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eGPU experiences [version 2.0]


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Hello,

I've read a lot (please trust me) but I'm still not sure. I have some problems I can't figure out by myself.

My specs for beginning: i7 3612QM, Geforce GT630M, 8GB of RAM - rest on screenshots HERE: http://imgur.com/a/ZOIAi

So, is my laptop compatible? I already ordered the EXP GDC Beast external slot with mPcie connector and I thought that my laptop is somewhat compatible - look at the screenshot HERE : http://i.imgur.com/HRaILGH.png. I guess I got mislead by the ending of the 8 digits - CFA00000 I probably thought it's for TOLUD 2.50GB. Also as you can see my dGPU is on - E0000000 which is incompatible, my iGPU is on - D0000000 which is compatible according to the TOLUD table and I dont know if this even matters. One last question to this - can those numbers differ by Windows? Last time I was checking was on Windows 7 and now I'm on Windows 10.

Apparently I can't even read:

(Update 3-14-2012) A DSDT override extending the root bridge into 36-bit can allow ALL systems with a 64-bit CPU and chipset (anything after 2007) to be eGPU compatible when used with Windows 7 and the latest iGPU/dGPU/eGPU drivers with up to 48GB of RAM installed. So the DSDT override solution eliminates the restrictions listed below.

Sorry for this.

Some more questions about this:

So first of all I've read about Optimus(x1.Opt or some) driver, I've found some in old thread on "notebookreview" and there was a "make-one-yourself" guide but the link is broken. So I wanted to know how to make one myself because the "inf"s are only for old GPU's and drivers.

Secondly I already bought GTX760 (because it was cheap) will mPcie bottleneck this card?

And last of all - I have switchable graphics in my Bios (Internal only, Optimus mode) and unlocked bios (no whitelist check). Will I need your eGpu setup to make this all work? Or it should be enough to disable dGPU in bios and do DSDT override in registry in case of errors??

Thanks in big advance.

(PS: Sorry if this thread is in wrong forum and for my clunky english)

Thanks again.

/edit 1/

I have noticed that noone tried eGPU on this laptop (atleast I didn't found anything about it in this forum) so I will try to post my experience here.

I successfully enabled DSDT override on Windows 10 http://i.imgur.com/Rgw4aJw.png (now I will wait for my external slot to arrive). Only problem I had was UEFI Secure Boot which I had to disable for "testsigning" to work.

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Hello everyone. I'm extremely new at this egpu stuff so bare with me. So I've been doing a lot of reading and trying to understand the concept of these egpu problems and detection issues. I just recently received my EXP GDC Beast for $50 on banggood and just received my R7 260x in the mail too. I am currently using an old psu from an old computer; it's a 300w bestec psu with no on/off button(if that matters). My laptop that I'm trying to use this setup with is an Acer Aspire 5733Z. I've currently plugged in the adapter and it's components and played with the EXP GDC's delay settings but no luck has come yet of my laptop detecting any VGA driver. After doing more reading, I've realized that many people are using the PE4L or PE4H adapter, which has made me kinda worried bc I bought the Beast instead bc of 2 video testimonials I saw on youtube. My setup is a pcie slot too not an express card. I've also been reading on Nando4's 1.x DIY eGPU Setup bootloader too, but I havent seen much information on Nando4's program being used for the Beast. I am honestly lost in what to do to make my setup work. The fans and lights work, indicating that the gpu is getting sufficient power. What do I do? Will Nando4's DIY eGPU Setup 1.x resolve this problem? Spent the last day reading and trying to figure this out. If anyone could help, much would be very appreciated. Thanks.

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Thanks for the suggestion, I'll report back once I acquire a suitable power supply. One more potentially dumb question: When I wipe my hard drive and do a clean install of Windows, does anyone know if I can re-use the dsdt.aml file I made without any problems? Or will I have to go through the entire DSDT override process again from the beginning?

