DIY eGPU experiences

I mis-typed the missing F in this message but typed it correctly during execution. I went back and issued the full -
"call %DRV%:\scripts\bridge 4 CFFFC000 8080" with the same "no effect" results. The pci memory space C0000000 to D0000000 is still unmapped and there is no reference to any ATI card any where in the map. Neither of these commands seem to effect my window7 system in any way that I can see??

Scrat9876

 

It appears it does not find a solution. I dumped the output of the compact command to "compact.txt". At the bottom. It complains the following;

"multiple NVIDIA/ATI cards detected - don't know which is external - not allocating IO window"

For some reason Nvidia maps two 256 meg memory areas for it's internal chip set. If I remove my external monitor, which is connected to the laptop, it still maps the two 256 windows. I don't know if this "2 Nvidia window" map is confusing compact or if it would still be confused with one Nvidia and one ATI?

Any Ideas?

Scrat9876

 

"RECOMMEND: escalate the issue to your notebook manufacturer as recommended by Intel web support staff to obtain a bios fix. Or at least Intel could provide an updated datasheet explaining how to get x1 1.0 full-duplex performance on any port, so can be implemented using a revised DIY ViDock Setup USB Bootdisk. The problem has also been logged on Intel's community support page here." by Nando4

Is there anyone who received any help from the notebook manufacturer or Intel to solve this issue?

 

GTX470 versus HD5750 results

Introduction

The just-released GTX460 costs US$200/$230 for a 768MB/1GB card. The 1GB card can be easily overclocked to be beyond GTX470 performance levels as shown by anandtech and techpowerup. I hadn't expected the GTX460 to be so good so had already lined up an unlockable GTX465.

Setup
Graphics cards:

• Gigabyte HD 5750 1GB
• PNY GTX465 flashed into a 1.25GB GTX470.

Adapter: PE4H v2.0 and PE4L v1.3. EC2C + 2xPM3Ns on hand as needed.
Power supply: Shaw 680W dual-rail ATX PSU. 12V/80W AC adapter at hand if needed more capacity.
Drivers: Catalyst 10.3/10.6, Forceware 257.21

Installation

Very easy, just throw away the supplied CD of drivers as they don't support 36-bit PAE PCI allocation. Need the latest NVidia Forceware drivers for that. I just standby the system, poweron the DIY ViDock, resume Win7 and Win7 PnP's the card.

My testing finding too that x1E and x1 1.0 give exactly the same performance, a result confirmed by ithildin's GTX460 versus HD5750 post, meaning there is some handshaking issue b/w ATI cards/older NVidia cards and Intel pci-e ports. More details with the x1E tweak.

PE4L and PE4H both work fine with either card.

Performance - using external LCD

System	RAM	GPU	3dmark		RE5 dx9|dx10		dmcv4.scene4		FFXIV		Ports	OS
			06	vant.g	var	fixed	dx9	dx10	high	low
T6600-2.2 Dell Insp_1440	4.0	GTX470@x1.Opt	10264	10972	58.4|61.8	-	90.0	96.5	2242	2252	ICH9M	Win7/32
		GTX470@x1	5236	7781	60.5|61.4	30.9|30.9	58.6	73.0	2080	2242
		GTX465@x1	5098	6478	58.6|58.5	30.0|31.1	56.5	69.6	-	-
		HD5750@x1E	9551	5004	60.9|44.8	30.8|30.5	66.7	42.1	-	-	ICH9M
HD5750@x1	8997	4432	51.6|38.0	25.7|26.3	44.7	38.0	1586	2287	ICH9M
T2050-1.6 HP DV2000	3.0
		GTX470@x2	6352	8658	^2	^2	62.2	70.1	-		ICH7M
		GTX470@x1	-	7570	^2	^2	49.5	68.1			ICH7M
		HD5750@x2	6735	5579 +	38.5	18.3	60.1	55.4			ICH7M
		HD5750@x1E	6694	4903 +	34.6	17.0	59.9	43.7			ICH7M
		HD5750@x1	6560	4219 +	33.2	16.2	43.8	36.7			ICH7M
[email protected] HP 2510P	2.0	GTX470@x1	5191	8099	44.8|47.6	-	58.5	74.3	1726	1739	ICH8M
		HD5750@x1	7341	3846	44.8|41.3	-	49.3	41.6	-		ICH8M

^2: not relevant. Result is cpu-bound so can't compare gpu performance levels.

NOTE: RE5 var peters out at around 61FPS for a T6600 (cpu-bound).

