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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Pre-Orders AKiTio Thunderbolt 3 eGPU Box at MagStor.com + Coupon

Jeff -- OK, being a glutton for punishment, I ordered a Node. Put a Titan Xp in it. Connected the setup to an 8-core MacPro 2013.
Have seen some good results .. and some not-so-good things.
Went to 9to5mac.com & used the unix script they have for updating things. Also got the latest Nvidia driver (beta, I think), just released.
The Nvidia tools in System Profiler seem to validate that there is a GPU installed & the driver is there.

** Only way I have been able to get the Node + Titan Xp to work:
** Have the Node off.
** Boot into single User. Do fsck -f (I think this allows background processes to finish). When the fsck finishes, THEN AND ONLY THEN, turn on the Node. exit or ^D to continue booting.
For some RED clips, you can get Resolve 12.5 to understand that the Titan Xp is available & clips can be processed. However, more complicated sequences seem to wind up in La-La Land & never complete.
Likewise with Adobe After Effects, the Titan Xp is noticed (but also noted to be an unsupported GPU), and results seem to complete, although I haven't pushed AE very hard.
Last, Final Cut X (10.3.3, just released), will crash if the Node is on. [This happens when FCP-X starts re-establishing a previous project.]

Probably best NOT to turn the Node off with the Mac on. On shutting down, you'll see a bunch of hash on the screen, but the shutdown seems to finish without problems.

Can't say if the Titan Xp is faster than the dual D700s.

Any suggestions .. from you ..or anyone else ??

PS Tried to update the firmware in the Node, but BootCamp was a total failure [the process gets to the SettUp is Starting phase, but when I
tried to format the Windows partition, the format didn't take, so the install failed. REALLY need a unix script or a Mac app to update the
firmware !]

Again -- your thoughts ... or anyone else's as well ...
Serge



Jeff Kilgroe said:
Apple is not specifically blocking eGPU support and eGPU support is part of the TB3 specification. The problems currently facing OS X and eGPUs are that the OS really has very poor support for it because there is no real demand. Sorry guys, we live in a tiny bubble here. And to pile onto that heap of no support is that nVidia and AMD have all but abandoned driver development for OS X. The Akitio boxes are working with GPUs once the GPU drivers are properly installed and the correct entries are made to various OS and driver config files. Things that a proper eGPU-supporting display driver install would take care of, if such a thing existed. And for those diving into the Akitio or Bizon TB3 expanders, don't go rushing out and getting a Pascal GPU (GTX 10x0 or Pascal Titan X). They're not fully or properly supported with the currently available driver set from nVidia. Prior generation Titan X or GeForce GTX 9x0 are your best bet. I recommend the 980TI or Titan X myself...

I might grab a Node myself, still thinking about it. I'd probably be using it for a SAS card though so I can connect to a few of non TB RAIDs and whatnot, just for convenience. Would probably play with the eGPU thing just for reasons... I guess I just don't have the need to go mobile and drag GPUs with me lately, thankfully.
Click to expand...
 
Reuben Evans said:
Just ordered one from you :-)
Click to expand...
I just ordered one too. I am hoping to use it with an MSI laptop to drive the Dell 8K display. MSI is not sure if an eGPU will work with the laptop. They have not tried one. I will use a 1080 Ti for now. The laptop has a Quadro Pascal P5000 in it already. Hopefully I can still use it with my LG31" and then the eGPU with the Dell.

Best,

Stacey
 
just an update with node on a mbp
I do have problems some times when i try to shut down. It stalls and i have to force the computer off.

On my desktop running tb3, no problems.
However, Im getting faster rendering on the mbp.
obvious but desktop runs way faster internal pcie lane.
 
another heads up. If you update your nvidia driver, the node will stop working. I'm looking for a way to rollback....
 
I got the Node working today with my MSI laptop. The laptop says no eGPU support in the TB settings -> details page. However, it is working, so yay! Does not work with hot plug, but works on bootup. Have rebooted a couple of times to confirm it still works.

I have the internal GPU driving my LG at 4096x2160p60 and the eGPU driving the Sony Z9D 65" at 3840x2160p60. The Dell 8K is on order. I will order a 1080 Ti just before the Dell ships, in case a better (Titan X type) GPU comes along.
 
Kazu -- If you are on a Mac, I had the same problem until I went through the initial install process (not just doing the 'direct' upgrade). Here's that install script from 9to5mac.com:

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

Enter your password when requested and press Return.

Let us know if this fixes things ....
Serge
 
Serge Polevitzky said:
Kazu -- If you are on a Mac, I had the same problem until I went through the initial install process (not just doing the 'direct' upgrade). Here's that install script from 9to5mac.com:

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

Enter your password when requested and press Return.

Let us know if this fixes things ....
Serge
Click to expand...

Yea Serge. I've taken that route.
It looks like you CANNOT directly update NVIDIA drivers from the Driver manager or nvidia softwares.
Once you directly upgrade, the EGPU will no longer be detected.
You have to even do upgrades thru the goalque for the time being.
 
Kazu Okuda said:
another heads up. If you update your nvidia driver, the node will stop working. I'm looking for a way to rollback....
Click to expand...
I encountered the same issue with the new NVIDIA driver, 381.78. All of my screens go black except for a mouse pointer on my laptop screen. This occurs only when I have an HDMI cabled plugged into the GPU that is in the eGPU. When I unplug the HDMI cable, my desktop returns. I rolled back the driver to 378.66 and everything is working again.

This is on Windows. Kazu, are you running Windows or OSX?

BTW, at NAB, there was a company that had a MBP -> Node -> Dell 8K. :) My Dell is due in a month. Single DP cable gets you 7680x4320p30 @ 10-bit. Dual DP gets you 7680x4320p60 @ 10-bit. They are not using DSC, which is great!
 
Stacey Spears said:
I encountered the same issue with the new NVIDIA driver, 381.78. All of my screens go black except for a mouse pointer on my laptop screen. This occurs only when I have an HDMI cabled plugged into the GPU that is in the eGPU. When I unplug the HDMI cable, my desktop returns. I rolled back the driver to 378.66 and everything is working again.

This is on Windows. Kazu, are you running Windows or OSX?

BTW, at NAB, there was a company that had a MBP -> Node -> Dell 8K. :) My Dell is due in a month. Single DP cable gets you 7680x4320p30 @ 10-bit. Dual DP gets you 7680x4320p60 @ 10-bit. They are not using DSC, which is great!
Click to expand...

I've used and tested both.
I have a custom PC running windows 10.
No problems at all wit it. Seamless.

I also have a 2016 MBP and that is where i had the issues.

THo thunderbolt 3 is a big step up from TB2, definitely still having significantly slower render times then having it installed internal.
I also have a 1080 (non ti) internal in the PC, and is definitely running faster then a Titan X (maxwell) in the node.
But overall, im pretty satisfied with a 2nd GPU available to swap between my Windows PC desktop and macOS MBP
 
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