DIY eGPU experiences

Thanks for your help Nando, I was able to get port 3 activated. But the really weird thing, is that when I put a card in my open slot, nothing shows up. Its a bluetooth network card and it installs fine, but doesn't show up in Everest, but I know it works. I tried 2 different slots and it installed in both slots, but doesn't show up in Everest. Very weird, still trying to figure it out now...

Mike

 

ok, nando4 i am starting to understand how it works, but i have a new problem.
I think i need to create a script that should move the resources (for example from D000000 to F000000) but i dont know exactly where to look in pciscope for the needed info, how to set the command setpci and where should go the resources.

So in dv2000pr.bat there are some of these commands, for example:

:: 8:09.1 from D41018FF to F41018FF
setpci -s 8:09.1 10.l=F4101800

The question is where can i find what to write for every resource.

I send you my snapshot and a capture of my device manager.

The Snapshot is http://www.sitiodekobayashi.es/SNAPSHOT.BPD

I will apreciate you help, becouse i think i am getting closer to the solution.

 

HP Pavilion DV9925 PCI Reallocation [nVIDIA nForce 7150M-630M chipset]

Unfortunately your bios has been unusually tight and has set your system's PCI Configuration space to start at 3.25GB (D0000000), so you have 3x256MB windows above that.

- D0000000 is taken by the onboard 7150M graphics
- E0000000 is used by motherboard resources (can't change that)
- F0000000 is used by some devices

Your options then are:

1. Try to free up a *128MB* window. My HD4670 switched to using a 128MB window instead of 256MB when only a contiguous 128MB block was available. Move the resources in the 128MB space between F0000000-F8000000 to be above F8000000 to free 128MB. I can't guarantee a return on your time investment in doing this, as the HD4670 with the 128MB window was witnessed working once in Win7 using the HP DV2000 I used during testing.

2. Search Nvidia datasheet to identify what bit sets the PCI Configuration register, equivalent to TOLUD, to set PCI Configuration space to start at 3GB instead of 3.25GB. Only problem is, where is a Nvidia chipset datasheet to explain how to set it? Intel/AMD ones are easy to find, Nvidia not so. HP bios programmers would have this info, so could ask them for a bios fix to set this.

3. Use 3GB instead of 4GB. That would free up a 256MB window at C0000000.

4. Use XP or Win7+XP drivers. Then disable the onboard graphics to use the D0000000 window.

 

So, maybe the faster and most easy way could be the 3GB options, but... do you think 3gb will make the system and games faster then 2gb in dual channel?

Actually i got 2 modules of 2gb and i tried with just one of these modules. The result was... not as good as i expected.

So my point is: I dont need to use any USB booting with 3gb of ram.
But what do you think is better 2gb in dual channel or 3gb.

Or instead use the other choices, even when those options are difficult (for me).

In case that you think is better to try one of the other options i will need more help, becouse i have no idea how to use PCIScope, or how to write the script.

Thanks a lot for your help nando4, is good to find people like you.

 

If you get your post count up you'll be able to use PM. Some chipsets support "flex config", ie: 1GB+2GB gives some benefit of interleaved dual-channel setup.

 

Hey i have a rather newb question about getting a ViDock. I don't have a laptop with an expresscard and im not quite sure what the other connection thing it (PCMIA or something like that) Do you know if there is a way I can hook up an external expresscard slot through a usb (maybe two usb's since its demanding)? I dont wanna have to crack open my laptop from the bottom everytime I want to play games, i would rather just plug in a couple of usbs and call it good.

 

Good News!!!

I got my port 3 working and moved my wireless card over... And it showed up as port 3, so x2 is possible!!! I just ordered the parts for x2, but unfortunately it is going to take a couple of extra days. With it being Chinese New Year, hwtools isn't shipping till the 22nd. I'm going to run benchmarks with both x1 and x2 when it shows up and post up the results.

