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eGPU experiences [version 2.0]


Tech Inferno Fan

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I'm looking into buying one of the new Asus G750 which should in theory support thunderbolt, but the Intel integrated graphics card is disabled (not available in BIOS, or Device Manager) and only Nvidia 765m is the active card.

Considering this, could you guys see a potential issue with an eGPU connected on some thunderbolt adapter?

I understand clearly that Optimus link is possible only in presence of Intel GPU (which is not the case right now) and only on 1x link (again not the case, I understand that TB gives 2x, unless I use the tape hack to isolate a lane).

I just want to know if I'm able to render the eGPU on the internal screen which is connected to the dGPU 765m without issues, or there are any problem that I should foresee and take into account.

Thanks.

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I have an intel series 6 chipset with an i7 Sandy Bridge CPU.

Also a Intel HD3000 IGP + Geforce 555M dGPU (optimus)

My eGPU setup is a PE4H+P3MN and a nice new GTX780

Ive been able to boot windows without error 12 using compaction, but get an error 10 (device cannot be started) when I do this (although the cards HDMI audio seems to detect and load fine)

I was thinking it might make things simpler if I skip compaction and just disable the dGPU, leaving the allocation space free for the eGPU - is it not possible to do this with my configuration?

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I'm looking into buying one of the new Asus G750 which should in theory support thunderbolt, but the Intel integrated graphics card is disabled (not available in BIOS, or Device Manager) and only Nvidia 765m is the active card.

Considering this, could you guys see a potential issue with an eGPU connected on some thunderbolt adapter?

I understand clearly that Optimus link is possible only in presence of Intel GPU (which is not the case right now) and only on 1x link (again not the case, I understand that TB gives 2x, unless I use the tape hack to isolate a lane).

I just want to know if I'm able to render the eGPU on the internal screen which is connected to the dGPU 765m without issues, or there are any problem that I should foresee and take into account.

Thanks.

Well TB systems are very very expensive since TH05 got discontinued! If you find one (usually ~$400 on ebay) you won't gain much performance over 1.2opt.

SInce you are limited to x1 2.0 with the mentioned system, or the crazy expensive x2 2.0 via TB, I must recommend you to look at other systems. I can see your point of having a TB ready system, if that is important to you?

If so you might want to look at the finding a good deal for the T430s which have both EC and TB (on i7-versions only).

Regarding TB on internal screen<strike>, it seems like it should work without iGPU (look at page 1 for posted TB implementations, I could be wrong).</strike>

I hope this gave you some help.

Nando4 comment>> TB eGPU on internal screen via either NVidia Optimus (NVidia) or LucidLogix Virtu (AMD) requires an iGPU. Only workaround is using the Ultramon/Chung-gun method via a VGA dummy plug where you can drag a game started in *WINDOWED* mode over to the internal LCD. See first post for more details on that if interested.

The x1 pci-e compression (x1.2Opt) provided by NVidia drivers will also only activate if there is a primary iGPU video adapter. No workaround there as much as it would be desirable to have one.

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Thanks, but I'm somewhat limited to some 15 and 17 inches notebooks, i want those also for work and running virtual machines.

The only somewhat friendly egpu notebook matching my criteria is the Dell Vostro 3560, but I had my hopes set for haswell and up to 32GB RAM. :(

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

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My DIY eGPU project:

Running an IBM T221 monitor at full resolution of 3840x2400 pixel on a notebook.

Hardware:

Screen: IBM T221 DG3 (3840x2400@41Hz)

Notebook: Sony Vaio VPC-Z12Z9E

Graphic Card: Club 3D ATI Radeon HD6870 Eyefinity 6

PSU for GPU: SilverStone SFX ST45SF 450W

Adapter: PE4L 1.5

It's working! Now, I got an impressive 11.3 megapixel workspace on a notebook (Sony Vaio Z 1920x1080 and IBM T221 3840x2400).

Thanks to everyone who helped supporting this DIY eGPU project! The standard ViDock doesn't work out of the box on a Vaio Z, only the DIY eGPU setup makes it possible...

post-14807-14494995679104_thumb.jpg

1st picture: The IBM T221 shows 8 A4-pages in Microsoft Word at 100% zoom.

post-14807-14494995676246_thumb.jpg

post-14807-14494995677058_thumb.jpg

post-14807-14494995678598_thumb.jpg

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Sup guys,

my old PE4H seems to be a bit defect (the power connector has gone black from heat/fire i guess and the device starts to malfunction a bit sometimes...) but I've been wanting to upgrade to a PCI 2.0 capable adapter this summer anyways.

