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eGPU experiences [version 2.0]


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I can confirm that win 8.1 has better resources management. My setup is DELL E6220 + PE4C 1.2 + GTX750 + Win 8.1 (8GB ram). And it's plug and play. No need for any tweaks or Setup 1.x. I experienced the error 12 under win7.

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Hi,

I wanted to share my experiences so far in building this setup as well as ask some questions. I wanted to use my old eGPU setup (Vidock4 + 9800GT) which I used on my Thinkpad x220 on my new rMBP l-2012. On the Thinkpad I had no issues since it had an (slow) integrated pc express card slot. So I bought an SonnetEE Card adapter to hook the dock up to my thunderbolt port on the rMBP.

  1. Installed Windows 8.1 64-Bit via EFI
  2. Disconnected the express card from the adapter and booted
  3. On boot (as stated in this forum (btw thanks a lot xD)) on the boot selection menu (booting with alt key) I waited for 3-5s then plugged in the card and continued to boot into Win8
  4. Card was there in device manager and I could install the NVidia drivers without issues
  5. Diconnect everything and booting again the same way
  6. Win8 boots and the driver is loaded (cooler on the card calms down)

Now here's my problem. the screen stays blank. When I move the mouse the cursor flickers up on the screen and moves. I can move the cursor between the laptop screen and the big one, and occasionally the blue "wait I'm doing something" ring appears next to the cursor (which continues to flicker wildly). That's as far as I have come. Here's a vid illustrating the problem (

).

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot here?

Cheers

Tom

post-26940-1449499776538_thumb.jpg

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Does anybody know if the PE4L 2.1b needs the 5V cable when connecting the floppy cable? I've got the Dell 220W PSU with 8 Pins (3x12V, 3xGND, 2xRemote) from the EXP GDC V6 and I'd like to solder a little cable I can connect the PE4L 2.1b to it.

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[Guide] DIY Silent 220W PSU for PE4L

Can handle up to a GTX680 w/o problems

Introduction

Sadly the PE4L need both 5V and 12V to function. I use a 12V -> 5V regulator for my DA-2 in order to be able to use the D200P for the PE4L:

1pcs DC DC Converter Regulator 12V to 5V 3A 15W Car LED Display Powe G9 | eBay

TLDR;

Change the 8-pin DA-2 male for a PCIe 6-pin male.

Build a special cable to feed both 5V and 12V for from the PCIe 6-pin male.

The DA-2 has 8-pins but only 6 of them are used for power (the other two are a remote and sense). Anyway, what you would do is to cut the DA-2 male connector and replace it with a 6-pin.


Replace the DA-2 Male for a much more common PCIe 6-pin Male

sE8n082.jpg

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSwHiQe-KuHVwKCY3U_-nMdlX3aYgA_HskoVzpXSgBedAE20h0E9w

ICxARJF.jpg

RfSVHSj.png?1

Solder DA-2 12V white wires to PCIe yellow wires.

Solder DA-2 GND black wires to PCIe black wires.

Now you have something like this:

[DA-2 Brick] ----cable----> [6-pin PCIe]

DA-2 needs a power-on signal

This is done by simply shorting the blue cable (remote pin) of the DA-2 to the any of the black GND pins, but this will then make the PSU power up as soon as you plug in the power cord in the wall.

Personally I like a power on switch, see my enclosure images in my sign.

Alternatively you could add something like this power switch pigtail on the DA-2 cable, right before your main PCIe 6-pin.

m082l1p.png?1

Make a GPU and PE4L combined 5V/12V cable

1. Get a 6-pin y-splitter, this one is great since you'll have the choice of 6-pin or 8-pin for the GPU!

Link to splitter

31Qp7gqZmXL.jpg

2.

Cut the Male [6pin + 2pin] from one of the split branches.

6ayQ7yq.png

3.

Solder the 12V 5V regulator to one GND wire and one 12V wire.

IpX04L2.png

4.

Solder the Floppy molex connector,

OBS! don't confuse GND @5V for GND @12V!

DdefLow.png?1


Voila!

Now we have PCIe 6pin/8pin for GPU and 12V/5V floppy for the PE4L :)

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Hi,

I am currently running an eGPU setup with the following: Lenovo Thinkpad X220T, NVIDIA GTX 560Ti, PE4H-EC2C ver2.4 with 8GB ram. I have been using this setup for quite some and have been satisfied with the performance, but looking over these threads I became interested in finding ways to push the eGPU performance even further.

