DIY eGPU experiences

First of all, it's DIY eGPU, not DIY Vidock.

You should disable dGPU GT540M. If not, Optimus only engaged with dGPU, not eGPU. Did you connect eGPU to your notebook? If you connect to mPCIe port that originally occupied by WLAN card, it should plug & play. For GTX560 to get detected, PSU must able to supply at least 14A of max current on +12V (12V * 14A = 168W, calculated with 10% margin). If you decided to OC your GTX560, PSU must able to supply at least 17A of max current on +12V (12V * 17A = 204W, calculated with 10% margin).

 

We didn't get to try the eGPU yet, maybe tomorrow. If I understood right, we don't have to unwhitelist the mPCIe port? The GPU is already an OC model, so I think that it's enough for now.
But do we always have to remove the PM3N when we boot laptop -> sleep and replug -> resume -> play? Not so handy I think? Can we put some coupler (mini hdmi female - mini hdmi female) and just remove and replug the cable from the coupler to get the eGPU detected?

kizwan, do you think that I should contact HIT with an email because their user HITRC doesn't answer. We really need the Setup + coupon

 

Hopefully it just plug n play. If not, you can use Setup 1.x anti-whitelist.

May I know PSU specification, especially max current on +12V?

Not always, depend on notebook. Some notebook like mine can boot with eGPU connected. I hope yours can too. When you first try eGPU, try connect everything, power ON eGPU & power ON notebook. Start from there.

In case your notebook can't boot with eGPU connected, you need to hot-plug PM3N card to mPCIe port (after POST, before windows starting). Hot-plug PM3N card is necessary because it need to trigger PCI CLKRUN. Disconnect/connect mHDMI alone not enough I'm afraid.

Yes, please email HIT for Setup 1.x software. They will get back to you.

 

Here are the specs of the PSU:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/7343/speks.jpg

The eGPU is Zotac Geforce GTX 560 1GB OC

Thanks for the replies kizwan, you've been a great help already!

 

16A on +12V1 (192W) should be OK. Good luck!

 

Thanks, I'll post here some info (photos & benchmarks) if we get it up and running.

 

Send me a PM and I will send you the link to download Setup 1.x

 

Just bought all my goods

GTX570
HIT kit

My system is a Sager NP7762, 17", 8gb DDR3, i7820QM

I'm really excited. Anyone have any estimates as to some fps I might get in games (specifically skyrim and bf3)? For 1x and 2x set ups. What generally is the performance difference in terms of fps?

Any info would ease my waiting! Trying to learn more!

 

My CPU/Memory match your box though I've got a GTX560. I'm still working on BSOD issues when I use an external LCD but on my internal display Resident Evil dx10 averaged 60fps.

 

Does anyone know if the HP Probook 6460b will have the same cpu socket that is unsoldered? aka Can I swap out the cpu?

 

Since I live in Japan, from which manufacturer is it best to order PE4H?

 

I just ordered my new PE4L V2.1 from HWTOOLS, although I guess they will send it only on or about 20th.

 

Sold out... WTH

 

Above are my eGPU Setup specs. I tried today to get this working but there are some problems that I can't solve.

We noticed that the WiFi-mPCIe port is whitelisted because we got eGPU detected in Win7 by booting with wifi-card in, then standby, plugged PM3N (power ON), resume -> some drivers were installed.

Then we booted to Setup 1.x with eGPU ON -> system frozed instantly before seeing the bios-load. So we turned OFF the eGPU and booted to Setup 1.x without problems. There we did the anti-whitelisting procedure to port 2 /wifi-mPCIe-slot (booted in with wifi-card -> !save port 2 -> power OFF -> boot to Setup 1.x again -> enabled port 2 -> plugged the eGPU -> restore port 2 = eGPU GTX560 was detected in port 2.

Then we didn't know what to do. We tried to reboot the eGPU ON = system frozed. Then we tried to chainload win7 = black screen with beeping line. (When we chainloaded win7, there was some warning message which prefer to canced the chainloading but allowed to continue.) I think that our configurations wasn't saved at all? Not even the anti-whitelisting?

