Tech Inferno Fan

OK Cool. Once the compaction process and dGPU can be disabled, it should most likely work. Fingers crossed.

15" MBP/MBPr has the issue with the dGPU, rather than the iGPU, being the primary bootup video device. That means the NVidia Optimus features like rendering the image to the internal LCD won't work. Those features only engage if the iGPU is the primary bootup video device. How to do that is something you'd probably need to investigate in the Apple forums. I hope it doesn't require placing a kill switch on the GT650M (dGPU) chip itself.

Can I use a GTX650 instead ? Or only those that you refer to can work with x1.2Opt ?

GTX650 is fine too. You want a system with a Intel HD iGPU as the primary bootup video device, then you need a Fermi (GTX460/GTX560Ti, etc) or Keplar (GTX650, GTX660, etc) NVidia eGPU, and a PE4L-EC060A 2.1b or PE4L-PM060A 2.1b. That combination will get you x1.2Opt performance.

Well atm you can't cause compaction will fail but you can boot into windows from your usb device

Macbook Setup 1.1x keyboard compatibility testing

Shelltoe, this is great feedback which has been noted. Two other issues that we could address remotely is the keyboard response from the MBP to engage screen capture and a DOS editor that works. Can do that if you:

1. Download test-MBP-1.exe

2. Run test-MBP-1.exe from within windows. Extract the contents to your v:\ drive (DIY eGPU Setup 1.105 image) or your USB drive containing Setup 1.105. There it will create a \test directory.

3. Boot Setup 1.105, select command prompt option.

4. Navigate to the c:\test directory (c:, cd \test).

Then you'll have three things to play with: scancode, fedit\edit and setedit\bin\setedit. Running the first will return scancodes for key combinations. Eg: hitting ALT+ on my keyboard returns 0D (13 decimal). Hitting ALT+DEL returns 53 (83 decimal). From the returned keycode you can then edit \bin\capture.bat and change all occurences of the string "83" (ALT+DEL) to, for example, "13" (ALT+) so as to enable a screen capture using that hotkey.

The fedit\edit and setedit\bin\setedit are editors you can try to see if the keyboard responds OK. setedit looks good but is pretty big, so was hoping to find a smaller DOS edit replacement that is compatible with Macbooks. Maybe you can scout around and try a few different editors to see which works?

After install the latest driver for the eGPU, look like it's working now, but the bandwidth is only PCIE [email protected]. Is there anyway that I can improve it ?

Refer to First Steps -> 2. Which video card do you recommend for best performance on my system?, Pre-purchase FAQ -> 5. (Performance) What affects the performance of a eGPU? and Pre-purchase FAQ -> 13. What do I need to run the fastest x1.2Opt link shown in the implementations?

Short answer: your system is x1.2Opt capable. Just get a NVidia GTX460-336, GTX560Ti or GTX660 to gain x1.2Opt performance. x1.2Opt is your x1 2.0 link but the driver and card uses pci-e compression to accelerate performance anywhere from 20%-333%.

Hi there! Im trying to get rid of error 12. Im using a MacBook Pro Retina + GTX560ti + TH05 Thunderbolt Kit. Tried DSDT Override aswell as eGPU setup with no luck. While using eGPU setup I'm unable to disable GT650m (hangs up) while HD4000 can't be started.

Any Ideas?

15" MBPs with GT650M doesn't have it's iGPU as the activate bootup video device. Means no Optimus features (eg: Internal LCD mode) unless Apple disclose how to switch the iGPU as the active video device. I can see that your last compaction was a 36-bit one that ignored the dGPU. Unless the DSDT override is in place, you should be doing a 32-bit compaction ensuring the dGPU is not ignored.

Though it's not going to be successful. I'm already aware compaction fails on the MBP/MBA and even disk writes of Setup 1.1x don't work correctly. For the first, please switch off the system, do a clean boot with the eGPU attached and do a !Save diags->Compact fails, upload the results saved in \diag somewhere and link here for analysis. This info will be passed to the compact developer.

