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Q: Will the ASUS Z87-DELUXE/DUAL work with Apple's Thunderbolt display using a Discrete GPU?

Hi,


I'm starting to part out a new PC and would love to pair it with an Apple Thunderbolt Display. The Asus Z87-Deluxe/Dual (Hasswell processor motherboard) has two Thunderbolt ports. I was wondering if I could use the Apple TB Display with this set up while still using a discrete GPU (which won't have TB ports), but have the display use the graphical processing power of the card. It's a long shot I know, but the apple display is rated as one of hte better IPS monitors out there and I think it's worth the money with all the added features it packs (the ports and integrated camera).

 

Thank you in advance for any help.


-Seth

Powerbook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.5), 1.5 gigs of ram Feb '05 release

Posted on Jun 27, 2013 1:05 PM

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Q: Will the ASUS Z87-DELUXE/DUAL work with Apple's Thunderbolt display using a Discrete GPU?

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  • by erict43,

    erict43 erict43 Jul 2, 2013 3:21 PM in response to personified
    Level 2 (165 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 3:21 PM in response to personified

    I haven't done this myself, but I've been researching it, because I'd like to build a gaming PC to run alongside by MBP and use the same Thunderbolt display, keyboard, and mouse that I use with my Mac.

     

    It has been done with other motherboards.  You need a program called Virtu GPU, which allows you to use your GPU for video processing, while sending the video output to a port other than the one on the GPU itself (the TB port in this case).  MacRumors and some other websites have some write-ups of this.  That's about all I know at this point.

     

    The dream is within reach!  Make it work and report back to us!

  • by personified,

    personified personified Jul 2, 2013 4:14 PM in response to erict43
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 4:14 PM in response to erict43

    I'll definitely keep reporting back and let you know if it's easy or hard. I just want to use the monitor and still have the performance of my GTX 780 that i plan on buying too.


    I'll have to contact ASUS directly I think. I wish there were enough dongles. Guess I could just use a DVI or Display port to TB adapter but that's no fun.

  • by erict43,

    erict43 erict43 Jul 2, 2013 4:25 PM in response to personified
    Level 2 (165 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 4:25 PM in response to personified

    Yeah that also doesn't work   You can go TB to HDMI or DVI, but you can't go HDMI/DVI to TB.

  • by erict43,

    erict43 erict43 Jul 2, 2013 5:07 PM in response to erict43
    Level 2 (165 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 5:07 PM in response to erict43

    Here's a video of a guy who uses an external GPU to run his rMBP 13".  Starcraft 2 on Ultra settings with 60+ fps

     

    http://youtu.be/KX0JOKawu90

  • by personified,

    personified personified Jul 2, 2013 7:14 PM in response to erict43
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 7:14 PM in response to erict43

    great so the only option is to get this virtu crap to work. bleh.

  • by erict43,

    erict43 erict43 Jul 2, 2013 7:20 PM in response to personified
    Level 2 (165 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 7:20 PM in response to personified

    Yep.  No really good options I'm afraid.  The onboard TB connectors on PC motherboards use the onboard graphics for displays, so Virtu is the only way to get a GPU involved.

     

    The other option of course is to get one of those Dell displays that's supposedly equivalent to the Thunderbolt Display.  That ought to have a couple of inputs on it.  But then you lose the single-connection docking capability, display audio, iSight camera, etc.

  • by personified,

    personified personified Jul 2, 2013 7:29 PM in response to erict43
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 7:29 PM in response to erict43

    Right. If i can't get the Apple display then I'd go for the Asus PB278Q 27.0" display. It's 5xx.xx and rated well. Same res as apple display too.

  • by jferreir,

    jferreir jferreir Aug 22, 2013 11:20 AM in response to personified
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 22, 2013 11:20 AM in response to personified

    There is at least one mobo that circumvented this problem, albeit on the previous Intel platform: ASRock Z77 Extreme6/TB4. This article clearly explains the workaround:

     

    http://www.pcper.com/news/Motherboards/ASRock-Z77-Extreme6TB4-Motherboard-Offers -Thunderbolt-Discrete-Graphics

     

    I'm curious to know if the Haswell version, Z87 Extreme9, is capable of the same thing. Anyone try it out?

  • by personified,

    personified personified Aug 25, 2013 1:41 PM in response to jferreir
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 25, 2013 1:41 PM in response to jferreir

    I'd love to know if that AsRock solution works with the ASUS mobo. I just ordered all the PC parts except fora  monitor and I'd still love to get an Apple Monitor. It has all the extras plus being a really well rated monitor. I wish GPU manufacturers would just start including all ports on the dang things. They already take 2-3 PCI slots may as well include the ports to go with it. Mini-display +TB can't be that hard to add too. heh.

