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2014 15" MBP GT750M +Titan_Z@16Gbps-TB2 (AKiTiO Thunder2) + OSX10.10 [garytyler]


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I previously posted this thread with a similar setup but with a GTX 780: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8357-egpu-octane-render.html

System

  • 2014 MBP Retina w/ GT750M, i7-4960HQ 2.6Ghz, 16GB RAM, 2xTB2-16Gbps ports
  • Thunderbolt Monitor plugged in the second TB2
  • OS X 10.10
  • Octane Render 2.1 Cinema 4D plugin

eGPU parts

Details

The AKiTiO top shell was removed and vice grips used to bend the case at two places to accomodate the video card.

The fan on top is the stock fan that comes in the Akitio. I just fitted it to the top to blow air down onto the backplate of the card. I ran the power wire behind the Akitio board to keep out of the way.

The little cables that stick out from the Akitio board do rub the Aluminum backplate of the Titan Z. I placed a small piece of gaffer's tape in that spot on the backplate for extra caution but I don't think it's really much of a concern. Doesn't hurt that the fan is blowing onto it at that very spot.

Since I'm doing 3D rendering and I won't be able to add cards to this setup, I thought I should just return my GTX 780 while I can and get the dual action of the Titan Z, if I could get it running. It wasn't a piece of cake, but it looks like everything is running smooth now.

Initially, I was running Mavericks. I literally just pulled the 780 out and put the Titan Z in and it booted right up with the driver. But, I experienced some crashes when booting Cinema 4D Octane Render or in Cinema 4D Octane Render. Since there were some recent driver updates from Nvidia, I figured that might be a good next step but I needed Yosemite. The update was not very smooth but I got her going now. It really takes some finessing and following directions in the below below closely, but also with a knowledge of why. It seems an extra restart during the process can throw things off.

After the update, I was still sometimes getting a boot to a black screen after the Apple logo. The computer would be running and the card would be on but the screen was black. This is when I tried out the powered riser I had laying around and rigged up a Molex>Barrel plug. After that, things seemed to smooth out. I grabbed a little case from a computer thrift store by my house (Free Geek – Computer/Technology Reuse, Education, Recycling & Sales) to put everything in but the riser wouldn't allow the card to sit nicely in there. Chatting with the guys in there (knowledgable bitcoin miners) they convinced me that just using the Molex>Barrel Plug from my 750 watt PSU alone would solve any power issues in the Akitio and card slot because that should be drawing at least 100 watts from the PSU to the Akitio. I gave it a shot and so far so good. I'm not using a powered riser, only using the Molex>Barrel plug to power the Akitio. The bitcoin miners said powered risers are usually used to prevent too much power draw from blowing out a motherboard and that because I'm not going into a motherboard with it, I don't need to worry about that. They said putting more watts into the Akitio with the Molex>Barrel plug should solve the issue, if it's a power issue. I still don't know if it was or not for sure.

At this point things are running nicely. When I upgraded to the Titan Z in Mavericks, I saw about a 40% increase in Render speed. After updating to Yosemite, it seems I have gained bout 10% exta render speed and now my Thunderbolt monitor is no longer finicky - I can just leave it plugged in all the time. :)

If anyone has insight as to why my card shows as 2 separate cards, only 1 of them titled 'Titan Z' in System Report, I am curious if this is expected. Of course, this is a dual card, but in Octane Render, it only loads as 1 card so I'm hoping my speed loss isn't because of only 1/2 of the Titan Z is being used.

References used for assistance updating to Yosemite

http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/8059-%5Bguide%5D-2013-15-macbook-pro-gt750m-gtx780ti%4016gbps-tb2-sonnet-ee-iii-d-osx10-10-a.html

External GPU - V²C - ViDock :: Topic: macBook -> viDock -> 970GTX -> Oculus Rift (1/1)

A Thunderbolt GPU on a Mac : How-to | Le journal du lapin

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@garytyler , nice work there. Thank you for your post.

