2014 15" MBP GT750M + GTX970@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + Win8.1 [tre87]

[Dschijn]

Shadowplay does show, but not record it's own FPS counter! Must use Fraps or MSI Afterburner with RivaTuners OSD.

[th3v3rn]

Shadowplay does show, but not record it's own FPS counter! Must use Fraps or MSI Afterburner with RivaTuners OSD.

I just researched that, that is so weird that you can't have it show. I'll make one with fraps when I have a chance.

[zzbeastszz]

Im pretty new at this. But can somebody explain the importance of a PCIe x16 powered riser. What purpose do they serve in an installation. Can I just use the DC 12v of the AKiTiO Thunder2 and then just plug the power cables into the card from a PSU. Like in this post here: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7598-%5Bguide%5D-2012-mac-mini-gtx770%4010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-osx10-9-4-a.html where somebody installed it without a riser. As I said I am new and I don't quite fully understand why you would need a riser if you have the power from a PSU and the AKiTiO is powered.

[Dschijn]

The AKiTiO PSU is specified to only provide a max load of 60W and the official specifications of the PCIe slot are to provide just 25W (a GPU can use up to 75W on that slot).

To avoid two problems, it is recommended to use a powered riser:

- to avoid "ground loops" between two different PSUs powering one system

- to improve stability and provide more power to the PCIe slot

You can avoid using a riser by soldering a barrel plug for the PC PSU to replace the AKiTiO PSU or solder the 12V and ground directly to the PCB of the AKiTiO like Phantron did: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8882-%5Bguide%5D-2014-13-macbook-pro-gtx970%4016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-handle-win8-1-a.html

[jabz]

Hi I am about to replicate this setup. However the Cosair RM550 PSU seems to be sold out here in New Zealand. Can I substitute with something like the Corsair HX750i?

[Dschijn]

Sure you can. It will be just a bit "too much".

[jabz]

Thanks, Is anybody experiencing the Gen2 signal degradation? As Nando4 has pointed out in this thread? INFO: passing 75W slot power without a PCIe riser...

I have ordered the same PCI-e riser from DX extreme as the OP. PCI-e 16X to 16X Riser Card Extender Ribbon Cable w/ Molex Connector - Black + Grey (23cm)

[eeevan]

Hi @tre87,

I'm trying to set up an eGPU solution on Win8.1 (15in/750m) and have a couple questions.

Let's say I use a fresh bootcamp UEFI install as my starting point and the only software installed is Apple's "Windows Support Software". At this point, I assume no Nvidia drivers have been installed yet.

This is where I get confused- Should I first be installing the most recent 750m notebook driver then rebooting with my eGPU plugged in? Then after a reboot install the gtx560 desktop driver as a "clean install"?

I would have assumed having two sets of nvidia display drivers would be chaos, but perhaps this isn't an issue because of the clean install?

Thanks very much in advance for your help, I can be reached at eeevan AT gmail dot com if that's more convenient.

[tre87]

Hi @tre87,

I'm trying to set up an eGPU solution on Win8.1 (15in/750m) and have a couple questions.

Let's say I use a fresh bootcamp UEFI install as my starting point and the only software installed is Apple's "Windows Support Software". At this point, I assume no Nvidia drivers have been installed yet.

This is where I get confused- Should I first be installing the most recent 750m notebook driver then rebooting with my eGPU plugged in? Then after a reboot install the gtx560 desktop driver as a "clean install"?

I would have assumed having two sets of nvidia display drivers would be chaos, but perhaps this isn't an issue because of the clean install?

Thanks very much in advance for your help, I can be reached at eeevan AT gmail dot com if that's more convenient.

Before connecting the eGPU, just uninstall all Nvidia drivers/software. You will still be able to use the internal display on a Windows driver. Once everything Nvidia related is uninstalled -> shutdown -> connect eGPU -> boot up Windows -> install Nvidia drivers. It can run with multiple Nvidia drivers with no problems

// tre87

[eeevan]

Thanks for the reply, that's interesting info.

