15" Acer Aspire 5742G + GTX660Ti@2Gbps+c-mPCIe1 (PE4C 1.2) + Win8.1 [Niskon]

[Niskon]

masterblaster 2.0 comment>> This is the first Windows 8.x implementation where a dormant iGPU was activated to enable x1.Opt (x1 pci-e compression) on a 1st gen i-core (dual core) system supplied by the manufacturer with a dGPU only.

First I want to say thank you for Tech Inferno Fan for his huge help the whole project and I want to apologize for my bad english. I'm from Germany and still a student so be surprised

A long time ago I saw a video with an graphics card running external connect to an notebook. I always thought about doing this by myself and one day I decided to order an eGPU adapter and the graphics card.

First the specs of my notebook:

Model: Acer Aspire 5742G

CPU: i7-640m (upgraded from an i3-370m) with dormant Intel HD iGPU not connect to LCD

GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT420m dGPU only

RAM: 8GB DDR3

So now we are getting to the things you need:

• free mPCI slot (unfortunately the Aspire 5742G has only one slot, so you need to remove the Wifi-Card. In my sitution no problem because I'm using lan either way.)
• PCIe -> mPCIe adapter (PE4L, PE4H or what I used the PE4C)
• A GPU of your choice (I chose a Nvidia GeForce GTX660Ti)
   
• A PSU that has enough power (I used an PSU with 550W found in the basement)
   
• Setup 1.x (buy it from Tech Inferno Fan for 25$) -> it's necessary, without you wouldn't be able to run the eGPU
   
• A case or something to store you eGPU + GPU (not necessary, but looks tidier)
   
• Windows 8.x (I wasn't successful with Win 7. If you want to know more about it, you can read more here.)
• External Display -> internal isn't working because the dGPU is disabled and the iGPU isn't connected to the LCD
   

Some explanations:

The biggest problem about the whole process is that the Aspire 5742G has a iGPU but it's not connect to the LCD and even if you have enabled it via Setup 1.x you are always getting Error 43 in device-manager. As seen on the screen here.

So the point is to enable the iGPU and disable the dGPU under Win8.x to get a working x1.Opt setup. The way of just disabling the dGPU via Setup 1.x is ending up in freezing and you have to restart the notebook. So I tried a lot of things with Tech Inferno Fan. So many things and I was close to just give up all. But then he had the great idea to just disable the PCI port where the dGPU is connected on. And that's the way how it's working

Let's get started:

1. You need to buy the Setup 1.x from Tech Inferno Fan. Here you will get more information about it.

2. Install it as mentioned in the email.

3. Then navigate to "C:\eGPU" and run the "eGPU-Setup-mount.bat" batch file to install Setup 1.x. Now you will see a new drive named "DIYEGPUIMG (V:)"

4. Go to "V:\config" and just replace the "startup.bat" with my startup.bat startup.zip. (It's just to make the whole process easier. It's configured by Tech Inferno Fan and optimized by me. So it's easy and fast to boot up.)

5. If you have done this all correctly you should get an option "DIY eGPU Setup 1.30" on startup. (When not make you sure you missed no step or done it wrong.)

6. Select the Setup 1.30 and run the "automated startup" (You are now using the startup.bat you have downlaoded an replaced with the stock.)

7. Some lines will now come up and then you get an message that your eGPU isn't connected. Just power on your eGPU (PSU + PCI adapter. Make sure, the switch shows "ON") and connect the mPCI adapter to your notebook.

8. If done correctly you now should be back in the selection menu where you can select Windows 8.x or the Setup 1.30. Now select Windows 8.x.

9. Windows is booting normal and you should see your desktop. (If not -> make sure you did everything right.)

10. Go to device manager and you will see two new devices. Click on install drivers and wait until it finished. (eGPU driver took about 10 minutes so don't be impatient.)

Important: It can happen that you get an bluescreen while installing the iGPU driver. I don't know why, perhaps because it isn't connected to the LCD. When this happens just start at point 6. and go on.

11. Now download the graphics card driver that is compabtile to your graphics card. Uninstall your old driver and install the new one. (You can do this step before starting with the eGPU but I don't think there is any difference in doing this after.)

12. When you have successfully installed your Nvidia driver now it's getting tricky but still such simple

13. Go to device manager and select "devices on connection" (German: "Geräte nach Verbindung") and search where the dGPU is connected on and just disable it. (I got an blackscreen and I needed to restart my laptop via the power button. But it doesn't matter you need to restart your notebook anyway to get fully working x1.Opt Setup.