Thanks again for all the help,

Mike

 

I´ve just bought a 1gb RAM and Vidock2 works really good with 3gb..!!
Thanks a lot Nando4 for your time...!!

 

I would like that too. expresscard is a repackaged mPCIe slot which also has USB pins attached, allowing easy connectivity. A modded approach could consider disassembling the notebook, connecting the PM3N, then routing a flat mini HDMI to hang loosely out the pcmcia slot (or hack off a USB connector) to provide an opening. Not so easy. Could be cheaper and easier to just upgrade to a expresscard equipped notebook if wanting easier connectivity.

A pleasure. Could you post your DV9225 AMD TL60-2.0 with 3GB + HD4670 Vidock 3dmark06 and RE5(@1280x800) benchmarks for inclusion on the first page?

Great pioneering work A placemarker awaits your Dell Studio 15 with HD5770@x2 on the front page. Will give an idea of x1 2.0 performance too. I'd +rep but won't let me do it again.

 

Hey guys,

I was trying to come up with a cool idea on where to run the extra cable when I go X2 next week and I found something that I thought was promising... I was able to find a 90 degree HDMI connector with the hope of somehow cutting a small hole in the bottom of my laptop and having the 90 degree connector sit flush with the bottom of the laptop.

This way when I want to run x2, I just put the laptop up on risers, and plug a HDMI cable in the bottom of it. I will no longer have to open up the case and fish the wire in. I can then use an adapter cable from the laptop, using a standard HDMI connector on one end and a mini hdmi connector to go into the PE4H.

I searched all over for a mini HDMI 90 angle, but I wasn't able to find one. So I have to do an adapter from mini HDMI to regular HDMI, hook that to the 90 angle and then mount that with the PM3N in the laptop...

I am concerned that I might not be able to fit everything in the bottom and that I am definitely going to have to cut the plastic away from the adapters to fit, but I'll keep you guys posted if I can get it to work. I figured for the little expense there is, I would go ahead and try it out.

Here is the link to the adapters I bought, and I have attached pics as well. I'm not sure if I needed a 90 or a 270 degree bend so I bought one of each, just in case.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419

cable from laptop to PE4H
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10242&cs_id=1024201&p_id=3644&seq=1&format=2

I'll let everybody know if I can get it to work..

Mike

 

Hi nando4:

I send you the results of my DV9225 AMD TL60-2.0 with 3GB + HD4670 Vidock in 3dmark06 and RE5(@1280x800).

http://rapidshare.com/files/353260273/HP_dv9925nr.rar.html

Angel

 

Dear Nando:

I send you the DV9225 vidock2 benchmarks uploaded in Mediafire

http://www.mediafire.com/?ondunlwnwzi

I´d like to see my results on the main post..sounds cool..

Sincerely


Angel

 

Just one thing Nando4..

I realized i wrote DV9225dr, wich is wrong..the correct name is HP Pavilion dv9925nr...could you change it on the first page?? Sorry Nando4

Angel

 

Hello,
So what would be all the materials I need to create an external gfx card for my Dell M1330 with say, a Radeon 5770 HD?

Also, would using a crossdisplay driver for like the XGP or the new Dynavivid one work?

Thanks!

EDIT: I am using Windows XP Pro.

 

a printed circuit board the size of 5770, a bunch of capacitors, resistors, etc, ATI 'evergreen' chip, a heatsink, fan, lots of solder, some wires, plastic, a drill, soldering tools(an oven might work too)

 

Anyone else? I can tell key001 is exaggerating.

I heard it was a PE4H, a power supply, and the card itself.

 

See Getting Started section on the first post. Linked too are two enclosure examples: Raaco and xbox360. Your M1330 may be able to do a x2 1.0 link too for superior performance.

 

Ok so if my M1330 can do a x2 1.0 PCI-e,
9800 gx2 vs Radeon 3870 HD x2 vs Radeon 5770 HD vs Radeon 4870 HD vs Radeon 4830 HD x2 vs Radeon HD 5830?

