External GPU

Hello Everybody

Is it possible to use an external GPU in a thunderbolt enclosure like the the External RED Rocket? Let`s say a 690 GTX?

I`m using a late 2011 15'' mackbook pro

Thanks!

[Peter Chamberlain]

I believe you will find the bandwidth for Thunderbolt is ideal for video I/O but not so for GPU acceleration. Remember the Rocket card input is compressed and output is often 10bit data whereas the Resolve image processing is 32bit floating point to enable the precision you need for image manipulation.
Peter

Although it's

, I don't know anyone who's actually using it on a production machine. I'm also really interested in seeing if it works on my iMac and MacBook Pro - so if anyone has any real-world examples, I'd love to hear about them!

I`m going to post a really dumb question here (i`m not really a post production guy, i`m a DP, so somethings are dificult for me to get a hold on):

Does any of the black magic products like the ultra studio and the ultra studio 4K help increase the performace when using Davinci or they are just for monitoring pourpose?

How could I benefit from the Ultra Studio 4k on my mackbook pro for instance?

Thanks!

The Ultrastudio won't accelerate processing but it will allow you to preview on an external HDMI or SDI display.

Hi Rodrigo,

Here's a little more info on the external GPU question from yesterday: Apple's Macbook Pro BIOS, at this time, does not allow for external GPUs attached via ExpressCard 34/54 or Thunderbolt. We've been trying, but no luck so far. I'm guessing the same applies to iMac as well, but Cubix has not yet tried this model.

Eric Fiegehen
Cubix Corporation
ericc@cubix.com

We purchased a Sonnet Echo Express Pro to house a Tempo SSD Pro (PCI SSD holder) and RED ROCKET.
This is for a Retina MBP.
I was told by many experienced Sonnet and Magma chassis users that you cant use it for GPU to date.
I really wish you could. If it was possible I would attach our CUBIX HBA into that baby and have 3 Quadro 4000s screaming

We've been trying, but no luck so far. I'm guessing the same applies to iMac as well, but Cubix has not yet tried this model.

Would you like me to try and place the CUBIX HBA in a Sonnet Echo Express Pro

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong - but from what I've been told and read you CAN actually use an external GPU over Thunderbolt for CUDA acceleration, HOWEVER you cannot use it "run" an external display.

For example:

I haven't heard of anyone successfully getting it to work with Resolve though - but I have heard of people getting it to work with Adobe Premiere CS6.

Eric, just for fun, have you tried putting a GPU in an Thunderbolt Expansion chassis? Did Mac OS detect it at all?

Eric, just for fun, have you tried putting a GPU in an Thunderbolt Expansion chassis? Did Mac OS detect it at all?

I would have tested that already, however our Retina is on order and isnt due till Sep 28th.
All the other parts for this set-up delivered quite fast.
Yes I will def test that when I get my hands on the rMBP

very interested in that as well....

Eric - sorry to dig up an old post, but I'm very really curious... Did you have any luck putting a GPU in one of your Thunderbolt expansion chassis'?

Hey, I'm in a Macbook Pro 15" I7 2.2 Ghz 2011 with Snow Leopard (with 8gb ram)

I already have an external monitor 24" (u2413) conne

I also tried the scale trick to 0.85 in Terminal,
turned off the energy savings modes,
installed the CUDA software (still without a hardware GPU card)

DaVinci Resolve 9 not working, im getting the GPU error message,

WHAT FOR GOD and for good, do I have to do to work Davinci in this MBP?

Haven't you guys seen this...??? Real world use for what you all are suggesting, using Macbook Air

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/communi ... ryId=30354

Thank you for the answer, it's very interesting indeed.

BUT, i don't have a BlackMagic Studio 3D, and I don't need yet a capture device...

I just want to use the DaVinci Resolve 9 in a MBP15 with an external monitor of 24", but the only version that works is the 8.2...

Is there an answer for this?

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong - but from what I've been told and read you CAN actually use an external GPU over Thunderbolt for CUDA acceleration, HOWEVER you cannot use it "run" an external display.

The point is, TB is pretty slow compared to a full blown 16 lanes PCI slot - but that's what it takes 16 lanes. As far as I know TB has only 4 - so if it works at all, there will not be much acceleration.

I never understood why folks insist to work on a laptop instead of a full blown workstation.
Yeah, I know mobile/on set/on the road blah...

Mobility my a...

How mobile is a laptop with a external rocket, a external GPU housing and a external RAID box?
Compared to a - all in one box workstation - it's an insane octopus and takes twice the time to set up with all those cables and external boxes.

Still feels to me like coming with a knife to a gunfight.

You are entered the world of pro with Resolve 2k/4k and DNG - man up, act like a pro, use proper, dedicated tools, and have a assistant carry your full blown workstation around .

Well said!
Radman.

The main issue is that the graphic card requires an X16 lane slot and Thunderbolt is only X4 and Thunderbolt 2 I believe is X8.

There is a company which made it work with a Quadro 4000 graphic card and their solution is called Thunderbolterizer however it would not work with the later updates of Mountain Lion such as 10.8.4. In any case the performance would not be as high as using an X16 connection.

Check this,

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7040/comp ... ilverstone