DIY eGPU experiences

[Wober]

I came across a thread (on another site).....
In short, we are able to connect a PCI-E 16x card to a 1X slot by simply cutting the final part of the 1X Slot, or we can use something like this:

Newegg.com - StarTech PEX1TO16 PCI-Express x1 to Low Profile x16 Slot Extension Adapter

And we have to consider the fact that there are some 1X PCI-E cards (even if they aren't to powerfull)

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Video Cards & Video Devices,Desktop Graphics / Video Cards,PCI Express x1

Are Vidocks usefull at all considening all this???

[josephdfco]

Hi ! I'm a total newbie, and not the most computer-savvy (though I do have a little background in electronics from my days as a submarine sonar tech), but I can learn quickly. I have a Sony Vaio VPCF115FM, with a core i7 (1.60GHz) and a Geforce GT 330M GPU, and it performs poorly with C.O.D:black ops, so I wanted to get set up with an external GPU as cheaply as possible. Has anyone put together anything like a step-by-step guide (I'm guessing that this is not that simple), or can someone point me in the right direction for figuring out what setup would work with this computer? Honestly, I don't know much about port configuration, but what would be the best way to get the info needed to figure this out? Any help that you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated!

[josephdfco]

I just got a email from ViDock; it says:"ViDock 4 Plus with an Nvidia 460GTX, Nvidia 470GTX, ATI HD5870, or ATI HD6870
are all high-end options. ViDock 4 Plus will support all of these.

Assuming you are running Windows 7, the OS should support the drivers for your
internal and external graphics GPUs at the same time. Read the release notes on
the graphics drivers for your chosen card to make sure it does not exclude your
laptop." So, I'm wondering if either the DIY ViDock, or theirs, and one of the above-mentioned cards, would work with my computer, and if it would benefit from such a high-end card.

[senseisin]

I came across a thread (on another site).....
In short, we are able to connect a PCI-E 16x card to a 1X slot by simply cutting the final part of the 1X Slot, or we can use something like this:

Newegg.com - StarTech PEX1TO16 PCI-Express x1 to Low Profile x16 Slot Extension Adapter

And we have to consider the fact that there are some 1X PCI-E cards (even if they aren't to powerfull)

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Video Cards & Video Devices,Desktop Graphics / Video Cards,PCI Express x1

Are Vidocks usefull at all considening all this???

The purpose of the Vidock systems are more towards laptop computers, where you can't just replace the graphic card at all and not so much for desktop computers, in my understanding.

After all, for $200 you can buy a new mainboard and a graphics card for just about any desktop easily.

[User Retired 2]

Has anyone put together anything like a step-by-step guide (I'm guessing that this is not that simple), or can someone point me in the right direction for figuring out what setup would work with this computer?

Yeah - see Getting Started section on the first post.

Your i7+GT330M Sony can't do a x1.Opt nor x2 link, nor is the x1E tweak available on series-5 chipsets. Meaning you'd be bandwidth limited to performance levels worse than your GT330M. High performance cards like a GTX460/GTX470/HD58xx would be working far below their peak potential.

If want faster performance suggest trade up to a notebook with a faster gpu, eg: Lenovo Y560 with HD5730 or get one that can do x1.Opt, ie: has a i5 cpu and provides Intel HD. Better yet, wait for Sandy Bridge notebooks to be released with x1 3.0 expresscards (5/10Gbps) slots come Feb 2011.

[lingo124]

Oh crap. Hey nando4 would my laptop work. Itss an hpdv2610us with some weird igp: its an nVidia 7150m. Will it work? Sigh I should have checked before because ive bought everything already... just waiting on my adapter to arrive haha.

GTS 450 SC
2/3/4 gb of ram (i have 2 x 2gb and 2 x 1gb ram sticks)
expresscard 34

Thanks

[Chesniak]

So here are my benchmarks so far.

HP TX2-1224ca
RM-74 2.2GHz
4GB Ram 350GB HDD
RS780M ATI HD3200 Onboard GPU
XFX ATI HD5770 via PE4H --> EC2C


7799 3D Marks
3352 SM2.0
4270 SM3.0
1538 CPU

RE5
DX9.0 - 37 FPS
DX10.0 -34.7 FPS

[Wober]

The purpose of the Vidock systems are more towards laptop computers, where you can't just replace the graphic card at all and not so much for desktop computers, in my understanding.

After all, for $200 you can buy a new mainboard and a graphics card for just about any desktop easily.

I know, but If you have a mPCI-E slot in your notebook, I don't know why you need to buy a Vidock....
You can do the same thing I posted before to notebooks too....

I know what a Vidock does, Bu I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S USEFULL AT ALL...

Why in the world I need to buy a 85$ adapter (considering all the cables and the fact that PE4L/PE4H aren't sold outside usa...) , when I can simply mod the mpci-e slot in my notebook and buy a new video card???

And even if I don't want to mod my mPCIe slot, I can still buy a 1x PCIE videocard and simply put it into my notebook......

[moral hazard]

No notebook has a normal PCIe slot.

All they have are miniPCIe slots, these are not the same (pinout is very different). You can't fit a GPU into one of these no matter what you do. You need the adapter.

x1 PCIe slot /= miniPCIe slot.

Open your notebook and compare the slot with the one in your desktop.

And a desktop card wont fit inside your notebook.

I'm guessing you have never seen a miniPCIe slot

[Wober]

No notebook has a normal PCIe slot.

All they have are miniPCIe slots, these are not the same (pinout is very different). You can't fit a GPU into one of these no matter what you do. You need the adapter.

x1 PCIe slot /= miniPCIe slot.

Open your notebook and compare the slot with the one in your desktop.

And a desktop card wont fit inside your notebook.

I'm guessing you have never seen a miniPCIe slot

Really?
I saw a mpcie alot some time ago and later I saw in a post over this site something like:

pcie 1x = mpcie

So I thought: Oh really? That's weird! I thought that the pinouts were different!

Obviousely the guy forgot to tell that he was using an adapter....

Sorry guys!