MP 1,1-5,1 testing TB3 AIC with MP 5,1

[miztahsparklez]

Hope you feel better man! I used your previous firmware and I am able to see the card in 5,1 but not able to mount the thunderbolt 3 drives. Although I am able to mount the drive using USB 3.1

Any thoughts?

Are you sure you even have a thunderbolt drive and cable?
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Something interesting I've noticed. If I have a device plugged in, the computer will not go to sleep properly. It keeps ramping up and down during sleep mode. I also get lots of USB drive unplugged errors if I leave something connected on a different port during this ramping up and down.

 

[agrawalsujit]

Are you sure you even have a thunderbolt drive and cable?

Yeah. I have a thunderbolt 3 drive with USB C and a thunderbolt cable.

 

[KevinClark]

I plan to buy a Titan Flashed for Mac Pro 5.1 on Ebay what do I need too to get thunderbolt natively ?Thanks

 

[eksu]

I plan to buy a Titan Flashed for Mac Pro 5.1 on Ebay what do I need too to get thunderbolt natively ?Thanks

My understanding is that you can't use a EFI GPU with OpenCore, and that there is an OpenCore component to this thunderbolt mod to make everything work right.

Perhaps get a regular titan or a Radeon?

 

[Ludacrisvp]

My understanding is that you can't use a EFI GPU with OpenCore, and that there is an OpenCore component to this thunderbolt mod to make everything work right.

Perhaps get a regular titan or a Radeon?

what makes you think you can't use an EFI flashed GPU with OpenCore?
(hint: You certainly can, it works just fine.)

 

[DSM2.Hackintosh]

With OpenCore there is no need for an EFI Flashed GPU.
Just by the way

 

[Ludacrisvp]

With OpenCore there is no need for an EFI Flashed GPU.
Just by the way

Agreed, I have flashed MXM GPU in my xserve only because @Nick [D]vB, made it possible with my WX4150, I was using OpenCore with it initially until I flashed that ROM (I continue to use OpenCore with the EFI flashed card).
Using OpenCore GOP function was enough on its own, (but modifications are fun) and OpenCore GOP function is what i use for the MP3,1 with the RX 580.

The only real issue with GOP boot screen with OpenCore is that you can't use a modded vbios (to do things like over clock or undervolting type things)

 

[eksu]

Oh that's good to know! I thought that it had an issue because the EFI was a modded vbios or something... I remember reading on a few threads people recommending to switch back to stock vbios so.

 

[Brask]

Ok, so I finally got my Titan Ridge card in the mail yesterday! Following the guide from Amey Rupji (here) and using DSM2's firmware, I have flashed the card (only the chip with the blue dot) and put at jumper on the THB_C header (3 to 5). I then proceeded to modify my OpenCore configuration to incorporate DSM2's version with Martin LO's version (here) and finally I installed the card in slot 4 of my cMP 5.1 running Mojave. I attached a USB hub / card reader / HDMI interface (with two harddrives plugged into the USB hub) to one of the TB3 ports on the Titan Ridge and booted the cMP. At first glance everything appears to work.

Next step will be to run tests with other pieces of TB3 dependent hardware, I guess.

Thanks to DSM2, Amey Rupji, Martin LO and everybody else here, who have made this possible. You guys rock!

 

[Trustyrustydusty]

very cool!

 

[johnny7874209]

Hey guys! I flashed Blackmagic eGPU firmware to GC-TITAN-RIDGE AIC, and now it can be recognised by my MacBook Pro ! So, I think it may be feasible to DIY an eGPU.

 

[Trustyrustydusty]

Hey guys! I flashed Blackmagic eGPU firmware to GC-TITAN RIDGE AIC, and now it can be recognised by my MacBook Pro ! So, I think it may be feasible to DIY and eGPU.


View attachment 900004

Ok, so I finally got my Titan Ridge card in the mail yesterday! Following the guide from Amey Rupji (here) and using DSM2's firmware, I have flashed the card (only the chip with the blue dot) and put at jumper on the THB_C header (3 to 5). I then proceeded to modify my OpenCore configuration to incorporate DSM2's version with Martin LO's version (here) and finally I installed the card in slot 4 of my cMP 5.1 running Mojave. I attached a USB hub / card reader / HDMI interface (with two harddrives plugged into the USB hub) to one of the TB3 ports on the Titan Ridge and booted the cMP. At first glance everything appears to work.

