freddiemercury

A little late but here is my setup

Specs:

Thinkpad X220

Core i5 2410m

Intel HD graphics 3000

8gb ram

eGPU:

GTX 660 Ti

PE4L 2.1b Express card

Corsair 430M

Enclosure: coolermaster elite 120 mini ITX

My 3dMark 11 scores were around P4800.

As for the enclosure, It was on sale for $35 and I got an open box for $26....

Here are some pics,

Thank you all for your help, I completed my eGPU setup! My 3DMARK scores are

With physx set to auto

With physx set to processor.

The resolution was 1280X720 . Are these scores ok ?

Also I am running these on external display.

I will update with pics soon.

Thank you all for your help, I completed my eGPU setup! My 3DMARK scores are

With physx set to auto

With physx set to processor.

The resolution was 1280X720 . Are these scores ok ?

Also I am running these on external display.

Also I observed that I can use my internal lcd and external at the same time! Is this normal?

I will update with pics soon.

Generic PSUs often only deliver around half their rated power with lots of ripple and caps that explode after a few months and lack of safety features to protect hardware in case of failure. Never go generic.

A 550w power supply will be plenty. The 660 only needs one six pin, and a 550w power supply will easily be able to give a constant 140w of power.

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Edit: Yeah I agree with Khenglish lol forget what i said. A bad power supply can ruin the system, so getting a better one that costs a biit more isn't a bad idea. I'm not too familiar with power supplies but I'm guessing a 80 plus bronze certified should be ok?

Thanks. I will certainly get atleast a bronze certified PSU. I am guessing a 430W will be OK for the GTX 660... Will post the build and scores as soon as I get the parts

Each different card shouldn't matter. I use the MSI Twin Frozr II 660 and it works great. Also, I would definitely look into getting this card. Overclocked, dead silent, and doesn't get too hot while gaming. Been very pleased with it.

I agree with it completely. I used to have this card and it was very quiet and well built. Differences will be noticeable when You choose for example ASUS GTX660 instead ASUS GTX660 TOP OC.

Thanks for your suggestions, though I intended to get the MSI I came accross a very cheap deal on this EVGA gtx 660 Now the specs for its power requirement are

Minimum of a 450 Watt power supply. (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amps.)

Total Power Draw : 140 Watts

I was planning on getting a generic PSU on ebay

Will it work with the card? it has a 12v/22A rating.

As shown earlier, In my opinio there is no point to buy something better than GTX660 without QM CPU (in X220 impossible to get QM).

So GTX660 will be good idea, it should be enough to run your desired games in FHD and medium/high details.

Yes, PE4L 2.1b ang GTX660 will be best mix for you.

Thanks bjorm! I saw that you used the MSI GTX660, does it matter if I use EVGA or ASUS... Is there any performance difference?

I went through the whole thread and got an rough idea on how to setup eGPU. I want to use this eGPU with my current thinkpad x220 with i5 sandy bridge. I have a few questions, it would be great if you could answer or point me towards the right source,

1) I am zeroing on GTX660, Will this be enough to run current games like AC3, upcoming GTA5 etc., ? Do you recommend any other card ? My budget is around $200 ( lesser the better ). I would like to have the Nvidia Optimus option as it will help me run games on internal LCD, though I can live without it too.

2) I am confused about the expresscard to PCIe converter. I am not sure which one to pick, I have 2.0 expresscard slot and I think I will need PE4L 2.1b adapter with express card, I want to use this with the GTX 660 is this the best combination?

If you could answer these it would be great! Thanks!