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OS X External GPU for TB equipped Macs?

@EricBlob: I hope to get a similar setup going with gtx780s and a 5-slot chassis from maxexpansion.com

What are your experiences with not being able to hot plug? Do you crash your mac if you accidentally plug in or out the Vidock while your mac is powered on? Even if it's in sleep mode?

Thanks!

EpicBlob said:
The only official vendor that officially supports GPUs is VillageTronic, but to get their ViDock working with a Mac you need to use the Sonnet Echo TB/Expresscard adapter.
Click to expand...
 
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Mustard Seed said:
@EricBlob: I hope to get a similar setup going with gtx780s and a 5-slot chassis from maxexpansion.com

What are your experiences with not being able to hot plug? Do you crash your mac if you accidentally plug in or out the Vidock while your mac is powered on? Even if it's in sleep mode?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have it plugged into a Mac Mini so I treat it like a desktop while in use; never bump the connector and since it never needs to be unplugged, I just leave it. I don't think I've personally tried it but people say it causes a system crash. If I unplug it while in windows, I get a blue screen. Just remember a Graphics Card isn't like a flashdrive, they aren't exactly made to be constantly plugged and unplugged while your system is running :p

Sleep does work with the ViDock in os x, and the fan control of the GPU acts accordingly to the system.

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khaledmga said:
Hey there EpicBlob, I have a late 2013 rMBP with GT750M, It's an okay graphics card but I'd love a stronger one. Can you please tell me if an external GPU solution would be possible for my laptop, and if there is any way in which i can use the LCD screen on the laptop instead of an external monitor? If both are possible, what would i need and what's the average cost that you've paid for such a solution?
Click to expand...

Hey man, sadly there isn't exactly an easy way to get an eGPU working with a Macbook if you have a dGPU. Though it is still possible to get some benefits. Someone with a rMBP and 650m used a 760 GPU and went from about 2100 in 3dmark11 to 6700. My ViDock, Sonnet Echo TB/expresscard adapter, TB cable, and 660 gpu cost a bit over 600.
 
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Not Yet

monty77 said:
..was reading this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1668514/

Was considering building a mini PC gaming rig but this got me thinking perhaps it's not necessary. According to the above thread an external Nvidia 660 solution can be had for around £500 - hard to build a PC rig with that potential for the same kind of money and I'd much rather not have yet another PC to maintain.

So who's got an external GPU solution for their Mac?
Click to expand...

It is not yet possible to use an external graphics card, at least not affordably nor without having to boot into Windows, but with Thunderbolt-aware drivers which would also allow hot-plugging, it may one day be possible. In fact Village Tronic and Silverstone are each working on affordable eGPU enclosures, which I hope they’ll be able to begin selling this year, especially since they’ve been working on them for a year or so and many people(myself included) really want an affordable eGPU enclosure. The other problem besides drivers is that Intel doesn't want this sort of thing to be affordable. Although, i have made a petition, to try to get them to give Silverstone and Village Tronic the licenses they need: https://www.change.org/petitions/int...gpu-enclosures
 
The amount of ******** here is typically why we mac-users are laughed at everytime...

It totally works as long as you edit 3 text files to add 2 copy-pasted lines from the journaldulapin...

I personally use it to play games and it's so much better than having 2 computers that you would have to painfully sync everytime you arrive home etc.

All it takes is the thunderbolt to gpu adapter and a reboot everytime you connect/disconnect the gpu...

Don't listen to the idiots that can not consider anything as long as it's not officially supported and start telling you ******** about drivers etc.
It actually works better on OS X than on Windows because of memory management that makes it much more complicated on Windows if you also have an internal dGPU (ie high-end rMBP).

That said it's not what I'd call affordable actually, and you may experience system crashes once in a while (here it can happen after around*a few hours or not at all for some mysterius reasons) if you use it for extremely demanding games. But I'm using TB1 so if you use TB2 you can technically avoid bottlenecking by far.

Actually tests with PCIe 1,2 and 3 showed that from 3x16 to 2x8 you lose only around 10-15% of GPU performance on high-end GPUs (ie GTX 780) so the true problem only resides in the lazy mind of people who can't do a thing if it's not on Apple's website.
 
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Tristan9 said:
The amount of ******** here is typically why we mac-users are laughed at everytime...

It totally works as long as you edit 3 text files to add 2 copy-pasted lines from the journaldulapin...

I personally use it to play games and it's so much better than having 2 computers that you would have to painfully sync everytime you arrive home etc.

All it takes is the thunderbolt to gpu adapter and a reboot everytime you connect/disconnect the gpu...

Don't listen to the idiots that can not consider anything as long as it's not officially supported and start telling you ******** about drivers etc.
It actually works better on OS X than on Windows because of memory management that makes it much more complicated on Windows if you also have an internal dGPU (ie high-end rMBP).

That said it's not what I'd call affordable actually, and you may experience system crashes once in a while (here it can happen after around*a few hours or not at all for some mysterius reasons) if you use it for extremely demanding games. But I'm using TB1 so if you use TB2 you can technically avoid bottlenecking by far.

Actually tests with PCIe 1,2 and 3 showed that from 3x16 to 2x8 you lose only around 10-15% of GPU performance on high-end GPUs (ie GTX 780) so the true problem only resides in the lazy mind of people who can't do a thing if it's not on Apple's website.
Click to expand...

