DIY eGPU experiences

yeah I can hear the sounds. I just played a game for about 45 min. Nothing wrong yet. Must be the monitor.

 

If the monitor shuts down, the sounds continue (computer works). It must be some strange internal issue with the monitor.

 

I recommend the cheaper PE4L but used a PE4H in my setup as it's self-standing so photographs better. A PE4L needs props to stand upright. Both do a x1.Opt setup equally well but a PE4L will save you $25-$30 which can be put towards a GTX460 or put in the kitty for other things. A GTX460 is 50% faster than a GTS450, though that would be something like 10-30% on a x1 link. If can find a s/h GTX460 for the $20-$30 more than a GTS450 then I'd go the GTX460 for sure.

I did a Badaboom DVD encoding @24000bit/s, Apple TV profile, finding my GTX460 encoded at 66fps whereas my cpu encoded at 36fps. Almost twice faster. An impressive performance boost. Wonder how the gpu encoding compares against newer i5/i7 cpus?

 

Are all the wwan card slot can't be used?or some can ,and how to identify whether the slot can do a vidock?

 

Excellent. I'll order the bits now.

Just before I buy it, this is the card you're referring to right? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Gigabyte-Nvi...80380407?pt=AU_Components&hash=item230f4a42f7

 

in windows 7 control panel...power options under pci express....
what is link state power management.....default is moderate power savings...

 

Oh btw I couldn't find this anywhere, but is the PE4H 2.4 PCI-e 2.0 compatible? I know the cables weren't good enough but is the adapter itself okay? From what I can recall about PCI-e I think this is the case, right?

 

you better look at the cheaper non-used one : Micro Center - Galaxy 60XMH6HS3HMW GTX460 GC Edition 768MB PCIe 2.0 x16 Video Card 60XMH6HS3HMW

 

Which MBP? A 2010 version?

 

I'm going to run some CPU benches with TMPGEnc and Handbrake. Maybe Badaboom is also better with CPU. It is cool being able to encode without tying up your whole computer.

 

Nwm my cable had fallen out under the transport

 

Hi all

After doing many tests. And many games test.

Some games tested with 1360x768 resolution at 60Hz DirectX9

Resident Evil 5: It works perfectly with everything at maximum without occlusion to 45-60 fps
Medal of Honor 2010: Works with all at max at 20-36 fps
Mafia 2: Everything at least Ambient Occlusion maximum at 15-25 fps
Alien Vs Predator 2010: Everything to the max at 45-50 fps
Brothers in arms hell higway: All the maximum at 20-35 fps
Crysis: All the maximum less occlusion and shadows medium 20-27 fps
Dark Void: All the shadows maximum medium at 35-40 fps
Far Cry 2: All the maximum under occlusion, and shadows Smooht medium 25-37 fps
Wollfenstein 2010: All the maximum 30-50 fps
Time Shift: All the maximum 50-60 fps

I've tried about 50 of the last games. And the truth I'm not complaining. Going very well. Moving fluids as compared to moving to the graphic card for my laptop. I was always between 7-12 fps with these games and at lower resolutions and everything to a minimum.

I can say that my diy ViDock works very well.

I tried several operating systems. I have installed on my notebook. Windows Home Premium 32-bit, Win 7 Gamer Edition 64-bit Snow Leopard 10.6.6. 64 bits.

The 64-bit Windows 7 Gamer is the one that works perfectly. Plug ViDock Diy install drives without problems. That if I disable the aero theme or gives me error dmw.exe Process.
That is the desktop window manager. But I think it's because my windows 7 Gamer has installed a window manager Tuning. To support issues that are not Microsoft.

In Vista Home Premium I recognize the graphic card in the device manager. When I connect ViDock Diy. I installed the latest drivers. But do not get it to work. I get error 43 or error 12.

Snow Leopard in my laptop is recognized as a MacBookPro 4.1. After trying many things. I detected that I have a Nvidia connected. But despite having installed the latest kext of the graph. I do not recognize the device ExpressCard34. He says unknown device. But if you show me where my two targetas graphics and that it is a Nvidia. Although not recognized or Ram memory of the graph or model.