Your top notch hardware has the capacity to place you at the top of the leaderboard at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#dx11 . Did you want to bootcamp your system with Win8.1 to be able to run those benchmarks?

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@garytyler , nice work there. Thank you for your post.

Your top notch hardware has the capacity to place you at the top of the leaderboard at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#dx11 . Did you want to bootcamp your system with Win8.1 to be able to run those benchmarks?

I have a Windows 8.1 Bootcamped already. I haven't booted it since upgrading to Yosemite but I'll give that a shot. I've never done a benchmark. Should I just download GPU-Z? Is that the software you use for that?

Also, Tech Inferno Fan, the Titan Z is also a dual card. Might be worth mentioning in the notes. It's marketed at 12 GB vram but it only runs at 6 GB. Kinda strange and mostly marketing I think. I don't exactly know what it all means.

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I have a Windows 8.1 Bootcamped already. I haven't booted it since upgrading to Yosemite but I'll give that a shot. I've never done a benchmark. Should I just download GPU-Z? Is that the software you use for that?

Also, Tech Inferno Fan, the Titan Z is also a dual card. Might be worth mentioning in the notes. It's marketed at 12 GB vram but it only runs at 6 GB. Kinda strange and mostly marketing I think. I don't exactly know what it all means.

You download 3dmark11, 3dmark (13) and run the performance (P) settings. Once complete, it will link you to the Futuremark website to give a performance ranking. Just post those links and I'll do the rest.

Looks like the Titan Z is a 2.5 slot card, just like the other reference GTX970/980 cards. I can see the extra 1/2 slot needed two bends of the AKiTiO chassis to accomodate. One on the right side to allow longer cards to fit into the chassis and one on the left to allow cards wider than 2 slots to be allow the faceplate to screw in.

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I have a Windows 8.1 Bootcamped already. I haven't booted it since upgrading to Yosemite but I'll give that a shot. I've never done a benchmark. Should I just download GPU-Z? Is that the software you use for that?

Also, Tech Inferno Fan, the Titan Z is also a dual card. Might be worth mentioning in the notes. It's marketed at 12 GB vram but it only runs at 6 GB. Kinda strange and mostly marketing I think. I don't exactly know what it all means.

What monitor are your running? Is that a thunderbolt or cinema display?

Edit: I just saw you are using Thunderbolt Display. I believe, you are not utilizing your GPU in this setup. If you click the 'About this Mac' you would see the internal GeForce GT 750M as the Graphic display and not the Titan Z. Can you post the screen shot the about information of your MBP?

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What monitor are your running? Is that a thunderbolt or cinema display?

Edit: I just saw you are using Thunderbolt Display. I believe, you are not utilizing your GPU in this setup. If you click the 'About this Mac' you would see the internal GeForce GT 750M as the Graphic display and not the Titan Z. Can you post the screen shot the about information of your MBP?

That's right. I'm not utilizing the GPU for accelerated graphics, but that's not my intention. I'm using it for 3D animation rendering. I can post a screenshot but it's as you say it is... GT750M running the monitor. This is what I would prefer, so that the Titan Z is doing nothing but rendering. For what I'm doing, this is a pretty amazing setup because I've got the dual Titan Z rendering and my onboard GT750M to run software on, and it's all on a lap top.

From what I have read, the Titan Z isn't all that great for accelerated graphics but it is great for rendering animation. I don't know a lot about the graphics part because I'm not a gamer, but if I plug the thunderbolt display into the Akitio, it works fine, though I don't think it's doing anything more than a daisy chain. I've got a couple DVI monitors laying around but no HDMIs. Not sure if I could test much on DVI but if anyone is interested and wants me to then I will.

Does this mean running a benchmark is a waste of time?

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That's right. I'm not utilizing the GPU for accelerated graphics, but that's not my intention. I'm using it for 3D animation rendering. I can post a screenshot but it's as you say it is... GT750M running the monitor. This is what I would prefer, so that the Titan Z is doing nothing but rendering. For what I'm doing, this is a pretty amazing setup because I've got the dual Titan Z rendering and my onboard GT750M to run software on, and it's all on a lap top.

