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DIY eGPU Macbook experiences


oripash

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I previously set up my eGPU system but now something goes wrong so I completely reinstall my Mac and Windows. I installed Windows 10 in EFI method. However, after I turn on my laptop and connect akitio to my Mac, windows does not recognize the Graphic Card, though the GPU fan becomes spinning after I plug in the cable.

What should I do?

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I have a question, my egpu is coming from bizon-tech, same as the other guy here. when I boot my akitio 2 chassis with dell power supply to windows 8.1 bootcamp at random I don't get display on the internal screen and when I reboot and I am able to get display I see my GTX 970 giving in device manager a code43, however after uninstalling and reinstalling the nvidia driver it sometimes works again... I have a late 2013 15 macbook with iris pro only. I hate the lack of feedback from bizon with their so called fast response... I don't know if it's the graphics card being broken or just that it is too experimental to use as egpu.

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intro

Hi all!

This is my first post and I take this opportunity to introduce myself to the forum!

I'm seeing around all these post about eGPU and it looks very promising so I'm willing to try.

This is just a post to get some confirmation on my thoughts before committing and spend my moneys! :P

setup/budget

first off; the setup I'm aiming for is:

my old friend macbook pro early 2011 17" w/ 16Gb ram and i7-2720QM (ARK | Intel® Coreâ„¢ i7-2720QM Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)) bootcamp w8.1 and 1Tb ssd (we'll need this infos later) (free (?!))

evga/asus/gigabyte nvidia gtx960 (200€/250€ - feel free to advice little variations with better bang/buck)

AkiTiO Thunder2 w/ popped out bottom to fit the card or custom made case to save the warranty (200€/250€ - the less the better, but preferably in EU to avoid customs)

best bang/buck external desktop power supply (<< 100€ - dunno guys... I'm up to you here. Just I'd like to use it with a new card when I'll trash the gtx960)

background knowledge

I decided to go for the eGPU solution instead of buying a new laptop because it's cheaper and re-usable and my MBP has still a good functioning hardware.

I saw the new models equipped with the i7-4870HQ but looking at the benchmark it doesn't seem a lot of improvement

Intel Core i7 4870HQ vs 2720QM Am I correct?

On top of that videogames won't need much CPU despite I/O and SO multitasking background stuff. maybe runtime assets decompression but my 16Gb RAM and SSD will take care of it!

oh yes! even Software physics as fallback if you don't have nvidia physx or the game doesn't support it (that's why an nvidia GPU)

Most of the stress is on the poor GPU...

requirements

I'd like to use it to play latest titles in fullHD like the witcher 3, assassin's creed or the upcoming MAFIA 3 and it seems a viable path with my laptop based on the experiences in this forum!!!

I'd like to play on my internal monitor in fullHD @30fps (or more) (Actual Multiple Monitor?).

I'm also in videogame creation and it's a bonus if I can use a GPU like that with unreal engine 4, maya or zbrush!

advices

- lot of the stuff I read here could be outdated and maybe new stuff's coming up so it's worth waiting...

- evga/asus/gigabyte: this years past spending in electronics teached me the best option is the one with the best customer care. any advice on this?

- I'm in Italy... are you aware of any reliable retailer? Even in Europe... France, Germany (I saw one here but sells only to business company)

other

I'm good with crafting,programming and electronics so I'm not scared of soldering, crafting cases to keep the AkiTiO warranty or a little programming/arduinoing (<-lol) if this can be made in a day or two of work and save me moneys :P

thank you!

p.s. you guys rocks! this project is amazing and I can't wait to be part of this community!

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Hello! Probably smb have the same issue..

FirePro Amd w4100 video card and Apple thunderbolt ethernet do not install correctly with Akitio T2

screenshot ==> post-38649-14495000730356_thumb.png

Can not install drivers from AMD, bcs: "No supported video card found" ??!?!?

