eGPU experiences [version 2.0]

[Tech Inferno Fan]

hi, thanks for your swift reply. i would like to have ivy bridge w iGPU, expresscard, <= 1.6kg, 13/14 inch, 1080p. any suggestion?

i was all over vaio z3 few months ago other than it doesnt have expresscard slot. then on the verge of buying r930 but then hold back because of 1080p. just waiting for the right one to come.

12.5" Lenovo X230 (1.45kgs, 768P-IPS)

13" Toshiba R930 (1.48kgs, 768P)

12.5" Dell E6230 (1.59kgs, 768P) IPS-LCD-mod

13" Macbook Pro Retina (1.62kgs, 2560 x1600, Thunderbolt)

14" Lenovo T430s (1.77kgs, 900P, Thunderbolt)

14" Toshiba R940 (1.9kgs, 900P in US)

12.5" HP 2570P (1.9kgs, 768P, socketted CPU/45W quad capable)

So closest match is a MBPr or consider a 13" Sony SVZ (1.18kgs, 1080P) but with the mPCIe mod: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2158-diy-egpu-guide-sony-vaio-vpc-z2-svz13.html . Best compromise might be a 12.5" Lenovo X230 with it's 768P IPS LCD or 12.5" HP 2570P if need 45W quad CPU power. I'm not a fan of Lenovo Thinkpad styling given it hasn't changed much from the 1990s...

[syla]

Hello everybody, Can I get an explanation about what's the use of a PCI Compaction ? I've got a PE4H with a GTX-560 Ti connected on a Dell Laptop, The eGPU is @x2, and everything works nicely without PCI Compaction.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Hello everybody, Can I get an explanation about what's the use of a PCI Compaction ? I've got a PE4H with a GTX-560 Ti connected on a Dell Laptop, The eGPU is @x2, and everything works nicely without PCI Compaction.

Refer to the Setup 1.1x help on PCI compaction available online or by pressing F1 in Setup 1.1x: PCI compaction

If your Dell is running a x2 configuration and isn't listed yet on the first post, then can you please provide full details so it can be? Not many x2 configurations atm.

[Quest Ng]

so are there anything i can do for my vaio cw 26 atm? or its doomed to have such low performanceuntil i change lapotp.

[M-Low]

You're doomed bro... doomed... Jokes!

Actually, the Vaio CW isn't too bad of a machine. You've got a decent processor (5th Series) and an Expresscard slot. If this link is your machine, it's more thank likely you can do an eGPU solution. But you're not going to get the performance of later-stage series chips.

If you're thinking about upgrading, I'd hold off like six months for a Haswell with an Intel iGPU "GT3" series >> preferably with a thunderbolt port. That's my plan seeing how I'm rocking a 4th Series Vaio currently.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

so are there anything i can do for my vaio cw 26 atm? or its doomed to have such low performanceuntil i change lapotp.

I noted in my recent i5-3320M + GTX660/HD7870 testing here that AMD eGPUs no longer appear to be crippled to half duplex performance on that Series-7 chipset as previous HD5750 cards were on a Series-4 chipset. I know that you'll see a much better 3dmark06 result with something like a HD7870. I'd be curious to see you do the same comparative performance tests on your system so we know if these newer AMD cards are indeed better performers across DX9, DX10 and DX11 on older Intel chipsets.

Still.. you can see the difference in performance going from a x1 1.0 to x1 2.0 (Sandy/Ivy Bridge) gives in that link so a system upgrade is the other option to consider as noted earlier.

[Quest Ng]

You're doomed bro... doomed... Jokes!

Actually, the Vaio CW isn't too bad of a machine. You've got a decent processor (5th Series) and an Expresscard slot. If this link is your machine, it's more thank likely you can do an eGPU solution. But you're not going to get the performance of later-stage series chips.

If you're thinking about upgrading, I'd hold off like six months for a Haswell with an Intel iGPU "GT3" series >> preferably with a thunderbolt port. That's my plan seeing how I'm rocking a 4th Series Vaio currently.

i've already build my eGPU. imgur: the simple image sharer

just that the performance isnt as good as i thought it should be. i also want to hold off till Haswell come out but want to know what i can do now to make the GTX660 dont perform like a intel4000

[syla]

Refer to the Setup 1.1x help on PCI compaction available online or by pressing F1 in Setup 1.1x: PCI compaction

If your Dell is running a x2 configuration and isn't listed yet on the first post, then can you please provide full details so it can be? Not many x2 configurations atm.

