eGPU experiences [version 2.0]

[mohdtmn]

I am trying to get my eGPU setup wroking before sharing my whole experience with the laptop

I have:

Asus N56vj

I7 3630qm

iGPU HD4000

dGPU nVidia 635m

PE4L-PM060A v2.1b

Windows 8.1 Pro

TOLUD 3.25GB

I am testing the setup with eGPU ATI 4890, planning to upgrade once I confirm that the setup will work

I tested first with an external PCIe x1 wireless card. I tried to hotplug while the OS running, didn't work. Then rebooted with the card inserted and it worked perfectly. After that I can hotplug the card at anytime

Then I moved to the HD4890 gpu. Hotplugged, nothing detected. Started the laptop with card inserted, the laptop restarted before showing Asus logo. Started again, took me to the BIOS by itself! Restarted again, system booted to windows fine! Device shown in the device manager as 'basic display driver' with error code 31.

Installed ATI drivers, now the device name is correct ATI Radeon HD 4800, but with error code 37:

"Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)

Indicates two revision levels are incompatible."

Any ideas? Would setup 1.3 fix this?

Thank you

[jcagara08]

Probably a driver issue, might be a conflict on legacy drivers vs current release,

Can you try this application Display Drive Uninstaller? Then install latest AMD WQHL drivers.

Just follow the instructions and let us know..

[mohdtmn]

Got it working!!!

Only disabling the 635m did it

Running at x1 2.0

[jcagara08]

Nice! A small write up of your setup will be more contributory to the community

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Mike-3]

Hey everyone,

first my status:

Notebook: Dell Latitude E5520

iGPU: Intel HD Graphics Family

eGPU: Radeon R9 270x Gaming

Adapter: PE4L V2.1

Power adapter: ba quiet Pure Power L8

TOLUD: CFA ( i did an DSDT-override to correct this)

5 days ago all was working, for the first time. Then I build my case and tried again, but nothing worked.

Since my case was ready, everytime I tried to start the eGPU the fan works with maximum speed and the notebook didn't find it or the fan works normal, the notebook find the eGPU, but after a few minutes the Notebook becomes black and didn't react.

After I uninstalled the driver and unboxed the eGPU I tried it again for several times and then it works once again so I installed it again, but after a standby by my Notebook it didn't react again.

Have everyone an idea what happend, or what can I do?

Sorry, for my english I am not really good in translation....

[Tech Inferno Fan]

<strike>2014 15" Macbook Pro with i7-4980HQ 2.8-4.0Ghz 47W CPU hitting 66.55W - it's TDP unlocked!!

Any OEM manufactures reading this thread take now. Apple impresses yet again, removing performance restrictions that other PC notebook vendors impose.

We can see at 57s in the video below, a 2014 15" rMBP quad-core machine with GTX780Ti eGPU sees the CPU hitting 66.55W TDP and over 100 degrees temps at 3.5Ghz 4-cores. This means it is TDP unlocked and is only temperature throttled. </strike> Had this user applied a -80mV undervolt, as is available on Haswell CPUs using either Throttlestop or XTU, he'd be hitting the 3.8Ghz 4-core max. There may be potential to go further given the CPU has an additional 6 unlockable turbo bins (4.4Ghz max 4-core) by applying improved cooling and undervolting.

Cooling could be improved by drilling some holes on the undercarriage and/or sitting the machine on a notebook cooler.

<strike>I wish Elitebook/Zbook/Latitude/Precision/Thinkpads and ASUS gaming/business PC notebooks gave their systems the same flexibility. They bios-lock their systems to the nominal CPU TDP, which would be 47W here. That would net ~500Mhz less 4-core performance . This rMBP has gaming cred. Even more so with the upcoming Broadwell version with a more efficient 14nm CPU.</strike>

Update: CPU hits a max of 48W TDP at 59s. The 66W value was a short burst only.

[Arise]

Interesting. I feel is more like it happens only in Windows and not in MacOS.

I think Apple imposed some limits in MacOS to throttle the multiplier if the TDP is over 37W or something. For example on my Asus G750 hackintosh I'm stuck at 31 multiplier when running geekbench 3 even if I can do 32 in other apps on all four cores on my 4700HQ. This despite the fact that I have unlocked BIOS and can enable/disable some of the cores, change max multiplier to 36 and change TDP limits and boost window.

Later Edit:

Took a second look at the video at the 57 second, but that bragged 66W power was recorded at max, and in fact any unlocked CPU should be capable to do that I think if it has turbo boost short power max enabled and at a value higher than 47W.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Later Edit:

Took a second look at the video at the 57 second, but that bragged 66W power was recorded at max, and in fact any unlocked CPU should be capable to do that I think if it has turbo boost short power max enabled and at a value higher than 47W.

