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eGPU GTX460 + Dell Latitude e6520 (help needed)


Zukuz

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Hi Guyz!

Need help with hooking an eGPU to Dell laptop. Honestly, I've already smoked out FAQ... so I try to be maximum efficient:

Problem description

1. What's the problem? - Windows7 (x64) recognized eGPU unit (PE4H V3.2 (PCIe x16 Adapter)) only once (OS installed the drivers and asked for a reboot) and never since as far as a restart had taken place (if to keep PE4H ON - the screen is solid black, if to try hints from "Why is my eGPU is not detected?" does no good;

2. Have you consulted the Troubleshooting FAQ to resolve the issue? - yes - I tried to be the most observant though I could miss something;

3. Have you consulted the Pre-Purchase FAQ --> "2. How can I check if my notebook is compatible with an eGPU?" - yes - passed (mostly the same model was on the list);

Platform Description

1. OS - Windows 7 Pro 64-bit;

2. System - Intel® Core i5-2520M CPU @ 2.50GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.5GHz; Intel Graphics HD 3000;

3. RAM - 4096MB;

4. eGPU used - EVGA GTX 460;

5. PSU specification (especially the +12V max current) - ATX type 550W;

Do I have to install a special "setup 1.x" for my config?

I would appreciate any help!

Mighty thanks!

Zukuz~

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More than likely you will need Setup 1.x (latest being Setup 1.2 that performs much better than the 1.1). If I just boot Windows without using Setup 1.2 and perform the PCI compaction the card does appear in Device Manager (maybe), but nothing happens that is useful.

Do you have both your laptop open (for internal display usage) and a monitor hooked up to the eGPU (I'd start with a basic signal over VGA or DVI).

I'm not sure if you need a DSDT override or not. You will probably just need to perform PCI compaction with Setup 1.2. Doing this alone will probably solve your issue.

If you do end up needing a DSDT override you can follow my guide here:

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/3539-guide-dsdt-override-simultaneous-igpu-dgpu-egpu.html

If you don't have a dGPU you can skip that section - you wouldn't have optimus though if you don't have dGPU, this would be a performance hit for the eGPU.

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The e6520 does not need to do any compaction or reallocation.

The only issue is that the BIOS will disable the IGP and thus the internal LCD and optimus if it detects an egpu on startup. Just plug in the egpu's expresscard connector any time after you see the BIOS splash screen and the card will work without issues. Hotplugging the PE4H power cable instead of the expresscard connector works on some cards, but not all, so go with the expresscard connector.

If for some reason you want to mess around with optimus disabled, one of the 460's DVI ports will be active if you boot with the card on and plugged in. You probably just had the monitor plugged into the wrong port.

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Guyz!

I had some progress so far. But it's been quite a pathetic one. The cables were replaced. It helped. Now external monitor initilizes. I managed to install GTX 460 driver in safe mode. But as soon as the system was rebooted eGPU accessory switched OFF on Windows 7 flag appearing.

Resume.

OS recognised the external hardware. Original drivers were installed. OS crashes shortly after a welcome screen. eGPU works only if Windows is started in safe mode - the right driver is shown in a device manager.

Any extra help so far?

Thanks!

PS: Khenglis, eGPU starts properly only if it is switched ON simultaniously with a laptop, in all the other cases as far the express card is plugged during different stages of a boot process, the system completely overrides eGPU and starts the OS with iGPU. Being under Win7 - OS doesn't respond to eGPU plugging in.

Zukuz~

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Guyz!

I had some progress so far. But it's been quite a pathetic one. The cables were replaced. It helped. Now external monitor initilizes. I managed to install GTX 460 driver in safe mode. But as soon as the system was rebooted eGPU accessory switched OFF on Windows 7 flag appearing.

Resume.

OS recognised the external hardware. Original drivers were installed. OS crashes shortly after a welcome screen. eGPU works only if Windows is started in safe mode - the right driver is shown in a device manager.

Any extra help so far?

Thanks!

PS: Khenglis, eGPU starts properly only if it is switched ON simultaniously with a laptop, in all the other cases as far the express card is plugged during different stages of a boot process, the system completely overrides eGPU and starts the OS with iGPU. Being under Win7 - OS doesn't respond to eGPU plugging in.

