TheDeathEffect

If you live in the US, one of the cheapest Buy Now prices for the PE4L is Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Bplus-PE4L-EC060A-Convert-add--ExpressCard/dp/B00GWM5ZLO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429231755&sr=8-1&keywords=pe4l#Ask They have gone for as low as $20 on eBay if you're patient As far as power supplies go, if you live in the US, you can get a 430W PSU for $15 depending on the sale 430W Corsair CX430 80+ Bronze Power Supply - Slickdeals.net As far as graphics cards go, AMD is usually the better value, unless you want to be able to run it on your laptop's screen (using optimus). You can get a pretty good value for used last gen Nvidia cards on eBay.

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2129-diy-egpu-troubleshooting-faq.html

I think you need to fix all of the errors before it will compile. In the DSDT Editor, after you go IASL > Compile, a popup will show how it went. If there are errors, the "Fix Errors" button should take care of most of them. You'll have to go back and fix any errors that it didn't.

If you have no Thunderbolt/ExpressCard ports, the only option is to use a mPCIe adapter. This involves taking apart the laptop's bottom panel and removing the wifi card, so kind of a pain. The best option is to consider a laptop with TB/EC the next time you're thinking of a new laptop. That pc is actually what's known as an ITX form factor. As far as I know, we only have Gen 2 capable PCIe adapters, so the PE4L v 2.1 will work for you. It also has a USB port so you can add a wifi dongle since you're giving up your mPCIe wifi card. Also, I don't think many people have attempted an eGPU on a desktop, so it should go either way. Since it is technically a desktop, I would imaging it would be plug-and-play (after installing drivers), but you won't know until you try it. Another thing you'll have to consider is whether or not it would be worth it to just upgrade your rig. While it would cost more, it will have a full size PCIe slot so you don't need to spend more money on a PE4L, and you're pretty much guaranteed compatibility with graphics cards. The extra cost will also go towards improved performance since you'd be getting more up-to-date technology.

Hardware Dell Latitude E5420 i7-2670QM + Windows 8.1/10 + 16GB RAM GTX 980 PE4C v 2.1a Dell DA-2 PSU Cheap camera bag I got to fit it all in SETUP a) While waiting for your stuff to arrive, check your BIOS version. Later BIOS versions use gen1 link speed, while earlier ones use gen2. I use A02 on mine. Perform a DSDT override to prevent error 12. 1) Boot into Windows with the eGPU unplugged. (If the BIOS detects the eGPU, it will only output video through it, disabling the internal LCD) 2) Once into Windows, plug in the eGPU and see if it is properly detected by Windows a) Open the device manager If the eGPU is not under display adapters or has error 43, unplug the eGPU wait 1 second and plug it in again. If you hotplug too quickly, the fan goes to 100% and it doesn't work. c) Repeat until the eGPU is showing up under display adapters without error 43. 3) Install the latest drivers 4) Once the drivers are done installing, turn off your laptop, unplug the eGPU and turn it on again. This is to prevent the BIOS from detecting the eGPU. 5) Once into Windows, plug in the eGPU until it is detected. Troubleshooting error 12 Perform a DSDT override error 43 Unplug the eGPU and plug it in again until the error goes away. Wait 1 second after unplugging it, or the fan might go to 100%. No internal display Plug a display into the eGPU to see if it is outputting a signal. The BIOS disables the internal display if it detects an eGPU at boot. Only runs at gen1 speed Flash an earlier BIOS version, the later ones default the eGPU to gen1 Works at gen1 but not gen2 This is either a problem with the adapter or GPU. In my case, my gts 570 didn't work, but my 980 did Results

TDP is not necessarily power consumption See What you need to search up is how much power it draws during load based on testing According to Recommended Watt number for GPU - Asus GTX570 DCII? - Graphics Cards - Graphics & Displays the 570 can draw up to 219W under load. Cutting it a little bit close to the DA-2's max watts. You might be able to use an AC adapter with the DA-2 if you experience instability due to the power limitation. Not sure if it actually works like that, though

http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2129-diy-egpu-troubleshooting-faq.html

You can get one of these P15S-P15F and then use the mPCI-e EXP GDC.

It's possible. It's also possible that you're not giving your power adapter enough breathing room. Try taking out the ATX PSU from your PC and using the 4-pin molex -> floppy cable (or just a floppy molex if your PSU is old). A powerful ATX PSU would remove any doubt in my mind of insufficient power.

You could wait for a new vrsion of PE4C with signal stability (probably soldered cable)

You won't know until you try. Pretty much any laptop with EC/mPCI-e can have an eGPU added to it. The question is how much hacking will be involved to get it working well.

Looks like this one has a response time of 30ms based on the spec sheet. The LG LP097QX1-SPA1/2/V or Samsung LTL097QL01-W01 have a better response time at 16ms (possible 8ms) but run for more.

The Y580 has Intel HM76 Express Chipset Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 [Laptop Specifications Central] which does not support an x2 link according to http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7969-pre-purchase-faq.html #6. After the 5 series chipset, Intel has been locking down on the pcie ports and made it much more difficult to establish x2 links. I read something about a leak that would allow an x2 link, but nothing really came up from that event.

