Y510p Ultrabay Graphics card

[gerald 68]

I have designed an adapter for the ultrabay slot to plug desktop graphic cards into a Y510p.

The BIOS starts with "Unauthorized Slave vga ...". Need help for a new BIOS without PCIe check on Ultrabay.

[intruder 16]

Interesting. You'll need to ask any BIOS modder to help with that. 

[Ca2dmt 2]

You should prbly address the issue in this thread maybe:

And also can you take some pictures, and maybe links to whatever adapters or hardware you bought to make such and adapter? 

Since your the first to make this sort of adapter, i think people like me wanting this kind of solution would apprecicate some kind of proof af a working adapter, and if you want someone to modifiy the bios for this, i guess they would also appreciate pictures of a working adapter. 

 

Not that i'm doubting you, but this is so interesting and something i have wanted to do for a long time and never had the time even start such a project. If we can make this happen, i guess the y510p and other almost could live forever. 

[gerald 68]

This adapter is a new development. The first version has some drawbacks but it works.

You need an additional PSU for it to work because of the high power requirements of such a desktop GPU. 

 

I will start a kickstarter project asap because I am sure the whole Y510p community is waiting for this graphic boost ;-)

 

[intruder 16]

14 hours ago, gerald said:

This adapter is a new development. The first version has some drawbacks but it works.

You need an additional PSU for it to work because of the high power requirements of such a desktop GPU. 

 

I will start a kickstarter project asap because I am sure the whole Y510p community is waiting for this graphic boost ;-)

 

 

Amazing work! Truly appreciated! 

[gerald 68]

Project is live!!!

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/290597041/lenovo-y410p-y510p-ultrabay-adapter-for-graphic-ca

 

pls support this project.

[MajorCakey 1]

Fantastic Work!

[octiceps 256]

With a heavy desktop GPU I'd be worried about flex and stress on the laptop mobo, esp. since it's not supported by the chassis like the Ultrabay module is.

Edited April 25, 2016 by octiceps

[intruder 16]

^ Agreed. A cable option would be great.

[RedStone 2]

14 minutes ago, intruder said:

^ Agreed. A cable option would be great.

 

Agreed too

[Ca2dmt 2]

 i guess the two random screws by the x16 lane has somekind of rubber feet or something under the board. 

[jcagara08 53]

wow such a great endeavor for the eGPU community BRAVO!!

is this project supporting both gpus from the two giants NVIDIA and AMD?

Edited April 27, 2016 by jcagara08

[gerald 68]

Both GPU vendors are supported. You need only the right driver for the GPU.

[drprank 11]

Wait so how far has testing gone with this project? 
Even if it works, will there be any kind of bottlenecks?

[gerald 68]

Currently the adapter is working as a PCIe x1 connection. The next version will support PCIe x8. This means a boost by 8 compared to some products which supports the WLAN interface as a eGPU connection. And another big advantage is no need to change the BIOS. No new whitelist is needed for this adapter.

 

[Tesla 22]

looks very promising. can u post some benchmark scores when the x8 is out?

[gerald 68]

I will get the new adapter end of may. Stay tuned :-) 

[jgdiaz2167 0]

Wow that is some awesome work man, excellent work!!!!

[prins_carnaval 1]

Awesome, does it work on the y500 (with 750m) too?

[gerald 68]

Y400 up to Y510p supports the ultrabay adapter. So yes, this adapter should works also in a Y500. Unfortunately I have no Y500 to test the functionality.

 

[prins_carnaval 1]

Thank you for your information. I am interested in such an adapter and the way you made/designed this. Currently studying electrical engineering

[gerald 68]

What do you want to know?

I found the schematics of the Y510p mainboard in a forum and started investigation on the connector. It's a special connector from TycoElectronics. After that I designed the board, checked the impedance and layer stickup, routed it and ordered a PCB. 

 

[prins_carnaval 1]

Awesome! How did you find out what connections go where? Must have been a hell of a job to find that out.

[gerald 68]

Yes, this is the reason why I need a second run with the adapter. Some signals were not documented well and it's a kind of trial and error. 

[gerald 68]

Great news! Version 2 of the adapter is up and working. Benchmarks coming soon :-)