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eGPU experiences [version 2.0]


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Hello,

I am looking into plugging a eGPU to a laptop screen and I was wondering if someone has actually tried any USB 3.0 framegrabber HDMI input that provides live video with no lag (<1ms or something like that, low enough for playing)

I have seen Express card based HDMI inputs doing the trick pretty decently so I suppose is theoretically possible to do it through USB 3.0.

I know it is not going to be the most cost effective solution but it is a question that is constantly bugging me and is extremely difficult to find any confirmed information on anybody having actually tried to use a USB 3.0 based framegrabber for live gaming, most of the information I find is about recording gameplay.

So, has anybody actually seen this setup working in a live gaming situation?, if so, which USB device was it?

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According to earlier tests a detachable cable has always failed GEN2 due to the mini HMDI connector (I'm no expert in electronics so I can't give you any details)

and that is why we are very sceptic regarding this new cable.

I have made an order of this new setup to verify this claim so just wait a week or two until my stuff arrives to be sure!

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...I know it was already mentioned somewhere in this thread about Lenovo Y500 ultrabay.

Just want to remind everyone that (according to some user reports) it seems the Lenovo Ultrabay is using a 2.0 x8 link for its GPUs.

So what exactly is required to match the Ultrabay connector inside the laptop with a standard PCI Express slot?

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Hey guys, new user to these forums but an advanced user overall :) Was sent here to ask you experts a more complex question.....Basically, find my setup below.

-2012 13" MBP (Core i5, 8GB DDR3, Crucial M4 128GB SSD)

-triple booted with reFIT (OS X via EFI, Windows 7 x64 via MBR, and linux x64 via MBR)

+will be purchasing a EVGA GTX460 + a dedicated power supply for it soon

Mainly I am here because I was told I could not use an eGPU if I installed Windows via MBR boot mode instead of EFI, is that correct?? That would mean I would have to reinstall both my Windows and linux and I wan't to avoid that if at all possible because of the setup and time involved....At the time, I did not find any reason (pro's vs cons) of installing Windows via MBR or EFI so I just picked MBR because it is what I am familiar with but now I cannot use an eGPU? Secondly, I see most of you guys are running newer cards....Any complaints against me purchasing a GTX460 instead of a GTX560 for example? I'd be doing so mostly for the cost savings and for the fact that I am mainly playing older games (WoW, CoD2/4, etc) so don't see the need for a GTX560, unless it is easier/less problematic to get working with an eGPU setup?

Thanks in advance and let me know guys!

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Hey guys, new user to these forums but an advanced user overall :) Was sent here to ask you experts a more complex question.....Basically, find my setup below.

-2012 13" MBP (Core i5, 8GB DDR3, Crucial M4 128GB SSD)

-triple booted with reFIT (OS X via EFI, Windows 7 x64 via MBR, and linux x64 via MBR)

+will be purchasing a EVGA GTX460 + a dedicated power supply for it soon

Mainly I am here because I was told I could not use an eGPU if I installed Windows via MBR boot mode instead of EFI, is that correct?? That would mean I would have to reinstall both my Windows and linux and I wan't to avoid that if at all possible because of the setup and time involved....At the time, I did not find any reason (pro's vs cons) of installing Windows via MBR or EFI so I just picked MBR because it is what I am familiar with but now I cannot use an eGPU? Secondly, I see most of you guys are running newer cards....Any complaints against me purchasing a GTX460 instead of a GTX560 for example? I'd be doing so mostly for the cost savings and for the fact that I am mainly playing older games (WoW, CoD2/4, etc) so don't see the need for a GTX560, unless it is easier/less problematic to get working with an eGPU setup?

Thanks in advance and let me know guys!

There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't get the GTX460. It's still a great GPU! The only downside I can see is that its not as power efficient as the newer gen GPUs, so it will draw more power under full load.

Sorry, I can't speak to the EFI issue, since I don't use Macs often, even at work here.

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Ok, I figured as much so thanks for the response. Think I will stick to the GTX460 because in my gaming desktop I use a GTX260 actually and it plays all the games I play at max settings :)

Power efficiency I am not too worried about, will be getting a 400-500w dedicated PSU for the card anyway with at least 80% efficiency rating. Still hoping someone can speak to using a DIY'd eGPU setup under Windows 7 installed via MBR versus installed via EFI though....