Very likely your power supply. See: DC 12V 12A 10A 8A 55A 2A 1A 0 5A 5 5mm 2 5mm 2 1mm Power Supply Adapter Lots | eBayYou could also test it out with an ATX PSU using [url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/IDE-Molex-4-pin-Male-Sata-15-pin-Female-Floppy-Power-Adapter-Cable-lot-wholesale-/400637286444?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item5d47d7d82c[/url] if it wasn't included in the PE4L packaging.

Hmm did you plug in your PSU's 8 pin PCI-e adapter into the EXP GDC? You're suppposed to use the included cable to connect with the PSU's 24-pin main connector and 4-pin CPU connector. Then plug the 8 pin of the cable into the EXP GDC.

I've read a few posts about it being 1.1 at idle but 1.2 under load. Try running a benchmark/playing a game and keep an eye on a monitoring program to see if that changes. Another thing you can check is going into your BIOS to see if maybe it is set to gen 1 speeds. I'm not too familiar with the features of Setup 1.x so can't really say if you'd need it. As for Optimus, see http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2109-diy-egpu-experiences-%5Bversion-2-0%5D-44.html#post34147 Another method is to run 3dmark6 on your internal display and getting a score of 10k+

A few people have added an eGPU successfully to the same laptop http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2109-diy-egpu-experiences-%5Bversion-2-0%5D-251.html#post78643 I'm not too sure whether or not using a docking station will interfere with native laptop ports. As for a graphics card, since you seem like you'll be using an external display, you have no need for Nvidia Optimus. In that case, you should go with something from AMD, which is typically cheaper and seems to perform better as an eGPU. You should wait a few months until AMD and Nvidia release their new flagships, which is when the Great Price Wars of 2015 will begin (or so i hurr). The best option would probably be to upgrade your laptop, though. Since it only has mPCI-e gen 1, you won't be seeing very good performance unless you get x2 working.

Based on the leaderboard, PE4C v2.1 is stable with a GTX 970, right? That's the one I'm planning on getting once a bunch of open-box returns flood the market for cheap because of that VRAM issue. And it would be fine to use a 150 W DC power jack with the Dell DA-2 power adapter for high-powered cards, right?

I'm trying to do this myself. My setup currently includes this LCD controller board for ~30 USD shipped, and an iPad retina screen for ~30 USD shipped. It's USB-powered and fits into an iPad case (not that well- still rigging up a better DiY solution) . The power it needs is a little high, so you might need to turn down the brightness or it flickers. The only connection option is also DisplayPort, so that may limit your GFX options. The resolution is nice, but the screen may be small for your tastes. I'm not sure about the response time, so it may or may not be great for FPS games and others that rely on fast reactions. If you're not so interested in a DiY setup, you can go with something by GeChic (HDMI/VGA/mDP- typically with high response times) or Gaems m155 (HDMI- no response times published on this, interestingly).

Possibly a hardware issue. Check your PSU to make sure you're supplying enough wattage. The EXP GDC also does not supply the cleanest signal down the pci-e v2 lane. For that, you'll want to look into http://www.amazon.com/Bplus-PE4L-EC060A-Convert-add--ExpressCard/dp/B00GWM5ZLO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424300493&sr=8-3&keywords=pe4l Aside from that, I'll let someone else chime in

The reason for the performance hit is simple. Take the display on a y50 4k, for example. With a 4k display 3840 x 2160, it boasts an impressive 8,294,400 pixels. With each pixel being represented by a 24-bit color, we're looking at 199,065,600 bits of data just for a single frame. Of course, modern gamers demand 60 frames/sec. This means an internal display requires 11,943,936,000 bits/sec ~ 11Gbps. The mPCI-e v2 interface has a max of 5Gbps. This means we have negative 6Gbps to use for the data that needs to be processed, since the video feed alone is eating up the rest. It is possible to do what you're describing a la https://store.wacom.com/us/en/product/DTHW1310M/ . http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7969-pre-purchase-faq.html#post109073 #4 for some more info. It essentially involves getting an LCD controller board and a logic board to switch from internal vid feed to external.

You must be new. While using an external display gives the best performance, it is (sometimes) possible to utilize a graphics card with the internal LCD. The tech that allows this is Nvidia Optimus or Virtus Logic. How this works is the info is sent to the graphics card for processing and the video signal is compressed and piped back down the same pci-e lane for integrated (Intel HD/Intel Iris) to output to internal LCD. Since a signal is being sent 2 ways, you take a small performance hit. This is only possible on some laptops because you need integrated graphics. There are some laptops where the LCD is only connected to discrete graphics (like GTX 860M), so the integrated graphics can't output signal to LCD. I'm actually in the process of trying to get this to work because my laptop disables iGPU if the eGPU is detected on startup.

For error 43, see this thread http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2129-diy-egpu-troubleshooting-faq.html If your laptop is running slowly, one known cause is running 16GB of RAM. If not, just keep playing around with random settings and setups, you might hit gold eventually.

Error 12 is caused by there not being enough memory addressing for the eGPU (or something like that). Try a DSDT override http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7476-%5Bguide%5D-dsdt-override-fix-error-12-a.html#post102517 and post back with how that works. If chainloading fails, try changing the from mbr2 (the default) to mbr. If that also doesn't work, just keep playing around with it until it does.

Just got an email 15BGSF for 6% off sitewise on banggood for Chinese New Year. Valid until 2/26/15. It's a tiny bit better than the 6e6e0b code.