DIY eGPU experiences

nando4, how do we get the updated version(s) from HIT?

Also, GTX 480 for $210 with code: EMCNGNA59
Newegg.com - EVGA 015-P3-1480-KR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

hi guys,
E6320 (i5-2520M, win7 prof) + ViDock4+ (GTX460 OC) - i reached 10,5k 3dm06 (ext). i suppose that everything works properly (connection) but what is the reason of so low result?

 

[PCW] Intel Aims for Faster Thunderbolt With PCI-Express 3.0

 

News from CeBit:
New MSI GUS II specifications
The specified dimensions (195x98x35) can't be real, because already the built-in "MSI R6770 Twin Frozr II" has "208x111x35"
R6850 and 550Ti is pretty bad specified because there are at least 3 different models by MSI
(HD 6850: 226x115x37mm, 217x120x38mm and 226x115x37mm and 550TI: 204x111x39mm, 210x140x35mm and 210x140x35mm) but even that would tell that there is in "worst" case much more possible than initially specified (at least 217x115x37).
Btw. a HD 7850 (198x107x36mm) would be within the whole specifications (including the watts) a HD 7870 (211x107x36mm) would fit aswell (but the 150 watt) although the majority of you is anyways not to stop by a tiny, innocent metal case (which you can probably screw off anyways) .

 

HIT have the new DIY eGPU Setup 1.10b5 binary and are implementing the upgrade process to send this out to donated customers. Pls await an email from HIT.

tells us:

This is significant news. Maybe the reason why Intel/Apple are holding off the release of their Thunderbolt chips to developers?

The expresscard/mPCIe slot is hosted by the Series-6 (SB)/Series-7 (IVB) I/O controller rather than the CPU. IVB desktop Series-7 systems may have that uprated to PCIe 3.0, but mobile systems tend to be one gen behind. So they'd probably get it Series-8.

This new development is important reason to go for Thunderbolt (x4 3.0!!) over Expresscard/mPCIe (x1 2.0) in IVB systems. x4 3.0 (32GT/s) is near x16 1.0 (40GT/s) 'desktop' bandwidth levels. We can say a x4 3.0 Thunderbolt eGPU would no longer be bandwidth limited.

 

Could someone help me out here a little bit?

I had my eGPU setup with my e6520 (intel 3000) with setup 1.1x 6-7 months ago. Now, I reinstalled windows, and in the process, I got the new Setup 1.10 beta 5. I followed the setup installation on the Setup 1.1x page, executing setup-disk-image.bat and the ones after.

After I restart, I was expecting to have the booting options between Windows 7 and Setup 1.1x like I had before, but in this time, computer boots straight to Windows 7. I remember toying around with BCDedit before to make this work, but since the new installation process does not mention it, I thought it's not necessary.

Could someone help me out what I'm doing wrong here? V: is mounted and all good. I just have to be able to boot to Setup 1.1x and set my PCI to 1x.

Thanks.

 

PM sent requesting manually check installation details as shown here.

 

hi guys,
E6320 (i5-2520M, win7 prof) + ViDock4+ (GTX460 OC) - i reached 10,5k 3dm06 (ext). i suppose that everything works properly (connection) but what is the reason of so low result?

all drivers updated, and when i plugged VD to Vostro3450 (i3-2310M), one more time i got result around 13k 3dm06.

after that, i updated BIOS in E6320 (i5-2520M) but one more time result is around 10k 3dm06. Mainly eGPU works but it should be more significantly more efficient, right? anybody knows what could be the reason?

i have the same values in GPU-Z when plugged to Vostro and Latitude.

 

Try the Vidock Facebook page for support questions about your VD4+.

 

i do not use a Facebook and i don't know why you are so against ViDock4+ at all :/

 

What you're looking for is technical support & the best place to get that is by contacting Villagetronic support personnel. Why you pay so much money on the product but don't want to exercise your right to get after sale support from them?

