DIY eGPU experiences

well, ill probably buy the pci 2.0 version within the next year anyways. (if thats already out by then)

weirdly enough i still found my old Vidock setup on my computer (which seemed to have strangly updated itself to egpu setup 1.f... ?)

well didnt work, always said operating system not found so chainloading/new setup wasnt an option. After about 20 restarts my egpu decided to work again.
I think it didnt like being in standby over night....



Is there any way to put the computer into hibernation/standby without getting a bluescreen/egpu failure on restart? Powering off the egpu does work as long as the gpu isnt in use, but that is seldom the case (even if only the windows desktop is running). Otherwise i get a bluescreen on powering off/restarting from hibernation (if the card was switched off during hibernation)

 

Do you means you don't see "Large Memory" tree?


I don't know why you get cannot access the registry path error. Can you run the command without using the .bat file? Please run this command in command prompt window:-

Code:

asl.exe /loadtable "400b2b 0.1.aml"

After you enter the above command, take print screen & post the screenshot here.

 

Nope - no Large Memory tree.

Here is the screenshot: http://db.tt/NN0yD3DY (when I run the command the window closes immediately and that is why it is so blurry - but as you can see it's the same error as here, when I run it from the bat file: http://db.tt/vRiPCOG5)

Also this screenshot shows the PCI BUS resources in the Device Manager so that you can see that nothing happened (and that there is no Large Memory tree). Here is a screenshot from Device Manager before doing anything with DSDT: http://db.tt/XiVqUsFj . As you can see - no changes

 

1. Press Win+R buttons
2. Types cmd in the "Open" field & press OK
3. Use cd to navigate to the directory where your .AML file is located.
4. Execute this command:-

Code:

asl.exe /loadtable "400b2b 0.1.aml"

Example:-

 

what is it the eGPU software does?

 

Unfortunately I still get the same error:

To execute it easily I moved all the files (aml and asl.exe) to the main directory - that is why the path is different now

 

Ivy Bridge is out Already possible to by one at Laptopmonkey INTEL i7 3920XM 3.8GHz quad QS ,fastest mobile CPU on earth, upgrademonkey only | eBay
It even should fit our socket 988, but, unfortunately, it`s only for mobile 75 Chipset, not our (E6520) 67 Chipset...so, sticking to Sandy Bridge.

 

Ok, so I have a 6460B and just got the new adapter in. I'm following your startup operation but it's still not coming up with an NVidia panel. Three questions - with these HP's (I guess mine is a probook and yours an elitebook...not quite the same thing), do I NEED a clean OS install? What is Nvam? And when this thing boots successfully will it autorun the Nvidia stuff, or do I need to look somewhere for it? I couldn't get my 560ti to register with the pe4hl 1.5 either, I assumed i had modified incorrectly and that the 2.1 would do the trick. what do you have SW 2 on the adapter set to? I mine set to the 2x option, but also tried the "default" 1x option. I've tried setting the bios express card link to both 1.0 and 2.0. My bios got updated to F.25, so I'm wondering if that's the issue and if I should try using the F.22 you have on your 8460. This is just very frustrating because I seem to have a very, very similar system to yours, but I'm now on my second adapter and getting absolutely nothing. I'm also using a quality 600w Corsair CX 600 now, so that can't be the problem.

Edit - looks like nvam is the nvidia config file? Do I need to install some driver before anything will work at all? I thought it would at least detect the card first. Tried F.22 BIOS, no change. I can't reflash to F.03, which is what I just realized you have. Do you still have this BIOS flash? If so, I wouldn't recommend updating. If you have F.25, I'm glad, because it means BIOS isn't the issue. IT simply is not being detected at all. No errors, no codes, no popups except when I try to install evga's drivers and it says "no compatible nvidia graphics card detected". If anything, I want to figure out how to make this work or why it won't work so we can take this notebook off the candidate list or offer standard advice for anyone who may want an EGPU with a 6460B.

