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eGPU with IMac 21" 4k (late 2015)


stemoac

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Hallo,

 

i am new to this forum and i have read a lot in the last days because i am looking for a solution for my new iMac but i have not found what i am looking for.

 

As i told, i have bought a new iMac 21" 4k with retina display. I am working with Photoshop and 3D rendering software. Now i want to use the possibility of the NVIDEA IRAY support. That means, i need a very fast GPU with a lot of CUDA cores to improve my render times.

 

My question is:

Has anyone tried, to use an external eGPU (e.g. Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 Ti) in an AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe box in combination with an new iMac under OS X El Capitan (V 10.11.2)?

Will it work?

 

I don't want to use the eGPU for gaming, just for rendering.

 

Would be nice, if someone can help me.

 

Thank you

Stephan

 

P.S: Sorry for my bad english writing but i am living in germany and do not use english very often ;-)

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@stemoacHey, I am from Germany as well (Frohe Weihnachten!).

 

Yes a GTX980Ti will work with an AKiTiO and should also work with your iMac. What programs are you going to use for rendering? If that app can adress a specific GPU in the app options, it shouldn't be a problem. E.g. Octane Render:

 

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Hey Dschijn,

thanks for the quick answer (frohe Weihnachten wünsche ich Dir natürlich auch). This sounds good. I use also Octane and sometimes DAZ Studio (can also address a specific GPU in the render options).

 

When i am right, I need the AKiTiO, an powerful PSU (500W), the GPU, an TB2 cable and two other adapters and the newest GPU drivers. Is this all?

Have you any experiences with external eGPU? Can you perhaps help me to find the right components (especially the adapters i need)?

I found the "Akitio Thunderbolt2 PCIe Expansion Box MP-TB-PCIE" in an online shop for 275€. Can i use any Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 Ti (e.g from MSI, ZOTAC, ... ) or have i to look for an special vendor? And where to buy the adapters in germany?

 

Thank you for your help in advance.

 

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Please, don't use any drivers on your own! Just use this script: https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/7989-script-automating-the-installation-of-egpu-on-os-x-inc-display-output/

This is doing the installation automatically and there is almost no interaction needed from the user.

 

I got my AKiTiO from this shop: https://www.format.de/Products/5961/index.php?gclid=CPDWsYn2hsUCFUblwgodMa0AVA

If you want to go with a GTX980Ti you can pick any. But you should think about how you want to build your setup.

Can it be a "Ghetto" mod with visible components or should it all be in a case? Since any card faster than the GTX970 will be too long to fit into the AKiTiO you must come up with a plan about that.

 

Just for to compare.

This is my 2nd eGPU build with the setup inside a PC case: https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/6734-2014-15-macbook-pro-iris-gtx97016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win81-dschijn/

This is my 3rd eGPU all inside the AKiTiO: https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/7667-2014-15-mbp-iris-gtx97016gbps-tb2-akitio-thunder2-win81osx1010-dschijn2/

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So you will need:

- AKiTiO from format.de

- this adapter: https://www.caseking.de/bitspower-24-pin-atx-ueberbrueckungsstecker-zuad-083.html

- the GPU

- a PSU with enough plugs for that GPU

- this cable: http://www.reichelt.de/DC-AKS-7525/3/index.html?&ACTION=3&LA=446&ARTICLE=150126&artnr=DC+AKS+7525&SEARCH=niedervoltstecker+2.5mm

- this adapter: http://www.reichelt.de/DELOCK-82315/3/index.html?&ACTION=3&LA=446&ARTICLE=143815&artnr=DELOCK+82315&SEARCH=6-pin+pcie+kabel

 

The last two parts have to be comined by soldering to power the AKiTiO (if you need help, I could do that).

 

A TB cable would be optional, since the AKiTiO has a 50cm one.

For the Ghetto mod you would have to bend opten the AKiTiO case a bit. Maybe take a look at some of the builds here.

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Hey Dschijn,

today i've looked for the PSU and the GTX980TI.

I found the "Be-Quiet Straight Power 10 700W". Do you think, this is Ok for my mod?

http://www.hiq24.de/shop/Hardware/Komponenten/Netzteile/ab-500-Watt/STRAIGHT-POWER-10-700W-CM,-PC-Netzteil/140833/9512/i.html?

 

It is difficult for me, to decide, which GTX980TI is the best for my. There are so many different models from ASUS, MSI, ZOTAC and so on.

