skyldig Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I'd like to find a way to add a second mPCIE slot to my motherboard. To get the first one, I removed the WiFi card. To complete my eGPU project (using a PE4C) I need a second mPCIE. Can anyone guide me or add any info (like maybe the mobo schematics) ? I started to investigate if it is possible to convert the mSATA port to the DVD but that seemed to be a dead end. I wonder if there are any unsoldered connections or maybe something else I could live without, Bluetooth maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khenglish Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 What number is the wifi card slot? I'm assuming that you are going for x2. If the wifi is port number 1, 3, 5, or 7 then you only need to connect 4 more wires for x2, but if it is even then you need many more. So basically find out what port number the card is, and if it is odd then find out what is on the next higher pci-e number, if anything.Also unsoldered connectors are very rare. They are easy to spot just by looking at the motherboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakef Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 After looking at picture of your motherboard on ebay it does look like the wifi card slot is your only pci-e slot available. I know its not a great options but wireless USB works pretty well and would definitely be safer and more cost effective then trying to add another mPCIE slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyldig Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Thanks for the feedback, guys. Well, I checked and it (the egpu) is right now connected to PCI bus 3. Not sure what 4 does. It says "Intel® 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 - 3B48" when I check the System devices. For some reason, the PCI bus 3 is not in that list. Only 1,2,4,5,6 are visible with what I think is a memory slot in the end. Is there any way to find what is on #4? I checked a few devices in the device manager but couldn't find it.edit: Found it! High Definition Audio Controller, PCI bus 3, device 0, function 1. So I guess audio chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khenglish Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Interesting. You can definitely look up the pinout of that chip, remove it, and solder wires on the mobo for x2 if you are very committed. That's the only way you are ever getting x2 on that system, which will prevent optimus from working.I would only try the above if you are doing this as a hobby instead of truly planning on using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Inferno Fan Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Interesting. You can definitely look up the pinout of that chip, remove it, and solder wires on the mobo for x2 if you are very committed. That's the only way you are ever getting x2 on that system, which will prevent optimus from working.I would only try the above if you are doing this as a hobby instead of truly planning on using it.Correction: Optimus drivers provide two functions for eGPU use (1) accelerated internal LCD mode if there is an active primary iGPU and (2) provides x1 pci-e compression, greatly accelerating DX9 app performance. When running a x2 configuration, the x1 pci-e compression no longer engages. Accelerated internal LCD mode is available, if it was available when running x1.Yes, I'd only do this as a hobby. If you managed to remove the chip you'd then have to fiddle with soldering wires onto very small pads. In all, not worth it. Better off starting with a better eGPU candidate system capable of a Gen2 PCIe link (eg: HP 4530s) : http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/4109-egpu-candidate-system-list.html#post57511 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyldig Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 Correction: Optimus drivers provide two functions for eGPU use (1) accelerated internal LCD mode if there is an active primary iGPU and (2) provides x1 pci-e compression, greatly accelerating DX9 app performance. When running a x2 configuration, the x1 pci-e compression no longer engages. Accelerated internal LCD mode is available, if it was available when running x1.Yes, I'd only do this as a hobby. If you managed to remove the chip you'd then have to fiddle with soldering wires onto very small pads. In all, not worth it. Better off starting with a better eGPU candidate system capable of a Gen2 PCIe link (eg: HP 4530s) : http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/4109-egpu-candidate-system-list.html#post57511 Yupp, unfortunately that is what I concluded as well. In case I'd find one just sitting there, I'd grab the opportunity and get the x2. Now, it is simply not worth it. I'll probably start looking for a minitower instead. Thanks for all the feedback, guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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