From what I have read, the Titan Z isn't all that great for accelerated graphics but it is great for rendering animation. I don't know a lot about the graphics part because I'm not a gamer, but if I plug the thunderbolt display into the Akitio, it works fine, though I don't think it's doing anything more than a daisy chain. I've got a couple DVI monitors laying around but no HDMIs. Not sure if I could test much on DVI but if anyone is interested and wants me to then I will.

Does this mean running a benchmark is a waste of time?

Benchmarks under Windows are most certainly not a waste of time. They'd (1) confirm a dual-GPU card works under windows and (2) you'd most certainly see very fast 3dmark results, how good we'll know once you post them.

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That's right. I'm not utilizing the GPU for accelerated graphics, but that's not my intention. I'm using it for 3D animation rendering. I can post a screenshot but it's as you say it is... GT750M running the monitor. This is what I would prefer, so that the Titan Z is doing nothing but rendering. For what I'm doing, this is a pretty amazing setup because I've got the dual Titan Z rendering and my onboard GT750M to run software on, and it's all on a lap top.

From what I have read, the Titan Z isn't all that great for accelerated graphics but it is great for rendering animation. I don't know a lot about the graphics part because I'm not a gamer, but if I plug the thunderbolt display into the Akitio, it works fine, though I don't think it's doing anything more than a daisy chain. I've got a couple DVI monitors laying around but no HDMIs. Not sure if I could test much on DVI but if anyone is interested and wants me to then I will.

Does this mean running a benchmark is a waste of time?

correct, if you connect your thunderbolt display to akitio it work just fine, it will just daisy chain. What software you are using for 3D rendering? And how do you know if the titan-z is being used during the rendering process? Is there an option on your software to select which gpu to use?

try to run the benchmark with and without the GPU and see what is the result. Thanks!

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correct, if you connect your thunderbolt display to akitio it work just fine, it will just daisy chain. What software you are using for 3D rendering? And how do you know if the titan-z is being used during the rendering process? Is there an option on your software to select which gpu to use?

try to run the benchmark with and without the GPU and see what is the result. Thanks!

I'm using Octane Render Cinma4D Plugin. I know I'm using the Titan Z for rendering because my renders are hauling ass, but yeah there is a settings window for available GPUs where you can set which ones you want to put to work and how much. Here's a pic:

cRbn9IT.png

PS - I am in the middle of a render right now. I'll run that benchmark tonight or tomorrow.

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I'm using Octane Render Cinma4D Plugin. I know I'm using the Titan Z for rendering because my renders are hauling ass, but yeah there is a settings window for available GPUs where you can set which ones you want to put to work and how much. Here's a pic:

cRbn9IT.png

PS - I am in the middle of a render right now. I'll run that benchmark tonight or tomorrow.

You just gave me an idea! So I disconnected my eGPU (AkiTio/GTX970). I created a new Adobe Premiere project and tried to render 13min video and it took me to complete the task for 18mins! Now I connected back my eGPU I'm using Apple Cinema Display, but instead outputting the display from the GPU via display port adapter, I daisy chain my my display and mac mini to Akitio and opened the same project and was able to render the video in just under 3mins! (Note: In the Project Settings I selected the OpenGL Renderer instead of Software Only. I made some previous file modifications in order for premiere to use other listed GPU) Before when I run premiere with this setup Cinema Display=display port adapter=eGPU=thunderbolt cable=AkiTio, my premiere always crash! can't even complete to render or edit a video!

Now, If I could only figure out how to select a different GPU for my Steam Game then this is a good indication, I might as well go back to my beloved Thunderbolt Display!!!!!

Anyone knows if there are any settings in Steam to select another GPU other than the internal GPU of MBP or Mini?