I did a clean install of Windows and the dsdt.aml file still works. I also acquired a 72 watt (12V, 6A) adapter for my GTX 750 Ti, but I still get hung up trying to start a game. Pre-rendered movies and cutscenes play fine, but as soon as I get to a menu or actual gameplay, my screen either goes blank, or throws up a blue or green screen after a second or two, and I'm forced to do a hard restart of my computer. I'm at a loss here; the most recent drivers are installed, no other conflicting drivers are present, Device Manager shows everything working fine, and the DSDT override seems to have allocated enough memory to eliminate error code 12. What else could be going wrong?

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I did a clean install of Windows and the dsdt.aml file still works. I also acquired a 72 watt (12V, 6A) adapter for my GTX 750 Ti, but I still get hung up trying to start a game. Pre-rendered movies and cutscenes play fine, but as soon as I get to a menu or actual gameplay, my screen either goes blank, or throws up a blue or green screen after a second or two, and I'm forced to do a hard restart of my computer. I'm at a loss here; the most recent drivers are installed, no other conflicting drivers are present, Device Manager shows everything working fine, and the DSDT override seems to have allocated enough memory to eliminate error code 12. What else could be going wrong?

Attach a USB cable to the USB port of the PE4L 2.1 and your system. That will provide an additional 5V power source needed to do step down to 3.3V by the adapter. If still unstable then underclock/undervolt the GTX750Ti just in case it's a poorly binned ASIC with high voltage requirements. Saying that, techpowerup measured 66W peak from a GTX750Ti here.

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Attach a USB cable to the USB port of the PE4L 2.1 and your system. That will provide an additional 5V power source needed to do step down to 3.3V by the adapter. If still unstable then underclock/undervolt the GTX750Ti just in case it's a poorly binned ASIC with high voltage requirements. Saying that, techpowerup measured 66W peak from a GTX750Ti here.

The card I'm using is an EVGA GTX 750 Ti Superclocked, which the EVGA website says should draw the same power as the normal 750 Ti. But could the factory overclock draw more power than the reference cards and go over the 72 watts my adapter is providing?

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The card I'm using is an EVGA GTX 750 Ti Superclocked, which the EVGA website says should draw the same power as the normal 750 Ti. But could the factory overclock draw more power than the reference cards and go over the 72 watts my adapter is providing?

It's possible. It's also possible that you're not giving your power adapter enough breathing room.

Try taking out the ATX PSU from your PC and using the 4-pin molex -> floppy cable (or just a floppy molex if your PSU is old). A powerful ATX PSU would remove any doubt in my mind of insufficient power.

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Hi guys!

In this post, I would like to briefly describe my specs and how I've attached eGPU to my laptop ASUS K55V.

Specs of my laptop:

  • Processor - Intel Core i7 3610QM
  • dGPU - Nvidia GeForce GT 630M (2GB)
  • iGPU - Intel HD Graphics 4000
  • RAM - 8GB
  • Win 7 Home Premium
  • PCIe 2.0

Adapter that I use is EXP GDC v7.0 mPCIE version

- I've ordered it from Banggood.com and it came to Europe in week, then it was 2 weeks in customhouse in my country, but that's because I ordered it a week before Christmas. Plus it was free, so that's good, I think...

The eGPU I bought is Nvidia GeForce GTX 750Ti Gainward 2GB DDR5

- I highly recommend this card, because it fits perfectly in EXP GDC v7.0, its TDP is only 60W (you can use little 12V, 5A PSU) and for roughly 160$ you get a really good price/performance ratio!

post-33715-14494999586293_thumb.jpg

Implementation:

  1. Attach eGPU onto EXP GDC (I had to push it relatively strong on the adapter)
  2. Attach PSU (I used White Energy power supply for LED strips/tapes 60W, pin positive, DC jack 2.1mm x 5.5mm)
  3. With laptop turned off and with removed battery, remove WiFi card from its slot and then attach the cable from the adapter
  4. Boot up the laptop and in the device manager disable dGPu -> restart
  5. eGPU is recognized as standard VGA adapter -> install official driver from nvidia website
  6. Restart (I had to few times)
  7. eGPU is recognized as GTX 750 Ti

So that's how I've done it, my internal monitor works and my secondary monitor works too.

