DIY eGPU experiences

Thread management

Unfortunately we won’t be getting a section just for external video card related discussion on NBR. Instead we will have the following stickied threads in the next couple of hours:

* DIY eGPU experiences
<strike>* DIY eGPU troubleshooting (or as Kizwan decides to name it)</strike>: maybe not - there's a 5 stickies budget per section only

Adding implementations to owner’s lounges

I’d suggest individual implementations be posted into the owner’s thread if one exists, or start a thread in the your system's NBR area if one doesn’t with a small post placed in the DIY eGPU experiences thread to link/notify users of this new addition.

I’ve moved my 2530P implementation into the owner's lounge as seen below:

*HP EliteBook 2530p Owners Lounge*
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7243473-post3077.html

There are quite a few other detailed implementations by pyr0, Khenglish, ithildin, to name but a few, that may want to do the same. That then focuses discussion specifically to that system. I’ll continue be maintain a summary of all DIY eGPU implementations that include at least 3dmark06 and RE5 benchmark results so we can have our table of relative performance.

Sony Z11-Z13 a special case

The Sony Z11-Z13 implementaion could warrant it’s own thread, since there’s a ViDock4+ one in place: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/598920-z1-vidock-gtx-570-ftw-z2-pmd-killer.html

Anybody like to volunteer (pyr0, kturnbull, docusyn, MikjoA yuuma)? You guys have very well documented implementation details so could even combine them all when starting a comprehensive thread.

Continue as usual

So we keep our general discussion in the eGPU experiences thread and allow ‘hot’ topics to split of into their own threads, like Thunderbolt/LP:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...-any-thunderbolt-egpu-solution-available.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/600942-vidock-4g-light-peak-z21-possible.html

 

Updated w/ DMCV4 DirectX 10=118.86 fps.
Not bad that a cheap gtx460 768MB be as fast/faster than gtx470 and a 560 Ti.

Nando,
Do you have any idea of when somone can make a mini Displayport to mini hdmi adapter for the TB active cable or similar?

Much thanks to Nando and all again.

 

Thanks, Nando, it seems to me that the GTX460 3DP is extremely rare in Sydney.

Can you recommend me a card from MSY Auburn or PCCG?

MSY Online

I might be able to get it today and learn how to do the eGPU when my PE4H arrives.

 

If I order from hw tools PE4L-EC2C is $65 + $25 for shipping and packaging right? From harmanic it is confusing what stuff to order to be prepared for egpu.
Now after I order PE4L-EC2C I need a power supply would 300 W be enough? What power is recommended? also what graphics card is recommended that is cheap but also powerful enough to run sc2 on high/medium? I'm getting a x220 I read the posts where people set it up but I still have no idea what is the power supply that you can buy (min) and what graphics card is suitable for my needs (sc2 medium/high). Also do hwtools or harmonic ship to canada?

 

Thank you for the DMCV4 bench. Now you're in the DX10 section on the first page too.

The TB stuff is a little more complex that originally thought. Thunderbolt multiplexes the Displayport and pci-e signals on the link, so requires a second Thunderbolt controller to mux/demux the signal to the eGPU side. Getting pinout data on Thunderbolt as well as the the controller has proven to be a bit of work as requires NDAs with Intel and Apple [or so I'm told].

staticice has GTX560TI for $225 and GTX560 for $195. Is the extra $30 for 14% more cores (336 vs 384) worth it to you? GTX460-1GB are coming up the same price as a GTX560 so not worth pursuing. ebay having a dry spell of GTX460/GTX560 units.

 

Hi,
today i got the PE4H.

I also got the HD6670, but i could still return it. Still i am uncertain about how do the power supply setup.

The main condition it has to fullfill is silence. So i would like to avoid atx-psu, because of its loud fan.

Unfortunately the HD6670 needs more than 36W so it is not possible using the 15-20V(the plug of my old laptop-psu doesn't fit anyway). When i ordered the HD6670 i thought using the 15-20V-plug was limited only by the pcie-slot-limit of 75W.