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You just gave me an idea! So I disconnected my eGPU (AkiTio/GTX970). I created a new Adobe Premiere project and tried to render 13min video and it took me to complete the task for 18mins! Now I connected back my eGPU I'm using Apple Cinema Display, but instead outputting the display from the GPU via display port adapter, I daisy chain my my display and mac mini to Akitio and opened the same project and was able to render the video in just under 3mins! (Note: In the Project Settings I selected the OpenGL Renderer instead of Software Only. I made some previous file modifications in order for premiere to use other listed GPU) Before when I run premiere with this setup Cinema Display=display port adapter=eGPU=thunderbolt cable=AkiTio, my premiere always crash! can't even complete to render or edit a video!

Now, If I could only figure out how to select a different GPU for my Steam Game then this is a good indication, I might as well go back to my beloved Thunderbolt Display!!!!!

Anyone knows if there are any settings in Steam to select another GPU other than the internal GPU of MBP or Mini?

Yeah! Big GPUs aren't really "needed" in video editing but they are probably going to catch on. Premiere has has GPU support for a few years now and After Effects gets a major boost from CUDA. I don't entirely understand the setup you are talking about but I can say my Thunderbolt monitor was a pain in the ass with Mavericks + eGPU but it's a breeze in Yosemite.

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I do not believe that you are using both halves of the card, just one.

A few rounds of Lexmark OpenCl Benchmark will show you one way or the other.

Or CUDA-Z, but Lexmark would show for sure, OpenCl is additive, so each card can add to score.

But it looks like driver only loaded for one of the two cards on the board.

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I do not believe that you are using both halves of the card, just one.

A few rounds of Lexmark OpenCl Benchmark will show you one way or the other.

Or CUDA-Z, but Lexmark would show for sure, OpenCl is additive, so each card can add to score.

But it looks like driver only loaded for one of the two cards on the board.

Aren't those windows applications, though? If they are windows applications, I don't think they would help me determine if both sides are being used in OS X. If you have any idea how I could investigate that, please let me know. I'm really curious. The driver thing is suspicious. BUT, in Mavericks, it booted as only 1 card with the driver and renders were actually slower. So, if I never updated to Yosemite, it would appear as if both sides were probably being used. This makes it hard to really tell.

PS - I will run some benchmarks probably on Sunday. Just real busy with work rn.

EDIT - Just saw Luxmark has an OS X version. Downloading it now.

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I think you should have stayed with 780. OS X can't use both cores it seems.

Here is a single Titan Black on a 1.4Ghz Mini

Note that if you drag the score Window to left (over the ball) then everyone can see what was tested.

I'll plug in a 2nd Black and update this.

UPDATE: 2nd Black nearly doubled score. Fast cards.

BTW, if you want to be able to compare easily you might want to run the "Sala" or "Room" scenes as Barefeats uses those frequently.

Also, you can attach here instead of off site, easier for others to see.

post-31171-14494998886849_thumb.png

post-31171-14494998887335_thumb.png

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I think that answers the question. The prompt lists what is used in the test. It was just the Titan Z. Here's another that includes the 750M. This seems like exactly what the scores would be if only 1 core was being used. Thanks for this. I had been scouring for info but the benchmark thing seemed like it would not bring me the answers I was looking for. Glad I did it!

http://www.mediafire.com/view/acu3y6cxac3nf4t

another member just posted in the Octane forums a screenshot of both Titan Z cards loaded with drivers so I know it's possible. :) I'll give an update.

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I think that answers the question. The prompt lists what is used in the test. It was just the Titan Z. Here's another that includes the 750M. This seems like exactly what the scores would be if only 1 core was being used. Thanks for this. I had been scouring for info but the benchmark thing seemed like it would not bring me the answers I was looking for. Glad I did it!

Simple File Sharing and Storage.

another member just posted in the Octane forums a screenshot of both Titan Z cards loaded with drivers so I know it's possible. :) I'll give an update.

Yes my friend!

post-31117-14494998957108_thumb.jpg

post-31117-14494998957622_thumb.jpg

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I think you should have stayed with 780. OS X can't use both cores it seems.