BUT I can play games only on secondary monitor (external monitor), because it's managed by GTX 750Ti and internal monitor is managed by Intel HD Graphics 4000. When I open up nVidia control panel GTX 750Ti is recognized, but it only manages secondary monitor. I don't really get the Optimus tweak, could someone please tell me if it's possible on my setup and how should I do it?

Also 3D Mark 06 benchmarks my dGPU and GTX 750Ti isn't probably recognized. I think so, because I only get 12.000 points and my dGPU is marked as primary in 3D Mark...

I would like to say thank you very much to everyone who've done this forum, it really helped me.

I didn't have to spend 2500$ on a gaming laptop and for only 300$ I upgraded my laptop and extended my laptops service life for another 2-3 years.

-Matthew

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Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask about it, but I would like to know what do you guys think about the next DirectX12? Specially for us eGPU users? Is it going to bring some significant improvement (as it sounds to be for desktops)?

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Hi maty_CZ! you have a nice setup!and it is optimus compatible.in order to actívate, you have to disable the dgpu from your system. This can be done by disable the pci-express that host the dgpu in the device manager or using x1 setup provide by Tech Inferno Fan.you will see a big boost mostly in dx9 aplications.the score in 3dmark2006 will go up to >20.000 points. and also you can use the internal screen with the egpu .

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Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask about it, but I would like to know what do you guys think about the next DirectX12? Specially for us eGPU users? Is it going to bring some significant improvement (as it sounds to be for desktops)?

hope that dx12 will act at least like dx9 in terms of pci-e bandwidth since this is the major stepdown of an egpu in these days.OR could have the same bandwith compression that the dx9 has.Anyway since it looks like a completely new games enviroment,i am sure that it comes with one or more nice surprises for the egpu users.even the asinchronous multi-gpu support,if turned out to be oficial news,it will be a game changer i guess.i am pretty impacient to see it work.question of time.

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what about the new usb3.1 type C?could be consider a valid candidate for a egpu setup?since it could use alternate signal,and could drive even pci-express signal if the manufacturers implement it.

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Hi, i'm a newbie, i have an egpu via wifi card slot, it named 750ti on device manager, and now i have 3 vga on my latop, hd4000, gt635M and 750ti. i still have only my latop and i don't have a lcd or something else, my friend play on laptop screen nomarly. The problem is here : if i disable the 635M, when i play a game it recognize the hd4000, if i disable the hd4000 too, the screen turned dark, it normal if i restart my laptop, so what it is problem ? you have any idea about it ? can an egpu play on laptop screen ? why it can't recognize my 750ti ?? tks you and sorry for my bad Eng :D

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hope that dx12 will act at least like dx9 in terms of pci-e bandwidth since this is the major stepdown of an egpu in these days.OR could have the same bandwith compression that the dx9 has.Anyway since it looks like a completely new games enviroment,i am sure that it comes with one or more nice surprises for the egpu users.even the asinchronous multi-gpu support,if turned out to be oficial news,it will be a game changer i guess.i am pretty impacient to see it work.question of time.