Well said... so much misinformation in this thread.
 
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Tristan9 said:
Actually tests with PCIe 1,2 and 3 showed that from 3x16 to 2x8 you lose only around 10-15% of GPU performance on high-end GPUs (ie GTX 780) so the true problem only resides in the lazy mind of people who can't do a thing if it's not on Apple's website.
Click to expand...

2x8 will give 4GB/sec.Thunderbolt is 10gbps= 1.25GB/sec = PCIe 2.1 x2
Thunderbolt 2 is also 10gbps, but can use upstream/downstream as it likes and can theoretically reach 2.5GB/sec as long as the data is sent one way only.
 
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Tristan9 said:
The amount of ******** here is typically why we mac-users are laughed at everytime...

It totally works as long as you edit 3 text files to add 2 copy-pasted lines from the journaldulapin...

I personally use it to play games and it's so much better than having 2 computers that you would have to painfully sync everytime you arrive home etc.

All it takes is the thunderbolt to gpu adapter and a reboot everytime you connect/disconnect the gpu...

Don't listen to the idiots that can not consider anything as long as it's not officially supported and start telling you ******** about drivers etc.
It actually works better on OS X than on Windows because of memory management that makes it much more complicated on Windows if you also have an internal dGPU (ie high-end rMBP).

That said it's not what I'd call affordable actually, and you may experience system crashes once in a while (here it can happen after around*a few hours or not at all for some mysterius reasons) if you use it for extremely demanding games. But I'm using TB1 so if you use TB2 you can technically avoid bottlenecking by far.

Actually tests with PCIe 1,2 and 3 showed that from 3x16 to 2x8 you lose only around 10-15% of GPU performance on high-end GPUs (ie GTX 780) so the true problem only resides in the lazy mind of people who can't do a thing if it's not on Apple's website.
Click to expand...

Okay, Tristan, it sounds like you've got something promising here.

Can you elaborate on the details of your build? Which Mac you use it successfully on? Specs? Aftermarket parts? TB chassis, GPU, etc? Maybe some benchmarks if you've got the time?

Thanks in advance!
 
Intel Doesn't Want eGPUs

Cougarcat said:
They exist for windows, but yes, I don't see it coming out for the Mac. And Apple isn't going to care enough to make it happen.

Unfortunately, I don't see out of box solutions appearing because thunderbolt is so niche and expensive. It's only prevalent on the Mac, and in PC land it exists only on high-end motherboards. It's more niche than FireWire ever was.

Btw, I may be wrong, but wouldn't a beefy card like the 780 be a waste over thunderbolt 1?
Click to expand...

Actually, the reason why there isn't much in the way of external graphics card solution is because Intel refuses to give licensing and certification for PCIe to Thunderbolt adaptors/chassis' which are specifically for external graphics cards. They do that because they're afraid that eGPUs, especially affordable ones, will prevent sales of PCs with Intel processors; that people will get an external graphics card instead of an Intel-powered desktop.

Fortunately, I have discovered an PCIe to Thunderbolt box that might work made by Firmtek, called the Thundertek PX.

Of course, the downside to it is that it only provides 25 watts to the card, which is probably why Intel approved it; it can't be used for a graphics card on its own. To circumvent that issue, I'll just use a PSU from an old PC to power the graphics card.

I'll buy the Thundertek and a GTX 650 in a week or two . Hopefully, it will work perfectly aside from not having hot-plugging or a boot screen.
 
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jblagden said:
Actually, the reason why there isn't much in the way of external graphics card solution is because Intel refuses to give licensing and certification for PCIe to Thunderbolt adaptors/chassis' which are specifically for external graphics cards. They do that because they're afraid that eGPUs, especially affordable ones, will prevent sales of PCs with Intel processors; that people will get an external graphics card instead of an Intel-powered desktop. .
Click to expand...

Surely you would need an Intel specified mobo/processor for thunderbolt in the first place?

I can see some point in eGPUs for laptops or very small PCs but if you really needed that GPU in the first place you ought to be buying a normal desktop.
 
Wardenski said:
Surely you would need an Intel specified mobo/processor for thunderbolt in the first place?

I can see some point in eGPUs for laptops or very small PCs but if you really needed that GPU in the first place you ought to be buying a normal desktop.
Click to expand...

Not the point, though.
 
This would be great for me as well. I only have a small space to put my computer equipment and my NAS server, printer, and Macbook take up all of that space. Might be able to squeeze a small external video card in somewhere, but a PC( that would not connect to my Thunderbolt-only display anyway ) wouldn't fit.

I hope that a commercial external Thunderbolt display become available!
 
Also very curious about this.

I have a late-2013 MBPr that I dock when at home. I like having the power to use it for multimedia editing but when I boot camp into windows to game I'd love to be able to have some extra oomph. The Evil Within, for example, is completely unplayable on a laptop GPU.

Additionally, docking my MBPr into a monitor means I get to use it as a dual monitor setup, which is VERY handy for work. It's a modular and convenient setup and one I'd love to be able to stick with. The MBPr is my work computer, which means working on the go, then popping it into the monitor and getting more done with the 2x monitors.

An elegant solution that adds minimal hardware would be excellent.
 
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