So there are two options:

1) getting a cheap gpu like HD5450/GT210 und a 15-20V-psu with a plug that fits.

2) trying s.th. else. What i have in mind is getting a 80W-12V-psu(and a 5V-psu if needed) and solder it to the floppy-molex, which has 12V and 5V output. Is this possible? Or does it require soft-on like the atx-psu have? Is a 5V-psu even needed?

Anyway, i guess the HD6670 gives the best performance except cuda:-( without an additional pcie-plug, which is fine.

Would it be possible running faster gpus which have a pcie-plug connecting an additional 80W-12V-psu to the pcie-plug? So in total using two 12V-80W and one 5V psu's?

 

Check your PM

 

Maybe I missed it, but is there express slot 2.0 option yet?

 

Nope. Nando4 has custom cables that may allow 2.0 speeds with pe4h/l hardware but he has no sandybridge lappy to test it on

 

Ahhh, that is a shame ... I might have to wait to dive into this. I'd have to replace my 2x6950 gaming machine with something 1/3 the power.

Is the bottleneck the cables, or the expresscard slot you think?

Is there any lag/stuttering with a 570/580 card?

Also curious, can you do 2 external monitors with a video card that has 2xDVI?

 

Right now bplus cites the cables as the reason why 5.0gt/s transfer rate cannot be done. Nando tried his 15cm flat cable and it didn't work.

As for stuttering with a 570/580, I found modern fps games like crysis and metro 2033 to not be noticeably impacted by by overclocked x2 link with an overclocked gtx 460, and testing shows x2 to be inferior to x1 optimus, with x2 only winning where neither were a bottleneck and something else like CPU was a factor. For fps games I never had any stuttering at all and fps seemed to be in line with what was expected out of a gtx 460. Some games like tf2 even ran stutter free on an x1 link for me. Back to x2, SC2 will stutter in story mode if ambient occlusion is enabled, and WoW will stutter if ultra shadows are enabled. On Wednesday I will be getting an optimus capable SB system with an 2920xm ES, and I will most certainly post how well it performs if you are interested.

Yes, you can run 2 monitors.

 

Hey all!
I have a Lenovo T510 Nvidia optimus model & from the reading I have done it looks like x1.opt will work. I based this from here. The desktop GPU will be a EVGA GTX 460 1GB & the PSU will be a Corsair 520w. But I have inside the laptop 2 hard drives (one is through the ultrabay) and 8gb of ram. Will this interfere? And because I am only running x1.xx instead of x2.xx can I just buy the PE4L v1.5? Does anyone sell it in Canada?
If this is possible I will have a very powerful notebook .
Thanks for any comments!

 

Hi again,
i couldn't wait and chose to use the HD6670 with an ATX-PSU. But i still wait for answers for the questions regarding alternative psu's.

Everything worked fine and easy. I just installed the latest XP-drivers from AMD and everything was working. Just the amount of available memory changed. Now it is 3.25GB. Before it were 3.5GB.


3dmark2006(Ver. 1.2.0) is the only benchmark i ran and got 8486 3DMarks.

15.4" Dell Vostro 1500
[email protected]
4.0GB
HD6670@x1
ICH8M mPCIe
WinXP/32


There is just one issue. I can't close the cover to the mPCIe-slots, because PM3N has a jumper which is too high:-(

 

You can just cut/snap off the jumper, especially if you don't need to use it. If you do need to use it then you can just make a solder bridge on the pcb.

Interesting that your system's TOLUD lowered to accommodate the graphics card. All other systems we've seen wouldn't do that which would cause the graphics card not to work. You were very lucky.

 

Is anybody using the PM3N with an mPCIe slot that is on the top side (keyboard/palmrest side) of the motherboard? I am considering doing this with my Thinkpad X61s, but I would like some ideas about where I can run the cable so that it will be out of the way and more practical. Any thoughts and especially pictures appreciated.

 

Bad news for Lenovo X220/T420/T420s/T520 owners - Lenovo don't want to lower TOLUD in their newer BIOS

See Lenovo forum's Request to fix TOLUD in newer BIOS files. Lenovo engineering have declined to lower TOLUD in the newer bios revisions of these systems to allow 4GB+ eGPU installs. I've responded to their reasons why. Perhaps affected Lenovo owner's can too to highlight the need for this fix?