That would be really awesome indeed. It sounds promising and I'm very excited about it. Now I just need to be patient :)

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I've searched far and wide (including this thread) and haven't been able to find any information regarding an M.2 eGPU implementation. I would like to use the BPlus P4SM2 to provide a x4 PCI link from an Broadwell NUC (M-keyed M.2 that accepts PCIe SSDs) to do an ultra small form factor gaming PC. The product page for the P4SM2 says no drivers are required to use the adapter, but I do presume there would need to be some sort of software component in order to make this work properly. I am a complete neophyte to eGPU solutions, but it seems like the only community that would be able to help me with this build. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

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I've searched far and wide (including this thread) and haven't been able to find any information regarding an M.2 eGPU implementation. I would like to use the BPlus P4SM2 to provide a x4 PCI link from an Broadwell NUC (M-keyed M.2 that accepts PCIe SSDs) to do an ultra small form factor gaming PC. The product page for the P4SM2 says no drivers are required to use the adapter, but I do presume there would need to be some sort of software component in order to make this work properly. I am a complete neophyte to eGPU solutions, but it seems like the only community that would be able to help me with this build. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

From what I've seen of Macbooks and HP machines using x4 PCIe SSDs, they just run on a x4 configured Southbridge port. That's using either port1 or port5.

So if the board is correctly configured electrically, and the PCIe port isn't whitelisted, then the eGPU implementation will be pretty much the same as a mPCIe one. mPCIe just uses a x1 Southbridge port. Ie: you can use DIY eGPU Setup 1.30 to do eGPU detection and configuration.

Nando

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Hey there,

i read a lot about eGPU stuff now and also want to use the EXP Beast Adapter with my Lenovo Flex 2 14".

I made all pre-checks and came to the conclusion, that my ultrabook is almost perfect for using eGPU.

My TOLUD is CFA00000 -> somewhere between 3,25gb and 3gb and I only have the HD4400 iGPU built in.

But there are two tiny problems:

1.) I have to use the NGFF adapter cable but shipping from yoybuy.com is (in my opinion) too expensive to Germany.

I would like to buy the mini PCIe version from banggoods.com and get the cable somewhere else (but where?).

This would be also good to know in case I need a spare cable.

If the power supply is included here, I would have one less problem because in this case I don't need to buy a XBox 360 PSU.

2.) This ultrabook has a bottom cover which I have to take off completely to access the NGFF slot.

Does anyone know where to buy some kind of 90° adapter or flex cable for the NGFF slot that's not 40$?

I think a radius of about 2cm is not enough space for the stock cable from EXP to make 90+°. Otherwise I cannot get the cable out of the laptop without making a hole into the bottom cover.

At this point I say thank you and I'd be very happy if you can help me.

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So I have a acer 5750-6866 with 64-bit i3 2350m and 8gb of ram and Mobile Intel HM65 Express. I did the DSDT override and got the large memory but I still have the error 12 on my ASUS Direct CU II R9 270. I have the AMD drivers installed so on my device manager it says R9 200 series with error 12. I have tried everything from hotplugging, disabling internal GPU (Intel HD 3000),factory resetting my laptop, and tried re installing the drivers and still can't get it to work.

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Hello, some updates on this post: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2109-diy-egpu-experiences-%5Bversion-2-0%5D-454.html#post124897

My EXP GDC just arrived, I already tried it like this - wired everything, disabled dGPU in Bios, connected mPcie connector, installed drivers and everything is working. One small thing which I think I know what's the issue. Two of mine 400W PSUs are doing weird noises like coil whining, some cracking etc... With this I'm also having some slight stripes on my monitor (probably just a interference with VGA cable, this was different on both PSUs better on one and worse on another), so I will try a 650W PSU from my friend toomorow with both 6pin and 8pin connectors for my GTX760. And a DVI or HDMI cable.

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It's possible. It's also possible that you're not giving your power adapter enough breathing room.

Try taking out the ATX PSU from your PC and using the 4-pin molex -> floppy cable (or just a floppy molex if your PSU is old). A powerful ATX PSU would remove any doubt in my mind of insufficient power.

Success! I acquired a 12V 10A AC adapter and the GTX 750 Ti now works perfectly with stable performance and no crashes. And I save on some desk space by forgoing the ATX PSU in favor of the 120 watt power brick. Thanks to TheDeathEffect and Tech Inferno Fan for your advice.