The difference in NFS Shift using the Inspiron 1440 is incredible. The HD5750@x1E is jumpy, the HD5750@x1 is jumpy to the point of unplayable. Both need lower resolution/detail to try to get some moderate level of performance. The GTX470@x1 set to 1920x1080 and full detail is incredibly smooth, better than the HD5750@x2 on a T2050 DV2000(!!).

See also ithildin's results: GTX465 versus HD5750 and GTX460 versus HD5750.

Advantages over an ATI HD5750 card

• PERFORMANCE!! No need for x1E tweak to get full x1 1.0 performance. Same applies to requiring x2E to get full x2 1.0 performance. In the Optimus configuration, dvmc4.scene4 sees three-times-faster performance using the GTX470 than a HD5750@x1!!
  
  
• considerably faster DX10 performance.
  
  
• uses a 128MB+64MB+32MB PCI BARs so is easier to fit into a fragmented 32-bit PCI Config space than the single 256MB bar used by the HD5750.
  
  
• CUDA processing for folding@home, Adobe products.

Disadvantages over an ATI HD5750@x1E card

• uses more power and generates heat. The HD5750 can work with 12V/80W. The GTX470 needs 225W.
  
  
• costs more
  
  
• slower DX9 in the non-Optimus setup.
  
  
• Noise: ATX PSU's fan + audible ticking noises when under load are far noisier than the 12V/80W HD5750's whisper quiet fan only noise.
  
  
• doesn't 'configure' itself when hotplugged in DIY ViDock Setup 1.x, requiring a recipe for hotplugging
  
  
• ATI HD5xxx Eyefinity can provide 3D gaming across up to 3 displays off the single card. NVidia's Surround can only output to two displays and spanning across those displays for gaming requires a SLI setup. See here.

Conclusion

If you can't do x1E, then don't even consider an ATI card - go straight for a NVidia GTX460. I expect O/C GTX460 performance to be like the GTX470 results above. GTX460 runs quiet and is not a portable heater, an advantage over the GTX470. Given that it doesn't need a x1E tweak and it's great DX10 performance, I anticipate this thread will see a stack of GTX460 implementations in the coming weeks. NVidia have now delivered an incredible bang-per-buck 40nm gpu.

Further References

Panzer's real-life gaming experience: HD5750 versus GTX470
GTX460: 768MB versus 1GB
ATX PSU to drive a GTX460
PE4H versus PE4L for GTX4xx use
Recipe for hotplugging GTX470 in DIY ViDock Setup 1.x
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Appendix: warning on using cheap ATX PSUs

The GTX470 would freeze within seconds of being loaded by a 3D game. I discovered my cheap Shaw 680W ATU PSU dual rail cannot even deliver the 225W of power the GTX470 requires. The PSU has a label claiming to have 2 rails 12V1:12V/20A and 12V2:12V/22A. The side of the box says 12V/15A, 12V/16A. I did continuity tests for the 12V leads finding they all lead to the single rail. I have a < 200W single-rail PSU!! Talk about false advertising.

I ended up patching through my 12V/80W AC adapter to pick up the power deficit and now runs perfectly.

 

would you prefere the 460 gtx over a (used) 5770 regarding almost twice the price?

 

Hello NANDO4,

I mentioned above that compact was erroring with the following error:

"multiple NVIDIA/ATI cards detected - don't know which is external - not allocating IO window"

Is there any way to tell compact which card is the external card?

Thanks,

Scrat9876

 

Just for your information, we tried HD4870 1 GB vs. HD5770 1 GB with the same machine
3D Mark Vantage 3D Mark 06
HD4870 4669 GPU point 7134 point
HD5770 5439 GPU point 7349 point

 

I was reading earlier threads about the GTX 465 frying the PE4H board because it can draw 150 W from the board? Is that to be concern if we are to get the GTX 460 or 465 or did I just misread previous post on this thread and information.

 

So far the only report of a burned PE4H has been my case with a Palit Geforce GTX 465. I haven't tried with other cards but I am still planning to test a GTX 460. I'm just waiting for the 1GB to be in stock here in the UK before I pull the trigger. The GTX 460 should draw less power than the 465/470 so it should be a safer option. I am still unsure why the Palit GTX 465 tried to pull 150W from the PE4H when the connection was clearly PCIe 1.0 (or 1.1). To be on the safe side, choose a Geforce card that clearly states that is backwards compatible with PCIe 1.0/1.1.