We also tried to install the Nvidia 295.xx beta drivers when the card was detected in Win7, but when we rebooted (we have to) the system frozed again so, the nvidia drivers weren't installed succesfully. We got the dGPU disabled permanently.

What we should do when we get the eGPU detected in Setup 1.x in wifi-slot?
Should we consider some compactions 32 / 36bit (shouldn't need because have already enough PCI-space (TOLUD 2.5GB) + and dGPU space = 512MB)?

Help needed!

 

So it sounds like everything works fine as long as the BIOS does not see the 560 on startup. When a program wants to restart your computer. Choose full shut down instead, and turn the laptop back on and do the anti-whitelist procedure. Windows and programs won't be able to tell the difference between a restart and a shutdown and full boot.

You most certainly do not have to do compaction with a TOLUD of 2.5GB and 512MB free.

 

Came here due to the NBR Amazing Content Contest. I never thought eGPU is possible on laptop. This is quite awesome.

+rep.

 

Yeah, but I can't "save" the anti-whitelist to port 2. When tried to chainload win7 -> black screen with beeping line and nothing happens. So then have to do force shutdown. We got the eGPU detected and NVidia drivers installed (swapping the wifi card with eGPU and booting) but now Device Manager shows that GTX 560 has code 12? How this is possible, is there some bug in Setup 1.x when we disabled the dGPU GT540M?

 

Hi everybody,
I just want to ask if there is any company selling PE4H-EC2C in Europe, EU in particular..
Thanks for reply, Ondřej

 

Hi guys I am hoping you have some ideas for me. I have had my EGPU working for about 3 months now, and so far I have had 0 reliability problems until lately.

I'm using a PE4H with an MSI R6570 that requires no extra power connectors (so 45w right?) for power I've been using this Targus universal 90 Watt. It says on the unit that it 19.5V

The problem I've been having is that, and it only started this week, is that under heavy load (gaming) I get a BSOD and I have to hold my power button on my laptop until it resets.

I am already using the voltage bypass jumper

I've been reading about other people's BOSD problems and power problems but I thought I had enough power since this gpu does not say it needs more than what the pciex provides, and 90w seemed like plenty to me.

I also thought it could possibly be what some people described as too long of a mini-hdmi cable? they sent me the long flat one and it's worked fine until recently. I do have it looped once, could that be causing a problem?

I do notice that the little black box on the PE4h that says [RS507L A95] does get pretty hot before the egpu gives out, but I never noticed if the unit was getting that hot BEFORE i started having problems.

So what do you guys think I have a power problem? cable problem? something else?

 

Hi!
Check www.HWtools.net ??????????. There is one partner of them in Portugal, but their website is in Portugese only. I ordered it from Taiwan 2 years ago, no problem, and I just ordered the new one today. I hope I'll get it.

 

You're been running the 12V converter a bit out of spec. It only supports up to 36W, after which it may melt. For 75W to the PCI-E slot you need to use the floppy molex connector.

 

Khenglish, did you find a solution to my problem?

 

Has anyone had any success with workstation grade GPUs (eg Quadro)?

 

Good news for those who use Virtu.
It seems that all problems vanished after updating Intel HD3000 Drivers to latest... Virtu guide is corrected. No more blue/black screens or random freezes.

Hope everyone with an ATI + HD3000 can use successfully internal screen with Virtu. I am pretty happy now...

 

Khenglish

Thanks for that, I had no idea. Is it my power adapter that's the problem? Or regardless of which which adapter I buy, I will still need to use the floppy connector instead?

 

Hey guys, just got all my stuff in, and trying to get everything installed.

I have a Sager NP7762, i7 820QM, 8gb ram, with a Radeon HD 4570 motherboard GPU (which is awful btw). The eGPU I am using is the GTX 570.

I have a PE4H setup which I am trying (for now) to use through the PCI express slot.

