eGPU experiences [version 2.0]

[daver160]

But do you think that 500watts will be enough for a 560ti?

Thanks!

It should be, but you can just check what the output is on the 12V rail. It should at least be 12amps. I would imagine that only the most power hungry GTX x80/x90 GPUs would require something like 20amps on the 12V rail.

[rhx123]

Bah, the USB port on my PE4L seems to have started working now, and there isn't enough height in my enclosure to do anything with it. If I'd have known I would have gotten a slightly bigger enclosure so I could of fitted a USB Hub and Soundcard.

[kumisseksi]

hey nando, ive successfully setup my diy egpu using hp elitebook 2570p and gtx 660ti, pe4l, i5 3320m 12gb ram, but im only seeing 15000 on 3dmark06 what did i do wrong? since i cannot see the pcie menu upon booting.=

[naturbo2000]

hey nando, ive successfully setup my diy egpu using hp elitebook 2570p and gtx 660ti, pe4l, i5 3320m 12gb ram, but im only seeing 15000 on 3dmark06 what did i do wrong? since i cannot see the pcie menu upon booting.=

A score which is clearly higher than the internal graphics but not as high as you'd expect (around 20000)? I'm guessing you're using the laptop internal display rather than an external monitor. If so, the bandwidth required to send the image back from the graphics card is what's costing the 5000 points.

[padr3maronn0]

HI everyone I'm new and i wish to add an ex-gpu to my "Pakard Bell easynote ts11hr (i5 2410M / HD 3000-nvidia 540m / 4gb ram)". It has the slot for the express card but i wish to know if all this stuff works before i pay 100 euro for it, and where i can buy all the stuff that i need. i only found this---->www.HWtools.net ?????????? ANY SUGGESTION FOR I NEWBIE? THANKS

[rhx123]

Until a system has been tested, it is impossible to know if a system will work completely, however somethings can be told:

• You will be able to do 1.2Opt with a fermi or greater card
  
• You will need to purchase setup 1.x because you will need to disable the 540m at least
  

I would think that it is quite a feasable setup though.

You can minimize cost if it doesn't work by:

If you have a friend who can lend you a fermi or greater card and appropriate PSU, just by the PE4L v2.1b and Setup 1.x, and then test the system. If it works well, return the card and PSU to your kind friend and buy the parts yourself. If not, you can always sell on the PE4L.

[kumisseksi]

A score which is clearly higher than the internal graphics but not as high as you'd expect (around 20000)? I'm guessing you're using the laptop internal display rather than an external monitor. If so, the bandwidth required to send the image back from the graphics card is what's costing the 5000 points.

im using an external monitor, and it seems that on gpuz and nvidia control panel that im not running 1.x, any suggestion naturbo2000?

[Tech Inferno Fan]

im using an external monitor, and it seems that on gpuz and nvidia control panel that im not running 1.x, any suggestion naturbo2000?

Two things you can do to improve your 2570P + GTX660Ti eGPU 3dmark06 performance:

1. Change your Windows power profile to 'high performance'. I initially was getting low results when running 'balanced'. Appears the CPU wasn't going into Turbo mode.

2. Ensure you set your expresscard slot in the bios->System configuration->Device configuration to be 'Generation 2' as shown below.

[kumisseksi]

Two things you can do to improve your 2570P + GTX660Ti eGPU 3dmark06 performance:

1. Change your Windows power profile to 'high performance'. I initially was getting low results when running 'balanced'. Appears the CPU wasn't going into Turbo mode.

2. Ensure you set your expresscard slot in the bios->System configuration->Device configuration to be 'Generation 2' as shown below.

when i set the express card to generation 2, i am no longer directed to diy egpu setup but straight to windows 7 bootup, the card is detected on device manager, and gpuz and it states 1.x but when i want to open nvidia control panel it says "nvidia display settings are not available, you are not currently using a display attached to an nvidia gpu" ive tried reinstalling the driver and when it is installing, the screen flickers like hell, and when i want connect to a projector, it says no projector detected

[P4TCH]

Greetings,

I've yet another "is this one suitable" question for you experts. I've been considering buying this laptop since I consider it a great offer for what it has. It's a Medion Akoya P7815, has an I5(3230M) an Nvidia discrete card with optimums and I THINK it has an mPCIe port. That my question.

Checking these photos on notebookcheck I couldn't make up my mind (on links, so I don't take up much screen space HERE and http://www.notebookcheck.com/typo3temp/pics/196c115e65.jpg) and I think it's not an mPCIe slot, I think it's too broad. Now looking at its specifications it's an "Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 with Bluetooth 4.0", and by going into intel's site it seems like it is indeed an mPCIe WLAN card.

Would then that laptop be a good choice? Still worse than an express card one, but the laptop is going to be sitting in one place for pretty much every day, won't move it much.

[rhx123]

Greetings,

I've yet another "is this one suitable" question for you experts. I've been considering buying this laptop since I consider it a great offer for what it has. It's a Medion Akoya P7815, has an I5(3230M) an Nvidia discrete card with optimums and I THINK it has an mPCIe port. That my question.