UPDATE: Getting myself a Gainward GTX 460 1GB GS (OC 700 MHz core, 1800 MHz VRAM). Should received it by Thursday. Looking forward to it!

 

Try DIY ViDock Setup 1.0e1 (devel version). Do a selective compaction not including the 9800GTX in the selection.

After my initial 'it could be using 150W power' I reviewed the GTX465 techpower power consumption and deduced that the cards are drawing 75W from the slot. The only explanation I can see for ithildin's result was that the DC jack itself was overloaded. hwtools have revised it in PE4H 2.1 from a 3A to a 9A part.

Your system is x1E capable. Try x1E to open up the performance more or go a GTX460

Absolutely. Especially if you have a Thinkpad that has the expresscard slot as port4 where the x1E tweak cannot be applied. Consider:

- the GTX460 can be overclocked to deliver GTX470 performance.

- a US$200 768MB GTX460 is $50 (34%) more than a HD5770. The US$230 1GB GTX460 is $80 (53%) more than a HD5770. You're going to see more than 34-53% better performance(!!) over a HD5770 without the x1E tweak.

- See my benchmark results comparing HD5750@x1 versus GTX465@x1 where the GTX465 is vastly superior in all tests except the 3dmark06 which is outdated and not worth looking at anyway. <STRIKE>My card too can run as a GTX470</STRIKE>, similar to overclocking the GTX460, which will give another 10-20% better performance. GTX470 (sortof) benchmarks will be added once I've completed full GTX465 benchmarking.

 

Yep, excellent stuff. I have to say that I am not convinced that 3dmark06 is irrelevant as a benchmark. I also saw significant differences in DX9 between the HD5750 and GTX 465 on BF: Bad Company 2 (~18 FPS AVG). Regardless of DirectX, the game on the GTX 465 stuttered for 5-10s on each map load before the framerate stabilized. I also saw that the performance differences were not as noticeable on RE5 in DX9 but that could be due to code optimization. Still, the 3dmark06 score for the GTX 465 at full x16 2.0 blows the HD5770 out of the water (20k vs 16k) so it doesn't seem like an issue of the GPU per se, it only seems apply to DIY Vidock situations...
Anyway, I'll keep an eye out for the same issue on the GTX 460.

 

Hi,

anyone having problem after updating ati driver to the latest 10.6 driver?
i have...i nv experienced this problem before but let me explain...i downloaded the new 10.6 and updated it, restarted it...everything is fine..

then i reformatted my bootdisk, and restarted it and go into bootdisk to start the vidock, everything is fine, was able to boot into windows...but the problem is, nothing comes out from the external monitor....

then i went to the device manager, click resources and at the "Resource Settings: it says 'This device isn't using any resources because it has a problem'"

so anyone can help me?

Thanks.

 

Your system is x1E capable. Try x1E to open up the performance more or go a GTX460

I will, believe me, as soon as I understand how to do it. I'm checking your instructions for PNP system, but I cannot figure out point 3. Downloaded Baredit, but I don't know what RCBA+224h is and where I should wirte 0xA2(port3). If you will have time, could you write more details so an inexpert guy like me could also understand? I would appreciate it!
One more question, do I need to unplug the wifi card from slot 1 to achive x1E?

Thanks!

 

are you sure, that a thinkpad (t400) can not be used ind x1e or even "x2" mode?

 

Use DIY ViDock Setup devel version posted a few posts back as the easiest solution. Here you show use that expresscard slot is port3. So you'd be putting port3 into x2 mode which ports port 1 into x2 mode as well, effectively making the wifi on port not functional. You might/might not need to remove the wifi card as it would be seen as the second lane of the lan controller on port1.

I believe you'd need to use the turbo memory mPCIe slot (port3) + expresscard slot (port4) to do x2. So could consider it then with a HD5770 card. If you want a single-cable solution that uses expresscard port4 then consider a GTX460 for it's better x1 1.0 performance than a HD5770.

 

Perhaps a screenshot of Baredit to each step (especially point 3) of PNP system would help me...

 

ok additional note is that, i do not have the code 12 error now if i hot plug the vidock when windows 7(i upgrade to win 7 home premium from vista home premium) is running....

i checked the 5750 properties and in the resource it only says "Resource Settings: it says 'This device isn't using any resources because it has a problem'"

oh also i tried if i was able to PNP by sleeping the computer and plug the vidock in and resume but all it gives is the "Resource Settings: it says 'This device isn't using any resources because it has a problem'"

hmm....still cant be PNP like how i wish it could be.....oh well at least upgrading to win 7 makes my com looks awesome and much simpler...