 

Open registry:-
1. Press Win+R buttons
2. Types regedit in the "Open" field & press OK.
3. In "Registry Editor" window, navigate to:-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\ACPI\Parameters\DSDT\SECCSD\LH43STAR
4. Take screenshot of the "Registry Editor" window & post it here.

 

Intel locked down the link width in the Series-6 chipset to be set in the flash descriptor. Series-5 and older chipsets can set link width using Setup 1.x Looks like some manufacturer asked Intel to put a stop to what we were doing.

See F1. Why would I need DIY eGPU Setup 1.x?

This is a very good question. A 5010M has 384@450Mhz so while it has the same number of cores as a GTX560Ti they run at about half the speed. A new GTX680 has improved computational speed again so will you'd be looking at 2-4 times more computation power than a 5010M.

Now I believe a M6600 would allow the 5010M and a GTX eGPU to work concurrently. What we don't know is how much bandwidth it needs. If it needs considerable amounts then you'd want to disable the 5010M so the GTX eGPU could run in an Optimus configuration where pci-e compression engages. That has shown to give anywhere from 20% to 333% more performance, depending on how compressible the data is.

You may even consider selling the 5010M and running the M6600 with an iGPU+eGPU only, if don't require a portable NVidia dGPU. You may even pocket some change from the exercise if went with a GTX560Ti eGPU.

Boot Setup 1.x and run !Save Diags->!Compact_fails.

When you hotplug the eGPU into the expresscard slot, then do a Device Manager scan it should come up as a Display device requiring drivers. Worth also running AIDA64 and seeing what the chipset->South Bridge advises. If your video card isn't listed then it's not appearing on the pci-e bus. Would advise getting a e-SATA card off someone and seeing if it's the same. If yes, then your expresscard slot just isn't accepting pci-e devices.

You must be an admin user to successfully be able to run asl /loadtable.

 

Scanned device manager, nothing but an SM bus controller and a thermal controller message popped up. The thermal drivers installed, the SM bus did not. I think the SM bus said something about PCI, but not PCI-e. It had an error code that had to do with not finding an update for new hardware? I don't think that is related to GPU stuff. but perhaps it is. Tried Aida64, and its listing pcie slots 1 and 2 as empty, where 3 and 4 are being used by wifi and 1394. Well, crap. This looks bad bad bad. What do you mean by eSata card? As in try an external hard drive and see if it is detected? Are esata ports connected to the pcie bus? And do you think this is due to my BIOS flash being updated over Bjorn's? After all, our systems take the same BIOS flashes, his is just a revision behind mine. I' wondering if he's flashed a new BIOS on and had issues or not...

 

Hi every body, i would like to made a new egpu enclosure and for that, i have some question.
On PE4L, there is a connector for external PSU and i would like to know the specification needed for this PSU???


For my GTX560TI, i would like to use an external PSU Dell Adapter Y2515 (12v 18A), i think that it is rather powerful!


What do you think?

 

If you already have one -- good. Otherwise, they cost ~ 96,00 EUR on ebay, and that is faaaaar more, than the 17W less powerfull xbox 360 PSU (old revision 203W = 12V 16.5A + 5V 1A) that you can get new for $24.99 at amason, or with little luck for 5-10 EUR used at ebay.

Anyway, you should split the power to the PCI-e port (neeeds max 75W) and for the 6 pin power connectors on the graphic card.

 

Probably this one was missed in the release notes of the new drivers 301.24 for nVidia Cards, but i think could be a HUGE improvement if third party apps were released to lock the framerate.

 

Still no news on Thunderbolt eGPUs :'(

Emailed MSI's marketing department - no response yet.
Emailed Sonnet - estimates a potential May release
Village Tronic has been silent for months.
Magma's price is too steep for me to care to keep up with.

 

hi there ! Until now I did not flash my BIOS above F03. And I'm not going because I do not see any improvement and only issues with SATA III and Intel CPU Turbo. Maybe it would be reasonable to write and ask danenick1212 which BIOS he is using. In his description there is an info that he updated his BIOS to the newest but we do not know what was the newest when he did update. look. It doesn't change fact that Your Probook behaviour is strange.

