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eGPU experiences [version 2.0]


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Hello! I am looking for someones opinion on what would be the best eGPU choice for me, any help would be great.

I have an alienware m18x with two dead graphics cards and it is cheaper or equal to same cost to use an eGPU vs. replacing even one of the cards with a newer model. It currently is running a 2920xm, 8GB memory and a 480GB SSD (I put the cpu and ssd in it) so I would like to get it back up and running. I have looked over the guides so my options seem to be either a PE4L 2.1b or a PE4H 3.2. I am new to this sort of thing so I am not sure if I have everything planned out correctly.

I plan on getting a GTX 960 (I can run this as a PhysX card in my next build) but I am a bit unsure of a few things still.

1. The power supply ~ what are the important specifications to know?

2. Does the PE4L 2.1b require anything additional to be purchased? (I know I should get the ExpressCard 34 to 54 bracket)

3. Does the PE4H 3.2 w/case have any issues with fitting a card or power consumption?

Thank you for reading and I would be very thankful for any assistance!

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I am trying an eGPU option on my Sony Vaio S15 laptop.

post-35549-14495000125451_thumb.jpg

From above, I see that the first PCI bus with 8 digits starts with 9FA00000. This means that my TOLUD is way less than 3.25GB right?

Still, after I take out my wireless card and put in a mPCIe adapter to the eGPU, I get the ol' error 12. Why is this the case?

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I am trying an eGPU option on my Sony Vaio S15 laptop.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15028[/ATTACH]

From above, I see that the first PCI bus with 8 digits starts with 9FA00000. This means that my TOLUD is way less than 3.25GB right?

Still, after I take out my wireless card and put in a mPCIe adapter to the eGPU, I get the ol' error 12. Why is this the case?

Yes, TOLUD=2.75GB. So your eGPU isn't being allocated correctly hence the error 12. Try halting Windows with F8/F12 during bootup, then swap out wifi with the mPCIe eGPU adapter and continue loading. You can try Win8.1 to see if that helps. If still have error 12 then acquire Setup 1.30: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/2123-diy-egpu-setup-1-30-a.html#post27337

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I'm using a HP ZBook 15 (Thunderbolt version 1), with a GTX 970 connected via a powered riser to an AKiTiO Thunder2 and everything powered by a Corsair RM550. I never really used any software like Setup 1.30, since I generally was able to boot it up without errors. Sometimes it throws error 12, but I can generally get rid of that by disabling and enabling the 970, rebooting and then everything works.

The only problem is that it occasionally locks up and the last week it's been happening a bit more recently that it has started to become somewhat annoying. An occasional crash is fine as far as I'm concerned, because I'm booted up fairly quickly, but now it's been happening a bit more often that I wanted to ask if there were any suggestions. It generally starts to display a black screen on my external monitor and my laptop's screen freezes, but the mouse will still be able to move. Other times it's an actual blue screen and if it's a particularly bad crash it sometimes can't boot Windows anymore (but that just fixes itself).

So is this a common problem and can something be done for it?

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I'm using a HP ZBook 15 (Thunderbolt version 1), with a GTX 970 connected via a powered riser to an AKiTiO Thunder2 and everything powered by a Corsair RM550. I never really used any software like Setup 1.30, since I generally was able to boot it up without errors. Sometimes it throws error 12, but I can generally get rid of that by disabling and enabling the 970, rebooting and then everything works.

The only problem is that it occasionally locks up and the last week it's been happening a bit more recently that it has started to become somewhat annoying. An occasional crash is fine as far as I'm concerned, because I'm booted up fairly quickly, but now it's been happening a bit more often that I wanted to ask if there were any suggestions. It generally starts to display a black screen on my external monitor and my laptop's screen freezes, but the mouse will still be able to move. Other times it's an actual blue screen and if it's a particularly bad crash it sometimes can't boot Windows anymore (but that just fixes itself).

So is this a common problem and can something be done for it?

First step -> get rid of the powered riser. It adds Gen2 signal degradation. You may need to open the AKiTiO to fit your video card AND create a molex-to-barrel adapter to power your AKiTiO directly. Both are covered in http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/10090-visual-guide-opening-akitio-thunder-2-pcie-box-powering-via-barrel-plug.html

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First step -> get rid of the powered riser. It adds Gen2 signal degradation. You may need to open the AKiTiO to fit your video card AND create a molex-to-barrel adapter to power your AKiTiO directly. Both are covered in http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/10090-visual-guide-opening-akitio-thunder-2-pcie-box-powering-via-barrel-plug.html

Wasn't there a problem that the Akitio couldn't provide enough power? And if that's the problem I'll just stick with the crashes.

