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12" HP 2540P + GTX750Ti@2Gbps+c-EC1 (PE4L 2.1b) + Win7 [eddynator]


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Thanks to Nando’s suggestion, I’m starting this new thread; it seems there is not a full 2540p writeup with a new card like GTX750TI. Nando: “Lots of power for low power consumption there. Awesome”

Personal story

After thinking about how my laptops were unable to be used to play, but had so nice core power, I started searching for external graphical card, at last I hit with Tech Inferno and Bplus (and some misinformation at NBR bleh). After reading a bit, I decided to buy a “PE4L-EC060A”, some “cheap gpu” (GTX750TI) and just try it out. Of course had to go through some hard walls in my way, since I’m not an expert IT professional neither programmer, I needed to learn some new things. I’ve never listened about dsdt override, or about the 32bit limitation Pci Bridge.

Elitebook 2540p specs (hp link)

My elitebook , to take in consideration:

CPU: Core i7

Memory: 6GB RAM (2+4) (memory bus runs at a màximum of 1066 MHz). (usable 5,8GB uh)

iGpu: Intel GMA HD

Power: 9 Cell Battery.

OS: Winows 7 enterprise 64. (Windows 8 professional discarded)

Weight: 1,950 KG ~ 4.3lb (with 6 cell battery it is lighter)

My thoughts:

It’s a nice laptop, if you want it just to work, or to use one or two linux or freeBSD virtual machines. It has a nice core power, and with 6GB ram, you can maintain some apps without memory troubles, if you use it to write emails, documents… Office work, the 9 cell batteries could last for more than nine hours. It isn’t very heavy. But (the big “but”) you can’t use it to play, it has no 3D power.

The way to the eGPU:

I bought on Wednesday 21 may the “PE4L-EC060A” board from Taiwan, and the GTX750TI SC, from Germany, I got in Friday the shipment from Taiwan, before the shipment from Germany, I got it on Monday. (Since I work in IT sector, I can have some spare parts to do some testing so I got an older card from my work and a normal PSU)

So I used this weekend, try some setups with an 8600GT, just to test if it works, or if the egpu was detected.

BIOS (before SO startup) (tested with 8600gt and GTX750ti sc):

When you switch on the laptop with all attached, PE4L-EC060A, and the gpu, it just won’t start. It seems like BIOS does not like it, and will not even start to read HDD, I remembered about it was soft “plugandplayable”, or in some cases it had to be pluged at windows start, etc…

Conclusion: I can’t start the computer with the PE4L-EC060A attached

Windows 8 Professional 64 (a mess): (only tested 8600gt, 2GB ram)

-The first thing I tested, is just to hotplug it while I’m in windows 8, It was detected, but I got the 12 error, so I uninstalled the device (checking to uninstall the driver too), shutdown my laptop, and removed the extra 4GB RAM to leave the computer with just 2 GB.

-Started Windows, and hotpluged my device. Viola, it worked (or it seemed), the driver was marked to need a restart, but I could bring my external screen to life.

-Shutdown, unplug the device, start windows, and attach the device… Something wrong happens, black screen the computer seems to try to automatically send the image to the external monitor, and tries to switch it on, black screen with light, black screen without light, intermittent. If I hot unplug the device nothings happens.

“” I thought it was my fault, I left as principal screen the one attached to my eGPU, so start again

Just to be faster, remember, I can’t start the computer, with the PE4L-EC060A plugged, so it will be always be removed when I switch off the computer. “”

-Hard shutdown, start Windows, show hidden devices (so nice in windows 8, I can see unattached devices there) uninstall, drivers too, restart, hotplug, and viola, it was detected, marked to need a restart, didn’t try to switch on the eGPU screen.

-Restart, hotplug, and same black screen tilting… Then I had a brilliant idea, instead of deattaching the PE4L-EC060A, I just unplugged the monitor from the eGPU. Woot! The laptop’s screen came to life, but if I replugged the external monitor to the eGPU, it tries automatically to switch it on, and… you know black screen tilting.

“” After some more tries, changing drivers, installing drivers before restarting, hotplugin it when windows was starting, etc… Always the same… {The black tilting screen of death} It sounds just nice, bye bye windows 8 for now, hello windows 7 “”

Conclusion: Windows 8 it’s not an option yet. Since I received the gtx750ti sc on Monday 26 I was unable to test it with windows 8 on weekend, and since it is working with windows 7, im not going to try it out with windows 8.

