DIY eGPU experiences

[kizwan]

BTW, NFS Shift will always run with DirectX 9 or 10? NFS Pursuit will use highest DirectX (DirectX 11), right?

[bakudannar]

Implemented

Lenovo Ideapad y560p
Core i7 2630QM (Sandy Bridge)
8GB RAM
Radeon Mobility 6570M 1GB
Radeon HD 6850 1GB via ExpressCard


3DMark06
InternalDiscrete vs. [eGPU]
8442[15891] 3DMarks
2881[6966] SM2.0
3514[6423] HDR/SM3.0 Score
4952[4943] CPU Score

Vantage soon...

[Fardavid]

hwtools will have pci-e 2.0 hardware available on Jul 30th

Just received word and updated the eGPU pci-e 2.0 and Thunderbolt status, copied below. The wording suggests a new PE4L/PE4H and/or PM3N/EC2C PCB is required to transmit the faster pci-e 2.0 signals.

Can't wait to see how it works! So as I understand we need to buy a whole new thing, not only a cbale, right? I hope the enclosure will not make it expensive.

D

[User Retired 2]

Implemented

GTMAX mini HDMI cable?

Thanks for posting your experience. It's a shame the Lenovo Y460P/Y560P doesn't have an iGPU via switchable graphics as then it would make a great candidate x1.Opt system using it's expresscard slot.

The braiding color on your mini HDMI cable suggests it might be GTMAX flat mini HDMI cable. I've only found ones that are mini HDMI to HDMI. Is yours mini HDMI to mini HDMI or are you using some sort of adapters? If it's mini HDMI to mini HDMI flat cable then can you advise where you purchased it from? Would be handy for those who need to thread cabling under keyboard or out of crevices where mPCIe slots are located.

So as I understand we need to buy a whole new thing, not only a cbale, right? I hope the enclosure will not make it expensive.

Based on the wording it looks to me that is probably the case. I'm getting sketchy details. Perhaps a tactic to offload the existing pci-e 1.0 PE4L/PE4H stockpiles? It never did make any sense that the mini HDMI cable would be the problem given the cable is good for 10.2Gbps.

[kizwan]

Implemented

Lenovo Ideapad y560p
Core i7 2630QM (Sandy Bridge)
8GB RAM
Radeon Mobility 6570M 1GB
Radeon HD 6850 1GB via ExpressCard


3DMark06
InternalDiscrete vs. [eGPU]
8442[15891] 3DMarks
2881[6966] SM2.0
3514[6423] HDR/SM3.0 Score
4952[4943] CPU Score

Vantage soon...

Have you tried any games yet?

[Fardavid]

GTMAX mini HDMI cable?

Based on the wording it looks to me that is probably the case. I'm getting sketchy details. Perhaps a tactic to offload the existing pci-e 1.0 PE4L/PE4H stockpiles? It never did make any sense that the mini HDMI cable would be the problem given the cable is good for 10.2Gbps.

Yes, but if it was not tha cable (I agree it didn't make any sense) but the PE4L/PE4H, they cannot offload the stock as it is not compatible with 2.0, I guess.
Anyway, let's see how it is...

[Moerf]

I'm sorry to bug you once again, but I've spent yesterday and part of today trying to figure this out.

I mount the image with imdisk and label the drive "V". Does it have to be a specific size or anything? Do I have to make it a specific type of drive?
I set it to 10mb and created a folder name "devcon" and in that folder I make a .txt file called mkdevcon? Is that right or what am I doing wrong?

When I create the disk and reboot to run the save diags.compact_fails it tells me that a report has been saved to A:?? When I reboot the txt file is empty and I dont have a folder named V:\diag...?

I've googled alot of today and I havn't been able to find the answers so I could really use some help for dummies here... :-(

/Lurifax on HP Pavilion dv7-3130eo, Win7 using PE4H from Harmonic and a Radeon HD 6950

Once again; I am truly and utterly lost now.

I've been trying for the last three days to get the eGPU setup to work as described, but I can't get it to save the diagnostic report to V:/diag...

When I run the compaction_fails it tells me that a I should zip/rar the diagnostic report located at a:/diag but that drive isnt anywhere?

I really hope someone can help me because I am really really frustrated now and I feel that I have persued all other options.

/Lurifax on HP Pavilion dv7-3130eo, Win7 using PE4H from Harmonic and a Radeon HD 6950

Hello Lurifax,
if I understand it correctly a:\ could correspond to the virtual drive a.k.a the image that is mounted when you are inside the eGPU-setup boot environment. You can try to check that by leaving the setup and looking at the DOS you have there. ("dir" to see current directory's content, "cd" to change directory or simply "a:", "b:", ... to change the drive). So maybe you can also check if there is this diag-text-file somewhere to be found.
After you startup Windows and you want to mount the drive again you go to the C:\"eGPUSetupDirectory" and use the "eGPU-Setup-mount.bat"-file (you probably can just see the ".bat" if you have enabled to see known extensions in your explorer's config). If you would look inside that with any text editor you would find that imdisk mounts the image file to "V:". So after you run this *.bat a drive V: should appear next to your current local drives in "Computer".
Alas this is the case with the old version "1.e" I use. And I double checked that with the newest (1.f pre26) version I found.
So I do not quite understand why you mount the drive yourself? The "eGPU-Setup-mount.bat" should do all the work for you.
Next: How do you create the devcon.txt? I find that the mentioned V:\devcon\mkdevcon.bat you should execute to do so from nando4 does execute the following script:

