DIY eGPU experiences

[Muftobration]

I tried fixing my problem last night, but I was unsuccessful. Trying the 258.96 drivers instead of the 259.12 drivers didn't change anything. Is there ANYONE else who has ever had this problem? Optimus just doesn't kick in and my keyboard stops working.

I can plug in the DIY ViDock and turn on my computer and boot all the way into safe mode or diagnostic mode and the GTX 460 shows up, but if I turn on my computer, put it to sleep, plug in the DIY ViDock, and turn it back on, the GTX 460 is not used (no external display and no "Unauthorized Optimus Configuration" on the internal display). I am on the verge of reformatting, but we all know how huge of a headache that is.

I'm on an X201 Tablet with Win7 Pro x64.

[Khenglish]

Do you think that i'm able to do optimus setup with my system over bootcamp, and with 4 GB of ram? I haven't buy the external graphic yet, so to be able to do optimus i think i need an nvidia, right?

Furthermore, do do you think that overclocking my internal graphics, i will be able to play with higher settings and higher fts?

Thanks Khenglish!

Unless Nvidia makes a new driver or someone hacks the optimus driver, you will not be able to do optimus. Currently Nvidia restricts it's use only with intel integrated graphics. From my experience, 8600m gts have a significant, but not huge overclocking headroom. You'll probably get 15-20% higher clocks out of it, for around a 10-15% fps increase. The 8600m gt I overclocked once ran hot, so you should watch your temperature.

[kizwan]

I can plug in the DIY ViDock and turn on my computer and boot all the way into safe mode or diagnostic mode and the GTX 460 shows up, but if I turn on my computer, put it to sleep, plug in the DIY ViDock, and turn it back on, the GTX 460 is not used (no external display and no "Unauthorized Optimus Configuration" on the internal display). I am on the verge of reformatting, but we all know how huge of a headache that is.

Probably just windows issue. Reformatting it is a good idea though.

[trinsic nz]

So I've just been reading this thread for the past few days and will post results shortly with my setup. I have a ViDock4+ with HD5870 which I'm happy with but wondering if it is possible to get even more out of it? The first post mentions the Dell Studio 1558 and Dell D630 as having the correct setup for x2 PCI-e 1.0 and my system is the same in regards to their PCI configuration.

My system is the Dell D830 , T7300 @ 2.0GHz with 4GB RAM and Win 7/64 using the GM965 chipset.

The ports are:
#1 WWAN
#2 Wifi
#4 expresscard

'

Is it even possible to use just the expresscard and get x2? I don't mind removing the wifi to do it. If it helps, I'm unable to boot with the card in till Windows is booted.

I'm guessing x2 is different from x1E? In that x2 requires two devices (expresscard and mPCIe card) while x1E only requires one device spread over two ports? Can I just follow the x1E tutorial using iport x2 or there is something better?


The variable test for RE5 is as so:


3DMark06

[User Retired 2]

So I've just been reading this thread for the past few days and will post results shortly with my setup. I have a ViDock4+ with HD5870 which I'm happy with but wondering if it is possible to get even more out of it? .. The ports are:
#1 WWAN
#2 Wifi
#4 expresscard
..
Is it even possible to use just the expresscard and get x2? I don't mind removing the wifi to do it. If it helps, I'm unable to boot with the card in till Windows is booted.

Thank you for posting your results.

Yes. You can get more gpu performance out of your Dell D830+HD5870 setup but that would mean using your mPCIe slots for connectivity rather than your expresscard slot port4.

If you use a hwtools PE4L+PM3N solution then could do x1E using port1, or if combine PE4H+PM3N+PM3N could do a port1+2 x2E setup, which see a significant performance increase. Consider JamesBond007's x2E results.

Unfortunately Vidock4+ has neither mPCIe connectivity nor x2 via two-ports capability so would require replacing it with the DIY PE4L/PE4H instead to see this performance improvement. Can you get a refund for the Vidock4+? [rhetorical question]

Such GPU performance would make it worthwhile to invest in a more powerful T9300 or X9000 CPU. In the interim, your D830 can do a dualIDA overclock for 10% more cpu performance.

[mattlach]

Questions regarding the 1XE mode:

1.) In the original post it says this does not apply to 5 series chipsets.
a.) What are 5 series chipsets. Are these the Core i3, i5, and i7 chipsets? I have a Dell Latitude E 4310 with a Core i5-520M. Does it fall into this category?
b.) What does it mean that it does not apply? Do the 5 series chipsets not have the handshake issue, or does the 1xe mode fix not work on the 5 series chipsets?

2.) How do you tell if you are having the issue? Can any of the tools read which mode the video card is communitcating with the computer on?

3.) Has anyone tested the Radeon HD68xx series boards yet? Do these still suffer from this issue or have they been fixed like the GTX4xx boards?

I just ordered a Radeon HD6850 - due in on Wednesday - and would be happy to test it and report back, but I don't really know how to test

[User Retired 2]

Questions regarding the 1XE mode: ..
I just ordered a Radeon HD6850 - due in on Wednesday - and would be happy to test it and report back, but I don't really know how to test

No HD6850 results as yet. The boards were released only last week. Your results may be the first.

series-5 chipsets are the i-core ones like HM55/PM55. My testing with a HD5750 finding the x1E tweak doesn't work on them like it does on the series-4 or older core2duo chipsets.

When the HD6850 arrives, please post full benchmarks. I'll be able to compare it's relative 3dmark06 SM 3.0 performance to these ones from the first post.

* i7-620M+HD5750@x1=5085
* P9600+HD5770@x1E=5618
* T7500-2.6+HD5850@x1=5640

Relative performance sees

HD5750 = 64% of a HD6850
HD5770 = 73% of a HD6850
HD5850 = 105% of a HD6850

If ATI have fixed the problem then we'll see the equivalent of x1E performance with the HD6850 obtaining a 15% better SM 3.0 result. So it would be ~6500. If the handshaking issue is still present with Intel chipsets then you'll get 3dmark06 SM 3.0 result of less than 6000.

[trinsic nz]

Thank you for posting your results.

Yes. You can get more gpu performance out of your Dell D830+HD5870 setup but that would mean using your mPCIe slots for connectivity rather than your expresscard slot port4.

If you use a hwtools PE4L+PM3N solution then could do x1E using port1, or if combine PE4H+PM3N+PM3N could do a port1+2 x2E setup, which see a significant performance increase. Consider JamesBond007's x2E results.

In the interim, your D830 can do a dualIDA overclock for 10% more cpu performance.

Choice thanks for the advice. I considered the DIY option since it is much cheaper but size wise I much prefer the ViDock. Also the mPCIe ports are beneath the keyboard so I'm not really left with any place to mount the cables through the side of the laptop.

I more planned to just wait for a expresscard 2.0 Laptop and continue using the ViDock I'll try out the DualIDA now though.

Thanks for posting, I understand it a lot more now. Maybe in the future I'll give the hwtools one a try.

[mattlach]

When the HD6850 arrives, please post full benchmarks. I'll be able to compare it's relative 3dmark06 SM 3.0 performance to these ones from the first post.

I'd be happy to 3DMark06 and RE5 all I should post?

I could also post a lot of other benchmarks, if helpful..

[Faruk]

Hey nando I read your instructions on how to use the 120W DC adapter with the splitter on the HD5750... As per your suggestion, I'm thinking of getting a GTS450 and running that in a similar fashion. Do you think it matters which variant I get? Or should I just go with the cheapest?