Jump to content

BPlus PE4C V3/V2 discussion


useafo

Recommended Posts

Update:

So I have found this thread: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-pc/9801-12-lenovo-thinkpad-x220-gtx670@4gbps-c-ec2-pe4c-2-1-win7-64-[harris].html where the OP said: "Lenovo listened to their userbase and updated the BIOS to do a dynamic TOLUD adjustment when an EC device is detected". So I powered off my laptop and connect it with the PE4C EC, so that it can detect and do its dynamic adjustment in the bios. And it worked, the error code 12 message is gone; the video card is listed as "working properly". But in fact it isn't, GPU-Z is able to detect the card and read out all the video card's specs, but in the sensor tab, nothing is running (clocked at 0Mhz, temp at 0, fan speed --RPM etc.) Any ideas how would it turn out this way? Thanks in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since there have not been any replies I figured this probably isn't the right place to look for help. Sorry for the inconvenience. I am no where near a technical person and I do want to try to get the setup working. Can anyone refer a forum/link so I can ask amature questions to get some help?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update:

So I have found this thread: http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides-pc/9801-12-lenovo-thinkpad-x220-gtx670@4gbps-c-ec2-pe4c-2-1-win7-64-[harris].html where the OP said: "Lenovo listened to their userbase and updated the BIOS to do a dynamic TOLUD adjustment when an EC device is detected". So I powered off my laptop and connect it with the PE4C EC, so that it can detect and do its dynamic adjustment in the bios. And it worked, the error code 12 message is gone; the video card is listed as "working properly". But in fact it isn't, GPU-Z is able to detect the card and read out all the video card's specs, but in the sensor tab, nothing is running (clocked at 0Mhz, temp at 0, fan speed --RPM etc.) Any ideas how would it turn out this way? Thanks in advance!

My guess is going to be signal instability. Go into the BIOS and (if possible) set the link speed of the GPU to gen 1. Otherwise, flashing different BIOS versions may have a default links speed of gen 1. On my Dell Latitude e5420, early BIOS versions default my GPU to gen 2, but later ones are only gen 1 speeds if plugging in a GPU.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi there, While PE4C has several advantages, how to correctly "hot plug" it like previous PE4L? My DELL L502x won't boot if eGPU is connected, so hot plugging is the only way. With PE4L, you could power the card up while not plug the mPCIe end into the computer. However with PE4C the DA-2 port won't turn green unless the mPCIe is connected to a running computer. This makes me nervous because I want to make sure power is running before I do hot plug to prevent hardware damage, but, can't find a correct way to do it with PE4C.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there, While PE4C has several advantages, how to correctly "hot plug" it like previous PE4L? My DELL L502x won't boot if eGPU is connected, so hot plugging is the only way. With PE4L, you could power the card up while not plug the mPCIe end into the computer. However with PE4C the DA-2 port won't turn green unless the mPCIe is connected to a running computer. This makes me nervous because I want to make sure power is running before I do hot plug to prevent hardware damage, but, can't find a correct way to do it with PE4C.

Another advantage of the PE4C is that it has delay switches on it so that it can be plugged into a system but not initiated at startup to avoid BIOS detection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another advantage of the PE4C is that it has delay switches on it so that it can be plugged into a system but not initiated at startup to avoid BIOS detection.

Very unfortunately that doesn't work for me.

It has two switches, SW1 and SW2. Changing SW1 has 0 effect to me, while, for SW2:

position #1 (off) will hang the machine when boot

position #2 and #3 would successfully let the machine boot, but the GPU would never be detected, unless I do a hot plug.

I guess the reason behind is that my BIOS will automatically disable the port if no device is connected upon boot. But don't know how to disable this feature. Thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very unfortunately that doesn't work for me.

It has two switches, SW1 and SW2. Changing SW1 has 0 effect to me, while, for SW2:

position #1 (off) will hang the machine when boot

position #2 and #3 would successfully let the machine boot, but the GPU would never be detected, unless I do a hot plug.

I guess the reason behind is that my BIOS will automatically disable the port if no device is connected upon boot. But don't know how to disable this feature. Thoughts?

I think setup 1.3 software has the ability to activate disabled ports, not 100% sure, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think setup 1.3 software has the ability to activate disabled ports, not 100% sure, though.

Tried but failed :(.

For now the only way to make sure it will work is plug a valid pcie device(including pe4c with DA-2 unplugged) on that port upon boot and switch (hot plug) to GPU before setup 1.3 then do a pcie hot reset.

It seems to me that it would be best if I can have a power switch on PE4C.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tried but failed :(.

For now the only way to make sure it will work is plug a valid pcie device(including pe4c with DA-2 unplugged) on that port upon boot and switch (hot plug) to GPU before setup 1.3 then do a pcie hot reset.

It seems to me that it would be best if I can have a power switch on PE4C.

