Thinkpad W530, GPGPU and Radeon with Optimus support?

Hi there. I'm wondering about a few things. I'm going to receive a Thinkpad W530 (x1.2 Opt Express Card) today or tomorrow, and I want to build an eGPU for graphical applications, GPGPU and once in a while some gaming. Here's what I'm wondering about:

1. Is the Express Card as much of a bottleneck for GPGPU as it is for gaming? Per example, when using Pyrit?

2. Is it possible to use Optimus with an AMD graphics card if I choose an AMD card?

3. What's the fastest card I could use with my system? I don't mind using a card that's a little bit more powerful than I could use. Would the Geforce GTX 660 Ti, per example, be a good choice? It's affordable, and even tho it might not be as fast as a Radeon card for Pyrit, it has a very good price for the performance and should be compatible with many applications, and with Optimus.

 

Hi i tried to answer some of your questions, i hope i can help you

1.Expresscard bandwith is limited to 5g/t, it depends on the amount of bandwidth you are going to use if it's going to be a bottleneck or not compared to a desktop pc.

2.Nvdia cards are working plug and play on the internal screen thanks to optimus(this is not a special program, its just in the driver), AMD cards are delivering more performance per bandwith(Nando recently tested this?), AMD cards can also work on the internal screen, you need to install lucid software for this

 

Sweet, so AMD cards could be worth it after all? That's very interesting. I was thinking about getting a Nvidia card for compatibility reasons, but... If I can make it work with an AMD card, and if the performance/bandwidth ratio is better, then it might be a good idea. The only thing is, I just checked Lucid Virtu, but it seems to only be for Windows. So I'll probably still just use Nvidia, since I'm using Linux.

Thanks a lot for the answers.

 

I haven't read the eGPU forum for a while, but unless something changed since my last visit, with the nVidia card you will have much better results as Optimus also enables some sort of data compression, effectively increasing the available bandwidth. As AMD cards don't have Optimus, they would be even more crippled than the nVidia ones.

 

Hey, thanks for the answer, and sorry if I'm very late to reply back. At the end, I think I'll choose a Geforce GTX 660 Ti. Thanks again for your answer.

 

Jonathan,
I own a w530 as well. What setup are you thinking of using for your eGPU? Are you thinking to go with a Vidock are a DIY solution? What have you found thus far that could work?