  • by Qida,

    Qida Qida Sep 8, 2013 9:14 PM in response to personified
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Sep 8, 2013 9:14 PM in response to personified

    I have the thunderbolt display, would also be keen to build a gaming rig.

     

    Would be awesome to have this work.

     

    But the money to put into a asus deluxe mainboard + gtx780 + ram/casing/cooler + 4770k and on top of that a tb display + ssd and the trouble to getting virtu lucid to work.

     

    I would rather save up spend it on an yet to release haswell iMac.

     

    With the previous gen ivy bridge system vs iMac compared price i had a few mths back in singapore dollars.

     

    Asus P8Z77-V-PRO-Tbolt + Corei7 3770k - $773

    CRUCIAL 512GB M4 SATA3 - $565

    CORSAIR Vengeance 1600C9 (8GB=2x4GB) - $95

    MSI GTX680 Lightning 2GB GDDR5 805

    Enermax 750W ENM750AWT /3yrs 80plus 159

    CoolerMaster Silencio 450 Black $89

    CORSAIR H80i $158

    Windows 8 $149

    Apple thunderbolt display $1348

    ----------------------------------------------

     

    773+565+95+805+159+89+158+149+25

    = $4141 total

     

    vs a iMac currently cost: $4118 (512gb /core i7/ gtx680mx/8gb)

     

    As you can see the price is almost same, but better suited with thunderbolt support even in bootcamp win8.

  • by personified,

    personified personified Sep 9, 2013 1:57 PM in response to Qida
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 9, 2013 1:57 PM in response to Qida

    Hi Qida,

     

    I spent roughly 2800.00 USD on my new system, so tack on an Apple TB and it's 3800. Just a little shy of what the iMac costs. It's pretty much top of the line too with a GTX 780, 512 SSD, 2TB 7200 RPM HDD, an Asus Deluxe/Dual MOBO, 16 GB of DDR3 1866Mhz RAM, and the Haswell Core i7.  So it is somewhat cheaper than the iMac with non-laptop bits inside. So they are fairly comparable I'd say.


    I'm still looking to live the dream, but may end up with the normal Apple Cinema Display connected via an HDMI to mini displayport adapter. That or just go for that ASUS display.

  • by Qida,

    Qida Qida Sep 9, 2013 7:42 PM in response to personified
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Sep 9, 2013 7:42 PM in response to personified

    Real nice system you got there

     

    There have always being a test i wish to make with my ATD.

     

    Get a TB to HDMI/DisplayPort adapter, connect the hdmi port on the GTX780 to one of thunderbolt port. And the other TB port connect to the ATD.

     

    Hopefully that might bypass the need for lucid virtu mvp software, and get the full potential of the gtx780

     

    As per describe above before (using dp-in thou):

    http://www.pcper.com/news/Motherboards/ASRock-Z77-Extreme6TB4-Motherboard-Offers -Thunderbolt-Discrete-Graphics

  • by Qida,

    Qida Qida Feb 6, 2014 11:49 PM in response to personified
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Feb 6, 2014 11:49 PM in response to personified

    I finally took the risk and bought the following:

     

    Mobo: Asus Deluxe Quad

    CPU: Intel i7 4770k - The CPU must have integrated GPU.

    GPU: Asus Direct CU R290

    OS: Win 8.1

     

    And was happy to say it works great with the ATD!! But here are the steps i followed.

     

    1. Connect to a normal HDMI/DVI monitor

    2. Install windows

    3. Install virtu software

    4. Install all asus software that comes with the mobo.

    5. install intel thunderbolt driver

    6. Update windows to the latest version.

    7. Use EazFlash to update to latest bios

    8. Go to bios, disable windows fast boot, enable iGPU mode.

    9. Connect to ATD.

     

    Only the iSight cam is not working.. do not have the drivers. The rest are all working.

     

    No more messy wires. Just a single TB from PC to ATD.. its a joy to have.

  • by BreonNagy,

    BreonNagy BreonNagy Mar 3, 2014 6:35 PM in response to Qida
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 3, 2014 6:35 PM in response to Qida

    I've been ready to pull the trigger on a TB mobo for a couple of weeks to use with my Thunderbolt display.  The Asus Z87 Deluxe/Quad or Z87 Expert have been at the top of my list, along with a board from Gigabyte and one from ASRock.

     

    Even though the Asus boards are not listed on Lucid's compatibility list, they still work with Virtu MVP?

    http://lucidlogix.com/support/virtu-mvp-enabled-products/

     

    Now that you've been using this setup for a month, do you have any other words of wisdom?

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