I have read that this is due to the fact that Macs are supported only on these devices ExpressCard34 MacBook Pro models 2 and 4. Leopard versions 10.4 or 10.5.

Proves with these versions, later.

My laptop model;

ASUS X59SL P8400/4/250G/3470/15
P / N: X59SL-AP382C

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26 GHz)
L2 Cache: 3MB
FSB: 1066
RAM: 4GB DDR2 667MHz
Hard Disk: 250GB
Sound: Intel High Definition Audio
PCMCIA: no => Express Card
VGA: ATI HD3470 256 MB dedicated (up to 1024MB Hyper Memory)
Video Connectors: 1 x DB15 / 1 x DVI
USB: -
LAN: 10/100/100 / 802.11n
Modem: -
Firewire: -
Optical Drive: Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW
TFT: 15.4 "WXGA
Dimensions: 36.5 x 26.2 x 3.5 cm
Weight: 2.7 kg
Operating System: Windows Vista Premium
Card reader: if
Camera: 1.3 Megapixel
Safety: -
Battery: 6 cell

Operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate Gamer Edition 64 bit

In 3Dmark will see that it catches the operating system is wrong. Not Winxp is Win7. But I guess that's because the program is 2005, and then there was no win7.

Also I have to say I think this Becmark well as Resident Evil 5. Results are obsolete or can not give accurate testimony. And although I do test with them. Later in the game Resident Evil 5 Get much more frames. That gives me the Bencmark RE5. I tried also other bencmarks as Heaven 2.1.

Well these are the results with my Diy ViDock. Resident Evil 5 Bencmark, Heaven and 3Dmark06 on Win7 Ultimate 64 bits.

With direcx 9 and the driver that came with the CD of the graph:

ImageShack(TM) slideshow

With direcx 9,10,11 and OpenGL with the latest Nvidia driver:

ImageShack(TM) slideshow

Here some screenshots of my device and Everest aministrador:

ImageShack(TM) slideshow

As you can see the result with the latest Nvidia driver. Improvement in more than 100 points in 3Dmark06 results and RE5 in 10 fps.

I am very happy with my Diy ViDock.

I encourage people to try. And so you can take your laptop a couple of years for very little money. You can play or use design software last generation.

Regards to all, especially Nando4.
For their patience and help with all my doubts.

 

Hope to see some sandy bridge benchmarks soon! Anyone ordered one yet?

Also still wonder if I should get a I5-2520 model or I7-2620 model, 190$ + VAT is a lot extra for 200Mhz but I need my 3v3 SC2 to run super nice

 

Anyone make a DIY ViDock setup that works with Mac OS Snow Leopard?

 

Hi There,
I've spent the last few days going through this topic and I'm simply amazed.. I can finally do my work and play some games too So I've decided to take the plunge and I want to go ahead and order the parts today..

These are the items I'm going to buy, can someone kindly enough confirm that this is all I need:

1. PowerColor (AX5750 1GBD5-H) ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 (1150MHz).

2. 12 Volt DC - 7 Amp (80w) Power Supply. 12 Volt DC - 7 Amp Power Supply

3. ExpressCard External Graphics x1 (PE4L) from HIT. http://www.harmonicinversion.com/products/manufacturer/hit.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=193&category_id=25

My Laptop specs:

HP Elitebook 8440p
Intel® Core™ i5-540M Processor (2.53 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache)
6 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Intel® HD Graphics
1 Express Card/54
Windows Vista SP2 32bit

Do I need to buy anything else apart from the above? Is there a preference between using a PE4H or PE4L (apart from the price)?

Also, Is ExpressCard Adapter 2.0 out? Would it make a difference to buy one and using it apart from the one that come shipped with the PE4L from HIT?

Thanks

 

2.0 = sandy bridge so you cant get that unless you get a new laptop

 

I'd also be interested in the answers to the setup that Ramizs is putting together, as that would be perfect to run on my T420 when it gets here, as long as everything works out.

