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eGPU experiences [version 2.0]


Tech Inferno Fan

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All right, my eGPU is up, running, and very smooth.

My specs:

Laptop: HP HDX16t

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Processor:Intel Core2 Duo P8700 @2.53GHz

RAM: 6 GB

iGPU: GeForce 9600M GT

eGPU: GeForce GTX 660 MSI OC

PSU: Corsair CX 430

and HDMI to expresscard adapter

Benchmark results (all internal LCD, running the hdmi to expresscard adapter software and ultramon):

3dmark11: 1280x720 res since that's what 3dmark11 basic allows, Graphics subscore: 5502 (looks like the best result of all ICH9M chipsets!)

Heaven: 1280x800 res

3dmarkVantage: whatever res basic has, Graphics subscore: 11524

Devil May Cry 4: 79.03 isn't great, but it's the best so far with only a x1 link.

3dmark06:1280x1024 res, I have no idea why my score (4654) is so low.

RE5: 1280x800 res, variable, at least it's runnable (51.1fps)

Overall:

1st, I need to thank Tech Inferno Fan and shelltoe for the very useful information they provided me.

My overall impression: The improved graphics are great and all, but my CPU is generally bottlenecking my system. : /

I've yet to try with any of my usual games (skyrim, civ 5, etc.), so I think I'll update this when I finally get a taste of the improvements.

Future Changes:

Ditch the hdmi to expresscard adapter to go for the ultramon internal lcd, since the adapter seems to need ultramon anyways.

Install better processor

P.S. I'd love to hear others' opinions of my benchmark results.

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I have got it worked, finally!! But at cost.

I have a gtx 460 se that I am using it on my thinkpad edge, so I switch places with amd hd6790.

So my new question is: Will amd radeon hd 6790 work on my thinkpad edge 14?

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All right, my eGPU is up, running, and very smooth.

...

Future Changes:

Ditch the hdmi to expresscard adapter to go for the ultramon internal lcd, since the adapter seems to need ultramon anyways.

Install better processor

P.S. I'd love to hear others' opinions of my benchmark results.

Your benchmark results is what can be expected from a x1 1.0 link. Unfortunately your system lacks a 4500MHD iGPU so the NVidia x1 Optimus pci-e compression doesn't engage. Can see my i5-3320M +GTX660 results here where x1 1.0 and x1.Opt are compared. You can see 3dmark06 sees over 3 times improved performance going from x1 1.0 to x1.Opt. If there was a 4500MHD version of your systemboard then maybe you could scout around in the forums to see if somebody would be willing to do a swap for your 9600GT one?

Question I have for you: how did you manage to get the HDMI expresscard and eGPU to co-exist at the same time? Are you running a mPCIe-based eGPU? AFAIK there is only one expresscard slot on a HDX16T.

There was certainly interest in using that expresscard HDMI adapter to gain internal LCD functionality without impacting eGPU pci-e bandwidth (ultramon, NVidia Optimus method) so a photo or three would help understand how you've got your system wired up.

I have got it worked, finally!! But at cost.

I have a gtx 460 se that I am using it on my thinkpad edge, so I switch places with amd hd6790.

So my new question is: Will amd radeon hd 6790 work on my thinkpad edge 14?

The HD6790 will work with the Edge14 far easier than getting it to work with your Inspiron 1501. The trouble your Inspiron 1501 is having with the HD6790 stems from getting the Radeon Express 1100 iGPU and HD6790 drivers to co-exist. The error 31 you see is requires a unified driver for both as a fix, hence why you've been directed to the DNA drivers or start hacking the INF files of your ATiAMD drivers to add your HD6790.

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The HD6790 will work with the Edge14 far easier than getting it to work with your Inspiron 1501. The trouble your Inspiron 1501 is having with the HD6790 stems from getting the Radeon Express 1100 iGPU and HD6790 drivers to co-exist. The error 31 you see is requires a unified driver for both as a fix, hence why you've been directed to the DNA drivers or start hacking the INF files of your ATiAMD drivers to add your HD6790.

