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15" Lenovo W530 + GTX780@4Gbps+c-EC2 (PE4L 2.1b) + Win7 [gothic860]


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Hi,

You need (or what i used):

- PE4L 2.1b (SW1 = 1, SW2 = 2-3)
- DIY eGPU Setup 1.2 (PM Tech Inferno Fan for pruchase) 
- NVidia GPU (Asus GTX 780 (no OC) in my case)
- PSU with enough power
- ThinkPad W530 (see sig.)

1. Connect your PE4L with the GPU and the PSU etc. (dont plug in the Expresscard)
2. Download the latest NVidia Desktop drivers (320.18 for me), but dont install yet
3. Install the DIY eGPU Setup 1.1b5 + update
 

Quote

New patch for setup 110b5. Note that this is only a patch and not the full program, so make sure that you have acquired the unpatched setup110b5 first. Download ->> Setup-110b5-updates-2-27-2013.exe <<-

Installation instructions

1. Extract DIYeGPU-Setup-1105.exe to c:\eGPU if you haven't done so already
2. Run c:\eGPU\eGPU-setup-mount, to mount the disk image as V:
3. Extract the contents of the attached Setup-110b5-updates.exe to V: (default). It will ask you to ovewrite v:\devcon\devset.bat and v:\core\intel.txt, say YES. Those will be the new updated versions.
4. Proceed to run c:\eGPu\setup-disk-image to do a disk image install of DIY eGPU Setup 1.10b5 or follow instructions below if need a variation like Linux grub2 or USB install instead.

 


(i had to manually copy the files from V:\V_ to the destination folders)

4. Shutdown your Notebook
5. Power on and hit Enter + F1 to get into BIOS
6. Display settings -> change (if not already) it to "NVidia Optimus" + OS detection "enabled"
7. Save and reboot + power on your eGPU but dont plug in the Expresscard
8. Wait until you see the bootmenu with "Windows 7" and "DIY eGPU setup 1.1b5"
9. Plug in the PE4L in your Expresscard 34-Slot
10. Enter the eGPU setup and go to menu-based-setup
11. Change the following settings:

post-13657-14494995476846_thumb.png

- dGPU off
- compaction 32-bitA on eGPU and iGPU

12. Hit Chainload mbr -> Windows 7
13. In Windows Install the NVidia driver you downloaded
14. In V:\config\startup.bat change the last lines to:

call speedup lbcache
call iport dGPU off
call vidwait 60 10de:1004 (your Hardware IDs may differ)
call vidinit -d 10de:1004 (your Hardware IDs may differ)
call 
call pci 
call grub4dos mbr

and save it.

post-13657-14494995477041_thumb.jpg

15. Shutdown and detach the PE4L from the Expresscard-Slot
16. Start the Notebook and wait until you see the bootmenu -> plugin the PE4L and start eGPU Setup + startup.bat (hit 1) -> Windows 7
17. Now it should working. Check it in devicemanager (disable NVidia HD audio) + check Optimus in NVidia control panel (PhysX to CPU):
18. If you want, you can change the bootmenu time, order etc. with something like EasyBCD.


Benchmarks:
3dMark 2006: 25860 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: 25860 3DMarks
3dMark 2011: 9516 (10175 GPU-Score) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: P9516 3DMarks
3dMark Vant.: 30255 (33406 GPU-Score) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: P30255 3DMarks

Feel free to ask any questions or correct any mistakes / make things easier etc..

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Awesome results, thanks for sharing.

But what about real gaming performance ?

Unigine heaven benchmark are more interesting because they are affected by the lower bandwidth similarly than common games.

Because 3DMarks, especially Vantage & 11 are barely affected of eGPU low bandwidth...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello,

First off, thank you SO MUCH for posting this super-helpful step by step guide.

I need a more powerful graphics card on my Thinkpad W520 for 3D modeling with high volume data sets and meshes (current graphics card is choppy with the higher volume data sets). Therefore, I need a powerful eGPU setup.

I know that you used the W530, but do you think taht this exact same set up will work with my W520? Details of my W520 are in the signature. Any help would be immensely appreciated.

Thanks again.

Hi,

You need (or what i used):

- PE4L 2.1b (SW1 = 1, SW2 = 2-3)

- DIY eGPU Setup 1.2 (PM Tech Inferno Fan for pruchase)

- NVidia GPU (GTX 780 in my case)

- PSU with enough power

- ThinkPad W530 (see sig.)