 

ok, i will try.
it doesn't matter but i didn't buy vidock directly from them but from ebay as a great bargain (half price). i wrote post here because i am aware that you are more involved in this topic

 

We are, indeed. But considering your specific problem (with a piece of hardware that's comparable but not the same of PE4L/PE4H) it could be also a problem in negotiation the bandwidth between your EC slot and the ViDock kit (that's why on different notebook the problem doesn't appear) and that's why we suggest you to ask them directly

 

you're right i wondering if to sell vidock and buy PE4H (if i already got GPU, external screens). one more question: when verde drivers are already installed, and i try to copy nvam, there is no option to overwrite but only to copy. the same situation i had with vostro. is it ok ?

 

Yes the *.inf files can have different names (based on manufacturers versions and nvidia's will). The install package should check by its own all the *.inf inside the driver folder, so as long as your card is recognized at the end of the installation process, there are no problems even if the modded *.inf doesn't "overwrite" the original *.inf inside the folder)

 

i wrote to vidock support. but i can see a diffrence between vostro and latitude. with vostro, hotplug works fine with sleep+plug+wakeup order, the same order with latitude ends with restart (with nvidia working on external display).

 

Don't worry, I'm sure they will be able to give you technical support/advice at least.

You can check whether Gen2 is disabled or not using RW-Everything. The register you're looking for is " LCAP—Link Capabilities Register" (Address Offset: 4Ch–4Fh). It is " D28:F0/F1/F2/F3/F4/F5/F6/F7" where:-

Function	PCIe Root Port #
D28:F0	1
D28:F1	2
D28:F2	3
D28:F3	4
D28:F4	5
D28:F5	6
D28:F6	7
D28:F7	8

* D28:F0 = Device 28, Function 0 (the number is in decimal. RW-Everything use hexadecimal)

For example, if the ExpressCard is PCIe port #4, then in RW-Everything > PCI Devices > Bus 00, Device 1C, Function 03. Look for value at offset 4Ch - 4Fh.

Example:-

Code:

e.g. 11 4C 11 04 = 0x04114C11 = 100000100010100110000010001b

bit 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
     0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1

If Gen2 is disabled at ExpressCard, the bit 0 to 3 is 0001b which explain why your ViDock work at " x1 1.0" (reported by GPU-Z).

 

wow. thanks a lot. RW-Everything downloaded, i can see all this stuff but i'm not able to recognize where is a adress of my expresscard

 

Use AIDA64 to know PCIe port number for ExpressCard. When you know the port number, then refer to my previous post.

 

Found the solution. I used Total Commander to execute the program, and that was the problem. I tried running it in plain vanilla Windows explorer, and it found bcdedit no problem.

This is interesting because even if I use "run with admin mode" with UAC off, if I execute the setup-disk-image.bat inside TOtal Commander, it doesn't find bcdedit. This is the first time, this happened to me while using Total Commander. I guess something in Total Commander is blocking from the program run in full admin mode.

Anyways, Nando4. Thank you. I'll report back, after I set my eGPU setup.

---------------
Nando4, thanks for the PM.

I think I found the cause of the problem.

When I run the setup-disk-image.bat with the Admin mode and UAC mode off, I see "bcdedit not detected" in the middle of the mounting process. I think this is the problem. I checked my bootloader setting typing bcdedit as you described in your manual installation process, and I only see my Windows 7 booting options. Do you know what can I do to ensure bcdedit is detected?

Thanks,

 

Unusual that bcdedit isn't being run, but works at the commandline. So proceed to run setup-disk-image from the commandline. Do that by hitting WIN+R, type 'cmd', then type 'cd \eGPU', 'setup-disk-image'. Confirm you now have a eGPU entry in your BCD with 'bcdedit'. If you do then you can reboot and a Setup 1.x bootitem will now appear.

 

Yeah, it's unusual.

Bcdedit is all good. However, when I restart, Windows 7 goes automatically to restore mode and starts restoring back the bootloader, which means I can't access Setup 1.1. The computer restarts, and it boots straight into Windows 7. I checked bcdedit, and the setup 1.1 bootitem is deleted. Do you know how to go around this?

Thanks.