Which one would yield the highest performance for the money? Looking to spend between $150-$200.

 

Based on your reply, please understand x2 1.0 means you'd be linking mPCIe+expresscard or mPCIe+mPCIe slots attaching them to a PE4H, with a single video card (running at x2 1.0 link speed). This will give ~60% faster performance over x1 1.0 speed. Running 2 cards crossfired would cost more and the two single x1 1.0 links would give worse performance.

HD5830 isn't out and will be ~US$240 when it is. So then HD5770 is next most powerful card in your list. If you don't need DX11 and use an appropriate higher power PSU, then the HD4890 with it's 256bit memory bus outperforms the HD5770 and is ~US$200.

Please also do the checks on the first post in the Mini FAQ to have some level of confidence that x2 1.0 is possible.

 

I'm not quite following a lot of the Mini-FAQ or the expresscard, but

I heard 9800 gx2 is a very powerful card, and a 3870 HD crossfired is also quite powerful. I think the 4890 is <$250, and that's slightly too expensive for me. I'm not sure how powerful a 4830 HD crossfired would be.

 

crossfire x1 1.0 is slower overall, would cost you more and more complex than non-crossfire x2 1.0. So forget crossfire on a pci-e 1.0 link.

Suggest a HD5770 at x2 1.0 as giving the best performance for your budget. x2 means 2 pci-e lanes (mPCIe + expresscard or mPCIe + mPCIe) and 1.0 means at pci-e 1.0 speed (2.5GBps). Double-check if x2 1.0 is possible on your M1330 before buying the extra hwtools parts.

 

Ok, this clears a lot of things.

Just found a 4890 that is sub $200, so the question becomes

5770 (more overclockability apparently, also might overtake the 4890 with improved drivers) vs 4890 vs wait for a price drop from 5850, which is like $100 more expensive right now.

 

has anyone been able to do this to a netbook?

 

Purchased the PE4H with Expresscard adapter tonight.
Hopefully I'll be getting it soon. Any ideas how long it usually takes to ship? I'm in Texas.

 

Stacky,

It usually takes a couple of days for them to respond with a tracking number, but once you get that, at least for me, it was shipped overnight!

In fact I have more parts coming from them that shipped today and will be delivered tomorrow by 10:30am... (I'm in PA). Gotta love it, Taiwan to me in just over 24 hours...

Mike

 

Hey,
I saw on the other thread (Let's figure out how to make a DIY vidock) a few mentions on a cross display feature, any possibility of that happening?

 

Alright, thanks Pyro + rep.

I'll be purchasing a 5770 tonight as well. I'm trying to decide on the model. Either the XFX or Sapphire models.

 

hello everyone. I have an HPG60 243cl http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01634455&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=&cc=us&lang=&product=3860190

will I be able to utilize the PE4L? I believe I have only a stanard PCI.

 

Likely, but you'd need to use the mPCIe wifi slot, ie: PE4L+PM3N. Before going ahead, consider:

- how easy it is to access mPCIe slot?
- does your system apply mPCIe whitelisting?
- if you need concurrent wifi, would you want USB wifi adapter?

 

Hi Nando 4:

Is there any way to increase the frames per second in games such as Modern Warfare 2 in my Vidock2??

 

Things you could try in order of potential performance improvements:

- upgrade system to one that can do x2 1.0 or x1 1.0
- upgrade to a video card with 2GB VRAM
- overclock CPU, pci-e bus or your HD4670 memory/gpu
- disable video card's HDMI audio to increase pci-e bandwidth available

 

All,

I'm currently at my wits end and I need some advice. Ever since I bought the pe4h, I've been having issues with my video card making the monitor go black and lock up my computer. It can sometimes happen within 10 seconds of starting the pe4h to a couple of mins, then the card resets, the fan goes to full speed, the screen goes black, and the computer locks up.