Next step will be to run tests with other pieces of TB3 dependent hardware, I guess.

Thanks to DSM2, Amey Rupji, Martin LO and everybody else here, who have made this possible. You guys rock!

View attachment 899981View attachment 899982View attachment 899983View attachment 899984

Oh this is great news! I have a question in regards to the update: Right now UAD TB chains won't work on cold boot but after 1 or 2 recovery boots the chain is fully recognized. Does this update work for cold boot? I'm planning on donating to the cause if that's the case. I definitely want to support you if you write a firmware that does this!

 

[Patrice Cote]

Same thing regarding UAD devices... still need a couple of reboots

 

[joevt]

Hey guys! I flashed Blackmagic eGPU firmware to GC-TITAN RIDGE AIC, and now it can be recognised by my MacBook Pro ! So, I think it may be feasible to DIY and eGPU.

Using a Thunderbolt peripheral firmware on a Thunderbolt host controller? Your idea is to use the GC-TITAN RIDGE as a peripheral?

What is the GC-TITAN RIDGE connected to?

You need a PCIe x4 female to PCIe x4 female cable to connect a PCIe card such as a GPU? I would test with a cheap USB PCIe card firstly. But that can't work because you need to provide power to both the AIC and the PCIe card. Maybe you can replace the Thunderbolt controller of a Sonnet Echo Express PCIe expansion box (or similar) with the GC-TITAN RIDGE?

The point of this would be to create an eGPU with DisplayPort inputs that can drive a Thunderbolt display - similar to a BlackMagic eGPU except that the GPU is upgradeable.
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The alternative would be to create software that can enable a GC-TITAN RIDGE that is inside a Thunderbolt PCIe expansion box - this might be simpler than using the GC-TITAN RIDGE as a peripheral.

 

[dataid]

This is all amazing. I ordered the card, I downloaded the files....... I have NO IDEA what to do with these things! Hoping to use this for Universal Audio at the photo studio and etc.

I see there's been some tension - hopefully there's a step by step for those of us that don't use OpenCore frequently.. etc etc....

DSM2 my most humble gratitude for making this work for us out here!

Here is a link to an article on Github which was created by Amey Rupji Software Engineer Artist from
Austin, TX.

Thunderbolt Mac Pro Early 2009 with Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge Card
He documents step by step, with illustrations and in text how to flash the Titan Ridge card.
Excellent work!

This is link is to his Github page on which he is starting to document his experience with the ASUS ThunderboltEX 3, this is a work in progress.

[WIP] Thunderbolt Mac Pro Early 2009 with Asus Thunderbolt EX3

 

[johnny7874209]

Using a Thunderbolt peripheral firmware on a Thunderbolt host controller? Your idea is to use the GC-TITAN RIDGE as a peripheral?

Exactly! My idea came form AKiTiO Node Pro. As you can see in the pictures in below, the main part of AKiTiO Node Pro is composed of two pcbs: Thunderbolt 3 AIC and PCIe Adapter.

Besides, taking a close look at Thunderbolt 3 AIC in AKiTiO Node Pro, you'll find that it's very similar to those normal Thunderbolt 3 AIC, such as GC-TITAN RIDGE and GC-ALPINE RIDGE.

I conclude that the firmware is the key point that can decide a Thunderbolt 3 AIC to be host mode or peripheral mode. Therefore, we can also change Thunderbolt 3 AIC in AKiTiO Node Pro to become host mode by flashing another firmware into it, so that it can be used on our PC !

<<Inside of AKiTiO Node Pro>>​

<<Thunderbolt 3 AIC from AKiTiO Node Pro>>​

<<PCIe Adapter from AKiTiO Node Pro>>​

<<Comparison between Thunderbolt 3 AIC from AKiTiO Node Pro and GC-TITAN RIDGE >>​

What is the GC-TITAN RIDGE connected to?

You need a PCIe x4 female to PCIe x4 female cable to connect a PCIe card such as a GPU? I would test with a cheap USB PCIe card firstly. But that can't work because you need to provide power to both the AIC and the PCIe card. Maybe you can replace the Thunderbolt controller of a Sonnet Echo Express PCIe expansion box (or similar) with the GC-TITAN RIDGE?

