly to the AKiTiO's x16 slot. But for safety reasons, I recommend using a powered riser. Keeping a GPU near the PCIe board may result in melting the 4-pin yellow/black wire connecting PCIe board and Thunderbolt card. ACX coolers keep my card temperatures low though and they blow the heat up and down.

2) I would recommend GTX970, they don't need that 250W wattage input (at least the models that are not overclocked) and therefore produce less heat. You will find good options from the main discussion thread: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24200-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2.html. EVGA brand is not compulsory, but may have better Optimus support. I have seen on this forum that with MSI cards, there have been some problems with Optimus (correct me, if it's not true).

3) As mentioned on this thread, it is stable in BF4 DM / 64 players. Nowadays I don't play much, so cannot say about other games.

4) No. I have examined this a lot: different graphics cards, monitors, DVI/HDMI/Display Port-cables, kextwizard, reinstalling OS X, resetting PRAM, deleting com.apple.windowserver files. The GPU is detected under system report fine, but missing the monitor info. Also system boot logs refer to the same, the monitor is not detected for some reason. It only outputs black signal when login screen appears (normally at this stage, the external screen should be extended and visible). I have concluded that the reason is the new Mac hardware which is not fully compatible with the Nvidia web drivers.

I am having some discussion privately here about this. For all those people who read this and own MBPr 15" Iris Pro (Late 2013 / Mid 2014) and AKiTiO, I would appreciate another confirmation if you have the same result with OS X. I have got some feedback that with a late 2013 15" (Iris Pro + 750M) it should work occasionally.

[Interstellar Straw]

Hello Goalque,

Thanks for the explanation everything seems very clear.

I will be trying out this implementation soon.

On the OS X side of things : no breakthrough? Still doesn't work on Iris Pro only models?

Cheers,

[Downsidebloom]

Hmm, you're not using a riser with the gtx 780?

Do you think I could do the same with a gtx 970?

[euqlaog]

Hello Goalque,

Thanks for the explanation everything seems very clear.

I will be trying out this implementation soon.

On the OS X side of things : no breakthrough? Still doesn't work on Iris Pro only models?

Cheers,

Still the same, external monitor is not detected with a Mid 2014 15" MBPr Iris Pro only on OS X. However, the GPU is detected under system report, so CUDA calculation might be possible.

[euqlaog]

Hmm, you're not using a riser with the gtx 780?

Do you think I could do the same with a gtx 970?

Actually I haven't had problems in detecting the cards running on 25W x16 PCIe slot + molex-to-barrel plug: Gigabyte 750Ti, EVGA GTX 780 OC, Gigabyte GTX 980 reference model. No experience of GTX 970. Powering method 2 is not recommended, always use just the ATX PSU. With a powered riser Windows doesn't always detect the card at first, but when the card is attached directly to the x16 slot, it seems to always show up as basic display adapter and then you can install the Nvidia driver. But after driver installation, please use a powered riser because there is high risk to melt the yellow/black wires touching the GPU. The back plate of GTX 980 becomes very hot, I quickly removed the card as I noticed plastic smell!

[Downsidebloom]

Alright, sounds good!

I tried method 2 today, but the gpu always crash when I enter games etc.

Is this because the akitio cant supply enough power? i get driver crash + bsod.

[euqlaog]

Alright, sounds good!

I tried method 2 today, but the gpu always crash when I enter games etc.

Is this because the akitio cant supply enough power? i get driver crash + bsod.

Most likely. There is also a risk of ground loop when using two power supplies.

[Tim Weri]

Alright, sounds good!

I tried method 2 today, but the gpu always crash when I enter games etc.

Is this because the akitio cant supply enough power? i get driver crash + bsod.

Same here with the GTX 970

Very frustrating

[euqlaog]

Same here with the GTX 970

Very frustrating

As said earlier, please don't use two power supplies. The problem can also be a faulty raiser.

[PurpDank]

I'm really liking this build and close to ordering an Akitio box!

I have the late 2013 rMBP and I have one question.

Due to the GTX 780 being out of my price range, would the GTX 760 be fully compatible to your build?

[Dschijn]

I'm really liking this build and close to ordering an Akitio box!

I have the late 2013 rMBP and I have one question.

Due to the GTX 780 being out of my price range, would the GTX 760 be fully compatible to your build?

Imho a GTX 960 would be better