EXP GDC Beast/Ares-V7/V6 discussion

[Tech Inferno Fan]

So I don't need the 6P+6/8P pcie lead if I'm using a ATX PSU? and where's the "no power" EXP GDC on yoybuy (I can't find it searching yoybuy)?

The "no power" EXP GDC is on banggood for US$50-$53 shipped. EXP GDC Laptop External PCI-E Graphics Card - US$50.00. They also include the 6P+6/8P cable in case you want to source a Dell DA-2 locally.

You can see that EXP GDC V6 gets the 75W slot power by attaching to the the CPU connector on the ATX PSU. This smarter than BPlus PE4H/PE4L using a molex since it can make use of power on multi-rail PSUs. There is a second link on the ATX plug to the 20/24 ATX connector. Presumably the EXP GDC V6 board sends an active low signal to switch on the PSU when the PCIe bus is active. Clever power management.

[rhx123]

I've been having some weird stability problems on my V6 recently, and initially thought the cable was on the blink, but I had a flash of inspiration and tried the PSU from my Mini-ITX PC, and to my supprise it fitted in the DC jack, and works perfectly now. Very happy, thought I was going to have to order another GDC.

Here is the PSU if anyone is interested:

PC mini ITX HTPC Adapter Monitor AC DC Brick Power Supply 12V 10A 120W PSU | eBay

It's more expensive than a DA2 (at least here) and doesn't have the auto on-off function, but for portability it is smaller and weighs less.

[jakethesnake438]

Regarding the EXP Enclosure, I see that it says 29cm long, now my gpu is around 29cm +- 0.5cm (it's a 770 ref) Correction, its only 26cm

My hope is to cram my 770 into is. Has anybody tried this? I am desperate for a smaller enclosure than my current shuttle pc case.

I understand that the DA-2 probably isn't powerful enough for my card but I think I can get that under control with undervolting and reducing the power limit, otherwise I will swap it for a 680 or 970

Anyone have any ideas? Has anyone else purchased the Enclosure??

- - - Updated - - -

I tried them all at highest settings cause I was quite confident that the games where quite old and 3GB of GPU is such overkill but I noticed something, I was expecting FPS to be constant and stable (eg COD MW2) but it is quite choppy when looking at persons around..I wonder why

I was having major issues with MW2 FPS was very choppy at any graphics setting, at all low I was getting better performance with my HD4000.

I would assume this is something weird with their renderer or whatever

[jcagara08]

Regarding the EXP Enclosure, I see that it says 29cm long, now my gpu is around 29cm +- 0.5cm (it's a 770 ref) Correction, its only 26cm

My hope is to cram my 770 into is. Has anybody tried this? I am desperate for a smaller enclosure than my current shuttle pc case.

I understand that the DA-2 probably isn't powerful enough for my card but I think I can get that under control with undervolting and reducing the power limit, otherwise I will swap it for a 680 or 970

Anyone have any ideas? Has anyone else purchased the Enclosure??

- - - Updated - - -

I was having major issues with MW2 FPS was very choppy at any graphics setting, at all low I was getting better performance with my HD4000.

I would assume this is something weird with their renderer or whatever

Mine is about 28cm length (PCB only), 14.5cm (height), 4cm (width) I am using a gigabyte radeon hd 7950 so I am guessing this enclosure might able to house this big ass gpu. I wanted to purchase it but its quite costly for me its 50 bucks, maybe a 3d printed one might be cheaper!

My 7950 is a boost edition, finally I figured it out since its pin connectors composed of a 6pin and an 8pin port, its TDP rating is at 225+W (as per Wikipedia)

Forgot to tell MW2 was running off from an external HDD, maybe that's the reason why it was choppy

And so far I tested BF4 this morning at ultra settings plus mantle and perfoverlay. max is 50+fps and average is like 40+fps (Test Field)

Multiplayer like Conquest large @ 64 players at the same settings is almost the same but performance degrades overtime, probably a temperature throttle or power throttle which I will find out soon.

AMD 14.8 Catalyst Drivers installed.

Regarding the enclosures availability, CS rep told it will take more days and I will wait until someone purchased this.

[jacobsson]

FYI

The metal enclosure seen on Taobao seems to only be made for the EXP GDC V7 at this time.

If you're not going to buy the V7 I must advice against buying the enclosure. There are acrylic ones for the v6!

[jakethesnake438]

Hmm, Maybe Ill wait for a more power efficient card comes around. I don't like the sound of throttling

[jcagara08]

FYI

The metal enclosure seen on Taobao seems to only be made for the EXP GDC V7 at this time.

If you're not going to buy the V7 I must advice against buying the enclosure. There are acrylic ones for the v6!