I'm beginning to fear that my laptop goes into 'no way' category, as it's not the most common one. So I'm asking if there is any hope with this combination:

Board:

PE4H-EC2C ver2.4

Main point now is confirming if your expresscard slot works. Are there any settings in the bios that disable the expresscard slot? I'd suggest set SW1 to position 1 (no delay), power on the eGPU, then hotplug it into the expresscard slot. Is the eGPU detected in Setup 1.1x or does a Device Manager scan show the a new device? If no success then I'd be testing a e-sata or USB 3.0 (pcie) expresscard to further test if the expresscard slot works.

pretty much answered at DIY eGPU experiences - Page 556 though not confirmed. If you can go a x2E configuration [port1+2] then would suggest getting an ATiAMD card. If can only do x2 using [port3+4] then consider if you prefer DX9 performance bias (ATiAMD) or DX10/DX11 (NVidia). NVidia a better choice if looking later to mate to an iGPU-equipped notebook (x1.Opt, x1.2Opt or Thunderbolt) such that can get Optimus internal LCD mode.

Thanks so much Tech Inferno Fan. My laptop is a x220 with i5-2410M so I think it's a Sandy Bridge system. I can understand the PE4L part but I don't really understand the TOLUD part. What should I do with my x220 when install a eGPU? Just let it changes TOLUD by itself or do I need to install/edit something? Can I use 8G RAM?

Thank you!

Lenovo X220 and X230 with latest bios will adjust TOLUD automatically for you. That makes them plug-n-play DIY eGPU systems, ie: don't need to install Setup 1.1x or do any DSDT overrides.

Hi guys,

Please help to take alook at my TOLUD :

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5179[/ATTACH]

Can I use more than 4G RAM?

And if i want to use my ATI 6770 with eGPU, should I buy PE4L or PE4H?

Thanks and sorry for my bad English

TOLUD=0xDFA00000 = 0xE000000 (rounded up) = 3.5GB. Means can't accomodate a eGPU in 32-bit PCI space. Then either need (1) a dynamic TOLUD. Systems like a Lenovo X220 will change TOLUD to be al lower value on bootup upon detecting a eGPU or (2) use a DSDT override to extend the root ACPI bridge out into 36-bit PCI space so a 36-bit PCI allocation of the eGPU is accepted by Win7.

If it's a Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge system then you want a PE4L-EC060a (expresscard slot) or PE4L-PM060A (mPCIe slot). Either of those will get you pci-e 2.0 performance. Older PE4L 1.5 or PE4H 2.4 are only capable of delivering pci-e 1.x performance levels, or half the bandwidth.

Recommend a NVidia Fermi or Keplar class eGPU for better x1.2Opt performance than an AMD one plus a transparent internal LCD mode courtesy of Optimus. Both those features dependent on an Intel HD iGPU being the primary bootup graphics device.

Hey,

I have problem with error 12.

System im using: HP 8560p upgraded to 12GB of mem. Chipset is Q68 (gen 2).

OS: Windows 7 Pro 64bit, Windows 8 Pro 64bit

GFX: Gigabyte HD 6870 1GB GDDR5

iGPU: Intel HD 3000

The adapter is PE4H 2.4 + expresscard.

The only way it compacts is if i ignore primary GPU (iGPU), then all these methods 32bit, 32bitA and 36bit will compact with eGPU.

PE4H is set delay jumper to 6.9 sec (otherwise it wouldnt boot if eGPU is on).

After Compaction i cannot boot to mbr or win7... it will never finish the loading screen, but it isnt freezed.

reboot seems to be normal.

Im using DIY eGPU Setup 1.10b5

Any ideas what is going wrong?

If all methods fail then it indicates there is insufficient 32-bit PCI space to accomodate your HD6870, which requires a contiguous 256MB block to allocate to. The solution is either:

1. Get a NVidia Fermi or Keplar (GTX460+) card which requires a 128MB+64MB+16MB PCI space, so is less problematic for allocation. It will also net you faster x1.2Opt performance.