Zukuz~

A crash on the welcome screen is a common sign of pci-e 2.0 being unstable. The e6520 will default to 2.0 and does not have a BIOS option for 1.1. The latest nvidia drivers 320.18 and onward might revert to 1.1 automatically when detecting that 2.0 is unstable. Try it. I could not get 2.0 to work on a 460, but I could on a 580.

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A crash on the welcome screen is a common sign of pci-e 2.0 being unstable. The e6520 will default to 2.0 and does not have a BIOS option for 1.1. The latest nvidia drivers 320.18 and onward might revert to 1.1 automatically when detecting that 2.0 is unstable. Try it. I could not get 2.0 to work on a 460, but I could on a 580.

Khenglsih, I tried Driver 320.49 version. Same crash. So u suggest trying with GXT580? How can I tell a driver to "revert to 1.1"? Or is it an auto process?

Thanx for your updates!

Zukuz~

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Khenglsih, I tried Driver 320.49 version. Same crash. So u suggest trying with GXT580? How can I tell a driver to "revert to 1.1"? Or is it an auto process?

Thanx for your updates!

Zukuz~

Two people have gotten pci-e 2.0 to work on a 460, but my card just couldn't do it for some reason. I also don't know if pci-e 2.0 is your problem or not, but I think it is. Few people have gotten the v3.2 PE4H as well, opting for the cheaper PE4L v2.1 instead. Maybe there is an issue with the PE4H that is causing instability, I do not know.

Nando reported that on driver 320.18 he had a system that would automatically drop down to pci-e 1.1 if 2.0 did not work. I do not know how reliable the auto throttle mechanism is. What is guaranteed to work is nando's setup program that allows you to force pci-e 1.1. The thing is 2.0 should work fine with your system and 1.1 will cut performance, and the only reason to try 1.1 is for diagnostic purposes.

I assume the error code you saw in the device manager was error 43?

If you can somehow borrow another card, I would suggest doing that if possible.

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Two people have gotten pci-e 2.0 to work on a 460, but my card just couldn't do it for some reason. I also don't know if pci-e 2.0 is your problem or not, but I think it is. Few people have gotten the v3.2 PE4H as well, opting for the cheaper PE4L v2.1 instead. Maybe there is an issue with the PE4H that is causing instability, I do not know.

Nando reported that on driver 320.18 he had a system that would automatically drop down to pci-e 1.1 if 2.0 did not work. I do not know how reliable the auto throttle mechanism is. What is guaranteed to work is nando's setup program that allows you to force pci-e 1.1. The thing is 2.0 should work fine with your system and 1.1 will cut performance, and the only reason to try 1.1 is for diagnostic purposes.

I assume the error code you saw in the device manager was error 43?

If you can somehow borrow another card, I would suggest doing that if possible.

Good pickup there. Unfortunately I had to recall that info. Turns out after doing a second more extensive set of tests with the NVidia 320.18 drivers I found it too would have the same BSOD/intermittent hangs when the pci-e bus downgraded the link from 2.0 to 1.1 due to transmission errors (PE4H 2.4).

The fix is, as you note, to hard set the port to pci-e 1.1 so no downgrading ever occurs. HP/Lenovo provide such a feature in BIOS. Other systems without such a bios option can install Setup 1.x to provide that functionality.

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Tech Inferno Fan, thank you, I try to play with setup 1.1.

Khenglish, miracly, if I boot Win7 under safe mode the device manager shows NVidia GTX 460 and tells that it works fine. It crashes only if it is loaded in stardard mode.

Well, setup 1.1 ahead...

Thank you once again guyz for your help!

Zukuz~

PS: Tech Inferno Fan, do I understand it right that I have to buy that Setup 1.1?

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Tech Inferno Fan, thank you, I try to play with setup 1.1.

Khenglish, miracly, if I boot Win7 under safe mode the device manager shows NVidia GTX 460 and tells that it works fine. It crashes only if it is loaded in stardard mode.

Well, setup 1.1 ahead...

Thank you once again guyz for your help!

