DIY eGPU experiences

[User Retired 2]

..
-Compact ATI HD 2400 in (have tried both Bridges and 32 mode) I get (256)
..
-unplugged ViDock and rebooted then plugged vidock in after loggin in
I get Code 43
-I have left ViDock plugged in and still get Code 43 which also appears on Richo PCMCIA adapter in Device Manager as well

In DIY ViDock Setup 1.x you want pci_alloc_valid=yes before chainloading into Win7. Do that by incrementally testing compaction methods below:

1. 36-bit: HD2400
2. 32-bit: HD2400
3. 36-bit for the FX2700M and HD2400, force the HD2400 to 32-bit
4. 32-bit: ALL

I believe (3) won't work as FX2700M probably wants to only be in 32-bit space, but worth a try anyway.

HP Elitebook 6930P
..
Than I don't really know know which graphic card I will go for, maybe the GT460 or The Gigabyte ATI5750

6930P schematic shows port2=wifi and port3=expresscard slot, and is a series-4 chipset so can do x1E tweak, though the wifi card will not work concurrently in that mode. x1E means ATI is still an option. Onboard HD3450 means no NVidia Optimus. So review the ATI and NVidia back-to-back benchmarking results and decide for yourself if want ATI or NVidia. If it was my system, I'd go a NVidia GTX460 and seek ways to get Optimus or x2 working to get higher performance Or could wish for NVidia roll the Optimus performance tweaks into the desktop driver. IF NVidia did that then there would be no reason to go an ATI solution at x1 1.0 bandwidths.

[Simeon]

Thank you for the fast reply! You are correct in saying: (2) won't work as FX2700M probably wants to only be in 32-bit space because it always reverts back! When I try the chainloading, I just get a blinking cursor. Is my problem due to a dual boot scenario? Windows7/64 and WindowsXP/64 and I should remove one OS?

[User Retired 2]

When I try the chainloading, I just get a blinking cursor. Is my problem due to a dual boot scenario? Windows7/64 and WindowsXP/64 and I should remove one OS?

This is confusing. Have you followed the instructions to get chainloading working? Ensure you can chainload to Win7 first. Then try the various PCI compaction methods. Your dual-boot setup likely requires altering the default parameters in the config files. The Setup 1.x environment providing all the menuitems and grub4dos help text necessary to get that done.

[Simeon]

Tried the following:

1.NVidia (onboard) 32MB works

1. 36-bit: HD2400 (256MB)
2. 32-bit: HD2400 (256MB)
3. 36-bit for the FX2700M and HD2400, force the HD2400 to 32-bit (32MB)
4. 32-bit: ALL (No solution found!)

Chainload gives me:
STOP c000007b {Bad Image} The application or DLL \??\C:\Windows\System32\sfcfiles.dll is not a valid Windows image. Please check this against your installation disket.

[mattlach]

ATI versus NVidia back-to-back benchmarking

HD5750 versus GTX470 on x1 and x2 links (i5-430M 2.26, nando4)
HD5750 versus GTX460 on x1/x1E links (T9300-2.5, ithildin)
HD5750 versus GTX470 on x1, x1E, x1.Opt and x2 links (T2050/U7600/T6600, nando4)

Hmm.

I have followed both of the two installation directions for the Nvidia Optimus drivers for my apples-to-apples HD6850 vs GTX470 test but once installed they do not have the extra Optimus features following either set of directions. It just looks like the regular Nvidia control panel without the extra options from the video that Nautis posted.

Any suggestions?

Without Optimus enabled the GTX470 performs horribly in 3DMark2006...

[User Retired 2]

Chainload gives me:
STOP c000007b {Bad Image} The application or DLL \??\C:\Windows\System32\sfcfiles.dll is not a valid Windows image. Please check this against your installation disket.

1. Ensure chainloading works prior to performing PCI compaction.
2. The selective compaction is relative to the existing PCI space configuration. Suggest reboot b/w trying the different PCI compaction methods to get an accurate result.

.. but once installed they do not have the extra Optimus features following either set of directions. It just looks like the regular Nvidia control panel without the extra options from the video that Nautis posted.

Any suggestions?