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It's possible that the new B cable has a better connector design. Maybe the cable is a tighter fit so that there is more pressure on the contacts. When I used an eGPU the mHDMI cables did seem to slide in easy after the initial resistance to pop them in at all.

This would be great news if it works. If anyone wants to do x2 and x4 links on a 6 or 7 series chipsets just let me know and I'll show you how to do it.

Sure! Show it please!

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Hi all,

Just got my egpu setup, hp 8470p + gtx670 + pe4l 2.1b. Everything seems to run fine, except I'm not sure if I'm getting full x1.2opt. Sometimes gpu-z shows x1 @ 1.1, and other times it's at x1 2.0. Is this some kind of power management feature or is something wrong?

Thanks!

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Hi all,

Just got my egpu setup, hp 8470p + gtx670 + pe4l 2.1b. Everything seems to run fine, except I'm not sure if I'm getting full x1.2opt. Sometimes gpu-z shows x1 @ 1.1, and other times it's at x1 2.0. Is this some kind of power management feature or is something wrong?

Thanks!

Same here but found no solution. I just reboot and its back at x1 2.0.

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Hi all,

Just got my egpu setup, hp 8470p + gtx670 + pe4l 2.1b. Everything seems to run fine, except I'm not sure if I'm getting full x1.2opt. Sometimes gpu-z shows x1 @ 1.1, and other times it's at x1 2.0. Is this some kind of power management feature or is something wrong?

Thanks!

Place the eGPU under load by playing a game in the background then switch to GPU-Z. By loading the eGPU will take it out of PCIe's x1 1.0 low power management mode and run it at full x1 2.0 link speed.

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Place the eGPU under load by playing a game in the background then switch to GPU-Z. By loading the eGPU will take it out of PCIe's x1 1.0 low power management mode and run it at full x1 2.0 link speed.

Most of the time i notice the problem when im playing games (bad performance) and GPU-Z shows x1 @ 1.1 so i dont think its a low power mode. I will test it when it happens again.

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Most of the time i notice the problem when im playing games (bad performance) and GPU-Z shows x1 @ 1.1 so i dont think its a low power mode. I will test it when it happens again.

If it never switches to x1 2.0 mode then the expresscard link speed has been downgraded by the BIOS to pci-e 1.x speed only. The solution is to switch it to Gen2 (pci-e 2.0) in the BIOS. W530 I believe has an option for that. If not, then use the Setup 1.x software to doi.

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So thought I wanted to share that I just managed to accomplish following:

Lenovo T520, Core i7 2640M @ 2.80Ghz, 8GB RAM

Windows 7 Pro @ 64Bit

Intel HD Graphics 3000 (iGPU)

PE4H 3.2 fitted with MSI Geforce GTX660 2GB @ Express Card

At first try I got it installed running at PCIe Gen1, but had to do the DSDT override maneuver because of BSOD's - this fixed it!

3DMark'11 Graphics score: 6184 (@PCIe Gen1)

I of course wanted to take advantage of the Gen2 compliance that the PE4H 3.2 should provide - but whenever I change to Gen2 (via BIOS setup) the

device manage gives me a "Code 12".

Any ideas for this issue?

Also.. I heard some talking about Optimus drivers being able to boost a good deal - but can't seem to find any modded drivers for GTX660?

Thanks for a great forum!

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If it never switches to x1 2.0 mode

About 1 of 10 times after reboot with eGPU its @ 1.1 so its no big deal for me.

- - - Updated - - -

So thought I wanted to share that I just managed to accomplish following:

Lenovo T520, Core i7 2640M @ 2.80Ghz, 8GB RAM

Windows 7 Pro @ 64Bit

Intel HD Graphics 3000 (iGPU)

PE4H 3.2 fitted with MSI Geforce GTX660 2GB @ Express Card

At first try I got it installed running at PCIe Gen1, but had to do the DSDT override maneuver because of BSOD's - this fixed it!

3DMark'11 Graphics score: 6184 (@PCIe Gen1)

I of course wanted to take advantage of the Gen2 compliance that the PE4H 3.2 should provide - but whenever I change to Gen2 (via BIOS setup) the

device manage gives me a "Code 12".