 

I used a PE4L, HD5770 and a 300w silverstone psu, that ran fine, but you should get alot more performacne than him because you get Pci-e 2.0 from your T420, but I still await anyone trying vidock with a sandy bridge cpu

 

So, is the 12v/80w DC power supply enough to run the card or do I still need to have another PSU hooked?

P.S. Also, what sort of performance I'll be looking at achieving with my suggested setup?

Ideas anyone?


Thanks

 

Look at the amperage. (12v1)

Me too waiting for a benchmark of an Xbox PSU test!

Is the XBOX PSU enough?

Anyone???

 

Looking at powercooler ATI HD4750 it uses 81W at most (max load).. So is it worthwhile getting a 90w or 120w DC power adapter instead of 80w/84w adapter?

Thanks

 

Your Intel HD primary graphics mean you can do x1.Opt with an NVidia, providing great performance and an internal LCD mode using Optimus. No real reason to go ATI/AMD then.

A NVidia GTS450 requires 120W. A GTX460 is 50% more powerful but requires 160-180W. A XBOX360 PSU provides portability and enough juice to drive both but needs the harness cut and molex leads solded as shown. Be wary of GTX460SE Smart Edition models. They have 15% less CUDA cores, in the same way that a GTX460 has 15% less CUDA cores than a GTX560. There's a great GTX460-768MB deal in my sig.

 

So, I could do a PE4L with a PSU and a GTX460 without the need for a DC power adapter?

Thanks for your help nando4, you're awesome

Thanks

 

If you get a "normal" computer PSU you need some mod to turn it on like CoolerKit.dk - Køb ATX PSU Starter (Which I use) because a psu is made so it needs to be connected a motherboard to turn on, but if you use that plug there (you can build one yourself) it will turn on as soon as it gets power from the power cord.

 

are you referring to the SWEX (ATX Power Supply Switch) as in here

Thanks

 

. . . or can do the paperclip trick or buy a US$5 SWEX, an optional extra with a PE4L or delivered with a PE4H, to turn on a ATX PSU. An ATX PSU offering plenty of power at a low cost. A great drive way to drive a docked GTS450/GTX460. A modded XBOX360 PSU being a great way to drive a portable GTS450/GTX460.

Such topics and more are covered in the FAQ on the first post.

 

Yes that also does the trick, abeit a bit more expensive.

 

I currently own a MSI GX640 with a mobility radeon HD5850 1gb gddr5.

I want to know if a vidock with a GTX 460 or GTX 560 would be better than my current laptop?

I don't want less GPU power, but I want more portability and battery life. I could buy a lenovo X220 or a HP 2560.

 

Thank you everyone who made DIY Vidock easier, especially Nando, Nautis and the helpfull google doc from yuuma.

I got a Sony VAIO VPC-Z11Z9E.

- intel core i7 620M
- nVidia GT 330M
- 8 Gb RAM DDR3
- DIY Vidock with a GTX 560 Ti (MSi Twin Frozr II OC to be exact) PE4H 2.4 + EC2C + SWEX 1.1 + Mini HDMI
- BIOS with advanced option

I've have only tested 3DMark 06 - so far

● Here is the performance I got when setting up a virtual monitor (It should be exactly the same score with an external monitor.)


WEI went from 6.5 to 6.9, before the laptop was graphic limited, but now it's CPU limited - graphic reach 7.7 for both tests.

● Internal LCD mode / Optimus seems to be working


It seems that I couldn't get more than 34 fps (at 1280x1024x32) due to restricted bandwith in this mode.
I'd really need to overclock PCIe BUS but not sure it is possible on my laptop, I see nothing about it in the bios...


More benchmarks are to come...

 

Done. I've received all and I started the lab. I changed the power supply during the test, because when I started to use stress tests, PSU gone down. The GTX has many claims to watts on 12V rail .

Final (enthusiast ) configuration is:
PE4H-PM3N ver2.4 Package
850 watts PSU
GTX 580

 

So amazing to read all about DIY dock there, I'm using my lap in my sign, is there any change to take the external combo with mine for better 5870m Xfire's performance in my laptop? thanks in advance!

