DIY eGPU experiences

Hi David,
Page 1 of this thread has the info on Setup.1x, the newest version can disable dGPU such as GT525M. Thanks.

 

I tried reinstalling the eGPU setup but no difference. Any extra info I can give you guys so you can help me out?

Recap:

-been using eGPU fine for a while
-recently tried to hook it up again but when chainloading after PCI compaction I get a black screen (no boot menu)

 

Hello again and thank you for taking your time to try to help me.

First of all, let me take a minute to apologise for seeming as if I havn't been doing my homework. English is not my native toungue so I am using google translate and my wife who is not technical minded at all... So; I was trying to get my point across the best way I could, but I can understand why it is difficult for you to help out when my information isn't structured.

I've managed to get it to work by taking out a RAM module. Not the optimal way to do it, but at least it works now till I can find out what I am doing wrong with the setup.

I will keep an eye out for new information in this thread and will post a few images of the box Im building for the card.

Thank you once again for taking your time to try to help me.

/Lurifax

Update: To add insult to injury; my brandnew Corsair CX600 PSU just gave up on me. It had run for all of 4 hours.....

 

Yeah sure, no problem.

Glad to hear it works out by taking out some RAM.
If your mother tongue would be German - I could try to help you in that language. But not yet at the moment as I have not reached 5 posts. So I cannot send private messages in this board at the moment.

Sorry for being slightly OT at this point.

 

If anyone wants to quickly check the TOLUD on their machine without downloading devcon, copy and paste this into PowerShell and hit enter twice:

Then just look for the PCI bus result:

 

Hey....I just got a new laptop. t410 with intel hd....I'm having trouble getting the vidock to work...it wasn't as easy as before....

i tried downloading some driver....and it says its not 32 bit when I try installling even though I have win 32 bit...

 

My mother tongue is Danish but thanks for the offer.

Will paint the case next week so I'll probably have some pictures ready to UL if my replacement PSU arrives.

/Lurifax

 

Lenovo Thinkpad X220 using a Vidock 4 plus and a GeForce GTX 285:

Had to modify the Verde ini to add device id 05E3, but then I realized I can't use the laptop lcd with 285 as it doesn't support Optimus anyway. Is this an actual hardware limitation or a software limit set in the driver somewhere?

I then went on and installed the default Nvidia drivers. I might do a comparison benchmark later, vs Verde.

Works fine after downgrading to bios 1.11 as previously stated. This is a bummer though, as later bioses have fixed both the CPU fan noise AND the throttling issue. (At least they state so for 1.17, haven't tested yet.) I'm hoping someone will get through to them and set the TOLUD back (or add a BIOS option for it).

Quick update: Since 285 doesn't support Optimus I tried out the LucidLogix Virtu trial. Lo and behold, it worked out of the box! http://www.lucidlogix.com/product-virtu.html Now if only there was a way to buy a personal license...

Update 2: Initial testing with 3Dmark Vantage shows no difference between desktop drivers and Verde drivers.

 

Can anyone tell me what the most bandwidth I can get with a Dell Latitude e6520? I have no idea if it has PCI-e or not...

Thanks.

 

Is there some kind of list, which Nvidia cards support Optimus? I like my x220t + GTX460, but I would like to know "how high" I can go

 

Hi, I'm a newbie with this but I'd like to try, I'm thinking of buying a vostro 3450s for this purpose (its on the SB eGPU Notebook list) it has a HD6630 switchable dGPU, should I be buying an ATI or Nvidia GPU?? Thanks

 

AFAIK all released Fermi GPUs can support Optimus, including the latest GTX 500 cards. Nando and other have successfully enabled Optimus by modifying nvam.inf in the Optimus-specific Verde drivers. You can find a list of modded drivers for Optimus on NVidia desktop GPUs here. The latest GPU working with these drivers is currently the GTX 550 Ti.