So I really only need to install the desktop driver after a fresh bootcamp install and let the 750m default to the "basic display adapter" driver. But since there's currently no way to totally disable the dGPU, won't the desktop eGPU drivers still affect the 750m on reboot? Its detectedin the (now installed) nvcpl but you're saying it's using the microsoft display drivers and not the Nvidia ones? This is what confuses me.

Also- what usually happens to your internal display during boot? Does it disable automatically and activate eGPU display as primary? Do you have multiple drivers installed/enabled or do you keep the 750m without nvidia drivers permanently?

Thanks!

[tre87]

Thanks for the reply, that's interesting info.

So I really only need to install the desktop driver after a fresh bootcamp install and let the 750m default to the "basic display adapter" driver. But since there's currently no way to totally disable the dGPU, won't the desktop eGPU drivers still affect the 750m on reboot? Its detectedin the (now installed) nvcpl but you're saying it's using the microsoft display drivers and not the Nvidia ones? This is what confuses me.

Also- what usually happens to your internal display during boot? Does it disable automatically and activate eGPU display as primary? Do you have multiple drivers installed/enabled or do you keep the 750m without nvidia drivers permanently?

Thanks!

What I did was after a clean bootcamp install and installing the bootcamp drivers (that also installs Nvidia drivers), I went to the control panel and completely removed ALL Nvidia software along with drivers. I then initiated a shutdown on the Macbook and hooked up the eGPU once it was completely shut down. To the eGPU i also have 2 external monitors hooked up via Displayport and Dual-DVI. I put power on the eGPU and booted the Macbook. The Macbook then boots Windows on the internal screen and shows the login screen on the internal screen once booted. After 5 seconds the internal screen switched off and the 2 external monitors turned on. I logged in, downloaded the newest Nvidia drivers and installed everything so that both cards (eGPU + dGPU) has an Nvidia driver installed. I rebooted after the install and the internal display shows the Apple logo and Windows boot. But once it gets to the login screen the external monitors take over and the internal monitor remains black. I can turn on the Macbook's internal display, for an extended screen but having 2 x Dell U2711 is more than plenty of pixels for me It is a 100% normal that you can see both the dGPU and the eGPU. The dGPU still powers and runs the internal display. I've set the dGPU as a dedicated PhysX card

[eeevan]

Thank you so much @tre87!

I logged in, downloaded the newest Nvidia drivers and installed everything so that both cards (eGPU + dGPU) has an Nvidia driver installed.

Apologies if this is painfully obvious, but at this point you're only installing the newest "desktop" drivers, correct? Or are you individually installing both the newest mobile AND desktop drivers, one after the other? In that case, would you select clean install or upgrade and in what order should I install them?

This is the only part that isn't clear to me.

Thanks!

[tre87]

Thank you so much @tre87!

Apologies if this is painfully obvious, but at this point you're only installing the newest "desktop" drivers, correct? Or are you individually installing both the newest mobile AND desktop drivers, one after the other? In that case, would you select clean install or upgrade and in what order should I install them?

This is the only part that isn't clear to me.

Thanks!

I downloaded the desktop driver installer (for the GTX970) and that package also contains a driver for the dGPU. So both are installed... I did not select a clean install since everything was allready uninstalled

[eeevan]

Thank you!! I really appreciate the response and all the info, it's extremely useful.

[rohit]

i want to set a same setup for my 2014 15" Macbook Pro GT750M. I am having problem in understanding the internal of the CS case, like how you mounted the GPU inside it and also the power cables from PSU. Please post some more photos from inside.

[tre87]

i want to set a same setup for my 2014 15" Macbook Pro GT750M. I am having problem in understanding the internal of the CS case, like how you mounted the GPU inside it and also the power cables from PSU. Please post some more photos from inside.

Hi rohit,

Im sorry for the lack of images! I've been planning on taking a lot of new images, but just don't have a lot of time to do it at the moment. I'm hoping to completely update my #0 post very soon with new images, a more detailed guide and lots of info!

[tre87]

Hey all.