 

well it depends on how fast is your laptop currently is and if you can do at least a PE4H x2 or even x4. Otherwise it is pretty useless.


by the way



I 'd like to take off the Intel centrino advanced N 6200 AGN and the Ricoh PCI-E Memoory Stick Host Controler, to try a PE4H x2 instead of using only the Port 3.

Does anyone knows if it is possible with my system ?

 

If someone had that same setup in an actual desktop computer....what kind of 3dmark06 score would they get? It's hard to picture how much the pci-e x1 bottlenecks it.

with internal lcd setup, you are sending data back into the computer through the mini hdmi cable which is why performance drops a lot. You can never go above 60fps because of the vsync...realistically it's usually about 30fps like u say.

 

Any chance we can use difference benchmarks that aren't synthetic or so CPU bound like RE5? How about Mafia II? The demo has benchmark built in.

Mafia II on Steam

Not only is it more CPU and GPU intensive, but it can also exercise your Physx.

 

Hello guys, such a great thread, I am very excited.
I have Dell E4200:
U9300 CPU
Mobile Intel 4 series chipset family
ICH9 PCI express root port 1,2,4 and ICH9M-E LPC interface controller (honestly I didn't know at all what these were for. I don't still know enough...)
(one 35mm express card slot)
5GB RAM
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

I am reading this thread for about 4 hours, following some purchasing links, but still I am not sure what I have to buy.
I think I do need
1. PE4L-EC2C ver1.5 Package 55$
2. Gold Plated 1080P HDMI Mini V1.3 M-M Connection Cable 5.61$
3. A graphic card and a power supply?

Are these all I have to buy?
The ultimate question is which graphic card I need to buy. Obviously, my e4200 runs well high-res h.264 movies, office and windows run very snappy. If I do this, it would be for gaming and photo managing (lightroom). The thing is that my CPU is U9300, 1.2GHz, and it doesn't let me play recent games due to its low clock. (As long as I know... I am newbie in gaming. I used to use Mac and didn't play a lot of games.)
I am now playing Elder Scroll III with MODs.... So considering all these facts, which graphic card (which level) do you think will be enough for my use?
I would buy a good one if I had E4300 with normal voltage CPU. E4200 is lovely when carrying around it, but not very encouraging when it comes down to gaming..
If my question is too vague, please let me know. This is very first time I ever play with separate parts of a PC.

 

i have about 13000 in vantage benchmarks and 15500 in 3Dmarks 06, everything run ok with highest setting in almost game, but some of my favorite one is not compatible with 5870m xfire, its driver problems so I wanna take another adventure with DIY ViDock.

I checked my PCI E controller that i have 2 PCI E 2.0 x8 but both are using by my dual GPUs, I have one PCI Express 54 , my chipset is Intel M PM55, so do you have any suggesstion about that? thanks...

 

Hmm I guess whatever the graphic you can't get better than your system if you are not using at least a PE4H x2 PCIe 2.0

With my setup which it is currently a PE4H x1 PCIe 2.0 I can get a bit more than 15600 with 3DMark 06, the PE4H x1 PCIe 2.0 is limitating the bandwidth, with a PE4H x2 PCIe 2.0 it would be much better.

My laptop when looking at other results is one which is having the best performance with a DIY Vidock. So yours, has to be at least as powerfull with a DIY Vidock.
Recommended graphic card for best performance/value are GTX 460 768Mb or 1Gb
My GTX 560 Ti Twin frozr OC which performs better than a GTX 470 with normal desktop computer, do not do anything better than a GTX 460 1gb with DIY Vidock.

Could you use everest/AIDA and make a screenshot like this one ?



I need to know how many PCI Express Controller you have.
You can also check with the nando4's super first post
And look at this :
" 5. (Performance) Can my system do a PE4H x2 or x4 link as shown in PCI-E Scaling Analysis?"