Any recommendations what to use? My laptop is pci 2.0 + optimus capable and so far I've been using the 2 year old PE2H + pci 1.0 optimus with a Nividia 560GT.

Shall I just grab the new 3rd gen PE4L for 70 bucks?

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Sup guys,

my old PE4H seems to be a bit defect (the power connector has gone black from heat/fire i guess and the device starts to malfunction a bit sometimes...) but I've been wanting to upgrade to a PCI 2.0 capable adapter this summer anyways.

Any recommendations what to use? My laptop is pci 2.0 + optimus capable and so far I've been using the 2 year old PE2H + pci 1.0 optimus with a Nividia 560GT.

Shall I just grab the new 3rd gen PE4L for 70 bucks?

Short answer, yes.

Long answer, yes, because it will give you full 1.2Opt compression so you'll get better performance from your GPU, and its also much cheaper than the PE4H 3.2. Also, assuming that BPlus is correct about compatibility, the PE4L v2.1 is supposed to support PCI 3.0 (Gen 3), so you could potentially use it on future laptops that support PCI 3.0 over ExpressCard or mPCI-E.

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Short answer, yes.

Long answer, yes, because it will give you full 1.2Opt compression so you'll get better performance from your GPU, and its also much cheaper than the PE4H 3.2. Also, assuming that BPlus is correct about compatibility, the PE4L v2.1 is supposed to support PCI 3.0 (Gen 3), so you could potentially use it on future laptops that support PCI 3.0 over ExpressCard or mPCI-E.

Sorry for being "finical" (haven't really used that word before) but PLus seems to make their tests on desktop systems rather than notebook systems.

According to their tests made on the PCIEMM-060B (that was suppose to be GEN2) they told me that they had been done on a desktop.

Since these tests results doesn't apply to our notebooks it seems like it could make a difference.

I would be nice if they would make proper notebook tests for now on so these things can be prevented.

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Sorry for being "finical" (haven't really used that word before) but PLus seems to make their tests on desktop systems rather than notebook systems.

According to their tests made on the PCIEMM-060B (that was suppose to be GEN2) they told me that they had been done on a desktop.

Since these tests results doesn't apply to our notebooks it seems like it could make a difference.

No, that's good that you brought up that their testing is done only on desktops. I did t know that. It explains why their testing is so successful and ours never work!

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Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for an ideal eGPU setup for a Lenovo W520 (see signature for details of the laptop). The main issue is: I have very large 3D data sets/meshes that are very taxing (stuttering) on my current GPU. Since school/work is paying for the setup, I figure I might as well get the best eGPU setup as possible. I know the GTX 690 and GTX Titan have gotten rave reviews/incredible benchmarks. But will they be overkill for the PCI-E slot bottleneck effects? Will the GTX 780 even be overkill?

Any and all help/instructions for a high-end eGPU setup for my laptop would be immensely appreciated.

Thank you.

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Sorry for being "finical" (haven't really used that word before) but PLus seems to make their tests on desktop systems rather than notebook systems.

According to their tests made on the PCIEMM-060B (that was suppose to be GEN2) they told me that they had been done on a desktop.

Since these tests results doesn't apply to our notebooks it seems like it could make a difference.

I would be nice if they would make proper notebook tests for now on so these things can be prevented.

But that would be a contradiction to my information... Bplus told me, they had tested it with an Thinkpad X220. ^^

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No, that's good that you brought up that their testing is done only on desktops. I did t know that. It explains why their testing is so successful and ours never work!

They say on their website "Basically, PCIe add-on card designed for desktop. We can’t guarantee it compatibility with your laptop. Depends on OS version, notebook’s BIOS, device driver, "

So there might be some truth to that, or maybe not, if what Eisbrecher99 said is true.

But regardless of laptop or desktop, it's the same PCI Express standard implemented, isn't it?

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Hey all. I'm new to the forum and just spent my afternoon reading the outstanding posts here. First, it is clear that @Tech Inferno Fan is a GOD. All hail nando. I also got a lot of good info from @bjorm posts since his rig is similar to mine. And I love his sweet eGPU enclosure. I'm not as creative as bjorm so I'll probably be going with the new PE4H V3.2 w/enclosure.