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Wasn't there a problem that the Akitio couldn't provide enough power? And if that's the problem I'll just stick with the crashes.

AKiTiO can handle 75W OK, something we found out after you did you eGPU implementation. REF: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2-120.html#post129670

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AKiTiO can handle 75W OK, something we found out after you did you eGPU implementation. REF: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/7205-us%24189-akitio-thunder2-pcie-box-16gbps-tb2-120.html#post129670

Oh, bit of a shame that wasn't known yet. I mean, I build a case around it. If I were to plug it in directly, I wouldn't have to change much (as the Akitio is already powered by the RM550 as it is), only remove the back of the Akitio. But it would mean I'd have to create a whole thing around it again to keep it stored in a somewhat decent way.

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Oh, bit of a shame that wasn't known yet. I mean, I build a case around it. If I were to plug it in directly, I wouldn't have to change much (as the Akitio is already powered by the RM550 as it is), only remove the back of the Akitio. But it would mean I'd have to create a whole thing around it again to keep it stored in a somewhat decent way.

Consider doing a test to confirm the PCIe riser is the issue.

Simply remove the internal AKiTiO boards from the chassis so you no longer have chassis limits. Plug your video card, plug a molex-to-barrel lead, plug your PCie power and support the board up upright with some non-conductive items (DVD holders, books, etc). In this way you are running the AKiTiO naked.

If you see improved stability then plan on how you'll eliminate the riser from your configuration.

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Consider doing a test to confirm the PCIe riser is the issue.

Simply remove the internal AKiTiO boards from the chassis so you no longer have chassis limits. Plug your video card, plug a molex-to-barrel lead, plug your PCie power and support the board up upright with some non-conductive items (DVD holders, books, etc). In this way you are running the AKiTiO naked.

If you see improved stability then plan on how you'll eliminate the riser from your configuration.

Hmm, I just got another crash and I think I've reached the point where it goes from "slightly instable" to "annoying". So I think I'll try it out. Although I think in my case I'll go the way as described in the post you linked and remove the front of the Akitio. Seems like a safer/easier way. How likely do you think this might be the issue? It can easily let it run all night, but it can also crash while loading a web page, playing a video, not actually that often mid-game. I mean, I assume that you can't be 100% sure that the riser is the problem, but is it either 75% or 25%?

Edit: Well, front of the Akitio has been removed and the 970 is running again. I kept running into error 12, so I was worried something had changed, but eventually that fixed itself. Now it's waiting for a crash and if there is none I'll be happy about the stability and sad about a case I built that has probably become obsolete.

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Hmm, I just got another crash and I think I've reached the point where it goes from "slightly instable" to "annoying". So I think I'll try it out. Although I think in my case I'll go the way as described in the post you linked and remove the front of the Akitio. Seems like a safer/easier way. How likely do you think this might be the issue? It can easily let it run all night, but it can also crash while loading a web page, playing a video, not actually that often mid-game. I mean, I assume that you can't be 100% sure that the riser is the problem, but is it either 75% or 25%?

Edit: Well, front of the Akitio has been removed and the 970 is running again. I kept running into error 12, so I was worried something had changed, but eventually that fixed itself. Now it's waiting for a crash and if there is none I'll be happy about the stability and sad about a case I built that has probably become obsolete.

I've had excellent stability with my MSI GTX970 in a opened AKiTio Thunder2. No PCIe riser.

There are a number of users including myself that recommend against the PCIe riser due to it adding Gen2 signal instability. REF: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/9997-time-remove-all-references-powered-risers-all-guides.html

Besides, you may find you get a more compact solution in opening up the AKiTiO. See the examples at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/6578-implementations-hub-tb-ec-mpcie.html#Thunderbolt of "AKiTiO Thunder2-opened", "AKiTiO Thunder2-naked". If can get a shorter video card see "GTX970-ITX" with two particularly nice AIO (all-in-one) solutions posted.

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Leaked Windows 10 leaked release date is August 31 2015

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Hi,

So here is my problem....

Yesterday I successfully preformed a dsdt override. rebooted. and proceeded to find the "Large Memory" section under device manager. Everything went smoothly until....

I then tried starting with my eGPU. DID NOT work for some reason. So i then did some digging around and found this.

post-36266-14495000194661_thumb.png

The eGPU will not allocate to the 36-bit space from the override. Am I susposed to remove the Series 4 chipset from the allocated 36-bit space or what??? I am quite confused about all of this. Any help is appreciated.