Here is what I have done:
1)Wired everything (power is on, using ATX switch, both eGPU and PS fans are spinning fine, so I'm assuming everything is on, and the expresscard adapter is plugged in and everything should be fine)
2)Got it detected, installed standard NVIDIA drivers
3)Got it to run on external screen
4)Looked at GPU-Z and everything was still fine (although it still showed Radeon HD 4570 iGPU as primary GPU)
5)Ran Furmark to test things, and . . .

BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!

HELP! SKYRIM AWAITS! SO CLOSE!

 

Did you manually check windows 7 if you could find the GTX 570 listed?

 

Hey pen15erer,

Please confirm the card is detected in Device Manager.

 

Hey guys thanks for the quick response. I am running Win7 64bit. In device manager it showed both the eGPU and iGPU.

Sidenote: on my internal screen, all it showed was the Windows7 loading screen, while the external monitor was running windows fine.

After the blue screen and restart, didn't show.

Just plugged back in and . . .device manager gives me:

"This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12)

If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system."

So how do I go about disabling? Thanks for the help guys.

 

Isn't Code 12 a TOLUD problem?

If it is, it pretty much means that you have too much RAM in your computer (can be an issue if you have 4+ gigs, in this case you do).

I would double check with someone else, but try taking out some ram (down to 4 gigs) and see if it works.

 

HP 2730P,L9400 overlock 2.13 with intel X4500MD,,,2G ram(actually 4G, I took one out because doing setup 1.0X doesnt work, under device manager always error 12), win7 64 bit, ati HD5670 driver installed ,ATX PSU, no error from device manager. System recognize the graphic card, but from external LCD, I can neither do 3d test nor game play. From 3dmark advantage , will no devices support DX10 detected. Even window7 has no aero compared to that when only using intel graphic card.

Whats the probem? I have no idea now! very dispointed, spending almost one day with no progress.

Thanks in advance.

 

tried going from 8gb ram to 4gb, no success. same error message. any other ideas?

 

I believe Code 12 is an error caused by 2+ GB RAM. If you only leave 2GB RAM on your laptop, it should work.

 

1) Is there a way to do it without it? I also like to use Unity3D, and 2gb would hurt that performance.

2)I have 8gb of ram, in the form of two 4gb sticks, so 2gb is tough for me.

 

Is it possible to get this to work in Ubuntu? Can't find any info on it..

Is it just to install the nVidia driver? sounds risky..

I dualboot, and since the cable is already in the couch, would be nice to have an extra monitor for Ubuntu as well

 

Hey guys, I'm not doing this eGPU yet. But I found a vendor that sells DIY project Aluminium boxes on eBay (from China, good rating seller, no worries)

Pricing is great to 10-30$ excl shipping.

You guys should check it out
Aluminum Project Box Enclousure Case Electronic DIY1176, Aluminum Box Enclosure Case Electronic shielding-1168 items in chinarf store on eBay!



Maybe this deserves sticky somewhere in the first post

 

I don't think code 12 is related to how much ram laptop has, maybe in some cases.
i had my laptop with 6GB RAM running ViDock and dGPU and Wifi + whatever amount of USB devices connected at the same time and even booted with card inserted, no need for standby stuff.

Interesting but those cases would require lots of metal work to get air flowing inside.

 

I think my code 12 error might be solvable with setup 1.x software? I bought my kit from HIT so I'm pretty sure I get it free.

I assume code 12 and error 12 from the FAQ are the same thing, in which case it does have to do with having more than 2.5gb ram, but is hopefully solvable with the setup 1.x software. I tried all other solutions, and they failed, so I'll talk p the HIT people today and see what they say.

If anyone knows any solutions to code 12 alternatively, let me know!!

 

1. Your first post stated that eGPU is detected & working. How did you get it work for the first time? Did you boot with eGPU connected?

2. Your second post, if I understand correctly, you get Error Code 12 after connected eGPU in Windows. Am I right?

There are two things I need to know:-

1. PSU specification, especially +12V?
   If it's BSOD or crashed when trying to run any games or benchmark, then most probably PSU is weak. GTX570 power requirement is 219W (240W if OC-ed). So, PSU must capable to supply at least 20A of max current on +12V (12V * 20A = 240W, calculated with 10% margin).
2. TOLUD?
   Please refer to Pre-Purchase FAQ ("2. How can I check if my notebook is compatible with an eGPU?") to learn how to check TOLUD.
   
