DIY eGPU experiences

I'm pretty sure that there are modded drivers to install (not official NVidia drivers). If they aren't on the first page, Nando will definitely know.

 

Considering its power supply limitations, can someone enlighten me on what is the prospective value of a product that can only support cards that do not need additional power from 6 pin or 8 pin? What is the point of all that TB bandwidth without the raw data crunching power needed to fill screens with polygons?
I don't see this as being any better than ASUS's XG Station...which happens to be a disaster...

 

Page 933, 'nuff said ^^

 

Another x220 with 560ti 448 here. Here is my setup:

Lenovo Thinkpad X220
i7-2620m
8GB RAM
Samsung 830 128GB SSD
Galaxy GTX 560ti 448 core on a PE4L v2.1b
nvidia 296.10 drivers
running on internal screen only (1366x768)

3dmark11 (basic, 720p) = P4624

nando,

What settings do you want the other benchmarks to be run at?

 

If you bought PE4L from HIT, most likely you got PE4L v1.5 which doesn't support PCIe rev 2.0 for x1.2Opt implementation. For x1.2Opt implementation, you will need PE4L v2.1 which currently available from BPlus (hwtools.net).

For correct procedure on how to use/setup an eGPU on Lenovo E420, you can refer to this post.

Did you try reboot your computer? In addition to "Memory" tree, you should see "Large Memory" tree in Device Manager.

 

BTW: great results !

BTW2: Does anyone know if there is possibility to extend EC cable runs from PE4L 2.1b ? I'd like to hide it under the desk but for now it is impossible because of cable lenght.

 

Ok my colleague replaced the standard flat cable (30cm long) with a 1.5m long. After a preliminary test run for a couple of minutes (furmark) i can say that a flat cable 1.5m long can negotiate v2.0 speed without issues on the PE4L v2.1.
This evening (GMT time) i'll post the photos of the final result with further benchmars on a clean installation; just in time for the Easter holidays

 

Yes, rebooted with and without egpu connected.
Is this the one you are referring to?

 

I wonder, if the HWtools could use the "molex 799250001 cable" DB5L ( PCIE x1 to PCI Express Adapter ) for the PE4L V2.1
It could solve the connector problems AND be more convenient...

 

Nando or kizwan, i would really appreciate some help guys

 

Hello!

Just today recieved my PE4L 2.1a+ (ordered on 2nd march). Just swaped the card in form my PE4H 2.4 and everything detected and worked on first try, but....

Insetad of increase of performance I have decrease:

3dMark06 - 2.4: 16947 VS 2.1a: 15471 (external monitor, internal monitor score is the same for both)
DMC4 Dx10 - 2.1a+ have 10fps less than 2.4

Allan Wake is as unplayable as before (14fps)

I used 295.51 desktop drivers (unmodified). in bios settings express card is set to Gen1. OPtimus is engaged (that auto select thingy, right?

What am I doing wrong?!!

At present it seems I have just wasted 90$ to have a spare parts (at leaset they are working =)))

 

Ensure the Program Settings in the NVidia control panel have the game you want to be rendered by the eGPU is added and it's set to use High Performance NVidia processor like shown below:

</IMG>

Also suggest you select the Display GPU Activity Icon in Notification Area which will activate when the eGPU is rendering the current application.

</IMG>

Set your expresscard to use Gen2 link speed in your bios settings.

 

I do not have Gen2 option in Bios only automatic and Gen1. How do I get Gen2? The egpu was pluged in and powered when I entered Bios. Could it be that Lenovo X220 do not support it? (the one in my sig)

 

Set it to Automatic, which will attempt to negotiate Gen2 link speed.

 

OK seem internal setup works excellent, actually it kills my external monitor setup score:

3DMark06: Int 16376; Ext: 15470 (2.4 had 16940)
3DVant: Int: 10673 Ext: crashes after 1st sceene (2.4 10173)

What could be the reason that external monitor setup performance is degraded? It also raises suspicion that in 3DVant test the external monitor crashes after first scene finishes?? Any suggestions?

Alan Wake performance on external monitor increased by 5 frames.

p.s.