Some Studio XPS 1640 are already listed on the first post @x4, but if you insist i can give you all the details of my config, But please, just tell me if it will be usefull to PCI compress my config even everything works well without using it.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

i've already build my eGPU. imgur: the simple image sharer

just that the performance isnt as good as i thought it should be. i also want to hold off till Haswell come out but want to know what i can do now to make the GTX660 dont perform like a intel4000

Per my previous post, replace the GTX660 with a HD7870.

Some Studio XPS 1640 are already listed on the first post @x4, but if you insist i can give you all the details of my config, But please, just tell me if it will be usefull to PCI compress my config even everything works well without using it.

PCI compaction is only required if you have an error 12 against your eGPU preventing it's operation. That does not apply to you.

[syla]

PCI compaction is only required if you have an error 12 against your eGPU preventing it's operation. That does not apply to you.

Ok thanks ... this is really nice to find help here, not really easy to do that alone, so if i can help someone who has the same config than me, i will be proud to try.

[Frula]

Hi, i have some problems with my HP 4530s. I finally got all the parts, i have gtx660. My 4530s is with dgpu hd6490m, and i have booted diy setup,disabled dgpu,run compaction 32a,and chainloaded to win.

I installed the lastest drivers from Nvidia,and gtx660 doesn't have any errors but my intel hd3000 have code 43,and i can't get picture to my external lcd.

I have seen people run gtx card on my lap also with dgpu hd6490m.

If anybody have the steps neccesary to work.

Thanks.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Hi, i have some problems with my HP 4530s. I finally got all the parts, i have gtx660. My 4530s is with dgpu hd6490m, and i have booted diy setup,disabled dgpu,run compaction 32a,and chainloaded to win.

I installed the lastest drivers from Nvidia,and gtx660 doesn't have any errors but my intel hd3000 have code 43,and i can't get picture to my external lcd.

I have seen people run gtx card on my lap also with dgpu hd6490m.

If anybody have the steps neccesary to work.

Thanks.

Suggest (1) don't perform PCI compaction, just disable the dGPU and chainload. If still no go then (2) delete the Intel+AMD switchable graphics driver you have installed and just install the latest Intel HD3000 driver and try again.

[oripash]

Mate, I ain't running no pissy barely-mid range mxm card. That's a full-blown desktop gpu.

A desktop gpu power rail is something any $20 pc power supply can drive.

[samiam]

So I had some success since my last post. Apparently the combination of having Windows on the mSATA SSD and the eGPU doesn't work for some reason, it results in a blue screen and the computer not detecting the SSD for a period of time. But I copied my Windows partition to the 2.5 inch hard drive, and the eGPU worked fine when booting from that. I turned on the GPU, plugged it into the expresscard slot, and turned on the laptop. Then I installed AMD's legacy drivers for older graphics cards and Windows 8 64-bit, found on their website. Below are some 3Dmark Vantage results, with comparisons to the integrated graphics and the GPU on my old desktop.

laptop with eGPU:

ATI Radeon 4830 eGPU, Intel Core i5-3320M

SCORE

P4824 3DMarks

GRAPHICS SCORE

4088

CPU SCORE

10490

laptop with iGPU:

Intel HD Graphics 4000 Mobile, Intel Core i5-3320M

SCORE

P3015 3DMarks

GRAPHICS SCORE

2452

CPU SCORE

9675

same GPU on desktop:

ATI Radeon 4830, Intel E5200 overclocked to 3.0 GHz

SCORE

P5695 3DMarks

GRAPHICS SCORE

5912

CPU SCORE

5130

So now I have some questions:

1) Has anyone gotten eGPU to work at the same time as running Windows on an mSATA SSD?

2) GPU-Z reports that the eGPU is running at x1.1, even while running it's built in render test. Is this normal for this graphics card?

3) It works when using only an external monitor, but it blue screens if I try to use the laptop monitor with integrated graphics at the same time as an external monitor with eGPU. Has anyone gotten this to work?

[Jono Hasnosurname]

So my Samsung R580 decided to die on me under warranty. I've sent it back to the agents, and I am told I will most likely receive a replacement of the same value. The only decent laptop they have at the same price is the Lenovo Z580. According to the spec sheet/review, it uses an Ivy Bridge processor with nVidia Optimus tech. So does this mean I could do an EGPU through the wireless card interface?

Review Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

[testedandbaked]

I've almost got my M1530 working in x1 mode with an (somewhat ancient, I know) 8800 GTX but the only problem is that the modded Verde drivers somehow refuse to detect a monitor connected to said eGPU. On launching Nvidia Control Panel, exact error is "You are not currently using a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU."

