[F. Tella]

Hello,

As the latest early build added support for the GPU engine on Mac and Linux we feel the need to explain how we managed to make it work on a Mac Pro using an external thunderbolt case to host the Nvidia graphics card.

1.- IMPORTANT. Read before you begin.
This procedure is just an explanation on how we managed to make use of an external nVidia GPU on a Mac for rendering with our render engine, but neither we or the maker of the computer are supporting it; following this procedure could make you lose the warranty of your machine or make it unusable. Also we are using a script not coded by us and in the process we kind of hack the security locks of MacOS. If you don’t feel confident or comfortable with this procedure or don’t know exactly what you are doing, we encourage you not to try it.
If you still dare to do it, you make it at your own risk; we are not responsible for any harm or problem it may cause to your hardware or the information included in it.

We are only showing what worked in our case as an example, our own in-house experience, but it could not work in your case.

2.- Summary of the procedure

• Hardware setup
• Download the script and modify a couple of arguments.
• Boot in safe mode
• Deactivate the security lock for unsigned or unknown programs
• Reboot in normal mode
• Run the script
• Reboot in safe mode again
• Reactivate the security lock
• Reboot in normal mode

3.- Step by step

• HARDWARE

We used an Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box although it’s not actually indicated for graphics cards probably because it doesn’t have the extra power plugs that most of current graphics cards need (we noticed that after buying it).
Here are some other cases that probably will fit better (in alphabetical order, not preference):

https://www.akitio.com/expansion/node
https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox2s_design
http://magma.com/products/thunderbolt-e ... essbox-3t/

Here are some pictures of what we used:

The case, power supply cable, thunderbolt cable and the small graphics card (Quadro K620):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5xS_O ... sp=sharing

The graphics card inside the case:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5xS_O ... sp=sharing

Case connected to the Mac Pro:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5xS_O ... sp=sharing


Of course the graphics card has to meet the same requirement as for Windows or Linux, which mainly are:

- Nvidia GPU, CUDA enabled.
- Only Maxwell or Pascal architectures are supported.

• THE SCRIPT

We are using this script published in GitHub:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/goalq ... te-eGPU.sh
This is the project page: https://github.com/goalque/automate-eGPU

And it’s explained here by its creator in this forum post (not our forum):
https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/ ... ay-output/

We downloaded it and modified this two lines replacing
boot_args="nvda_drv=1" with boot_args="NvidiaWeb"
and boot_args="kext-dev-mode=1 nvda_drv=1" with boot_args="kext-dev-mode=1 NvidiaWeb"

• PROCEDURE

Once we have the script ready we had to reboot the machine in safe mode so we could deactivate the security lock that avoids installing or running downloaded, strange or unsigned code.
After deactivating the security lock we rebooted again in normal mode.
Then we ran the script.
Then we rebooted again in safe mode to reactivate the security lock.
And finally reboot in normal mode.
If running El Capitan, it has SIP enabled by default. Please do as the script says: Boot into recovery partition and type: “csrutil disable”. Reboot, run the script, reboot again in recovery partition, type: “csrutil enable”, reboot and off you go.

And that’s all, folks!!

We hope this document gives you some clues to get your external case with Nvidia GPU working on your Mac.
If you get in trouble we recommend to look for information in the same forum where the script was posted or searching for eGPU on Mac on internet.

Good luck.

Fernando

[Gary]

Hello Fernando,

I have a Mac Pro 5.1 tower that has a flashed Nvidia graphics card (GeForce GTX 770 4096 MB). Will I be able to use GPU rendering?

Thanks,

Gary

[chedda]

I assumed over pcie things would have been straightforward for an external enclosure. But you used a thunderbolt connection right ? I don't fancy this complicated script and fiddling to be honest. Like the previous poster mentioned would an internal flashed card be a working solution ? I was looking at maxwell titan available from macvidcards

[luis.hijarrubia]

This thread is to tell how we managed to have a nvidia card in our mac machines. The engine is independent of all this. It should work on any mac that have a (compatible) nvidia card with appropriated drivers.

[Gary]

Hello Luis,

That is encouraging.

I think if Next Limit is sincere in their desire to support GPU on Apple, it is not to much to ask for Next Limit to put a Nvidia card in a Mac Pro tower, load appropriate drivers and advise their customers on compatibility (as they did for the newest version of Mac Pro w/ external case).

I am certain there are many users like me who would hope this will work but would like some guidance prior to jumping in.

Is that possible?

Thanks,

Gary

[luis.hijarrubia]

Hello Luis,

That is encouraging.

I think if Next Limit is sincere in their desire to support GPU on Apple, it is not to much to ask for Next Limit to put a Nvidia card in a Mac Pro tower, load appropriate drivers and advise their customers on compatibility (as they did for the newest version of Mac Pro w/ external case).

I am certain there are many users like me who would hope this will work but would like some guidance prior to jumping in.

Is that possible?

Thanks,

Gary

Well, in this forum we have a client that have made some speed test on a mac machine that looks to be a Pro Tower, based on specifications. With a Titan card (in fact 2 titan, but we don't have multi-gpu yet).

[Graham Harvey]

Hi
I will upgrade my graphics card in my mac pro tower from here http://www.macstoreuk.com/index.php?rou ... th=155_156. They modify the Nvidia cards so that they work properly in a Mac computer.

Can I assume Maxwell 4 will work with this new card?

G

[luis.hijarrubia]

In the last post here

http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/view ... 40&t=44642

we have somebody that have checked maxwell with on a Mac Pro with a Titan working. Anyway read the complete description on macstoreuk. Some cards are working on PCI 2.0 speed only on windows for example.