starhawk Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 I have a particular not-a-game graphics-intensive application (FaceRig) I want to run on my Dell e4310, as it's (for better or worse) the best box in my house. I have an eVGA e-GeForce 7950 GT which may or may not work (it was a gift from a friend; untested by me but I'll know if it works Thursday afternoon after I get back from the tech shop). I figure, if I can rig up the card to the laptop I can run my app -- its graphics floor is a GeForce 220 GT. I've never done this, I've very little idea what I'm doing (as usual for me!), and I fully admit that I have not yet RTFM. Forgive me, please. What I'd ideally like to do here, is string together these two products (one two) and an external power supply and have it basically show up in Windows 7. This would be especially great since I've been a Linux head for the past roughly two years... I'm way behind the curve now. I don't expect the ideal to happen. I'm not that naive. That said, I do not have $100+ to spend on this. I've got... exactly a fifth of that. I'm Mr Flat Broke. I don't mind tinkering for a few hours or days if I have to, but burnt hardware is a no-no because hardware is expensive for me. Can I get what I want, with those parts linked above, some software (preferably free or very cheap) and a little tinkering (or a lot of tinkering!)...? Will it be enough to run my app? You're the experts, you tell me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Actually, I just remembered, I have a PCIe riser already, but it's x16-to-x16 and it doesn't have the extra power cable stuff (it's exactly like this one here) -- would I be able to use that and save about seven bucks? FWIW -- I don't mind soldering in a few extra wires. I can do that... probably. Depends on the pitch of the pins I'm soldering to... if it's super dinky surface mount junk, forget it... but thru-hole and larger pitch stuff, that I can do... as long as it's also not super complicated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Just remembered to put this here I started a similar thread, identical purpose, over on Notebook Review forums, hoping to get a faster response (so far, I've been disappointed). That thread is here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 ~72hrs, no response. Really, Batman? Really...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Thursday almost-afternoon. Still no replies. I have to say I'm disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Card is known good, now. Can I hook it up the way I described, and have it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) I see others getting helpful assistance. I would strongly appreciate either (a) receiving some of that selfsame assistance, or (b) a detailed explanation of exactly why such assistance is not forthcoming. EDIT: for the record, I have now perused all the stickies in this forum and found nothing that seemed informative. Edited April 9, 2016 by starhawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 Four threads were above mine, indicating replies to their topics, immediately before I posted this. Still nothing in my thread. I do not understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Brian Posted April 10, 2016 Founder Share Posted April 10, 2016 6 hours ago, starhawk said: Four threads were above mine, indicating replies to their topics, immediately before I posted this. Still nothing in my thread. I do not understand. It may be a case of nobody knowing enough about the dell and the riser card to be able to give you assistance, especially on a slim budget. Maybe @Dschijncan help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 Thank you for replying! I'm a little new here (obviously) -- do I need to do anything, or does that red highlight around Dschijn's name mean that he will know to show up...? Also -- what are those VigLink links doing in your post? I'm on Linux, no spyware on my system, not sure what's up with that. Can I opt out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Brian Posted April 10, 2016 Founder Share Posted April 10, 2016 4 minutes ago, starhawk said: Thank you for replying! I'm a little new here (obviously) -- do I need to do anything, or does that red highlight around Dschijn's name mean that he will know to show up...? Also -- what are those VigLink links doing in your post? I'm on Linux, no spyware on my system, not sure what's up with that. Can I opt out? He will receive a notification and should see your thread. The viglink is automatically created and helps generate revenue to keep costs under control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 Okie doke. I'll wait for him, then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 11, 2016 Author Share Posted April 11, 2016 Calling @Dschijn, come in @Dschijn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) Edited April 13, 2016 by starhawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschijn Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 @starhawk Whoops. Sorry. I am not really paying attention to the "not Apple" eGPU threads ^^ What's the main question again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 All is forgiven, sir. The question is summed up nicely in the first two posts. However, my budget has changed slightly -- it will be $35-40, next month. I'm out of dough for this month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschijn Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 You do not really need a riser with power, but in general riser cable are often the cause of problems, since they are of poor quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 All right, so using just the PCIe Mini Card to x1 adapter... can I do it that way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 Umm... by riser, are you also meaning the PCIe Mini Card adapter...? I'd not personally consider it a riser, but I get hung up on technicalities. Also -- what sort of difficulties should I expect, if I were to try and use such an apparently low-quality method? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 16, 2016 Author Share Posted April 16, 2016 I see this topic (referred to below) -- @Dschijn, he reports at least minimal success with a setup similar to what I was going to do, prior to borking it later on. I'd be interested in your thoughts...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dschijn Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 Anything should work. But using a riser will bring a "weak spot" into your system and you need to take care, that you get a propper one and that nothing else might interfere with the signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhawk Posted April 17, 2016 Author Share Posted April 17, 2016 Maybe it's time to go ahead and build a new box... I hate to do it because I've hardly the cash... but maybe it's easier than mucking around with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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