DIY eGPU

[hhamama66]

I'm looking to build a DIY thunderbolt eGPU enclosure for use with my brother's MacBook Pro. It's the late 2015 15 inch retina with either the 2.5 ghz i7 or the 2.8ghz version, 16 gb of ram, 512gb flash storage, and two Mini DisplaPort based Thunderbolt 2 ports. He wants to get either a gtx 1070 or a gtx 1080 to use with a 1080p 120 hz monitor. He's a cheapskate though so he wants me to build it for him since all the enclosures cost $200 or more and don't come with an integrated PSU for the graphics card. I can build the enclosure using spare metal from an old kit I used to play with as a kid, and get him a $20 EVGA 400w PSU and use a PSU jumper to turn it on using the power switch on the back. It won't exactly look pretty, I know, but it'll be a lot cheaper. Any ideas on how to get a Thunderbolt 2 to PCIe x16 adapter and possibly what software I would need?

[Energycore]

3 minutes ago, hhamama66 said:

I'm looking to build a DIY thunderbolt eGPU enclosure for use with my brother's MacBook Pro. It's the late 2015 15 inch retina with either the 2.5 ghz i7 or the 2.8ghz version, 16 gb of ram, 512gb flash storage, and two Mini DisplaPort based Thunderbolt 2 ports. He wants to get either a gtx 1070 or a gtx 1080 to use with a 1080p 120 hz monitor. He's a cheapskate though so he wants me to build it for him since all the enclosures cost $200 or more and don't come with an integrated PSU for the graphics card. I can build the enclosure using spare metal from an old kit I used to play with as a kid, and get him a $20 EVGA 400w PSU and use a PSU jumper to turn it on using the power switch on the back. It won't exactly look pretty, I know, but it'll be a lot cheaper. Any ideas on how to get a Thunderbolt 2 to PCIe x16 adapter and possibly what software I would need?

It might be cheaper to just get a gaming tower, you can put together an i7-6700K + GTX 1080 build for around $1600

[MoonlightSylv]

1 minute ago, Energycore said:

It might be cheaper to just get a gaming tower, you can put together an i7-6700K + GTX 1080 build for around $1600

He already has the Macbook.

[hhamama66]

1 minute ago, Energycore said:

It might be cheaper to just get a gaming tower, you can put together an i7-6700K + GTX 1080 build for around $1600

Yeah, he already spent a few grand on the MacBook

[MoonlightSylv]

5 minutes ago, hhamama66 said:

I'm looking to build a DIY thunderbolt eGPU enclosure for use with my brother's MacBook Pro. It's the late 2015 15 inch retina with either the 2.5 ghz i7 or the 2.8ghz version, 16 gb of ram, 512gb flash storage, and two Mini DisplaPort based Thunderbolt 2 ports. He wants to get either a gtx 1070 or a gtx 1080 to use with a 1080p 120 hz monitor. He's a cheapskate though so he wants me to build it for him since all the enclosures cost $200 or more and don't come with an integrated PSU for the graphics card. I can build the enclosure using spare metal from an old kit I used to play with as a kid, and get him a $20 EVGA 400w PSU and use a PSU jumper to turn it on using the power switch on the back. It won't exactly look pretty, I know, but it'll be a lot cheaper. Any ideas on how to get a Thunderbolt 2 to PCIe x16 adapter and possibly what software I would need?

I've seen something based on the mpci-e slot but nothing based on thunderbolt

[hhamama66]

Just now, ShadowTechXTS said:

I've seen something based on the mpci-e slot but nothing based on thunderbolt

Yeah, I've seen it too. It uses HDMI in between the x16 slot and the mPCIe slot found in laptops usually reserved for the network card.

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, ShadowTechXTS said:

He already has the Macbook.

Hmm. $600 for the 1080 + $70 for a PSU + however much for the adapter.

That's not bad.

[hhamama66]

1 minute ago, Energycore said:

Hmm. $600 for the 1080 + $70 for a PSU + however much for the adapter.

That's not bad.

Plus, I already have some spare metal laying around to make a sturdy enclosure. If I ever find that adapter, I'll be sure to post pics on r/pcmasterrace