DIY eGPU experiences

[timohour]

Great news!!!
According to this the new MacBook pro have 2 thunderbolt ports. That means that people with enough money could buy two TB to x4 3.0 adapters and do a crossfire setup @ x4-x4 3.0 (same performance as x8-x8 2.0). 3DMark11 GPU score (with 2x7970) would be ~ 17000 WOW!

Total cost though would be over 3000$!!!

[Hunter20]

I was waiting and looking for a laptop, but now i'm really in a dilemma.

I like the Vaio Z because it's screen (resolution, gamut, etc.)
But now with the introduction of thunderbolt the macbook airs will be outperforming, but they do not have a fullhd screen with high gamut.

[hobbesdaboba]

I've got a Lenovo T410s with switchable graphics. I also purchased a PE4H-PM3N since I have the 5-in-1 media reader instead of the expresscard slot, and I plan on using an EVGA GTX 460 SC as my eGPU. From what I've gathered, I should be able to achieve x1.Opt. But, I have some questions...

1. Will I need to do the Setup 1.x thing as well as the verde driver?

2. Will I need to disable my dGPU (NVS3100m)?

3. Will the verde driver tweak work for nvidia 3xx.xx drivers?

Thanks!

[darkcond0]

I've got a Lenovo T410s with switchable graphics. I also purchased a PE4H-PM3N since I have the 5-in-1 media reader instead of the expresscard slot, and I plan on using an EVGA GTX 460 SC as my eGPU. From what I've gathered, I should be able to achieve x1.Opt. But, I have some questions...

1. Will I need to do the Setup 1.x thing as well as the verde driver?

2. Will I need to disable my dGPU (NVS3100m)?

3. Will the verde driver tweak work for nvidia 3xx.xx drivers?

Thanks!

3. I'm using the 3xx.xx desktop drivers on my x220 with a GTX 460. x1.2Opt is working well on my internal LCD - you don't need to tweak the driver.

[mywolfe]

Ok, I’m very interested in doing this, and I’ve tried my best to read through the entirety of this thread but I still have a few questions.

First off, the TOLUD issue, my laptop has 4 gigs of memory so its possible I might have this problem? Here’s a screenshot of the memory in the device manager. I’m not sure exactly what I’m looking for. I think its ok but I was a little confused by this, if someone could take a look and let me know that would be great.

Second, and this is my main concern, is that I have a vaio vgn-z720 so I have both a discrete and internal gpu. It has the 4500MHD intel card so its compatible with optimus but I’m not sure of exactly the best way to disable the nvidia card. If it all possible I would like it to be as close to plug n play as possible.

From reading around it seems the two options are to either use Setup 1.x or possibly to hack the bios on the sony laptop ala this thread: find thread (although this may just be for the newer VPC models, can anyone confirm it works on the VGN models?). If I’ve missed any other options please let me know. I’d like to do whichever can get me closest to just being able to plug in the egpu and go without a restart etc… If this isn’t possible that’s ok but just trying to figure out what the best method would be.

Also, I thought I saw mention of a new PE4L version that comes with an enclosure being released soon somewhere back in the thread? Although I can’t remember where I saw that anymore. Is this correct, are there any newer versions being released that I should wait for (not concerned about thunderbolt support as I won't be upgrading my laptop any time soon but if not too pricey an enclosure would be nice).

And finally (a minor question) on the first page it says you can use PhysX but I didn’t really understand what systems would be compatible or how to set this up etc… Would this apply to my laptop?

Thanks so much and sorry for the long… long post!

[tristan7zavier]

I figured it out. Turns out I just needed to install both drivers one for the gtx460 and the other for the nvs3100. Now all I have to do is boot windows and do the whole sleep plugin and wake and its all good. This is on a hp 8440 with an i5 520m 8gb ram without need of the dtsd override, although its at 1.x with just the express card. wie gives me a 6.1 on both gaming/aero graphics but thats with the drivers cd that came with the card. I can run skyrim on ultra with it i want so see wha i can get on 3d mark. LOL im happier than flies on S*it Thanks to kizwan and the troubleshooting section DIY eGPU Troubleshooting FAQ

[shmed]