 

i am sorry for a lazy search through out the forum..but can anyone help me by showing a link or a simple explaination or picture about the implementation of PE4L with ATX PSU..to any GPU..maybe 5770..or any..please..nando or who..the thread have more than 100 pages..i am too tired to read all the messages..sorry..! i am a rookie..

 

Ok, this is what I did:

Step 1: My RCBA=FED1C001

http://img801.imageshack.us/i/95933781.jpg/

Step 2: I added 3418 to FED1C001 = FED1F418, so I switched 17(port2), 18(port3) and 19(port4) off

http://img62.imageshack.us/i/94767247.jpg

Step 3: I found FED1C001+224 = FED1C224 and changed to A2

http://img716.imageshack.us/i/91512528.jpg/

Step 4: I switched on port2, port3, port4 and when I push write it freezes. Only switch on/off bottom is working, so I have to reboot.

What did I do wrong?

 

Try this (from Nando's setup):



...but make an effort to read through the first post on this thread - it's packed with a LOT of useful info that is ESSENTIAL to get an idea of what you are doing. We know it's a bit complicated but this stuff is not trivial either and Nando's FAQs and explanations will help you considerably in getting your PE4L working in good time.

 

PE4H/PE4L is available for purchase from US distributor

Harmonic Inversion is a North American distributor of hwtool's PE4H-EC2C/PE4L-EC2C with cheaper shipping charges than hwtool's universal $US22 international shipping cost to the US.

UPS
$10 Ground
$18 3-Day
$28 2-Day
$40+ Standard Overnight

Intl USPS Priority Mail
$25+ 6-10Day

*All Int’l orders are sent out via USPS as the standard.

I would suggest remove wifi on port2, do the steps and introduce it only after confirmed success. You've enabled port1,5 and 6. You want to have port1 and 3 enabled only and should not disable port1. port1 is the root port and can cause havoc if disabled. See here. Ensure you disable the port devices in Win7 Device Manager as per instructions before doing anything in baredit as otherwise a freeze will result.

I'd still recommend installing DIY ViDock Setup using the disk image method. It's much easier to do a x1E link, more reliable too. Would just select the "DIY ViDock Setup 1.x" item in your Win7 bootloader menu, setting your startup.bat to contain 'call iport x2 1' and 'call grub4dos w7'.

+1. The first page is a updated running summary of notes from NBR users' and my experiences in setting up and using a DIY ViDock Setup. It is a must read. The "DIY" title of the thread is there for a reason.

 

So, I've been struggling for the past few days trying to get my DIY ViDock working with 4 GB of RAM installed. This setup will work perfectly with only 2 GB of RAM installed.

Laptop: Toshiba Satellite A105-S4084.
Graphics Card: nVidia GTX 285.
OS: Windows 7, 64 bit.

What I can't understand is that--with 4 GB of RAM installed--compact will find solutions that say that PCI allocation is valid. If I chainload Windows, everything will load and device manager will say that the GTX is working properly. However, the GTX won't do anything. If I restart Windows, the computer hangs before it even shows the BIOS splash screen.

I've attached the boot disk's DIAG folder in the hopes of getting an expert opinion, but I think I'm going to have to accept not being able to use all 4 GB .

Thanks for any help.

UPDATE for post #1059 (sorry for length): No luck with the advice. Unless I'm doing something horribly wrong, I can only get a solution from compact if I select all PCI devices (using 32 bit or 36 bit). In either case, the compact text printout says that there is a 128 MiB window under 4 GiB. However, the boot disk status screen then says that there is a 256 MB window at e0000000 (32 bit) or f0000000 (36 bit) and that PCI allocation is valid.

As for sleeping Windows 7 so that I could power cycle the graphics card--my Windows 7 install can not sleep. (Apparently, I am running into a compatibility issue with my laptop board, Windows 7 64 bit, and the 950 GMA. I don't care, because I don't intend to ever use the onboard video.) If I install any chipset display driver other than the most basic VGA controller, my display will go blank immediately after Windows 7 loads (right before the login screen appears). Windows 7 32 bit might fix this, but I don't have a copy of it.

I do have the most current Forceware drivers.