Nando thanx for your excellent support, I think thouse guys who make these things should put you on permanent payrol, as you are the best tech support I have encountered

 

Would it be realitisk to expect TB products for eGPU in 2 month time?

 

The MSI one yes, but the notebook that would take advantage of it will arrive, IMHO, in the next 6 months.

 

Hey,

I received my PE4L 2.1b yesterday and so far I am kind of happy with it.
My Sys:
Vostro 3450 ( with AMD 6630)
I5 2410

Gtx 560 + PE4L 2.1b @ PCI Express 2.0
350 Watt PSU with 19,5A@12V

In the moment I am using my externel screen connected via HDMI.
I receive 15.500 Points in 3D Mark 06 which is ok I think but not that good that am sure to have optimus engaged.
In the moment I am booting my Laptop without eGpu to setup 2.1 and then I connect disable the AMD

But so far its great but my AMD don't like the egpu because in te moment I am unable to switch back to the AMD and when I am using the egpu my fan is kind of loud. Maybe the AMD is still powerd ?

 

Hope hwtools will make one fast, in my mind it should be easy as TB is pci express and thats what the GPU needs compared, but I might be wrong. Just think the MSI one will be expensive and 150W is nice but still a tad limiting, might not be an issue with upcoming GPUs on smaller nodes.

 

when I was using eGPU with V3450 (6630M) there were no loud caused by fan. Even with stress. Check temperatures during use of eGPU.

Your 3dm06 score is appropriate according to your CPU. optimus is turn on.

 

If anyone from Germany or Austria is interested, I am selling my eGPU setup (without the graphiccard).

Externe Grafikkartenlösung für Laptop via ExpressCard Slot, günstig kaufen und gratis inserieren auf willhaben.at!

 

I am having trouble deciphering what parts I need, to use an eGPU. Also, what would be the best GPU option for my laptop.

I have a Dell studio 1737

It has Vista Home Premium
Intel 4 series chipset 4500MHD
Intel core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz
4 Gig of RAM

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Why? shouldnt current mbp's be able to use it?

Edit: you got me scared = (

 

The v2.1 from BPlus doesn't come with Setup 1x does it?

 

I have tried using Hot Reset but I couldn't get a stable result. I think it detects egpu if you do a hot reset, chainload and go into Setup1.x again. It seems going to Setup1.x rescans the ports but in its own fashion because doing a PCI rescan in the Setup1.x itself doesn't detect egpu after Hot Reset. Hot Reset -> chainloading -> booting windows doesn't work either as the egpu is not even in 1x, just not there. Hot plugging works but I just don't want to the port to death.

I have tried using it but it just reboots my computer every time I run auto-startup. Obviously I have changed the needed parameters in startup.bat but for some reason it just reboots no matter how many times in a row I run it.

To overclock pci-e bus I am guessing would need that option in the bios. In this case I don't have it. As for the modded bios I just don't know where to get it. Have been googling for quiet some time but nothing comes up for my laptop.
The funny thing about flashing bios is it screws up the chainloading. I have flashed bios to a newer version provided by the asus and I ran into problems every time I hit chainload, such as freezing at probing or some other error where it told me to get a newer grub4dos version, which didn't solve it. Got fixed after full windows reinstall.

Btw. Would having dgpu on affect egpu's performance? Currently my egpu is connected to main monitor and dgpu to a secondary.

EDIT:

It doesn't.

 

Two more days! And I suspect they wouldn't really release anything on a Friday...

*hyper with anticipation*

 

I guess I'll just use 1.1Opt then for now so I get internal monitor, faster speeds and later on I'll get the 2.1b part and sell my 1.5 on Ebay or something. Because 2.1b + Setup 1x will put me at nearly $120-125 versus $78 from 1.5. At that point I should've just built a desktop.

 

There was a revision to the two-part script. Please try the latest below, ensuring the myeGPU matches your GTX560's PCID. PM me if need more assistance. I'd love to see Asus G72GX (Q9200-2.0) +GTX560@x2 results.