This is a good idea, but I do not have any eGPU box yet so that I can't do the replacement to test it. Hence, I'm now looking for a PCB which can connect AIC and Graphic Card, also provide power to each other at the same time.

The point of this would be to create an eGPU with DisplayPort inputs that can drive a Thunderbolt display - similar to a BlackMagic eGPU except that the GPU is upgradeable.


The alternative would be to create software that can enable a GC-TITAN RIDGE that is inside a Thunderbolt PCIe expansion box - this might be simpler than using the GC-TITAN RIDGE as a peripheral.

As much as I know, you can do the same thing by GC-TITAN RIDGE. GC-TITAN RIDGE has two DP 1.4 input ports, so the card can connect with the Graphics by DP port and use thunderbolt 3 port to drive a Thunderbolt display.


This is the example from GC-ALPINE RIDGE. I think GC-TITAN RIDGE can do the same thing, too.

 

[joevt]

Exactly! My idea came form AKiTiO Node Pro. As you can see in the pictures in below, the main part of AKiTiO Node Pro is composed of two pcbs: Thunderbolt 3 AIC and PCIe Adapter.

Besides, taking a close look at Thunderbolt 3 AIC in AKiTiO Node Pro, you'll find that it's very similar to those normal Thunderbolt 3 AIC, such as GC-TITAN RIDGE and GC-ALPINE RIDGE.

I conclude that the firmware is the key point that can decide a Thunderbolt 3 AIC to be host mode or peripheral mode. Therefore, we can also change Thunderbolt 3 AIC in AKiTiO Node Pro to become host mode by flashing another firmware into it, so that it can be used on our PC !

<<Inside of AKiTiO Node Pro>>​

I think the Sonnect Echo Express devices might be more suitable - the PCIe slot for the Thunderbolt peripheral controller in the Akitio is offset but in the Sonnet it is not offset so the PCIe card format of the GC-TITAN RIDGE will fit better.

<<Thunderbolt 3 AIC from AKiTiO Node Pro>>


<<PCIe Adapter from AKiTiO Node Pro>>

<<Comparison between Thunderbolt 3 AIC from AKiTiO Node Pro and GC-TITAN RIDGE >>​

Does the PCIe slot of the Thunderbolt peripheral have 3.3V? There needs to be a 3.3V voltage regulator somewhere, otherwise the GC-TITAN RIDGE can't work in that slot probably. Well, I suppose there must be 3.3V for the GPU slot on that PCB, so it could exist for the Thunderbolt slot, or you can add jumpers.
CN2 appears to be four 12V lines and four grounds - probably for power delivery to a laptop. These are similar to the two 6 pin power connectors of the GC-TITAN RIDGE.

This is a good idea, but I do not have any eGPU box yet so that I can't do the replacement to test it. Hence, I'm now looking for a PCB which can connect AIC and Graphic Card, also provide power to each other at the same time.

Start with something less expensive that you don't mind blowing up - instead of GPU, use a different PCIe card such as a USB 3.x card.

As much as I know, you can do the same thing by GC-TITAN RIDGE. GC-TITAN RIDGE has two DP 1.4 input ports, so the card can connect with the Graphics by DP port and use thunderbolt 3 port to drive a Thunderbolt display.

This is the example from GC-ALPINE RIDGE. I think GC-TITAN RIDGE can do the same thing, too.

The GC-ALPINE RIDGE in that example is not connected to the computer so it can't provide PCIe connection to support the other devices of the Thunderbolt device (audio, brightness control, USB ports, camera, firewire, ethernet, presets, autorotation). The point of this exercise is to create a method to use an eGPU to power a Thunderbolt Display and get all the features of the Thunderbolt display.

 

[joevt]

Here is a link to an article on Github which was created by Amey Rupji Software Engineer Artist from
Austin, TX.

Thunderbolt Mac Pro Early 2009 with Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge Card
He documents step by step, with illustrations and in text how to flash the Titan Ridge card.
Excellent work!

This is link is to his Github page on which he is starting to document his experience with the ASUS ThunderboltEX 3, this is a work in progress.