 

This is unlike anything I've seen before. Maybe something was lost in the batch file translation? Could be the case if using other shells to run the batch file. Can double-check if this is the case by manually creating a Setup 1.x BCD entry. Hit WIN+R, type 'cmd' then type:

Code:

C:\>bcdedit  /create /d "DIY eGPU Setup 1.10b5" /application bootsector
The entry {453aad47-6a70-11e1-91de-d68f6308ef8b} was successfully created.

Note: bcdedit will return an ID for this entry that we will call {ID} below. You will need to replace {ID} by the returned identifier in this step. An example of {ID} is {453aad47-6a70-11e1-91de-d68f6308ef8b}

Specify which device hosts a copy of the grub4dos bootsector:

Code:

C:\>bcdedit  /set {453aad47-6a70-11e1-91de-d68f6308ef8b} device partition=%systemdrive%
The operation completed successfully.

Specify the path to the grub4dos boot sector:

Code:

C:\>bcdedit  /set {453aad47-6a70-11e1-91de-d68f6308ef8b} path \eGPU\grub.mbr
The operation completed successfully.

Ensure Setup 1.x is the last bootitem entry:

Code:

C:\>bcdedit  /displayorder {453aad47-6a70-11e1-91de-d68f6308ef8b} /addlast
The operation completed successfully.

Let the menu be displayed 10 seconds to allow for selection:

Code:

C:\>bcdedit  /timeout  10
The operation completed successfully.

Now confirm you have a BCD entry such as:

Code:

C:\bcdedit
...
Real-mode Boot Sector
---------------------
identifier              {453aad48-6a70-11e1-91de-d68f6308ef8b}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \eGPU\grub.mbr
description             DIY eGPU Setup 1.10b5

If it all checks out, then proceed to reboot and you should now have a DIY eGPU Setup 1.10b5 bootitem. If it goes to a Recovery mode then it means some software (anti-virus?) is detecting the altered BCD and changing it perhaps as a protective measure.

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

AIDA64 > Motherboard > Chipset > South Bridge

 

ok, gtx is launched to the 3# so according to your explanation
ExpressCard is PCIe port #4, then in RW-Everything > PCI Devices > Bus 00, Device 1C, Function 03. Look for value at offset 4Ch - 4Fh. i went to Bus 00, Device 1C, Function 3 but i do not have idea how to read value from 4Ch-4Fh.

 

Nando4, I managed to fix it finally. Let me tell you what I went through.

When I simply followed the "easy" instruction, my bootloader was like this.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/88/bcdeditk.png/

After that I uninstalled everything, then redid it following your instruction here using CMD manually

Then, I rebooted. Well, I forgot to copy the grub.exe and menu.lst, the computer didn't have any bootloader. So I booted with a Windows PE recovery disk and manually copied grub.exe and menu.lst to c:\.

After the reboot, I realized the bootloader for Windows 7 is replaced by the Setup 1.1 bootloader. I went into Windows PE again and typed bcdedit, and I couldn't locate the Windows 7 bootloader. For some reason, the instruction was replacing my Windows 7 bootloader.

After some googling, I found out I can use "bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd" in the CMD of the Windows Recovery Disk. I tried, and this command simply added Windows 7 Bootloader to the existed bootloader.

And now everything is good! My eGPU setup is all set.

I don't know if this is a bug or something, but I tried it with beta 3 version, and the same thing happened.

Anyways, if anyone else experiences what I went through, hopefully, my description could help them out.

Thank you, nando4 again.

 

Hi!

I tried as written, but PM3N in port 2 is not defined.

now
1. in 'PCIe ports' is not changing the inscription 'Restore port 2'
2. laptop with a WiFi card will not boot
3. Mode x1 port1 have an 'error 43' (steps that I have saved from 'error 43' at the moment does not help)

oops
we must return to the original to eGPU worked in x1
how can I do?

 

If you can get your wifi card detected and working on port2, then it confirms it is electrically connected. That is sufficient. Any port2 whitelisting will not apply if you switch port1 to x2 mode since port2 no longer exists then - the 'port2' lanes become the second lane for port1.

So the correct method to start a x2 link is to bootup Setup 1.x, set port1 to x2 mode using PCIe ports->Link Width.x2 , plug in lane2 into port2 (turbo memory), poweron the eGPU, hotplug lane1 (expresscard slot). Then hit F5 and you should see '[email protected] [eGPU]@x2.1' to indicate a x2 link is established.

