DIY eGPU experiences

The T500 has 4500MHD +HD3650 switchable graphics. The 4500MHD component allows a x1.Opt setup. There's T400 and W500 experiences linked from the first post, both with similar underlying hardware.

When you install the NVidia driver it prompt you for a directory to extract to. Navigate there then copy the modded nvam.inf to the Display.Driver directory, overwriting the existing copy.

As for BSODs, ensure your DIY ViDock is off during bios boot and during Win7 login. Then try a sleep, power on DIY ViDock, resume OR try to plug in the EC2C while Win7 is running. One of those two methods should work, where the GTX460 will show up either as an additional device in Device Manager or AIDA64.

Proceed to run setup from the NVidia extracted directory, reboot with DIY ViDock off and again do a sleep/poweron DIY ViDOck/resume upon which it should all work.

 

Found my mistake here, with appropriate head slapping. I had originally installed the desktop version of the 270.61 drivers from the EVGA website, and didn't notice later when following instructions. Duh.

The former method results in the blue screen described above. The second method seems to work, with GTX460 showing up in device manager. But then...

I overwrote nvam.inf with the modded file and preformed a clean install as directed. So far so good. Then, after the install, when I tried plugging in the EC2C with an external monitor attached, Windows tried (unsuccessfully) to display on the monitor, came back to the notebook, failed, then spent awhile flicking back and forth until it crapped out to another BSOD. This time the error said "Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed."

I reinstalled the NVIDIA drivers and tried a few more times, always with the same result. Dunno. At this point it detects the GTX460 fine when I plug it in with Windows running, but throws a fit when I attach an external monitor. Pretty weird that it worked at first (before rebooting) even with the wrong drivers.

 

I'm on a lenovo L412 (i5-560m, HM55, windows 7) with AMD 5145v dedicated and GMA HD igp. When I try to use 1.x to disable the discrete graphics, it just gets stuck at:-
[cmd=*setpci -s 0:0.0 54.b=0:2*]
and nothing ever happens

 

I like ATI cards more than Nvidia cards due to the lower power consumption.

 

ok, i digged back a bit and realized this issue. So is it possible to disable my discrete AMD 5145v and revert back to Intel GMA HD as my primary video card? Else I wouldnt be able to do 1x.Opt

 

Hey guys, I'm setting up my Dock right now and im encountering some Code 43 problems, I loaded the newest 270 driver, but the card is still showing code 43, I can't seem to figure out why? Any help would be great! Thanks

My system is

HP DV4 T6600 @ 2.2
4G RAM
Win 7 64-bit
GT 430 (got a cheap card to test it out)

 

As I wait for my stuff to arrive from hwtools, I wonder about drivers.

I am confused! What are the best drivers for

Internal Graphics Card - 8600M GT - does it matter?

GTX 460? (270.61?). And I guess a modified inf for...something?

 

The trick with both an NVIDIA dedicated and external gpu is getting both cards to work under the same driver. Both 8600M GT and 460GTX are already available in the modified inf provided by nando4.

Once both cards are detected in the device manager, then any residual NVIDIA drivers of the internal gpu must be uninstalled (standard VGA drivers are ok) and then with both cards connected the new NVIDIA driver (270.61) must be installed.

During the setup, you should be asked TWICE to give permission to install the driver -> once for every card.

PS. If using the PM3N then whitelisting may be an issue as with in my system (see signature)
PSS. Just a headsup: i found for my current laptop that an x1 setup is not useful as the external gpu gave me similar performance to the internal gpu. 3DMark06 around 5500 for both. From the first post on this thread it seems that a better investment is an ATI which should give double the performance for some reason.

 

OK, I've convinced myself I want one of these. Could someone review my rough plan please?

I have a Toshiba L300:
-2.2GHz core 2 processor
-4GB RAM
-1 PCI express card slot
-GMA 4500 graphics
-Windows 7 64 bit

I plan to buy:
-PE4L with express card adapter
-12V 10A (=120 W by my math) power adapter
-nVidia GTS 450 (106 W max according to nVidia's page)
-Misc cables to convert from floppy power socket to 6 pin socket

I plan to install the nVidia mobile drives (so I can use optimus) with the inf mod that adds the GTS 450 as a supported card.

Once all this is done I want to be able to play games using the GTS 450 on my
- laptop LCD
- external monitor
(though not necessarily at the same time)

Anything I'm missing?

(I know about the free shipping that ends tomorrow, I'm not in the US so it doesn't apply for me.)