 

One of the new discoveries with the GTX465 is that it requires a special sort of hotplugging if I boot into the DIY ViDock Setup 1.x. Sequence being:

1. DIY ViDock off.
2. Boot DIY ViDocK Setup 1.x off USB or disk image
3. Poweron the DIY ViDOck.
4. Unplug then replug the EC2C to get the card detected*

* at this point the NVidia GTX465 would appear on the PCI bus but was unconfigured. If I start Win7 with it in this state it is detected but flags a code 43 "cannot start device". This is something I'm investigating now and will add a new command and menuitem to send a PCI reset sequence to it once i figure out what the sequence must be.

Instead of waiting for me to do this, try the immediate workaround below. You have a 945express chipset so likely need to stick to 32-bit PCI allocation.

1. Perform selective 32-bit compaction using only the GTX285 and onboard gfx. compact should find a solution since you have 256MB free at c0000000.

2. Chainload into Win7, standby Win7 (not hibernate), switch off/on the GTX285, then resume Win7.

I believe the GTX285 should work perfectly at that point. The standby is the workaround to 'configure' the GTX285. Furthermore, ensure you have the latest Forceware drivers loaded from NVidia.

 

is crossfire possible usind 2 hd5770?

 

After a couple of weeks of trying and alot of help from nando. I finally got my setup working. I am using PE4H and Asus Ati 5770 1GB with a Coolermaster 480W PSU.

I cannot use Nvidia cards as Sony is using customised nvidia gfx drivers for the built in Intel 4500M and Nvidia 9300M GS. If i were to install any drivers from nvidia, it will cause everything to be loaded up in 640x480x16 colours.

DIY ViDock Implementation:
Using the bootdisk, I compact everything 32bit without my desktop gfx card (Ati 5770). That cleared a nice 256mb of space. I chainloaded to Windows 7 and then connect the Ati 5770 which is detected without problems.

Below is my system specs:
System : P9700-2.8 Sony Z46GD
RAM GB : 6.0
Video Card : HD5770@x1
Ports : ICH9M
OS : Win7/64

Everest screenshot:


Benchmarks:
DX10-centric Performance
3dmark vant.gpu : 5577
dmcv4 scene4 : 37.94fps


DX9-centric Performance
3Dmk6 : 10151
RE5^4 : 53.7fps


x1E and x2 Implementation:
This is not possible as the mPCIe port is not user-accessible unless I remove the whole backplate of the notebook which can void the warranty and also makes it unsafe to travel around in.

 

I used DIY Setup boot disk and it says "Starting up Windows 98" then DOS command line comes in (there is no menu choice). What shall I do then? Which file shall I start to have the DIY SETUP menu started?
I did everything exactly as it is writen...

 

Hello NANDO4,

I downloaded the DIY ViDock Setup 1.0e1 and created a new boot-able usb thumb drive. You said to do a "selective compaction not including the 9800GTX in the selection". Is there a special switch for compact I should use? I tried to get a list of switches with "/?" and "/h". It just ran compact and did not output any help.

P.S. I did find the help file for compact. So the question becomes, do I use ignore,preserve or prohibit to selectively ignore the Nvidia space?

Thanks for the help,

Scrat9876

 

Sh*t... although finally I could manage to achieve the +20% performance with Bar-Edit I think I screwed something. If I use the ext. video card the system freeze after a few minutes independently what I'm doing with it (games, benchmark, internet). Even if I reboot and don't change anything it does the same. It started to do it today, even before I could achieve the additional performance, while I was trying. Could I get anything wrong permanently?

 

See test1-test4 examples here for an idea of how to do selective compaction. In adddition I'd suggest do 32-bit compaction without the HD5670 attached, boot Win7, then standby, poweron DIY ViDock, resume, hopefully with a working HD5670. That is how andeelym got a working 9300M+HD5770 setup working.

You 9800M's vid:did is 10de:0617
Your HD5670's vid:did is 1002:68d8 1002:aa60. That is the gpu+audio controller.

Did you copy the files from the image across to the USB drive? If so, booting it up and running 'dir' will list core, setup, bin, dos directories as well as a contents.txt file. If those files are missing then you did not copy the disk image contents across successfully. Please re-apply steps 1-3 here.

Do a cold shutdown, pull the battery for 10 seconds. This will ensure with 100% confidence the PCI Config space is cleared back to defaults. Upon your next boot your pci-e ports will be back to their crippled x1 1.0 speed.

 

Dear Nando,

Yes, I did copy all the files from the iso and I can check them with DIR command. I just don't know what start there as nothing starts automaticaly.