Zukuz~

PS: Tech Inferno Fan, do I understand it right that I have to buy that Setup 1.1?

The thing is pci-e 2.0 should work. pci-e 1.1 will cause the card to perform substantially worse (up to 20%), although it's much better than the card not working at all.

There could be an issue with either your graphics card or the PE4H that is preventing pci-e 2.0 from working. I highly recommend trying another card if one is available.

Again, your card really isn't working in safe mode. In safe mode the laptop never bothers even trying to use the 460, while on normal boot it tries but fails.

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Ok... well.. some update.

For the whole weekends I was trying and trying... and... NOTHINGS.

I checked four GPUs: GTX460, GTX560, Radeon XFX 5850 and Radeaon XFX 5880.

I have to admit that I've got some slight progress on Radeons because when I was hot plugging PE4H v3.2 into laptop in made some "USB plugin sound" and even tried to switch to external display. But then Win7 (x64) shot a message that the device was not working properly or no external displays were installed. After that in a device manage Radeon 5850/5880 was marked with a Code 12 error.

GTXs froze on Win7 welcome screen.

I have a odd idea... what if my Laptop PCIe is 1.1?? It may explain then why it is not hooking to PE4H which is Gen2 only. Can i check my Dell 6520 PCIe speed version somehow?

Any further help is much appreciated!

Thanx

Zukuz~

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Ok... well.. some update.

For the whole weekends I was trying and trying... and... NOTHINGS.

I checked four GPUs: GTX460, GTX560, Radeon XFX 5850 and Radeaon XFX 5880.

I have to admit that I've got some slight progress on Radeons because when I was hot plugging PE4H v3.2 into laptop in made some "USB plugin sound" and even tried to switch to external display. But then Win7 (x64) shot a message that the device was not working properly or no external displays were installed. After that in a device manage Radeon 5850/5880 was marked with a Code 12 error.

GTXs froze on Win7 welcome screen.

I have a odd idea... what if my Laptop PCIe is 1.1?? It may explain then why it is not hooking to PE4H which is Gen2 only. Can i check my Dell 6520 PCIe speed version somehow?

Any further help is much appreciated!

Thanx

Zukuz~

Well since the GTX560 failed to work as well, we can conclude that either the PE4H or your laptop's expresscard slot is defective. The culprit is most likely the PE4H.

The Radeons didn't work due to lack of resources. Nvidia cards have a slightly lower requirement of how much PCI config space is needed. The e6520 has a dynamic TOLUD, so you can get those cards to work anyway (assuming pci-e 2.0 worked) if you boot with them on and hook up your monitor to whatever DVI port is running.

Your laptop is exhibiting the exact same behavior to what I encountered when trying pci-e 2.0 on my E6520 on a x2.0a PE4H, which does not support pci-e 2.0. I recommend trying to replace your PE4H with the more common PE4L, which many people have had success with running pci-e 2.0.

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Well since the GTX560 failed to work as well, we can conclude that either the PE4H or your laptop's expresscard slot is defective. The culprit is most likely the PE4H.

The Radeons didn't work due to lack of resources. Nvidia cards have a slightly lower requirement of how much PCI config space is needed. The e6520 has a dynamic TOLUD, so you can get those cards to work anyway (assuming pci-e 2.0 worked) if you boot with them on and hook up your monitor to whatever DVI port is running.

Your laptop is exhibiting the exact same behavior to what I encountered when trying pci-e 2.0 on my E6520 on a x2.0a PE4H, which does not support pci-e 2.0. I recommend trying to replace your PE4H with the more common PE4L, which many people have had success with running pci-e 2.0.

Khenglish, did I understood it right that u have mostly the same laptop as I do? At least u had some hands on it.

So could you please tell what a config you finnally end up with considering E6520?

As far as understood Dell E6520 should hook up eGPU fluently without any... Blood Magic?

Thank you once again!

Zukuz~

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Khenglish, did I understood it right that u have mostly the same laptop as I do? At least u had some hands on it.

So could you please tell what a config you finnally end up with considering E6520?

As far as understood Dell E6520 should hook up eGPU fluently without any... Blood Magic?

Thank you once again!

Zukuz~

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Khenglish, thank you for your help.