If not, perhaps seek a refund based on being provided an unusable expresscard slot [with the new bios] and replace it with a 12.5" Dell E6220 or HP 2560P, or 13" Toshiba R830 whose bios leaves sufficient pci-e space available to host external devices using their expresscard slot.

 

pls delete

 

Maybe not so lucky. Hotplugging during standby seems not to be possible. I can only get it to work with a reboot.

Plugging it in doesn't change a lot. It makes the sound of plugging a usb-device in several times but system doesn't show the new gpu in device manager and catalyst would not start. Before i installed catalyst the gpu was recognized by the system but i didn't get it to work. Catalyst control center would only start after rebooting. Then everything works fine.

Unplugging the egpu in standby results in an immidiate bsod and a reboot.



Edit:
Does Windows 7 behave better? Do you recommend switching to 32 or 64bit?

Actually i still have the original Bios 1.05 installed. The still up-to-date 1.06 shows the following improvement: "Fixed: System Hangs on Resume from S3 with Driver Verifier enabled." Does this affect the egpu?

 

Thanks for the response, i am very curious how you find an optimus capable SB laptop, like mine. Why is x1 better then x2? Seems the opposite?

 

Summarized what Khenglish wrote:-
x1.Opt = x1 link with Optimus

x1.Opt is better than x2. x2 is better than x1.

More information on the Optimus: http://forum.notebookreview.com/6542661-post1222.html

 

hi fellas ... little bit side topic. Can someone explain in laments terms difference between a codec and video renderer and graphics renderer and DXVA.

1. When we are playing movie are we using codec or something else.
2. When we are playing games are we using codec or something else.

Thanks.

 

Thanks! So what are people buying for the best performance? And if a new cable comes out ... to hit 5gbps? I have a Lenovo x220.

 

Your Lenovo X220 have 2nd generation Intel Core processor & ExpressCard 2.0. However due to eGPU cable limitation, for now, the best it can do is x1 .1Opt link with eGPU Nvidia graphic card. The " .1Opt" means it's working with 2.5Gb/s link speed. The performance still great. When HWTools/BPlus able to come out with the solution, you'll be able to setup x1 .2Opt (5Gb/s link speed) with eGPU Nvidia graphic card.

For eGPU kit, you can get PE4L-EC2C ver1.5 Package. PE4H-EC2C ver2.4 Package is a bit overkill since for now it's not possible to do x2 link with Optimus. Optimus only engaged with x1 link. I like PE4H because the dimension is bigger & can hold graphic card better. And also with extra PCIe interface I can experiment with them.

For desktop graphic card, I think GTX460 or GTX560Ti is a good choice. Both not too expensive too.

 

Thanks a lot kizwan. I am reading into that TOLUD issue with the new BIOS's, and I might have to hold off until they release a new BIOS, that has the fixes, and the higher TOLUD.

If I got the PE4H kit, and a new cable come out, that's all i'd really have to swap, right? Do I have to manually set it to do x1.1? or will it just do that?

Even with the old BIOS, how is gaming on external monitors? I've read that people have seen stuttering/lag?

 

That's disappointing. Is there a significant downside to staying with the old bios?

 

Loads of fixes in the new updates...

 

Look like just need to change the cable. Better wait for new kit just to be safe. With BIOS 1.12, your Lenovo X220 don't need Setup 1.x software. So it will just like plug-n-play.

Based on several games experience/benchmark, ATI graphic card with x1 link suffer stuttering on certain games. x2 link should make it much better but this required correct PCIe ports arrangement (x2 link with PCIe ports 1+2 or 3+4 or 5+6).

Nvidia graphic card with x1.Opt doesn't suffer stuttering issue. So it's ideal configuration. BTW, performance on external monitor is much better than internal monitor as shown here. This is due to heavy traffic to & from eGPU via PCIe link when using internal monitor.