Yes, you are correct. False alert on my part. I watched the youtube vid carefully noting the CPU hit a max 48.21W @59s. That 66W must have been a very short burst.

[useafo]

It's finally here at my home, the PE4C V2.0:

I'll do the benchmark test as soon as I can get it working at x1.2Opt speed link. The benchmark will be posted as an update in my previously created thread.

[useafo]

Just a question: How can I run the device at x1.2opt speed? It's always x1.1opt.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Just a question: How can I run the device at x1.2opt speed? It's always x1.1opt.

Check your eGPU under load with GPU-Z. Is it still saying x1 1.1? If so, check your BIOS for a expresscard "Gen2" or "Auto" switch. If have none then use Setup 1.30 to switch to Gen2 speed: DIY eGPU Setup 1.30

[zhu777hao]

Hi guys, after reading this article, i was inspired to build up an egpu for my acer 4736g. After doing the research about TULOD (I should have 3Gb), PCI-E versions, etc. I've decided to combine a GTX 400 series (mostly 1Gb ram) with my laptop. I don't know if it is doable. but, here are some specs for my laptop: T9600 Core 2 dual, Intel PM45 + ICH9M chipset, and it runs PCI-E ver 1 (I know it's an antique, that why i wanna see if i can do sth with it). Anyone knows if it's doable, at least theoretically? Here is a screen shot of my PCI-E memory location, just in case I got the TULOD size wrong... . Any comments or suggestions will be very appreciated!

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Hi guys, after reading this article, i was inspired to build up an egpu for my acer 4736g. After doing the research about TULOD (I should have 3Gb), PCI-E versions, etc. I've decided to combine a GTX 400 series (mostly 1Gb ram) with my laptop. I don't know if it is doable. but, here are some specs for my laptop: T9600 Core 2 dual, Intel PM45 + ICH9M chipset, and it runs PCI-E ver 1. Anyone knows if it's doable, at least theoretically? Here is a screen shot of my PCI-E memory location, just in case I got the TULOD size wrong...[ATTACH=CONFIG]12472[/ATTACH] . Any comments or suggestions will be very appreciated!

Not recommended. You have an existing Nvidia G105M dGPU. With no iGPU you'll get no Optimus x1-pcie compression or internal LCD mode. Performance will suffer. Furthermore, you'll need to check if a unified driver exists for the G105M and GTX460. If one doesn't exist, you may need to mod it into the INF files to get support for it. I didn't find a G105M in the 306.97WHQL driver.

In addition, a GTX460's 128+64+16MB space requirements will probably need <A HREF="tiny.cc/Setup1x">Setup 1.30</A> to fit it into F000-F7FF (128MB), F900-FDFF (64+16MB).

A much better performance solution would be to get a low cost second/hand x1.2Opt capable system from http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/4109-egpu-candidate-system-list.html#post57511 : eg: HP 4530s. Ensure you get a Gen2 capable eGPU adapter if considering that, or want that later on such as the EXP GDC V6, PE4C 2.x or PE4L 2.1b.

[zhu777hao]

Thanks for your quick reply! That sounds a bit terrible... guess my acer laptop isn't really ready for a egpu. However, I still have another notebook Lenovo e430. i5-2450m. intel HM77 chipset. with HD 3000. will i be able to install any 400 series on this laptop? I'm still not very familiar with the terminology that u used. but this laptop is a completely different platform.

New Bitmap Image.bmp

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Thanks for your quick reply! That sounds a bit terrible... guess my acer laptop isn't really ready for a egpu. However, I still have another notebook Lenovo e430. i5-2450m. intel HM77 chipset. with HD 3000. will i be able to install any 400 series on this laptop?[ATTACH=CONFIG]12474[/ATTACH]

Better system with it's HD3000 iGPU and Gen2 capability.

However, issue there is TOLUD =3.5GB. No eGPU will be possible when running 4GB or more of RAM without a DSDT override. See http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7476-%5Bguide%5D-dsdt-override-fix-error-12-a.html#post102517 , noting arteart's response where he managed to get a DSDT override working on a Lenovo T430 with the same problem.

[zhu777hao]

Better system with it's HD3000 iGPU and Gen2 capability.

However, issue there is TOLUD =3.5GB. No eGPU will be possible when running 4GB or more of RAM without a DSDT override. See http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/7476-%5Bguide%5D-dsdt-override-fix-error-12-a.html#post102517 , noting arteart's response where he managed to get a DSDT override working on a Lenovo T430 with the same problem.

I have seen this post already, I was confused with the definition of 4+GB ram. is it the actual ram for the laptop or the ram inside the GPU? Also, let say I really wanna keep my budget, and just stay with the two laptops I have. what way would you suggest me to do? I will definitely accept any egpu upgrade for either one of the laptops.