2. If you did want to get your HD6870 to work then you'd need to use a DSDT override to extend the PCI allocation out into 36-bit PCI space.

what is different between PE4L-PM060A, PE4L-PM100A, PE4L-PM200A? and is im need egpu setup to?

PE4L-PM060A : 60cm mHDMI cable

PE4L-PM100A : 100cm mHDMI cable

PE4L-PM200A : 200cm mHDMI cable

If there is no bios option to disable your GT540M, then yes, you will need DIY eGPU Setup 1.1x to disable the GT540M. Only then will the NVidia driver engage pci-e compression netting you x1.2Opt performance.

i have one mPCIe slot so i can do 1.2Opt right?

one more things is i have order my PE4H-PM3N ver2.4 from Bplus yesterday via paypal, my payment status is completed but my order status still empty. is this because they dont have receive my payment or what?

PE4H-PM3N 2.4 can do x1.1Opt only. You need PE4L-PM060A 2.1b to do x1.2Opt with your system. Suggest change your order. The doubling of bandwidth x1.2Opt offers over x1.1Opt definitely worth it.

so i can use > 4gb ram in my laptop right?

this is my laptop spec

model asus a53s

cpu i5 2410m 2.3ghz

igpu intel hd3000

dgpu nvidia g540m

is this ok for my laptop to use egpu?

If you have an accessible mPCIe or expresscard slot, then yes.

Does anyone know what part of the application is responsible for writing to disk? If there is a particular module I can look into I will try and debug this myself. Cheers.

grub4dos mounts the disk image as a disk. It looks like there is some problem with writing to those images when used on a Macbook. Probably it's a Mac bios emulation issue that needs to be studied.

You can use compact manually at the command line (see compact commandline) and then do 'call ifs shell' to mount your NTFS partitions and copy across the resultant pci.bat, boot to Windows then copy pci.bat as v:\config . I've done some partial research there finding that compact doesn't solve the error 12 seen on Macbooks just yet. Likely the I/O port isn't being allocated properly. This problem has been highlighted to the compact author.

can anybody here check my tolud value?

it is ok for my laptop to do egpu?

Your TOLUD=AFA00000, which we round up to B0000000 (2.75GB). There is plenty of 32-bit PCI space to host a eGPU.

Thank u. Another question, do i need to disable my primary graphic card which is Nvidia GF310m. Also, there's no extra Mini PCIe port, can i remove my wifi adapter to connect to the eGPU?

The primary video card must remain enabled for an eGPU to work. In your case, there is no Intel HD graphics instead you have a G310M. You could use your wifi mPCIe slot for an eGPU. Overall your system is not a good one to attach an eGPU since you can only do x1 1.0 (no x1.Opt or x2). Means there will be very visible stuttering. Suggest instead getting a Lenovo E420, Dell Vostro 3450 or HP Probook 4430s. All those have an iGPU, are pci-e 2.0 capable, have an expresscard slot and are usually available in the s/h market for a low price. They are all x1.2Opt capable, much faster than what your G460+eGPU could deliver.

i have a problem with standby mode, if i was in standby mode, i have speed x1 egpu. So i must restart my notebook after standby for full speed (x4 egpu). I haven't found a solution.

You are running in x4 mode. When I did x2 testing I found a HP DV2000 did maintain the link width after a resume. A Dell Inspiron 1440 (x1E) would reset the port back to x1. So the system's bios is resetting the ports.

It may be technically possible to set the port to x4 in Windows. The way to do that would be using devcon to disable the port, then use setpci and a tool like r-w evverything to do PCI and memory writes. You'd be duplicating those done within Setup 1.x to set x4 mode. Once done, you'd enable the port again using devcon.

Recently I purchased the DIY eGPU application and it seemed to install fine by running all 3 bat files. I also have run the recent update.

