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    T420 eGPU Build Advice (EXP GDC Card???)

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by John W., Nov 23, 2017.

  1. John W.

    John W. Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello everyone!

    I am happy to be a new member of this community. I have heard it's the very best around when it comes to this sort of thing :)

    So right to business. I am looking to upgrade my Lenovo T420 with an eGPU.
    My laptop has a Core I7-2620M, 16GB Kingston RAM, Nvidia NVS 4200M integ. graphics, upgraded display, the rest is typical of the for the T420

    From the research I have done this should be no problem to do with this model. However I am wondering if the "EXP GDC Laptop External PCI-E Graphics Card" is a better option then the PE4L adapter? The EXP card supports the T420, and is about 1/3rd the price, and seems much more simple to set up.

    I think this should be everything I need to get it running:

    I'm more than willing to sacrifice my internal wireless card as well if that will greatly improve the performance of the card. However, I would much prefer to be able to stick with using my laptops display OR use an HDMI cord hooked up to my TV when gaming if it hinders performance too much.

    Any advice on how to go about this is much appreciated. I do have a great deal of experience with building PC setups (which is stupid easy I'll admit,) and hardware troubleshooting. So this **should** be a piece of cake once I figure out the best way to go about this. I do want to spend as little as possible though while getting good enough performance to play a good portion of the most recent games on at least minimum, hopefully normal.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2017
    John W., Nov 23, 2017
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  2. Arrrrbol

    Arrrrbol Notebook Deity

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    You may as well give the EXP a go. If it works - great. If it doesn't then Amazon is pretty good for returns. You will need the other components with either the PE4L or the EXP so they won't be going to waste.

    Welcome to the forum too. :)
     
    Arrrrbol, Nov 23, 2017
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  3. John W.

    John W. Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you :)

    I could buy the Gigabyte card new for $100, or I could get a EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti FTW used for $100. The second card has around 300MHZ more on the clock, better cooling, and is just an all-around better card... However buying new is always nice, and I'm not sure if it's worth it when using the PCI Express slot...?
     
    John W., Nov 23, 2017
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  4. Arrrrbol

    Arrrrbol Notebook Deity

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    Either one of them will be fine. Cooling won't be an issue if you keep the GPU out in the open. If you buy new its pretty much guaranteed to work, whereas used cards can be more of a risk (though aside from scams that kind of issue is rare). If you think the extra clock speed is worth it then go for it.
     
    Arrrrbol, Nov 23, 2017
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  5. John W.

    John W. Notebook Enthusiast

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    My concern is that it might not have any effect since only so much data can be transferred through the PCI Express port. If it makes no difference in performance, why not buy new?

    What I read elsewhere is that the 750 TI is the max the PCI Express can use to it's full potential, but they didn't mention exact specs... and since there are so many different brands with different performance, it makes it hard to decide.

    I'm also curious about the power ratings.

    The manufacturers for most of the cards recommend a 400W PSU. I don't know if that means the card needs 400W for itself, or if the average PC will need a 400W PSU to run it and all the other components?
     
    John W., Nov 23, 2017
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  6. Arrrrbol

    Arrrrbol Notebook Deity

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    They mean you need a 400W PSU for the whole system. The GPU alone shouldn't use any more than 70W.

    I'm pretty sure that port can provide PCIe 2.0 speeds, which is enough for either of those 750Tis allegedly.
     
    Arrrrbol, Nov 23, 2017
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  7. John W.

    John W. Notebook Enthusiast

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    Excellent. Thank you for all the help :)

    I will post pictures + results when I get everything up and running. At this point even simple games like Magic 2015 lag even on low XD
     
    John W., Nov 23, 2017
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