Any ideas for this issue?

Also.. I heard some talking about Optimus drivers being able to boost a good deal - but can't seem to find any modded drivers for GTX660?

Thanks for a great forum!

Have you read my guide about the W530? I dont think its a TOLUD problem (have you checked it?).

I dont think you need the DSDT override.

You dont need any modded drivers. Just download the GTX660 drivers from NVidia

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Have you read my guide about the W530? I dont think its a TOLUD problem (have you checked it?).

I dont think you need the DSDT override.

Hmm well, I'm not totally sure because I actually updated some Lenovo/Intel chipset drivers simultaneously - but it made the BSODs dissapear.

You dont need any modded drivers. Just download the GTX660 drivers from NVidia

I read your W530 guide and first then realized that optimus was the function to choose "CPU for PhysX" hmm... So in this case you are right about the driver.

Any advice towards getting it into Gen2 without "Code 12" issues?

Thanks for the reply.

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Hmm well, I'm not totally sure because I actually updated some Lenovo/Intel chipset drivers simultaneously - but it made the BSODs dissapear.

Check your TOLUD first ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

or post the screenshot from your device manager.

Have you tested it with DIY eGPU Setup?

that optimus was the function to choose "CPU for PhysX" hmm...

when you can choose between eGPU and iGPU Optimus is enabled:

http://web.archive.org/web/20120306225531/http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9521/3212010123842pm.jpg

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Hi guys.

I hate to stress you out with this Lenovo Y510 thingie, but it seems that besides the custom graphics port for x8 2.0 link, it also includes a M2 (formely known NGFF) slot populated by a tiny SSD (24GB) which should provide an x4 2.0 link (unconfirmed).

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Ok guys...I've spent so much time reading everything here that I actually want to take the easiest approach possible and was even thinking about just picking up a Vidock...

Anyway, so far the easiest alternative I've figured out so far for my 13" 2012 Macbook Pro is;

-OWC Mercury Helios

-GTX650

That's it. The GTX650 does have a 1 x6pin connector for power but only uses 64w at full strength and I have already confirmed with OWC that the Helios can deliver 64w just through the PCIe connection. PCIe connection in general can deliver 70-75w so I should be OK in terms of using just the stock AC that comes with the Helios correct? Would this simple setup even work you think guys? Wonder if anyone's tried it or something similar....Also for comparasion, if you were to crunch the numbers between the ViDock (expresscard->thunderbolt) and my alternative route mentioned above, how much bandwidth would each deliver and would Nvidia optimus drivers work/be effective for either method?

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Ok guys...I've spent so much time reading everything here that I actually want to take the easiest approach possible and was even thinking about just picking up a Vidock...

Anyway, so far the easiest alternative I've figured out so far for my 13" 2012 Macbook Pro is;

-OWC Mercury Helios

-GTX650

That's it. The GTX650 does have a 1 x6pin connector for power but only uses 64w at full strength and I have already confirmed with OWC that the Helios can deliver 64w just through the PCIe connection. PCIe connection in general can deliver 70-75w so I should be OK in terms of using just the stock AC that comes with the Helios correct? Would this simple setup even work you think guys? Wonder if anyone's tried it or something similar....Also for comparasion, if you were to crunch the numbers between the ViDock (expresscard->thunderbolt) and my alternative route mentioned above, how much bandwidth would each deliver and would Nvidia optimus drivers work/be effective for either method?

Did you review the detailed performance analysis between x1.2Opt (x1 2.0 + pci-e compression) and x2 2.0 at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/3062-13-mbp-gtx660ti-hd7870-th05-%40-x2-2-0-a.html#post42483 ? A OWC/Sonnet solution runs about 12.5% faster than the x2 2.0 solution since it's x4 2.0 with a 10Gbps TB downlink port.

As you have a TB-equippedMacbook it would be imho crazy to pay for a x1 2.0 ViDock expresscard hack solution when you can either get the equivalent DIY eGPU expresscard solution for $200 less (PE4L-EC060A 2.1b + Sonnet expresscard-to-TB + free/cheap ATX PSU) or can get a native TB solution from OWC/Sonnet.