The eGPU is detected successfully, however when in menu mode the application stops when I either attempt to disable the dGPU through it OR run the compaction process. It's odd cos the cursor on the screen keep flashing but does not respond to any input. When running the compaction it stops on the following line:

copy R:\config\pci.bat (ramdisk) -> c:\config\pci.bat (drv) ...

Anyone seen similar? It appears as though the application cannot write to the mounted drive.

I've also noticed I can't save screen shots, the setup of CUTEMOUSE fails and if I use the keyboard on the blue menu screen, I can't scroll past menu selection 2 (so i have to select with the numbers on the keyboard).

My setup is as follows:

Macbook Pro 17" Late 2012

OSX/Win 7 (Bootcamp)

TH05 Thunderbolt adapter

eGPU = MSI Radeon 7770

You can hit F2 to disable disk writes, where it will run completely off ramdisk. I've had another MBA/MBP user report disk write issues with Setup 1.1x. Haven't had access to a MBA/MBP to investigate what's going on.

You should disable your dGPU only if you have an iGPU listed. Reason being, Win7 will only allow the eGPU to work as long as the primary video card is active. My understanding is that the Radeon/NVidia equipped MBPs do not have the iGPU active in any OS other than MacOS. You can also use 'call iGPU [on off]' or 'call dGPU [on off]' at the command prompt to enable/disable the iGPU/dGPU followed by 'call grub4dos mbr' to chainload to the bootloader.

<wall of text>

I am now having an issue when I run startup.bat my computer reboots. Here is my current file:

call speedup lbacache

call iport g2 1

call iport dGPU off

call vidwait 60 10de:1183

call vidinit -d 10de:1183

call pci

call grub4dos win7

Is there some glaring error? If I understand correctly:

call speedup lbacache - to speed up boot time (not sure about details)

call iport g2 1 - force G2 link on my port (eGPU is port 1)

call iport dGPU off - disable dGPU

call vidwait 60 10de:1183 - part of the compaction process (?)

call vidinit -d 10de:1183 - no idea, guessing the compaction process

call pci - initiate pci.bat, part of the compaction process it seems

call grub4dos win7 - chainload to win7 (I have a hunch this might be where the error is located)

For the chainload, when it was set to:

call grub4dos mbr

It went to the grub command line and did not even go to the choose OS or anything. When I select chainload win7 from the menu, it goes to my OS selection (Windows 7 or Setup 1.x). The same occured if I chose chainload mbr, but I was hoping it would boot straight to Windows 7.

There may be an issue because I use Windows 7 Enterprise, but I am not certain.

Hopefully that wasn't too confusing. Thanks for your help.

</wall of text>

Chainloading works prior to you doing any other activities. Regardless of if you use 'chainload win7' or 'chainload 'mbr' it will show the Win7 bootup menu where you select Win7 or DIY eGPU Setup 1.x. Only workarounds there are:

1. Use a USB install of Setup 1.x so the Setup 1.x won't be a menuitem.

2. Decrease the default timeout of the bootmgr menuitem from 30s to 5s so you don't need to select anything from the menu. Do that with 'bcdedit /set {bootmgr} timeout 5'

As for the reboot problem, below I give details of your startup.bat. I'd suggest edit out the 'call pci' and 'call speedup lbacache' to see if the system chainloads OK. Add them back in one at a time to confirm which is the problem. The probably culprit is 'call pci' in which case try a more simplified PCI compaction like 32-bitA iGPU+eGPU. The resultant pci.bat may can be editted to a more simplified form.

call speedup lbacache - to speed up end-to-end-runtime processing of your startup.bat
call iport g2 1 - force G2 link on my port (eGPU is port 1)
call iport dGPU off - disable dGPU
call vidwait 60 10de:1183 - confirms the NVidia GTX660Ti is on the pci-e bus. Prompts to attach it if not found.
call vidinit -d 10de:1183  - sets the NVidia card to initialized state.
call pci - runs the results of your last pci compaction
call grub4dos win7 - chainload to win7 

Hi All,

My laptop is Lenovo E420 and my eGPU is GTX 560 Ti.