I won't bother another minute of your life if you let me know your setup for eGPU. Could you specify a type and eGPU model?

Do I remeber it right that it was GTX560 but what was the adaptor type - PE4L?

Thanks again!

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Khenglish, did I understood it right that u have mostly the same laptop as I do? At least u had some hands on it.

So could you please tell what a config you finnally end up with considering E6520?

As far as understood Dell E6520 should hook up eGPU fluently without any... Blood Magic?

Thank you once again!

Zukuz~

For Gen2 performance with NVidia Optimus active you need the same hardware and bootup sequence as per 12.5" Dell E6230 + [email protected]/[email protected] (PE4L-EC060A 2.1b) . Ie: PE4L-EC060A 2.1b.

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Khenglish, thank you for your help.

I won't bother another minute of your life if you let me know your setup for eGPU. Could you specify a type and eGPU model?

Do I remeber it right that it was GTX560 but what was the adaptor type - PE4L?

Thanks again!

I used a modified PE3A. pci-e 2.0 did not work for a GTX 460, but it did work for a GTX 580. I think the 460 just had issues.

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Well... some minor update.

I discovered a performance issue with GTX 560 when plugged into a standard PC. This week O hope I get my hands on some real GTX 560. *Keeps finger crossed*. I hope everything would be alright with a newer eGPU... I keep you updated.

And thank you guyz for helping me out.

Regards,

Zukuz~

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Well... some minor update.

I discovered a performance issue with GTX 560 when plugged into a standard PC. This week O hope I get my hands on some real GTX 560. *Keeps finger crossed*. I hope everything would be alright with a newer eGPU... I keep you updated.

And thank you guyz for helping me out.

Regards,

Zukuz~

What about the 460? It's very unlikely that both cards are defective.

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What about the 460? It's very unlikely that both cards are defective.

Alright... I feel Hecked and Hexed now... GTX 460 performs nice and smoothy if plugged into a standard PC. Recently, just about now, I get some GTX 560 Ti from MSI... Gosh, exactly the same behavior.

Anyways, I discovered a swith on a PE4H ver 3.2 adapter which makes an eGPU always ON (whnever it is plugged or not). If to hotplug GTX560Ti - Windows 7(64) sees it and says that the devices works perfectly (no any device error)... but there is no picture on an external monitor. If to coldplug GTX 560 - it performs a start up procedure on an external monitor but goes solid black on Windows start. Thou I can hear Windows bootup sequence music from a laptop.

I wrote a message to BPlus... but no reply yet.

I bet PCE-e works OK as far as I tried several accies from PCI-e - modem to an old-school PCIe-LPT adaptor. Seemed to be ok.

I gettting maad... slowely...

If you guyz have any further idea, shoot it!

Best regards, Zukuz.

PS: Khengkish, thank you for keeping your eye on me!

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Alright... I feel Hecked and Hexed now... GTX 460 performs nice and smoothy if plugged into a standard PC. Recently, just about now, I get some GTX 560 Ti from MSI... Gosh, exactly the same behavior.

Anyways, I discovered a swith on a PE4H ver 3.2 adapter which makes an eGPU always ON (whnever it is plugged or not). If to hotplug GTX560Ti - Windows 7(64) sees it and says that the devices works perfectly (no any device error)... but there is no picture on an external monitor. If to coldplug GTX 560 - it performs a start up procedure on an external monitor but goes solid black on Windows start. Thou I can hear Windows bootup sequence music from a laptop.

I wrote a message to BPlus... but no reply yet.

I bet PCE-e works OK as far as I tried several accies from PCI-e - modem to an old-school PCIe-LPT adaptor. Seemed to be ok.

I gettting maad... slowely...

If you guyz have any further idea, shoot it!

Best regards, Zukuz.

PS: Khengkish, thank you for keeping you eye on me!

Well when the iGPU is running the internal display, the external display will be off by default unless you tell windows to use it in the screen resolution options.

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Nah... Blah... If to press Win+P while both cards are On in device manager - I see a blue dump screen. In all the other cases exactly the same behavior as far GTX460. Well, I guess now I have to do some negociations with a supplier.

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