[WIP] Thunderbolt Mac Pro Early 2009 with Asus Thunderbolt EX3

Is he the first to get a Thunderbolt Display to work with a GC-TITAN RIDGE? People have reported that the Thunderbolt Display did not work with the GC-TITAN RIDGE with normal firmware. Still, he didn't get brightness control. He did not say if any of the PCIe devices of the Thunderbolt Display worked or not (including the USB controller which probably has a USB device for camera and audio and brightness control).

 

[johnny7874209]

Is he the first to get a Thunderbolt Display to work with a GC-TITAN RIDGE? People have reported that the Thunderbolt Display did not work with the GC-TITAN RIDGE with normal firmware. Still, he didn't get brightness control. He did not say if any of the PCIe devices of the Thunderbolt Display worked or not (including the USB controller which probably has a USB device for camera and audio and brightness control).

I know what's going on!

It is because several functions in Thunderbolt 3 Displays, such as brightness control, audio, and camera, "only via USB 2.0" to communicate with the computer! However, managing USB2.0 is not the job for Thunderbolt 3 controller.

So, if you wanna use USB 2.0 on GC-TITAN RIDGE, you have to let the USB 2.0/1.1 header on the AIC be connected to the motherboard(see picture 1). But unfortunately, the motherboard of Mac Pro 5,1 "does not have any header like this".

Here is my solution, maybe it's feasible:

Step 1: You have to prepare a "USB2.0 Front Panel". (I get it from my unused PC front panel.)

Step 2: You also need a "USB Type-A to USB Type-A cable".

Step 3: Connect the end of the USB2.0 Front Panel to the USB2.0/1.1 header on the GC-TITAN RIDGE card.

Step 4: Connect one the end of USB Type-A to USB Type-A cable to USB2.0 Front Panel, and then connect the other to your Mac Pro.

P.S I don't have any Thunderbolt 3 Display to do the test, so I need volunteers to try and report the result.

 

[cdf]

You can also get USB 2.0 using the bluetooth header.

testing TB3 AIC with MP 5,1

The 4 pin connector goes to the bluetooth header. The single 2 pin connector goes to the WiFi card for bluetooth. And the two 2 pin connectors go to the Titan Ridge card, as shown in my previous post. The hub is really tiny.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[joevt]

I know what's going on!

It is because several functions in Thunderbolt 3 Displays, such as brightness control, audio, and camera, "only via USB 2.0" to communicate with the computer! However, managing USB2.0 is not the job for Thunderbolt 3 controller.

So, if you wanna use USB 2.0 on GC-TITAN RIDGE, you have to let the USB 2.0/1.1 header on the AIC be connected to the motherboard(see picture 1). But unfortunately, the motherboard of Mac Pro 5,1 "does not have any header like this".

Here is my solution, maybe it's feasible:

Step 1: You have to prepare a "USB2.0 Front Panel". (I get it from my unused PC front panel.)

Step 2: You also need a "USB Type-A to USB Type-A cable".

Step 3: Connect the end of the USB2.0 Front Panel to the USB2.0/1.1 header on the GC-TITAN RIDGE card.

Step 4: Connect one the end of USB Type-A to USB Type-A cable to USB2.0 Front Panel, and then connect the other to your Mac Pro.

P.S I don't have any Thunderbolt 3 Display to do the test, so I need volunteers to try and report the result.

USB in a Thunderbolt display comes from a PCIe USB controller in the Thunderbolt display that is connected to the Thunderbolt controller in the Thunderbolt display. Therefore, PCIe tunnelling over Thunderbolt is required to use the USB functions of the display. A new USB bus appears when a Thunderbolt display is connected. The new USB bus appears in the USB section of System Information.app and the USB controller appears in the PCI section. The USB bus will have a USB hub and USB devices (for audio, camera, etc.)

What you are describing works for USB-C displays connected to a Thunderbolt port of the GC-TITAN RIDGE. They use an existing USB bus (they add a USB hub and USB devices but not a USB controller).

The 24 inch LG Ultra Fine 4K display and 5K display (and other displays that use a Titan Ridge Thunderbolt controller) are Thunderbolt displays that also work as USB-C displays but I don't know of a method to make them work as a USB-C display when connected to a Thunderbolt port.

 

[Itconnects]

With OpenCore there is no need for an EFI Flashed GPU.
Just by the way

Feel better dude.

I had an rx580 on my system and I felt it, but the gtx680 was so invisible so I went back to it. I feel the 5.1 run better with the Nvidia so long as you’re not doing graphics work. Why is this?

Does anyone know why 2x boot is a thing on 5.1. What’s different from boot 1 and boot 2?

 

[Brask]

Woops, my bad 😅

I did not enable DSM2's SSDT-TBOLT3.aml in my OpenCore config.list at my first attempt, as some of you may have noticed from my previous posting:

Ok, so I finally got my Titan Ridge card in the mail yesterday! Following the guide from Amey Rupji (here) and using DSM2's firmware, I have flashed the card (only the chip with the blue dot) and put at jumper on the THB_C header (3 to 5). I then proceeded to modify my OpenCore configuration to incorporate DSM2's version with Martin LO's version (here) and finally I installed the card in slot 4 of my cMP 5.1 running Mojave. I attached a USB hub / card reader / HDMI interface (with two harddrives plugged into the USB hub) to one of the TB3 ports on the Titan Ridge and booted the cMP. At first glance everything appears to work.

Next step will be to run tests with other pieces of TB3 dependent hardware, I guess.

Thanks to DSM2, Amey Rupji, Martin LO and everybody else here, who have made this possible. You guys rock!

View attachment 899981View attachment 899982View attachment 899983View attachment 899984

After properly enabling the SSDT-TBOLT3.aml in the ACPI section of OpenCore's config.list some entries in the system report's Thunderbolt section have changed: Speed of the Thunderbolt ports are now 40 Gb/s x1 and not 20 Gb/s x2, also the manufacture's name is now Apple Inc. and not GIGABYTE.
In the PCI section the name of the card is now Intel JHL7540 Titan Ridge Thunderbolt 3 NHI and not pci8086,15eb and type is now Thunderbolt-Controller and not ukendt (unknown).

What can I say, I'm still new at this 🥴

 

[johnny7874209]

USB in a Thunderbolt display comes from a PCIe USB controller in the Thunderbolt display that is connected to the Thunderbolt controller in the Thunderbolt display. Therefore, PCIe tunnelling over Thunderbolt is required to use the USB functions of the display. A new USB bus appears when a Thunderbolt display is connected. The new USB bus appears in the USB section of System Information.app and the USB controller appears in the PCI section. The USB bus will have a USB hub and USB devices (for audio, camera, etc.)

What you are describing works for USB-C displays connected to a Thunderbolt port of the GC-TITAN RIDGE. They use an existing USB bus (they add a USB hub and USB devices but not a USB controller).

The 24 inch LG Ultra Fine 4K display and 5K display (and other displays that use a Titan Ridge Thunderbolt controller) are Thunderbolt displays that also work as USB-C displays but I don't know of a method to make them work as a USB-C display when connected to a Thunderbolt port.

Ok! I realize the difference between "USB Bus " and "USB Devices". According to my method, GC-TITAN RIDGE can not create a new USB2.0 Bus, instead, it's just only recognized as "USB Devices".

But I have a question: Although the Devices can only be recognized as "USB Devices", its functions should work normally and perfectly, right?

 

[joevt]

But I have a question: Although the Devices can only be recognized as "USB Devices", its functions should work normally and perfectly, right?

If the display connects as a USB-C device then your method will work to allow the USB devices of the display to work using the USB 2.0 controller/bus that the GC-TITAN RIDGE is connected to.
PCIe USB controller/bus of computer -> USB port of USB controller -> USB 2.0 header of GC-TITAN RIDGE -> Thunderbolt port of GC-TITAN RIDGE -> USB-C cable -> USB-C display -> USB hub inside display -> USB devices inside display (audio, etc.)

Your method does not apply/help a display that connects as a Thunderbolt device.
PCIe slot of computer -> GC-TITAN RIDGE -> Thunderbolt port of GC-TITAN RIDGE -> Thunderbolt cable -> Thunderbolt display -> Thunderbolt controller inside display -> PCIe bridge of Thunderbolt controller -> PCIe USB controller/bus inside display -> USB hub inside display -> USB devices inside display (audio, etc.)

The USB functions of a Thunderbolt display will work if PCIe tunnelling works correctly to connect the computer through the Thunderbolt cable to the USB controller that is inside the display.