Did you at any point load the standard desktop driver? I had to resort to cleaning all remnants of it and it's registry settings with Driver Sweeper, then load the Optimus driver to get it Optimus enhancements activated. Optimus will be activated when the NVidia Manage 3D panel gives you a Preferred Graphics processor option as shown.

Optimus will more than double the 3dmark06 score, panning the Return To Proxycon scene with the same smoothness as your HD6850.

[ArDarsh]

Pardon my lack of understanding, but is the HP DV6tse capable of doing a DIY Vidock. Does it have a mPCIe capable of it since it lacks the ExpressCard slot? Same goes for the ENVY 14?

[mattlach]

Did you at any point load the standard desktop driver? I had to resort to cleaning all remnants of it and it's registry settings with Driver Sweeper, then load the Optimus driver to get it Optimus enhancements activated. Optimus will be activated when the NVidia Manage 3D panel gives you a Preferred Graphics processor option as shown.

Optimus will more than double the 3dmark06 score, panning the Return To Proxycon scene with the same smoothness as your HD6850.

Nope, no Nvidia drivers had ever been on this computer prior to today.

I did - however - make one mistake. I didn't realize you needed drivers with the special .INF file so the first time I installed it, I got the Optimus drivers directly from the Nvidia.

When I realized my mistake after it didn't work, I uninstalled those drivers, rebooted, ran Guru3d's Driver Sweeper to clean things up, and then reinstalled the drivers here with the proper .INF file. Still no success.

I can not justify paying money for driver sweeper right now. I'm going to try reinstalling a few more times, but I am about ready to give up on Optimus, and without it, the GTX470 is very sluggish, and not even worth benchmarking.

[mattlach]

Nope, no Nvidia drivers had ever been on this computer prior to today.

I did - however - make one mistake. I didn't realize you needed drivers with the special .INF file so the first time I installed it, I got the Optimus drivers directly from the Nvidia.

When I realized my mistake after it didn't work, I uninstalled those drivers, rebooted, ran Guru3d's Driver Sweeper to clean things up, and then reinstalled the drivers here with the proper .INF file. Still no success.

I can not justify paying money for driver sweeper right now. I'm going to try reinstalling a few more times, but I am about ready to give up on Optimus, and without it, the GTX470 is very sluggish, and not even worth benchmarking.

I think I may have discovered the reason for the problem, but I am not quite sure how to fix it.

When I start up the laptop with the diy vidock connected, the "Intel HD Graphics" is no longer in the Device Manager.

My guess is the BIOS is being smart and realizing that it does not have enough address space for both and disables the internal IGP. Since Optimus ties together the two GPU's, I'd imagine it wouldn't work without the Intel HD Graphics there.

Any suggestions for how I may be able to fix this?

[Simeon]

I have completely removed Windows XP from dual boot and now only have Windows7/64. When I try chainload it starts a Windows XP screen and I get autochk program not found and a STOP c000021a Fatal System Error. How do I make sure this is working correctly? What do I need to change in
GRUB4DOS.bat if anything? Sorry...I just don't get this!
-----------------------------------------------------
@echo off
echo.
if NOT "%1"=="" goto start
:usage
echo Usage: grub4dos [w7 mbr xp]
echo.
echo w7 - Chainload Windows 7 or Vista (bootmgr)
echo xp - Chainload Windows XP (ntldr)
echo mbr - Chainload Linux, or if above two items don't work
echo.
goto exit

:start
:: convert commandline to lowercase
echo %1 | lmod [l] | varset par1 read 0

:grub_start
if not "%RAMD%"=="" set DRIVE=%RAMD%
if "%DRIVE%" =="" set DRIVE=%DRV%
set conf_file=%DRIVE%:\config\menu.%par1%
if "%par1%"=="xp" grub --config-file="%conf_file%"
if "%par1%"=="w7" grub --config-file="%conf_file%"
if "%par1%"=="mbr" grub --config-file="%conf_file%"
if "%cmd%"=="" echo ERROR: wrong commandline
if "%cmd%"=="" goto usage
%cmd%
echo If you are here then chainloading failed. Please edit
echo '%conf_file%', with settings suitable for your system.
echo Then retry chainloading with '%cmd%'.
pause

:cleanup
set par1=
set drive=

:exit