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eGPU experiences [version 2.0]


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So I'm sure someone has used the HP Probook 4530s for an e-gpu computer, but I'm wondering how it went for them. It seems like it would be a great computer.

-Expresscard 2.0 slot

-Cheap base price

-Upgradable CPU

-Upgradable Screen

-Popular among the hackintosh crowd so my guess is you could get OS X on here and use an e-gpu on the mac side.

Any known issues with the laptop? And if I were to buy one, I'd probably put in a 2670QM i7 processor, 8gb ram, and a 1080p screen, so it could be a great laptop for external graphics.

What do you guys think?

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So I'm sure someone has used the HP Probook 4530s for an e-gpu computer, but I'm wondering how it went for them.

Well timohour, lazyboy and Frula have all done HP 4530s DIY eGPU implementations. Click that link, hit CTRL-F (Win) or Apple-F (OSX) and search for "4530s", clicking their name to read their experience.

As you point out, it's an inexpensive, upgradable candidate system for eGPU and even MacOSX purposes. A small number even shipped with an internal USB 3.0 port. Looks decent too. It's a shame HP dropped the expresscard slot in the 4540s Ivy Bridge refresh.

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Your bargain-basement Lenovo Z565 system has a AMD M880G/RS880M chipset. This along with the following information has already been supplied to you via private correspondance. Meaning, please proceed to do some of your own testing/investigation.

- Setup 1.x is written for Intel chipsets so doesn't support Gen1/Gen2 or link width changing on your chipset. It does however provides a platform for doing manual PCI configuration changes via the setpci/lspci pciutils commands.

- you'd need to do datasheet reading and start probing configuration registers to try to get a Gen2 link going. Last time I did this I ended up with these findings.

- AMD chipset programming references are available for your perusal at AMD's website.

Win7 driver needs the primary video device active for any additional ones to work. So no you cannot switch off your dGPU and expect the eGPU to work. Only way of doing that under Win7 is to install XP drivers for both which can work independently of each other. Not something you'd want to do as you'd lose Aero and DX10/DX11 capabilities doing that.

I'd suggest offloading your HD7950 for a NVidia card as your issue is getting the legacy HD4670 + HD7950 working with a unified driver set. Having a NVidia eGPU having no such issue.

I wouldn't buy one due also to quality and longevity concerns, but if can he can find one for free via dumpster diving at his local business district then it's worth a shot.

A GTX660 TDP has a low 140W TDP which can be supplied by such a basic ATX PSU. For example, I used a 12V/17A "550W" basic ATX PSU during my testing at 12.5" Dell E6230 + [email protected]/[email protected] (PE4L-EC060A 2.1b)

Thanks for your clarification, an nVidia card will suffer more from lack of PCIE bandwidth, so I will try to stick to AMD cards.

For now i did a driver mod, and GPU-Z and Catalyst Control Center are both reporting that HD4670 is using Catalyst 12.4, HD7950 using 13.6, I guess it is good for now... And in 3DMark it shows some minor improvement compared to 12.4 (around 3%, not sure it is error or really an improvement)

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Yet another weird issue :

I just got my DVI-VGA adapter, so ditched my old LCD TV who has only 1366*768 panel resolution, but who displays at 1920*1080 on HDMI port of HD7950 (everything looks blur and the TV itself is hot)

My D-Sub only monitor is an old yet Full HD one, now everything looks crytal clear on it. So both TV and PC monitor display at 1920*1080 resolution.

I runned Cloud Gate and Fire Strike with PC monitor, it constantly shows a graphic score drop of 4.2-4.5% compared to the results obtained on TV (this time I am sure it's not an error), and switch back to TV solves the issue.

So I am wondering this performance drop is related to interface (HDMI vs D-Sub), or to panel resolution (1366*768 vs Full HD) ?

I tried to set a lower resolution on my PC monitor, it doesn't help, so I guess it is related to interface, which I couldn't understand...

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Yet another weird issue :

I just got my DVI-VGA adapter, so ditched my old LCD TV who has only 1366*768 panel resolution, but who displays at 1920*1080 on HDMI port of HD7950 (everything looks blur and the TV itself is hot)

My D-Sub only monitor is an old yet Full HD one, now everything looks crytal clear on it. So both TV and PC monitor display at 1920*1080 resolution.

I runned Cloud Gate and Fire Strike with PC monitor, it constantly shows a graphic score drop of 4.2-4.5% compared to the results obtained on TV (this time I am sure it's not an error), and switch back to TV solves the issue.

So I am wondering this performance drop is related to interface (HDMI vs D-Sub), or to panel resolution (1366*768 vs Full HD) ?

I tried to set a lower resolution on my PC monitor, it doesn't help, so I guess it is related to interface, which I couldn't understand...

Odd. Fire strike is supposed to render at the same resolution internally no matter what the display is.