Before you can do that, port1 must be able to run a x1 link. For your error43, try newer drivers. If still no go, try the Video cards->Initialize Setup 1.x menu.

 

(If) your GTX460 is PCIe port #3 (in AIDA64 > Motherboard > Chipset > South Bridge), you should look at (refer to the table in my earlier post for correct Function) Device 28, Function 2 (= Device 1C, Function 2 in RW-Everything).

In PCI window in RW-Everything, you should see yellow row & column at left & top. If you want to read offset 4Ch - 4Fh, just find the correct cells. Refer to my earlier post how to read them.)

Much easier if you just post screenshots of:-
- AIDA64 > Motherboard > Chipset > South Bridge
and
- RW-Everything > PCI Devices > Bus 00, Device 1C, Function 0X (change X to correct Function)

 

I'm having trouble finding my TOLUD





There is no PCI bus entry with a 8 digit memory address.

My specs

 

TOLUD = BB800000

 

Is this suitable for a eGPU?

 

By bjorm at 2012-03-11

 

Go to Pre-Purchase FAQ, look in " 2. How can I check if my notebook is compatible with an eGPU?". Compare your TOLUD with the TOLUD table.

If you look at address 4Ch - 4Fh:-

Code:

[B][COLOR="Blue"] 0 	00  01  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  0A  0B  0C  0D  0E  0F[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]000[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]010[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]020[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]030[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]040[/COLOR][/B]                                                     [B][COLOR="DarkGreen"]12  3C  12  03[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]050[/COLOR][/B]
[COLOR="Blue"][B]060[/B][/COLOR]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]070[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]080[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]090[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]0A0[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]0B0[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]0C0[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]0D0[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]0E0[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR="Blue"]0F0[/COLOR][/B]

the value is:-
12 3C 12 03 = 03123C12h (read backward) = 11000100100011110000010010b

Code:

[B][COLOR="Blue"]bit	31  30  29  28  27  26  25  24  23  22  21  20  19  18  17  16  15  14  13  12  11  10  09  08  07  06  05  04  03  02  01  00[/COLOR][/B]
         [B][COLOR="DarkGreen"]0   0   0   0   0   0   1   1   0   0   0   1   0   0   1   0   0   0   1   1   1   1   0   0   0   0   0   1   0   0   1   0[/COLOR][/B]

LCAP—Link Capabilities Register: Maximum Link Speed (MLS) bit 0 to 3
Referring to the value above, bit 0 to 3 is 0010b which means Gen2 disable bit 14 (MPC register) is not set. In short, Gen2 is enabled at ExpressCard slot. If your ViDock is working at " @x1 1.1" (5Gb/s concurrent), your ViDock failed to negotiate " @x1 2.0" (10Gb/s concurrent) link. Basically, the problem is not your notebook.

 

thanks a lot for this explanation. i wrote to vidock through ticket manner and on their facebook website. there is no answer.
i'm only wandering if vidock doesen't work through 2.0, why gave me a good result with vostro but with latitude, didn't ?

 

Hello, i receive my PE4L today and i would like to know what is the step for installation and using?
Thanks.

 

Hello Joss, I'm waiting for my PE4L and i'm french too je suis français aussi on va pouvoir s'entraider par MP
Tell us your experiences with your kit. It is the 1.5 or 2.1a version ?

 

Hi all,
i need some help. I have the new PE4L 2.1a.

My setup is a Lenovo X220T and a EVGA 560 Ti. I've tried every suggestion from this thread but can't get it to work. (Unfortunately this is my first egpu experience, so i cant tell if it's is something wrong with the PE4L or my hardware)

What I did do:

1)
Hooked everything up (tested with two different PSUs)
powered the epu on
hotplugged the expresscard while win7 was running

2)
did hot/cold boot while the egpu was running

3)
suspended
turned egpu on
resumed

In every case no card is detected. So i even can't install any drivers. Looked up the pci-e connections in aida64 and there is also no detected hardware. Looked it up in Linux with lspci _NO_ pci device found. As if no card is connected at all.
I've tried to set gen1 connection in the bios and tried drifferent settings on the pe4l itself (x1 card only) What does this delay switch mean?