1. Connect your PE4L with the GPU and the PSU etc. (dont plug in the Expresscard)

2. Download the latest NVidia Desktop drivers (320.18 for me), but dont install yet

3. Install the DIY eGPU Setup 1.1b5 + update

(i had to manually copy the files from V:\V_ to the destination folders)

4. Shutdown your Notebook

5. Power on and hit Enter + F1 to get into BIOS

6. Display settings -> change (if not already) it to "NVidia Optimus" + OS detection "enabled"

7. Save and reboot + power on your eGPU but dont plug in the Expresscard

8. Wait until you see the bootmenu with "Windows 7" and "DIY eGPU setup 1.1b5"

9. Plug in the PE4L in your Expresscard 34-Slot

10. Enter the eGPU setup and go to menu-based-setup

11. Change the following settings:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7783[/ATTACH]

- dGPU off

- compaction 32-bitA on eGPU and iGPU

12. Hit Chainload mbr -> Windows 7

13. In Windows Install the NVidia driver you downloaded

14. In V:\config\startup.bat change the last lines to:

call speedup lbcache

call iport dGPU off

call vidwait 60 10de:1004 (your Hardware IDs may differ)

call vidinit -d 10de:1004 (your Hardware IDs may differ)

call

call pci

call grub4dos mbr

and save it.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7784[/ATTACH]

15. Shutdown and detach the PE4L from the Expresscard-Slot

16. Start the Notebook and wait until you see the bootmenu -> plugin the PE4L and start eGPU Setup + startup.bat (hit 1) -> Windows 7

17. Now it should working. Check it in devicemanager (disable NVidia HD audio) + check Optimus in NVidia control panel (PhysX to CPU):

18. If you want, you can change the bootmenu time, order etc. with something like EasyBCD.

Benchmarks:

3dMark 2006: 25860 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: 25860 3DMarks

3dMark 2011: 9516 (10175 GPU-Score) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: P9516 3DMarks

3dMark Vant.: 30255 (33406 GPU-Score) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: P30255 3DMarks

Feel free to ask any questions or correct any mistakes / make things easier etc..

- - - Updated - - -

Also I completely forgot to ask: would a graphics card like the GTX Titan or the GTX 690 be overkill since there is apparently a bottleneck with the PCI-e connection to the laptop?

Thanks again.

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About a year ago i used a W520 with eGPU and i didnt needed the eGPU Setup. I would try to get the PE4L + PSU + Titan or a good GTX780 (there are some good overclocked versions) and test it the normal way. If you get problems you can still buy the eGPU setup if needed.

I think dualGPU models like the GTX690 are more bottlenecked by bandwidth then the 1GPU models.

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  • 3 weeks later...
About a year ago i used a W520 with eGPU and i didnt needed the eGPU Setup. I would try to get the PE4L + PSU + Titan or a good GTX780 (there are some good overclocked versions) and test it the normal way. If you get problems you can still buy the eGPU setup if needed.

I think dualGPU models like the GTX690 are more bottlenecked by bandwidth then the 1GPU models.

Hey Gothic,

I set up my W520 and have a few questions that maybe you have the answers for.

On your 520, did you actually see the Optimus settings in Nvidia control center? I see no mention of Optimus even though I have it set correctly in the BIOS. Additionally, I installed a (slightly) older version of the GC drivers from NVidia and, when I try to install newer drivers, it fails. I can't remember the exact error that is given, but it was pretty generic. Additionally, Windows updates for Intel devices now fail :D

Any thoughts?

FYI: Using a GTX 650ti Boost OC... I do get better performance overall than I did with the NVS2000m or W/E it is called.

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On your 520, did you actually see the Optimus settings in Nvidia control center?

Yes, i had the option to switch between the iGPU and eGPU in the nvidiacontrol panel.

I just plugged in the eGPU and installed the newest driver from NVidia with no problems.

BIOS is set to Optimus enabled and OS detection yes?

How did you disabled the dGPU?

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Hey Gothic,

I set up my W520 and have a few questions that maybe you have the answers for.

On your 520, did you actually see the Optimus settings in Nvidia control center? I see no mention of Optimus even though I have it set correctly in the BIOS. Additionally, I installed a (slightly) older version of the GC drivers from NVidia and, when I try to install newer drivers, it fails. I can't remember the exact error that is given, but it was pretty generic. Additionally, Windows updates for Intel devices now fail :D

Any thoughts?

FYI: Using a GTX 650ti Boost OC... I do get better performance overall than I did with the NVS2000m or W/E it is called.

If the HD3000 isn't appearing in Device Manager then you won't see the NVidia Optimus features in NVidia control panel. This will happen on the Lenovo notebooks if the BIOS saw the eGPU on boot where it will set it as a primary device and disable the iGPU.