I've now tried 4 different cards, a hd2600, hd4670, hd5770, and I just splurged and bought a hd5870. All cards do the same behavior, with the 5870 being the worst. As soon as I plug in the express card, the fan goes to full and it locks up the computer. At first I thought it was an ati problem, but I cant believe that I had 4 bad cards.

At this point, I've now tried 2 different laptops, 4 different video cards,2 different cables, 3 different power supplies, and all have the same black screen results. I then tried the 5870 in a desktop and it works perfectly. The only thing I can think is that the pe4h is bad. That's all that's left to replace.

Has anyone else had one of these go bad? Does anybody I else have any other troubleshooting tips? I've invested a good amount of money and Im getting a little discouraged now.

 

The system is loosing the connection to the video card. So could:

- try using the PM3N instead of the EC2C connecting via the mPCIe port. Remember to change the port numbers in your PCI Scripts to be the mPCIe port.
- try another mini HDMI cable
- try another EC2C
- finally, try another PE4H

 

nando,

I feel a little bit better about it today...

I ran some further tests last night, I tried using a PM3N, with a different cable and I got the same results. I don't have another EC2C, but with getting the same black screen with the PM3N I believe that the PE4H is bad. I sent an e-mail to hwtools, and they have already responded.

I'm not sure if I understand them correctly, but it appears that they might be coming out with a V2 of the PE4H that might fix my problem.

This is what they said

So I am hoping that I can get the resolved shortly. On a good note, when I do finally get this up and running, I'll be able to benchmark my computer with a 5870 (x1 and x2) instead of the 5770. I wasn't able to get through the test with the 5770.

I'll keep everybody posted as to how things are going. I also bought an enclosure for the video card when it is all up and running that is going to make this whole thing look awesome...

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjEwMg==

I am going to use this, along with a 5.25 bay power supply to make it all look really cool!

Mike

 

(hey... looks like ya getting there Pyro515)

Amazinn stuff...best of both worlds ....mean have in xps "Nvidia" but now
possible to run a external desktop "Ati" card instead...Wooow!

Also possible to run a Ati card with a 1005HA eeepc
(by opening it up an use the wifi mPCIE slot). curious which ati
card recomend for eeepc(low or mid end)? also would run
atom @ 1.9ghz with setfsb. But running setfsb could cause issues
to some games, not sure? or maybe better a hardWire pin mod.
me aim is to get Halo 2 to run good using eeepc

Heres me Everest for XPSm1730 & RES5 av=84.6fps Default benchy settings, @ 3.2ghz, gpu's stock, Vista64

 

Lane reversal on ATI card to allow x1E on even port?

-> Doesn't work.. deleted.

 

great info.
just stumbled on this thread.

do you reckon this lenovo t400 capable of 2x ?
(C2D T9400 4GB DDR3 win7 x64 intel crappy gm45 for a gpu)

coupled with a 5770 could replace the recently deceased gateway?

 

Lenovo T400 x2 1.0 capable?

Your screenshot shows port2=wifi, port3=turbo memory. To do x2 1.0 requires either:

* port1+port2
* port3+port4
* port5+port6

So you'd need to find either port1 (preferrable) or port4. You have an additional mPCIe socket on your system. If you swap your wifi into it, what port does it register itself on? If doesn't register at all, then it's likely a usb WWAN slot. Do you have an expresscard products handy? What port does it register on when installed in the system?

 

Nando,

Thats a shame, I just got the parts too to make it X2. At this point my only way to get better performance would be to get a desktop or a new laptop, just bought this one back in Sept so a new laptop isn't really in the cards. Oh well, I wasn't even sure if X2 would have helped flight sim anyway, it is such a poorly designed game anyway...

I'll still try to get some benchmarks for X1 soon.

