mini-eGPU with AKiTiO Thunder3 & Thunder2 & Node Lite (the best Implementations)  

Very very very interesting thread. I will create a small eGPU with one of these for an another Mac in the future. 1050ti seems nice!

Note: ZOTAC 1050TI work with default akitio thunder3 power supply! 😀

Posted by: Raphax

 

Note: ZOTAC 1050TI work with default akitio thunder3 power supply!

   

Yes, i know but to prevent Blue screens etc, i recommend 120W AC Adapter Charger (£23) or eFreesia 12V 10A 120W ($22)

• Zotac 1050TI - Power Consumption 75W
• EVGA 1050 TI - Max Power Draw 75 W

Akitio Thunder2 and Thunder3 comes with - 72W Power Supply! 

here is one example with a GTX970 in the Akitio thunder 2
I went with the dell DA2 PSU and built the 8pin PCIe connector into the Akitio backplate right underneath the PCI bracket.
Very tight but it fits. The power supply for the Akitio itself is wired inside the Housing and soldered to the PCB tight underneath the Barrel connector.
So no barrel plug on the outside needed.

and here are the dimensions of the cut out 

@deplomb can you post better pictures of  your Akitio Thunder2 Chassis. One with and one without Akitio cover and what is your GTX 970 brand I will add your mod to the main post!

The Gigabyte GTX1050Ti D5 also fits the Thunder chassis nicely. I'll snap a few pics later.

I'll post some more pics tomorrow with the case open.

some Images from the design process (all renderings) are uploaded,
photos of the real thing will be following

DIY Akitio Thunder 2 housing mod for eGPU with KFA2 GeForce GTX 970 Gamer OC and Dell DA-2 PSU

Thank you for the write up. I will admit I am very new to the world of eGPU's so I've been slowly doing research and piecing together my build...which has turned into a lot of what you have. Looking at the - kareonkables.com link provided, it is labelled as a 4+4 w/psu power cable, but looking at the pictures it looks like an 8pin to 6pin w/psu cable. Am I missing something here? 

@DBLR - This cable comes with 8 pin female for DELL DA-2 and 6 pin male for the video card and 5.5 x 2.5 male for the AKiTiO!

Spectacular work! Haven't seen a graphically detailed depiction of the cable modding for one of these things yet. Nice! Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who appreciates the benchmarks! Would be useful to see some at the MacBook Pro's native resolution instead of 1080p to compare.

My only question for you is - given that the Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini somehow got squashed into the AKiTiO Thunder 2/3 enclosure, would it be functional with the modified Dell power adapter? It looks like the adapter only powers the 5.5x2.5 power adapter + one 6-pin PCIe power cable, and the Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini requires an 8-pin PCIe cable.

Keep up the great work!

Posted by: itsmikerofl

 

My only question for you is - given that the Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini somehow got squashed into the AKiTiO Thunder 2/3 enclosure, would it be functional with the modified Dell power adapter? It looks like the adapter only powers the 5.5x2.5 power adapter + one 6-pin PCIe power cable, and the Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini requires an 8-pin PCIe cable.

 

The solution to this is a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter. The two extra pins on the 8-pin connector are both ground, so as long as your 6-pin wires are thick enough for 150W (and for a very short cable run that isn't a problem with the kind of standard wiring we are dealing with here), you can safely use such an adapter.

Here's the Gigabyte GTX1050Ti pic I snapped.

@enjoy Here are some images of the real enclosure modified according to the drawings.
As you can see in reality it looks less shiny and precise than in the renderings, but works well.

Akitio Thunder 2 housing mod design
Akitio Thunder 2 housing mod realisation

Specs: - Akitio Thunder 2 with housing mod for proper cooling
- Dell DA-2 PSU (unchanged)
- Cable mod with some soldering, plastic cutting and glueing so all extra wiring (apart DA-2) is inside the enclosure
- KFA2 GeForce GTX 970 Gamer OC - Front fan flipped to blow out
- Macbook pro mid 2012 Unibody with 2,3ghz Core i7, Nvidia GeForce GT 650 512 MB, 16GB Ram

the egpu is working with OS X and Bootcamp Windows 7 The windows 7 installation was difficult due to error 12
but thanks to nandos software (EGPUsetup 1.2) and support I got it up and running two times.

Posted by: deplomb

@enjoy Here are some images of the real enclosure modified according to the drawings.

Nice work! A couple of questions:

• What tool did you used to cut the enclosure?
• How did you fixed the 8 pin female connector inside the enclosure?

Thanks!

@deplomb Amazing work!

Hi Enjoy! I figured I'd quote you on your own thread regarding the AKiTiO THunder2/3 and Mini GPUs in order to keep things organized.

