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    thunderbolt graphics works on macs

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by borealiss, Mar 5, 2012.

  1. borealiss

    borealiss Notebook Guru

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    Thought I would cross post our success in getting this working since the DIY eGPU thread is massively long, and this might get lost in the noise.

    Here are some instructions on how to get this working on your 2011 thunderbolt equipped macbook air. another person has gotten it working with their 13 inch MBP.

    We are both running with the nvidia 560 GTX along with the sonnet echo express card setup. pics and everything on the following pages in the thread.

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...851-diy-egpu-experiences-855.html#post8331202
     
    borealiss, Mar 5, 2012
    #1
  2. Karamazovmm

    Karamazovmm Overthinking? Always!

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    so sonnet is already selling the thunderbolt equipped express card solutions? I just went to their site, and didnt find in their store.

    If you guys got it to work its indeed impressive!
     
    Karamazovmm, Mar 5, 2012
    #2
  3. MexicanSnake

    MexicanSnake I'm back!

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    How fast is it do you have any benchmarks?
     
    MexicanSnake, Mar 5, 2012
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  4. borealiss

    borealiss Notebook Guru

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    speed is typical of a dual core Sandy Bridge cpu with pcie 1x and optimus enabled on an nvidia card. it is on par with other eGPU solutions.

    this is using a thunderbolt to expresscard adapter, then expresscard to pcie breakout cable/board solution.

    3dmark06 gets around 15k.
     
    borealiss, Mar 5, 2012
    #4
  5. User Retired 2

    User Retired 2 Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    The Sonnet Thunderbolt to expresscard adapter limits performance to x1 1.0 (2.5GT/s). Sandy Bridge notebooks with native expresscard slots can double the bandwidth at x1 2.0 (5GT/s) link speed. There is a noticable difference in smoothness between the two. See my comparison at DIY eGPU implementation: i5-2540M 2.6 12.5" HP 2560P + NVidia GTX560Ti @x1.2Opt.
     
    User Retired 2, Mar 5, 2012
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  6. ajreynol

    ajreynol Notebook Virtuoso

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    interesting.
     
    ajreynol, Mar 5, 2012
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  7. borealiss

    borealiss Notebook Guru

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    Yup, for now 2.5GT/s is the name of the game until faster thunderbolt implementations come out, which are probably during the 2nd half of this year. Just wanted to let people know it is feasible. For me and the games I play, it works smoothly. But there are definitely compromises.

    The main thing to take away from this is that it is possible to get it to work period. Whether or not it's going to fit your needs, that's for you to decide.

    Coming from an envy 15 with a radeon 4830 overclocked, after doing this, I will be selling my HP since 85% of the games I played on the HP are now higher performing on my MBA. But that's my isolated sample set, and I don't play the latest and greatest.
     
    borealiss, Mar 5, 2012
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  8. ajreynol

    ajreynol Notebook Virtuoso

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    Very interesting. I think the only games I have that could benefit from better graphics performance are:

    -Battlefield 3
    -Crysis 2
    -Assassin's Creed Brotherhood/3
    -Metro 2033
    -Mass Effect 2/3

    games I rarely play anyway, but I'd buy an external setup for them and future games. I'll definitely keep an eye on this.
     
    ajreynol, Mar 5, 2012
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  9. Bill Nye

    Bill Nye Know Nothing

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    The main point of eGPUs is really to benefit the 13", you probably won't see a huge gain if you're already running a 6750m/6770m.
     
    Bill Nye, Mar 6, 2012
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  10. Karamazovmm

    Karamazovmm Overthinking? Always!

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    indeed now couple that with the upcoming mbas and you get why I want to sell my mbp 13

    not that I play the latest and the greatest, but its good to have some more gpu horsepower here and there when I have the time
     
    Karamazovmm, Mar 6, 2012
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  11. Bill Nye

    Bill Nye Know Nothing

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    Yeah but don't MBA's have a crippled TB with half the bandwidth?
     
    Bill Nye, Mar 6, 2012
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  12. Karamazovmm

    Karamazovmm Overthinking? Always!

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    yes they use teh eagle ridge controller, however they still provide the almost pcie x4 speeds that we want.

    the thing is that the light ridge give you more channels, that enable more tb ports, much like the 2 tb ports in the imacs.
     
    Karamazovmm, Mar 6, 2012
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  13. your mother

    your mother Notebook Guru

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    Sorry I don't get it. So is this something I buy or an adapter that I can hookup a desktop gpu with?
     
    your mother, Mar 7, 2012
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  14. Karamazovmm

    Karamazovmm Overthinking? Always!

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    yes you buy a desktop gpu + the enclosure + the cable = mba a gaming machine
     
    Karamazovmm, Mar 7, 2012
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  15. your mother

    your mother Notebook Guru

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    Thanks. Who makes the enclosure? Were can I get it?
     
    your mother, Mar 12, 2012
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  16. Karamazovmm

    Karamazovmm Overthinking? Always!

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    currently no one does. There are some models that are coming, magma, sonnet, and msi.
     
    Karamazovmm, Mar 12, 2012
    #16
  17. julian-nold

    julian-nold DELETED

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    ...but I fear the price for such an enclosure will be enormous :( ....
     
    julian-nold, Mar 14, 2012
    #17