 

Thank you Nando for your PM about my plan. I'll be ordering in a day or two and building there after.

I'll post the results here once something happens.

 

2x PM3N v1.2 have arrived!

Connected and plugged into PE4H - green light is on, so a good sign.

Going to pick up 1GB GTX 460 and PSU tomorrow.

MSY Online
MSY Online

Either of those should suffice I presume?

The size of the head on the mini-hdmi cable make it very hard to fit into the slot! If I get it up and running, might look at a cheap replacement with a smaller head, if possible?

 

Hi,

I have this setup :

Hp 2530p (In plan to buy the 8460p soon)
Zotac Geforce GTX560 Ti
HWtools PE4H v2.4
Corsair CX430

I installed the Nvidia driver 270.61 opt. from Nando and my GTX560 is detected, I can see it in HWiNFo32....BUT

When I start a RE bench, it only takes the intel intagrated...



Do I miss a point to do??

Thanks for help.

 

@atticus182
Try setting the NVIDIA Control Panel's 3d settings to be like this



especially the bits about setting it for "High Performance NVIDIA processor" and "prefer maximum performance"

 

I did it, and it don't want to kick in. It stays with the Intel integrated..

 

I raised my CPU voltage a little to run my max CPU multiplier with my max fsb. End result is 3790MHz. Any higher and everything goes nuts.

3d06: 11060
06 Orb: Result

dmc4s4: 138 fps


RE5 was 108fps. nothing special, so no pic.

Vantage wouldn't complete even at 1% slower. Didn't bother any slower than that since PIC-E would have dropped compared to my x11 multi results

 

did you make it a primary display in windows display settings?

 

Yeah you have to. Since the Intel IGP is directly connected to the internal monitor, if the internal monitor is set as primary, it will be powered by the IGP. The same thing goes for the external screen, so set the external screen as the primary.

 

Well - everything arrived and I tried to get it all working - as I guess, no luck on day 1!

Running Dell XPS M1530, 4GB ram, Win-7 64 Bit.

Step 1
Connected 2 x PM3N v1.2 to GTX 460. GTX 460 powered on (fans on full) and then when laptop turned on, ramped down in speed. (so something is working).

Step 2
Booted to Windows - windows installed a 'Standard VGA Driver'. Standard VGA Driver failed with an 'Error 12'. Installed 270.61 drivers with Nando's modified inf. Rebooted. Win7 now shows 8600M GT and 460GTX, with the GTX still having error 12.

Step 3
Unplugged everything, reboot and set up Setup 1.X. (i.e. copied devon.txt to V: etc). Rebooted (with Vidock powered on - I think PM3N v1.2 should mean we don't need to hotplug, but this is something I haven't tried).

Step 4Ran Setup 1.x Check nVidia-nflash. Ended up with 'Uncofigured Display Adapter Found' for the GTX 460. I think this is the root of the problems, but have not found a solution for it!

Step 5Try PCI compaction. This was interesting - win 7 rebooted with what must have been standard VGA drivers as the resolution was 800 x 600 and it looked like about 16 colours! The GTX 460 and 8600M GT were detected - now the 8600M GT had error 12, and the GTX 460 was 'working correctly'. It never output to the external monitor however?

I tried various other things to no avail. I noticed something interesting - if I try to set Port 3 to x2 I can no longer even see the GTX 460 in nvidia n-flash?

Can anyone help?

 

try the suggestion in my previous post. To quote someone who helped me along:

 

Ahh, thanks I had forgotten that. Will give it a go.

(Wish I didn't constantly have to re-install drivers!)

 

Oh my, thanks for sharing, that is just awesome !
Congrats !
Your 3DMark Vantage score is impressive.
Have you tried Unigine ? it gives me really good score with my GTX 560 Ti, yours should perform much better, eventhough the performance aren't as good as desktop, I guess you are ready for next DX11 game with tesselation.

 

Hey guys, 2nd post hehehe.
Got my mPCI-E card today, works like a charm, I just want to post to thank all of you who first built this awesome device and nando4 for putting it all together!