Posted by: enjoy

 

Posted by: itsmikerofl

Hey Enjoy! I've been following your post in your other thread, but I didn't see you post about that specific card! Didn't know GALAX made an x70 Mini line. This makes me think:

I'm looking at the dimensions of the GALAX GEFORCE GTX 970 GAMER OC vs. the GALAX GeForce® GTX 1070 OC Mini and I'm thinking that maybe it's worth a shot to see if the 1070 Mini fits within the enclosure!

Really trying to push the limits of the AKiTiO Thunder3 here, because 3840x1600 is my desired resolution! 😎

   

The Galax 1070 Mini will fit in the Akitio Thunder leght if you remove the fan but you can't close the Akitio cover because the Galax 1070 Mini is just a bit too tall like Gigabyte 1070 Mini:

Galax 970 Gamer OC - Dimensions (with Bracket): Length=193 / Height=124.3mm

Galax 1070 Mini - Dimensions (with Bracket): Length=195 / Height=130mm

Gigabyte 1070 Mini - Dimensions (with Bracket) Length=169mm / Height=131 mm

EVGA / Zotac - 1060 is the best video card that fit and you can close the Akitio for Windows

Galax 970 Gamer OC is the best video card that fit and you can close the Akitio for macOS

The thread with the best closed Akitio Thunder2 and 3 Implementations: https://egpu.io/forums/thunderbolt-enclosures/akitio-thunder2-and-thunder3-gpu-size-to-close-the-akitio/

   

First, to address our previous discussion regarding the GALAX GTX 1070 Mini:

This is the 1070 that you showed would not fit, the Zotac GTX 1070 OC Mini: http://imgur.com/a/3O5Eh

This is the 1070 that I suggested, the GALAX GTX 1070 Mini:  http://imgur.com/a/FmokT

From this, it looks like the dimensions you got off of the GALAX website are confused. They list:

• Dimensions(with Bracket): 195 x 130 x 41.5 mm

• Dimensions(without Bracket): 181 x 116 x 38.6 mm

I believe all that matters is the "without bracket" portion for the height of the card. The "with bracket" dimensions create an offset that shoots the card's height up past what is being measured. We are measuring the height from the top of the PCIe slot, not from the bottom of the PCIe bracket.

This in mind, simply looking at where the GALAX GTX 1070 Mini's PCIe Bracket is corresponding with the top of the card, it looks like the height of the card is only slightly taller than the standard PCIe bracket. This leads me to believe that the dimensions "without bracket" are what should be used in this case.

Anyhow, I did see you mentioned that the new Zotac GTX 1080 Mini has potential:

Posted by: enjoy

 

You can get Akitio Thunder3 with DA-2 and ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 Mini -  https://www.amazon.com/ZT-P10800H-10P-GEFORCE-GDDR5X-DisplayPort-DL-DVI/dp/B01N11KVI8/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1486684996&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=ZOTAC+GeForce+GTX+1080+Mini

180W for GTX 1080 Mini + 25W for the Akitio = 205W / 220W from Dell DA-2 😉

This is the best BEAST small setup! You will need soldering. But if you want to invest in small eGPU setup this is the best right now! 

If you want plug and play (only software tweeks) wait for Node 😉

Are you sure this would end up fitting inside the AKiTiO Thunder2/3? If so, I have NO desire to fit a GTX 1070 in, I'd rather opt for the GTX 1080. What are your thoughts on actually pulling this off?

@itsmikerofl - I don't think you can close the Akitio with Galax Mini 1070 (without Bracket: 116mm), we have closed only with 111.15mm - without Bracket. (Gigabyte GTX1050Ti is 114.30mm without Bracket but we don't have 6 pin it is powered via PCIe)

About Zotac 1080 Mini - again you can't close - its too tall and also you must remove the fan and the front of the Akitio!

For now EVGA/ZOTAC 1060 are the best, for our MINI eGPU projects

Conclusion: WE CAN'T CLOSE THE AKITIO IF THE VIDEO CARD IS MORE THAN 111.15mm (without bracket) TALL and have 6 or 8 pin power connection!

1060 vs. 1070 vs. 1080:

Thanks for the detailed reply. 👌 I think I see what you're saying now, my bad.

Until someone figures out a way to run something more powerful than a GTX 1060 in the Thunder3, I'll throw my EVGA GTX 1080 Hybrid into something that fits it. Looks like NewEgg has the PowerColor Devil Box in stock again, (albeit for $449 as opposed to when it used to be $349), I just pulled the trigger on that.😎

Let me know once we get the Thunder3 working with GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 Mini's! 😁

@Mehenn:

The side ventilation grill was done with a cnc machine,
the openings in backplate, inner backplate and PCI bracket with drill an file.