The native TB solution is what I'd recommend for you. That more than doubling of bandwidth will certainly show itself in DX10/DX11 apps as well as internal LCD mode. Only issue with OWC/Sonnet TB enclosure is as I've been discussing with you in http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/3062-13-mbp-gtx660ti-hd7870-th05-%40-x2-2-0-a.html#post42483 is the pci-e reset delay required for BIOS boot to work. UEFI is however straight plug'n'play. There are no issues with the NVidia Optimus drivers on a 13" MBP in BIOS or UEFI mode.

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As you have a TB-equippedMacbook it would be imho crazy to pay for a x1 2.0 ViDock expresscard hack solution when you can either get the equivalent DIY eGPU expresscard solution for $200 less (PE4L-EC060A 2.1b + Sonnet expresscard-to-TB + free/cheap ATX PSU) or can get a native TB solution from OWC/Sonnet.

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First of all, sorry for the lack of line breaks but my computer won't let me do them on this forum. No idea why. I have to use horizontal lines instead.


Hi everyone, I've been struggling with this for a few days and have been unable to find a solution anywhere. Finally, I've decided to give up and ask for help. I'm using a system with the following specifications (bullets don't work either-- bear with me):
-ThinkPad X230t w/ i5, 120GB mSATA SSD, 8GB of RAM, HD4000 iGPU, Windows 8
-GTX 460 768mb w/ CX500M PSU
-PE4H with ExpressCard connection
For some reason, this refuses to work. The computer boots fine, the graphics card is recognized fine, THE DRIVERS INSTALL FINE, but then the graphics card never works. The external display never detects a signal. After I restart the computer, the graphics card refuses to recognize the drivers. In Device Manger it reports that no drivers are installed and there are no resources allocated "because [the graphics card] has a problem." All of this works fine before the restart. I can never get it back to that working condition without reinstalling Windows and running through the process all over again. If I try to uninstall the device in Device Manager it gets stuck and never finishes. I have no idea what's wrong. Would Windows 7 worked better? I've seen limited information about Windows 8 with eGPUs but what little I've seen suggests it's not really any different from Windows 7, like most other aspects of W8.
Any ideas? I'm really frustrated and potentially out about $150 (between the PSU and PE4H since I already had a graphics card) if I can't get this to work. Thanks for any help possible! h n An
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First of all, sorry for the lack of line breaks but my computer won't let me do them on this forum. No idea why. I have to use horizontal lines instead.
Hi everyone, I've been struggling with this for a few days and have been unable to find a solution anywhere. Finally, I've decided to give up and ask for help. I'm using a system with the following specifications (bullets don't work either-- bear with me):
-ThinkPad X230t w/ i5, 120GB mSATA SSD, 8GB of RAM, HD4000 iGPU, Windows 8
-GTX 460 768mb w/ CX500M PSU
-PE4H with ExpressCard connection
For some reason, this refuses to work. The computer boots fine, the graphics card is recognized fine, THE DRIVERS INSTALL FINE, but then the graphics card never works. The external display never detects a signal. After I restart the computer, the graphics card refuses to recognize the drivers. In Device Manger it reports that no drivers are installed and there are no resources allocated "because [the graphics card] has a problem." All of this works fine before the restart. I can never get it back to that working condition without reinstalling Windows and running through the process all over again. If I try to uninstall the device in Device Manager it gets stuck and never finishes. I have no idea what's wrong. Would Windows 7 worked better? I've seen limited information about Windows 8 with eGPUs but what little I've seen suggests it's not really any different from Windows 7, like most other aspects of W8.
Any ideas? I'm really frustrated and potentially out about $150 (between the PSU and PE4H since I already had a graphics card) if I can't get this to work. Thanks for any help possible! h n An

Follow this thread, see if any of this works:

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2326-lenovo-x230t-partial-success.html

Nando suggested a DSDT override, search around for how to knock that out. Looks like you'll need Setup 1.2 to make it work, so hit Nando up and work out the details with him. It seems that the X230t isn't the easiest computer to get an eGPU working on, compared to a Dell or HP.

Your power supply could also be an issue if it doesn't have enough juice on the 12V rail. I'm not sure how much you need, but probably something like 12-15 amps. If you bought a cheapie psu you're asking for trouble.

Good luck!