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Your bargain-basement Lenovo Z565 system has a AMD M880G/RS880M chipset. This along with the following information has already been supplied to you via private correspondance. Meaning, please proceed to do some of your own testing/investigation.

- Setup 1.x is written for Intel chipsets so doesn't support Gen1/Gen2 or link width changing on your chipset. It does however provides a platform for doing manual PCI configuration changes via the setpci/lspci pciutils commands.

- you'd need to do datasheet reading and start probing configuration registers to try to get a Gen2 link going. Last time I did this I ended up with these findings.

- AMD chipset programming references are available for your perusal at AMD's website.

AMD is very vague on their datasheets, unlike Intel. Gives no addresses or even port numbers for anything. "Bargain-basement" is kind of a low blow, even for you.

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... right now I'm in a tight spot with money so I can't really get the Setup 1.X, lol.

I'm on a Lenovo z565. Using AMD 7770 as well :\

Your bargain-basement Lenovo Z565 system has a AMD M880G/RS880M chipset. This along with the following information has already been supplied to you via private correspondance. Meaning, please proceed to do some of your own testing/investigation...
AMD is very vague on their datasheets, unlike Intel. Gives no addresses or even port numbers for anything. "Bargain-basement" is kind of a low blow, even for you.

Clarifying, the Lenovo Z565 was a June 2011 $350 Bestbuy bargain. As your system doesn't have an Intel chipset, it isn't a well know eGPU candidate system. Reiterating, you'll need to do your own pioneering work referencing AMD chipset datasheets to determine link width/Gen2 chipset switching if seeking better HD7770 eGPU performance. I cannot help you along any further to what's already been provided here and via private correspondance. Good luck.

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Great work.

I'd like to know, if this works with my mid 2011 21,5" iMac (1x Thunderbolt). I was searching for something like this for maybe a year. First i was trying to replace the radeon 6750m (512mb) with a 6970m (2GB), but that didn't worked. This would be a good way to improve my iMac specs :)

Good to know that replacing the 6750M with the top 2011 iMac's GPU won't work, before I try it myself.

post-16520-14494995953977_thumb.png

Also willing to try this eGPU thing on the Mid-2011 basic iMac, using a GTX 660 Ti. But unfortunately I can't figure out the code for the .bat file myself, how did these guys even get it for their MacBooks?

If anyone could help me with my iMac I'd be eternally grateful.

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Asus is first to the party with a Thunderbolt 2-certified motherboard

Asus has just announced its Z87-Deluxe Quad, a Haswell motherboard that is the first to include Intel's newest Thunderbolt 2 controller. As we've written before, these controllers double Thunderbolt's theoretical bandwidth from 10Gbps to 20Gbps, which improves support for 4K displays while allowing you to simultaneously drive a display and transfer files.
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Hey everyone, I got a question. I'm trying to set up an EGPU (Bought all the parts except PE4L 2.1b so far), but I saw a thread a bit further down saying that apparently HIT takes money for PE4L's but doesn't actually send them. Can anyone verify this? And if this is true, where can I buy a PE4L 2.1b? Is HWTools a completely separate company that still sends them out? I've done a ton of google searches and reading on this site and the only places I can find a PE4L 2.1b are HIT, HWTools, and only like 2 or 3 on eBay. Thanks in advance. Edit: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/3793-summary-dealing-hits-abandoned-egpu-commitments-%5Bcustomer-thread%5D-2.html Here is the link, the thread hasn't been updated in a few months which is why I'm asking.

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Hey everyone, I got a question. I'm trying to set up an EGPU (Bought all the parts except PE4L 2.1b so far), but I saw a thread a bit further down saying that apparently HIT takes money for PE4L's but doesn't actually send them. Can anyone verify this? And if this is true, where can I buy a PE4L 2.1b? Is HWTools a completely separate company that still sends them out? I've done a ton of google searches and reading on this site and the only places I can find a PE4L 2.1b are HIT, HWTools, and only like 2 or 3 on eBay. Thanks in advance. Edit: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/3793-summary-dealing-hits-abandoned-egpu-commitments-%5Bcustomer-thread%5D-2.html Here is the link, the thread hasn't been updated in a few months which is why I'm asking.

HIT (US) = STAY AWAY!! Gave very poor service for BPlus products from Jan-June 2013 for which they were the US distributor for. Supposedly no longer distributing their products even though are still listed on their website. Also stole donations for Setup 1.x software earmarked for development purposes. Their shady exit from servicing the eGPU community is documented at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/3793-summary-dealing-hits-abandoned-egpu-commitments-%5Bcustomer-thread%5D-2.html . All HIT references on the main DIY eGPU page as well as on BPlus' webpage have been removed.

BPlus/HWtools (ROW) = worldwide distributor of their products. Best place to order from.

Aliexpress (ROW) = alternative method of ordering BPlus items.