Spoiler

Code:

:: set var myeGPU to be PCID of the eGPU
[B][COLOR="Red"]set myeGPU=1002:1201[/COLOR][/B]

:: Enable cache to speedup startup.bat runtime
call speedup lbacache

:: Enable x2 on port1
call iport x2 1

:: Prompt to attach the eGPU if it's not detected
call vidwait 60 %myeGPU%

:: If find eGPU then skip to myeGPU_found below
if NOT errorlevel 1 goto myeGPU_found

:: If don't find eGPU then issue msg and reboot
call wait_e 2 "No eGPU detected. Rebooting." 
reboot

:myeGPU_found
:: Check if the eGPU is running a x2 link on port1
call iport scan -file ports.txt
grep "[email protected] %myeGPU%@x2.1" ports.txt > nul

:: If find x2 link then skip to x2_link_found below
if NOT errorlevel 1 goto x2_link_found

:: If no x2 link found then issue msg and reboot
del ports.txt
call wait_e 2 "No x2 link detected. Rebooting." 
reboot

:x2_link_found
:: [email protected] detected so run pci.bat + chainload
if exist pci.bat call pci
call grub4dos mbr

Alternatively, ask HIT to give you an ETA for them selling PE4L 2.1b or newer OR contact redtrontech (with cheaper shipping) and see if they can send you 2.1b, then just donate $15 for Setup 1.x using the NBR voucher if need it. Total=US$101.80. The $24 premium well worth it for the superior performance.

Consider too, you may that by doing a DSDT override you won't need Setup 1.x at all. Then you'd be at US$86.80-shipped for the PE4L 2.1 hardware.

x1.Opt-internal LCD is faster than your 4500MHD iGPU in most cases but is going to be slower than running x1.Opt-external LCD since part of the precious x1 1.0 bandwidth is being used to carry the data to render on the internal LCD.

Only way you'll see faster performance using the internal LCD is by a system upgrade - either a Sandy Bridge x1.2Opt capable notebook (double the bandwidth) or a notebook with a faster dGPU (eg: Acer 3830TG with GT540M). Cheapest performance fix while retaining your X200 is to get an inexpensive s/h external LCD. I guess another solution would be to get a 2530P instead of the X200 and overclock the pci-e bus (up to 25%) shown in these details. Changeover costs would be pretty low. The same pci-e bus overclock is not possible on a X200 as it uses a SLG PLL that doesn't allow pci-e bus overclocking. Still it's only going to be a slight performance increase. A SB notebook would give noticably better frame rates using x1.2Opt internal mode.

OH.. and you'd need a PE4L 2.1b to get the faster x1.2Opt performance on a Sandy Bridge notebook.

 

Hi.

i'am new to this forum and intend to buy a thinkpad L520. There aren't much experiences with this series and the egpu, so i want to ask you if there are any disadvantages to buy L-series? Does it have expresscard 2.0?

In the post above i can read that its working with an external display - thats great! But whats about the performance? Or is it usually about 80% from the desktop performace?

What are the differences between PE4L and PE4H?
Are there performance-differences and which gpu ist most cost-efficient and can render bf3 in high details with 1680x1050?

I've already read the faq, but i'am not a native english speaker.. so i maybe missed some details

 

Hey Essenar, you have a Lenovo E420 right?

I happen to have an E420 as well, and I was able to get my GTX 460 working without any issues. I saw apac's old post, and actually ended up pre-emptively purchasing the 1.x setup software thinking that I would need to do all of that compaction stuff. However, turns out, it worked fine without any of that hassle!

I just plugged in my eGPU and turned the computer on. Then it installed the standard VGA adapter. Then i restarted my computer and then installed the modded Verde drivers, and the card worked like a charm. I didn't have any serious issues and now it works pretty well.

I was a little disappointed to see very little performance gain from a the PCIe 1.0 to the 2.0 in Sandy Bridge, but from what I understand (and maybe someone can get more specific), I think the extra bandwidth helps a lot when using an eGPU on an internal screen, so that's definitely a plus.

 

Do you think if i upgraded to a GTX 460 or better would increase framerates dramitically?

 

Not sure what makes you disappointed unless you as you're commenting on 3dmark6/vantage/11 results. Those are not bandwidth-centric.

pci-e 2.0 sees 20-45% improvement in real-gaming according to Khenglish here when using an external LCD. DMC4s4dx10 went from 149.8 to 217.33 (45.1%)!!

