Mac + eGPU

[natemac00]

Hey beppe,

Thats ok ahhah thanks for the info! I do however have my work computer with these specs

Macbook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
Processor 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

So, as long as I have Mac compatible with thunderbolt 2 or 1 (ranging from 2011) It could work?
So my next question, would it be wiser to switch to a PC laptop with NVIDIA graphics card?
Thanks again this is a big help! Since I need a newer machine i'm debating if I should just get
a PC then, but will i still need a eGPU for the PC? Or are there PC's that can handle Octane
without eGPU?

again sorry... you guys have been a big help!

I'm using a 2014 MacBook Pro and a 2013 Mac Pro, both with benefit from the eGPU. What I also did was jam a PC with (2) more 980 Ti. I'm able to do network rendering with the PC even without the eGPU (not on the mac pro, those are all AMD cards inside). I was also able to get this to work from home where I VPNed into the office, not nearly as fast as being local, but it did work.

As far as the laptop goes, if you were going to go PC, I would find one with a 980m GPU inside(http://www.geforce.com/hardware/noteboo ... ifications) that GPU has 1536 CUDA Cores, that puts it almost equal to a GTX 970 card. Much more the 384 in the 750m in my MacBook Pro.

[bepeg4d]

Hi cpinto20,
great that you have a more recent Mac Book Pro, it's perfect for eGPU
It largely depends by the personal usage, but my advice is to always prefer a system with a dedicated GPU for display only, so a Mac Book Pro with Thunderbolt eGPU is a very good solution, because the high res display sucks a lot of resources and you can use all the power an VRAM of the external GPUs.
Then you can add an pc box with GPUs and use it via octane net rendering in a second time
ciao beppe

[natemac00]

So I just wanted to share some numbers I just ran. I was reading on some other forms about an eGPU not performing to par.

GPU: MSI GTX 980 Ti 6GD5 V1 PCIE

Computer 1: Win 10 64-PC |3.2GHz 4-Core i5-6500 | 16GB DDR4 | Internal PCIe
Computer 2: '13 Mac Pro | 2.7GHz 12-Core Xeon E5 | 64GB DDR3 | 10.11.3 | eGPU
Computer 3: '09 Mac Pro | 2x 2.6GHz 4-Core Xeon | 24GB DDR3 | 10.11.3 | Internal PCIe

PC Average: 117.097 (117.18 | 116.61 | 117.50)
'13 Mac Average: 111.847 (116.15 | 111.30 | 108.09)
'09 Mac Average: 117.86 (118.62 | 117.62 | 117.34)

So if our PC is our baseline the eGPU is running at 96% efficiency. I think that's pretty negligible in performance.

[prodviz]

Hi all

I would like to test the feasibility of working with the Mac Pro (Maya) and Octane, as we're a mac based office.

I have a pc with Titan Black's at home (so I can use a few of these cards for testing) and I'm wanting to hook a couple up to a Mac Pro to test if the latest Nvidia drivers work with Maya/Mac/Octane.

What would be the best route to go down, for testing purposes?

Thanks very much.

[glimpse]

What would be the best route to go down, for testing purposes?

akitio might be the most simple solution for now =)

Using SFXL solution might be good Idea:

Having PCIe ribbon cable to displace GPU migh help as well to avoid case modification in the beginning

Here is how solution looks with back of the Akitio modiffied to allow accepting long cards =) works even with MacBookAir..

Hope that helps =)

[prodviz]

That's brilliant info, thanks Tom.

I'm in the UK, so will see if I can get a similar set up delivered.

Thanks again.

[prodviz]

I’ve contacted Akitio and they said that unfortunately, they cannot provide support for their PCIe to support GPU cards. They were very helpful, and suggested searching the TechInferno AKiTiO forums, but again, any modifications done to the box would void any warranty.

[natemac00]

I've been using the Bizon Box 2 for about 3 months now with no issue.
If convenience out ways cost like it does for me I would recommend us .
https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox2-egpu.html

[glimpse]

bizon & akitio is basically the same unit..as far as I know. Reason why Akitio do not provide any guidance is because that requires human resources using time explain so on.. - there's tons of information in the google if You know how to search & that should not take too much time to figure thigns out =), but yeah.. if You seem rather to buy solution as is.. paying a bit more to get bizon might make sense..

[natemac00]

bizon & akitio is basically the same unit..as far as I know.

Not basically, it is. They even left the akitio logo and serial number on the bottom of the device.