 

Here we go:








So it has five PCI E Controller, right?
Yeah, thank you for your guide, Im reading it now... BTW do you thing are there problem if I switch to Nvidia because I'm using two AMD inside

Edit: So your GTX 560Ti could be much better performing with a PE4H x2 PCIe 2.0 ? And I wonder is there the limitation if you would done your DIY ViDock with a PE4H x2 PCIe 2.0 and GTX560Ti? and if the answer would be " yes " which number of percent we could get with these two x2 2.0 when comparing in normally using in destop? Thank you so much for your reply

 

Hi guys after a very extensive read through i really would like to incorporate the ViDock method to increase my graphic performance of my notebook. My details are as follows and i want to buy the ViDock 4 plus and want to use a GTX card based on your recommendation as i already have a nvidia card built in. Also any Power Supply information would also be helpful. If you want n e more information i'd be happy to provide.

Notebook Specs:
Sony F Series Notebook (VPCF111FD)
Win 7 Home x64
Intel Core i7 (1.6GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
NVidia GT 310M
8 GB DDR 3 (2 x 4GB)
External PCI Express Slot Gen 2 x16

My display:
LG 47' LCD 240Hz 1920x1080p using HD cable

 

Well yes it has 5 PCIe but I think with DIY vidock you can't use the PCIe controller of your northbirdge (the ones with the HD 5870 on it) so you have actually 3 PCIe controller that we can use.

To answer you, I've been reading again some nando4's descriptions about those PCI-e controller.
And I've 2 bad news for us

First of all Serie 5 chipset ( like yours or mine ) show PCI-e 2.0 however, PCI-e 2.0 is supposed to double the bandwidth compared to PCI-e 1.0, 2,5gb/s to 5gb/s but unfortunately series 5 chipset are still limited to 2,5 Gb/s bandwidth.

edit : Well it seems I could not disable port 1 through bios I'm going to try to remove the intel wifi card 6200 AGN.

Second bad new is that, your laptop may not be able to do a PE4H X2 because to do this, you need to connect port 1 and port 2 (port 1 + port 3 is not possible, the only possibilities are port 1 + 2 or port 3 + 4 etc...)

But...

I'm not sure to but I think it means that if you port 1 is empty and your other port functioning it means that you may have a port 1 which is not electicrally connected to the other PCI-e port so a PE4H x2 isn't possible.
I'm not sure though, I'm going to try something on my systems you should do the same by the way, just to get sure.

I'm going to reboot and enter bios, then I'll disable the PCI-e port 1 and then I check other ports, if they aren't functionning it means that I could do a PE4H x2 because port 1 would be the root port and electrically connected to others. If they are working it means I have a phantom port 1 with no electrical connection to other ports so, no PE4H x2...

Edit : I had no succes disabling port 1 in bios, I also tried to remove the intel wifi 6200 AGN, port 2 and 3 were still working....
Looks like I also have a phantom port 1 and that seems quite evident that it's not electrically linked to other ports as I can switch of my centrino 62000 AGN with a laptop button.. so it probably turn the port 1 off.

 

MikjoA do you have the capability to run x1 1.0 optimus on your computer? I was considering running that setup with a gtx560 (which would also go in my desktop when I am at home, so the extra performance it provides over a GTX460 would be used in the desktop).
Do you have 3dmark vantage and/or 3dmark11 results for your setup?

 

Well I think so I do have the capability to run x1 1.0 optimus, on both internal or external LCD.

However I couldn't test 3DMark vantage & 11 with an external LCD. But I tried 3DMark Vantage on internal LCD, with internal LCD I got P6672 for 3DMark vantage while using external LCD I guess I would score like other member who tried DIY vidock on their vaio Z series, so something about P12000, andd I have no idea about 3DMark 11 but I'll try them soon.

 

DIY Vidock are cheaper and can enable you to make a x2 or x4 PCIe 1.0 / 2.0 whereas vidock can't..

 

Please remember that there is currently no support for PCIe 2.0 (5 GT/s) on any of the DIY Vidock platforms (PE4L and PE4H). See current development info from hw-tools.net here. The "2.0" specification refers to the PE4H version, not PCIe protocol.