The internal LCD mode can see a up to a doubling of FPS as can be seen by my results.

So pci-e 2.0 is a significant performance improvement over pci-e 1.1. It makes no sense for someone with a SB notebook to skimp and choose a pci-e 1.1 compliant device (PE4L 1.5 or PE4H 2.4) over a pci-e 2.0 compliant device (PE4L 2.1 or PE4H 3.0) when for an extra $30 or less can see up to double the performance.

Your internal LCD results are being bandwidth constricted. A faster video card isn't going to help much.

 

Wow! Can you PM me your exact steps? Did you get the 2.1b or the 1.5? I'm going to make a custom enclosure in class using a $100,000 Laser cutter and acrylic plastic. We're making a robot and I'm just going to buy some good acrylic and make my own enclosure. Maybe I'll make a few extra to give out for cost + shipping to anyone with a similar set up: (Corsair VX450W + PE4L + GTX 560)

 

I think i was lied to ^^ i don't think it will be released this week... I asked them again today and they told me "for more info, please get in touch with our marketing team: Marketing Department: 1-626-913-0828 Press 2 [email protected]" but i have already sent an email to that adress a three days ago and still have no answer...

 

*depression*

Thanks for keeping at it though. I may be tempted to call that number...

 

I thought about it, but unfortunately i don't live in the US...

But if you do call, let me/us at the forum know

 

Yea you're right. Honestly, I think i'm giving way too much weight to benchmarks, and even then, its really impressive what i've been able to do with this eGPU. So far I havent had any real issues with games on their highest settings (although I've only tried a few). And I guess I should've made clear that the Internal LCD FPS increase is really important to me as I don't use an external LCD (except when i decide to hook my laptop to my TV).

Whats even crazier is looking at the price of high end gaming laptops and realizing that we're getting similar or better performance for a much more reasonable price. Even more than that, we dont need to deal with a bulky 12 lb, 17 inch laptop if we want to have a decent gaming experience.

I have a PE4L 2.1a. It wasn't working at first, but as per the suggestions in this thread, I was able to get it to detect my card by shorting those wires. I also have a PE4L 2.1b that HWTools graciously sent to me, but I haven't tried that one yet.

Honestly, my steps were as straightforward as I mentioned. I was actually shocked at how easy it was. I really thought it was too easy to have worked that way but it did.

I just hooked put my PE4L as usual. Then I powered up the eGPU, and plugged it into my laptop (the laptop was off at that point). Then i turned my laptop on, and it detected the card. Windows installed the Standard VGA adapter. Then I shut off my computer. Then turned it back on. Then I installed the Verde Drivers which was modded with kizwan's nvam.inf. At that point, the whole eGPU worked. I was immediately able to play games and run benchmarks. I've even overclocked my eGPU with no issues.

Everytime I use my eGPU, I always start with my computer shut off, and the eGPU plugged in and powered on. It doesn't seem to work if I plug the eGPU in while Win7 is already running, and I haven't tried to see if putting Windows to sleep, then hooking up my eGPU and then waking my computer back up will work. For me, I set apart time to play games, so if i want to use my eGPU to play games, I don't mind wasting the minute or two it takes to restart my computer.

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but I purchased my E420 recently (Feb 2012 i think). The instructions that apac gave, were written in 2011. There is a possibility that I have an updated BIOS or something. I dont mind getting more information on my laptop if you need it.

Oh and good luck with your enclosure. It sounds like you'll be able to make a really good one. Be sure to post pictures. I wish I had a good enclosure.....

 

Code:

[quote="Ahcsas, post: 8421985"]Hi.

i'am new to this forum and intend to buy a thinkpad L520. There aren't much experiences with this series and the egpu, so i want to ask you if there are any disadvantages to buy L-series? Does it have expresscard 2.0?

In the post above i can read that its working with an external display - thats great! But whats about the performance? Or is it usually about 80% from the desktop performace?

What are the differences between PE4L and PE4H? 
Are there performance-differences and which gpu ist most cost-efficient and can render bf3 in high details with 1680x1050?