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Hello All,

Nando, thank you for this terrific resource. I'm going to try an eGPU rig on a Toshiba Satellite L855 (Series 6 chipset, iGPU only). Laptop has a mPCIe slot for the wifi card, though I don't know anything more about it, I can't find any information on it in any Toshiba manuals or technical resources.

My goal will be to use an Optimus driver so I don't have to carry a second display. Thinking of going for the GTX 760 with a Silverstone SFX 450W PSU (37A on the 12V rail should be enough).

Everything's pretty well spelled out. I do have a question, it's not really clear which PE4L setup is best to use. HWTools has a few offerings:

PE4L-PM060A

PE4L-PM100A

PE4L-PM200A

(PE4L V2.1) <- Scroll down to the bottom for these three kits...

I can't find a description of what makes them different though. Anyone know? Is one of these the best way to go?

Thank you!

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Ah! Thank you!

Please do update us on how your Toshiba Satellite L855 mPCIe DIY eGPU implementation goes. With more and more systems dropping expresscard slot and not pickup up Thunderbolt we'll likely see more interest in mPCIe eGPU implementations. A step-by-step recipe by pioneers such as yourself then giving confidence to other L855 to have a go :)

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60, 100, 200 means the length of the cable in cm.

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

Do you know if the cable that joins the two is separable (can you unplug it), or is it hard wired? If it's hard wired, then I guess I'm going to need something a little different. Thank you.

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For gen2 connectivity cable MUST be soldered at both ends. So you will end up with a tail if it is not easy to remove the cable.

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

OK, so going to need to make a cut-out in the bottom of this laptop then. Thank you.

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Finally I overcomed the Catalyst issue and have installed 13.4 Legacy (inf file rewritten) on HD4670 and 13.6 Beta2 (untouched) on HD7950

And I also got my PM3N yesterday, now I got a PCIE 1.1 x4 configuration, and here is a first benchmark

post-13404-14494995963398_thumb.jpg

GPU/VRAM OCed to 1220/1630

3DMark 11 X3302 is a better score than HD7970 GHz edition or GTX680 (of course not OCed) on a standard desktop PC, it is a big deal for a laptop bought in 2009, so I am just happy about it

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Hello,

I'm having trouble with my egpu setup:

Problem Description

The device manager says that the egpu is working, but the external lcd doesn't respond and the nvidia control panel won't open (it doesn't detect the egpu).

Platform Description

Windows 7 64bit

Lenovo x220

6gb memory

egpu: gtx 560 ti; igpu intel HD 3000

CX 500W power supply

PE4L ver 1.5

I have tried using the default drivers Win 7 installs as well as downloading version 320.49 desktop drivers from Nvidia; the problem persists in both cases. Advice would be appreciated!

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Finally I overcomed the Catalyst issue and have installed 13.4 Legacy (inf file rewritten) on HD4670 and 13.6 Beta2 (untouched) on HD7950

And I also got my PM3N yesterday, now I got a PCIE 1.1 x4 configuration, and here is a first benchmark

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8761[/ATTACH]

GPU/VRAM OCed to 1220/1630

3DMark 11 X3302 is a better score than HD7970 GHz edition or GTX680 (of course not OCed) on a standard desktop PC, it is a big deal for a laptop bought in 2009, so I am just happy about it

Albert, this is great news. Would you mind doing a complete implementation writeup with benchmarks? From earlier posts I understand you have a first gen i7-quad XPS1645 running a HD7950@x4 1.0 running where some INF driver modifications where necesary to get the HD4670 dGPU to cooperate with it. It's impressive because you'd be seeing the same bandwidth as the TH05 native Thunderbolt solution (x2 2.0). Moreso since it's a 2009 notebook as you point out.

Hello,

I'm having trouble with my egpu setup:

Problem Description

The device manager says that the egpu is working, but the external lcd doesn't respond and the nvidia control panel won't open (it doesn't detect the egpu).

Platform Description

Windows 7 64bit

Lenovo x220

6gb memory

egpu: gtx 560 ti; igpu intel HD 3000

CX 500W power supply

PE4L ver 1.5

I have tried using the default drivers Win 7 installs as well as downloading version 320.49 desktop drivers from Nvidia; the problem persists in both cases. Advice would be appreciated!

Likely related to you using a PE4L 1.5b on a Gen2-capable X220. That product requires that you downgrade the pci-e expresscard link to Gen1 in the bios for reliable operations. Remko78 gives an example of a Gen2 X220 solution at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/4532-portable-low-profile-egpu-setup-lenovo-x220-pe4l-2-1b-case.html

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Thank you all for your help, I completed my eGPU setup! My 3DMARK scores are

With physx set to auto

With physx set to processor.

The resolution was 1280X720 . Are these scores ok ?

Also I am running these on external display.

Also I observed that I can use my internal lcd and external at the same time! Is this normal?

I will update with pics soon.

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