The fix is to delay the BIOS seeing the eGPU by either halting Win7 loading with F8, hotplugging the EC2C and letting it continue or setting the PE4L PERST# delay to 6.9s (SW1=3) to bypass bios detection. The short PERST# delay means to work need to powerup the eGPU at the same time as the notebook is powered up/rebooted for it to work. A longer delay can be modded per the steps at: Modding a PE4L 2.1 to have a 0-15s-6.9s delay

@gothic860 - can you test the PERST# delay instead of hotplugging after bios boot?

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Hey guys! Thanks for the reply.

I see the HD3000 in device manager, and it is powering my laptop built in screen while the eGPU powers my 2 24" monitors. There is a third (dedicated) GPU that is an nVidia NVS2000m that I just disable in the device manager.

GOTHIC: dgpu was disabled in Device Manager (I didn't see any options in BIOS.) As far as Optimus in BIOS, set to OS detect and GC is set to nVidia Optimus.

My normal operation of starting the thing up is flip the switch on the PE4L, then hit my laptop power button.

This brings up a minor question I have... I put this all in a micro ATX case... I hooked up the jumpers for the cases power button and, when I press it, it comes on and when I release the button, it shuts off... What kind of switch do I need to purchase so i don't have to use the tiny one on the power panel that came with the PE4L?

Thanks guys.

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Hey guys! Thanks for the reply.

I see the HD3000 in device manager, and it is powering my laptop built in screen while the eGPU powers my 2 24" monitors. There is a third (dedicated) GPU that is an nVidia NVS2000m that I just disable in the device manager.

GOTHIC: dgpu was disabled in Device Manager (I didn't see any options in BIOS.) As far as Optimus in BIOS, set to OS detect and GC is set to nVidia Optimus.

My normal operation of starting the thing up is flip the switch on the PE4L, then hit my laptop power button.

This brings up a minor question I have... I put this all in a micro ATX case... I hooked up the jumpers for the cases power button and, when I press it, it comes on and when I release the button, it shuts off... What kind of switch do I need to purchase so i don't have to use the tiny one on the power panel that came with the PE4L?

Thanks guys.

To get the NVIdia eGPU to provide Optimus features (x1 pci-e compression AND internal LCD mode), the NVidia dGPU must not be on the pci-e bus. Disabling the NVidia dGPU in Device Manager doesn't do that. The dGPU must be disabled in the bios or if there is no option to do that, use Setup 1.x to do it. Pls contact me if you require Setup 1.x. Ensure you are running a MBR partitioning on your system to be able to use Setup 1.x (Device Manager->Disk Drives->[select]->Volumes->populate->Partition style=Master Boot Record).

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To get the NVIdia eGPU to provide Optimus features (x1 pci-e compression AND internal LCD mode), the NVidia dGPU must not be on the pci-e bus. Disabling the NVidia dGPU in Device Manager doesn't do that. The dGPU must be disabled in the bios or if there is no option to do that, use Setup 1.x to do it. Pls contact me if you require Setup 1.x. Ensure you are running a MBR partitioning on your system to be able to use Setup 1.x (Device Manager->Disk Drives->[select]->Volumes->populate->Partition style=Master Boot Record).

does the Setup 1.x deliver same performance as if I didn't need to use it? Additionally, any idea why I can't update my drivers and/or other windows updates for Intel chipset?

I will look into how to disable the dgpu in the bios.

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does the Setup 1.x deliver same performance as if I didn't need to use it? Additionally, any idea why I can't update my drivers and/or other windows updates for Intel chipset?

I will look into how to disable the dgpu in the bios.

I looked into it... Can't be done in my bios... ::Stupid Lenovo!::

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I looked into it... Can't be done in my bios... ::Stupid Lenovo!::

Sorry to spam. I looked deeper into my bios and thought about it... There are two options under display: 'Graphics'[integrated | dedicated | Optimus] as well as 'Let OS detect Optimus.' I had it set to Optimus and Enabled... I tried changing it to set as integrated only with Let OS detect enabled... this booted just fine and now I think it may be working. post-15437-14494995822544_thumb.jpg

Is the above image all I need to indicated that I am working at top ability? what other things do I need to look at to ensure I'm set up as well as I can be.

Thanks,

Wes

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  • Moderator
Sorry to spam. I looked deeper into my bios and thought about it... There are two options under display: 'Graphics'[integrated | dedicated | Optimus] as well as 'Let OS detect Optimus.' I had it set to Optimus and Enabled... I tried changing it to set as integrated only with Let OS detect enabled... this booted just fine and now I think it may be working. [ATTACH=CONFIG]8506[/ATTACH]

Is the above image all I need to indicated that I am working at top ability? what other things do I need to look at to ensure I'm set up as well as I can be.