And how do I "hack" INF files of my AtiAMD driver? Is it like Nvidia INF modding?

If I want to make HD6790 to work on Edge14, should I just install desktop driver of it? or is there other procedures that I should take?

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If there was a 4500MHD version of your systemboard then maybe you could scout around in the forums to see if somebody would be willing to do a swap for your 9600GT one?

Unfortunately, the 4500MHD was first introduced in the GM45 chipset, and my laptop was built specifically with the PM45 chipset. (sadface)

Are you running a mPCIe-based eGPU?

Yes. I'm using my slot 6 right now, which was designed for a TV tuner, I think? In any case, the only other option I can think of is move my wifi [slot 1]to the 6 slot (which means I have to move the wiring to the wifi card to the same slot). Then if I could disable my ethernet, which I actually never really use, I could set up a x1E... but my graphics card is Fermi nVidia.

I did ask earlier (you probably missed it) if it was possible to use an ethernet port via an hdmi ethernet extender adapter along with hdmi to mhdmi cable, assuming a 1GB or higher ethernet port. Then (and only then) I'd be able to set up a x2 1.0 link.

There was certainly interest in using that expresscard HDMI adapter to gain internal LCD functionality without impacting eGPU pci-e bandwidth (ultramon, NVidia Optimus method) so a photo or three would help understand how you've got your system wired up.

EDIT: How about 4 photos?

photokni.th.jpg

My expresscard hdmi adapter pulled out so you can see it. The white cable is just my external fan (to keep my laptop nice and cool).

photo1ys.th.jpg

Ignore the mess of cables near the PSU. The cable connected to the hdmi port on my eGPU is the same one that connects to the expresscard. The flat cable connected to the mini hdmi port links the PE4H to the PM3N inside my laptop.

photo2ut.th.jpg

Here's my modified mPCIe port. I cut out the plastic that was in the way, then made a "door" for the laptop with the removed plastic and some duct tape. The PM3N port (not very visible) is screwed inside the laptop.

photo4ktg.th.jpg

And here's a pic of the "door" while it's shut.

I suppose I need to explain the software as well. The software included (called StreamCapture) is fairly intuitive. You launch the program, which shows a live stream of what is being displayed by the eGPU. Since you can put StreamCapture in fullscreen mode, I've made MSTAR (what the computer calls the output of the eGPU) my main display and fullscreened StreamCapture on my desktop. Right now, the set-up uses Ultramon to flip programs between displays, but I have the feeling I don't really need it. Maybe I can just try the .bat codes Tech Inferno Fan recommends in his ultramon set-up?

Also, the audio for my laptop speakers won't work with the hdmi input, but my headphones do. I have no problem with this (BOSE noise-cancelling headphones FTW!), but someone might.

I also tried the ultramon set-up Tech Inferno Fan explains, but the hdmi input is probably twice as fast. I still have a very tiny lag from my mouse, but it's hardly the problem that it is in the ultramon only set up.

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I did ask earlier (you probably missed it) if it was possible to use an ethernet port via an hdmi ethernet extender adapter along with hdmi to mhdmi cable, assuming a 1GB or higher ethernet port. Then (and only then) I'd be able to set up a x2 1.0 link.

EDIT: How about 4 photos? :P

Thank you for the photos.

Now to answer your query. The eGPU needs access to the pci-e bus. Your ethernet port would presumably provide the second port for a x2 link. Now, the ethernet port is provided via an ethernet chip that acts as an interposer between pci-e and ethernet. So you'd need to hijaak the pci-e lines coming into the ethernet chip to be able to do a x2 link. You'd be working with miniscule tracks so we can say it's not feasible.