Windows 7 Enterprise 64 (A win!) (2gb ram 8600 GT, GTX 750ti sc):

“”After my odyssey with windows 8, I thought, let’s try what happens with Windows 7, moreover I will not need to use testsigning for dsdt override, so let’s go!””

-Start, hotplug in windows, detected, driver marked to reboot, secondary screen was unable to come to life.

-Restart, hotplug in windows, detected, driver marked to reboot, secondary screen was unable to come to life. Woot?! It’s just the same, I remembered about hotpluging it when the four circles of windows 7 loading screen came to screen.

-Restart, hotplug while windows loads, detected, working, could use iGPU + eGPU, expand, duplicate, whatever. So I installed the last official nvidia drivers (BTW Today at 00:51 GMT +1 v337.88 whql was mailed to me from nvidia, but I didn’t test it yet, I will soon ™ ).

-Restart, hotplug while windows loads, detected, working, etc etc, driver from Nvidia… eureka!

After that, I started to try the windows puntuations, to see if it was using that eGPU, and yup, 3D grafics went from 3.3, to 5.0 nice. I could try this setup (2gb ram) with gtx750ti on Monday, and worked fine too.

Conclusions: Windows 7 works, and if you do not put the extra RAM you do not need to do anything more, it will work, but after just testing Skyrim with high res pack it was getting some lags, I think that 2GB ram, is just too way low to play.

Windows 7 Enterprise 64 (A GREAT Victory!) (6gb, GTX 750ti sc, DSDT override, DIY eGPU Setup 1.30 software):

On May 24th I learned the way the dsdt file works, export, modify, repair, compile, /loadtable. But windows was unable to assign resources to my eGPU (error 12), I will not get in more details here.

On May 25th I got in touch with Nando, to ask about setup 1.3, I made a very happy 25$ donation and I got it the day after.

On May 26th I got ready my 1.30 setup, pci compaction, and my eGPU got the resources needed from the long memory range. Now the SD card reader, seems not to work (error 12) but I don’t care, I usually use micro SD, and plug it into the computer with an USB adapter, so it doesn’t bother me.

First testing, I windows experience classification: 7.6! (on graphics and game graphics) up from 3.3. So let’s play. But before… I have got the 3D nvidia kit, screen, glasses… would it work?

Yes it worked, I made a handmade video, to not lose fps with some recording software, and well, I was so excited that I just grab my mobile and start recording.

Final conclusions

This section will be under constant construction, because I’m going to do screenshots, and post them, with punctuations, I’ll try to make some 3D mark testing too, and I’m going to post them. Until now, I just tested Skyrim, with the high texture pack, and of course, 3D. I will test more games. And tell you how it works.

Resident Evil 5 DX10 high antialiasing x4

Opinion: I think that it works really smoth, it get really punished from nvidia 3D, I remember playing this game with my "high end" gaming computer at 58fps with 3D (GTX580 overclocked from zotac), but its more than playable.With 3D: 33fps average

Without 3D: 89ps average.

Screenshots:

Options: (Motion Blur switched off, because it's advised from Nvidia 3d option)

post-26615-14494997705231_thumb.jpg

post-26615-14494997705765_thumb.jpg

3D full variable benchmark (like if you were playing)

post-26615-14494997704038_thumb.jpg

2D pice of variable benchmark (like if you were playing)

post-26615-14494997704667_thumb.jpg

Final words

I’m in debt with you guys at tech inferno, thanks for your work, your research, and of course, to share your knowledge with the rest of the world, it opened my a new point of view of gaming, if it could run great, I’ll just have in home a “table dockstation”, and plug there my laptop when I want to play. When I need it to go around to work, unplug and to work.

If you need something specially to be tested with this setup, just ask it, since I feel in debt with you, I think is the least I can do.

Thank you for reading my post.:glee:

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Added my first game benchmark. Resident Evil 5 DX10, its not so new, but it's one of the best 3D nvidia ready game I know and own.

P.S. If any administrator get by here. Could you please change the forum title? y miss typed the laptop model number. It has to be 2540p not 2450p. Sorry for inconvenience, and thanks.

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