I've already read the faq, but i'am not a native english speaker.. so i maybe missed some details ;)[/QUOTE]

Hi

it`s working with an external screen and 3 gb of ram. I didn`t get more to work nor did anyone I know (until now I know of 3 L520 users including me).
Same problem with internal screen, not working yet but I`m working on that.
If you choose a L520 with Sandry Bridge and a PE4L 2.1 than you will have expresscard 2.0.
I`m playing BF3 on high with 1680*1050 with a GTX 560 Ti. I have no Idea how much faster the gpu would be in a Desktop PC. In 3dmark06 I got a value around 16200 (don`t remember the exact value).
If you have more question just ask.

 

little OC. first result, reference. two lasts, with mV moved from 1037 to 1075.

external: (900/2100 vs 950/2200 vs 1000/2300)

3dm11: 4194 vs 4395 vs 4604

------------------------
vantage doesn't "feel" OC, Heaven breaks down always on 23 benchmark part, beside what OC was used.

 

Comparing it to my GTX 560 TI 448 results, there seems to be a massive space for OCing my card. I got 4.919 3dmarks at stock clocks (only 750 MHz core clock!). Some reports indicate, that the 448 is able to run even 1.000 MHz at core. So there should be a massive boost in performance.
Seems like the 448 is well worth over a "stock" 560.

 

Hey,

thanks for the fast reply!
That are good news, but i'am wondering about the 3gb of ram... Are there any issuses when using 4gb or more? 3gb are not very useable..
Also i'am wondering why i should buy the PE4L? Are there no differences between x1 and x16 PE4H? And can i plug a x16-card in x1-slot? It seems to me that it doesent fit ..but correct me please

And what is about hot-plugging the expresscard? Does it work?

 

Thanks for the advice nando, i will most likely just settle for getting an inexpensive external monitor and try to free up some space or might just wall mount it.The SB notebooks are out of my budget and even if i did get one its gonna be too much of a hassle selling my x200.Also one thing i would like to mention that i didnt previously is when i connected it to the external monitor that i borrowed, although the fps was much better i got the BSOD 3-4 mins into playing the game and this happened twice, what is the cause of it? and is there anyway to fix this? Thanks again

 

@Ahcsas

Didn`t have any problems with 3 gb ram but played only lol and bf3 until now. More than 3 isn`t working. Perhaps it works with Setup1.x, i will try it as soon as my credit card arrives (takes some weeks). DSDT override is not working for me because it results in a BSOD.
You can only hotplug the egpu, both booting with it and f8--> resuming boot isn`t working.
As far as I know the PE4H version for PCI express 2.0 isn`t available yet, so your only possibility is PE4l 2.1 if you want 2.0.

 

I sent an email to Sonnet regarding the Echo Express PCIe with Thunderbolt release, and they are hoping for a May release. So close yet so far...

 

Ok. that Sounds great. But i really need more than 3gb ram for work so i have a last question did you try out 4gb or did you just got 3gb installed and its working with it?
i have now read something about the PE4L 2.1b but i cant find a reseller? i can only purchase the 2.1a which seems to be buggy with gpus..

 

I tried 2, 3, 4 and 8 gb, only 2 and 3 worked.

 

Hi Kizwan,

Is the above correct?
Was the DSDT correctly executed?

Thanks

 

Hmm thats really bad.. which error occur when you install more than 3gb?

 

A little bit of an update on my old score: I have a HP 2740p (i5 520M) in my possession for the time being, and I swapped in the SSD from my 2730p, installed new drivers and then set it up with my eGPU; With the old 266.58 Nvidia Drivers (yet what I had found to be the most reliable drivers) here is the 3D mark 06 score on an external HDMI screen NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-520M Processor,Hewlett-Packard 7007 score: 12137 3DMarks 12137!


Its not much higher than the 10320 form my 2730p, but I found in some very limited testing that it is in fact noticeably smoother in games (and in the benchmark) than with the 2730p, it seems mostly because of the better CPU


EDIT: Got it working internally; it got 9932 http://3dmark.com/3dm06/16580797

Will now try a newer driver and see if it works or not...