Thanks for your help, Nando,

Mike

 

All,

In a previous post I mentioned that I was having a lot of problems with the PE4H, well I sent an e-mail to hwtools and they were very, very helpful. Apparently a batch of boards were released to the public with a 2 AMP fuse instead of the spec'd out 3 AMP fuse. In talking with them, the fuse itself realistically isn't needed, both the video card and the PSU have voltage regulation. So to get my card up and running I soldered off the 2 AMP fuse, and shorted out the connection with a bead of solder.

And guess what! It worked!! I did have the card re-boot 3 times under heavy gaming, but at this point with ATI's known problems with the 5000 series cards, I don't know if the problem is the PE4H or the video card. I'm now leaning towards the video card.

Included is a picture that hwtools sent me of the fuse you need to solder off.

If you have any other questions, let me know, but it seemed to work great for me.

Thanks,

Mike

 

I'm looking at ATI's own registers: http://developer.amd.com/gpu_assets/42590_m76_rrg_1.01o.pdf . Suggest search for keywords "link_width" and "reversal". I did that and came up with x2-p3p4.bat code here that *might* be able to do a x2 link using port3+port4 (x4 link, lane reversed).

Requires testing to confirm.

 

Nando, as per your suggestion, here is my southbridge setup from Everest.

If I understood your PM well, I will have to switch around my wifi card to see which ports are accessible, and if either (port1 and port2) or (port3 and port4) are accessible, I can have a double speed link?

 

Your Dell E6400 bios has enabled port1-port4. wifi is port2. Good news is your port2 is wifi. Now I know the E6400 has other mPCIe ports. Can you swap the wifi over and see what port it reports itself on? You want to build up a table of "portx | physical port" pairs.

If you have an expresscard product (eg: e-sata), please insert that as well so we know what port the expresscard is? You are looking for a port1+port2 combo of mPCIe and mPCIe/expresscard ports which will definitely give you a x2 1.0 link. port3+port4 is still being checked to confirm if it can do a x2 1.0 link, findings here.

Noteworthy point: this thread overtook the VIDock 2 - my experiences so far thread in view count on 1st of March 2010.

 

pyro15 great news. Any hope of benchmark with the 5870

 

I don't have an expresscard product (this ViDock or DIY ViDock would be the first). I'll ask in the E6400 thread, someone is bound to have one.

As for switching the wifi around, that should be easy. I'll get back to you (catchphrase copyright of Jack Bauer).

 

jamesbond,

I am hoping to benchmark it tomorrow nite...

Nando,

Thanks for the lane reversal script, I can't tonight, but tomorrow night I am going to test it out and see I can get it to work.

Again, thanks for all the effort with this.

Mike

 

Can you folks clarify one thing for me?

According to the FutureMark website, the typical 3Dmark06 score for an ATI HD5770 is 9200. However, the people here at NBR who did a DIY ViDock through a x1 1.0 link (which should cut speed into roughly 50%) report scores very similar to that.

My question is simple. My laptop currently scores 1839 in 3Dmark06. 9200 is about 5 times larger. If I do a DIY ViDock, am I looking at a 5-fold increase in graphics power, or only 2.5?

Thanks in advance!

 

I'm not too sure. I'll post my results when I get the adapter which should be here hopefully on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll be able to run it at 1 x 2.0 and get some readings in for this.

 

That would be appreciated Stacky, thanks in advance.

By the way, which PSU should I get for an HD5770? I know it's slightly above the 75W PSU commonly talked about in this thread, but an ATX PSU seems like overkill. Won't it drain ~400W from the plug just to power a 80W GPU?

 

US$200 HD5750/HD5770 installation using 12V/120W AC adapter

My previously used HD4670 was designated a new home so an upgrade was in order.

- *some* HD5750's consume < 80W power so can use a 12V/80W
- a HD5770 uses 112W peak. So could have done a 12V/120W setup below instead.