Have you already tried this drivers version ?

 

Not yet, but I plan to do it in the next 2 days, (hopefully already this evening). Anyway the only program that could enable the option (as a standalone *.exe) could be nVidia Inspector, but if the API is needed to be hardcoded in the program, i don't think it will be usable in short times.

 

Hi guys,
I own a Lenovo x220 2520m 8gb and would like to know what you suggest the best solution for me might be.
I have read quite a bit in this thread but I guess it's still a lot easier to just ask.
I definitely need that PE4L v2.4 Adapter.?
I still have my old desktop pc with specs: amd x2 3200+ ,2gb, AMD 4850 512.
Unfortunately the cpu seems not to be strong enough to play Diablo III ;/ (skyrim works fwiw). But I guess I could use my old power supply.
From what I heard the Intel HD 3000 is already sufficient to play that game - Would the 4850 as eGPU bring a significant boost?
Then again if I decide to buy a new GPU. How much increase can I expect with say a GTX 560 (TI?). That card seems have the best prize/performance ratio? And somehow the AMD cards don't work so well with eGPU (yet), right?

I hope someone can help me

 

no, HD3000 is not sufficient to play D3 even with the lowest details.
the PSU has to have enough power on +12V line to be able run exact GPU.
PE4L 2.1b not 2.4 maybe you were thinking about PE4 H?
on the first page of this thread, you have examples of X220 with various GPU, but If you choose 560ti - you will be alble to run D3 smoothly with MAX details.

 

Basically you need PE4 L 2.1b, video card and power supply.
If you plan on using only your expresscard slot on the X220, a PE4L is enough. You won't need PE4H.

The PE4L will come with the cabling and stuff. Be sure to include a SWEX switch for the power supply when you order. Its easier than having to short pins. Basically you need to 'trick' the power supply into turning on and running without being connected to a motherboard. Thats what the SWEX switch does. The power supply will only be connected to the video card and the PE4L board.

Since you have an HD3000, nVidia cards will give you better performance at x1 (using the expresscard slot) due to their optimus compression. You would need an x2 setup to get the same performance out of an equivalent AMD card. A 560 Ti or 560 Ti 448 is recommended. Any higher and you won't see much of a performance increase with the above mentioned setup.

I have a similarly configured X220 (2410m) and I run a 560 Ti with a 500W power supply. Last PC game I played was Mass Effect 3, maxed out at 1920x1080 on a 24 inch LCD. Before that was Skyrim, which was also maxed out with FXAA and such.

 

What a bummer, I assumed my PSU would be ok because I only have to use it for the GPU.
It says +12 V1 1 6A, +12 V2 18A, -12V 0.8A
Is that enough?
I guess I meant the PE4H-EC2C ver2.4 Package. Does it make a difference ? In the end I want to have x2.0 right?
About the HD3000.
Some guys in the battlenet forum tend to disagree with you
What do you think about the 4850 solution? Would that already be enjoyable?

I have seen the list but I thought they had lying around the GPUs anyways and I have to buy one.
So I am wondering which has the best prize/performance ratio.
I also gathered that everything below 560 ti might already be a bit too slow for 1920*1200 and that I might think in the future: If I had just invested 50 bucks more...

edit:
@ AP27
You said I have to use x2 to get better performance.
Wouldn't I already do so with expresscard 2.0 ?

 

Tell me please, is there a ferrous filter in the middle of the cable?

 

That was it! Now the resources in my Device Manager and the regedit tree looks like that: http://db.tt/bAHsdTq3

while before DSDT override there was no Large Memory tree ("Duza pamiec" in Polish ) as you can see here: http://db.tt/XiVqUsFj

Thanks guys! Now I need to get all of the eGPU stuff and try it out

 

No, it was a piece of nylon covered with tape that I used to outdistance the cable from the aluminum frame in my enclosure. Now i have removed it; i'll post different images; I also changed the termosheat with 2 aluminum plates to strenghten the cable.

 

Hi all!

I've just bought the T520.

Are there any experiences with eGPU or working setups? I've just read about T420 and the 4Gb problems.. Is the DSDT override working?

Another question is about the PE4L 2.1. I can't find a reseller for the 2.1b version..? Does Bplus ship the 2.1a or 2.1b when i buy this: PE4L ( PCIe Adapter ver2.1 )

Kind regards!

 

So it looks like internal screen poses slight issues, but external runs fine. Should I try hooking the graphics card straight into my monitor? I don't think that's going to do anything, because as AIDA64 notes, it's not even picking anything up on pci-e ports 1. and 2. Everything I just quoted really just had to do with optimus engaging/ not engaging, and not my issue which is that of detection. Correct? The one tidbit that does really apply to me is the BIOS. I'm pretty sure F.22 was released in December of 2011. Danenick's post was made in July. Meaning he had F.03 at the latest. Grrrrr. It really looks like this is a BIOS issue...I wonder if all express card capability has been lost due to an error with the BIOS regarding the PCI-e bus. That would put HP in hot water and they'd be more likely to fix the problem. This is the important part that i don't get, and maybe Nando or Kizwan or someone knows - What is the difference between connecting, say, and actual express card to the EC slot vs using the EC slot to connect a GPU to the CPU, as is the case with the adapters we use? I know one takes considerably more bandwidth, but is that it?. I'm just trying to figure out why I would get ZERO connection over a working port...unless the port isn't working. Maybe I should try another Expresscard product and see if my Mobo isn't just defective. I'll give my friend's 6460b a try I guess.

 

Can someone please comment on my PLU?

Can I add both + to 34A *12 V or do I have 12*18 at most?

 

on the beginning, exlude failure of hardware. try to connect something else to your EC slot and try to connect your eGPU to another EC capable laptop. I can not belive that newer BIOS could disable eGPU. according to his email response, danenick1212 was using F08 probably.

only one line +12V. search for the strongest PSU where one +12V will be strong enough for your GPU watts consumption in stress.

 

You should carefully red the first post:

ithildin:

x2 1.0 is a connection through expresscard AND another PCI-e connection in the laptop, usually a mPCI-e slot, that is used for WLAN, for example.
Expresscard allows to use the 2.0 version of the PCI-e, not restrained to 1.0
x1 2.0 (single port): ExpressCard 2.0

 

edit: I guess ill just post a picture? Seems to be the easiest way.

- Cannot find camera.
Anyways here are the specs: LC-Power Silent Giant LC6550GP
• +3.3V: 35A • +5V: 40A • +12V1: 16A • +12V2: 18A • ports: 1x 20/24-pin, 1x 4-pin ATX12V, 1x 6-pin PCIe, 2x SATA, 7x IDE, 2x Floppy

So, as I see it I only have 192W because the V1 is the only rail that counts?
The GTX also needs two 6-pin PCIe. Is there a way around it?
Nvidia says the max power consumption for the TI is 170W. So would it work or not?

 

Hey Guys,

I am trying to the x2 Link with T420 or T520 (does not have switchable graphics)

Looking like it won't work for me, unless you guys can think of a workaround?

Port #1: Empty (WWAN)
Port #2: WIFI
Port #3: < MISSING?>
Port #4: Empty
Port #5: Ricoh PCI-E Card Reader

When I plug in the express card it shows up as Port #4...

port1+port4 is not doable i am guessing?

any work around? any way of removing Ricoh?

 

Hi Kizwan and Nando,

I have tried setup .1x but still no progress. Whenever i do a pci compact
i see "no solution found. Set another method than try another pci compaction".
Also tried 32bitA, and 36 on both egpu+igpu and egpu alone.
PCI allocation did not work for me as well.

Heres the link Diags, really want this to work
: diag.zip

Thanks Again

 

So I was probably using F.03 at the time of the post, but I always update my BIOS when a new version comes out, and did't get rid of the 8460p until early September. Like I said, the problem with getting optimus to work for me was the correct timing of when to plug in the EC2C.

Note*-The expresscard timing was ONLY important if I wanted optimus to engage on the internal screen. If I simplly hot plugged the EC2C after Windows loaded, optimus compression along the expresscard link worked fine as long as I was outputting to an external monitor.

Keep in mind that I only had the first EC 1.0 compliant eGPU hardware, so there may be some off chance that the new hardware will work differently than I experienced. I'm more than happy to help if anyone needs it.

 

Thank you Bjorm and danenick for the response. I'm going to try to find some other computer to try it with and another EC product. I've tried a different pci-e GPU, an old radeon low end card. That at least weeds out power supply as any kind of issue, though i never thought it was. One question about the "sw2" switch on the new PE4L. Should i have it set to the "x2,x4x8".....omigid. OMIGOD. HAHAHAH YESSSS IT LIVES! Ina momnet of inspiration, I hit the SW2 switch, after booting technically incorrectly. As I was typing this message, I decided just to hit the switch from "x2,x4..." to "x1", and "Ba-bum!", windows goes. New hardware. Wicked. Time to untangle this whole driver and internal/external mess and PWN at BF3 like I've been waiting to do for MONTHS. Mwahahahaha. Thank you EVERYONE for your help. Win.

 

Here ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores 1280 MB Review - Page 25/31 | techPowerUp
it is said, that peak power consumption of
GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1024 MB is 218W
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores 1280 MB is 301W

 

Hmm...I thought when I downloaded the newest drivers from Nvidia that they'd auto install, but they can't seem to find the card. So I tried installing through device manager with the "have disk" option, but there are so many individual .inf files that I don't think I can install the whole package that way...how do I manually install? I'm using the 296.1 drivers by the way. And it seems everything after the 295 series includes optimus and will do internal display without the modded files? I guess I'm asking which ones I need, and how to install them manually. At least I'm connected.

I tried the 295.73 driver with the Nvam replace. I simply moved the new nvam in the old ones place by dragging and dropping, and removed the old one. That effectively "overwrites", correct? When I try to run setup, however, I get the same message about not being able to find the ocrrect hardware. When I try to install with the "have disk" option by choosing either driver version file path, I can find a "GTX 560ti" option, but when I click this it says something like "windows found drivers for your hardware, but the drivers are not for this version of windows". Hm.

And third update - I decided to restart the system to see if I could replicate whatever I did to get it to detect. And of course, I cannot figure out exactly what I did because I kinda stumbled upon it the first time. What I know is the adapter was set to "x2,x4,x8,x16" mode, and I'm pretty sure it was plugged into the EC slot when I turned on the computer. What I can't remember is if I had the SWEX on when I turned on the computer, or if I did that when I f8 stalled the boot, and then resumed. I seem to think I had everything on and plugged in from the get go, an then simply switched the adapter to "x1" after the computer was fully booted. If that was the case though, I didn't do anything at all when I stalled the boot, I simply hit f8 and then resumed. Which doesn't make much sense to me if that was what worked. I don't understand exactly what order windows needs to load all this. When I follow the patter that everyone else uses - computer power, f8, SWEX, plug EC, boot - I get nothing, regardless if im in "x2" or "x1" mode. Would setup.1x allow me to boot without headache?

 

Ironically, Magma has an update on their site today...

 

Hi im really comfused with x2 and x1.. I do not know what to buy for my laptop.
I am using dell XPS1645. According to •x4 1.0 (four x1 ports): Dell Inspiron 1520, Vostro 1500, XPS 1640/1645, Lenovo X200, which one do i have to use, PE4H or PE4L? It says Four x1 ports, but XPS 1645 has only one out port for PCIe.
Oh and would gtx 570 work with either PE4H or PE4L?
thank you.

 

any idea how much performance boost youd get beyond PCI 2.0? lets say a 2x 2.0 link?

 

I just got a T420 and I've been trying to comprehend all of this eGPU info and trying to figure out the best combo, but I can't get my head all around it. Since I can't do it myself, I guess I'll copy someone else.

Would the set up below for the X220 work for the T420?

This is what my PCI slots look like.

PCI Express Controller
PCI-E 2.0 x1 port #1 Empty
PCI-E 2.0 x1 port #2 In Use @ x1 (Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN)
PCI-E 2.0 x1 port #4 Empty
PCI-E 2.0 x1 port #5 In Use @ x1

 

hmpf thats bad.
But is there a difference between peak and maximum? I thought that they were synonyms. In the peak chart the card has only 159W

It seems I have to make do with GTX 460 or buy a new PSU. Maybe wait for the new Kepler GK 106 and see how my HD 4850 fares.

 

I tried the driver yesterday and it works for me, at least the driver itself. I couldn't try to option you mentioned. I did try the adative v-sync, and it simply didn't work somehow...
But the driver itself made Skyrime a lot (~20%) faster...

 

About the Adaptive V-Sync have you forced it via specific application profile in nVidia Inspector? You should see the benefits it only if you have spikes above 60fps otherwise will be hard to be noticed.
Speaking about the Target Frame i'm too noob to understand how it will be implemented

 

hi, I have a somewhat similar question. I own a Elitebook 8460p, which, according to the notebook list, ist suited very well for egpu usage. However, I can't find any reliable information on whether the laptop supports ExpressCard v2 (this is for that "x2" one reads all over the place here, right?) or only x1.

In this post someone with a 8460p reports success using the PE4L adapter, which seems to need ExpressCard 2. (Is that correct?) What puzzles me is the information on the website of the PE4H and PE4L vendor; The PE4L has a significantly lower amount of pins and they say it is just for testing purposes. Does that apply for me as well? Would PE4L in total be slower than PE4H? Or should I buy the former if it is supported?

What I am looking for right now is a way to make Diablo III work on my 8460p with onboard graphics and somewhen in the future, I also would like to use the GPU for running calculations (using CUDA).

To summarize it: Is it a good choice to buy the PE4L package, take some power supply device and one of the recommended Nvidia graphic cards? Are there any restrictions on the graphic card when I use PE4L or do I buy a normal PCIe 2.0 card?

I am sorry for asking this stuff again while everything should be answered in the first post of the thread, but it is just too much information, especially with this new PE4L stuff.

Thanks in advance,
Jan Oliver

 

you got answer in previous post that you answered. Khenglish examined it deeply.

in my case it was like that:
start windows - f8 - turn on by SWEX - plug eGPU to EC - "start as normal" - install drivers 295.73 (simply setup.exe, not choosing anything, without any nvam). can You see nVidia drivers in right-down area (notification area)? if yes, need to setup it like described on first page.
maybe now you have a mess with drivers and the best option would be a clean install?

I've been using 8460p with PE4L 2.1b. look here
on the beginning, please check what verion of BIOS is in your 8460p.

 

Hi again !

So here are my results. I got 11800 points with 3DMARK06, Lenovo T400 (t9400), GTX460.

First question : is there a way to check if Optimus is activated ?
Second question : while running Deus Ex Human revolution, there are ugly lags during movies... Pretty funny cause the games runs really good with everything maxed out. Only those crapy cutscenes...

Thanks a lot !

 

By purchasing the PE4L 2.1 from the here I am getting the newest version (2.1b ? ) automatically, right? Because on the right side of the website they claim it's still 2.1a. How come that the connector of the PCIe Slot is so much smaller than the one of PE4H ?

 

Yes it will be the 2.1b rev.
I ordered mine just before the rework of 2.1a rev was known, and they send me the new version.
The slot is smaller because all pins are not needed to do a x1 2.0 link.
PE4H can do a x4 1.0 link

 

Great, thank you both for the help. Aside from this package, I will only need a graphics card and some power supply, right? I hope shipment to Germany doesn't take too long.

 

Yes and the pci-e power adapter (to molex)

To France, it takes ~2 weeks.