DIY eGPU experiences

[bogatyr]

Download nando's modified optimus drivers, and the modded .inf.
Extract the drivers, usually to C:\nVidia or something like that.
Go into the extracted folder, replace the original .inf with the modded one.
Then go ahead and run the nVidia installer program, it should detect your card properly now. Assuming it is Fermi or up.

I did that. The GTX 570 information in the modified INI didn't match my GTX 570 card. I changed the hardware ID in the INI to match my card and it was detected. Drivers detect the card and start the install, but the install still fails and device manager shows the driver but it says "No drivers are installed for this device." in device status and "The device isn't using any resources because it has a problem" in the Resources tab.

USB is back to not working (try to access a flash drive and Windows quits working) and Windows won't boot with the card inserted, it freezes up after the Windows 7 logo comes together and pulses a few times.

This is with BIOS 1.09, Expresscard Gen1 selected.

On the PE4H card, lights D2, D3, D4 are lit up, D1 is not. The switch is in position 3 (came that way out of the box even though the board says position 1 is default). Powering it up with a new Seasonic 400w silent power supply.

[bogatyr]

Fresh install of Windows 7, installed IGP driver, chipset driver, Nvidia modified driver.

Works.

Install Lenovo Power Management driver - works
Install Lenovo Power Manager Software - symptoms return

Anyone with one of the new Thinkpad generation laptops able to use the Power Manager Software?

Oh and now for the scores (EVGA GTX 570 HD on T420s laptop):
Internal LCD: Result
External HDTV: Result

[bogatyr]

Also, I wanted to thank everyone for their help. Especially sprtnbsblplya and Nando4.

Nando4, you definitely keep up on the PMs and do a lot of great work around here

[maeth]

Hey all!

I am new to this forum, but have posted a bit on the sister site tablet pc review.

I recently got a Fujitsu T901, one of the few Sandy Bridge tablets on the market right now (the other I know of is the X220T)

I have been following the DIY Vidock forum for a little while, and it encouraged me to try it myself.

Enough about the intro, for the juicy bits:

Laptop:
Fujitsu T901
Intel Core i7 2620M
8 GB RAM
120 GB vertex 3

MB:
Manufacturer FUJITSU
Model FJNB228
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model ID0104
Chipset Revision 09
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model ID1C4F
Southbridge Revision 04

DIY Vidock:
x16 adapter
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone OC 1024MB
USB hub, to which is attached a 1.5TB hardrive, and misc other peripherals.


Experience:
On unboxing the laptop, after setup and stuffs:
Turn on DIY ViDock, plug into already turned on laptop.
Laptop auto installs drivers and everything works. Video, external drive, everything.
Awesome!

One quirk:
Evey plug in, it knocked out the installed "Intel My Wifi" adapters. This is not the actual wifi, it is some Intel utility to configure your laptop to act as a router for other devices. They come back to life after removal. Not a big loss, guess it is PCI bus weirdness.


Now for the not so awesome part:
I removed the original ram (2gb), upgrade it to 8GB
change the installed hardrive to SSD.
Re-install windows.
However, now the card is seen as a "Standard VGA".
Not able to get video, still knocks out My Wifi.
The computer does not recognize the rest of the stuff attached to the usb port either...

Going to try the 1.x Setup tonight.
Any ideas?

Thanks!

[tpro]

Hey guyz,

As noted before, with Sony VAIO E series, gtx460. allocation reserve problem , solution: memory must be 2GB.

Well, on the main page, Nando4 Said, only Nvidea cards can fit.

Does this mean i cant run Ati on my EB12FD? ( Location on the page:i-core... (use find))

Thanks guyz, going to buy it at last!

[maeth]

hmm...
i have a benchmark saved where i had 8gb ram, old hdd, and vidock was working....

[mavrik13]

Just in case there is anyone else from Canada looking for a PE4L, I found a dealer on Ebay which provides the cheapest shipping. I've posted the link in a search format, so that after the buy it now auction ends, you should still be able to find it.

pe4l | eBay

You can also make a highest offer - he took $51, making the grand total only $67 to get a PE4L up to Canada.

[sprtnbsblplya]

Fresh install of Windows 7, installed IGP driver, chipset driver, Nvidia modified driver.

Works.

Install Lenovo Power Management driver - works
Install Lenovo Power Manager Software - symptoms return

Anyone with one of the new Thinkpad generation laptops able to use the Power Manager Software?

Oh and now for the scores (EVGA GTX 570 HD on T420s laptop):
Internal LCD: Result
External HDTV: Result

I'm using the default install of all the ThinkVantage tools running on my T420 and I have no problems with it.

These are the jumper settings I successfully used with my PE4L, it is powered externally by a 560w 80% efficiency Corsair PSU: DIY eGPU experiences

400w for a GTX 470? What brand? Is it a newer gen, high efficiency model? If not, that may be a problem as it may not be putting out enough juice on the 12v rail you're using to power that GTX.

Edit:
Go into Thinkvantage power management software. On the lower end, battery saving power settings, it may be restricting power to the PCI Express port.I do recall there being some setting that messes with that, may be worthwhile to check that out.

[MuF]

I had no success with hp 8510p + ati 2600hd + diy vidock with x1950GT. it almost always showed A5 stop error when booting or when done with the sleep-plugin-wake trick it found the card, but it said "no drivers are installed" or "cant find resources" or "drivers are already loaded so they cant start".

i've tried every possible combination I could imagine with no avail. Any ideas what to?

[key001]

I had no success with hp 8510p + ati 2600hd + diy vidock with x1950GT. it almost always showed A5 stop error when booting or when done with the sleep-plugin-wake trick it found the card, but it said "no drivers are installed" or "cant find resources" or "drivers are already loaded so they cant start".

i've tried every possible combination I could imagine with no avail. Any ideas what to?

What drivers are you using for both cards?
x1950 is a 'legacy' card... you need a 9.3 or older driver if you're trying to make both cards use the same driver that has both cards' dev id in the inf.