If i am right, the only difference is the Engine clock speed (from 1000 up to 1253MHz). Some need twi slots, some three.

 

Because i wan't to have as much rendering speed as possible, i think about the ZOTAC GTX980TI AMP! Extreme. Do you think, that this is possible (the GPU needs 3 slots)?

http://www.hiq24.de/shop/Hardware/Komponenten/Grafikkarten/PCIe-Karten-NVIDIA/GeForce-GTX-Gaming/GeForce-GTX-980-Ti-AMP!-Extreme,-Grafikkarte/156719/9406/i.html?

 

Or what components for PSU and GPU can you recommend?

 

Thanks again for your help in advance.

 

Greeting

stemoac

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One of the quietest and fast cards is from Palit, the Jetstream one. http://geizhals.de/?cat=gra16_512&xf=1439_GTX+980+Ti#xf_top

You don't need 700W! 500-600W is perfectly fine with the right amount of PCIe plugs.

beQuiet! PSUs might have the problem not to start with the paper clip trick (happend to a friend).

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Today I've got all my components and built up the setup.

 

The PSU works fine with the paperclip trick.

My eGPU (ASUS GTX980TI) is in the AKiTiO and the power cable is connected.

I've built the molex-to-barrel-adapter with two molex (as described here in the forum).

I switched on the PSU (everything is connected) , the blue LED at the AKiTiO is burning.

 

So far so good. I've downloaded the "automate-egpu.sh", copied it to the Desktop and executed the three commands in an Terminal window.

chmod +x ~/Desktop/automate-eGPU.sh

cd ~/Desktop

sudo ./automate-eGPU.sh

 

I entered the root Password and got the following error message:

 

nvram: Error getting variable - 'csr-active-config': (iokit/common) data was not found

Boot into recovery partition and type: csrutil disable

 

Does the script not work under "OS X El Capitan, Version 10.11.2" or what can i do?

 

 

 

 

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After i switched off the SIP (csrutil disable) the script runs. I answered the questions with "y" and after the script was finished, i rebooted the system.

I checked the system informations. the GTX980TI was detected as a second GPU.

 

But when i start my render engine, there is no GPU which i can select. Is it possible, that i have to install the CUDA driver from NVIDIA or is this included in the automatic installer script?

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Heureka!!!

 

I installed the latest CUDA driver package from NVIDEA and now everything works :-)

 

Ok, now i can test the performance ... (will be a long night - smile)

 

Many Thanks to Dschijn for his tips and recommendations!

 

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my first experiences ...

 

This system runs very stable. Right now 20 hours without any problems.

When first switching on the PSU and then the iMac, the system boots up every time without any problems (switching off iMac first and then the PSU).

The complete system is also very very quiet. The fans of PSU by Thermaltake and the Asus Strix GTX 980 TI running quiet and smoothly. The temperature is not so high (ok, the AKiTiO is open).

 

Actually i am running some tests with my render engine and the benchmark tools. So far so good, ....

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7 minutes ago, stemoac said:

my first experiences ...

 

This system runs very stable. Right now 20 hours without any problems.

When first switching on the PSU and then the iMac, the system boots up every time without any problems (switching off iMac first and then the PSU).

The complete system is also very very quiet. The fans of PSU by Thermaltake and the Asus Strix GTX 980 TI running quiet and smoothly. The temperature is not so high (ok, the AKiTiO is open).

 

Actually i am running some tests with my render engine and the benchmark tools. So far so good, ....

 

@stemoac, very good news to hear you have it all running especially with the high performance GTX980Ti. We have only one other documented 2011 iMac eGPU implementation guide at https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/7993-2011-11-mba-13-mbp-imac-gtx97010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-osx1010-seefew/#post136810

 

Would you like to post an implementation guide with this newer iMac so other users with the same system can leverage off your pioneering efforts?

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Yes of course. When i have more results from my first benchmarks and some more experiences, i will write a summery with a few pictures (if possible), but i think it will be finished next years :-) )

 

 

P.S: Without the articles, comments an the really useful and quick help from this forum (specially by Dchijn, who knows nearly everything about this stuff), i would have been unable to built my own eGPU.

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ok, after the first tests, the cuda driver works but something is wrong or missing with the nvidia web driver.

 

Today i organized an external monitor and connected the monitor with a cdmi cable to the akitio.

Then i checked the system information. The eGPU is there but the gpu will not be used by the external monitor (only internal card for both screens).

 

 

 

 

screen1.jpg

screen2.jpg

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