Really? I think the acrylic one is for an old version of the EXP GDC, and the steel one has cut ous compatible with the V6 IMO, not sure though until someone buys one and post images. Maybe a 3d printed version might be cheaper in the long run like in your eGPU implementation with a GTX 670 mini, by the way I qouted you there.

[jacobsson]

There are two versions of the acrylic enclosure, old one has one rectangular cut-out on the side, new one has two.

The metal enclosure is for sure made to work with the new V7, if the hole is long enough it might also work for the V6.

I going to try getting some answers from Cloud.

[Kaas93]

There are two versions of the acrylic enclosure, old one has one rectangular cut-out on the side, new one has two.

The metal enclosure is for sure made to work with the new V7, if the hole is long enough it might also work for the V6.

I going to try getting some answers from Cloud.

Did some measuring and this should be pretty close to how the v6 fits in the chassis:

Seeing this, I'd say the v6 fits better than the v7. The v7 has the pcie slot yet further away to the right but the 8-pin connector is to the left.

[jacobsson]

@Kaas93

Thanks, I also made that measurement and got the same conclusion as you, although I have confirmed earlier with Cloud that it's compatible with V7, now I'm waiting to hear from him to confirm the V6 as well.

The most logical approach from him would of course be to have it compatible for both V6 and V7 since there are a lot of V6-users out there.

Another thought (which I think Cloud would agree upon), for those who are only looking to use mPCIe and/or Expresscard I would advise to stay with V6, the power input is better orientated when using DA-2 as PSU.

[Kaas93]

@Kaas93

Thanks, I also made that measurement and got the same conclusion as you, although I have confirmed earlier with Cloud that it's compatible with V7, now I'm waiting to hear from him to confirm the V6 as well.

The most logical approach from him would of course be to have it compatible for both V6 and V7 since there are a lot of V6-users out there.

Another thought (which I think Cloud would agree upon), for those who are only looking to use mPCIe and/or Expresscard I would advise to stay with V6, the power input is better orientated when using DA-2 as PSU.

Also, the 6-pins connector is placed really awkwardly. The longer the card, the harder it will be for the 6-pin splitter cable to reach the end of the card (where the 6/8-pins connectors often are on gpu's)

[jacobsson]

Also, the 6-pins connector is placed really awkwardly. The longer the card, the harder it will be for the 6-pin splitter cable to reach the end of the card (where the 6/8-pins connectors often are on gpu's)

Yeah, that's a shame really. I informed him of this issue too.

The power is located here to avoid power disturbance of the PCIe data lines in order to keep up better signal quality.

I think it would be better to do this (with the assumption of that the power must be located on the left hand side of the PCB):

1. angle the 6-pin power to the left (won't help cable length) to at least keep the low profile foot print

or

2. put the 6-pin on the backside, instead of the front side. Keep it angled to the right, then the cable would at least start on the GPU power side (would help a little with cable length too).

[bichael]

Hi, apologies some of this is a repeat of a recent post in the main egpu thread, which also included a quick performance comparison between laptop and desktop:

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2109-diy-egpu-experiences-%5Bversion-2-0%5D-360.html#post105838

Main reason for posting is to let people in the UK know I’m selling my EXP GDC 6.0, including dell 220W PSU and acrylic enclosure. Also has the pci power cable, and another adapter cable. Will be in the UK (Yorkshire & London) in the next couple of weeks. PM me with an offer if interested in picking up in person, otherwise I will put it on ebay. I had a great experience with the egpu but my old laptop @ pci 1x1 was limiting things a bit, a new laptop was tempting but I didn’t really need the portability (mostly using it for gaming on the couch) so decided to put together a budget gaming/htpc in a small SG05 case using some of the bits.

My acrylic enclosure is the one linked below, I bought from Taobao as in China at the moment.

EXP GDC

There is a note on the page saying image/video are for v5.8 but the version shipped would be for v6.0. Works well once I figured out you take the bottom part off the main adapter, and I also needed to file out one of the openings a little. I did manage to crack it on the back end panel though not really noticeable.

[jacobsson]

Hi everbody!

Since there has been a lot of discussions regarding enclosures for the EXP GDC V6.0:

Acrylic enclosure EXP GDC V6.0: Yoybuy Store (added in the initial post as well)

For the metal enclosure:

I can't say for certain that it will be compatible with the V6.0 yet, so far I know it's made for the V7.0. I will update you on this as soon as I get more info.