My eGPU is stable if I use the G1 speed. Every time I try to use the G2 speed (from eGPU setup), the external monitor shows nothing and I can't connect to it. There is no error12 though. What could be the problem?

Also, my eGPU stops in a sudden at times and I receive an error that says "the display driver stops responding and has been recovered". Could this be the mini HDMI cable?

Your PE4H isn't Gen2 capable. You need a PE4L 2.1b for that. The display driver suddenly not working could be due to the card being factory overclocked beyond it's capability (yes, it happens!) or the power supply being incapable of providing enough power to drive it. I'd suggest use MSI AfterBurner to lower the clocks and see if it solves the problem.

No no I realize that now that I might have been a little hasty in buying a DIY setup =). I just want to see if I can get at least some performance out of it but maybe thats not possible?. Right now I can allocate 128mb of pci space to it in setup 1.x but it runs like crap and is outperformed by my dGPU.

If i try to deprioritize my dGPU i can allocate 512mb of space but when i try to chainload it just gives me a blank prompt until i reset. And I cant remember what I did but i managed to allocate 512mb of space and boot up in 256 colors which i think is the "iGPU" taking over. Should i be looking at buying a suitable laptop instead or is there something i can do here?

"Runs like crap" is correct. You have no x1.Opt capability due to no active iGPU so the GT425M will be faster. Time to look for a x1.2Opt capable notebook. Budget ones being a 14/15/17" Dell Vostro 3x50/3x60, 13/14/15/17" HP Probook 4x30s or 14/15" Lenovo E420/E520. Note: Ivy Bridge Probook 4x40s and Lenovo E430/E530 no longer have expresscard slots.

Perfect! I have everything setup now, I certainly noticed the difference between the G1 and G2 link when playing Just Cause 2.

G1:

Textures and such - High

High res shadows - off

Bokeh filter - off

Water modeling (or w/e it is called) - off

x4 AA

x8 AF

After establishing the G2 link, I was able to change the setting to the below and still have a higher framerate (read: silky smooth)

G2:

High res shadows - on

Bokeh filter - on

Water modeling - on

x32 CSAA

x16 AF

(essentially everything on and maxed)

Surprisingly this was only game I had to turn the settings down on, Skyrim, Crysis 2, Borderlands 2 I could all play on max on a G1 link with great performance. I want to give Sleeping Dogs a whirl but I'll wait for a sale.

Is there anything I have left to do? Or things I can do for optimization/increase boot time (other than 'call speedup lbacache')?

Thanks for your help nando!

Gen2 pci-e link speed gives a noticable improvement in bandwidth heavy games. Others that don't tax the pci-e link will show a small if any improvement over Gen1 speed.

Adding 'call speedup lbacache' will reduce the end-to-end runtime of your startup.bat. Only optimizations after that are to evaluate if every line beneath that one is necessary in your startup.bat. A basic startup.bat will take < 1s to complete. Can test your startup.bat runtime within Setup 1.1x's menu-based interface using Apply config.Run startup.bat.

When I try to chainload win7 it starts up my Sony Vaio Rescue kit and wants to recover windows 7. Any thoughts on that?

My Computer :

Sony vaio VPCF13M1E

Intel i5 560M

dGPU : Nvidia Geforce 425m

eGPU : Nvidia Geforce GTX 460 v2

4gb RAM

What happens is 'chainload Win7' searches for the first instance of /bootmgr on your partitions. In your case, it finds it on your Recovery partition first before your Win7 installation. So easiest solution is to use 'chainload MBR' instead which is how the system boots. Or, if you want to go the more painful route use Chainloader->grub4dos.Prompt to query your partitions to find where your Win7 resides on then use Chainloader->!Edit config to manually set the partition for 'chainload Win7' to use.