 

So, I currently have a Dell Inspiron 1545 and was hoping to attach a better card!
My current specs are:
-Dell Inspiron 1545
-Pentium Dual-Core T4300 @ 2.1GHz
-3GB of RAM
-Intel 4500MHD graphics (Shown up as Mobile Intel Express 4 Family Chipset)
-Includes 1 ExpressCard slot.

Im planning on buying:
-PE4L 1.5
-Nvidia GeForce GTX460 Graphics Card
-Corsair 430W PSU

Would this combination work? I'm slightly new to this so help would be appreciated! thanks!

 

Should work without problems.
Tho your CPU is not so strong - I think the GTX460 will be massively bottlenecked by your CPU in x1.Opt - perhaps a GTS430/440 will also suffice if you don't plan any CPU upgrades soon.

 

I see, i was planning upgrading the processor to a Intel Core 2 Duo p8700 that would clock at 2.53GHz, but not until a few months. Would the 460 still be able to perform sufficiently for a bit with the T4300?

 

Fujitsu Siemens T5010 with P8600 2.4 Ghz Intel Core Duo, unfortunately Intel 4500 GMA ( no optimus for me.. )

Now with eGPU Nvidia GTX 550ti!

3DMark06 score: 10879

Feels good to be playing Just Cause 2 off of my laptop



Unfortunately, I have a problem, after about 1 hour of gaming, my laptop dies. It stops recognizing power input. My guess is that the card draws too much power, but I'm not sure. I use a wireless keyboard/mouse and ext. monitor so the laptop just sits by itself and suddenly everything shuts down.

Any experiences with this? Any way to prevent it?

And what concerns me is that I cannot immediately turn it on, it seems to need a bit of a rest before it wants to recognize the power cord again.

 

Looks like your notebook is overheating. Try undervolt your CPU or re-apply thermal paste.

 

SOOOOOO

My eGPU has gotten a bit out of hand but whatever.

Laptop - Asus W90VP-X2 (I have a fujitsu T901 ordered). All I had to do was plug the card in, go to sleep mode and wake up, install the drivers and away I went. NOTHING ELSE! Thought having crossfire ATI would cause problems but nope.
PSU - SeaSonic S12II 620W
GPU - Nvidia GTX 580

eGPU Board - PE4h v2.4a

I bought a Silverstone GD05 to enclose the PSU and GPU.

Where the motherboard usually resides is where I gutted my 4-bay external HDD enclosure, zip tied the sata backplane/metal brackets to the existing fan screw holes. The power connector on it is either a 4pin DIN or Mini-DIN - I can't quite identify specifically which. Want to find some sort of 4 pin DIN to molex adapter so I don't have to power it via the external brick still. I think mini due to diameter but they are rather thick prongs.

Anyway I plan to have a usb 3.0 cable running out of it along with the SWEX/Mini HDMI.


QUESTIONS!

Whenever my laptop goes to sleep the fan on my GPU goes full bore, I'm aware this is something to do with not receiving PCI 3.v3. I didn't want to go fiddling with jumpers until I got some response from people, does anybody know why? Is this just normal operation? I would rather be able to walk away from my computer without having to switch off/sleep/disconnect manually.

Does anybody know the maximum length of a mini-hdmi to mini-hdmi cable? I'm curious if one could have a 2m or 3m without any degradation in signal. It may just be the same limitation of a standard HDMI cable but I don't know, the PCI signal may require a shorter length for some reason? Also any recommended AWG? I am looking at a 28 AWG 1.5m

Anyone know of a way to deal with the 4pin DIN (or possibly mini-din) power connector? I need it to be connected to my PSU rather than using the adapter.

Last problem, I can't play games full screen because the textures get really oddly stretched. Windowed mode = perfect, full screen = squashed horizontal plane EDIT: A bit more experimentation finds that this only happens with one game. F.E.A.R. 3 to be precise, not sure why still. Works fine on internal GPU

 

Anyone know if I can get x2 or x4 with my Latitude e6520? Really interested! Thanks.