[jacobsson]

I have seen this post already, I was confused with the definition of 4+GB ram. is it the actual ram for the laptop or the ram inside the GPU? Also, let say I really wanna keep my budget, and just stay with the two laptops I have. what way would you suggest me to do? I will definitely accept any egpu upgrade for either one of the laptops.

It's the memory of the system, GPU memory/ram is almost always referred to as vram.

[useafo]

Check your eGPU under load with GPU-Z. Is it still saying x1 1.1? If so, check your BIOS for a expresscard "Gen2" or "Auto" switch. If have none then use Setup 1.30 to switch to Gen2 speed: DIY eGPU Setup 1.30

How can I do it with DIY eGPU Setup? I tried switching to Gen2, but GPU-Z is still saying that it's running at x1 1.1.

[d4m1r]

Hey guys, had a specific question about PCI compaction I was hoping somebody could answer?

Basically, you can find my setup in my signature. I am currently using Nando's Setup v1.20 and in the new version, v1.30, it would enable PCI compaction for my Macbook Pro. Something which I am currently not able to use. However, with all upgrading it would take a decent amount of my time (1-2 hours to properly update and configure the eGPU Setup software) and risks breaking my current setup which wasn't easy to get running in the first place.

What exactly does PCI compaction do, in regards to eGPU setups? Does it just increase performance or?

I ask because I am fairly satisfied with my current setup (including performance wise, can play all my games at high settings) so I almost see no need to even update to the latest...

[Arise]

Then don't update. Compaction just reorganize the memory areas allocated to different pci devices at other locations to make them all fit in pci memory space.

There is no improvement in speed, only updates for new platforms like z-h87 (haswell processors) and I guess bug fixes?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I already have setup 1.30. What to do?

You set your port to Gen2 link speed by selecting PCIe ports->Gen2. Add that to your startup.bat by hitting F3. Set Chainloader->mode.MBR, then select Chainloader->Test Run. At the Windows boot menu select Windows. Once in Windows you'll need to put a load on your NVidia eGPU. Easiest way to do that is to select the Adjust Image with Preview option in the NVidia control panel like shown below and then observe what GPU-Z is reporting. It should give you the option of selecting which GPU to use as shown on the bottom right if Optimus is function say x1 2.0 if running x1 2.0. Both those features working giving x1.2Opt performance.

<A HREF="http://panam.gateway.com/s/Vidcard/MSI/6008035R/6008035R-V-NVIDIA-CP03.gif"><img height=320 src="http://panam.gateway.com/s/Vidcard/MSI/6008035R/6008035R-V-NVIDIA-CP03.gif"></A> <A HREF="http://imageshack.us/download/10/x12optcheck.jpg"><img height=320 src=https://imageshack.us/download/10/x12optcheck.jpg></A>

[gothic860]

Both those features working giving x1.2Opt performance.

Is it also possible as x4.2Opt with Thunderbolt?

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Is it also possible as x4.2Opt with Thunderbolt?

x1.2Opt refers to the Optimus features being enabled and x1 pci-e compression. This will be on any Sandy Bridge or newer expresscard/mPCIe system with an active iGPU and all dGPUs disabled.

x4 2.0 can have Optimus enabled if there is an primary iGPU and no active dGPU. However, NVidia drivers will disable pci-e compression if it isn't a x1 link. Eg: x2, x4, x16, etc. I had a x2 link on a system with an iGPU that did could do x1.Opt if I just had one lane attached. I couldn't manage to trick the driver into providing pci-e compression when a x2 link was running.

I'd love it if someone with coding expertise could hack c:\windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys to enable the pci-e compression without the need for an iGPU or a x1 link. Even better yet, enable the accelerated internal LCD mode regardless of if the user has an iGPU or not. GT750M equipped 15" Macbook Pro owners would love that.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

DisplayLink Demonstrates World’s First Dual 4K Displays Using 60GHz WiGig: The demonstration is being shown September 9th-11th at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco at DisplayLink booth #750.

Qualcomm tells us:

WiGig® (802.11ad)

WiGig (also known as 802.11ad) is a new Wi-Fi technology that can give your devices a real jolt. It uses the 60 GHz band designed to deliver multi-gigabit wireless speeds – up to 7 Gbps. This is transforming the way we think about wireless connectivity and inspiring new experiences for the next generation of mobile, computing, and consumer electronics. - See more at: Wireless Gigabit Technology | Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.

Whoever is the first to make a WiGig eGPU adapter will remove the need for a mPCIe/expresscard/NGFF/USB 3.0 x1 2.0 wiring between the eGPU adapter and notebook.

[CypressXt]

Hello @goalque,

Really nice build !

I follow your instructions with my macbook pro (mid-2012 this one have a dGPU Nvidia 650M) but I'm a bit confuse, you didn't use the dy Setup 1.x ?

You didn't get some deadly Windows "Code 12" or some other pci allocation issues ?