NOTE: since your system lacks a iGPU, it's not going to get x1.Opt pci-e compression nor internal LCD mode. Not a good DIY eGPU candidate system.

hi Tech Inferno Fan

how can i get DIYeGPU-Setup-110b5 i'm in egypt??

I have sent you an email about this. If you get one more post up then I can PM you too.

Is this something that has to be set every boot?

Also, I added everything via F3 to the startup.bat however when I use this, it goes to the GRUB4DOS and not the the MBR or Win7. I see chainload at the end of the startup.bat list but I'm guessing it's the wrong one. What is the correct command to use? I have access to the .bat file within Windows (mount the eGPU related stuffs).

If you hit F3 after setting Gen2 link speed on your port it then it will be added to your startup.bat as 'call iport g2 [port number]'. The chainloading line will be the last item in your startup.bat and will appear either as 'call grub4dos mbr' (MBR) or 'call grub4dos win7' (bootmgr). Yes, you can manually edit your startup.bat within Win7. Just open v:\config\startup.bat. There is a bunch of comments there to help you along. When all finished you can boot via Setup 1.x and just select the "automated startup via startup.bat" to do everything for you. If there's a 'call speedup lbacache' at the very start of your startup.bat then it then it will add ~3secs to your normal Win7 bootup process to configure your ports/pcie configuration/etc. Easy.

Hi everyone.

I currently have an Acer 7741G which has the following;

i3-330m CPU

8gb ram

ATI Radeon HD 5470

Windows 7

I think I have a basic udnerstanding of how all of the EGPUS work but I could do with someone just helping me what the best setup would be?

I have attached a few images. The screenshots show what happens when I move the WI-FI card between the two slots. Am I right in thinking that because the ports are not 1 & 2 I cant double up the link? Also, which would give me the best reuslts, PE4L or the PE4H? Is the only difference that I would be able to create a 2x connection with the PE4H?

And I noticed that the programs says PCI-E 2.0? I am assuming this will be faster than just 1.0?

Any help would help massively!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5024[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5025[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5026[/ATTACH]

Your mPCIe slots are port2 and 4. Meaning you can't run a x2 link, as they need [port1+2] or [port3+4]. Your port1 is the wired LAN device.

Furthermore, while the Series-5 chipset has pci-e 2.0 specced ports, the spec only extends to power management. The link speed is still pci-e 1.x's 2.5GT/s. In addition, you don't have an iGPU so couldn't run x1.Opt. Overall, a poor eGPU candidate system. You'd be better off upgrading to a Sandy/Ivy Bridge notebook with an iGPU so could get x1.2Opt performance with a NVidia Fermo/Keplar card.

Hi All,

I have some noobish questions:

1. How do I know I'm running on Optimus compression? I'm using Zotac GTX 560 Ti.

2. My eGPU works on G1 speed. If I want to run it on G2 speed, what should I do? My laptop is Lenovo E420, with Intel i5 2430M, HM65 chipset.

3. I'm testing with GPU-Z and the GPU load reaches 99% all the time. Is this normal?

Many thanks in advance.

To get pci-e 2.0 speed use Setup 1.1x's PCIe ports->Link speed.G2. You'll know if Optimus pci-e compression is enabled if your 3dmark06 score is > 10k. If it's < 10k then pci-e compression isn't enabled. It should be enabled as your E420 has an primary bootup iGPU as the video device.

Does this mean I've succeeded in obtaining 1.2 opt or no? I was expecting it to say PCI-E 2.0x16 @ x1.2 2.0 or something but I don't know... Let me know if this worked!

You have pci-e 2.0 working OK. Per above response, you can then confirm if Optimus pci-e compression is working by checking the 3dmark06 result. We'd expect it to be < 10k if pci-e compression is disabled or > 10k if pci-e compression works.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5029[/ATTACH]

Pretty sure this means I only have a x1.1 link (seeing it doesn't match Redletter's)

I took this while running some games, it did not kick up to x1.2 link.

Suggestions?