EDIT: And is there even any point? Will a 6850 in x2 or x4 outperform a 560m? By a little or a lot? I'm trying to grasp what kind of performance I'm looking at.

 

Optimus should be working with Intel 4500 GMA, shouldn't it?

 

Yes it would. I would estimate something around 7500-9000 3DMarks06 with your T4300, the C2D would give your setup a significant boost to about 12500-14000 3DMks06.

Actually, you ARE using optimus, 4500MHD IS optimus compatible. You would not get 10k Mks w/o Opt.
Concerning the shutdown issue, monitor your temperatures (SpeedFan, HWMonitor etc.). If it overheats, clean your heatsinks. If this does not help, maybe you may consider CPU downvolting.

Connect your PSU floppy cable to the hwtools board. Please report back which LEDs do light during normal operation. If you have a PE4L, it is safe to pull out JP4, this disconnects the 3.3V line coming from the EC. The PE4L's onboard 5V/3.3V DC/DC converter suffices for this job. Should do the trick; I have a GTX580 and a GTX460 as well and it worked fine doing so.

Good question, this all very depends on the cable quality, especially shielding of the cable lines. I use a 3$ 1.5m cable without any issues for a good 3 months now, IIRC, there were reports that 2m/3m cables did work for someone. I would theoretically say YES, 2-3m should work - IF the cable is not the worst quality. You have to try.

This is OT but those connectors just have 5V/12V and GND pins. If you are soldering savvy, should be no problem to cut off a male end of a molex cable from some cheapo molex-floppy adaptors and solder that onto the PCB directly. BTW you can also hook up the case's switch to the SWEX to power on your card directly.

 

Thanks for the response, the floppy connector is already on. Unless I put it on the wrong way... anyway as for LED's on the board it is D2,D3,D4. That is when the GPU is on/functioning etc. I assume you mean PE4L board? Mine's PE4H v2.4a. Still don't get the jumper, I can see where it is but it is in an odd place and getting the jumper off is strange. Also I don't know why the jumper only covers one pin when there is two, it came like that so I assumed it is how this thing functions. I would happily experiment if I knew I couldn't really damage my card but i'm not sure what the jumpers real purpose is. If it helps when the computer is in sleep mode and the eGPU is turned on only D3 is green.

I'm going to try for a good quality 5m cable first, I have one coming in the mail to begin with for something else and will report how it functions.

I did think I could just do a soldering job, would just have preferred there to be an existing solution. How does one hook up the SWEX to the case switch? I can solder, just have no knowledge of WHAT to solder

 

Odd that I can not find Schematics for v2.1 PE4H so I can not tell your LED "code". If the jumper does not connect both header pins, it is physically open. Please check which jumper that is.

SWEX is nothing else than an ATX connector with a switch that connects Power ON (green cable in ATX connector) to GND (on of the multiple black cables in ATX connector). You can do the same what SWEX does with a bare paper clip. There should be a pin header on the SWEX, see schematics. Connect your case power switch (on-off-switch, not a spring-switch) to that and you are ready to go. Perhaps you don't even need to solder that.

http://www.hwtools.net/PDF/SWEX_schematic.pdf

 

Sorry, not sure why I wrote 2.1

It is 2.4a http://www.hwtools.net/PDF/PE4H_VER24_schematic.pdf

On my SWEX I see two holes where on other images there is a jumper/pins. If the pins were there I would've just tried to hook the case switch up as you do on the motherboard, nothing doing though. All parts were bought from Harmonic, I paid for an mPCIE adapter which they charged me for but didn't ship. Bugged them about it but they haven't responded to any e-mail, it is only $20 but being ignored kinda sucks. I'm thinking of just bridging the pins on the ATX power connector itself so it permanently is on and just control it with the PSU's on/off switch itself. I would however prefer to get the case's power switch working so it looks a bit more awesome. I'm wondering if removing the SWEX switch casing will give me better access to achieve what I want. But no idea what is under there.