14. After restart (just like point 6. you can check the device manager and you should only see the "Intel HD Graphics [iGPU] and your video card that you bought. In my situation the GTX660Ti [eGPU]. (If not -> check the steps above.).

15. You should now have a fully working (expect the internal screen isn't working) x1.Opt Setup. You can check this in the Nvidia cobtrol panel by checking if the "High-performance Nvidia processor" is available. Or go to GPU-Z and check it there.

16. At the end you can run 3dMark06 or other benchmark tools to compare your results with others. Or just play a game and enjoy it

Here is my 3dMark06 score. With the same notebook you should get similar results. (+/- depends in you graphics card.)

Something else to say:

There are some downsides of using the eGPU Setup with an Aspire 5742G. I'll list some of my established.

• Need of removing wifi card
• You need to plug the eGPU in after running the automated startup. Otherwise you'll running into reboot loop.
• You are not able to go into sleep mode and wake up successfully (biggest downside for me)
• You won't get the full graphics power as on an desktop computer

If you have any question or you think I forget something - feel free to ask me.

startup.zip

[jcagara08]

Wow that is one comprehensive review on that PE4C setup I am looking to build as only now I quite understood all that is required to start off with this experiment!

Thanks buddy!

The way I see it I will be doing the same ways that you have demoed and setup.

Thank God the PE4C V2.0 is such a beauty to miss, I will get all things gathered hopefully in the coming months.

Can you do us a favor? Do you mind posting images of your setup mate?

Regards,

Jes

[Shadow Knight]

Whats your average fps in gta v? or your average fps in any game and on what settings and res..I really want to know since I think 2GBPS will bottleneck..

[jkeychen]

Hi there,

really appreciate your work.. it's a good review and guide.. I'm thinking of doing the same thing on my old laptop.. Acer Aspire 4752G late 2012, processor i5-Sandy bridge 2.4Ghz, ram 4gb, windows 7 ultimate, iGPU Intel Hd 3000 with Optimus enabled Nvidia Geforce 610M.. I don't have any idea if it would work.. maybe you can give me some advises or walkthrough? since this is my 1st time.. i would be thankful for now as I found something good to do with my laptop.. hope it will work.. anyway, thanks again!!!

[Jarpy]

Hi !

Thanks for the description. People who have 5741G/5742G... etc. Did you modify the BIOS to access some options (disable dGPU) or something like that ? It's not mentioned in this thread.

Thanks

[Niskon]

Hey guys, I have to apologize for not answering your questions.

I wasn't active in this scene for a while because other things had priority in the past.

Sadly I have to tell you that I switched from my old Aspire 5742G to the new impressive iMac 5k.

Also I couldn't find any pictures of my setup although I thought I took some.

Unfortunately I can't give you any Benchmarks or average fps details of any game.

As the fact that I haven't done anything in this topic for a while I can't give you any advises for your own build.

I still know that i modified my bios to get the i7-640m running. But I think that was only needed because I bought this notebook with an i3-370m which didn't have the Turbo-Boost.

At the end I want to thank you for your good feedback.

If you have any questions feel free to ask me. Hopefully I'll be able to answer them.

[wall]

Hi, you said the display is not connected to the iGPU, I have a 480m and want to upgrade to a i7 720QM without integrated graphics but I heard I will lose display output.

Edited November 28, 2016 by wall
typo

[walterego221]

hi guys, I have a 5742G with 540m, windows 7, a BEAST v8.4d and a GTX670.
When I connect everything and I turn on the laptop screen remains dark and the adapter for the GPU turns on a green LED.
Is there an easy way for this to work?
thank you so much 

[Niskon]

On 28.11.2016 at 10:07 PM, wall said:

Hi, you said the display is not connected to the iGPU, I have a 480m and want to upgrade to a i7 720QM without integrated graphics but I heard I will lose display output.

 

No you will not but you will lose Optimus technologie. In the first Gen. Intel you'll drive better with the i7 640M.

 

On 24.2.2017 at 3:56 PM, walterego221 said:

hi guys, I have a 5742G with 540m, windows 7, a BEAST v8.4d and a GTX670.
When I connect everything and I turn on the laptop screen remains dark and the adapter for the GPU turns on a green LED.
Is there an easy way for this to work?
thank you so much 

 

I did this setup a long time ago so I can't say exactly what's wrong but there must be something wrong with your configuration.

 

 

Sorry for the late replys but I wasn't able to work on this project due to lack of time.

Now I am working on a new project with a Dell ThinkPad T420.

[dubylee]

Just wondering. Did you modify the bios?