As for the shutdown, the laptop was off for the whole night and in the morning when I tried it it did the same, black screen on the laptop, no signal to the extended monitor and nothing worked. I read it in some of the posts that the mini HDMI cable that is coming from HWTOOLS is not very good quality, do you think it can cause this? It really looks like there is some kind of contact error somewhere...

 

Radeon HD 5750 1GB vs. Geforce GTX 460 1GB - Performance Comparison

Ok I finally managed to complete a set of tests with a Geforce card without burning anything

Setup
Graphics cards:

• Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 5750 1GB
• Gainward Geforce GTX 460 1GB GS

Adapter: PE4H v1.0 + EC2C
Connection: PCI-e 1.0 x1E (see notes here)
Power supply: 550W EZ Cool single rail ATX PSU, 400W Corsair 400CX single rail ATX PSU
Drivers: Catalyst 10.6, Forceware 258.96

Results

GPU	Score		Average FPS
	3dmark06	3dmark Vantage (GPU only)	DMC4 (scene 4)		RE5 (variable)		WiC		DiRT 2		BF:Bad Company 2
			DX9	DX10	DX9	DX10	DX9	DX10	DX9	DX11	DX9	DX10	DX11
HD5750 x1E	10392	5442	67.61	43.84	65.5	44.9	29	19	41.59	31.59
GTX 460 x1E	5249	7225	57.75	69.58	70.4	64.5	22	24	58.51	58.18	33.36	31.57	31.99
GTX 460 x1	5221	7200	53.4	70.33	68.2	62.6	21	25	58.99	58.56	32.86	33.39	31.59

Observations

• DirectX 9: the HD 5750 is generally the best performer but the gap is not as wide as the 3dmark06 scores would suggest. In the case of DiRT 2 and RE5, the GTX 460 even ends up being the fastest card.
• DirectX 10: The GTX 460 is the clear winner here with consistently better perfomance than the Radeon HD 5750.
• DirectX 11: Coming soon...
• x1 vs x1E: There is no significant difference in GTX 460 performance, confirming Nando's earlier results

Noise & Power consumption

The GTX 460 is a reasonably quiet card that still draws considerable power compared to the HD 5750 although nothing like the GTX 465 I previously tested. If noise and power consumption are high on your regards then a Radeon H57xx is still your best bet but for all round performance the GTX 460 seems like a great option for DIY Vidockers.

At first I've powered the card with a 550W EZ cool single rail PSU to ensure ample supply. Unfortunately, only recently I realized that this PSU has pretty poor reviews and is known for its unrealiability. I've now replaced it with a Corsair 400W 400CX single rail PSU that is 80 Plus certified - the difference in build quality and performance is palpable and well worth the extra money (around 30-40 quid). This PSU barely hums at all under load while the EZ Cool popped and whined under any sort strain.

I used a Wattage meter to measure the total power consumption of PE4H + GPU + PSU:

• Idle power consumption (laptop off): 20-25W
• Windows 7 Desktop (Aero): 25-32W
• Various gaming benchmarks: 88-125W
• Peak power consumption: 139W

I haven't stressed the GPU too hard yet (Furmark tests are next). The peak test was accomplished in DiRT 2 in one of the map screens - it's a basic 2D in 3D scene that is rendered at full speed (344 FPS) and uses low polygon shapes and limited textures. The GPU burns another 14W in this setting alone and generally draws more power when the framerate climbs to 60+ FPS. Perhaps enforcing VSYNC on all games is a way to limit power consumption so that a smaller PSU can be used to power the GTX 460 - I'll investigate this further.

Coming soon...

• Completing BC2 tests
• Furmark tests for peak power consumption
• Fixing the 3dmark links

 

Just one idea, Nando4. Perhaps there should be a chapter on page 1 for some troubleshooting with links where people write down what problems they had and attach a link where they write down how they solved it. I think that would help to many... including me. But it's just an idea...

 

wow those are some very good results by the gtx 460. I wonder how well they will perform under x2 connections. Might consider changing my 5770 to a gtx 460 if it is much better than than the 5770 at x2

 

Andeelym,

I am glad you have had success
Below you state;

DIY ViDock Implementation:
Using the bootdisk, I compact everything 32bit without my desktop gfx card (Ati 5770). That cleared a nice 256mb of space. I chainloaded to Windows 7 and then connect the Ati 5770 which is detected without problems.

What was the compact command you used to compact everything to 32bit space without the desktop card on?

Thanks,

Scrat9876

 

Hello NANDO4,

Well I did not have the luck that Andeelym had.

