DIY eGPU experiences

[acer47ok]

DV7-5000 confirms has pci-e 2.0 ports

Got to play with one of these just-released Sandy Bridge notebooks at a local store.

Hey... The dv7-5000 has a intel hm55 chipset....does that mean the likelyhood of other laptops with the hm55 should have expresscard 2.0 as well?

[User Retired 2]

Hey... The dv7-5000 has a intel hm55 chipset....does that mean the likelyhood of other laptops with the hm55 should have expresscard 2.0 as well?

DV7-5000 has a HM65 (Series-6) chipset capable of pci-e 2.0 5GT/s. HM55 is pci-e 2.0 for the power management only. It's still only 2.5GT/s.

And what is optimus? Also, can my laptop support DIY ViDock?
..
What do I have to get in order to make this external graphics card work? And what graphics card should I get in order to not bottleneck the card and waste money? I was thinking of HD6850(195USD) or Plalit GTX460 1GB (170USD)
I play Starcraft 2 semi competitively and would like to play it on Ultra and at a resolution of 1920x1080.

You'll need an accessible mPCIe or expresscard slot to do a DIY ViDock. Complete listing of parts is available on the first page. The question as to what video card to get for best performance is often asked, so is now a FAQ item on the first page Which video card do you recommend for best performance on my system?.

[NewbieKid]

DV7-5000 has a HM65 (Series-6) chipset. HM55 is pci-e 2.0 for the power management only. It's still only 2.5GT/s. Click Series-5 in matrix below for more details.



You'll need an accessible mPCIe or expresscard slot to do a DIY ViDock. Complete listing of parts is available on the first page. The question as to what video card to get for best performance is often asked, so I came up with a draft below. This will be incorporate on the first page in the next couple of days. Here for your viewing pleasure:

Which video card do you recommend for best performance on my system?

This will be determined by your chipset, if additional ports available for x2 linkage and whether you have 4500MHD or Intel HD graphics. The matrix below makes recommendations based on the system chipset with:

-LIME recommend Nvidia Fermi solution for best performance

-RED recommend ATI HD5750+ solution for best performance

-CYAN choose based on preferred performance bias: DX9 (ATI HD5750+) or DX10/DX11 (Nvidia Fermi). Refer to the back-to-back benchmarking and gaming performance on the first page to help you decide. Note: if the Nvidia x1.Opt driver was unlocked to allow primary video cards other than Intel 4500MHD/HD AND it engaged with x2 links then all these CYAN entries would all be LIME x1.Opt/x2.Opt Nvidia recommendations instead. Wishful thinking perhaps?

Chipset

pci-e 1.0 (2.5GT/s) lanes

pci-e 2.0 (5GT/s) lanes

x1

x1E

x1.Opt

x2

x2E

x2.Opt

x1

x1.Opt

x2

x2.Opt

AMD RS*

Y1

N/A

N

?

N/A

N

N

N

N

N

NVidia MCP*

Y1

N/A

N

?

N/A

N

N

N

N

N

Intel ICH7M

Y

Y3

N

Y5

Y4

N

N

N

N

N

Intel ICH8M

Y

Y3

N

Y5

Y4

N

N

N

N

N

Intel ICH9M

Y

Y3

Y2

Y5

Y4

N2

N

N

N

N

Intel Series-5

Y

N/A

Y2

Y5

N/A

N2

N

N

N

N

Intel Series-6

Y

N/A

??

N6

N/A

N16

??

??

N6

N26

¹ provides full duplex performance equivalent to x1E on Intel chipsets.
² Optimus tweak engages on a x1 link on a system with Intel 4500MHD or HD primary graphics improving performance 20-333%.
³ x1E tweak uses a x2 link on port1, 3 or 5 with a single lane for 15-30% more perf (ATI/non-Fermi Nvidia only).
⁴ x2E tweak use two lanes of a x4 link, port1+2 as EC+mPCIe or mPCIe+mPCIe for 30-60% more perf (ATI/non-Fermi Nvidia only).
⁵ by combining expresscard+mPCIe or mPCIe+mPCIe slots (p1+2, p3+4, p5+6 or p7+8).
⁶ link width is now set in flash descriptor. Requires advanced hacking to configure x2 link.
? Don't know if non-Intel chipsets can do x2 links.
?? just-released. Requires testing to confirm Optimus tweak engages on this chipset AND confirmation that the hwtools gear can transmit pci-e 2.0 5GT/s signals. That latter being tested at the moment.

Hi, I am really not sure whether I have an accessible mPCIe or expresscard slot, theres only a HDMI slot and a SD MMC slot from what I've seen on the outside of the laptop and I dont know if the wifi card is accessible as well.. My model is the Asus A42KJ

[kizwan]

Hi, I am really not sure whether I have an accessible mPCIe or expresscard slot, theres only a HDMI slot and a SD MMC slot from what I've seen on the outside of the laptop and I dont know if the wifi card is accessible as well.. My model is the Asus A42KJ

Your notebook doesn't have express card slot & wireless card is located below the keyboard.

[NewbieKid]

Your notebook doesn't have express card slot & wireless card is located below the keyboard.

Oh, thx a lot, and the wireless card is hard to be reached? Must I peel open the lappy in order to access it? And will my warranty be voided?
Anyways, will the wireless card be counted as a 1.0 expresscard or a 2.0

[kizwan]

Oh, thx a lot, and the wireless card is hard to be reached? Must I peel open the lappy in order to access it? And will my warranty be voided?
Anyways, will the wireless card be counted as a 1.0 expresscard or a 2.0

No need to disassemble the whole laptop. You just need to disconnect the keyboard to access wireless card. Someone at another forum nice enough to share the pictures shown how to access the wireless card. He have A42JE, should be similar with all A42 series.


As long as you don't tempered the warranty sticker, shouldn't be no problem. Wireless card is attached to mini-PCI-E slot - PCI-E 2.0 x1 port 2 (checked on my Asus, port # might different on yours).

For DIY ViDock setup suggestion, maybe someone else can help/suggest you for the best approach to apply/setup it.

[NewbieKid]

Wow, its kinda hard to take out the keyboard huh? Must we unscrew any screws before the keyboard can be taken out? And once the wireless card goes out, then I wont be able to use wifi?

[kizwan]

Wow, its kinda hard to take out the keyboard huh? Must we unscrew any screws before the keyboard can be taken out? And once the wireless card goes out, then I wont be able to use wifi?

The method to take out the keyboard almost similar with any notebooks. I don't see any screw holding the keyboard. You can take out the keyboard without unscrewing anything else (look here). Yes, you won't be able to use wifi.

[acer47ok]

DV7-5000 has a HM65 (Series-6) chipset. HM55 is pci-e 2.0 for the power management only. It's still only 2.5GT/s. Click Series-5 in matrix below for more details.

I thought the dv7-5000 had a hm55...well at least according to HP Pavilion dv7-5000 Entertainment Notebook PC series specifications - HP Home & Home Office products

Is it possible for a laptop with the sandy bridge chipset such as hm55/65 to still use a 1st gen I core processor(eg i5 430m)...?

For my vidock setup. The ATX PSU is outside instead of inside a normal PC case....since it's outside. exposed to the elements...could I just block off thetop of the power supply so no dust gets sucked inside? The fan still spins...and the psu never really gets hot at all so I dont think it needs that much air circulation anyways.

[playersnoopy]

I have the ViDock 2 Plus with 225watt power adapters which I was using to run my ATI 5870 on my laptop but finally took the chance it could power the GTX 580 which specs state 244Watts. I converted one 6 pin to 8pin and runs just fine and wow what a difference between the 5870 and 580