Currently, only internal monitor works (not accelerated).

It seems that the modded drivers are installed correctly in Device Manager; the dGPU 8600M GT is being disabled by code 12 and the eGPU working properly and using the modded drivers (I assume this is due to the M1530 switching dGPU to secondary and eGPU to primary despite the 3.5GB TOLUD.)

AIDA64 shows: PCI-E 1.0 x1 port #4 In Use @ x1 (Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GTX Video Adapter)

The system has 4GB RAM and the eGPU is attached to the WWAN port via a self-made adapter (details to come).

I'm sure it's something simple I'm missing and I need to be pointed in the right direction.

EDIT: Pulling out 2GB RAM gives a blank screen shortly after "starting windows" as if the eGPU is working, but the eGPU gives a code 43 instead.

[Frula]

Thanks nando, i didn't had to use diy setup at all. I just disabled dgpu in bios,and hook up expresscard and it immediately shows picture on external monitor.

So i have HP 4530s with i5 2410m soon to be upgraded to i7 2630qm, and i also upgraded screen to FHD. Really awesome laptop.

My 3dmark11 score NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-2410M Processor,Hewlett-Packard 167C score: P5026 3DMarks

Farcry 3 is flying with fhd and ultra details at 35-55fps.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Thanks nando, i didn't had to use diy setup at all. I just disabled dgpu in bios,and hook up expresscard and it immediately shows picture on external monitor.

So i have HP 4530s with i5 2410m soon to be upgraded to i7 2630qm, and i also upgraded screen to FHD. Really awesome laptop.

My 3dmark11 score NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-2410M Processor,Hewlett-Packard 167C score: P5026 3DMarks

Farcry 3 is flying with fhd and ultra details at 35-55fps.

3dmark11 says the GTX660 is running as the primary video so you may be seeing x1 2.0 rather than x1.2Opt (x1 pci-e compression + internal LCD mode). Can confirm by running 3dmark06. If the result is < 10k then you're running the slower x1 2.0. Usually need to hotplug the eGPU after boot or set the PCI Reset jumper to do it for you to get the HD3000 as the primary and [email protected] running.

Can see my Dell E6230 + GTX660 @ x1 2.0 and x1.2Opt results for performance differences.

[M-Low]

Hey y'all

So, I hear the 7870 is the card of choice these days due to a pretty solid price/performance ratio - which is half the reason for doing eGPU. I was hoping you could spread some light on the whole overclocking/stock model and brand differences. I've always used laptop gpu's, so this OC'ing is new to me.

1) There's about a $25 to (sometimes) $75 price difference for the same GPU that is OC'd vs not... Is this really worth it? Can't you just do the OC'ing yourself, get the same result and save some money?

2) Also, what's the big difference and what should I be looking for when it comes to engine clock vs memory clock? Is 800 MHz good enough for an engine clock or should I be looking for a something closer to 1000 Mhz? does it make a difference if you can overclock it yourself?

3) I can pick up a MSI R7950 Twin Frozr 3G (800Mhz/5000Mhz) for less than $300 right now. This seems like a really good deal, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting myself into vs. an XFX 7870/OC for $70 cheaper...

I realize that this might not make much of a difference in an eGPU setup, but I'm hoping that the new 4x TH05 version next year will change all that.

[Frula]

3dmark11 says the GTX660 is running as the primary video so you may be seeing x1 2.0 rather than x1.2Opt (x1 pci-e compression + internal LCD mode). Can confirm by running 3dmark06. If the result is < 10k then you're running the slower x1 2.0. Usually need to hotplug the eGPU after boot or set the PCI Reset jumper to do it for you to get the HD3000 as the primary and [email protected] running.

Can see my Dell E6230 + GTX660 @ x1 2.0 and x1.2Opt results for performance differences.

Ok will try, thanks.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Hey y'all

So, I hear the 7870 is the card of choice these days due to a pretty solid price/performance ratio - which is half the reason for doing eGPU. I was hoping you could spread some light on the whole overclocking/stock model and brand differences. I've always used laptop gpu's, so this OC'ing is new to me.

1) There's about a $25 to (sometimes) $75 price difference for the same GPU that is OC'd vs not... Is this really worth it? Can't you just do the OC'ing yourself, get the same result and save some money?

2) Also, what's the big difference and what should I be looking for when it comes to engine clock vs memory clock? Is 800 MHz good enough for an engine clock or should I be looking for a something closer to 1000 Mhz? does it make a difference if you can overclock it yourself?