I made the four files for compact which are attached below.

Every one indicated that there was multiple Nvidia/ATI cards detected and it could not determine which were external or internal and then failed to map or change the IO space. This occurred even when I had the desktop ATI card turned off and out of the picture entirely. It also occured when I tried a straight 32bit space compaction. My internal NVidia 9800M chip set creates two 256M windows at D0000000 and E0000000. This appears to be confusing compact. I then tried;

pciend 310000000 ignore 10de:0617 useonly 1002:68d8 1002:aa60 force32 1002:68d8 1002:aa60 import devcon.txt makebatch pci.bat verbose

Which I thought should tell compact to ignore the NVidia chip set. Still got the error.

Until I can get compact to not error out with this error, I don't think any other compaction / mapping will succeed.

One thought, Maybe if I can force 10de:0617 (9800M card) to the C0000000 and D000000 space instead of D0000000 and E0000000 that it takes up now, Win7 will find the space at E0000000 for the ATI card? Do you know the command to do this?

Any other Ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,

Scrat9876

 

So, I went up to my friend's place to check my system. Right now although nor Windows or Everest shows no error at port 3 nothing happens when I plug the card to the laptop. My friend has the same laptop, and everything works fine with that. Also I tried his video card with his PE4L in my laptop and still nothing happened. When I plug the express card the fan on the video card slows down so I guess it communicates with the laptop, but port 3 is empty in Everest. What shall I do? Does it help if I reinstall the whole windows again? Are you sure I couldn't adjust anything permanently with BAREDIT, even if I clicked on save?

 

Hi Scrat9876,

This is the command used:

Code:

pciend 100000000 import \core\devcon.txt makebatch %DRV%:\core\pci.bat

I am using menu-based and basically choosing 32bit compacting of all devices without the DIY ViDock connected. After compacting is done, I chainload to w7 and in windows, I then connect the card and it got up and working.

 

Guys, I reinstall win7 and plug again the card and received this information:

Imageshack - kp01491.jpg - Uploaded by fardavid

What shall I do?

 

... (further information) when I plug the express card with the video card the wifi turns off for some reason and then the blue screen comes...
I have no idea how to fix it... do I need perhaps a BIOS update? I never done that before...

 

Dell XPS M1730, GTX9800M + HD5670

Based on your diag output and selective compaction using only the HD5670 I've correlated what compact should be doing which is below, skipping some extra compact lines which are further optimizations which you don't need. Save \core\pci.bat, boot Setup 1.x to DOS prompt, type 'call \core\pci.bat' then 'call grub4dos w7' and fingers crossed your HD5670 will be in action. If not, check your I/O ports in Device Manager->View Devices By Type->IO to see what range is free and change the 4000-4FFF below to be what is free, eg: '1c.b=50 1d.b=50' to use 5000-5FFF.

\core\pci.bat

Code:

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Dell XPS M1730: 9800M GTX + HD5670 DIY ViDock ::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Output comments below an extract from compact's analysis with manual setpci
:: commands below it.

:: setting device  d: 0: 0, BAR=0 size=0x10000000 prefetch=1 64b=1 to 0xc0000000
:: setting device  d: 0: 0, BAR=2 size=0x00020000 prefetch=0 64b=0 to 0xffde0000
setpci -s d:0.0 10.l=c000000c 14.l=0 18.l=ffde0004 1c.l=0

:: setting device  d: 0: 1, BAR=0 size=0x00004000 prefetch=0 64b=0 to 0xffddc000
setpci -s d:0.1 10.l=ffddc004 14.l=0 

:: setting bridge  d          range to 0xffd00000 - 0xffe00000
:: setting bridge  d prefetch range to 0xc0000000 - 0xd0000000
setpci -s 0:1c.3 20.w=ffd0 22.w=ffd0 24.w=c001 28.l=0 26.w=cff1 2c.l=0

:: multiple NVIDIA/ATI cards detected - don't know which is external - not allocating IO window
:: NANDO>> I've just set it to 4000-4FFF which devcon/diags show to be free
setpci -s 0:1c.3 1c.b=40 1d.b=40 

EDIT: New 2010-7-17 compact will now allocate the GFX I/O address and not abort.

Your expresscard slot is port3 as shown here. If you've switched port3 into x1E (x2 mode), it switches port1 into x2 mode. That will mean your wifi will now function as lane2 of your LAN controller, likely causing a BSOD. Meaning, pull your wifi out before trying this as a workaround to having x1E mode functional without a BSOD. Otherwise switch your port3 back to x1 to go back to crippled x1 1.0 performance using your HD4870.