2015 13" MBP TB2 Win10 Akitio-T2

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I have a question, my egpu is coming from bizon-tech, same as the other guy here. when I boot my akitio 2 chassis with dell power supply to windows 8.1 bootcamp at random I don't get display on the internal screen and when I reboot and I am able to get display I see my GTX 970 giving in device manager a code43, however after uninstalling and reinstalling the nvidia driver it sometimes works again... I have a late 2013 15 macbook with iris pro only. I hate the lack of feedback from bizon with their so called fast response... I don't know if it's the graphics card being broken or just that it is too experimental to use as egpu.
I found my cause, it was due a loose cable in the psu connector, resolved by checking with bizon-tech

- - - Updated - - -

some of my more recent posts were removed, I assume because It was thought I was trying to game the system for more posts. I am still having trouble getting my eGPU working on the windows side of things. After successfully installing drivers on win7 and getting the dreaded error 12. I upgraded to win10. I now get one of 3 outcomes when I attempt to boot into windows with the eGPU connected, depending on the timing.

1. Boot succesful without eGPU deteceted.

2. Screen goes black, No boot occurs.

3. Freeze at partition selection screen.

I do however have the eGPU fully functional in OSX. Has anyone ever had any success with using Parallels with their eGPU to game in windows? To be honest Im not trying to get incredible performance out of it, I just want to be able to play a few steam games without my MBP overheating and shutting down.

Does anyone have any further advice?

check your cables at the front side where you plug in the dell psu, check if all cables from the inside are correctly attached, I had a ground cable loose causing me alot of trouble :-(

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I found my cause, it was due a loose cable in the psu connector, resolved by checking with bizon-tech

- - - Updated - - -

check your cables at the front side where you plug in the dell psu, check if all cables from the inside are correctly attached, I had a ground cable loose causing me alot of trouble :-(

My most recent email from him told me that i would be eligible for a full refund, but I really just want to get the darn thing working. Im wondering if anyone else has got this working with the same model of macbook pro as me. I have downgraded to windows 7 to see if I can get windows to detect the eGPU and then see if I can just resolve error code 12.

Does anyone know if the DIY egpu setup software would help with the windows partition of my Macbook?

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What model do you have?

15" Late 2011 Macbook Pro with 2.4 GHz i7,

Upgraded the RAM to 16GB,

Removed Optical Drive, replaced with original HDD and put a SSD in the main drive slot.

I'm thinking my RAM upgrade might be part of the problem, and the age of the laptop might be the other part of the problem.

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15" Late 2011 Macbook Pro with 2.4 GHz i7,

Upgraded the RAM to 16GB,

Removed Optical Drive, replaced with original HDD and put a SSD in the main drive slot.

I'm thinking my RAM upgrade might be part of the problem, and the age of the laptop might be the other part of the problem.

http://lg.io/2013/07/28/gtx-570-egpu-on-a-2013-11-macbook-air.html

Diy egpu setup software may be required

http://egpu.maeth.net/faq.htm#f4

Check article for error 12

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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@EvIl_DeViL: I don't think that you will be able to make it run on the internal display in Windows!

why not? this guy did! -> http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-apple/10504-2011-17-macbook-pro-gtx960%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-win8-1%5Bm1sk%5D.html

p.s. I'm not hijacking anyone thread. I opened my own thread but it has been closed an my post moved here.

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Hi, I have a problem with Mission Control performance on my mac mini 2012 with Intel HD 4000, when I connecting two or more 1440p monitor. Even if I connect all of them to eGPU (GTX 960), after system start +10 minutes, system anyway switch all of them to Intel HD 4000, it shows below the About This Mac -> Displays. The graphic processing work thru HD4000. Is it possible to make that system use force eGPU on OS X? Anyone have same problem?

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Shell script is very handy for almost anything. For display controlling, I have to use OS X frameworks. What’s your Mission Control settings? What happens exactly when “system anyway switch all of them to Intel HD 4000”? Is the Mac going to sleep after 10 minutes? Are you running a specific application that is affected or is it just the Mission Control?

The application can take advantage of any GPU, even those that are offline. It’s often programmer’s responsibility to handle multiple GPUs and monitors, but OS X is quite smart switching between them. OpenGL dynamically changes the renderer depending on the screen and the segment of the window.