I doubt there will be a significant advantage of using a DIY Vidock over your current internal crossfire cards. Even if you hook up a Geforce 5xx or Radeon 6xxx card, it will be severely bandwidth limited (see Nando's performance chart on first page). The best you can achieve with your chipset is a x2 1.0 PCIe link provided that:

• your expresscard slot is wired to port #1 and you can hook it up with a EC2C
• you remove your mPCIe wifi card and replace it with a PM3N

If your system ticks the above items, you can then link port #1 and #2 in a x2 link to a PE4H. Unfortunately, PM55 does not support PCIe 2.0 on the Southbridge so 5 GT/s (2x 2.5 GT/s from port1+2) will be the best you can hope for. With this in mind, have a look at the performance chart to see if it's worthwhile trying.

 

Yeah I saw the chart and I didn't see any hope there, I just wanna know and if there is a change, Im gonna try but it seems hopeless at that point

@MikjoA I tried to disable port 1 in bios but there is no option for that and it seems with our system, we couldn't do any better external combo because of bandwidth limitation.

With mine, i have another option, saving money and go for 920xm and SSD lol

 

Yeah I know, I just figured it out yesterday after a more careful nando4's post reading. But it looks like Serie 6 will get full bandwidth.

But we can do it only if the Port 1 is electrically linked to others ? How can we know that it is ?
Do you think I could do a PE4H x2 1.0 with my setup ? My ExpressCard is the Port 3.
Can it work if I remove both mPCIe cards and connected PM3N ?

Thanks

 

1) HIT ExpressCard External Graphics x16
http://www.harmonicinversion.com/pro...category_id=25

OR

PE4H ver2.4 with EC2C
PE4H (PCIe passive adapter ver2.4)

Which one is better?

Also, I tried using AIDA64 but when i come down to check my chipset, no information is presented. Help?

 

Both HIT's and HWTools PE4H are the same as far as I know.

 

Hello! New user experiencing some difficulty configuring a DIY ViDock...
The Setup:
HP DV4-2173nr
2.26Ghz Core i5
"Intel HD" Graphics

PE4H 2.4 via ExpressCard
350W ATX PSU
MSI GTS450

The ExpressCard port is PCIE #4

Aida64 Southbridge Screen (without GPU attached):


The Process:
Installed the 266.58 drivers with modified inf. Have a PCI Dump (Win) that leaves the card in a "configured" state when loaded in Setup 1.x. Performed a "bridges" PCI compaction (PCI allocation valid was "yes*" before compaction).
Chainload Win7 x64 Home. Optimus watermark appears on "adjust image settings with preview" page in nVidia Control Panel. Optimus info tool indicates one program using the GPU while on the control panel page.

The Problem:
3Dmark06 loads the Procyon scene with optimus watermark, once loading completes, hard lockup to black screen with watermark no BSOD.

Also tried Magicka (would not load at all on IGP alone). Game launches, get watermark, lockup about 15s into menu with watermark and menu frozen on screen.

Any advice on possible solutions? Thanks!

 

x1.Opt using a NVidia GTS450 or better is recommended since you have a 4500MHD primary video card to allow it. Your U9300 can be dual-IDA overclocked to 1.4Ghz using Throttlestop to get some more performance. See my sig a breakdown of parts required for a recommended GTX460 @x1.Opt implementation.

Not a chance. port1=wifi, port2=card reader (soldered on systemboard). Besides, x2 doesn't allow the Optimus tweak to work so x1.Opt and x2 see very similar peformance levels. Consider a x1.2Opt setup with a Series-6 chipset if want more performance. No one has tried or reported such an implementation as hwtools haven't got pci-e 2.0 5GT/s signals running on their DIY ViDock parts yet.

Your DIY ViDock is configured correctly so works initially. It's only once under load that it fails. Need to isolate if the problem is with your mini HDMI cable, the GTS450, power supply or (unlikely) some issue with your expresscard slot.