Checking these photos on notebookcheck I couldn't make up my mind (on links, so I don't take up much screen space HERE and http://www.notebookcheck.com/typo3temp/pics/196c115e65.jpg) and I think it's not an mPCIe slot, I think it's too broad. Now looking at its specifications it's an "Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 with Bluetooth 4.0", and by going into intel's site it seems like it is indeed an mPCIe WLAN card.

Would then that laptop be a good choice? Still worse than an express card one, but the laptop is going to be sitting in one place for pretty much every day, won't move it much.

It's a pretty poor choice as far as eGPU goes, because of the NVidia GPU you will need setup 1.x, and the lack of expresscard slot is very inconvenient.

It would be very fiddly because you would have to remove the bottom and then wifi card every time you wanted to use the eGPU.

As what would be a a better choice, someone else would have to say. I would say a second hand X220 from ebay is a great choice personally, but it depends on what screen size and resolution you are looking for.

[P4TCH]

It's a pretty poor choice as far as eGPU goes, because of the NVidia GPU you will need setup 1.x, and the lack of expresscard slot is very inconvenient.

It would be very fiddly because you would have to remove the bottom and then wifi card every time you wanted to use the eGPU.

As what would be a a better choice, someone else would have to say. I would say a second hand X220 from ebay is a great choice personally, but it depends on what screen size and resolution you are looking for.

I don't really mind about the bottom cover. As said, the laptop will be sitting in the desk, not moving it much. What I want to do is a 1.2Opt link with that laptop, I've already read the ingredients list

Would a laptop with no graphic card at all be a better choice?

[padr3maronn0]

where i can buy all the stuff? i'm italian

[davide445]

Hi padr3maronn0, I'm Italian too and just finished a loong thread to define my best config.

About the adapter you can buy it there Hwtools or here ebay.com

You need also a PSU (I can send you the list others have selected for me if you need one) and the GPU.

For the case I decided to start with no one so to limit my expenses. I will start to create mine in a couple of weeks.

That's all if no others - much more expert than me - have nothing else to add

[padr3maronn0]

i want to buy this---> €149 ATI AMD Radeon HD 6970 2gb GDDR5 ti doppia ventola 560 | eBay GPU. DO you think will work with PE4L-EC060A?

[macafee]

I found the e-GPU is very interesting and want to use it on my XPS M1330.

May I purchase the e-GPU in Japan or HongKong?

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I don't really mind about the bottom cover. As said, the laptop will be sitting in the desk, not moving it much. What I want to do is a 1.2Opt link with that laptop, I've already read the ingredients list

Would a laptop with no graphic card at all be a better choice?

A Series-6 or 7 notebook (2nd/3rd gen i-core) with no dGPU and an expresscard slot would be the best choice to run a x1.2Opt eGPU. Budget systems meeting that criteria being a 15.6" HP 4530s, Lenovo E520 or Dell Vostro 3550. Their premium cousins, a 15.6" HP 8560P, Lenovo T520 or Dell E6520, fit that criteria too but are of higher build and have FHD LCD options. All of those systems are now one-gen old so would appear as s/h units on ebay at good prices.

when i set the express card to generation 2, i am no longer directed to diy egpu setup but straight to windows 7 bootup, the card is detected on device manager, and gpuz and it states 1.x but when i want to open nvidia control panel it says "nvidia display settings are not available, you are not currently using a display attached to an nvidia gpu" ive tried reinstalling the driver and when it is installing, the screen flickers like hell, and when i want connect to a projector, it says no projector detected

@kumisseksi , I can't see how changing the BIOS expresscard Gen1/Gen2 option would alter booting via Setup 1.x. That's unless you were booting it off a USB stick and have changed the boot order. Hit F9 during boot to then manually boot off the USB stick.

I can confirm that the Gen2 certainly works with a HP 2570P + PE4L-EC060A 2.1b + GTX660Ti. I do get x1.2Opt performance. I can't tell what version of PE4L you have from your previous comments. PE4L 1.5 or older can only run reliably at Gen1 speed.

[kumisseksi]

A Series-6 or 7 notebook (2nd/3rd gen i-core) with no dGPU and an expresscard slot would be the best choice to run a x1.2Opt eGPU. Budget systems meeting that criteria being a 15.6" HP 4530s, Lenovo E520 or Dell Vostro 3550. Their premium cousins, a 15.6" HP 8560P, Lenovo T520 or Dell E6520, fit that criteria too but are of higher build and have FHD LCD options. All of those systems are now one-gen old so would appear as s/h units on ebay at good prices.

@kumisseksi , I can't see how changing the BIOS expresscard Gen1/Gen2 option would alter booting via Setup 1.x. That's unless you were booting it off a USB stick and have changed the boot order. Hit F9 during boot to then manually boot off the USB stick.