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As you have a TB-equippedMacbook it would be imho crazy to pay for a x1 2.0 ViDock expresscard hack solution when you can either get the equivalent DIY eGPU expresscard solution for $200 less (PE4L-EC060A 2.1b + Sonnet expresscard-to-TB + free/cheap ATX PSU) or can get a native TB solution from OWC/Sonnet.

I am in the home stretch guys.....Already purchased the GPU (Asus GTX650 Ti, $150) and an external PSU (CoolerMaster 400w, $30) so just looking at something like a TH05 and the PE4L-EC060A 2.1b may very well be that device, BUT;

1) Then I need to purchase the sonnet expresscard->thunderbolt adapter ofcourse and how does that work under Windows 7 (BIOS)? Any easier/different or is it the same as if I had gone the direct thunderbolt way like the OWC Helios?

2) Is there any device like the PE4L (expresscard solution) that has built in support for delay/PERST# like the TH05 does?

3) Finally, don't I also need to purchase some kind of cable to power the PE4L itself and possibly a x16 to x1 PCI-E adapter too? Something like THIS

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Follow this thread, see if any of this works:

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2326-lenovo-x230t-partial-success.html

Nando suggested a DSDT override, search around for how to knock that out. Looks like you'll need Setup 1.2 to make it work, so hit Nando up and work out the details with him. It seems that the X230t isn't the easiest computer to get an eGPU working on, compared to a Dell or HP.

Your power supply could also be an issue if it doesn't have enough juice on the 12V rail. I'm not sure how much you need, but probably something like 12-15 amps. If you bought a cheapie psu you're asking for trouble.

Good luck!

(Got line breaks working-- looks like IE10 is just stupid. Chrome works.)

Would a DSDT override be the right choice? It seems to me that his issues stemmed from using 16GB of RAM. Everywhere else I've looked agrees that issues should only arise with greater than 8GB, and that's what I'm using, so I shouldn't be having issues. Anyway, I'm not getting the "error 12" which would indicate memory problems. Or am I simply wrong about what a DSDT override *does*? The final post in that thread mentions people having similar issues while running off of an mSATA SSD (like me) being fixed by a BIOS update. I'm currently using the latest BIOS (2.54) and I'm still having issues. Finally the power supply I'm using shouldn't be problematic at all. It's a nice, 500W, modular Corsair-- if anything, it's overkill for what I'm using it for.

I installed GPU-Z to see what it thought of this. Like in Device Manger, it's detected-- it just doesn't work. It's missing readings for things like BIOS version, GPU speed, and memory. I'm going to keep troubleshooting (I found a few promising threads related to the X220) and update if I find anything. Thanks for your help regardless of my success.

- - - Updated - - -

My last post, probably. I posted that because I was about to restart and try setting "ExpressCard" to Generation 1 RATHER THAN Automatic, as the OP of the Partial Success thread suggested (I read someone suggesting this in an X220 thread. Go figure.) I booted up and it works! External monitor and everything. I haven't run any intense benchmarks yet to figure out how WELL it's working, but I did run FurMark before and after. FurMark on iGPU at 1280x720 and 8x MSAA runs at about 2FPS. NOW it runs at about 20FPS! Considering FurMark is a stress test, I think this bodes well for gaming. I'm thrilled! Thanks for your help one last time. I appreciate it.

- - - Updated - - -

Did some testing with games. The performance is odd. In high end games, I can play at higher settings than before (like Rift at ultra instead of low),but in low end games, my framerate is a bit lower-- usually capped pretty hart at 20 to 40 FPS. I think this is a bandwidth issue. The graphics card can process stuff fine but because of the low bandwidth it's constrained to only 30 or so FPS (depending on the game.) Could this be an issue with the PE4H, the cable, or simply the software setting I changed to constrain ExpressCard to Generation 1? It's not a big deal but it would be nice to have higher bandwidth so I could play games at higher FPS. Right now I'm happy enough since this lets me play games at very high settings (when on the iGPU I might not be able to play the game at all), but it would be nice if the limit were closer to 60 FPS rather than 30.

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Hi, ive just bought myself an HP 2570p off of ebay but unfortunately it appears as if the bios is password protected and its likely that I wont be able to access it. Would it be possible to use Setup 1.X to alter the PCI gen speed to 2 (as I cant access the setting in the bios now...)?

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