Just noticed next to the D1-D4 there is 5v/12/gnd etc.

D1 = 3.3v
D2 = 5v
D3 = 12v
D4 = GND

And D1 is not lit up whilst functional, so I assume it isn't getting the 3.3v.

 

I'd not do that to avoid power surge. The ATX Power On pin is just there for a "soft start".

You can just unmount the screws on the SWEX, there is just a piece of isolation foam between the two PCBs. Then just solder two pins on (.1" pitch fits usual case switch headers).

Do you have a continuity checker and can you check if F1 is not broken? F1 is just at the right side beneath the USB jack.

If not, pull out your GPU and disconnect the PSU from it. Disconnect your PE4H from your laptop. Pull out the RED line (5V) from the floppy connector (use a knife to press down the small latch in the connector). And reattach the floppy to the PE4H. Only that 3 wire cable is connected to your PE4H then, everythen else is unconnected. Make sure the red dangling cable does not touch anything else, you may use some tape to isolate it. Switch on the PSU through SWEX. D3 should light up. If not, there is a broken component in 3.3V DC/DC unit, most likely the fuse F1.

Feel free to ask back if you have any questions left. Hope this helps.

BTW here are the correct LED assignments:

D1 = PERST#, this is for power on delay to avoid BIOS whitelisting problems etc.
D2 = 3.3V, This LED is powered directly from the laptop's PCI-E bus.
D3 = 5V, USB Power
D4 = 12V for PCIe, lights only if 12V is connected AND D2 is on. (OT: Design flaw here, makes no sense to switch that through Q4 with Drain connected to 3V_EC, 3V_PCIe would make more sense to me)

 

I don't have spare floppy connectors (at least I think I don't, have a huge cable box) so i'm testing other things first. On that note what is the correct order for it to be plugged in to? I'm doing it the easiest way the connector will go in which is, if you look at the end of the board furthest from the front of the graphics card and in order from top to bottom red black black yellow. I'm not sure if that 12v/5v are on the right pins, schematics and me aren't friends. Looking at it I think the floppy connecter should attach the other way (which would be upside down) but again I don't want to do that if it could cause damage.

As it stands with the expresscard unplugged, floppy connector in and turning the GPU on via swex D3 lights on and D1 gets a rather dim red.

However first question is after all this will my eGPU go to sleep when my laptop does? If it doesn't and is active but on a low hum then i'm not achieving my goal.

However on that note I tried setting the jumper (it was just loosely attached to one pin) and nothing different has happened at all. I'm still unaware of its function.

 

Anyone know if I can get x2 or x4 with my Latitude e6520? Really interested! Thanks.

And is there even any point? Will a 6850 in x2 or x4 outperform a 560m? By a little or a lot? I'm trying to grasp what kind of performance I'm looking at.

Anyone.?

 

Hi Rykoshet,

<strike>To know which link (x1 or x2 or x4), install AIDA64 & look in Chipset section. For x2 link, you'll need ports (1 & 2) or (3 & 4) or (5 & 6) and so on. For example, in the picture below, PCIe Port 1 & 2 are looks like can do x2 link.
From the picture, we can only confirm the PCIe Port 2 is available (because it use by wifi card which we can removed). To know for sure the PCIe Port 1 is available or not, we'll need to test/see it for our self. Use the wifi card to know which mini-PCIe port is assigned to which PCIe Port number. Move the wifi card to available mini-PCIe port, boot & check in AIDA64 again. If the wifi card appeared at PCIe Port 1, it means Port 1 & 2 are available & you can do x2 link.</strike>

EDIT: Intel 6 Series chipset or Sandy Bridge only support x1 or x1.Opt link.