I can confirm that the Gen2 certainly works with a HP 2570P + PE4L-EC060A 2.1b + GTX660Ti. I do get x1.2Opt performance. I can't tell what version of PE4L you have from your previous comments. PE4L 1.5 or older can only run reliably at Gen1 speed.

hehe, it seems that i got the pe4l 1.5, since its cheaper so....., well ive bought the 2.1 now but it would take 2 weeks from tw to uk, anyways is there any way to make the micro hdmi cable longer on 2.1 since its integrated

[davide445]

I can't say since I never done a eGPU myself, but check first here eGPU Implementations examples if you find someone

[Tech Inferno Fan]

hehe, it seems that i got the pe4l 1.5, since its cheaper so....., well ive bought the 2.1 now but it would take 2 weeks from tw to uk, anyways is there any way to make the micro hdmi cable longer on 2.1 since its integrated

Yeah, you can buy 100, 150, 200, 300, 400 or 500cm cable lengths already attached to the PE4L 2.1b. Searching the PE4L 2.1b page for 'cable length' will reveal the section:

Cable Length:

PE4L-EC060A / PE4L-PM060A / PE4L-HP060A Lenght 60cm

Other OEM demands as listed below, please contact our China Office.

PE4L-EC030A / PE4L-PM030A / PE4L-HP030A Lenght 30cm (OEM)

PE4L-EC100A / PE4L-PM100A / PE4L-HP100A Lenght 100cm (OEM)

PE4L-EC150A / PE4L-PM150A / PE4L-HP150A Lenght 150cm (OEM)

PE4L-EC200A / PE4L-PM200A / PE4L-HP200A Lenght 200cm (OEM)

PE4L-EC300A / PE4L-PM300A / PE4L-HP300A Lenght 300cm (OEM)

PE4L-EC400A / PE4L-PM400A / PE4L-HP400A Lenght 400cm (OEM)

PE4L-EC500A / PE4L-PM500A / PE4L-HP500A Lenght 500cm (OEM)

[bjorm]

Hi there, I have a problem. When I was finishing Crysis3, eGPU turned off and laptop made a BSOD. I was able to recover laptop but eGPU is not working. I tried to reconnect everything but it's not working at all. I don't have a PC to check what is broken, GPU, PSU od PE4L 2.1b. I was wondering how to check what is broken. Is my deduction correct?

- Leaving PSU with SWEX and disconnected PE4L module, should I get PSU reaction (turn on) if I switch SWEX between 1 and 0?

- Will LED diode on PE4L 2.1b be active if PSU and PE4L are ok but GPU is broken?

[P4TCH]

A Series-6 or 7 notebook (2nd/3rd gen i-core) with no dGPU and an expresscard slot would be the best choice to run a x1.2Opt eGPU. Budget systems meeting that criteria being a 15.6" HP 4530s, Lenovo E520 or Dell Vostro 3550. Their premium cousins, a 15.6" HP 8560P, Lenovo T520 or Dell E6520, fit that criteria too but are of higher build and have FHD LCD options. All of those systems are now one-gen old so would appear as s/h units on ebay at good prices.

Let's get into a practical scenario, since my main problem is with links speed.

I get that computer above, it has a rather modern i5, normal consumption, as well as a dGPU, a 640m, which I can disable, and has optimus. I remove the bottom cover and realise that it has a mPCIe I can use for my eGPU. Which is the maximum PCI speed I can achieve? Sounds a bit like one of those "clear the X" math problems.

I think it's a 1.X Opt, isn't it? The asus sv53 is kind of similar and achieves that link.

[daver160]

Let's get into a practical scenario, since my main problem is with links speed.

I get that computer above, it has a rather modern i5, normal consumption, as well as a dGPU, a 640m, which I can disable, and has optimus. I remove the bottom cover and realise that it has a mPCIe I can use for my eGPU. Which is the maximum PCI speed I can achieve? Sounds a bit like one of those "clear the X" math problems.

I think it's a 1.X Opt, isn't it? The asus sv53 is kind of similar and achieves that link.

If you have a Sandy Bridge or higher processor, then you'll get 1.2Opt, meaning Gen2 (5gbps) speeds. You'll need a PE4L 2.1 or PE4H 3.2 eGPU package.

[P4TCH]

If you have a Sandy Bridge or higher processor, then you'll get 1.2Opt, meaning Gen2 (5gbps) speeds. You'll need a PE4L 2.1 or PE4H 3.2 eGPU package.

I was going to copy a list of "Thank you" in several languages, but just seeing how far it goes, I'll stick to english.

[daver160]

I was going to copy a list of "Thank you" in several languages, but just seeing how far it goes, I'll stick to english.

Before you go thanking me, just one more thing to keep in mind:

if you want to buy the PE4H package, make absolutely sure that you buy the PE4h v3.2, not the v2.4.

Only v3.2 has Gen2 speeds. (If you buy PE4L 2.1, you are OK).

Now, regarding @Tech Inferno Fan recommendations for laptops, he is totally correct. While we can get eGPU setup on mPCI-e ports, it's much, much more convenient to use the ExpressCard slot. Not only does it mean it's easily to just plug in the eGPU into the laptop, you don't have to worry about the physical slot space on the underside of the laptop. Even though my Dell laptop has *just* enough room for a fullsize mini PCI-e card, not all laptops have that much room. The image you linked to looks like it may not have enough room for the PM___a adapter. As you can see, there are only a few millimeters between the WLAN card and the RAM slots. This may pose to be a problem down the road - or not, it's hard to tell from just pictures.