   If TOLUD is 3.5GB or more, your notebook don't have enough 32-bit PCI space for eGPU to work if you have 4GB or more RAM. Hence, the Error Code 12.

(Please answer all of the questions. Thank you.)

Radeon HD 5670 power requirement is only 61W. So, any ATX PSU should be able to drive it. Please check if any of these fit with your problem:-

1. My eGPU hangs, particularly when doing a lot of graphics processing
2. I can't play any game or run any benchmark for more than a minute or two before a complete system lock up - "black screen" of death.

 

Just checked my TOLUD thing. I remember checking it before and once I saw that I have what I need I discarded that matter.
My TOLUD is B00000000 so I am good on this front with 6GB.

On the 2x matter. I was wondering if its possible to write a driver that would virtually emulate PCI-E port and would split the data flow between specified actual PCI-E ports. This would require hardware but I am asking on the software level. Would this fly? Basically, we make each port look like some random hardware, but driver will identify them and send the data through splitting the load.

 

I don't think it is possible without 2 physical PCIe x1 connection between eGPU/Vidock & notebook. The Intel datasheet specifically stated that we need to ganged up 2 PCIe x1 to make up PCIe x2 (either PCIe [ port1+2 ] or [ port3+4 ] or [ port5+6 ]).

Your idea is might possible but I believe you also need to re-write graphic card drivers at least.

 

Slightly misunderstood,

What I mean is: Connect 2 PCIe ports to graphics card, let them identify as 2 separate devices, install the driver to emulate itself as PCIe 2x port and let the driver handle splitting the load. With this set up
a. we wouldn't need to write BIOS, as basically in x2 links, the data is split by the controller. Windows should be able to handle that.
b. we would be able to use any port combinations such as port2+4
and c. in theory no need to re-write driver
We also might be able to do x2 2.0 links and possibly even fool Optimus driver that its x1 but actually x2

 

Just bought PE4L-PM3N and EVGA GTS450, boot the notebook until windows, put the laptop to sleep, on the eGPU, windows wake up, but didnt detect the card? What step goes wrong??

p/s: My laptop is Acer Acer 1810tz.

 

Wolf_vx,

The problem is the underlying hardware (the chipset) support PCIe x2 configuration only with any of these PCIe ports combination:-
PCIe [ port1+2 ] or [ port3+4 ] or [ port5+6 ]

Other than the above combination will not work.

I understand your idea to write a driver that can ganged up any two PCIe x1 ports to make PCIe x2 link. However, when graphic card driver talk to host, it will read the actual PCIe link configuration. The only way for your idea to work is to re-write graphic card driver, so that the graphic card driver & the emulation driver can talk each other. This is the only way I think it will work.

 

Does your eGPU powered up? I think you need to use Setup 1.x anti-whitelist. OR boot with WLAN card connected, then stop windows from booting by pressing F8, carefully removed WLAN card & carefully connect eGPU. Finally continue boot into windows.

 

Just a reminder. Please, to all eGPU owner & fan, please vote for this thread. Voting will close at 12:00 PM EST on Friday, February 17th.

 

Well managed to test my modded PE3A (12volt molex) with a GTX570 on a Lenovo t420, should be x1.2Opt, not sure how to verify. Worked without any issues .

Here is the 3d vantage results, i'll do more testing when i get some time.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-2520M Processor,LENOVO 4177CTO score: P15366 3DMarks

 

The graphic card FAN is work, the mPCIe card LED is on, PE4L LED also on.
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""OR boot with WLAN card connected, then stop windows from booting by pressing F8, carefully removed WLAN card & carefully connect eGPU. Finally continue boot into windows."" <--- this step is need every time i on my laptop with eGPU??

 

You can use GPU-Z. If GPU-Z reported " @ x1 2.0" then it is x1.2Opt. You might need to use the built in "Render Test" to get it reported actual link.

 

Please try it first. You also can try Setup 1.x anti-whitelist.