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Intel NUC PC with an eGPU


Mongoose135

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Hi there, I'm new to the forum and have been checking out a lot of the posts here (and have just ordered myself a PE4C 2.1!)

I was wondering if anyone has tried using an eGPU with an intel NUC motherboard. The new NUC motherboards have 2x miniPciE slots (1 full size, 1 half size), so it seems like it should be compatible.

I own a GTX 750 Ti and also a GTX 970 but I'm not sure which one I'll be using with the build yet...

I haven't been able to find any posts on this forum from people who have done it with an NUC pc before, so would like to hear what your thoughts might be on this. I think it could make for quite an interesting breakthrough for SFF pcs...

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Yeah, I did see an i3 model with thunderbolt which has an i3-3217u dual core CPU. However the newer NUC motherboards have a more powerful i5-4250u quad core but they don't come with thunderbolt :(

It's a question of how much graphics power vs how much CPU performance you'd get with a better processor.

What's the performance difference like between Thunder and mPciE?

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Maybe this thread will help. But I don't think that you can get a nice gaming rig. http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/4109-egpu-candidate-system-list.html

Maybe a cheap ITX system will be better. Try to sum up all the money you would need for a low-mid PC vs the eGPU.

True, an itx system would be better, I wanted to do this for fun more than anything - I'm a pc building enthusiast and would like to make an ultra small form factor PC that will fit in a backpack and can plug into an external GPU. It would be more of a fun project then a sensible build (perhaps with a modded case and enclosure as well).

Anyways, I already own a mini ITX pc which has a mPciE slot so I'll test the adapter on that and compare it to 16x performance. From there I can decide whether performance would be good enough before I go and get an NUC for a super awesome tiny build. If it sucks, I can always sell on the adapter.

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I'm struggling to find any data on the mPcie slots on the i5 NUC (Mini PC - Intel® NUC Kit D54250WYK)

Would anyone be able to hazard a guess as to what speed the mpcie slots can run at? Would it be possible and/or worth it to do a 2x config using both the mpcie slots? (full-size and half-size).

It's mPCIe slots would be attached to a Gen2-capable (PCIe 2.x) Intel Southbridge. You'd need the ports to be adjacent to have any chance of trying x2 2.0 (port1+2, port3+4, port5+6 or port7+8). Please check that first and if they are then it would be a matter of figuring out how to unlock the flash descriptor to take a ME FW dump, modify if using the Intel FITC utility to set the port to x2, then flash it back to the system. Can get some ideas of what you may have to do for that process at http://forum.techinferno.com/dell-latitude-vostro-precision/6980-14-dell-latitude-e6440-owners-lounge.html#post99289

You'd be using a PE4C V2.1 as your x2 2.0 capable eGPU adapter.

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Thanks, did some reading on that and it looks pretty complicated. Will definitely look into that if I do go down the mpcie route :)

I've had a look through the technical documentation for the board and the newer models (which support the 5th generation CPUs - broadwell, and an m.2 slot running at PCIe x2 plus another m2 at x1). Turns out there are newer models out with single / two M.2 slots instead of mpcies.. Has anyone ran a GPU off M.2 before?

How about using a M.2 to Pcie x4 adapter like the P4SM2 (P4SM2 (PCIe X4 to M.2 Adapter)) with an x4 - x16 riser cable?

Edit: This is way off topic but the board has another kind of connector called "High Speed Customs Solutions Connector" which apparently allows pci x4 connections. It looks like a 40pin connector. No idea how you could connect anything to it though (see spoiler for more info). Seems like this is a new kind of connector as I haven't found any cables that would fit it and the connector is not even listed on kyocera's website.

From http://downloadmirror.intel.com/24566/eng/NUC5i5MYBE_TechProdSpec01.pdf (section 2.2.4.6)

High Speed Custom Solutions Connector (0.4 mm Pitch)The High Speed Customs Solution connector is designed to provide access to additional high

speed signals. It provides the equivalent of:

• One PCIe x4 port

• One 6.0 Gbps SATA port

The connector used is the Kyocera Series 6885 0.4 mm pitch FPC connector, p/n 00 6885 640

000 846.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi guys, I was also thinking about a build like this, another forum wasn't at all enthusiastic about it, saying I should just use a mini ITX, but that rather defeats the objective of the project :P

I'm waiting with baited breaths Mongoose....

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Well I may still attempt this project especially since the new i7 broadwell NUCs are now out and they're looking like a good performing option.

The only thing holding me back is that I'm not sure if the M.2 adapter will work (and the new NUCs don't have mpcie slots any more). I've emailed BPlus twice to ask if it the P4SM2 would support a graphics card but didn't get a reply back from them. The other option might be to use the PE4C with a mpcie-m2 adapter as that would probably be a safe bet in terms of powering the graphics card.

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  • 1 month later...

Hello,

My first post here on this great community.

My idea is to fit an INtel Nuc (N2820 Celeron) and a Geforce 750 ti into a GAMECUBE case.

I would use this adapter to connect the GPU to the mpcie port: PE4C V2.1 (PCIe x16 Adapter)

But I have a lot of questions:

- Will this system be capable of light gaming experience (Child of Light, Broforce, Magicka...) ?

- It's there any better option than using a NUC?

- Will I be able to power the NUC and the 750 ti with just one laptop power brick?

What do you think?

Thanks!

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Hello,

My first post here on this great community.

My idea is to fit an INtel Nuc (N2820 Celeron) and a Geforce 750 ti into a GAMECUBE case.

I would use this adapter to connect the GPU to the mpcie port: PE4C V2.1 (PCIe x16 Adapter)

But I have a lot of questions:

- Will this system be capable of light gaming experience (Child of Light, Broforce, Magicka...) ?

- It's there any better option than using a NUC?

- Will I be able to power the NUC and the 750 ti with just one laptop power brick?

What do you think?

Thanks!

I'd suggest you review http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/10368-intel-nuc5i5ryk-gtx970%4016gbps-ngff-m2-p4sm2-win8-%5Bwormholev2%5D.html#post137598 before going any further. There you can see a NUC + 16Gbps M2.NGFF eGPU implementation. That would give the same bandwidth as the Thunderbolt2 eGPU implementations (x4 2.0).

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I'd suggest you review http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/10368-intel-nuc5i5ryk-gtx970%4016gbps-ngff-m2-p4sm2-win8-%5Bwormholev2%5D.html#post137598 before going any further. There you can see a NUC + 16Gbps M2.NGFF eGPU implementation. That would give the same bandwidth as the Thunderbolt2 eGPU implementations (x4 2.0).

Thanks Tech Inferno Fan.

My budget is way too small to buy a i5 nuc :( I'll have to try with a Celeron.

Will the mpcie port on that nuc be a bottleneck to a 750 ti?

Thanks.

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