When you look at your port listing in Setup 1.1x, does it say for example "[email protected] [Nvidia card]@x1.1" or does it say "[email protected] [NVidia card]@x1.1". If it's the latter then your bios has downgraded the expresscard slot to Gen1 (pci-e 1.x) speed. The way to fix this is use Setup 1.1's PCIe ports->Link speed.G2 to set your expresscard slot to Gen2 (pci-e 2.0).

Hello Nando4,

the problem is it freezes at the boot up either hit F8 then boot up or turn on eGPU at the boot up start of 4 dots (turn on eGPU at bootup only 1 sucess every like 20 tries is too much for me lol)

I have decided to start it all over again since the error 43. here what I did....

-uninstalled the setup 1.x and the drivers.

-put back the wirless card.

-reboot and put to sleep.

-removed the wireless card and plug in PN3N + turn on egpu + hotplug.

-wake up from sleep, laptop found the new video card.

-installed the DNA-AMD-GFX.

-success installed driver, error 12 shown saying to disable the other video card.

I'm bit worry about disable the Gforce GTX 560m on my laptop.... will I be able to go back and enable the GTX 560m if it doesn't work out without any problem?

Reboot without disable the GTX560m, it freezes.

going to start over again as above and install the setup 1.x and DNA-AMD-GFX. If I disable the dGPU in setup 1.x and use eGPU only and if it doesn't work out, would I be able to go back to setup 1.x to enable the dGPU without any problem to boot the win 7 normal?

Pizzazz

You G74SX hasn't got an iGPU you should not be disabling the dGPU as it's the only GPU in the system so the system. Disabling it would result in you booting up VGA mode only. Please remove that step and try again.

So are there any other solutions so far for a thunderbolt eGPU besides the Sonnet Echo Express Pro which costs a ridiculous $800?

I've love to see a DIY solution for a thunderbolt eGPU that fits into perhaps a standard microATX or ITX enclosure. I've made little circuits for myself before but this is wayy beyond me.

Most accessible would be a Sonnet Echo Express SE, hacked to allow external ATX power. Here's the budget options that I've found:

BPlus TH05 (0W) (x2 2.0) for $180

OWC Helios (0W) (x4 2.0) for $380 .

Sonnet Echo Express SE (60W) (x4 2.0) for $400

Hey all, new to the forum. http://forum.techinferno.com/off-topic/1834-introduce-yourself-11.html I'm looking for someone who has actually had a Lenovo X230T work with a eGPU setup. Right now I'm trying to get a Nvidia GTS250 to work on my 16GB X230T with no luck, and want to make sure I can even get the thing to work in the first place before upgrading video cards. Here's what I've tried so far:

Update Bios to 1.11 Sep '12 Bios for TOLUD support

Disabled HD4000

Turn off computer

Plugged everything in (PE4L 2.1b-GTS250-SWEX-Expresscard) and powered Video card up (fast fan)

Turned on X230T (Fan Slows, BIOS resets then starts again into windows)

At this point the GTS250 is in Code 12, install Nvidia Drivers anyways (Nvidia System Check detects and installs drivers)

Asks me to restart, so I restart with eGPU still powered on

Restart as normal (no bios reset)

Still code 12 on start up, no external monitor output through GTS250, Nvida Control panel says no Nvida device attached and no GFX card/monitor is avialable in Screen

Resolution menu

________________________________________________

My attempts to troubleshoot:

Remove 8GB stick (No joy)

Remove all 16GB and replace with original 4GB (No joy)

Change Expresscard speed from automatic to Generation 1 (no option for Generation 2 only automatic....no joy)

Change Jumper settings and Switch settings from 1-2 to 2-3 and I've tried each delay on each option (No joy)

Leave HD4000 enabled, start with eGPU on and attached, detach after bios, sleep computer from windows, reattach eGPU, resume and install NVIDIA drivers (No joy)

___________________________________________________

Other than performing a Setup 1.x or trying a newer Fermi Card.... I have no idea what could be the issue. I'd get a Fermi but want to make sure something isn't wrong with the X230T/my PE4L.