@echo off
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: mkdevcon - create devcon.txt to be used by Setup 1.x
:: Run in Windows 
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Get executing directory

  :: Change to executing drive and directory
  if "%windir%"=="" goto not_win

  SetLocal
  set curpath=%~dp0%
  set curdrv=%curpath:~0,1%
  set dcon=%curdrv%:\config\devcon.txt

  pushd . & cd /D %~dp0

  call devset resources "ACPI\PNP*" > %dcon%
  if errorlevel 1 echo [mkdevcon] ERROR - failed to create %dcon%. Ensure UAC=off and you are an admin user. T& pause & goto end
 
  call :check_devcon
  if errorlevel 1 pause & goto :end 
  echo [mkdevcon] successfully created %dcon% with a valid "PCI BUS" 
  echo section. If using a disk image then please dismount it to ensure a 100^%% 
  echo successful save.
  echo.
  echo ******************************************************************************
  echo NOTE: if you change your RAM configuration or use your disk image/usb disk on
  echo another system, then pls re-run %curdrv%:\devcon\mkdevon to create a new devcon.txt.
  echo ******************************************************************************  
  pause
  goto end

:not_Win
  echo.
  echo [mkdevcon] ERROR: Please run this utility while in Windows XP/Vista/W7.
  echo.
  goto endDOS

:check_devcon
:: Look for PCI BUS string in devcon.txt and exit 0 if find it.
findstr /I /R /C:"pci[ -]bus" %dcon% > nul
if NOT errorlevel 1 exit /B 0
findstr /I /R /C:"bus[ -]pci" %dcon% > nul
if NOT errorlevel 1 exit /B 0
findstr /I /C:"AMD PCI Express (3GIO) Filter Driver" %dcon% > nul
:: Found a PCI-BUS section, so exit 0
if NOT errorlevel 1 exit /B 0

:: Did not find PCI BUS section, so warning and error 1
echo mkdevcon: PCI BUS section NOT found.
echo.
echo If you are using a non-English language, then please edit the %dcon% file
echo and remove the "PCI BUS" section. Otherwise that *whole* section will
echo be excluded from allocaton when performing compaction and compaction will fail.
echo.
exit /B 1

:end
  :: Return to originating directory
  popd
  :: CLear variables
  EndLocal

:endDOS

I hope I could be of some little help. I am not really sure I could give you some information of value - it seems to me that you have to really re-read and analyze some of the FAQs and informations mentioned in this initial setup 1.x post http://forum.notebookreview.com/6295529-post641.html and post some more structured information to get better help next time.

But don't give up, the goal is worth the effort

[Khenglish]

It never did make any sense that the mini HDMI cable would be the problem given the cable is good for 10.2Gbps.

This is something I've seen a lot and would like to comment on. Only 4 wires are used for PCI-E data transfer, while 9 are used if an HDMI cable is used normally. (4/9) * 10.2 = 4.5 Gbps, so it is possible for the cable to be a factor going by the data rate rating.

[flaunt]

Hey all - Im actually a long time user of the DIY vidock system. My laptop is a Dell XPS M1330, and I am using the PE4L with a Corsair 400CX PSU and Geforce GTX 460 (MSI cyclone OC).

MY system has been running perfectly since setup, and I am very pleased with results. In fact, you can see my rig run starcraft 2 in ultra settings from the front page (YouTube - ‪laptop DIY vidock - Starcraft 2 Ultra Settings‬‏)

It turns out, that I have decided to build my own desktop, and am going to assimilate the graphics card into my new rig. Because of this, I have a PSU and PE4L setup for sale now. (all that is lacking is the GFX card which can be supplied by you)

The power supply is a Corsair 400CX (400W) extremely quiet and high quality PSU which has a single 12V rail with 30Amps - good for any card you want to supply in a DIY setting (meaning only GFX card). The supply works perfectly, and is eerily quiet. I bought this for around 45 dollars, and am willing to sell it for 20 dollars

Additionally I have the full PE4L set from Harmonic that has been working without issue for the last 9+ months. It includes the following:
* x1 PCIe board (PE4L)
* Mini HDMI (Type C) to Mini HDMI (Type C) 1ft cable
* External 5V/12V power supply cable
* ExpressCard Adapter
* Additional HDMI cable - 6 ft (IM ADDING THIS)

This set sells for 65 dollars with shipping, and I will be selling mine for 45 dollars. (PLUS I AM ADDING A 6ft HDMI cord for free!)

If you buy both, you will get a fully working system for 65 bucks + 5 dollars shipping that simply requires your own graphics card. (normally this will cost you around 90 dollars or more for the stuff to run your card)

All of these parts are completely pristine and 100% functional. If the PSU was 50 watts more I might have used it for my new system (its an amazing unit).

All payments would be through PAYPAL, and I will ship starting July 5th (as I am out of town until then).

These prices are negotiable, feel free to email me at flaunt777@gmail.com

[sprtnbsblplya]

^^^
Smoking deal for someone to buy a working eGPU setup.