Zbook 15 G2 - A few more questions...

[3RYL]

Hello! 
I got really interested in this laptop and would like to ask a couple questions. Sorry if any of those are already answered but I did not find the answer by myself.

I'm planning to use it with an eGPU if I buy it. My current computer is a Vostro 3550 with a GTX 960, PE4C 3.0 eGPU.

So...

-What can you tell about the build quality/durability of this laptop?
-As I read the G2 version has the Expresscard running only at gen1. If I get that laptop soon I will try to install the 734287-001 TB1 expresscard assembly, as I only plan to get an TB2 egpu later. If that doesn't work would mPCE-e be an easy option on this laptop? As the bottom cover can be removed very easily.

-Regarding the egpu error 12 issues in windows 7, is there any work around with BIOS, an dsdt override or setup 1.3? Because I really like this OS.
-How are the drivers from HP? Is there any problem with the Quadro dGPU drivers, HD 4600 or something else? As I feel the video drivers from Dell for my Vostro are somewhat unstable. Under some random circumstances, they will stop working properly, adding mouse lag or the dGPU don't running on full performance unless I reinstall them several times. There are drivers from AMD, but they will make my system run hotter and doesn't offer an option to run only on iGPU, allowing me to use the eGPU without uninstalling the dGPU drivers.

-Will it work correctly for a plug and play eGPU?

-Can it recognize and boot from an HDD in a DVD caddy?

-Also, I would be really grateful if someone can post pictures or make a list of it's BIOS's capabilities. As I will take this in consideration when buying a new computer. My vostro's BIOS unfortunately is just useless. Other than those two problems it's a very good laptop, but not really eGPU friendly (the dGPU version at least).

 

Thank you all

Edited May 9, 2016 by 3RYL

[Yukikaze]

1) The build quality of the ZBook is superb. There is no flex anywhere and it is very very sturdy. It was one of the first things I noticed when I got it.

2) Yes, the Expresscard is running in gen1 according to my testing with a P4EC, but contrary to other reports, it is at least working for me. That said, I do not use that for eGPU. The bottom cover is easily removed and the mPCIe slots are very easily accessible. I wouldn't use it because taking the bottom off to dock up with the eGPU is a bit too annoying for me, but it should be easy to do so.

3) As my ZBook is my company laptop and comes with Win8.1, I can't really play around with it to test Win7 on it. That said, Win10 is more like Win7 than Win8, and it should work for eGPU purposes. Mine might be upgraded to Win10 in the near future. I'll update my eGPU guide on the forums if I do.

4) My ZBook has a Quadro K2100M, and my eGPU is a GTX750Ti, so I cannot comment on AMD's drivers. That said, since I have no actual use for the Quadro professional features, I just use the same desktop driver for both the dGPU and the eGPU. No problems with extra heat have been detected. Heck, I can even overclock the socks off the K2100M and it will still run cool. The rest of the HP drivers have given me no trouble, except for the Intel WiFi card ones. I switched to the Intel latest and stopped having all sorts of WiFi connection drops which the HP driver gave me. I guess it is a bunch of bugs that got fixed in more recent driver versions that HP did not adopt.

5) Define Plug-and-Play in this sense.

6) No idea.

7) I'll be able to do this later this week. If I don't get around to it, ping me in a PM.

[3RYL]

Nice. Thank you . Sorry for the time to reply. Was testing some things.

Quote

5) Define Plug-and-Play in this sense.

I mean being able to hotplug the eGPU on a working computer and have it detected and working. I was able to do this yesterday with dGPU disabled, DSDT override, compaction and expresscard set to gen2 on setup 1.3. Although with my taskbar wifi icon presenting an error "X" but working normally.

 

Also, did you notice any video or mouse latency on games? I have some but I think it's not caused by the eGPU, as my dGPU and iGPU are also affected. It seems that it takes over a quarter of a second from the mouse click to the game reacting to it. I could not yet test this on an external monitor. That has been a big annoyance for me to wonder if my eGPU really delivers it's performance.

[Yukikaze]

To be honest, I did not test hotplug in the sense of hooking it up with the OS already running. My use case is that I drag the machine home from work, put it onto my desk and immediately connect the TB2 cable. Then I power up the machine when I need it. When I head out or to work, I power down, disconnect everything and off I go.

 

I did not notice any video or mouse latency issues, stuff runs just as smooth on my dGPU and on my eGPU. The only thing that happened to me was that once I offloaded PhysX processing to the K2100M dGPU my Heaven benchmark framerates tanked in a peculiar way (1080p and 720p resulted in the same framerate, which made no sense). My theory for that one is that the extra long PCIe chain between both the eGPU and the dGPU introduces too much latency (measured bus load was minimal, so bandwidth wasn't the issue here).