While on the topic of insufficient power supplies, this experience with the 750 Ti now explains one issue that would occasionally occur while I was using the Radeon HD 6670 for my eGPU: Sometimes the external display would flicker for a few seconds, then show a blank screen while the game and audio continued playing. I always wondered why it happened, but now I know it was most likely a result of the anemic 24 watt AC adapter I was using before. The fact that I was able to use my previous setup for so long on that tiny 12V 2A adapter makes me even more impressed that the HD 6670 managed to work at all, and for extended periods of time. The power consumption on that thing must have been miniscule.

My current setup is now a Lenovo ThinkPad X200 (P8600 Core2Duo @ 2.40 GHz, 4GB RAM running Windows 8.1 and using a DSDT override) connected via ExpressCard to a PE4L (SW1 = 1, SW2 = 2-3) holding an EVGA GTX 750 Ti SC powered by a 12V 10A AC adapter, outputting to a Compaq 1701 VGA monitor (max resolution 1280x1024). I could extend the desktop across the internal laptop display using the integrated 4500MHD graphics, but it's not practical given my limited desk space.

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Hi maty_CZ! you have a nice setup!and it is optimus compatible.in order to actívate, you have to disable the dgpu from your system. This can be done by disable the pci-express that host the dgpu in the device manager or using x1 setup provide by Tech Inferno Fan.you will see a big boost mostly in dx9 aplications.the score in 3dmark2006 will go up to >20.000 points. and also you can use the internal screen with the egpu .

Hi dan! Thank you very much for clearing that up!

I have UEFI bios, that means that x1 setup wouldn't be the best solution, so I tried disabling PCI drivers.

dGPU is connected to PCI port no.1, so I uninstalled dGPU driver (I had it only disabled, not uninstalled) and I also uninstalled PCI driver no.1, but when I restart my laptop, PCI driver is reinstalled and dGPU is recognized as a Video controller (compatible with VGA)...Could you please tell me what is the best solution for this problem?

-Matthew

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Hi dan! Thank you very much for clearing that up!

I have UEFI bios, that means that x1 setup wouldn't be the best solution, so I tried disabling PCI drivers.

dGPU is connected to PCI port no.1, so I uninstalled dGPU driver (I had it only disabled, not uninstalled) and I also uninstalled PCI driver no.1, but when I restart my laptop, PCI driver is reinstalled and dGPU is recognized as a Video controller (compatible with VGA)...Could you please tell me what is the best solution for this problem?

-Matthew

Hi! Guessing that you don"t have in the bios option to disable the dgpu [check that] you have to disable the dgpu within o.s.To do that,yo have to go to device manager then System device and find the pci/express that host the dgpu.Be sure that you have install the setup chipset from intel site,otherway that pcie won"t show up.As you can see in my case ,i disable the pcie controller that host the dgpu ,and it disappeared from the dysplay adapter list.From here install the egpu driver and you have to see this option of choosing betwen igpu and egpu as a grafics processor the trick is to wipe out the dgpu from the display adapter list..post-18969-14494999603502_thumb.pngSo,is not enough to disable it from display adaper list since the o.s still see it as a basic vga adapter,you have to search for that pcie controller that host the dgpu and disable it[not unninstal] in system devices. It works for me in W7,W8.1 and W10. I am sure that it will work for you also.

post-18969-14494999604047_thumb.png

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Hello, here again with some questions. My setup: Lenovo Z580 with i7, EXP GDC Beast with GTX760 and 650W ATX PSU (rest here: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2109-diy-egpu-experiences-%5Bversion-2-0%5D-454.html#post124897). Now my problem is that the GPU runs only at 3000Mhz memory clock (see here: http://i.imgur.com/5pW4WvA.png , its supposed to run at 6000Mhz) and my PSU makes weird noises like coil whine. Is this because of the mPcie bottleneck? or It can be something else?

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