The faster and painfree approach to getting more performance on a budget would be to offload your system for a budget Sandy Bridge box with an expresscard slot that's x1.2Opt capable such as a Lenovo E420/E520, Dell Vostro 3350/3450/3550/3750 or HP Probook 4330s/4430s/4530s/4730s/6360b/6460b/6560b. Any of those would get you a lot more performance with GTX660 if you used a pci-e 2.0 capable PE4L-EC060A 2.1b. A 17" Vostro 3750 with a GT525M dGPU close in spec to what you have now.

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Would you be so kind to respond to my post, please?

Your Radeon Expresss 1100 is considered a Legacy device by AMD: ATI Catalyst . Your only chance then of getting it to work with your HD6790 would be by doing INF mods. However, even TWL's experimental driver set works on HD2000-6000. I'd suggest start reading at AMD Catalyst (Modified Build) - Guru3D.com Forums and work from there. INF modification is a whole topic in it's own right better discussed and investigated elsewhere like on that linked guru3d post.

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Good afternoon!

After emailing Nando he suggested I post my question here on the forum. So hi everyone! :victorious:

I currently have a Samsung R580-JS03-ZA notebook with Windows 8 Pro. Full specs below.

Core i5 M430

8gb Ram installed (Max the laptop supports)

Intel HM55 Chipset

Geforce GT330m graphics

1x Express Card 34mm

I've linked a screenshot of my "Resources by connection". Would I have any issues running a DIY Egpu with the amount of ram installed? I do not mind using an external monitor as I use one already as a main screen while at home. Do I need to post anything else for you to know? :)

PS. The graphics card I am intending on using is an ATI 6850

14odap.jpg

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After emailing Nando he suggested I post my question here on the forum. So hi everyone! :victorious:

I currently have a Samsung R580-JS03-ZA notebook with Windows 8 Pro. Full specs below.

Core i5 M430

8gb Ram installed (Max the laptop supports)

Intel HM55 Chipset

Geforce GT330m graphics

1x Express Card 34mm

I've linked a screenshot of my "Resources by connection". Would I have any issues running a DIY Egpu with the amount of ram installed? I do not mind using an external monitor as I use one already as a main screen while at home. Do I need to post anything else for you to know? :)

PS. The graphics card I am intending on using is an ATI 6850

You won't be able to host a HD6850 with your system unless you use 3GB or less of RAM. The Radeon series of cards requires a free 256MB PCI space block. Unfortunately your TOLUD is set to 0xD8000000 (3.375GB) of which only NVidia cards can make use of that 128MB space b/w D8000000-E0000000. That's because NVidia cards can use a fragmented 128MB+64MB+32MB PCI space. ATiAMD cards need a 256MB PCI space aligned to a 256MB boundary.

Considering too you lack of an iGPU (for Optimus) and together with a Series-5 chipset you are limited to x1 1.0 link. I'd suggest upgrading your notebook to a cheap Sandy Bridge one with an iGPU so it's x1.2Opt capable and buy a PE4L 2.1b instead of a PE4H 2.4. It will be significantly faster than your Samsung.

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Answered my own question regarding the iGPU. Missed the page with the info my apologies!

Thank you for the reply and help. Just a silly question. I have read the guides etc. But I just cant seem to figure out where the part is to determine the TOLUD? And an iGPU would be an intel graphics adapter? Or would an AMD Trinity based notebook be fine as well?

I am busy going through your list of compatible notebooks mentioned in your Sig to see which of my suppliers would be able to supply me with one.

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Hey guys,

Ok, so I'm having trouble getting my setup to work. Here's where I am now:

Problem description

1. What's the problem?

  • My Nvidia drivers won't install (306.97). the installer recognizes the card and lets me through to the installing portion, but then stalls permanently about 10% of the way through. Attempting with a different version (295.73) does not recognize the card at all.
  • Device Manager recognizes the card and displays the correct name when its plugged in, but states that no drivers are installed.
  • Attempting to install drivers by manually directing the device manager at the downloaded driver directories, returns a failure for the 306.97, and a message that the drivers are already installed for the 295.73
  • I would have tried to install the drivers in safe mode, but for some reason, I cannot boot into safe mode at all. It dies and restarts after getting to the password entry phase.
  • Starting with the card plugged in successfully displays to my external monitor, but bluescreens after the windows logo. attempting to insert the card mid boot has not worked/helped.