I managed to get hold of a new case, the NCase M1 in a V1 version. I've ordered a SFX PSU and are waiting some other hardware parts that should all arrive this week

So if everything arrives before the weekend, I will migrate my setup into this new case and post a completely updated guide once it's all up and running.

[hypnosis]

Hello!

I have same build like you but without pci-e-16x connector.

When i connect rMBP to eGPU and boot up in windows - nothing happened. Windows booted like normal and eGPU light turn blue and fans star. There are no detected devices like eGPU in system manager and secondary display is not turn.

Is it a problem with windows 10 via BootCamp?

Is it problem with stock Thunderbolt cable which i use? (I use black thunderbolt cable placed in Akito Thunder box)

I found build with windows 10, and everything ok.

What your experience to connect eGPU with rMBP?

egpu:

- Akito TB2

- 600W Corsair

- Molex2Barel plugin

- Gigabyte GTX 970 4gb (long width)

- stock thunderbold cable

Mac #1:

- rMBP 15 'mid 14 w/ GT750M

- OSX

- Win 10 BootCamp

Mac #2:

- MacMini ' late 11 w/ IrisPro

- 16 GB Ram

- OSX

- Win 10 Bootcamp

[Dschijn]

@hypnosis: Please power your system this way:

- turn on MB

- press and hold "alt"

- wait for chime and boot selection

- turn on eGPU

- boot into OS

[hypnosis]

@hypnosis: Please power your system this way:

- turn on MB

- press and hold "alt"

- wait for chime and boot selection

- turn on eGPU

- boot into OS

It doesn`t help.

I try several methods to boot and it is no effect.

There is Thunderbolt device in windows 10 status menu, which i can safely eject.

And there is thunderbold Akitio device in About Mac -> Thunderbolt devices

But graphic card is not detected.

I check GTX 970 on PC (my friends) everything ok, works.

I check PCIe SoundCard (SoundBlaster) plugged in Akitio - doesn`t detect.

I check thunderbolt cable (connect Mac Mini with rMBP in Drive Mode, ok)

I try to run graphic card on Mac Mini (modify kext, install NVIDIA driver) but no effect

What variants i should try? How else i can determine Graphic Card?

I try to install pure Win 8.1 in Bootcamp , Nowtime. Maybe it helps...

What are you think about problem? Do you have similar issue? How are you solve it?

[Dschijn]

@hypnosis: Can you post a picture of your setup? Can you also change the OSX language to english when you post pictures here?

[jackfsqyj]

I have a quick question for the booting procedure. I exactly followed the procedure you did and my setup is not so different from yours(GTX970 + Win10). But it always goes into black screen and nothing shows up. Is there any reason for that? I thought it was a general problem for this model ( 2014 w/ dGPU) but now it seems not.

What should I do? I can barely get into Win10 successfully with my GTX970, which is quite worrisome and inconvenient.

[pixxelpusher]

Hi @tre87 great to see you have your eGPU up and running! I have a very similar setup (MBP 15 Retina (Mid 2014) GT750M + AKiTiO Thunder2 + EVGA GTX980), and booting into the OS X side (10.10.5) works 100%. However getting into Windows 10 is being a pain, and was hoping you may now what to try.

 

I did a clean install of Windows 10 in UEFI mode and installed all the updates / latests Nvidia drivers. If I try and Option boot and select the Bootcamp drive I either get a black screen or it goes a bit further and I get the white circles spinning in an endless loop and nothing more. The only way I've figured to loading into Windows is to boot up with the eGPU into OS X FIRST, and then select the Bootcamp drive in Startup Disks and restart. It will then boot into Windows 10, and seems to every time I've tried. No stability problems at all once I'm in Windows just getting there is a pain. Any idea what's going on, and why I'm getting the hangs doing it any other way?

 

The other thing is if I then shutdown and power on again I can't boot into anything with the eGPU attached, it just hangs on startup, so I have to get a successful startup without the eGPU attached first then shutdown, then attach the eGPU and startup.

Edited December 1, 2016 by pixxelpusher