As many of you know, there aren't a lot of resources on this eGPU and lots of misconceptions as far as I can find. So without further adeu here is how to get it to work flawlessly on the latest and greatest macbook pro on sierra.
Pre-requisite:
- Make sure you have upgraded to 10.12.4 (released yesterday as of this guide)
- Connect your XGS2 to your mac using the proper thunderbolt cable included. DO NOT INSERT YOUR GPU YET.
- I am using the latest, high-end, Macbook pro 15" with a touch bar. Your milage might vary on the smaller 13" Macbooks. specs for mine can be found below.
- This guide is for nVidia geforce 9 series only.
Bootcamp steps:
a. bootcamp to windows 10 64. (you can also do this on another PC with thunderbolt 3) If you dont know how to install bootcamp, this tutorial is not for you, stop now and go do your research.
b. make sure bootcamp software have installed correctly and you restarted.
c. make sure windows is up to date and everything is installed (Nvidia latest drivers, latest service packs.
d. download/install the ROG Hot plug tool and restart before proceeding, it can be found here: https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards-Accessory/ROG-XG-STATION-2/HelpDesk_Download/
e. after plugging in ROG XGS 2 for the first time wait a good minute or two before touching anything so it can be detected correctly by the hot swap tool from asus. it should say: no gpu detected, XG Station 2 is ready to attached. or something along those lines.
f. Upgrade your ROG XG to the latest firmware from here: https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards-Accessory/ROG-XG-STATION-2/HelpDesk_Download/
g. if all goes well you should be ready to restart back into macOS. If anything goes wrong, restart to boot camp and try again. it should work, i hope.
macOS steps:
a. after you have upgraded your firmware through windows, shut down everything and insert your GPU in to the eGPU.
b. start your computer and power on everything (also plugin the thunderbolt 3 cable from the egpu to the macbook pro.) also, make sure your gpu is connected to the external monitor.
c. you should now be ready to start with automate-egpu. Just follow the steps as in goalque ( https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/automate-egpu-sh-is-reborn-with-amd-polaris-fiji-support-for-macos/paged/1/) guide:
- Download the script on your desktop:
- curl -o ~/Desktop/automate-eGPU.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/goalque/automate-eGPU/master/automate-eGPU.sh
- chmod +x ~/Desktop/automate-eGPU.sh
- cd ~/Desktop
- sudo ./automate-eGPU.sh
b. it will ask you to download the modified Nvidia driver, say yes and when it finally asks you to restart so do that.
c. after you reboot, your monitor should flicker! and a few seconds later it will boot!
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
@chroniq, thank you for your comprehensive installation guide.
Would you mind posting the CUDA-Z bandwidth results when ran on your eGPU? I'd like to see if the TI83-based XG Station 2 is also affected with a half H2D performance issue like shown at https://egpu.io/forums/thunderbolt-enclosures/alert-akitio-node-half-h2d-bandwidth-issue/
Baring in mind this a 970 gtx, I think thats a fair score no? its very close to the 980 you had?
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Thank you @chroniq. This further confirms the half H2D performance issue is with Intel's restriction on TI83 controller firmware.
Good to know!! Hope Intel is handling it...
Just want to ask, did you happen to have USB-B working with eGPU set up in Windows? Thanks
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts