DIY eGPU experiences

Ensure the expresscard slot is enabled in the bios. Then with the eGPU powered on, halt Win7 startup with F8 key, hotplug the EC2C component into the expresscard slot. See if the eGPU is detected in Device Manager. If not, repeat but toggle SW2 on the PE4L 2.1b from x16 to x1 position and repeat. If still no go, and confirmed the video card works on a desktop system then have either a dud expresscard slot or PE4L.

It's pretty obvious that your compile of the DSDT table is causing Win7 to fail. So try another compiler (MS=asl.exe, Intel=iasl.exe) and newer versions. Can't suggest anything other than keep plugging away at it until it works and use other resources like TonyMacx86. Kizwan also pointed out in one of his posts that some systems use a dynamic TOLUD so may BSOD with the eGPU attached when using a DSDT override. So ensure your system can clean boot with the DSDT override but without the eGPU attached as a test.

Congratulations. The first Ivy Bridge DIY eGPU implementation posted. The i7-3820QM 2.7 elevating the CPU score to raise the 3dmark06 score to levels unseen with the previous Sandy Bridge implementations.

Out of curiousity, can you test if it has unlocked multipliers using either Throttlestop 5.0 beta or XTU 2.1 as mentioned here. It's not clear if those extra multipliers are available to all systems or just ones with unlocked bios like Alienware/Clevo provides.

 

When I compiled, I had 0 errors and maybe 20-30 warnings. Do I need to worry about these warnings?

Oh also, is there a way to undo the DSDT changes? Maybe with a linux live boot? I can't exactly just boot into windows right now..

 

That is very good score. <strike>RAM running @ddr3-1600, did you set it in BIOS or using XTU?</strike> Sorry, wrong question. Does the RAM is DDR3-1600 or you use DDR3-1333 (XMP profile)?

To undo, press F8 to halt windows boot & choose "Last known good configuration".

Please try again using latest IASL compiler:-
https://www.acpica.org/downloads/binary_tools.php

BTW, you can safely ignore the warnings.

 

hi there
i would appreciate your helping me to get the best graphics solution for my laptop
My laptop is Samsun Series 3 Model : 300E4A-S0E
core i5 - 2450m , 6gb ram , 1 tb hdd , 14" LED backlit , nvidia 520mx optimus (the only thing that bothers me is that it is only 20% faster than the intel 3000HD )
now my laptop does not have the express card slot but COULD i remove the nvidia 520mx and use the pci express interface instead of using my wifi network pci (i dont know wich one is it pci-e or else) cause i am already using the intel graphics as the main one (nvidia only for gaming !!)
I was planning on getting a 2gb graphics card or at least 560gtx Ti for the heck of it .
Please help me so i could know what to do
ps : i already read the sandy bridge review but i coudnt understand three points : the 36 bit point cause my lap has 6gb >> 3 gb tlad limit , and how to know my wifi pci interface , and finally we All use wifi in my house intensivly so i would like to get the solution without removing the wifi adapter if possible .
thanks in advance guys ....

 

Is there anything I can do to reduce microstuttering? It gets pretty bad in the Witcher 2. My setup is a GTX 460 x1.2Opt with my X220.
Thanks

 

Hi all,

First of all thanks for everyone for all the info i found here.

I built my DIY eGPU using a ATX PSU + PCI-E raiser + HDMI cable + ExpressCard connector with HD5670 graphics card.

On first power up I got error:12, but it never showed up again after restart.

The problem is that 3DMark06 and HWInfo32 always freezes during initializations, and every few hours random freezes on desktop - no mouse movements, no reaction to power button, but the sound keeps on playing.
Games are running fine before hang.

Sometimes I got BSOD (atikmpag.sys, ntoskrnl.exe).
This happens only with eGPU attached, otherwise the system is stable.

My config:
MSI VR201
- Intel T7800
- 2GB Ram
- Integrated Intel x3100 graphics
- ICH8
- Windows 7 32bit
- OCZ Agility 3 SSD

TOLUD~2GB.
I've tried DSDT hack, stock Catalyst driver, DNA driver, but no change.

Because of 3Dmark and HWinfo I think this might be a software problem not hardware.

Could somebody help me?

Thank you!

 

As my old desktop looks like dying, I am finally going desktopless, relying only on my W520 + 560 Ti! So I'm up for ordering my first eGPU kit! I have just a few quick questions:

1. Is this the kit to buy?
PE4L-EC060A from PE4L V2.1 ( PCIe Adapter )

2. For me it's 92 USD not 78! How do you get 78? Is there some other link or something?

3. Is Bplus == HWTools.net?

4. There was a user with a W520 who had some problems with the DIY kit but not with ViDock. I think Nando suggested that it might be the cable and linked to some better cable from DealExtreme. What are the recommended cables? Is the 90 CM one reliable?

 

Acer Aspire S5 with Thunderbolt released <strike>today</strike> yesterday.

 

Thank you! I already feared my PE4L was broken, but after booting up with the F8 trick windows recognized the gpu and from there on everything went like a charm
Now I just have to put in the smartcard before turning on the pc and the egpu loads without an issue.

I can play bf3 on ultra and achieved a 3dMark11 score of 4027 combined. That's a good average score right?

I LOVE IT! Thanks for this forum guys!

 

I got all of my hardware today, pe4h+ec2c and a gtx460. I connected the parts as shown here How to make an external laptop graphics adaptor | News | TechRadar. The graphics card does turn green and the fan spins but nothing seems to happen when I plug in the express card. I've tried having it in during a reboot, tried putting it to sleep and plugging it in and have tried pausing windows during reboot(f8) and plugging it in then. There just does not seem to be any sign that my computer recognizes that anything is in the expresscard slot. I'm using a Vaio vgn-nw270F for reference. Any help is very much appreciated

 

Update: I've found the answers to Q1-3 after some research, and I ordered the PE4L 2.1b kit for my W520. The only part missing now is the cable. Should I order the DealExtreme one, just in case?

 

PE4L-EC060A V2.1b has a hardwired cable, default one being 60cm ( the 060 part in PN)

 

What do you mean by hardwired? I cannot change it to a 150 cm one from DealExtreme? Does it matter if its from HIT or Bplus?

 

At least mine (3wks old) and the ones on hwtools site show the cable is soldered to the PE4L board as well to the EC card board. If I understood it right BPlus found problems with connection of the removable cable on the engineering samples of PE4L 2.1 early this year and decided to solder it.

Based on the product page http://www.hwtools.net/Adapter/PE4L V2.1.html you could choose the length when ordering:

Maybe its not too late to change your order...

 

If it's true then the FAQ should be updated! I've ordered mine knowing that I can change the cable later. On the other hand it might explain the problem with the previous W520 owner experienced, something with the cable. So it's possible that the only way forward is to have everything soldered together, but it's extremely unpractical for laptop users (who else is buying this kit???) who would like to move the kit from site to site! I'm asking them in email!

 

I guess for the guys, who made enclosures for the older versions with detachable cable or trying to minimize them, it might be a unwelcome change. But if you are like me and will build a new one, than the limitations can be overcome with right design. Just keep in mind the bigger safe turn radius of the fixed flat cable when connecting to PC or storing it. In my design mock-up I have some free space for cooling the back of the card, so I'm planning to use that for storing the cable and EC for transportation.

Other thing is the absence of EC eject button/lever on x220 as it has the 'push in to popout' method of ejecting the EC. With the non detachable cable, I had problems to release the EC without touching the cable. And the easiest way was to use the cable to push the card in, which is probably not the best way in terms of reliability - as it goes "don't pull it by the cable". So I just glued a small protrusion to the 34-to-54 blank attached to the card, not to loose nails when trying to push it in.

 

Should I just suck it up and buy the setup 1.x thing if its not recognizing the graphics card when i plug it in? Its definitely on and the fan whirls faster when I plug it in but nothing on the computer software shows any recognition

 

No, Setup 1.x won't be able to help you getting eGPU detected. Sorry but you need to get eGPU detected first before proceeding to next step. Did you try boot notebook with eGPU already connected (and powered ON)?

 

why you didnt answer me ????
i saw questions sent after mine and it is being answered
if there is something not clarified then tell me
i really need to know if it is going to work on mine and then what to order
your guide didnt tell anything on samsung laptops (maybe because no one bought from them)
it says in the bios that it does support sata - III 6gb/sec can i use that port ??
hope someone answers me this time

 

Sniper, first I'd recommend you a lot of lot of lot of reading, before posting like this! You cannot remove the Geforce 520 card from your laptop. Your only chance MIGHT be the wifi slot. But even for that you'll need to cut a hole in the bottom of your laptop thus destroying the warranty. Generally I'd recommend you two things:
1. Try to know as much about your laptop as possible in it's own thread. Owner's lounge or something similar.
2. If you want wifi and want a solution what is supported, buy a laptop what is known to work good with eGPU!
3. Read and read and read this thread a lot, until you understand the basics of computer ports, etc.

 

Anyone please?

 

Firstly, it is not my intention to ignore you or anyone else. If you feels that way, I'm sorry. Secondly, lately I rarely come to this forum & when I come, I only read the last post. So, I didn't read your previous post.

The discrete graphic card in most notebooks are integrated on the motherboard. So, you can't removed the discrete GPU (Nvidia 520M). The only way to use eGPU on your notebook is by using the mPCIe port. This means if you only have one mPCIe port & currently use for wifi card, you will need to sacrifice wifi card for eGPU (only when eGPU is connected).

You don't need to worry with 32/36/64-bit allocation or TOLUD staff since you can use Setup 1.x to disabled the dGPU (Nvidia 520M). When dGPU is disabled, the vacant PCIe space will be use for eGPU.

You can't use SATA port. You need PCIe lanes for eGPU, not SATA.

 

Please try connect eGPU to notebook (while notebook is OFF) but do not turn it ON yet. Power ON notebook & when you see "Starting Windows" screen, where you see the four dots emerged to form windows logo, turn ON eGPU. Please report back.

 

I've tried restarting my notebook with it plugged in as well as pausing at startup and plugging it in then and turning it to sleep and plugging it in. On some of these the card does seem to recognize that its being plugged in as the fan spins noticeably louder but nothing ever changes from the laptop display that I can see

 

Can you try the same procedure I asked BlackHole_NK in my previous post?

 

Will do as soon as I return home to my setup. Thanks!

EDIT
I tried that and the fan did whirl at its "loud" speed indicating, I think, that it knew it was connected but my laptop still has failed to recognize it as far as I can tell. Is it possible I'm not plugging the expresscard cord into the right port on the gpu? I mean it fits but there are several of the same looking ones and one other larger one that fits but doesn't click or cause the fan to move.

EDIT EDIT
Also I'm planning on running this internally, if that makes any difference right now

 

Need help.

I got a 680gtx connected to pe4l, the GPU is detected and I installed the latest desktop driver, as you can see in this screenshot it looks all right:
http://kimochi.ath.cx/up/a672f14c39c81624bea47ee567a726a0.PNG

But I don't know how to get the gpu to work, I'm using the iGPU right now (since I disabled the notebook's ati gpu).
Also windows starts only if I bootup with the GPU turned off and I turn it on while starting (after I press F8, before starting windows normally)

Can someone give me some advises? also I'd like to run it in my internal monitor ofc

Edit: I also installed nvidia verde (notebook) drivers now, the latest one modded for my 680, installed without any error but still using the iGPU

 

yum999, just a quick check
1. Did you try to connect a external display directly to the card ? Does it show picture ? On the x220 I sometimes need to manually switch to external display (fn+hotkey) even if the card was on during the boot and yet sometimes it will show automatically.

2. Did you check the setting on nVidia panel for presence of the Optimus as on this picture ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting (from nando's Optimus FAQ). If the pulldonw is there, does it contain the eGPU ? If yes, does anything change if you force this one instead of automatic select?

 

Good advice. As for the internal LCD use, it would be possible of you can somehow force your MBP to boot and use the HD3000 iGPU instead of the HD6750M. This is because the Optimus features will only activate upon the driver detecting a iGPU. Seems MacOS allows it but Apple haven't implemented code to do the same in Windows much to the frustration of their users.

REF: Graphics Switching in Windows 7 - Macbook Pro 2011 .

 

Hi everybody. So today I just received my PE4H in the mail and I hooked everything up. I got to the point where everything is running fine and before I plugged the expresscard into the laptop. Here are the specs to my laptop:

Lenovo T400, T9400 @ 2.53 GHz, 8GB ram, integrated intel 4 series graphics card and no dedicated graphics card.

The laptop seems to crash and enter BSOD after a few seconds of plugging in the expresscard. Is there anything I'm supposed to do before I can plug the expresscard in without BSOD? Do I need to do the DSDT override?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hey guys, I need a hand...

I've got a PE4H EC2C with a GTX 560 in it, trying to hook up to a ThinkPad W520.

The laptop has an Intel HD iGPU and a Quadro 1000M dGPU.

I've tried the stock desktop drivers Windows Update installs when you plug in the card,
I've tried 301.42 Verde drivers I manually edited the nvam.inf for,
I've tried 295.73 Verde drivers with kizwan's inf from here.
I've tried hot-plugging it,
I've tried sleep-plugging it,
I've tried having it hooked up already on boot.
I've tried with the bios setting to Integrated graphics (disables the Quadro 1000M),
and with it on Optimus (leaves both the Intel HD and the Quadro 1000M enabled).
No matter what I do, I end up with the same problem:

The Intel HD runs the internal LCD and I get no output to the external monitor hooked up to the GTX 560, and I can't access NVIDIA Control Panel. When I try to launch it with the 560 hooked up, I get an error dialog box with the heading and detail

NVIDIA Display settings are not available.
You are not currently using a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU.​

I'm not having much trouble getting the card to appear in Device Manager without an exclamation mark or BSODs or anything, which it sounds like are most people's troubles when they find they need Setup 1.x... At a few points in my evening's struggles here I've even actually had all three adapters, that is to say the Intel HD, the Quadro 1000M, and the GTX 560, all appearing as "working properly" in Device Manager at the same time! Even then, with TWO nvidia graphics cards detected and supposedly working, NVIDIA Control Panel still claims I'm not currently using a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU. So it's not the presence or absence of the Quadro 1000M, but just that it refuses to launch if the GTX 560's present either way.

So bottom line is that I can't use the card at all, because I can't get it to output anything. I don't know how one could even have any control over that if one can't get the control panel to launch.

I haven't tried Setup 1.x yet, I'm not sure if it will help in this situation or not but I can't figure out how to get it. It says a license for it is included with PE4H hardware, but I bought mine off eBay rather than directly from HIT, and it didn't come with any disc or anything, so I thought fine, I'll donate the $25 anyway... but it still didn't give me any download link or anything! I seriously cannot figure out how/where to download Setup 1.x and it's driving me completely insane.

Can someone help me? At the very least someone should be able to explain to me how one *gets* Setup 1.x...

 

There are two successful W520 + eGPU impementations:-
http://forum.notebookreview.com/8241866-post7709.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/8586276-post10444.html

You might want to contact them. BTW, you can't use PM yet because you have less than 5 posts.

Basically, this should allow eGPU to work without any problem:-

1. disabled Quadro 1000m in BIOS (set to Integrated graphics)
   
   This is required since Nvidia control panel will failed to detect which one is primary Nvidia GPU for Optimus.
2. Removed existing Nvidia drivers & only installed Nvidia Verde drivers with modded nvam.inf (for recognizing desktop GPU).

What happen if you turn ON notebook with eGPU already connected? I mean, does eGPU is detected in Device Manager? With/without exclamation mark?

 

So I've gotten to the point where I can plug in all the hardware, the screen does seem to flicker to black and come back at some point but as far as I can tell the computer doesn't otherwise detect the egpu. Can't find it in device manager and there aren't any popups, I've also tried running the driver installation and that says no applicable hardware was found. Everything is freshly bought. The fan whirls at two different speeds depending on how I've plugged it in. I think the power supply is correctly supplying the power but im not 100% sure.

I've tried plugging it in the following manners.
Turning to sleep hotplugging resuming
Restarting with it in and on
Having both devices off but plugged in, turning on laptop and at windows screen (4 dots) turning on egpu

any help or direction would be awesome.
Thanks

 

This might means that the EC2C card doesn't connect properly in the ExpressCard slot. If there is proper connection, fan on the GPU should slow down when connected the EC2C to ExpressCard slot (notebook is power ON). Try push & hold the EC2C card with your hand & boot/reboot your notebook.

 

Hey guys,

I'm running the eGPU setup on a Sony Vaio VPCF Series laptop - it's connected through the express card slot.

Has anyone had the issue of being unable to turn on the eGPU via the Setup 1.x boot?

Every time I attempt to turn it on, I get a message saying Bios TXT: Locked

The system's bios is very basic and doesn't provide many options when I access it.

The thing is, everything is detected. The boot manager can see my card, my computer can see the card (only blocked by the code 12 error). I can sometimes load into windows using my eGpu only for it to freeze after about 10 seconds onto my windows desktop.

I'm trying to run it with a HD5850 ATI card, it has an onboard nVidia GT310M

Any advice would be great, thanks guys!

Nath

 

@kizwan
Thanks for your answer.
I tried your procedure multiple times but it had no effect at all. I even suspected the high GRAM as the error source, so I changed my graphics card to a GTX560 1GB (from Gigabyte) now. Nothing, although the HD3850 still works...
What can I do now?

 

I'll try that, to clarify I meant that depending on if I plugged it in after sleep or from a complete shutdown bootup it would whirl at different speeds. Also the times it does change speed it speeds up rather than slowing down when connected. When should I try connecting it? Also there are different places on the pciE connector to connect the mini-HDMI cord to, I've just been connecting it to the outermost part with the small switch on setting "1", is this correct?

 

This is strange. I don't have any idea why 3850 is detected but GT560 is not detected. Please download SIV, run & click "PCI Bus" in the window. See if your GTX560 is listed or not.

If you have linux live cd, you can try boot with it, open terminal & run "lspci -v". See whether GTX560 is listed or not.

The way you're connecting it is already correct, it is the outermost on the PE4H board. Sorry, I really don't have any idea why it doesn't want to detect. You can try wiggle the EC2C slowly (carefully). That all the idea I have right now.

BTW, out of 4 LEDs on the PE4H, does 3 of them light up (green)?

 

To overcome Error Code 12, you need to use DSDT Override.

 

I was curious to know if anyone knew if my laptop was compatible with the DIY eGPU. I'm looking forward to playing guild wars 2, but as is with intel HD Graphics it won't be possible. I want to know if possible what to buy to build and whats the cheapest Graphics card that will handle the setup. Thank you in advance. Even a little help and I'll continue doing research.

Dell Studio 1569.
I'm running windows 7 home premium 64 bit.
intel core i5 m 450 @2.40GHz.
intel HD Graphics.
8GB RAM(7.80 usable).

 

I saw the second one, but missed the first one, so thanks for the heads up on that... I think I saw a third one out there somewhere as well.
I wish I could contact those users, but as you point out, I guess I'll have to make a few more posts first.

Yeah, I made sure to try that, but it didn't seem to make any difference; the control panel still said I wasn't currently connected to a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU.
It might be of note that if I have the dGPU disabled and the eGPU disconnected, so that only the Intel HD is running, the control panel error message is different, reporting that there is no nvidia card detected or something along those lines.
So it clearly knows the difference and is detecting the presence of the GPU at least... just won't let me configure it.

I've tried to do this with a couple different versions of the Verde drivers. The only problem is that it seems to be difficult to truly get the drivers Windows automatically downloads to entirely uninstall; as soon as it detects the card it insta-downloads them so I know they're still cached somewhere.
Regardless, when I install the Verde drivers it's clearly making use of them, as I can check in Device Manager and see the correct version number on the end of the version strings...
Unfortunately wiping my system completely and starting with a fresh install is not an option, as this is a mission-critical work laptop, which limits my options in that regard. (It also means I have to be careful not to do anything that puts the dGPU totally out of practical reach, as the iGPU doesn't have multi-monitor support which I need while docked at work on weekdays. This morning they sent me a download link for Setup 1.x, but I wouldn't know what to do with it.)

Assuming I've disabled the dGPU in the bios, yeah, the eGPU is always detected in Device Manager without an exclamation mark.
I just can't seem to convince Windows to USE it instead of the iGPU, or NVIDIA Control Panel to acknowledge its existence.

 

3 of them (02, 03 and 04) are lighting up and green on the PE4H

 

Your notebook should be compatible with DIY eGPU. Your notebook have ExpressCard slot ( source). So, you can do x1.Opt setup with Nvidia Fermi graphic card (GTS4xx, GTX4xx or later). Opt = Optimus provide PCIe data compression which boost performance via PCIe x1 link.

What I meant is the original/other Nvidia drivers. The windows drivers is OK because you will override them when installing Nvidia Verde driver.

OK, this is your attack point. Power ON notebook with eGPU connected (dGPU is disabled in BIOS) & once in windows, uninstall the Nvidia driver. Then install Nvidia Verde driver with modded nvam.inf file.

The LEDs "behave" as it should be.

 

Thank you Kizwan. I will definitely peruse this project.

 

Unfortunately, this is one of the things I tried several times last night, and I still couldn't launch the NVIDIA Control Panel. I will try again when I get home from work tonight but I'm not optimistic I'll get anything different
I might also try fooling around with Setup 1.x to see if it'll let me have a boot menu option that disables the dGPU AND the iGPU and just runs the eGPU... I realise that would leave me without the boost achieved with Optimus compression but at least I could verify that the card is indeed working and I'm just having a driver problem...

 

Update
Recently I tried plugging it in (turned on) while in sleep and when it awoke Intel(R) Matrix storage console popped up. However it only seems to be displaying hard drive information so I'm not actually sure this is relevant.

 

Hi Guys,

Just registered to this awesome forum and wanting to get started with the eGPU experience.

I already did some shopping and have a PE4L, a geforce GTS450 and my Dell E6420 ready to go. To power everything I bought a second hand xbox360 power supply, I like the neatness of this solution compared to an ATX power supply.

I also found a diagram showing how to wire a GTX460 using the xbox adapter, but the GTX460 has dual 6pin power connectors and my GTS450 only uses one 6pin connector. Knowing not that much about electronics, I'd like to ask for some clarification about the wiring, I don't want to fry everything right away you see.

For reference I attached the diagram, posted by "thendless":



I would like to use the same wiring, but will not use the second 6pin connector, can I do that without killing the power supply?

I hope someone helps me out so I can get started, when the setup is done I'll post some pictures and benchmarks.

 

I tried and failed to set up an eGPU, as I documented in my post here ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/e-g...51-diy-egpu-experiences-715.html#post8152901). I eventually bought a new notebook, but totally forgot to return my
"ExpressCard External Graphics x16 (PCIe cable: -
AC Power Supply: 19V 4.74A (+ $19.95)
mPCIe card: -
ExpressCard adapter: -),"
to quote my receipt from Harmonic Inversion.
Their return policy requires returns within one month, and I have now had the hardware sitting in my closet for 7.5 months.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the hardware, and it has been wrapped in the static resistant wrapping in which it came.
Would anyone be interested in buying this from me? I would love to make back what I spent ($110.95 + shipping), but beggars can't be choosers, and I am willing to consider any offers.
Please private message me if you are interested.

[Also, if it is against the rules to post such things, I could not find it clearly stated anywhere, and I'll happily take this down if it is improper.]

 

Thanks Kizwan, are those steps universal for each laptop with my problem or is there a specific modification for a Sony laptop?

 

Also, just to add... how do you actually do this DSDT Override, i.e. where do you run these commands etc, I can follow the steps but I dont know where to start