Please can anyone help me? I would very much appreciate it!

Thanks very much!

 

ah cool jme sens moins seul
it's a version 2.1.
it plug to my dell e6420 but in device manager it's not listing

 

This should be interesting
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2865305/intel-optical-thunderbolt-cables-release

This and MSI GUS II or equivalent implementation !


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

for me too it's my first egpu experience.
in pcb of PE4L, D1 (power) and D3 (detect) are switched on

 

The PE4L 2.1 is known to have issues with its solder points being broken. I do not know if the strengthened version is available yet. Did you bend the cable significantly? I would check the solder points to see if any wires came loose.

 

So I did a search of this thread, and browsed thru the first 200 or so pages, but was unable to find the answer to my question, and it took me a day and a half just to read that much in my spare time, but i'm curious, has anyone been able to get this to work on a Dell XPS M1730. I currently have the 9800M GTX, but even that is beginning to show its age in newer games and was hoping to upgrade using this method. Anyone know if anyone has successfully done so?

 

No i did not bend the cable at all. I was very carefull.

Do you mean "cold" solder spots? I have a soldering iron here an some skills. Maybe i can fix it myself?

Here is a picture:

 

Not that I know of. However, there are several successful eGPU implementation on Dell XPS M1530. See first post for more information.

 

@Joss, did you try all differents steps Pearf explains us ?

 

I am selling my eGPU parts that I bought but never used. A friend gave me a 360 and I run it through my laptop with a DVR card.

Here is what I have - an EVGA GTX 465 bought from geeks. This was a refurbed item. I redid the cooling paste with artic silver and I am 98% certain this is one of the rare EVGA GTX 465's with 10 RAM chips instead of 8 which means it can be flashed to a 470. These cards were 470's that were flashed down to be 465s, but still had all the 470 parts. I never flashed this myself as I have only made sure it powered on, fan worked and registered in the eGPU setup. I changed the paste and that was it. If you do flash this to a 470 please do at your own risk, as this can brick the card if you do not do it right - Google and ask questions on tech forums.

As far as attempting an eGPU setup - I could never get the card to register if it was not set on a 7 or 15 second delay on the PE4L. I didn't really want to fool with it. Masterjumong2012 has almost my exact laptop and had the same problem, so it is a software issue with Toshiba Axxxs. The card came straight from Geeks and was never even used. It does register fine with the delay set.

I have a PE4L 1.5A (NEW) which I purchased off eBAY - Powers on perfectly and send the signal to and from with no problems. The PE4L has a mini HD to mini HD cord, a 24 pin power switch, an express card adapter of course and two 6-pin (goes to GPU) to 4 pin/molex (goes to PSU) cables.

Lastly, I have an iMicro 400W power supply (NEW). The model is a PS-IM400W, it has a +12V@26A line. It has the typical four 4pins, a Sata, a floppy, a 20+4 pin power, and 4pin ATX. I was using the two 6-pin to 4-pin (above) to connect this to the card, the PE4L, and the power switch. This comes with a power cord which is about 3.5 feet.

Please see photos of all this at photobucket.com/eGPUGTX465

I hope this is alright to post here, I just want to sell this to someone so they can get some use out of this new stuff I never ended up using and I can recoup some of the money I spent on it. Please message me with any offers and hopefully I can answer any questions. I am guessing shipping will be around $10-$15.

 

i try this :

powered the epu on
hotplugged the expresscard while win7 was running but nothing

pc off, plug egpu, turn on pc and egpu but nothing

pc off, plug egpu, turn on pc, turn on egpu when windows boot but nothing

suspended pc
plug and turn egpu on
resumed but nothing

The gpu use is a GTX560TI Gainward, i try with a HD5770 and 8600GT but nothing detected by windows!!!!

I'll must test with another psu but i think it's not the pb!

 

Hey joss27 it seems that we have the exact same problem. I hope there is no major issue with the new 2.1a pcb...