I was wondering if it is possible to run a PCIe 2.0 link with my setup? For example, in GPU-Z it says that I am only using a x1 1.1 link, but I believe that the x220 series does in fact support expresscard 2.0, so I'm not sure why mine is only using a 1.0 link.

post-27014-14494997771382_thumb.png

For example, a user (Xav) with a similar setup found was able to achieve a x1 2.0 setup using pretty much the same materials as me (DIY eGPU experiences - Page 403). In his GPU-Z it clearly says that he is using a x1 2.0 link. So shouldn't the same be possible for me as well, and if so what do I need to do differently to achieve a 2.0 link?

Also, apologies if this is a stupid question, but I am confused what is the difference between x1.2Opt and x1.1Opt. Is this essentially referring to differences in link speeds, in other words, supposing I were able to achieve a x1 2.0 link with my setup, I would have an x1.2Opt setup automatically? I believe I am currently running x1.1Opt, is there some way I can 'activate' x1.2Opt too boost my eGPU performance? Thanks in advance.

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Hello

I have recently purchased a PE4C-EC3C v1.2 from hwtools , "Bplus", and i have been trying to make my egpu work with my Dell Vostro 3450, i5-2410m with intel HD3000 and no dgpu, as a graphics card I am using a Gigabite Radeon 1950 pro card, I know that it's old but i'm only using it until my nvidia 650 ti is delivered. I have tried a Dstd override with no success, I had too many errors, my question is will setup 1.x make it possible for me to run my egpu setup with win 7 or 8.1 .

Thanks in advance for the help.

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Were can I find an accurate tutorial on how to do a dstd override?

- - - Updated - - -

If you have setup 1.x and have a high tolud is a dstd override still mandatory, or will my pci bus be extended into 36-bit space automatically and does setup 1.x work with win 8.1

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Howdy Folks,

Just joined the forum while searching online for DIY E-gpu setups. Started reading the thread but at times it is a little confusing. I am not that tech savy but I can learn and am open to experiments (especially when i cannot afford a brand new laptop). Please bear with me when i ask noob / stupid questions. Looking for advice and guidance on how to do this setup. Lets start with what i have.

Dell Studio 14 Specifications
Processor Intel Core i7-720QM 1.6GHZ Clarksfield
Chipset Intel HM55
Memory 6GB DDR3-1333 (Max 8GB)
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series 512MB

Display 14" LED Glossy 16:9 720p (1366x768)
Hard Drive(s) Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB 7200RPM
Optical Drive Slot-loading DVD+/-RW Combo Drive
Networking Gigabit Ethernet Dell 1501 Wireless (b/g/n)
Audio HD Audio 2 stereo speakers with 2 headphone jacks and a mic jack
Battery 6-Cell, 11.1V, 56Wh battery
Front Side N/A
Left Side Kensington Ethernet Exhaust vents 1x USB 2.0 1x Combo USB 2.0/eSATA VGA HDMI ExpressCard/34 Slot SD/MMC Reader
Right Side 2x Headphones, Mic 1x USB 2.0 Slot-loading Optical Drive Power button
Back Side N/A
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Dimensions 13.25" x 9.48" x 0.98"-1.52” (WxDxH)
Weight 5.25 lbs (with 6-cell battery)
Extras Webcam Flash reader (MMC/MS/MS Pro/SD)


My question is which version of PE4H can i use (hoping the latest version works for future upgrading). And since i have an internal ATI card, do i have to use an external ATI card or can i use Nvidia. Also whats the max card i can use. Where do you guys recommend i buy all these components from.

I will mostly definitely have more questions but would appreciate all the help i can get.

Thanks guys and keep up the good work.
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I can confirm that win 8.1 has better resources management. My setup is DELL E6220 + PE4C 1.2 + GTX750 + Win 8.1 (8GB ram). And it's plug and play. No need for any tweaks or Setup 1.x. I experienced the error 12 under win7.

It depends. On hp 2570p the egpu is plug and play on Windows 7 only, and give a code12 on windows 8.1

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@Nando can lenovo ideapad y500's mpcie slot be used for egpu??? Anyone else who want to assist me plz give me your views...

The Y500 has SLI options e.g 2 x 650M @SLI?

I would go that route any day!

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The Y500 has SLI options e.g 2 x 650M @SLI?

I would do that route any day!