It seems your Latitude e6520 will have problem with 4GB or more RAM. To get eGPU to work on your notebook, maximum RAM you can use is 3GB. Quoting from post #1:-

1. 
   
   15" Lenovo Y560P i7-2630QM, 8GB of RAM & [email protected] can score 15891 with 3DMark 06. GTX 560M can score 15K with 3DMark 06. Looks like HD6850 & GTX 560M are neck and neck.

 

Nope, hwtools' products are NOT made to do that. Simple device sleep modes (S3) do not work this way. One would need to hook up a transistor to switch the SWEX with the EC interface, but I did not test that before.

 

Thanks so much. I also have an expresscard 54 slot. Would it be possible to utilize both the card and the mpci-e, or should I just stick with one?

Also, the 15" Lenovo runs the [email protected]. Does that mean it's running at x1? Would I get better results at x2? Because this is making me just consider the expresscard option, at x1, if it's going to give such great performance.

Thanks. Or, if I'm going to run cables through the underside anyway to reach the mpci-e, I could just try for x4....

But I'm being overly optimistic.

 

<strike>You can setup x2 link using combination ExpressCard slot & mini-PCIe port IF, for example, ExpressCard is at Port 4 & one mini-PCIe port at Port 3. Try install AIDA64 & post the screenshot of the Chipset over here.</strike> <strike>Please examine how many mini-PCIe ports available (you'll need to do physical examination).</strike>

Yes, that lenovo is running on x1 link. <strike>You'll get better result with x2 link. To setup x4 link, you'll need four x1 ports. Latitude e6520 have 2 x mini-PCIe ports (WWAN + WLAN) & 1 x mini-PCIe port (SATA FLASH). You'll need to check physically & with AIDA64 to determine the PCIe ports number assignment.</strike>

EDIT: Intel 6 Series chipset or Sandy Bridge only support x1 or x1.Opt link.

Your notebook have Intel HD Graphics 3000. I recommend getting Nvidia graphic card instead. GTX 460/470?

 

Hello world again.

After few researches, i found this.

Project Enclosure (8x6x3") - RadioShack.com

Would this fit the GPU nicely without PSU?

8x6x3"

Also, i would mod it, for air vent.
GT430
Thanks

 

Hello again.

Anyone got an idea as to why the fan on my gfx card isn't increasing as it gets hotter? I've had it shut down twice now while doing benchmark testing and it just sits there idling. Really strange, not to say annoying to say the least.

/Lurifax on HP pavilion DV7-3130eo, PE4H and Radeon HD6950 gfx.

 

Fan on GFX is controlled directly by VBIOS (on the GFX). My best guess is the VBIOS is buggy. Dump VBIOS using GPU-Z & examine fan profiles using RBE.

 

For PhatZoundz (and anyone else).

A possible GTX 460 setup:
Newegg.com - ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Newegg.com - ePOWER EP-450CD 450W ATX12V / EPS12V Modular Juice Box- Dedicated Graphic Card and CPU power Supply - Power Supplies
Newegg.com - Link Depot UV 4Pin Y Power Cable Model POW-UV-4PY - an extra cable you'll need
ExpressCard External Graphics x1

Diagram:

 

Thanks for the update. I did examined the Dell (on their site) and like you said, there are 2 half-sized mini PCIe slots and 1 full-sized mini PCIe slot.

Best case scenario, If I can utilize an empty slot and my expresscard to do x2, do you think I will need to run cable from the inside of my case outside, or can I get away with attaching it to something internally?

It really seems like the most hassle-free solution would be to use the expresscard slot alone...I don't want to remove my WWAN, etc, and I do just want plug-and-play.

That said, do you think the GTX 460 at x1 will give a favourable boost over my NVS 4200 (GT 520), or is it semi-moot. I'm not really a hardcore gamer, I just thought this would be a nifty and cheap way to run some games in 1080. Can people run games at 1080 using a x1 link?

Again, thank you so much!