 

Thanks again, I think i'll keep a watchful eye on this thread, wait for the new cable, it sounds like it might be pretty close to coming?

 

Thanks again Nando,
I ordered one to test. How did you know about pin18? Where can we find that info or circuit requiring 5V vs 3.3V and how we might modify it?

Thanks.

 

got my dell vostro today and my geforce 560... adapter is on its away but the psu hasnt been sent off yet...

 

Just a quick update - I got the 4530s yesterday.
I'm waiting for a good deal on a Fermi card, but I may bench using my 5770 just for kicks.

If anyone finds an attractive price for a Fermi card, please let me know


Also, I've been using this PSU to power the 5770.
Will it reliably hold a Fermi card?

 

I think so. I hope.

Which card? Your PSU have +12V1@16A, +12V2@17A (dual 12V rail). 12 * 16A = 192W. So, make sure the graphic card TDP is lower than 192W or it won't able to provide stable power to run the card. GeForce GTX 560 Ti (max TDP 170W to 205W) clearly not recommended with that PSU. I also can't recommend GTX460 (max TDP 160W) either. Might work if your PSU able to provide stable 160W power to run GTX460.

 

So my PSU can't hold this card?

 

the psu doesnt actually specify how many 4 pin molex adapters it has got and with only 1 pci plug u need at least 3 (2 for the gpu, 1 for the pci adapter,)

 

<strike>I think it will work. PSU (12 * 16A = 192W) vs. GTX460 (160W).</strike> Your PSU only have 1 x 6-pin PCIe power connector. GTX460 required 2 x 6-pin PCIe power connectors. You'll need 2 x 4-pin molex to 6-pin PCIe adapter like this: 2x4-Pin Molex to 6-Pin PCIe PCI Express Adapter Cable | eBay

Make sure the 2 x 4-pin molex are connected into separate cables coming from the power supply.

You also need to connect floppy power connector to PE4H/PE4L.

EDIT:-

• "GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-N460OC2-1GI GeForce GTX 460" is overclocking edition card with a higher GPU core clock of 760 MHz but Gigabytes website did not mention any changes on the power requirement: GIGABYTE - Graphics Card - NVIDIA - PCI Express Solution - GeForce 400 Series - GV-N460OC2-1GI
• I think this card might require more than 160W.
• OC GTX460 discussion: an overclocked gtx 460 is soooo power hungry - AnandTech Forums
• Conclusion: you'll need better PSU

 

The HDMI wiki page tells us pin18 is 5V. The EC2C/PE4H/PE4L schematic uses 3.3V on that pin. I've emailed NXG asking if their active cable can accept 3.3V on pin18 instead.

My GTX460 setup successfully uses a 12V/15A PSU to drive it. I had two such PSUs but only the Codegen one works. The other hangs the system when under 3D load, so couldn't provide continous peak power to drive the GTX460. Note: mine is a stock-clocked GTX460-1GB. If I want to overclock it I must connect both my 12V/15A PSUs to power it. Based on those findings I suggest 12V/17A or greater as 12V/15A is a bit hit-and-miss. Your 12V/16A might just scrape through for a stock-clocked GTX460.

 

Given that this is not possible on a Corsair CX430 (both available molex connectors are on the same cable) perhaps nando should revise his recommendation to use that PSU in this post.

 

Newegg's Corsair CX430 specs tell us it has ample cabling to wire up a eGPU that uses 2x6pin or 1x6pin+2x8pin pci-e connectors. The specs indicate there are 3 peripheral (molex) connectors and it has a 12V/28A single rail. So you'd wire it up as follows:

225W

75W slot power - floppy molex
75W pci-e #1 - 6pin pci-e connector
75W pci-e #2 - molex to pci-e adapter

NOTE: some video cards draw more than 75W from the slot. If you only have a single molex on a bail of wiring connected to the molex to pci-e adapter, then swap over the pci-e #1 and #2 power sources until discover the more stable setup. You want the 6pin pci-e connector supplying the plug requiring greater amounts of power. Sometimes can look at one or two higher level video cards to ID the location of the 8pin connector which would infer which of the 6pin connectors draws more power.