Software and hardware setup [total=US$200] 1. US$65-delivered (HIT) OR US$77-delivered (hwtools) PE4L. 2. US$100AR HD5750 or US$100AR HD5770 3. US$25 12V/120W AC adapter with 2.5mm/5.5mm (or 5mm) barrel end 4. US$5 molex splitter/gender changer, with female ends like this 5. US$2 pci-e to molex (male) adapter (came with HD5750) Using Win7/32 + ATI Catalyst 10.3b drivers

Above: HD5750 with 12V/80W PSU. Can see the PE4L's DC jack=input, floppy molex=ouput NOTE:Unstable HIS 5750 replaced by Gigabyte HD5750

Explanation of power splitting being done due to the 6-pin pci-e connector (not relevant if using a HD5670 or GT430)

Example below is a 12V/80W but a 12V/120W GTS450 has been successfully implemented &.

- 12V/80W supplied by AC adapter is going in via the PE4L's DC jack
- the PE4L then has up to 80W it can deliver from it's 12V rail
- power is split off via the floppy molex to the 6-pin pci-e plug
- total power needed by Gigabyte HD5750 is 80W at full load
- this setup applies only to *some* HD5750 models requiring < 80W at full load.
- cards such as a HD5670 have no 6-pin pci-e connector, so require < 75W.
- A HD5770 has peak power of 112W, so could not be powered this way.

Performance comparison - HD4670 versus HD5750

video card		T2050-1.6 DV2000​			[email protected] 2510P​
model	Power: Peak/Max	RE5DX10	RE5DX9	3dmk06	RE5DX10	RE5DX9	3dmk06
HD4670	49W/65W	26.1	-	5047	27.5	34.7	5475
HD5750, Gigabyte	~80W	35.5	38.2	6591	39.0	44.8	7341

We can see that a HD5750 performs on average, 33.4% better than a HD4670 on a x1 1.0 link. A [email protected] 12' HP 2510P giving 3dmark06 of 7341 points for US$249 is an impressive graphics upgrade imho, which would provide better benchmarks numbers for faster CPUs.

I used the same PCI scripts as did originally for the HD4670 without any modifications. Benchmarks were performed at stock clocks. I was able to overclock the card for some tests, finding it would eventually hang. A 20% GPU+VRAM overclock (840/1380) netted like 1.2FPS more in RE5 and 100 points in 3dmark06. Not worth the instability. This would indicate to me that the pci-e bandwidth is bottlenecking the performance overclocking the gpu/ram would offer.

Stability - running a HD5750 with 80W PSU?

I originally used a HIS Icooler IV, rated at 72W/92W here, admittedly the peak measured under Furmark loading levels not possible in real life. Their otherwise peak power consumption was 72W during real gaming. I did run into some instability issues with random 'ATI card has reset itself' error. The 12V/80W PSU got very warm to the touch.

I resolved the stability issue by replacing the HIS HD5750 with a Gigabyte HD5750 which draws lower power and has been rock stable, even after repeated RE5/3dmark06/NFS Shift testing and playing for hours on end.

It is also for this reason why I recommend non-reference, more power efficient designs like the Powercolor Go Green! or PCS+ product, rated at 72W or found by techpowerup to draw 81W max respectively as shown here or the Gigabyte card. The HIS card had higher-than-reference power consumption, likely designed for more overclocking headroom.

Overclocking

Overclocking the Gigabyte from 700/1150 to 800/1430 gives performance close to a stock-clocked HD5770. This overclock was flakey on the 12V/80W but stable on an ATX PSU.

Conclusion

The US$249 12V/80W HD5750 implementation gives a compact, high performance, good value graphics upgrade to notebooks. To me the extra $50 and small effort to make a DIY floppy molex to pci-e power is worth it for superior performance over a HD4670/HD5670 AC adapter implementation. Though an ATX PSU can be cheaper than a 12V/80W PSU, so could do a HD5770+ATX PSU setup for pretty much the same cost.