Hey everyone,
I've had my eyes on an eGPU for the last couple of years. I was in exchange in another country the last year so I couldn't go forward with the project but now I'm back home and I'd really like to do it. I have a Lenovo X220 i7-2620m, with 8gb (1866mhz). I was planning in getting a GTX 560ti 448 cores (EVGA probably). FIrst of all i wanted to know if it was a good choice? I could get it for around 270$ before taxes/shipping. Another option would be the 384cores version for around 230$ or an older GTX460 for around 150$.
Also, I really didnt understand what was all about the different versions of PE4L. From what I've understood the PE4L v2.1b is the most recent one, so i guess that would mean it is also the best one to get? I've seen someone posting about using a PE4L v2.1b with a X220 and a 560ti so I guess it would be compatible with my setup. Am I missing something? Should I get another version of the PE4L? Will it depend on the GPU i choose? If yes, what would be the one to choose for the card I cited earlier?
Most of the time, the card will be connected to an external 24inch screen through dual-DVI. Also, last question, how do I know what kind of power supply I will need? Is their a rule on how to calculate the correct amount of power I will need?

Thank you very much! I am really looking forward this project!

[jemino]

Hey everyone,
I've had my eyes on an eGPU for the last couple of years. I was in exchange in another country the last year so I couldn't go forward with the project but now I'm back home and I'd really like to do it. I have a Lenovo X220 i7-2620m, with 8gb (1866mhz). I was planning in getting a GTX 560ti 448 cores (EVGA probably). FIrst of all i wanted to know if it was a good choice? I could get it for around 270$ before taxes/shipping. Another option would be the 384cores version for around 230$ or an older GTX460 for around 150$.
Also, I really didnt understand what was all about the different versions of PE4L. From what I've understood the PE4L v2.1b is the most recent one, so i guess that would mean it is also the best one to get? I've seen someone posting about using a PE4L v2.1b with a X220 and a 560ti so I guess it would be compatible with my setup. Am I missing something? Should I get another version of the PE4L? Will it depend on the GPU i choose? If yes, what would be the one to choose for the card I cited earlier?
Most of the time, the card will be connected to an external 24inch screen through dual-DVI. Also, last question, how do I know what kind of power supply I will need? Is their a rule on how to calculate the correct amount of power I will need?

Thank you very much! I am really looking forward this project!

PE4L 2.1b has more bandwidth (PCIe 2.0) than previous versions, so you definitely want that.

If you can afford a 560 Ti 448, then go with that. Otherwise, even the 460 will run circles around the Intel GPU.

As for the power supply, it depends on the graphics card. I use a 450W (Silverstone st45sf) with a 560 Ti (not 448, but overclocked) and it works great. Don't be cheap about this. Cheap noname PSUs are a big no-no.

[SimoxTav]

PE4L 2.1b has more bandwidth (PCIe 2.0) than previous versions, so you definitely want that.

If you can afford a 560 Ti 448, then go with that. Otherwise, even the 460 will run circles around the Intel GPU.

As for the power supply, it depends on the graphics card. I use a 450W (Silverstone st45sf) with a 560 Ti (not 448, but overclocked) and it works great. Don't be cheap about this. Cheap noname PSUs are a big no-no.

I agree about the PSU, i have the same and my GTX670 works smoothly

[shmed]

Thank you both for the answer! I really appreciate.
WHen you say that even the 460 will circle around my processor, do you mean that the i7-2620m will bottleneck my whole setup? Which would means that I wouldnt see a difference between the 460 adn the 560ti in term of performance? I'm not that much of a gamer. I play a little bit of diablo 3 but thats pretty much all.

Ok so for the hardware, I see all that equipement on the front page for a total of around 140$. Do I really need all of this? or is it all included

US$91 PE4H-EC2C or PE4H-PM3N / &
US$20 PM3N
US$10 PCIEMM-100
US$28/$7 shipping

also, i see that there is 2 options
http://www.harmonicinversion.com/pro...category_id=25
and
PE4H (PCIe passive adapter ver2.4)

I unfortunately have no idea what is the difference between both. Also, in each link, they re a list of extra accessories that I can add (like PCIe-Cable, AC Power Supply, mPCIe card: and ExpressCard adapter) and also sometime i have to make some choice (PE4H ver 2.4 and PE4H ver 2.0a). This kind of confuse me a lot since I dont really know what any of those things do. Can someone tell me exactly what part I'd need to buy to run one of these GPU?
Also, I have no soldering skill at all nor do I have the equipment. Will I need to solder anything when I get a power supply? Also, anyone has any recommandation for a power supply?
Again thank you very much. This will be my first DIY experience and I really dont want to mess it up hehe.
Thanks!