A tidier solution: use a PE4H 3.2 instead of PE4L 2.1
Achieved with a
US$170 BPlus PE4H 3.2 enclosure (below left) instead of a
US$70 BPlus PE4L 2.1 adapter used in kloper's article:
2011-2013 Thunderbolt is 10Gbps
I'm seeing
comments at macrumors about Thunderbolt's bandwidth limitations. The electrical link to the pci-e device is x4 2.0 (16Gbps) but Thunderbolt is restricted downstream to 10Gbps, 12.5% slightly faster than x2 2.0 as
discussed. Need to wait for 'Thunderbolt 2' with 2014 ETA to see them uprate that to 20Gbps. 'Thunderbolt 2' will be slightly faster than x4 2.0 performance, giving
over 90% of real-world desktop PC performance.
Native 10Gbps Thunderbolt enclosure instead of using 5Gbps expresscard?
Kloper is using a
Sonnet Echo Expresscard Pro Thunderbolt-to-expresscard adapter to connect a PE4L 2.1b (expresscard) to his MBA's TB port. That adapter downgrades bandwidth from Thunderbolt's native 10Gbps to Expresscard 2.0's 5Gbps.
OWC Helios and
Sonnet Echo Express SE are alternative native 10Gbps TB solutions starting at a costlier $320. Though they have two additional problems. First is they'd need to remove the circuit board and run it without the case since it's restricted to single-width cards unless you want to pay US$799(!!) for a Sonnet Echo Express Pro that can host a double-width card. Second is they are missing the PCI Reset Delay circuit necessary for BIOS/MBR boot (bootcamped Win7/Win8) to work. Though T|I user
Borealiss has a workaround circut to add a PCI Reset Delay. Do note that a 13" MBP can use UEFI instead of MBR/BIOS mode so doesn't require the PCI Reset Delay per
details.
A
US$180 BPlus TH05 (inc Thunderbolt cable) native Thunderbolt adapter had neither of these problems but was recalled in Jan 2013 due to (presumably) threats by Intel/Apple per
TH05 recall notice.
The performance difference between 10Gbps Thunderbolt and 5Gbps expresscard as used in Kloper's solution is discussed at
2012 13" MBP + GTX660Ti + HD7870 (TH05 @ x2 2.0) with the conclusion:
What performance benefit does x2 2.0 give over x1 2.0?
* external LCD: +4.8%, max=18.1% [GTX660Ti: +6.3% max=18.1%; HD7870=+3.2% max=8.8%]
* internal LCD Optimus: +14.6% max=40.8%
* internal LCD Virtu^$35 : +21.5% max=36.6% [GTX660Ti=23.6% max=36.6%; HD7870=19.5% max=34.2]
Users with IVB/SB expresscard/mPCIe eGPU implementations would likely want to know how much better performance would a Thunderbolt eGPU provide.
We see external LCD sees only +4.8% with max 18.1% performance improvement over x1 2.0. This means the sample benchmarks
are not taxing the pci-e bus. The extra bandwidth showing it's significance when running in internal LCD mode where both Optimus and Virtu benefit significantly from the increased bandwidth.
Youtube gaming videos at expresscard 2.0 pci-e bandwidth level (x1.2Opt, 5Gbps + pci-e compression)
SimoxTa has produced the most comprehensive set of youtube game videos showing x1.2Opt internal LCD performance. x1.2Opt designates that a x1 link and iGPU was detected after which the NVidia Optimus driver engages pci-e compression greatly accelerating mostly DX9 titles (30-300%). That's using a 12.5" HP 2560P + GTX560 with the 1366x768 LCD resolution and 5Gbps pci-e bandwidth as kloper's 11" MBA above.
SimoxTa's Channel - YouTube: Battlefield 3, Starcraft 2, WOW, Diablo 3, NFS Shift 2, Dragon Age 2 + more
SimoxTa's summary of performance seen. notebookreview.com host linked via webarchive as they've been a
saboteur of this project.
Youtube gaming videos at native Thunderbolt pci-e bandwidth level (x2 2.0, ~10Gbps)
boon111 has youtube gaming videso showing x2 2.0 internal LCD performance. That's using a 2012 13" rMBP i7-3520M 2.9 + GTX670 with a native 10Gbps TH05 Thunderbolt adapter. Full configuration details at
TH05 eGPU Setup 13" Retina Macbook Pro Late 2012.
boon111's channel - Youtube: Black Ops 2, Crysis 2, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Dirt 3, Borderlands2, Batman Arkham City.
Best upcoming option: US$250 Silverstone T004 450W native 10Gbps Thunderbolt enclosure
The affordable gamechanger may come if Silverstone T004 is released in the coming month or two. US$250 for a 450W double-width, full length and width 10Gbps Thunderbolt eGPU enclosure. No messy wiring, well priced and looks great. Awesome. Will only be available for purchase if they pass Intel certification. Am curious if Intel will continue to be a fun-wrecker and block it or finally concede.
SilverStone debuts Thunderbolt external graphics card case
Computex 2013: Thunderbolt Graphics from Silverstone
Seeking Intel/Apple cooperation
Intel have not exactly been generous in giving users pluggable bandwidth for their notebooks. Had they been more cooperative we would have seen mainstream eGPUs over 4 years go. Instead Intel obstructed the possibility by locking down features like user-settable x2/x4 southbridge ports (starting Series-6) preventing ganging mPCIe/expresscard slots to extract multi-lane bandwidth. Intel's oppositional conduct disorder means it's listed as a
saboteur of this project.
The pressure now is on for Intel/Apple to stop resisting TB eGPUs and allow manufacturers to create affordable solutions for users to enjoy. Apple could help by making their firmware eGPU compatible preventing the need for pci-e fixups via rEFInd/Setup 1.x. Also need their 15" MBP re-engineered to allow the iGPU to be active in Windows too.
What if Intel/Apple continue to refuse to support eGPUs over Thunderbolt?
Then we'll continue to see more hacks via mPCIe slots such as MikJoa's workaround below. There Sony never bothered to allow an external desktop video card via it's proprietary 10Gbps Lightpeak port. So MikJoa completely ignored the LP port instead cutting a hole in his 13" Sony Z3 (awesome machine!) and wiring up an eGPU using the x1 2.0 (5Gbps) mPCIe wifi slot. End result is the same 5Gbps + pci-e compression bandwidth as kloper achieved but without any need for Thunderbolt accessories - it's all just straight pci-e 2.0, so is $134 cheaper than kloper's TB-to-expresscard one.
From
DIY eGPU guide for sony VAIO VPC-Z2 & SVZ13. His ultrabook-like 13" Sony Z3 with i7-quad CPU and GTX660Ti@x1.2Opt eGPU packs a big punch.