Thanks,

Wes

Get GPU-Z and run that. Look at the Bus Interface. See if it says:

PCI-E 2.0x16@x1 2.0

If it does not, try running a game/benchmark or something and see if changes. This would make sure you have Optimus working correctly.

You have no errors in the Properties window of your 650 Ti? no error 12 or something? If not, you should be fine.

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Get GPU-Z and run that. Look at the Bus Interface. See if it says:

PCI-E 2.0x16@x1 2.0

If it does not, try running a game/benchmark or something and see if changes. This would make sure you have Optimus working correctly.

You have no errors in the Properties window of your 650 Ti? no error 12 or something? If not, you should be fine.

GPU-z says as you noted and there were no errors in device manager. Also, does this tell us anything about compaction?post-15437-14494995826922_thumb.jpg

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GPU-z says as you noted and there were no errors in device manager. Also, does this tell us anything about compaction?[ATTACH=CONFIG]8517[/ATTACH]

You should be good then, run 3DMark and see if your score is near those on the leaderboard (check to make sure they didn't OC or if your OC is the same as theirs). As for the Memory, I'm not sure, my GTX 660 Ti shows up three times in Memory as well - I have a Large Memory 'PCI Bus' as well (since I did a DSDT override).

From the sounds of it, you seem like you are good to go. Just run some benchmarks and compare.

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You should be good then, run 3DMark and see if your score is near those on the leaderboard (check to make sure they didn't OC or if your OC is the same as theirs). As for the Memory, I'm not sure, my GTX 660 Ti shows up three times in Memory as well - I have a Large Memory 'PCI Bus' as well (since I did a DSDT override).

From the sounds of it, you seem like you are good to go. Just run some benchmarks and compare.

Sweet. Thanks a ton man!

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks very much for the guide gothic860 :)

I followed these instructions with my W520 but couldn't quite get it working. Windows boots and detects the Nvidia GTX 660 correctly -- I can see it in Device Manager alongside my built-in Intel HD 3000 -- but I can't actually get it to display anything. If I use Fn+F7 to Extend Displays, the laptop display blanks briefly as if changing display modes but nothing appears on my external monitor attached to the GTX 660. Screen Resolution doesn't list any of the external monitors either.

Anyone seen this before?

Further details of exactly what I did...

I followed all of the steps exactly, except for the PCI Compaction - as my W520 is a Series 6 Setup 1.x warns me that I should disable the dGPU *after* PCI Compaction. I ran PCI Compaction with ignore=dCPU, selective compact for eGPU (it's the only option under selective; there is no iGPU+eGPU).

My resultant start.bat looks like this:

call speedup lbcache

call iport dGPU off

call vidwait 60 10de:11c0

call vidinit -d 10de:11c0

call

call pci

call chainload mbr

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Thanks very much for the guide gothic860 :)

I followed these instructions with my W520 but couldn't quite get it working. Windows boots and detects the Nvidia GTX 660 correctly -- I can see it in Device Manager alongside my built-in Intel HD 3000 -- but I can't actually get it to display anything. If I use Fn+F7 to Extend Displays, the laptop display blanks briefly as if changing display modes but nothing appears on my external monitor attached to the GTX 660. Screen Resolution doesn't list any of the external monitors either.

Anyone seen this before?

Further details of exactly what I did...

I followed all of the steps exactly, except for the PCI Compaction - as my W520 is a Series 6 Setup 1.x warns me that I should disable the dGPU *after* PCI Compaction. I ran PCI Compaction with ignore=dCPU, selective compact for eGPU (it's the only option under selective; there is no iGPU+eGPU).

My resultant start.bat looks like this:

I am careful to have the ExpressCard unplugged at power on, and only plug it in during the boot menu.

ETA: Using a PE4H v2.4, 16GB RAM

For the issue of only the eGPU appearing in the selection list, can you advise which version of Setup 1.x are you using, inc the installation binary filename eg: test1? Can you run save diags->compact_fails, archive the resultant \diags folder, upload to mediafire.com and send a link for analysis?

Your problem otherwise may be tied to using a PE4H 2.4 rather than a PE4L 2.1b or PE4H 3.2. PE4H 2.4 is only Gen1-compatible (pci-e 1.1). Meaning you should be doing a PCI Ports->Link Speed.G1 and adding it to your startup.bat, which will look like a 'call iport g1 [port]'.

