M.2 NGFF eGPU Possible?

[horalph]

HI,

I noticed in stickied "EGPU canadidate system list" thread it shows NGFF.M2 PCIe (8Gbps) being a recommended egpu adapter. The link provided leads to the mpcie adapter.

My question does anyone have knowledge if it is possible to use the m.2 slot for egpu setup?

Thanks!

[JOE X]

HI,

I noticed in stickied "EGPU canadidate system list" thread it shows NGFF.M2 PCIe (8Gbps) being a recommended egpu adapter. The link provided leads to the mpcie adapter.

My question does anyone have knowledge if it is possible to use the m.2 slot for egpu setup?

Thanks!

I have the same question as horalph, although more specifically I was wondering if there are any B key connectors or A key to B key adapters for the EXP GDC V7 (or a similar alternative). Any information on a M.2/NGFF (preferably B key) eGPU setup would be highly appreciated.

[Southsalt]

I have the same question as horalph, although more specifically I was wondering if there are any B key connectors or A key to B key adapters for the EXP GDC V7 (or a similar alternative). Any information on a M.2/NGFF (preferably B key) eGPU setup would be highly appreciated.

Here is what I got so far:

Aliexpress and Yoybuy offer EXP GDC beast with M.2 NGFF cable.

EXP GDC Laptop External External PCI E graphics card BEAST NGFF Set-in Laptop Docking Stations from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Yoybuy EXP GDC

I chatted a bit with herocloud (over aliexpress) about a possibility for those, who already got a EXP GDC with mpcie or expresscard adapter cable. They said its no problem, just order a set and leave a note, they will refund the money for the adapter and just ship out the cable (if I got it right). The cable is not separately to buy in the web shop. I´m doing that in the next few days.

The EXP GDC is just capable for M.2 (NGFF) Key A (they say)

Key M solution would be with P4SM2 (PCIe X4 to M.2 Adapter) and riser.

Laptops (I7quad) I found with Key A:

Lenovo L540, W540, T540p (but maybe Key E), has also Key B (there may be more models with M.2 ports in this generation but I haven´t researched further)

MSI GE62 and GE72 Key A or Key E (WLAN), has also one Key M Pcie x4 (and 2 M.2 Sata)

Clevo P65x P67x P75x P77x with Key A, Key B, Key M Pcie x4

Clevo N15xSC and N15xSD with Key A, Key B, Key M Pcie x4

Clevo N170SD with Key A and Key M Pcie x4

Laptops with just Key M

Asus n751 g751 Key M and mpcie (WLAN)

Laptops with Key M but haven't found what port the WLAN is using (and WWAN)

Asus g501

Asus Zenbook nx500jk

Hp Zbook 15/17 G2

Didn´t got smart on the Acer aspire V15, but it has no bottom lid.

I would love to go with the Clevo N15xSC with cheaper gtx 950m but there are no resellers yet. The Asus g751 and n751 are the cheapest in this list but don´t offer Key A and that would be to risky without knowing if it works.

So I may go with the Clevo N15xSD which offers Key A, B and M, I will decide in the next few days.

[JOE X]

Thank you for the information, Southsalt. Looks like I'll have to wait and see if a B key cable/adapter comes out in the future.

[Southsalt]

Thank you for the information, Southsalt. Looks like I'll have to wait and see if a B key cable/adapter comes out in the future.

This one should be Key B compatible: P14S-P14FP (M.2 to PCIe X2 Edge Extender Board)

What laptop would it be? You gotta check if the M.2 connector is not just fed by sata. If the connector is designated for a WWAN module you should be fine.

[JOE X]

This one should be Key B compatible: P14S-P14FP (M.2 to PCIe X2 Edge Extender Board)

What laptop would it be? You gotta check if the M.2 connector is not just fed by sata. If the connector is designated for a WWAN module you should be fine.

The P14S-P14FP would work, however in its description it says, "PCI Express base Specification 1.1 (Up to 2.5Gpbs)", which may be too limiting. I have a Lenovo T440p (14" version of T540p without ExpressCard slot and numpad keys) which has an extra B key slot capable of PCIe x2. I think the WiFi module might be an A key, but it is in a corner (while the B key is more accessible) and I like having WiFi and Bluetooth so I would prefer not using the A key for an eGPU.

[Mongoose135]

I was wondering if anyone here has tried out the P4SM2 (with an M Key M.2 Slot) and a riser yet?