 

Before this gets out of hand, your E6520's Series-6 chipsets cannot run x2/x4 links. Intel have locked out the ability for Setup 1.x to be able to configure those settings probably to prevent our homebrew solution competing with their Thunderbolt port.

A GTX4/5xx x1.1Opt setup will outbench your NVS4200/GT520 by quite a margin. Can review my 1080P benchmarks with a significantly slower CPU here if want something to compare against. x1.2Opt (pci-e 2.0 - 5GT/s), requiring a new hwtool's kit scheduled for August 2011, will double pci-e bandwidth to improve performance yet again.

 

@Rykoshet,

Sorry, I forgot you have sandy bridge notebook. Your notebook can only support x1 setup. So, better get Nvidia graphic card. Your notebook support x1.Opt (x1 link with Optimus) which give you significant performance boost compared to x1 link. Regarding 1080p, it depend on the games. I can play Left 4 Dead 2 & Starcraft II with 1080p settings. Please look to my games experiences (link at my signature).

 

Thank you both so much.

When you say it's possible to get "x1.2Opt (pci-e 2.0 - 5GT/s)" are you referring to a hypothetical if I had Expresscard 2.0? If I can't use my mpci-e ports, all this leaves is a x1.opt, if I get an Nvidia GPU to use through my expresscard 54 slot, right? I can't do x1.2?

And, does the Optimus tweak only apply to the x1 link when it's used to display to the internal monitor? I'm not sure how I'll be displaying yet.

Thanks!

 

Yes, you'll need ExpressCard 2.0. I don't have Sandy Bridge notebook but I think you can check it using AIDA64. Can you post the screenshot over here? Optimus setup will allow you to use internal monitor.

 

Got it to work using MSI afterburner.

 

I just got a Lenovo X201 Tablet with a Core i7-620LM, and I think I could do an x2 link using one of the three mini-pcie slots on the motherboard. Would a GTX 560 Ti + PE4H do optimus with x1 and/or x2?

 

Thanks Timohour. Great find.

Do you know where/when we can buy this and how much?

What is the transfer speed, such as 5 Gb/s or 2.5 Gb/s? And does it support PCIe 2.0 or PCIe 1.0?
Would the MiniPCIe Adapter fit inside a laptop, full or half slot?
Is it possible to get one for evaluation/test?

Thanks so much.

 

I really wish you were right, but this score was on an external monitor, and my card is GMA, not MHD;/ (Please prove me wrong! )

Well the intersting thing is that if I keep my battery in the laptop, it will first stop recognicing power (from wall), then keep running of the battery till it drains, then shut down. So I really do not think it is an over heating issue, as then it would just die right away before draining the battery. Also I usuallu keep SIW up, and while playing and after a session, typically nothing maxes over 55C.

Any thoughts?

I will do a test now, im gonna keep SIW up, put in the battery, and keep a good look on it to see when it starts running off the battery and note the temperatures.

 

Hi guys,

I'm planning on doing the express card eGPU with my next laptop. Only problem is, I haven't decided what my next laptop should be!

I was looking at the T420, but then I read about the BIOS issue and that's a headache I'd rather not deal with. What other 14" or lower laptops would you guys recommend? The main requirement would be the express card slot. If possible, I'd like to have a dGPU too just so I can occasionally game at low settings while on the go. While at home I'll be using a 24" monitor.

 

Its not really a headache, all you do is install BIOS 1.15.
If you're going to be building an eGPU, this step is peanuts compared to the overall process.
If you think downgrading a BIOS is a headache, just wait until you have to troubleshoot the eGPU...

 

It's more that I'd rather not deal with issues that BIOS updates are issued to fix. Upgrading/downgrading BIOS is easy yes, but there's a reason why manufacturers update them.

That being said, I could probably live with the T420 if there were no better options with expresscard slots

 

See Sandby Bridge notebooks for an eGPU.