2. Have you consulted the Troubleshooting FAQ to resolve the issue?

  • yes...

3. Have you consulted the Pre-Purchase FAQ --> "2. How can I check if my notebook is compatible with an eGPU?"

  • also yes. I do have 8 gigs of ram, but I checked, my TOLUD is 0xC0000000.

Platform Description

1. OS: Windows 7 (x64) dualbooted with Ubuntu 10.4

2. System: Lenovo X201T, intel i7 L640 2.13GHz

3. RAM: 8 gigs

4. eGPU used: GeForce GTX 550Ti (Fermi)

5. PSU specification (especially the +12V max current): 380 W, 19A on +12V rail

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  • Starting with the card plugged in successfully displays to my external monitor, but bluescreens after the windows logo. attempting to insert the card mid boot has not worked/helped.

Exactly how have you tried inserting the card mid-boot? I've found pressing F8 during boot (before the four dots appear), turning on my video card's power, then continuing with boot has worked consistently for me. NOTE: I keep my card connected to the laptop throughout the entire process.

I hope that solves your problem...

Meanwhile I'm starting to have problems of my own. It turns out that Streamcatcher, the hdmi streaming software for my hdmi to expresscard adapter, uses a significant portion of my CPU. Enough that I can't run any of my games with it on (facepalm). I might be getting a better CPU in the near future, but for now, I'm stuck running my games w/o Streamcatcher. I think I can still use my eGPU for games that let me specify which video card to use. I'll be reporting on this more later, for whoever's interested.

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Exactly how have you tried inserting the card mid-boot? I've found pressing F8 during boot (before the four dots appear), turning on my video card's power, then continuing with boot has worked consistently for me. NOTE: I keep my card connected to the laptop throughout the entire process.

I hope that solves your problem...

I've tried a couple different ways: inserting the already powered graphics card before the windows logo, turning on the already inserted graphics card before the windows logo, inserting the already powered graphics card while the boot was paused using F8, and turning on the already inserted graphics card while paused using F8.

None of the above worked. The computer booted in normally, but the device manager does not register the card when inserted pre-login.

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Alright, to help me in a better way, let me tell you the whole story:

After I have bought the graphics card and installed its driver, I have rebooted my laptop as a request from amd catalyst. Rebooted and after passing the BIOS, I have got two error codes:

1- Code 43 for ATI Radeon Xpress Series

2- Code 31 for AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series

Can you help me out now that I have detailed out my story? I think that the problem is from iGPU itself.

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I've been following this whole egpu adventure for a while and I just saw that there is now a thunderbolt solution available from bplus for (relatively) cheap. Now I just want to make sure I understand the details of the current state of egpus. This thunderbolt solution is limited to only 10 gbps and so has the same performance as 2.0 X1 optimus, correct? Furthermore, the only current way to beat the performance of these two solutions is to either buy a ridiculously expensive solution from sonnet, magma, etc., or to get a tricky x4 link going. Furthermore, bplus' thunderbolt solution has only a modest performance penalty compared to 2.0 x16.

Is that all correct? Also, are there any estimates about when bplus might come out with a product that taps into more of the bandwidth of thunderbolt?

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I've been following this whole egpu adventure for a while and I just saw that there is now a thunderbolt solution available from bplus for (relatively) cheap. Now I just want to make sure I understand the details of the current state of egpus. This thunderbolt solution is limited to only 10 gbps and so has the same performance as 2.0 X1 optimus, correct? Furthermore, the only current way to beat the performance of these two solutions is to either buy a ridiculously expensive solution from sonnet, magma, etc., or to get a tricky x4 link going. Furthermore, bplus' thunderbolt solution has only a modest performance penalty compared to 2.0 x16.