 

Lenovo - IdeaPad Y470 14.0" laptop

Perhaps a good candidate for the DIY Vidock, using mini-PCIE

With a coupon you can save 10%

 

Well it worked! (thanks nlooije)

Deleted 8600M GT driver, re-installed 270.61 with modified inf, booted into Setup 1.x, had to use 32-bit compaction allocating 32mb to vid01 (which is the internal video card) and then miraculously booted into windows on the external montior! Runs nicely

I can't do an x2 though! Evertime I set port 3 into x2 mode, the 460gtx is no longer detected. Any thoughts? I have noticed there is only 1 light on a time on the PM3N's - this is whatever is plugged into the first slot on the PE4H. So if I plug port 3 into the PE4H slot 1, it lights up and there is a port 3 entry in Setup 1.x. If I plug port 4 into the PE4H slot 1, it lights up and there is a port 4 entry in Setup 1.x. I can never get both to work...?

 

Try the following initially to confirm that x2 mode can be set.

- Physically unplug the PM3N plugged into port3
- Poweroff the DIY ViDock
- Cold boot system into Setup 1.x
- Set x1E mode on port3 (it doesn't do a hot reset if using Setup-1.08).
- poweron the DIY ViDock.
- Physically plug in port3 PM3N into mPCIe slot. Be careful since the system is live
- Hit F5 to rescan - it should now show GTX460@x2
- If not, send a PCI Hot reset to port3.

If this works, then play with two things to try to get it to work without needing to do a live hotplug:

- set the 7sec PCIRUN delay option on the PM3N
- use the PCI Hot reset menuitem
- unplug/replug lane1 after x2 link width is set

I believe the 7second delay option on the PM3N 1.2 is still an incomplete solution. It would work if the delay was relative to the DIY ViDock being powered on. The workaround then is still to hotplug the PM3N. I patched my PM3N 1.1's CLKRUN signal so that manually setting the jumper started that signal.

 

glad it worked

 

Thanks Nando - what should I do with Port 4 while this is happening? Connected to slot 2 on the PE4H or hot plug this also?

 

Even if you can't do x2 for some reason, the card should still operate in x1 mode. A hot-reset is likely making your card stop operating. If x2 mode does not work by not doing the hot reset when setting x2, reboot after setting x2. This will reinitialize the card, and most bioses will let the x2 setting stick. You likely have to reload the setup utility again and disable port 4.

This is the method I have to use for x2 (I used to use BAR-edit before I got the setup tool working. Took forever). For a while I was able to simply set x2 without a reset, but that stopped working inexplicably after a few days. Any other method for setting x2 for me works inconsistently.

 

Also - I presume when GPU-Z tells when I am running x1 that I am indeed? (this is how I was confirming I was only getting x1)

I was getting good FPS in games, although the RE5 benchmark was not that impressive

 

I still cant find the problem with my PE4L
i use asus f3sc and gtx460
had try to change hdmi cable but aint working
when i sleep mode,and return it, my vga fan doesnt slowing down

any suggestion?
or do i need to change the port of express card?

 

I've got the similar notebook:
12" Lenovo X201s
i7-640LM 2.13GHz
8.0 GB RAM
Gigabyte GTS450 1024MB (120W portable solution).
Verde 270.61 + nando's nvam.inf (64-bit)
Windows 7 Pro x64.
PE4L

However, running 3DMark Vantage is only showing 4~6FPS...
When I toggle "Desktop -> Display GPU Activity on Notification Area" on the NVidia control panel, nothing appears.

Using Optimus Test Tool shows GPU is off.

BTW, when the GTS450 is enabled, I get "This device cannot start. (Code 10)" on Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter. (Radio is turned off, otherwise the USB locks up when dock is plugged in).

What am I missing? Why does it seem so easy for you?
Please help!

 

Thanks Khenglish.

I tried

a) Setting Port 3 to x2 (which lost GTX 460 detection)
2) Rebooting into setup 1.x
3) PCI-compaction

This give me a x2 listed in Setup 1.X. But when booted into Windows GPU-Z still gives x1. Will maybe try hotplugging both PM3N's? Or do I need to disable port 4? (it is not listed at all in Setup 1.x)

(Sidenote, how do I set the 7sec PCIRUN delay option on the PM3N?)

thanks!

 

bro, can you teach me how to switch the pci express port?
appreciate it

 

as far as i know, it is not possible to assign ports. even if possible i doubt that would solve your problems.

after sleep/resume is your external GPU detected in the device manager?

 

not at all, even the vga fan doesn't slowing down
but i already checked with put pendrive on usb port on my PE4L
and it was detected in my laptop
but not w/ VGA (i use gigabyte gtx460)

can you help me with this?