Here is a single Titan Black on a 1.4Ghz Mini

Note that if you drag the score Window to left (over the ball) then everyone can see what was tested.

I'll plug in a 2nd Black and update this.

UPDATE: 2nd Black nearly doubled score. Fast cards.

Would you tell what enclosure/PCIe board you used with your Mac mini setup running two Titan Blacks? It might be possible with two AKiTiOs.

Mac mini (Mid 2011) performs amazingly well with a single TB cable connected to NA211TB + EVGA GTX780 6GB OC + Gigabyte GTX980 reference card. I guess two GTX980s would show better score than two Titan Blacks. Even though GTX980 is primarily meant for accelerated graphics, it is a fast card on CUDA applications. AnandTech says “So per CUDA core, GTX 980 delivers over 2x the LuxMark performance of GTX 780 Ti”.

AnandTech | The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Review: Maxwell Mark 2

Steam gaming was also possible on 4K@60Hz display.

post-28870-1449499896308_thumb.png

post-28870-14494998963855_thumb.png

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  • 4 weeks later...

Looks great! I followed your guide successfully except I used a 970 and not a Titan. However, I can't seem to get any other external displays to work. Could you (or anyone else) help me with this?

My setup is as follows:

15" rMBP with GT 750M

GTX 970 connected via Akitio Thunder2

Samsung 4K monitor connected to the GTX 970 via Display Port

1080p Asus connected to rMBP via Thunderbolt to HDMI cable (praise be unto CableMatters)

720p projector connected via HDMI to the rMBP

Dual-booting OS X 10.10.1 and Windows 8.1

I have it working in Windows, but OS X refuses to utilize the other two displays, even when I use gfxCardStatus to initialize the 750M

EDIT: Copypasted my setup in

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Looks great! I followed your guide successfully except I used a 970 and not a titan. However, I can't seem to get any other external displays to work. Could you (or anyone else) help me with this? Ive got 1 monitor plugged in via thunderbolt (adapted to HDMI) and another plugged in over HDMI. It would be great if I wasn't just limited to 1 external and 1 internal. Thanks!

Are you referring to OS X or Windows? Some details on your setup would be helpful.

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My setup is as follows:

15" rMBP with GT 750 M

GTX 970 connected via Akitio Thunder2

Samsung 4K monitor connected to the GTX 970 via Display Port

1080p Asus connected to rMBP via Thunderbolt to HDMI cable (praise be unto CableMatters)

720p projector connected via HDMI to the rMBP

Dual-booting OS X 10.10.1 and Windows 8.1

I have it working in Windows, but OS X refuses to utilize the other two displays, even when I use gfxCardStatus to initialize the 750M

EDIT: Now the 4K monitor connected to the GTX 970 isn't being detected by my laptop either. The card shows up in System Profiler, but the monitor does not.

EDIT 2: Reinstalled drivers. Problem solved.

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Looks great! I followed your guide successfully except I used a 970 and not a titan. However, I can't seem to get any other external displays to work. Could you (or anyone else) help me with this? Ive got 1 monitor plugged in via thunderbolt (adapted to HDMI) and another plugged in over HDMI. It would be great if I wasn't just limited to 1 external and 1 internal. Thanks!

I've used 3 different cards with my MBPr and Akitio now. They can all be used with external monitors bit you must boot with the monitor unplugged and plug it in within the first few seconds after your desktop loads.

When I learned this, I was just remembering that even without an eGPU, my Thunderbolt Monitor wouldn't turn on until my desktop loads during bootup and thinking it was worth a try. It works almost every time. If it doesn't work for some reason, I just reboot. It is a little annoying but it works and it's worth it.

I would expect that there is a modification we could use with the tunneling commands in the kext files that would change this because my guess is that the issue has to do with the fact that the Apple Thunderbolt monitor and some of the Thunderbolt hubs are the only peripherals that could tunnel to other devices through Thunderbolt before the kext modification. Now that I think about it, some of the extra Kexts may not be necessary for use without enhanced graphics. I'll try that in the next few days and post my results. I may be onto something here.

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