Is that all correct? Also, are there any estimates about when bplus might come out with a product that taps into more of the bandwidth of thunderbolt?

In the commotion that was last month, the important 10-01-2012 BPlus update about a x4 2.0 TB product wasn't added. It's now been updated at Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, PCIe 2.0 eGPU update, quoted below. BPlus advised a x4 2.0 BPlus product will arrive in 2013. The BPlus TH05 with it's x2 2.0 link will outperform a x1.2Opt link as I explain in my i5-3320M +GTX660 @ x1 1.0, x1.1Opt, x1 2.0 and x1.2Opt testing here.

10-01-2012: Masaharu on x4 2.0 Thunderbolt TH05 device

> Lastly, is there any way you could make a prototype x4 2.0 capable

> Thunderbolt-to-pcie adapter within a relatively short timeframe?

> I'm guessing it would not be too difficult to extend what was done with the TH05.

> That is, a bigger board to accomodate a presumably larger

> Thunderbolt chip + 2 extra lanes.

Thunderbolt x4 2.0 product itself is not difficult for us at present,

because we already finished TH05 as you mentioned.

However, we still hesitate to develop it because of some reasons;

1. Thunderbolt is just started this year so politically unstable

between Apple and intel and may take very long time

to release logo'd products.

2. Due to 1., we do not have many product lines.

At present, we use "PortRidge" only, the simplest and the cheapest

Thunderbolt controller and the external components are not so many.

Thunderbolt (interface) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If we make x4 products, we have to use expensive CactusRidge and

lots of external components including Display Port ones.

So, until issue 1. is not solved, we would like to develop

PortRidge related products.

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Would somebody please read my post?

EDIT: Nevermind, I ended up using my Nvidia GTX 460 SE on Dell Laptop, and AMD Radeon HD 6790 on my Lenovo Thikpad Edge 14. I'll post new benckmarks from each soon.

EDIT #2: By the way, will someone please give me an easy instructions of how to unify amd eGPU and ati iGPU i.e. moding?

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Benchmarks are done for Thinkpad Edge 14+ HD6790 and here they are:

3DMark 06 (12061):

3DMark06.png

3DMark Vantage (9278):

3DMark_Vantage.png

3DMark 11 (2402):

3DMark11.png

RE5 Benchmark Tool DX9 (80.6):

DSC_0450.jpg

DMC Benchmark Tool DX10 (90.3):

DSC_0451.jpg

Review: Not a bad score, but this score is lower than Nvidia GTX460 SE with Optimus Setup. Maybe if I can make this card run on 2X Tweak, the score may be better?

Anyways, look at them, and tell me what do you think?

Kinda miss optimus setup :(

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News flash: I am told by DNA AMD developers that their divers will not unify iGPU and eGPU. Now what should I do?

EDIT: I was thinking, what if I just copy all content from ATI iGPU INF to HD6790 INF? maybe this will work.

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Ok, I posted about my Samsung R580 laptop and was made aware that it's not recommended for a eGPU setup. I've tracked down the following two models below that seems to be compatible, and I can get them at a decent price as well. I am selling my Samsung, and immediately have to replace it with another. (I use it for work as well)

The first choice is the Lenovo Thinkpad T420 below.

Lenovo NW1BSZA Lenovo Thinkpad T420 laptop South Africa | Lenovo Laptops

Second choice (Also a bit on the pricey side for me) is the Lenovo X220 Ultraportable Black series:

Lenovo NYD5BZA Lenovo Thinkpad X220 Black Ultrportable laptop South Africa | Lenovo Laptops

I noticed on the one, that I would have to use a specific bios? I would also prefer to use the Expressport slot due to needing the WiFi.

Thank you again for the patience :)

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