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For the issue of only the eGPU appearing in the selection list, can you advise which version of Setup 1.x are you using, inc the installation binary filename eg: test1? Can you run save diags->compact_fails, archive the resultant \diags folder, upload to mediafire.com and send a link for analysis?

1.20 test7 is the archive I have (I'm Yun btw :) )

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8110989/2013/goosmurf-diag.zip

FYI I did this before I fixed up my startup.bat as instructed below. I also didn't run pcitools as I tried once and it seemed to freeze, although maybe I wasn't patient enough... if you need the pcitools output please let me know and I will try again :)

Your problem otherwise may be tied to using a PE4H 2.4 rather than a PE4L 2.1b or PE4H 3.2. PE4H 2.4 is only Gen1-compatible (pci-e 1.1). Meaning you should be doing a PCI Ports->Link Speed.G1 and adding it to your startup.bat, which will look like a 'call iport g1 [port]'.

THANK YOU so much, this was the problem!

I had set BIOS ExpressCard speed to Gen1 but apparently that didn't actually work... setting the speed using iport g1 worked.

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  • 1 month later...
Hi,

You need (or what i used):

- PE4L 2.1b (SW1 = 1, SW2 = 2-3)

- DIY eGPU Setup 1.2 (PM Tech Inferno Fan for pruchase)

- NVidia GPU (Asus GTX 780 (no OC) in my case)

- PSU with enough power

- ThinkPad W530 (see sig.)

1. Connect your PE4L with the GPU and the PSU etc. (dont plug in the Expresscard)

2. Download the latest NVidia Desktop drivers (320.18 for me), but dont install yet

3. Install the DIY eGPU Setup 1.1b5 + update

(i had to manually copy the files from V:\V_ to the destination folders)

4. Shutdown your Notebook

5. Power on and hit Enter + F1 to get into BIOS

6. Display settings -> change (if not already) it to "NVidia Optimus" + OS detection "enabled"

7. Save and reboot + power on your eGPU but dont plug in the Expresscard

8. Wait until you see the bootmenu with "Windows 7" and "DIY eGPU setup 1.1b5"

9. Plug in the PE4L in your Expresscard 34-Slot

10. Enter the eGPU setup and go to menu-based-setup

11. Change the following settings:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7783[/ATTACH]

- dGPU off

- compaction 32-bitA on eGPU and iGPU

12. Hit Chainload mbr -> Windows 7

13. In Windows Install the NVidia driver you downloaded

14. In V:\config\startup.bat change the last lines to:

call speedup lbcache

call iport dGPU off

call vidwait 60 10de:1004 (your Hardware IDs may differ)

call vidinit -d 10de:1004 (your Hardware IDs may differ)

call

call pci

call grub4dos mbr

and save it.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7784[/ATTACH]

15. Shutdown and detach the PE4L from the Expresscard-Slot

16. Start the Notebook and wait until you see the bootmenu -> plugin the PE4L and start eGPU Setup + startup.bat (hit 1) -> Windows 7

17. Now it should working. Check it in devicemanager (disable NVidia HD audio) + check Optimus in NVidia control panel (PhysX to CPU):

18. If you want, you can change the bootmenu time, order etc. with something like EasyBCD.

Benchmarks:

3dMark 2006: 25860 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: 25860 3DMarks

3dMark 2011: 9516 (10175 GPU-Score) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: P9516 3DMarks

3dMark Vant.: 30255 (33406 GPU-Score) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,LENOVO 3051RY8 score: P30255 3DMarks

Feel free to ask any questions or correct any mistakes / make things easier etc..

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Gothic,

thank you for this great post. But I still have some questions:

1) though the 3dmark score is helpful, it does not explicitly tell me % performance loss due to the laptop limited bandwidth. It would be great if you can give me a rough number.

2) Gtx 780 is a powerful video card, on the other hand i7 3720qm is weak compared to its quad core desktop counterpart. Would it be more suitable/bang for the buck to select a less powerful graphics card? If yes, which one?

Thanks again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I also have a W530, and followed this guide, however with changes:

I use DYI 1.30 test 20.

I wasn't getting a pci 2.0 link unless i forced gen2 on my ports, so my startup.bat looks like this:

::start of bat

call speedup lbcache

call iport dGPU off

call vidwait 60

call vidinit -d %eGPU%

call

call pci

call iport gen2 1

call iport gen2 2

call iport gen2 3

:end

call chainload mbr

::end of bat

And here is a GPU-Z:

post-7233-14494996725312_thumb.png

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