Here's my rig:

  • HP EliteBook 8460p, Core i5-2520M @ 2.5Ghz, 8GB RAM
  • Windows 7 Pro 6
  • Intel HD Graphics 3000 (iGPU)
  • 240GB SSD
  • PCIE 2.0 Expresscard slot

I am planning to get the following eGPU:

  • PE4H-EC060A V3.2 (PCIe x16 Adapter)
  • MSI GTX 660 Ti Power Edition
  • Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500w PSU

Assumptions:

  1. I have not seen TOLUD problems mentioned with the 8460p so I don't think I'll need the DSDT override to avoid the Code 12 error. Gues I'll wait and see on that.
  2. As long as I have the latest NVIDIA drivers for the GTX660 Ti I should not have to do anything special to get the Optimus compression to kick in. I understand I will need to boot the laptop without the Expresscard plugged in and then I can hot plug the eGPU ExpressCard into the laptop.

Anyone have any advice before I take the plunge into the eGPU waters with this setup?

Thanks for maintaining such a great on-line community!

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Quote

But that would be a contradiction to my information... Bplus told me, they had tested it with an Thinkpad X220. ^^



BPlus' PCIEMM-060B testing was with a desktop system

BPlus' PCIEMM-060B Gen2 compliance testing was done on a desktop system using a HP1A adapter and AMD HD7750 card. No EC2C or PM3N tested there which explains the differing results we get. Details in screenshot below:



Quote

Hey all. I'm new to the forum and just spent my afternoon reading the outstanding posts here. First, it is clear that @Tech Inferno Fan is a GOD. All hail nando. I also got a lot of good info from @bjorm posts since his rig is similar to mine. And I love his sweet eGPU enclosure. I'm not as creative as bjorm so I'll probably be going with the new PE4H V3.2 w/enclosure. Here's my rig:

  • HP EliteBook 8460p, Core i5-2520M @ 2.5Ghz, 8GB RAM
  • Windows 7 Pro 6
  • Intel HD Graphics 3000 (iGPU)
  • 240GB SSD
  • PCIE 2.0 Expresscard slot
I am planning to get the following eGPU:

  • PE4H-EC060A V3.2 (PCIe x16 Adapter)
  • MSI GTX 660 Ti Power Edition
  • Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500w PSU
Assumptions:

  • I have not seen TOLUD problems mentioned with the 8460p so I don't think I'll need the DSDT override to avoid the Code 12 error. Gues I'll wait and see on that.
  • As long as I have the latest NVIDIA drivers for the GTX660 Ti I should not have to do anything special to get the Optimus compression to kick in. I understand I will need to boot the laptop without the Expresscard plugged in and then I can hot plug the eGPU ExpressCard into the laptop.
Anyone have any advice before I take the plunge into the eGPU waters with this setup?

Thanks for maintaining such a great on-line community!


Hehe.. Thank you, but hailing is unnecessary. I'm just a conduit to making this, chugging along even after derail attempts by third parties seemingly to protect existing markets: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2109-diy-egpu-experiences-%5Bversion-2-0%5D.html#saboteurs.

8460P with GTX660Ti is no problem. It's only AMD cards or the GTX650/GTX650Ti that would be an issue with a 8460P due to requiring a 256MB contiguous pci space block. There you'd need either Setup 1.x PCI compaction or a DSDT override to overcome error 12. A GTX660/GTX660Ti uses 128MB+32MB+16MB so works OK with the bios without needing such fixes.
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Thanks for the quick response @Tech Inferno Fan!

After a bit more research it looks like the PE4H-EC060A V3.2 (PCIe x16 Adapter) enclosure doesn't have clearance for the two 6-pin PCI power connectors on top of the MSI GTX660 Ti card. THe enclosure apparently only supports power connectors at the end of the card.

I'm considering three options:

  1. Get the PE4H v3.2 w/enclosure anyway and try to mod the enclosure to accommodate the top facing power connectors on the GTX660Ti
  2. Go with the tried and true PE4L v2.1b and build my own enclosure.
  3. I ran across this PE4H v3.2 which appears to be the circuit board without the enclosure. The cable is soldered at both ends so I assume it is capable of the full PCIe 2.0, unlike the PE4H v2.4 with the detached cable. I had not seen this circuit board version offered separately before and it is not listed on the BPlus site. Does anyone have any experience with this board or has anyone dismantled a PE4H-EC060A V3.2 (PCIe x16 Adapter) from its enclosure and used the board separately?

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Thanks for the quick response @Tech Inferno Fan!