3) I can pick up a MSI R7950 Twin Frozr 3G (800Mhz/5000Mhz) for less than $300 right now. This seems like a really good deal, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting myself into vs. an XFX 7870/OC for $70 cheaper...

I realize that this might not make much of a difference in an eGPU setup, but I'm hoping that the new 4x TH05 version next year will change all that.

The x4 TH05 will make no difference over the current x2 TH05 with existing Thunderbolt-equipped systems.

Why? We've just discovered all x4 2.0 capable boxes (Magma, OWC, Sonnet) send Thunderbolt traffic at x2 2.0 + 12.5% bandwidth levels. The 12.5% extra they get over a x2 2.0 TH05 is hardly worth them commanding 2.5-times or more the premium over a TH05. Have to wait until 20Gbps Thunderbolt arrives in 2014 OR we miraculously figure out how to use the second 10Gbps Thunderbolt channel for pci-e rather than it's default of displayport traffic to get x4 2.0 running.

Please refer to my HD7870 versus GTX660 on x1.1, x1.1Opt, x1.2, x1.2Opt review to help make your eGPU purchase decision. If you would be running x2 2.0 Thunderbolt then yes, AMD cards do better in restricted bandwidth scenarios once we factor out the pci-e compression that's only available on x1 links.

Another important consideration is if you need internal LCD mode. Then you'd evaluate NVidia Optimus vs Lucidlogix Virtu. Both require a primary iGPU video bootup device so ensure your candidate notebook has it if that feature is important. NVidia Optimus is part of the driver set and is free. LucidLogix officially only has a 30-day trial version.

Recommend a HD7870 or GTX660Ti

So for current Thunderbolt-equipped systems suggest grab a US$180 BPlus TH05 + AMD HD7870 or NVidia GTX660Ti.

[M-Low]

...

Please refer to my HD7870 versus GTX660 on x1.1, x1.1Opt, x1.2, x1.2Opt review to help make your eGPU purchase decision. If you would be running x2 2.0 Thunderbolt then yes, AMD cards do better in restricted bandwidth scenarios once we factor out the pci-e compression that's only available on x1 links.

...

Recommend a HD7870 or GTX660Ti

So for current Thunderbolt-equipped systems suggest grab a US$180 BPlus TH05 + AMD HD7870 or NVidia GTX660Ti.

Thanks Tech Inferno Fan - but what about my original question about the price differences between overclocked and stock GPUs? The price range for HD7870s is like $100-wide due to OC'ing and cooler's, etc. (Internal display isn't worth the hassle for me). Can "one" simply overclock a stock model to get the same results?

(sucks about the TH05 performance so far... hopefully we'll see cactus-ridge controllers soon)

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Thanks Tech Inferno Fan - but what about my original question about the price differences between overclocked and stock GPUs? The price range for HD7870s is like $100-wide due to OC'ing and cooler's, etc. (Internal display isn't worth the hassle for me). Can "one" simply overclock a stock model to get the same results?

(sucks about the TH05 performance so far... hopefully we'll see cactus-ridge controllers soon)

It's not the TH05 that's the problem. It's current Thunderbolt. A TH05 gets 88.88% the bandwidth of what the more expensive Sonnet/Magma/OWC Thunderbolt enclosures get. They are all restricted to 10Gbps pci-e over the Thunderbolt link itself which is the bottleneck. It's substantially less than the x4 2.0 they negotiate with the eGPU.

You'd have to hit the OC websites to see how much headroom different cards have. There's the reference cards, the mild OC ones with better cooling and then the high OC ones with golden chips. I usually go for the mild OC ones and with some luck try to clock them near the high OC ones. A HD7870 is a great card but if it's priced near a HD7950 then of course get the latter.

REF: http://www.overclock.net/f/67/amd-ati

[Frula]

Can confirm by running 3dmark06. If the result is < 10k then you're running the slower x1 2.0.

Ok i hotplugged egpu,and here is my 06 score NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-2410M Processor,Hewlett-Packard 167C score: 16411 3DMarks . It looks a little low, as far i can tell i should get 19k. That score is on external monitor.

Is that ok?

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Ok i hotplugged egpu,and here is my 06 score NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5-2410M Processor,Hewlett-Packard 167C score: 16411 3DMarks . It looks a little low, as far i can tell i should get 19k. That score is on external monitor.

Is that ok?

It's over 10k, so Optimus' pci-e compression is engaging. Elitebooks have a gen1/gen2 setting for the expresscard slot. Please check if yours does and if it's set to gen1, set it to gen2. You can check it by running GPU-Z. It should say x1 2.0 when under load like shown.