Actually mine came with single 750m,and i thought of doing the 750msli...But i asked lenovo and they replied they won't make the ultrabays anymore,and i can't find it anywhere on the internet(ebay or amazon)... :(

That's why i wanted to an egpu setup,do you know it is possible?? Any help would be immensely appreciated... :)

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@Arunmani2

It's pricy but I wonder what performance you'll have with it:

Y500 Removable Graphics GT750M5 | Lenovo | (US)

EDIT: not so pricy when I think about it

EDIT2: Looks pretty awesome to me:

EDIT3: Crysis 3 will run smooth on medium/high w/o AA, I can't say if an eGPU would do much better

EDIT 1 million: Hopefully I'll have my eGPU up and running (TB @10GBps GTX670) in a couple of days, let's see how Crysis 3 will run on mine and decide after that.

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@Arunmani2

It's pricy but I wonder what performance you'll have with it:

Y500 Removable Graphics GT750M5 | Lenovo | (US)

EDIT: not so pricy when I think about it

EDIT2: Looks pretty awesome to me:

Thanks a lot friend,a few days ago they were not there,and their great customer service said they won't make that anymore....... :)

Ans also is it possible to do egpu on my laptop,if you can answer that??? I am thinking of gtx 760,760>750msli anyways...so is it possible???

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@Arunmani2

See my edits again on the last post.

So you are saying they won't be selling ultrabay cards anymore?

I'd wait for my tests on Crysis 3 and decide whether to find a 750M or go for an eGPU.

To answer your question: Yes you should be able to use a eGPU via mPCIe (would most certainly be your wlan slot).

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EDIT 1 million: Hopefully I'll have my eGPU up and running (TB @10GBps GTX670) in a couple of days, let's see how Crysis 3 will run on mine and decide after that.

I'll be looking forward to your benchmarks. I'm considering a GTX770 as an eGPU running over TB1 and I think your results will be the closest I can find on this forum.

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@Arunmani2

See my edits again on the last post.

So you are saying they won't be selling ultrabay cards anymore?

I'd wait for my tests on Crysis 3 and decide whether to find a 750M or go for an eGPU.

To answer your question: Yes you should be able to use a eGPU via mPCIe (would most certainly be your wlan slot).

Thanks a lot dude,i can wait.....good luck on your setup,u have a better cpu and 670 is awesome.. :)

I asked about 750m ultrabay and the support guy told me they won't make any ultrabay's anymore in the future:angry:

But now there is an ultrabay for 750m available for purchase... :(

I will be waiting for your update...:Banane35::32_002:

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Hi guys,

Having some trouble with my eGPU setup. Some background info:

GPU: GTX760

OS: Windows 7 64-bit

RAM: 8GB

PSU: Xbox PSU

SYSTEM: HP Elitebook 2570p

Windows recognizes my eGPU without any problems, I can see it in Device Manager and in the NVIDIA Control panel. But unfortunately when putting the eGPU to the test it fails.

The first problem I encountered was when opening the NVIDIA GeForce Experience. Immediately after opening the program, the whole PC froze and I was unable to do anything besides pulling the plug and reboot.

The second problem was when opening a game. When I opened Mount & Blade: Warband the game got to the loading screen and then the PC got a BSOD and rebooted. Second attempt, same result. Note: the intro of the game played just fine.

The third problem was when opening another game, this time it was Kerbal Space Program. The first few seconds of loading went fine, then the PC started stuttering extremely. So extreme, I had to pull the plug again.

The EC slot has been set to gen 2 speed in Setup 1.X and in Bios. SW2 is set to 2-3 because at 1-2 the eGPU is not recognized. It feels like when the eGPU needs to do some heavy graphical labor, it starts to crash/stutter.

Anyone experienced this or has a solution?

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@Jefferson92

I agree with @noric here.

I have build XBOX powered eGPU setups before and it was quite unstable, redid the solder work a couple of times.

Of course my soldering skills are much better now a days after x hours more soldering.

Just as Noric said:

1. Force GEN1 speed, does the problem persist? If not, could be a bad EC-cable, which yields unstable link performance @GEN2 speeds.

2. Test an ATX PSU, does the problem persist? If not, then your problem is most likely the XBOX PSU.

3. Redo the cable work for the XBOX PSU. Does it persist? If it do, then your XBOX PSU has aged and can probably not deliver stable voltage on the 5V rail.

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