[Southsalt]

Can confirm EXP GDC Beast M.2 Key A eGPU works! (x1 2.0 so far, goal is x2 2.0)

Received M.2 Cable Wednesday last week from Aliexpress (had EXP GDC already), took two and a half week.

Received Laptop this Wednesday, a Clevo P751ZM with onboard gtx 965m (MXM) and desktop chipset z97 with i7 4790S.

The main hassle was to get to the WLAN card below the keyboard, but was easier than i thought.

Plug in cable, install driver, profit!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14964[/ATTACH]

Strangely I didn't had to uninstall or deactivate the nvidia card, they can run next to each other. In fact if I deactivate the nvidia card in the device manager and reboot the system it says that the AMD driver couldn't start. If i just reactivate the nvida card and reboot everything is normal and the eGPU works.

Benchmark Graphics Score (R9 290x)

3DMark06 AMD Radeon R9 290X video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4790S Processor,Notebook P750ZM 30978

3DMark11 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4790S Processor,Notebook P750ZM 13799 (it still says gtx 965m but it definitely ran with the AMD card)

Firestrike NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4790S Processor,Notebook P750ZM 10007 (same here)

There was one crash during 3DMark06 but since then there were no crashes during benchmarks or gaming.

I may have to install setup 1.30 again to see if my system can provide x2

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Can confirm EXP GDC Beast M.2 Key A eGPU works! (x1 2.0 so far, goal is x2 2.0

...

I may have to install setup 1.30 again to see if my system can provide x2

Which EXP GDC do you have? Worth pulling it apart to see if it even has the second lane wired up to the pcie slot to even do x2. I know the PE4C is x2 capable.

[Southsalt]

Which EXP GDC do you have? Worth pulling it apart to see if it even has the second lane wired up to the pcie slot to even do x2. I know the PE4C is x2 capable.

I have a EXP GDC V7 Beast originally with EC cable.

In the Aliexpress product detail it says:

EXP GDC V7.0 parameters

The main parameters:

Support for PCI-E X16, the actual X1 mode (according to different notebook configuration can be upgraded to X2 mode)

I´m not really sure what that means.

Funny thing, I have A PE4C 2.1 too. But would it provide a x2 over one lane? I was running the PE4C on my Dell Studio 1558 on a x2 link but with two mPCIe cables.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I have a EXP GDC V7 Beast originally with EC cable.

In the Aliexpress product detail it says:

I´m not really sure what that means.

Funny thing, I have A PE4C 2.1 too. But would it provide a x2 over one lane? I was running the PE4C on my Dell Studio 1558 on a x2 link but with two mPCIe cables.

Thank you for your confirmation. I too was aware that only EXP GDC V7 (Ares) was a x2 capable device. I believe V6 and V8 (Beast) are only x1.

PE4C would require a cable that links it's 2 x1 HDMI ports together to one NGFF M.2 card as a x2 2.0 link.

[Southsalt]

Thank you for your confirmation. I too was aware that only EXP GDC V7 (Ares) was a x2 capable device. I believe V6 and V8 (Beast) are only x1.

Well i just asked at herocloud (over aliexpress)and got this brief answer:

X1 2.0

• hero cloud
  18:44 May 23,2015
  X1 2.0
  
• Me
  09:45 May 23,2015
  Hello hero cloud!
  I have a question again!
  Received cable laste week and everything works fine with the EXP GDC, had no driver related hassles or crashes during gaming or benchmarking so far.
  GPUZ says that the connection I have to the eGPU is x1 2.0 (4gbps) - my benchmarks with R9 290X can confirm that.
  So my laptops (Clevo P751ZM) M.2 Key A should be capable hostside Pcie x2.
  Is my EXP GDC Beast V7 capable of the M.2 Key A Pcie x2 2.0?
  I would like to get to the x2 2.0 - it would double the bandwidth and i would get out more performance from my graphics card. (even if it already kicks the onboard gtx 965m in the ass)
  Any anser woud be highly appreciated!
  

[silverscouts]

Hi guys,

I bought a G501 without the thunderbolt port and was very disappointed. All my hopes of plug'N'play eGPU were lost.

I was wondering, can we use the PCIe x4 M.2 (NGFF) port (which is dormant at the moment) to connect the eGPU? It should support 32GB/s theoretically. It has been used to connect high speed SSD's that give 1.4 GB/s sequential speeds. Can we connect an eGPU's to this port.