[jcagara08]

Hi, apologies some of this is a repeat of a recent post in the main egpu thread, which also included a quick performance comparison between laptop and desktop:

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2109-diy-egpu-experiences-%5Bversion-2-0%5D-360.html#post105838

Main reason for posting is to let people in the UK know I’m selling my EXP GDC 6.0, including dell 220W PSU and acrylic enclosure. Also has the pci power cable, and another adapter cable. Will be in the UK (Yorkshire & London) in the next couple of weeks. PM me with an offer if interested in picking up in person, otherwise I will put it on ebay. I had a great experience with the egpu but my old laptop @ pci 1x1 was limiting things a bit, a new laptop was tempting but I didn’t really need the portability (mostly using it for gaming on the couch) so decided to put together a budget gaming/htpc in a small SG05 case using some of the bits.

My acrylic enclosure is the one linked below, I bought from Taobao as in China at the moment.

EXP GDC

There is a note on the page saying image/video are for v5.8 but the version shipped would be for v6.0. Works well once I figured out you take the bottom part off the main adapter, and I also needed to file out one of the openings a little. I did manage to crack it on the back end panel though not really noticeable.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12527[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]12528[/ATTACH]

I hope you wont mind me asking regarding that enclosure..is there anywhere that supports the GPU stability and holds it in place tightly like those default mounts in the side where output ports stick out? Is the exp gdc screwable in thr bottom part of the acrylic enclosure? Any part which holds the gpu screw mounts?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[bichael]

I hope you wont mind me asking regarding that enclosure..is there anywhere that supports the GPU stability and holds it in place tightly like those default mounts in the side where output ports stick out? Is the exp gdc screwable in thr bottom part of the acrylic enclosure? Any part which holds the gpu screw mounts?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Not at all, unfortunately it's now dissasembled otherwise I would post some more detailed pics, hopefully I can describe reasonably in words... There is a video on the taobao site I linked which is worth watching though is maybe a little different as it's for the older version.

In terms of the EXP GDC adapter then this screws into the bottom panel securely with standoffs. For the GPU then it's held by the pci slot and by the front end plate of the enclosure which has a tight fit with the top and bottom of the metal end plate on the GPU (not sure if end plate is the right term but the bit where you would plug in a monitor etc). So the components are pretty securely held when the enclosure is together.

The only real concern is with the push fit nature of the enclosure, for 'desk like' use such as picking it up and plugging things in I found it perfectly secure, by holding it you kind of help support it. I never tried and would be less confident about how it might hold up in a bag though. Potentially I guess a small amount of glue could be used just to hold it together, but would need to be fairly minimal and not super strong so you could still take it apart without breaking it?!

[jcagara08]

Not at all, unfortunately it's now dissasembled otherwise I would post some more detailed pics, hopefully I can describe reasonably in words... There is a video on the taobao site I linked which is worth watching though is maybe a little different as it's for the older version.

In terms of the EXP GDC adapter then this screws into the bottom panel securely with standoffs. For the GPU then it's held by the pci slot and by the front end plate of the enclosure which has a tight fit with the top and bottom of the metal end plate on the GPU (not sure if end plate is the tight term but the bit where you would plug in a monitor etc). So the components are pretty secure held when the enclosure is together.

The only real concern is with the push fit nature of the enclosure, for 'desk like' use such as picking it up and plugging things in I found it perfectly secure, by holding it you kind of help support it. I never tried and would be less confident about how it might hold up in a bag though. Potentially I guess a small amount of glue could be used just to hold it together, but would need to be fairly minimal and not super strong so you could still take it apart without breaking it?!

Alright I got you mate, yes it would have been better if there were images to dispel off doubts to EXP GDC V6 owners.

And I doubt the acrylic version and that steel one by herocloud will barely fit my big 7950/R9 280 card.

I was supposed to be going the same route with your plan, to build a mini itx gaming pc but my perspective changed when I was able to run BF4 at ulra settings even at large conquest map 64 players online gameplay..

Now I am planning to buy a monitor, mech keyboard and gaming mouse, and that enclosure too.

Hell I would even upgrade my laptop CPU (yes I can) to an i7-3632QM, 16GB RAM, and an SSD for future proofing

[jacobsson]

@jcagara08

I'm really glad to hear about your experience.

That card is a beast, both in performance and size =)

I have my doubts about fitting in the acrylic enclosure, but let me do some measurements tonight and come back to you,

the card how long, 30CM?

Also, give me the height measured too.

[jcagara08]

@jcagara08

I'm really glad to hear about your experience.

That card is a beast, both in performance and size =)

I have my doubts about fitting in the acrylic enclosure, but let me do some measurements tonight and come back to you,

the card how long, 30CM?

Also, give me the height measured too.

Yeah it been a long time coming, like I said setup was just a fantasy for me since 2010 when you guys started this movement.