 

What powersupply are you using (specs)?
Maybe trivial but make sure the 460gtx is properly attached to the power supply.
When i first hooked my 460gtx up i forgot to attach the black 6-pin connectors to the gpu and had just the connector to my PE4H so the fan was spinning but the card itself was not getting power.

 

its 550watt PSU from local ebay (Heuer-germany brand, 550 Watt ATX Netzteil / P4 + PFC / 80mm Lüfter bei eBay.de: Gehäuse (endet 29.04.11 15:33:09 MESZ) )
yupp i forgot also,but i already attached the 2 6-pin connector
but nothing happened

 

If your port 4 was enabled windows would not have loaded. I wonder if running compaction after the reboot is causing problems. Have you found out if it's necessary to rerun it? I never have to reallocate so I don't know if reallocation sticks after a reboot.

Have you tried setting x2 without resetting the port yet? that would be the simplest solution. After setting the port to x2 and the card is still x1, try loading it's dump file back onto it and see if that works.

 

I tried it... I set the external display as the primary display and the notebook display shows only the wallpaper and nothing on the external one.. I can't do anything at this point. I am stuck..

 

Nando,

So I unplugged PM3N from port 3 + 4, and did as you said. When I plugged in the PM3Ns I got nothing after rescaning, hot resetting, rescanning again, trying to restore a previous x2. Nothing I can do can get x2 to show up, except rebooting, although then it actually boots in x1. Hmm... (although it still works well enough for gaming, I'd like to bump the numbers up of course )

 

Also,

There are some beta drivers out that be worth keeping an eye on:

NVIDIA DRIVERS 275.27 BETA

 

that should be adequate.
are you sure the gpu works, have you tried it in a desktop system?
also have you tried booting the laptop with the EC inserted?

 

yapp i als tried with EC inserted but nothing
ok, i will give a try my card on desktop

 

Nando4!

Do you think I can use this laptop (MSI CX623-297XHU) with GTX460 at x1.opt?

Thanks in advance!
David

 

I looked some into Nvidia's .inf files and found this:

HKLM,"Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\CoProcManager",ShowTrayIcon,%REG_DWORD%,1
HKLM,"Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\CoprocManager",OptimusEnhancements,%REG_DWORD%,1
HKLM,"Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\CoprocManager",ShowContextMenu,%REG_DWORD%,0

These registry entries are NOT present on my system. I don't have a CoproManager folder at all. Can someone with optimus check and see if they have these entries? I think you will.

 

They are present on my system. You can trace down the inf file with your hardware id in order to check whether those keys are created.

 

Interesting. So the entries are being added on Optimus systems, but not on non-Optimus. I wonder why when Nando swapped an HD with Optimus drivers into a system that didn't have an intel IGP that Optimus didn't work.

 

Ensure lane2/port4 PM3N is connected, DIY ViDock Setup 1.x booted and port3 set to x2 mode, then power on your DIY ViDock and physically attach the lane1/port3 to your mPCIe slot and hit F5 to rescan. It should show up as GTX460@x2 if detected. That is what worked with a DV4-2000.

Similar CR720 implementation was fine but needed to run with only 3GB.

Appears to me that the driver itself checks for the IGP to be present, just as it does for a x1 link to activate the compression code. No amount of registry tweaking to add the Optimus components to a non-IGP system would activate it during my testing.

A potential workaround for your system would be to spoof your primary NVidia gpu to present as a 4500MHD on the PCI bus. How to do that on a Windows system? Maybe try to flash the NVidia gpu's vbios from 10de:xxxx(NVidia) to 8086:2a42 (Intel - 4500MHD). I tried this once before finding nvflash didn't want to overwrite the vendorID. Maybe you've have better luck?

Setup 1.x pre-release now has HTML-text help system

I've moved all existing help text in a new HTML-text help system. Can download and review it here. The help documentation starting in \help\index.htm can now be viewed using your favorite Internet browswer.

 

Looking to buy an X220, is this a good computer for a ViDock? Is there a way to hide the powersupply and graphics card while using it, I don't want it on my desk taking up space and looking ugly.

 

I tried searching something about hp8510p in this thread but all I got was: "Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms."


I have WiFi card in mini pci-e slot, there is place for another mini pci-e slot but the port is not actually soldered on. I think it is place for WWAN module. So probably this is the first one free PCI-e slot shown by everest.

Inside the notebook is a PCMCIA slot but via Advanced Docking Station it is possible to get Express card slot - so this could be the other free PCI-e slot shown by everest.

Is it possible to use ViDock with this? Which adpter can be used with this setup?
Thank you!