There was another user here who reported using something like this http://www.amazon.com/WalterDrake-3-Plug-Outlet-Switch/dp/B00O8YNMVI/ref=pd_sim_23_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CHV3B0X0Q6WJ83JK05A

Except it was a single outlet, not triple.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was another user here who reported using something like this http://www.amazon.com/WalterDrake-3-Plug-Outlet-Switch/dp/B00O8YNMVI/ref=pd_sim_23_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CHV3B0X0Q6WJ83JK05A

Except it was a single outlet, not triple.

LOL, I could manually plug DA-2 without this :). But what I want is something without manual involvement. I'm thinking of using a time delay relay on the power link.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More experiments showed that although my BIOS would disable the pcie port if idle, that is not the root reason why the switches won't work. Let's assume BIOS side is okay as I found a way to force them enabled.

However, I found that if DA-2 is connected and switches are at any position that won't hang, when I power up the laptop, it was the GPU side - not the laptop side, would have the problem. Basically that will result GPU fan running at maximum speed and undetectable (even you disconnect DA-2 and replug again). I speculate when machine boots up it sends some special command that makes the board or the GPU stuck at this weird mode. Only hot plug the pcie end would solve the problem (disconnecting pcie will shut down GPU side).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More experiments showed that although my BIOS would disable the pcie port if idle, that is not the root reason why the switches won't work. Let's assume BIOS side is okay as I found a way to force them enabled.

However, I found that if DA-2 is connected and switches are at any position that won't hang, when I power up the laptop, it was the GPU side - not the laptop side, would have the problem. Basically that will result GPU fan running at maximum speed and undetectable (even you disconnect DA-2 and replug again). I speculate when machine boots up it sends some special command that makes the board or the GPU stuck at this weird mode. Only hot plug the pcie end would solve the problem (disconnecting pcie will shut down GPU side).

I performed more tests even including try similar things on a PE4L. Basically PE4L is indeed a subset of PE4C. They behave similarly on hot plugging and both hung on boot when CLKRUN delay is off.

As a conclusion, the more reliable way to workaround the problem is still a delayed power link, not the CLKRUN delay.

To explain this, I have came up with a theory: upon boot or hot plugging pci bus will send something to GPU to correctly initialize it, and this signal will also be blocked by the CLKRUN delay if set. For GPU side, power up + no init signal will result in a locked up state, in which PCIe soft reset won't help. So what we need is this initialization signal (can't be re-issued using setup 1.x). However accepting the signal on boot is impossible because without CLKRUN the laptop will hang. So the only option left is hotplugging (also triggers the initialization signal), and it is easier to hotplugging the DA-2 side rather than mPCIE side.

Update: I finally solved the problem perfectly using a tiny piece of electric tape, please see http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/10812-pe4x-series-understanding-clkreq-perst-delay.html#post142689 for details!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Is there anywhere I can purchase a replacement mPCIE to hdmi cable for the BPlus PE4L v2.1? I would rather not buy a whole new eGPU setup if possible.

Amazon.com: Bplus:PM3N; mini PCIe Card to converted port: Computers & Accessories ?

Amazon.com: Bplus: PCIEMM-060A, Male to Male cable 60cm(Y19-H02-060): Computers & Accessories ?

I hear that the cable is just a regular mini HDMI, so you might be able to save a few bucks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,

Just a simple question. Is it possible to combine multiple power supplies for PE4C V3.0 to get more power? For example could I put a 220W Dell Da-2 PSU to the 8-pin input and put a generic 12v 60W PSU to the round DC plug to get a combined power of 280W for the graphics card?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,

Just a simple question. Is it possible to combine multiple power supplies for PE4C V3.0 to get more power? For example could I put a 220W Dell Da-2 PSU to the 8-pin input and put a generic 12v 60W PSU to the round DC plug to get a combined power of 280W for the graphics card?

I have a feeling that you can, though it eould be nice to have someonr else confirm. Tbh, at that point i'd just use an atx psu rather than two big weaker ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,

Just a simple question. Is it possible to combine multiple power supplies for PE4C V3.0 to get more power? For example could I put a 220W Dell Da-2 PSU to the 8-pin input and put a generic 12v 60W PSU to the round DC plug to get a combined power of 280W for the graphics card?

Don't mix power sources. It will make you unhappy.

Use only one and don't have to wonder about stuff suddenly happening. If it's not enough you'll have to get a single bigger power source, either ATX as sangemaru wrote or SFX if it should be smaller. You may also have a look for fully modular ATX PSUs so that you only need to attach the cables to the PSU that you really need instead of that huge cable trunk you've usually got.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't mix power sources. It will make you unhappy.

Use only one and don't have to wonder about stuff suddenly happening. If it's not enough you'll have to get a single bigger power source, either ATX as sangemaru wrote or SFX if it should be smaller. You may also have a look for fully modular ATX PSUs so that you only need to attach the cables to the PSU that you really need instead of that huge cable trunk you've usually got.

Yeah it sounds wiser to just stick to use one power supply.

My current plan is to use PE4C V3.0 with Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 graphics card. What is your opinion is the Dell DA-2 PSU sufficient for the GTX 680? I looked Graphics card reviews from techpowerup and it seems that the peak power draw of the GTX 680 during gaming is about 185-190W but during stress testing the power draw could peak as high as 230W which is more than DA-2 can supply.