Months before I started to gain interest again with an eGPU, plans were firm to build a mini itx gaming pc, an i5 and an r9 280/280x

Yes it is really a beast, a lot of research I had done before deciding on this gpu for that mini itx build and figured why not use it for an eGPU instead?

from there the rest is history, now I am a happy gamer once again. Fantasy turned Reality. cheesy sounding isn't it?

I will measure my card again too tonight, I remember the length is like 28 or 28.5cm will report back,

You already have the acrylic enclosure?

[jacobsson]

@jcagara08

I think it's great story, I can really relate (many others too!) since I've really owned a decent gaming setup before getting involved in the community.

Yeah, I actually got the enclosure yesterday and it's stilled wrapped in bubble plastic

I'll test it with my Asus GTX660 DC-top, which has thermal pipes adding to the height. Of course I'll present my estimated max measurements too.

Oh, give me the height for your card too when you're home.

[jcagara08]

I think it's great story, I can really relate, since I've never owned a descent gaming setup before getting involved in the community.

Yeah, I actually got the enclosure yesterday and it's stilled wrapped in bubble plastic

I'll test it with my Asus GTX660 DC-top, which has thermal pipes adding to the height. Of course I'll present my estimated max measurements too.

Oh, give me the height for your card too when you're home.

Nice! How many days you waited for it buddy and how much it costs if you won't mind?

Yeah those heatpipes can really add to the dimensions.

@jacobsson @Tech Inferno Fan

Why not try to suggest to the makers universal dimensions for acrylic and stell enclosures prolly L -30CM W-7CM H - 17CM so gpu fitment would not be an issue to exp gdc users?

@all

I wonder if its possible in the future to make an implementation based on mSATA interface?

like that of the Y510P GPU ultrabay? I think that route provides a faster lane am I right?

I realized this last night when I planned to make a hole under next to that mini pcie half height slot cause its making the mini pcie connector rise to a little bit of an angle and cable would then pass through that created hole and via the dvd drive..my plan. Anyone knows which tools can be safely used to create a hole or cut through a plastic underneath a laptop and its cover?

- - - Updated - - -

Lastly MXM cards are on ebay, enclosures now available but how is it going to be implemented to future laptop users?

Is is still via mPCIE, Expresscard, PCIE? How is the cooling for this? I understand that it needs heatsinks to be cooled so is this MXM eGPU viable?

and I wonder if a SATA based eGPU enclosure can be possible in the future? I realized that most laptops with dvd drives can be easily removed and replaced with third party hdd cradles, Ultrabay GPU like that of the Lenovo Y510P and that port can provide high speeds am I right?

[Kaas93]

Wellp, I thought the Banggood EXP GDC V6 came with the pcie 6 pins splitter cable. (as in the start post it only says the aliexpress one needs a separate 6 pins cable) Turns out it doesn't. I ordered the Cooler Master cable and that no longer comes as a splitter, just a 6-pins -> 6-pins. So basically I have everything in house except for that silly little cable :/

[jacobsson]

Wellp, I thought the Banggood EXP GDC V6 came with the pcie 6 pins splitter cable. (as in the start post it only says the aliexpress one needs a separate 6 pins cable) Turns out it doesn't. I ordered the Cooler Master cable and that no longer comes as a splitter, just a 6-pins -> 6-pins. So basically I have everything in house except for that silly little cable :/

I'm sorry to hear that!

I will update the post asap. As for the Coolermaster cable, have you asked them if it is a straight 6p -> 6p or if it's a splitter (the image could lie)?

I remember getting a splitter at my purchase 1 year ago.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Wellp, I thought the Banggood EXP GDC V6 came with the pcie 6 pins splitter cable. (as in the start post it only says the aliexpress one needs a separate 6 pins cable) Turns out it doesn't. I ordered the Cooler Master cable and that no longer comes as a splitter, just a 6-pins -> 6-pins. So basically I have everything in house except for that silly little cable :/

The banggood EXP GDC V6 advertising says

Package include:

1x EXP GDC A motherboard

1x Mini PCI-E cable or Expresscard data lines

1x 6 pin Graphics power cable

They've omitted the "1x 6 pin Graphics power cable". Something I'd recommend you chase up with banggood. Pls advise if this is a one off or other customers have been affected.

[Kaas93]

I'm sorry to hear that!

I will update the post asap. As for the Coolermaster cable, have you asked them if it is a straight 6p -> 6p or if it's a splitter (the image could lie)?

I remember getting a splitter at my purchase 1 year ago.

I hadn't as I figured the result would be the opposite of what I wanted. I thought that if I'd brought this anomaly to their attention they might rectify it (ie. replace the splitter with the actual cable displayed in the picture). Turns out they already rectified this mistake, too bad for me