 

[/QUOTE]Your expresscard slot is port3 as shown here. If you've switched port3 into x1E (x2 mode), it switches port1 into x2 mode. That will mean your wifi will now function as lane2 of your LAN controller, likely causing a BSOD. Meaning, pull your wifi out before trying this as a workaround to having x1E mode functional without a BSOD. Otherwise switch your port3 back to x1 to go back to crippled x1 1.0 performance using your HD4870.[/QUOTE]

I'm not using x1E anymore. I just tried that once, but since then I had to reinstall everything and still nothing works. I have a blue screen as soon as I plug in the expresscard. How could I change anything permanently? How can I fix it if nothing changes even with total format and reinstall?

 

I tested on a DV2000 finding it maintained a x2 pci-e port link even when switched off overnight while still connected to AC power. So I would recommend pull the plug and battery OR reset the ports back to x1 in Setup 1.x. That way can be sure the x2 width link has been reset and is not causing your BSODs.

 

I removed the battery for a while and restarted the system, but nothing changed. I also checked it with Everest and it shows 1x width link.

 

Hello NANDO4,

Sorry for all of the trouble my system seems to be giving

You gave me a couple of items to try so I did them in logical steps;

1.) I tried the pci.bat specified which gave errors. I then hand entered each setpci command to see each error in succession;

setpci -s d:0.0 10.l=c000000c 14.l=0 18.l=ffde0004 1c.l=0 -s d:0.1 10.l=ffddc004 14.l=0

gave: Invalid width "(infinity symbol)"


setpci -s 0:1c.3 20.w=ffd0 22.w=ffd0 24.w=c001 28.l=0 26.c=cff1 2c.l=0

gave: "missing value"

setpci -s 0:1c.3 1c.b=40 1d.b=40

worked.

2.) Next, I replaced the compact.exe file in \core with the new one and tried the basic;

compact pciend 100000000 import %DRV%\core\devcon.txt makebatch %DRV%\core\pci.bat

and it indeed did not error on the GFX I/O address allocation (yea!!)
but when I issue the call %DRV%\core\pci.bat command it hangs my system hard.

Note: Each time I did turn off the DIY ViDock card while booting to DOS and through the menus to the DOS prompt and the turned it on.

I have included the compact.exe generated pci.bat for inspection.

P.S. I will go back through some of the previous specific compact commands you specified and try them with the new compact.exe.

I do think we are closer to a solution and I thank you again for all of the excellent support

Add on comments:

I tried all of the compact setting specified earlier. Either pci.bat hangs the system or there is no observable effect seen after w7 boot. The only thing I can think to ask is there a difference between a DIY ViDock and a real ViDock? I have purchased and am trying to map a real ViDock 2.

Scrat9876

 

GTX 460 data updated here. Update includes:

• Bad Company 2 Chase scene (HD5750 still missing)
• Power consumption
• x1 results

 

Sent PM. I suggest we investigate this offline so as to not clog up this thread.

Excellent post yet again. Only major discrepancy in your x1E versus x1 is Dirt2 DX9 getting 72.86 and 58.99 respectively. Can you double-check that is the result? The other results show x1E and x1 to give exactly the same results when factoring in slight variations between runs. If Dirt2 does show this difference then it's still an issue with Intel chipsets underdelivering only 70-80% of x1 1.0 bandwidth requiring Intel investigation. If Dirt2 shows the same result then it's a handshaking issue with ATI/Older NVidia cards and Intel I/O chipsets that requires ATI/NVidia and Intel investigation.

 

Nando4,

If I reinstalled Win7 and of course reinstalled drivers as well, what else can couse the problem? As I mentioned, I tried it with a different card and it worked, and my freind tried my card with his laptop (same) and the card also worked... By the way, in the Device Manager there is some error with AHCI after I reinstalled. I don't know if it counts...

 

Hello NANDO4,

I will try all four compact commands using 100000000 and my vid:did values with the new compact.exe.

My problem with device manager display is when I plug in the ViDock it appears from "Devices by connection" that W7 attempted to place the card in 36 bit space, Port 4 - 2845 - (see attachment one). But when I look at "resources By Connection" there is no reference to the HD5670 in either 32 or 36 bit space. How can I tell if it is a IO or a memory allocation problem? ( see attachment two).

I do not see a way to send attachments through private messages, I will post the attachments to the thread.

Thanks,

Mark