I rather not use an ATX power supply so I try to stick with the DA-2. So I was wondering that I could undervolt/underclock the GTX 680 to reduce the power draw. It really does not matter for me if the cards performance decreases a little bit because of undervolting/underclocking as it still would be miles away from my Fujitsu NH532 laptops geforce GT640M-LE :D

Would the undervolting/underclocking be a easily achieved by software or does it require a BIOS mod for the graphics card?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you already have the DA-2? If yes, then you can flash undervolted vbios to keep it more efficient.

But if you don't already have DA-2, consider using an ATX PSU and pushing your card: GTX 680 Volt Mod | Overclockers Forums

There's a LOT of upside there (if you already have, or can get a cheap waterblock).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah it sounds wiser to just stick to use one power supply.

My current plan is to use PE4C V3.0 with Nvidia Geforce GTX 680 graphics card. What is your opinion is the Dell DA-2 PSU sufficient for the GTX 680? I looked Graphics card reviews from techpowerup and it seems that the peak power draw of the GTX 680 during gaming is about 185-190W but during stress testing the power draw could peak as high as 230W which is more than DA-2 can supply.

I rather not use an ATX power supply so I try to stick with the DA-2. So I was wondering that I could undervolt/underclock the GTX 680 to reduce the power draw. It really does not matter for me if the cards performance decreases a little bit because of undervolting/underclocking as it still would be miles away from my Fujitsu NH532 laptops geforce GT640M-LE :D

Would the undervolting/underclocking be a easily achieved by software or does it require a BIOS mod for the graphics card?

You should be fine if you've got a model with 2 x 6 pin PCIe slots. Many of us Macbook users have a GTX 970 in use with a DA-2 and that card has those 2 x 6 pin PCIe slots and it works fine. Using this for half a year already and some other people a bit longer.

The GTX 970 can also peak over the PSUs maximum but it didn't happen to me ever in usual scenarios like games.

If you experience shutdowns you can still reduce clocks and voltage a bit or consider selling the GTX 680 and buying a GTX 960 which needs only 1 x 6 pin PCIe but has roughly the same performance level as the GTX 680/770.

Do you already have the DA-2? If yes, then you can flash undervolted vbios to keep it more efficient.

But if you don't already have DA-2, consider using an ATX PSU and pushing your card: GTX 680 Volt Mod | Overclockers Forums

There's a LOT of upside there (if you already have, or can get a cheap waterblock).

It doesn't sound like he's going to benchmark the hell out of his card and he doesn't want an ATX PSU which I can understand as it's not that handy. So recommending to get an ATX PSU to push the card and getting a waterblock seems a bit off to me.

Also, he should be fine at all. I thought GTX 680 had 1 x 6 pin and 1 x 8 pin at first, which would be too much, but 2 x 6 pin is fine in most cases.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You should be fine if you've got a model with 2 x 6 pin PCIe slots. Many of us Macbook users have a GTX 970 in use with a DA-2 and that card has those 2 x 6 pin PCIe slots and it works fine. Using this for half a year already and some other people a bit longer.

The GTX 970 can also peak over the PSUs maximum but it didn't happen to me ever in usual scenarios like games.

If you experience shutdowns you can still reduce clocks and voltage a bit or consider selling the GTX 680 and buying a GTX 960 which needs only 1 x 6 pin PCIe but has roughly the same performance level as the GTX 680/770.

It doesn't sound like he's going to benchmark the hell out of his card and he doesn't want an ATX PSU which I can understand as it's not that handy. So recommending to get an ATX PSU to push the card and getting a waterblock seems a bit off to me.

Also, he should be fine at all. I thought GTX 680 had 1 x 6 pin and 1 x 8 pin at first, which would be too much, but 2 x 6 pin is fine in most cases.

Don't mind me, i'm just feeling like tweaking hardware at the moment :D Besides, you never know who might be interested :D

JuZ0, i think you can use Kepler Bios Tweaker to undervolt your vbios.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry about the overall quality of the video, but what happens is without my MSI R9 380 gpu that i have been using on this adapter for about a month or so, all of a sudden it started doing this out of nowhere with no reason. I don't know what the cause of this is so I am here, Do you guys think this is the adapter going bad since it will no longer run with my gpu installed, I have a 430W thermaltake psu and this started occurring when I put my computer to sleep tried to get on it after a while so I could do some gaming and it no longer worked out of the blue. Any ideas? by the way this is version 3.0 of the adapter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
US$88-shipped PE4C 3.0 just listed

This will should go a long way towards eliminating the "NVidia driver has stopped responding" glitches seen on the socketted EXP GDC and PE4C 2.x. This product costs a bit more than a US$50-delivered EXP GDC but (imho) worth it.

I've just found "NVidia driver has stopped responding" glitches in the PE4C 3.0. But it's not as much belong to exp gdc v 6.0

The glitches was found when I plug headset, smartphone usb cable and turn on my fan.

any solution ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.