The 9pin connector snaps into the opening with plastic brackets.
Its a panel mount connector.
http://www.molex.com/molex/products/datasheet.jsp?part=active/0039012081_CRIMP_HOUSINGS.xml

@deplomb way to sexy... someday maybe. CNC machine is on my try list. 

For everybody running into trouble with tall cards have a look at Mavens mod:

https://egpu.io/forums/builds/macbook-pro-2016-tb3-akitio-thunder-3-case-mod-zotac-1080/#post-3323

BIG UPDATE: With mod we can fit ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 1080 Mini 8GB (211mm x 125mm) and ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1070 Mini 8GB (210mm x 122mm) in the Aktitio length if we remove the fan and the front side piece half removed. (Top side part) Only need to remove half of the side. But the Akitio front will be there and we will have a closed Akitio with 1070 and 1080 inside - the best video cards on the market right now! Both Video Cards are too tall but with new Cover or Cut the Akitio Cover we can have the best mini eGPU with the best power inside!

Hello everyone!

First of all, thanks for the fantastic briefing and info on which cards do the job on the Akitio Thunder 2. I currently use a Macbook Pro 2015 (with AMD integrated GPU) with my Akitio Thunder 2 + Dell 220W DA2 PSU +  GALAX GEFORCE GTX 970 GAMER OC 4GB DDR5 256-bit+ Windows 10 and it works just fine, never giving me issues.

Since newer games are coming out, I am thinking about making the jump to a GTX 1070 (since I believe a 1060 the performance jump is not that high compare to what I have at the moment), so I am really interested into knowing more on cutting the upper part of the Akitio case. Do any of you guys know how could I cut the metal part? Which tools would I need? I am not particularly skilful on these tasks. Also, even though it is mentioned before, I am not sure my PSU could handle the GTX 1070 mini.

Thanks again for spreading the eGPU world!

@Piqudo -  Gigabyte GeForce® GTX 1070 Mini ITX OC 8G (Length 169mm / Height=131) and ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1070 Mini 8GB (Length 210mm / Height=122mm) both will work wit DA2 220W external PSU that you have! You will need only 6pin to 8 pin cable and to cutting the upper part of the Akitio case, for ZOTAC you will need to remove the fan and also to cut the metal where is the fan!

If you don't know how to cut metal parts, it's better to ask a friend that can do it for you!

About 970 vs. 1060, right now for FULL HD gaming - with 1060 you can play all games on external display all to the max + MSAA and with 1680x1050 on your internal display again all to the max + MSAA! 

1060 with 6GB is around 30% better than your 970 4GB GPU!

1070 and 1080 are just better if you UP the resolution. So my advice is - EVGA 1060 6GB you can see my mod with Thunder2 and DA2 here - https://egpu.io/forums/builds/2012-15-mbpr-gt650m-gtx106010gbps-tb1-akitio-thunder2-win10-enjoy/

I just joined this site. Got the Akitio Thunder 3 and 1050 GTX ti SC 4GB in the mail for my HP Spectre x360 2016. Will post some pictures and video if everything works out well. Question:

I saw people reporting performance drop from what they see on desktop benchmarks vs over Thunderbolt 3. Does the penalty increase with the graphics card performance? Meaning for example 1050 is a 10% drop but 1070 is 20% due to the bandwidth limitations etc. of the T3? Meaning you would get less of a boost in performance when upgrading in the future when the 1080 mini's come out?

@bookatechie - Yes this is true, after tons of results i see online, the better video card you get the more performance drop you will have, for example:

• 1050 - 10-15% performance drop (eGPU vs. Desktop)
• 1060 - 15-20% performance drop (eGPU vs. Desktop)
• 1070 - 20-25% performance drop (eGPU vs. Desktop)
• 1080 - 30-40% performance drop (eGPU vs. Desktop)

Its not only about Thunderbolt1, Thunderbolt2 or Thunderbolt3 - Better Thunderbolt just allow you to up the resolution and to use your Internal Display again with better resolution IMO!

The penalty does not increase with the video card. It increases with frame rate. Since a more powerful video card will, in general, generate more FPS, it will see a greater performance reduction, but if you were to run a higher resolution, or with higher settings, then the loss will not increase. To elaborate: If a 1060 gets 70 FPS at certain settings, and a 1080 gets 70 FPS at a higher resolution (or with higher settings), then your loss will be similar for both. At the same resolution and settings, the 1080 will get a bigger loss due to it driving more FPS. That is why you should be aiming for an eGPU that will drive your selected resolution at 60-70fps, and not aim for 100+ fps in your selected games and resolution, as you start hitting diminishing returns.

Posted by: Yukikaze

 

The penalty does not increase with the video card.

   

Yes it is increase with better video card because with better video card you get more FPS 😉

But this does not mean that 1060 will show better results in games vs. 1070 and 1080 of course