300W

75W slot power - floppy molex
75W pci-e #1 - molex to pci-e adapter
150W pci-e #2 - 8pin pci-e connector

 

Off-topic question, but, why was the named changed from "DIY ViDock" to "DIY eGPU"?

 

See http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...851-diy-egpu-experiences-391.html#post7546723 .

 

Ah ha, thanks. It could have helped if I read that in the first place.

 

Hey, can you give me any hints as to what I'm doing wrong? I followed your tutorial, but am still not getting my external monitors to work.

1. boot into Diy setup
2. go to menu based setup
3. Pci compaction > Method 32 bit, run compaction
4. Check to see the chainloader is set to win7
5. Chainload win7

then it brings me back to the boot menu, and I choose to boot windows 7, and then I fail.

BTW, i've got a Lenovo E420.

 

Change chainloader to be "mbr" and try again.

System-specific DIY eGPU experiences threads

Can yourself and apac consider making something like a "Lenovo E420/E520 DIY eGPU experiences" page in the Lenovo section with an intro blurb of how to set it up and your benchmark results? This would be a basis then for others to replicate with any issues/queries pertaining to that platform discussed in their own thread by owners. I'd change the first post entries to link to such a thread.

I'm hopeful the Lenovo X220/T420/T520, Dell Vostro 3x50, HP 4x30s and Sony Z1 folks can do the same in their manufacturer area as well. Those platforms are popular for DIY eGPU implementations and deserving of their own threads for discussion.

 

Hi again,
there are now some more issues. My laptops winXP sometimes regognizes the egpu, sometimes not. A lot of times it even does not recognize it after a reboot and catalyst control center says it doesn't start, because it doesn't support the video card which is running(internal nVidia 8600mGT).

The egpu even dosn't show up in everest.
But when i switch it to another pcie-port the computer is recognizing the "new" hardware and installes the driver. Catalyst then work without problems.

But i am now able to deactivate the egpu without bsod. It is sufficient to deactivate the windows desktop-expansion to the external screen before stand-by. After removing the egpu it wake ups without problems.

When i now try to activate the egpu again i get problems. Standby, connecting egpu to the same port and switching it on, waking-up the laptop. After this windows shows two more screens in the displaymanager, one additional with 2560x1440 resolution. When i try to expand windows desktop to one of these, windows freezes into an infinite loop and a bsod. (infiniteloop is written on the bsod)

When the pc reboots after such an infinite loop the egpu is recognized normally.

What do i have to change to get a better behavior?

 

To be exact, it is recommended to connect the 2 x 4-pin molex (2 x 4-pin molex to 6-pin PCIe adapter) to separate cables coming from the power supply. However, if it is not possible, you can connect the 2 x 4-pin molex to the same cable coming from the power supply. Corsair CX430 is a quality PSU & should be good enough for eGPU.

 

Since I just bought a 430w first generation corsair, I'm trying to defend it here.

It should not really matter if the connectors all come from the same cable since the 430w corsair sx only uses a single rail anyways which suppies you 28A (i think it 28) so thats more than enough even if you split it up, unlike for example dual rail psus where you only get like 14A from each rail. (as far as i understood that)

 

Just as long as the single cable has enough wires going back to the PSU...If the single cable has only say, 2 yellow lines and you're trying to run 2 PCI-e 6 pin connectors, good luck.

 

As long as it is good quality PSU, connected to the same cable should be no problem. If possible, for best implementation always connected to separate cables coming from the power supply. Regarding the dual 12V rail, it depend on the PSU specification. My FSP PSU is dual 12V rail & have maximum current 18A on both +12V1 & +12V2.

 

Once I get everything up and running, tested, and retested, I'll make a complete idiots guide to setting up the eGPU for this computer. Possibly make a youtube video because it seems that youtube is very light on the how to's for this.

Thanks for the help, I'm at work but I'll try it when I get home.

 

Is there somewhere here a guide on how to set the egpu up properly? As in sleep first, then connect, then drivers, or first drivers, then connect, connect at start of windows etc... ?