I found PCIe X4 to M.2 (NGFF) Adapter

adapter from BPlus.

Link : P4SM2 (PCIe X4 to M.2 Adapter)

Is it possible to connect a GPU to this adapter. What will be the effect on bandwidth? can I run some M.2 extender cable to make it a port on my Laptop so I can Plug'N'Play the eGPU?

I am a complete noob in this matter, any ideas if this can work?

Thanks in advance guys.

[silverscouts]

From what I understand, the port has a M-key connector so it offers 4 lanes PCIe x4. B+M can be connected for just two lanes, which is what most M.2 SSD's use. is There an adapter that takes advantage of this? Will any existing adapters work in my case?

[feelseasy]

I am also waiting to see if anyone has tried an M key M.2 PCI-e x4 connection. Mostly because the newer clevo's have the port. As i understand it an x4 would give egpu throughput the same as thunderbolt 3.0 at a cheaper cost. Please correct me if im wrong.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I am also waiting to see if anyone has tried an M key M.2 PCI-e x4 connection. Mostly because the newer clevo's have the port. As i understand it an x4 would give egpu throughput the same as thunderbolt 3.0 at a cheaper cost. Please correct me if im wrong.

Check out http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/10368-intel-nuc5i5ryk-gtx970%4016gbps-ngff-m2-p4sm2-win8-%5Bwormholev2%5D.html#post137598

[chanzu]

hi, i found these two (vaio pro & dell xps 13 2015) have m.2 key m socket, is it egpu compatible?

here's the picture of socket

vaio pro

dell xps 13

DELL XPS 13 Graphic Pro

[sutton101]

hi, i found these two (vaio pro & dell xps 13 2015) have m.2 key m socket, is it egpu compatible?

here's the picture of socket

vaio pro

dell xps 13

DELL XPS 13 Graphic Pro

Short answer is no, long answer most likely not.

1) if you look here, M.2 NGFF SSD Compatibility List | My Digital Discount (Page 2), they say the xps 13 is only sata capable, so not suitable for egpu, the sony has a 50:50 chance

2) in the sony, and most like dell, the M.2 slot is the only hard drive option, see image, you would have a m.2 egpu or internal hard drive.

3) as far as I'm aware there are no M socket adapters suitable for laptops

[chanzu]

Short answer is no, long answer most likely not.

1) if you look here, M.2 NGFF SSD Compatibility List | My Digital Discount (Page 2), they say the xps 13 is only sata capable, so not suitable for egpu, the sony has a 50:50 chance

2) in the sony, and most like dell, the M.2 slot is the only hard drive option, see image, you would have a m.2 egpu or internal hard drive.

3) as far as I'm aware there are no M socket adapters suitable for laptops

wow, that list really help, thanks!

but what do you mean by 50:50 chance?

from what i know vaio pro have 2 kinds of ssd, msata ssd and pcie ssd.

is that means the pcie one egpu compatible?

oh and from nando post,

Check out http://forum.techinferno.com/provisional-guides/10368-intel-nuc5i5ryk-gtx970%4016gbps-ngff-m2-p4sm2-win8-%5Bwormholev2%5D.html#post137598

the egpu works using mini pc with Intel NUC5i5RYK + [email protected] (P4SM2)

while on mydigitaldiscount says that type is sata m.2 ngff

it's really confusing

[Ferkosza]

Hi Guys,

This is a very nice thread, thanks for all the information in it!

I currently own a laptop with the good old PCIe 2.0 x1 connection, which has its bandwidth limits with stronger VGAs. So naturally I turned to the M.2 standard.

Could anybody please tell me whether the 'A' and 'B' keyed M.2 sockets provide PCIe 2.0 or PCIe 3.0 interface? The difference is big since 3.0 is twice as fast as 2.0. Or does this entirely depend on the chipset of the laptop mainboard? Should Haswell machines then provide PCIe 3.0 ? Thanks for your help!

[mantra]

Hi,

I have a question and hope that someone of you is able to give me an answer...

I own a Lenovo T440p with GF730m which is "a bit" underguned for todays gaming, so I´m in the ring for a solution. As far as I understood this thread, it may be possible to go with a egpu via m.2. Does anybody know if that´s possible wiht my notebook?

Thanks and regards

Robert