14" Vostro 3450 a budget option with a quick HD6630M dGPU. 14" Lenovo Y470 with a GT550M a high performance option if your prepared to do a mPCIe eGPU - it's often on sale like quad core +BD for $850. If can forgo the dGPU requirement then can go smaller and lighter like 12.5" Lenovo X220, 13/14" Toshiba R830/R840 or go a 900P LCD on a 14" Dell E5420 (eg: $645 deal).

x1.Opt setup with Optimus dGPU Sandy Bridge notebooks?

wicked20 has confirmed that we can disable the Optimus dGPU so can run a x1.Opt eGPU instead. This is necessary as otherwise the eGPU runs at non-x1.Opt performance levels as if the standard desktop driver was installed. It seems the dGPU is given priority to Optimus functionality.

To disable the dGPU will require installing Setup 1.x and booting via it; an updated release scheduled in the coming week. The disabling code ensures the NVidia dGPU does not appear on the PCI BUS at all so Win7 never sees it. This then liberates the dGPU's PCI space to now be used to host the eGPU. If installing Setup 1.x is too cumbersome for you (it's pretty easy actually) then consider HD3000 iGPU equipped notebooks only, though in the case of the T420 you'll encounter TOLUD issues with newer bios which the Optimus-equipped T420 will not experience.

See how this is done with a Dell XPS15 below.



Left: SB Dell XPS15 with Optimus GT540M dGPU active. NOTE: the XPS15 has no expresscard card slot.
Right: SB Dell XPS15 with dGPU disabled. Now has 512MB of contiguous PCI space from C0000000-DFFFFFFF, double what is required to host a eGPU.

x1.Opt setup with ATiAMD dGPU switchable gfx Sandy Bridge notebooks?

The code used to disable the NVidia dGPU did not disable a ATiAMD dGPU. It seems the ATiAMD driver is very persistent in finding cards that might be hidden on the PCI BUS.

To get x1.Opt working on those systems it would just require disabling the ATiAMD dGPU in Device Manager and/or using Setup 1.x to have the eGPU hijaak the dGPU's resources if there was insufficient space to host the dGPU+eGPU. This is done by performing 36-bit PCI compaction in Setup 1.x on the dGPU+eGPU, forcing the eGPU to 32-bit. Then the ATiAMD dGPU is moved into inaccessible 36-bit space causing Win7 to throw an error 12 against it.

 

Hi nando,

I worked out the casing measurements for my eGPU kit. I'm going to use acrylic glass.

Graphic card PowerColor HD5870 measurement: 216mm x 110mm x 38mm
PSU Corsair CX500 measurement: 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 140mm(L) (PSU fan at the top)

Front & back side measurement: 5mm + 86mm + 5mm + 40mm + 5mm = 141mm

• The 5mm is the thickness of the acrylic.
• The 86mm is the width of the PSU (PSU fan will be at the side instead of at the top).
• The 40mm is the graphic card thickness (actual is 38mm. just rounded up to 40mm).
• One piece of acrylic (thickness 5mm) in the middle to separate the PSU & graphic card: 236mm x 130mm x 5mm

Final measurements:-

1. 2 x Acrylic: 246mm x 140mm x 5mm
2. 2 x Acrylic: 141mm x 140mm x 5mm
3. 2 x Acrylic: 256mm x 141mm x 5mm
4. 1 x Acrylic: 236mm x 130mm x 5mm (separator between PSU & graphic card)

I will use 2 x 120mm fan for cooling system; one at the back side & one at the top. Top will be exhaust fan.

 

Hi all,

I am newbie to here and need some helps and advises from you.

I am planning to get a lappy and considering about Sager 8150 for gaming purpose. But after i reviewed this thread, i am figuring that might be an alternative for me to get a lighter lappy (prefer Macbook Air/Pro) with eGPU via thunderbolt and has par gaming potential with Sager 8150. Can anyone get me a solution?