If you have set the external monitor as the primary, the eGPU spans both the internal and external screen, and when you drag a window to internal screen, the application is still accelerated by the eGPU. The screen you select as main works for application launching. However, Mac mini has no “internal screen” except the HDMI interface, but I guess the functionality is the same.

Type “system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType” to see the list of displays and their current corresponding GPUs. The same list is under system report/graphics/displays, and by pressing Command+R you can refresh the view.

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Graphic processing from eGPU switch back to HD4000. It's not going to sleep, just switching in background gpu to default as processing unit, even if the monitors connected to eGPU.

OS X is not switching to eGPU when it's offline, because I feel when the Mission Control works with 120 fps and 15-25 fps.

Just starting my mac mini and it's showing that:

post-32580-14495000733746_thumb.png

after 5 minutes without running any apps:

post-32580-14495000734019_thumb.png

Mission Control:

post-32580-14495000734293_thumb.png

system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType:

post-32580-1449500073462_thumb.png

---

OS X 10.10.5

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Well... that is no real Optimus... If you understand what he did and you are fine with it, ok :)

well, there's a 30% loss in performance in effect... let's say I keep this option in "case of emergency".

I saw your tutorial and I like your setup. I think I'll follow your advices! I'm ready to buy the akitio case!

p.s. any hint about oculus rift and my specific setup? will it work out of the box?

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I uninstalled your script and installed manually. Same result, looks like it some kind of system security (or maybe limitation)? I need test it on Macbook Pro. Point is that, on HD5000 and higher you don't notice any lag like on HD3000-4000 with 1440p resolution)

I also noticed that most games (especially that ported with Feral Interactive) on OS X use only iGPU, even if monitor connected to eGPU.

Upd. Looks like you are right. System use both gpu when it need it. But it start using the second one (eGPU) not right away, that's why it lags a little at the beginning on the Mission Control start. But works then very smooth, when without eGPU, Mission Control always lags.

Thanks for the help :)

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I uninstalled your script and installed manually. Same result, looks like it some kind of system security (or maybe limitation)? I need test it on Macbook Pro. Point is that, on HD5000 and higher you don't notice any lag like on HD3000-4000 with 1440p resolution)

I also noticed that most games (especially that ported with Feral Interactive) on OS X use only iGPU, even if monitor connected to eGPU.

Upd. Looks like you are right. System use both gpu when it need it. But it start using the second one (eGPU) not right away, that's why it lags a little at the beginning on the Mission Control start. But works then very smooth, when without eGPU, Mission Control always lags.

Thanks for the help :)

Macmini5,1 (Mid 2011 model) with GTX 980 and two monitors on OS X 10.10.5:


[FONT=Menlo]Graphics/Displays:[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Intel HD Graphics 3000:[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Chipset Model: Intel HD Graphics 3000[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Type: GPU[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Bus: Built-In[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] VRAM (Dynamic, Max): 512 MB[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Vendor: Intel (0x8086)[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Device ID: 0x0126[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Revision ID: 0x0009[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980:[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Type: GPU[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Bus: PCIe[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] PCIe Lane Width: x8[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] VRAM (Total): 4095 MB[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Device ID: 0x13c0[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Revision ID: 0x00a1[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] ROM Revision: VBIOS 84.04.1f.00.02[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Displays:[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] U28D590:[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Resolution: 3200 x 1800 @ 60 Hz[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Main Display: Yes[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Mirror: Off[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Online: Yes[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Rotation: Supported[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Connection Type: DisplayPort[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Television: Yes[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] SyncMaster:[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Resolution: 1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz (1080p)[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Display Serial Number: ********** [/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Mirror: Off[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Online: Yes[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Rotation: Supported[/FONT]
[FONT=Menlo] Television: Yes[/FONT]

No issues. The same result after 10 minutes or awaken from the sleep. The system profiler command result is up-to-date, but your 1.46.59 AM.png is unexplainable, how did you get that?

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Yep, my system is currently very bugy. Loot of issue is going on and at least 1 or 2 dead screen message appear during 1-3 days usage. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to reinstall it :0

It was the same issue after manually eGPU software setup, when I checked system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType, but currently, everything is fine :)

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