Gazokm

Thanks guys, I just so happen to have mPCIe port #3 free on my Studio while the expresscard is port #4. So 2x is possible, but I think would it mean reworking all the soldering I've done so far to go to port 3, then soldering the wires for 2x to go through the expresscard? That way it ports 3+4, not 4+3. Either way, I'm up to the challenge. The current setup is kind of a proof of concept, and since it works so far, I'm willing to put some time into making it nice. It's really impractical having the GPU stuck 3 inches from the lower, right corner of my laptop on a tiny desk. My fingers sometimes hit the fan, and I'd rather have a mouse there And @ajnindlo. Surprisingly, it just works automatically with the internal display. In fact, I tried connecting a monitor through the DVI output on the GPU, and it would only display there when I totally disabled the iGPU. I guess that's Optimus at work.

Thank you! To be honest, I didn't think it would work either. Here's GPU-Z Shouldn't this show [email protected] if I was doing this correctly?

It worked! I picked up a GTX560 and switched to a 500W PSU. I also got a cheap right angle PCIe16x riser card. The setup isn't pretty or very ergonomical though. I may get an external monitor in the near future so I can rearrange things and somehow fit my keyboard/mouse on here. I didn't have any trouble with the installation. It was all pretty automatic. I'm guessing that I'm already using Optimus since as it's playing through the internal LCD. Compared to most people here I'm very new to PC gaming, and this is the first setup I've ever had capable decent graphics. I just downloaded Steam today as well as the demo of 3DMark. The base scores or whatever are displayed in the picture, but I can provide more details if anyone is interested and willing to tell me how. Also any tips on how I could optimize performance with this setup would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Tech Inferno, here is my (very) diy eGPU project so far. I've just finished soldering my adapter for an eGPU based on the examples in the FAQ's section of the DIY eGPU experiences thread. Here are a couple photos of it plus the wiring diagram I used (imgur links). The soldering took several hours, and I actually destroyed the pins on the first expresscard I tried. That's mostly due to the really terrible soldering equipment I have. Finally, though, everything is together and free of shorts. I am not sure yet, but I may need to put capacitors on the 12V & 3.3V lines. I've seen some self-made adapters with caps and some without, but I don't think it will be a problem as long as my PSU provides steady power. To make this, I only had to buy three items on Amazon for about $20 >PCIe 1x to 16x powered riser cable (Great because this cut the amount of soldering I had to do in half. However, the cable is quite short.) >Dynex Firewire 800 Expresscard Adapter >Sata Power Extension Cable My system is a Dell Studio 1558 running Windows 7 Pro with 4GB RAM and an i5 M430 CPU (Intel HD graphics). The chipset is a 5 series HM55 which, sadly, is only capable of 1.0 speeds. Also, I have a Corsair CX 430 Watt PSU. As for the video card, I'm buying that today! Something like a Nvidia GTX 400 to 500ish. I think I will then be able to use Optimus with my system for some added performance. I'm about %60 confident this will work, and I'm posting now because I probably otherwise wouldn't if it fails. Hopefully this will be helpful either way to others building their own adapters. The goal is simply to get decent graphics on an older laptop as cheaply as possible. I'm in between needing a new pc and willing to invest much in this one, plus it's been a great learning experience. When I plug in a video card, I'll post how that goes along with more photos. But in the meantime please feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, or point out any egregious errors I've made.