EDIT: I also forgot to add the fact that windows says the eGPU is running without any problems but no info shows up in GPU-Z either.

post-36266-14495000195011_thumb.png

Thank You

post-36266-14495000194555_thumb.png

post-36266-14495000194746_thumb.png

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Hi,

So here is my problem....

Yesterday I successfully preformed a dsdt override. rebooted. and proceeded to find the "Large Memory" section under device manager. Everything went smoothly until....

I then tried starting with my eGPU. DID NOT work for some reason. So i then did some digging around and found this.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15083[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15084[/ATTACH]

The eGPU will not allocate to the 36-bit space from the override. Am I susposed to remove the Series 4 chipset from the allocated 36-bit space or what??? I am quite confused about all of this. Any help is appreciated.

EDIT: I also forgot to add the fact that windows says the eGPU is running without any problems but no info shows up in GPU-Z either.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15085[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15086[/ATTACH]

Thank You

Pls email me.

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THank you for answering.

Do you have both drivers installed (drivers for gt650M and drivers for 750ti)? You had to unistall the 650M drivers, didnt you?

I will be happy if you post a 3dmark11 benchmark too :P

- - - Updated - - -

Have you tried powering the additionals gpu pins directly from the psu?

I fixed the issue... A cheap chinese PSU was the problem. I bought a proper one from BeQuiet and now it works perfectly ;)

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Hello good people, long time no see :)

I want to ask: has anyone tried windows 10 (the preview release?). Any problem with that?

My 2570P with win8.1 UEFI works without any problem (plug and play, no errors), so I'm wondering if the incoming upgrade is worth it (for the Dx12, mostly)

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Hello good people, long time no see :)

I want to ask: has anyone tried windows 10 (the preview release?). Any problem with that?

My 2570P with win8.1 UEFI works without any problem (plug and play, no errors), so I'm wondering if the incoming upgrade is worth it (for the Dx12, mostly)

Win10TP works fine with my rig in the sig. PnP just like Win8.1.

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Im having the same problem as you =/

Hi,

(Assuming you were referencing to my post directly above yours of course.)

Well apparently the problem would be with the drivers. The drivers must support both the eGPU and dGPU (in my case i have no iGPU so i cannot disable the dGPU as instructed on another forum). I have yet to get this running which is really disappointing but with trial and error you should be able to get them working with any luck. I will be continuing to attempt to get this running. If I do i will see if i can help you out as well. I am not an expert at any of this so it may be a while! Hopefully not though.

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Awesome! So sad I don't have this thunderbolt 3 on my pc yet ^^

So I had some questions:

1) What is the performance loss you experience when using an e-gpu, and why ? I mean, why should you experience any loss of FPS due to the bandwith once the data of the game is in the gpu's ram and the gpu is directly connected to an external screen? And what is the percentage of performance loss about? FPS?

2) I've read about the particular case of optimus, are there some more manipulations to do? And how to enable the pci x1 compression using optimus?

3) I know and understand the performance loss when the image comes back to the internal screen of the PC, what percentage of fps do I lose in that case? And how can I setup my PC to do this reverse image transfert ?

My PC currently has Windows 8.1 with an Intel HD 4000 and an Nvidia GT 740M (Intel Core i7 3.2Ghz, 16GB RAM), and an external HDMI screen, and I'm trying to see whether it is worth to buy all the converters, a new GPU and a power supply : I want to be able to play the most recent games with the highest possible quality.

Thanks in advance !

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Hello. I have a Lenovo T510 laptop with four gigs of RAM , running a PE4C EGPU to a evga geforce 760 and the frame rates seem to be super slow. The CPU usage is also very high as well and gameplay keeps stuttering. Is this normal or is there a way to fix this? I am also running Windows 8.1 64 bit. I also read that a user changed the express card speed to gen1 but I do not have any of those options in my bios, which is updated

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Hello. I have a Lenovo T510 laptop with four gigs of RAM , running a PE4C EGPU to a evga geforce 760 and the frame rates seem to be super slow. The CPU usage is also very high as well and gameplay keeps stuttering. Is this normal or is there a way to fix this? I am also running Windows 8.1 64 bit. I also read that a user changed the express card speed to gen1 but I do not have any of those options in my bios, which is updated

T510 is Gen1 only capable. Have you tried reinstalling your OS or drivers to attempt to correct your issues?

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- - - Updated - - -

T510 is Gen1 only capable. Have you tried reinstalling your OS or drivers to attempt to correct your issues?

yes I have. have also tried this on a Lenovo t410 as well with the same result<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

- - - Updated - - -

are there any known issues with windows 8.1? Also tried with windows 7. Same result.

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