If anyone can offer some additional advice or get with me to determine the problem, that would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

Not clear why you are seeing what you are seeing. I've seen reports of a X230 + latest bios working with a Fermi/Keplar. A GTS250 is an older card which will likely use a different pci-e allocation to these newer cards. You suggested troubleshooting steps are exactly what I'd try to: testing a NVidia Fermi or using Setup 1.1x.

just wondering what benchmarks i should use for win xp, besides 3dmark06, and dmc...

XP is only has DX9 capable. DX10/DX11 came with Vista/Win7, the latter with recent AMD/NVidia cards. Meaning the only DX9 benchmarks we have on the first page is RE5-1280x800-var and 3dmark06.

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thank you for the reply Nando4,



yes you are right I'm using the wifi mPCIe port2 for the eGPU, I'm using the PE4H-PM3N. I changed to 32bit in PCI compaction in setup 1.x and it works and do turn on eGPU at bootup win7 logo. next thing is I get the error code 43. I tried the halt bootup either with F8 it freezes.



attached--[ATTACH=CONFIG]5015[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5016[/ATTACH]

Error43 is tricky as it could be hardware problem or pci-e configuration issue. First thing I'd do is try the video card in a desktop system to confirm it's all working well. Then use a generous-specced ATX PSU to power the eGPU (no 5V/12V issues). If that all passes then can try a Video cards->PCI space.!Save dump if using the video card on a system and it works well. Then move the saved file in config to your system and use Video cards->PCI space.Load dump to see if that solves it. Also you have Video cards->!Show state to see if ATiFlash reports any issues with the video card. As mentioned, mPCIe implementations are tricker than expresscard so you may need to play with various permutations to nail it.

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Got some worse news...

After my GTX 660 Ti it's not my GTX 480 which has just passed away and it's a murder.

The killer is my XBOX 360 psu mod.

I decided to recheck my XBOX 360 psu mod on my GTX 480 which I had undervolting and underclock for not killing the xbox psu. (the GPU was working well before I try and was quite stable.)

But it killed my GTX 480, which now acts exactly in the same way the GTX 660 ti does. It's recognized but won't work and will randomly switch on/off. Setup 1.X will at first recognize it and then it will disappear and the same thing can appear in now in device manager.



I don't understand, I'm pretty sure I've wire the xbox psu correctly, 12V with 12V and GND with GND etc...

What a great week... I want to take a hammer and knock that xbox 360 psu and knock it really hard :beat_shot: (but my girlfriend said no...)



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But my graphic cards aren't totally dead, since I could even driver for few second the external disply on the GTX 660 Ti before it crashes, and both card name are still recognized...

(except last time, windows mistaked the GTX 660 Ti for the GTX 680 O__o ?)



May be there's a way to repair them ? Or at least my GTX 480 which isn't anymore covered. Any idea ? May be it's just a fuse ?

And I also feel angry to send back my GTX 660 Ti... Because it was probably not DOA and I likely killed it myself... and I hate lying... but I hope I can have a replacement...

Can't help with repairing the video cards. What I can suggest however is double-check your PE4L and XBOX360 PSU wiring using a digital multimeter. First thing I'd do is confirm the floppy molex output plug from the xbox360 PSU that goes into the PE4L has the right voltages across it. Ie: 12V, GND and 5V. Then do a continunity test between the the 12V and GND points from the pci-e plug and floppy molex so are using the same reference.







If all checks out then one possibility remains, something I've seen before. Turns out I had a PE4L 2.1a whose internal wiring had somehow shorted out causing the eGPU to intermittently appear/disappear not to mention resetting my systemboard bios settings. I had the impression PE4L 2.1b had solved that problem by generous internal glueing down of the cable strands on the EC2C end but then again you are using a PE4L-PM3N 2.1b so may have endured more bending to fit it into the mPCIe slot. Worth investigating, especially if the XBOX360 PSU voltages all check out above.