After a bit more research it looks like the PE4H-EC060A V3.2 (PCIe x16 Adapter) enclosure doesn't have clearance for the two 6-pin PCI power connectors on top of the MSI GTX660 Ti card. THe enclosure apparently only supports power connectors at the end of the card.

I'm considering three options:

  1. Get the PE4H v3.2 w/enclosure anyway and try to mod the enclosure to accommodate the top facing power connectors on the GTX660Ti
  2. Go with the tried and true PE4L v2.1b and build my own enclosure.
  3. I ran across this PE4H v3.2 which appears to be the circuit board without the enclosure. The cable is soldered at both ends so I assume it is capable of the full PCIe 2.0, unlike the PE4H v2.4 with the detached cable. I had not seen this circuit board version offered separately before and it is not listed on the BPlus site. Does anyone have any experience with this board or has anyone dismantled a PE4H-EC060A V3.2 (PCIe x16 Adapter) from its enclosure and used the board separately?

Bplus gives you the option of just buying the PE4H-EC060A V3.2 for $110 (excl. shipping), I don't see any advantages over the $70 PE4L-EC060A though.

For the PE4H 3.2 enclosure it will require some hacking and modding in order to have the PCIe-power sticking out on the side.

You will also have get another power adapter (BPLUS only have 120w) with 5.5/2.5mm like this 150w maybe?

What do you think @Tech Inferno Fan?

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Bplus gives you the option of just buying the PE4H-EC060A V3.2 for $110 (excl. shipping), I don't see any advantages over the $70 PE4L-EC060A though.

For the PE4H 3.2 enclosure it will require some hacking and modding in order to have the PCIe-power sticking out on the side.

You will also have get another power adapter (BPLUS only have 120w) with 5.5/2.5mm like this 150w maybe?

What do you think @Tech Inferno Fan?

Three advantages of the PE4H 3.2 board:

* can use ALL the power from a dual/triple rail ATX PSU. PE4L can only use one rail.

* has a x16 slot running at x1. PE4L uses a x1 slot.

* has an enclosure option

Are these features worth a $40 premium? To me no but maybe to others yes. Consider too an advantage the PE4L 2.1b has is it can use a straight 12V AC adapter to power the slot (up to 75W). The PE4H 3.2 uses a 19V one that is downregulated to 12V.

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Hi,

I'm set on making eGPU build. I'm thinking about buying HP 8460p or 6460b, and connecting it to amd 7850 which i already own. My question is: Will i be able to do egpu with 6460b? i'm considering this laptop because it is much cheaper than 8460p. Is probook's bios the same as in elitebook? Do You think it is worth even considering 6460b? And what about my amd card? I read about some problems with them with 8460p... Do You think i should sell it and buy GeForce?

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Thanks for the feedback @Tech Inferno Fan and @jacobsson.

I've ordered the following items for my eGPU config:

  • PE4L-EC060A V2.1b
  • MSI GTX 660 Ti Power Edition w/Twin Frozr cooler
  • PC P&C Silencer 500w PSU (80 PLUS BRONZE)

Once I get it setup and running I'll benchmark it then I'll take a look at enclosure options. Maybe I'll steal @bjorm case mode idea.

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No one able to help me with this error ?

[PCI BUS section NOT found. If you are using a non-English language, than please edit the v:\config\devcon.txt file and remove the "PCI BUS" section. Otherwise that *whole* section will be excluded from allocation when performing compaction and compaction will fail.]

As far as I can tell, there's no "PCI BUS" section in my txt file.

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8460P with GTX660Ti is no problem. It's only AMD cards or the GTX650/GTX650Ti that would be an issue with a 8460P due to requiring a 256MB contiguous pci space block. There you'd need either Setup 1.x PCI compaction or a DSDT override to overcome error 12. A GTX660/GTX660Ti uses 128MB+32MB+16MB so works OK with the bios without needing such fixes.

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  • Moderator
Hi MikjoA, welcome back!

I just recently started to think of that when I ran borderlands 2 for the first time on eGPU (It ran like crap if physx were higher than low). How do I check whether physx is handled by CPU or GPU? (except for the obvious: 'set GPU/CPU in Nvidia Control Panel').

Pardon my slow reply, but there is an option for it!

post-6146-1449499567991_thumb.jpg

It sadly doesn't show WHICH GPU is doing PhysX, but it does show if a GPU or CPU is doing PhysX. This is saddening for people like me who have iGPU+dGPU+eGPU. But at least it tells you something.

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