Tyrant Eric

Hello eGPUers, Today the Alienware 13 was announced (it launches tomorrow), which normally we wouldn't be too excited about. However, in addition to the Alienware 13, Dell is also releasing a $300 eGPU enclosure which a user can connect any GPU of their choosing. Essentially, this is the first commercial and mass-market (aka. affordable price) eGPU solution to come to light that is actually being released and that Intel cannot kill. Here's a review (there are tonnes of them out there): Alienware 13 Review: The First Futureproof Gaming Laptop The eGPU works nearly flawlessly according to the review (some issues with PhysX) with NVidia graphics cards. Probably some other reviewers used AMD cards, but I haven't read all of them yet. (@Tech Inferno Fan feel free to edit this post with whatever info you want to if you'd like to). As of right now, the Alienware 13 is the only laptop to support their eGPU implementation. It's being called "Graphics Amplifier". I see no reason for Dell not to just add the proprietary port, needed for connection between the eGPU and the laptop, to their other lines of laptops. I have a strong feeling that this will spark other companies to try and out-eGPU Alienware, particularly because other boutique builders like to compare themselves to Alienware so much (such as Origin PC). Honestly, Dell was the company I least expected to release a reasonably priced eGPU solution, so props to them for getting it to market. As an additional point for speculation, it's interesting to consider if Intel will retaliate in any way, and if so how.

Oh, @ivan_xiao, I just remembered, the easiest solution for your audio problem is probably just to use a USB Sound Card or a USB DAC (they bypass your internal sound card), That way you don't need to do any PCIe/mPCIe splitting of any sort.

What @noric means by HDMI audio-out is that the HDMI cable connected between the graphics card and the Monitor is able to carry audio, so if your monitor has speakers and/or an audio-out port you should be able to use that instead of buying a sound card. However, in your case it is a laptop, so you probably don't connect it to a monitor, and even if you do it's possible your monitor doesn't have speakers. Additionally, it sounds like you have separate speakers that can't be connected to via hdmi so the whole idea of using HDMI audio-out seems like it wouldn't make much sense in your case.

It's always been a curiosity of mine, because of the way AMD has marketed their GPUs as compatible specifically with their APUs to work in tandem in a CrossFire-esque fashion called Dual Graphics. However, if you look at that list, you'll notice your specific APU is not on it, so you'd have to do a bit of research to see what the official AMD recommendation is. Of course, the alternative is to rely solely on the eGPU in the same manner everyone on this board has tried, albeit with Intel CPUs. As no one as tried this with an AMD APU, let alone your particular configuration, you can see the risk inherent in carrying out the purchases just to try it. Going into hypotheticals, the spec sheet for your configuration says it has an "mPCIe (mSATA)" slot, suggesting it is a combo-port that is compatible with both interfaces. As a reminder, mSATA is a slot for SSDs and is useless for an eGPU implementation; it is the mPCIe "part" of the slot that seems promising, and if it is correctly labeled should support an eGPU implementation via a product like the PE4C-PM100C V2.0 or the EXP GDC V6. A comparison between those two options is available at the EXP GDC V6 link. Regardless, if you choose to pursue the project I would definitely choose to go with an AMD GPU to make sure that you have the highest chance of success. Hope this helped, and good luck!

Thanks for the in-depth and consistent updates, @ha1o2surfer ! I am thinking about buying the FirmTek and testing my hand at creating my first eGPU implementation. I have a Macbook Air - 13in - 2013, running Windows 8.1 64-bit on EFI install through Bootcamp. I plan on using a powerful yet cheap single-rail PSU such as this one and connecting it to the FirmTek through a molex to DC 5.5mm (because I plan on using a high-end card, and would need the FirmTek to provide 75W to it), then connecting the graphics card to the FirmTek through a 4X-to-16X PCI-E Riser. Right now I plan on using an AMD R9 290 (and modding it with an Arctic Accelero Xtreme IV to take care of overheating issues). A few questions though, (and I'll tag you @Tech Inferno Fan to see if you can help with some insight, thanks!): -> Should I expect to obtain success with these items? -> From my research I've seen that Nvidia is the only way to get the internal screen to display with the eGPU but that AMD cards have better PCI-E scaling, please correct me if I am wrong. -> Currently I have Windows in EFI install, yet I've seen basically every guide has a BIOS install, is there a particular reason? Isn't EFI easier to get working? (Or is it because no one has managed to get the internal screen working with the eGPU in EFI?) Thanks again!