DIY eGPU experiences

[User Retired 2]

Nope... v2. Possibly feeling the wrath of early adopter agony. perhaps shoulda got a v1.4.

My PE4H V2 hasn't skipped a beat when combined with a HD5750. That's running either in x1 or x2 mode. Worth acquiring another US$6 DX mini hdmi cable just in case that's the problem. I had one cable become problematic due to a kink.

[Fardavid]

Yes, I have only 2 GB RAM. But in case I have error 12, what shall I do if I cannot boot from USB? I mean as I mentioned I could not do what was writen in the installation guide...

[User Retired 2]

Yes, I have only 2 GB RAM. But in case I have error 12, what shall I do if I cannot boot from USB? I mean as I mentioned I could not do what was writen in the installation guide...

Instructions explains how to create Win95 DOS DIY ViDock bootdisk if the Freedos version doesn't boot.

[Fardavid]

Thank you Nando! I have no idea how I skipped that part!

[ruhtraeel]

Hello Nando,
I finally noticed your list of 2GB Nvidia and Radeon cards.

There is also the 2GB 4890 you linked for me, and a 1.7GB GTX 275 that goes from anywhere between $310 to $375. This may be an interesting solution to some, as apparently the 2GB version provides better framerates than a GTX 285 and a 4890, and also runs on less power/heat. I'm not sure if it's a dual gpu or not, however.

[ronvalencia]

Having issues w/the video card intermittently losing power (fan stops, but both lights on the PE4H stay on) which subsequently locks up windows... I'm wondering if the PE4H's fuse is faulty.

It occurs regularly when the card's power draw increases from idle to load. But it seems like only a particular kind of load. DMC4 benchmark runs over and over w/o issue. Starcraft II beta frequently locks up in the battle.net menu -- not in game. Maybe software is contributing to this one.

Maybe my power supply be at fault? I'm using an antec ATX 350W. The most annoying part is that the diyvidock rig worked totally fine the first week.

Any thoughts ideas or troubleshooting steps you guys may think of please let me know. Its been a very frustrating couple of nights.

Any video driver changes?

[Kristoffer]

Wow! I'm so impressed with my new system. I've tried a few games and for the first time in many years I can run them with maximum settings! Thank you Stacky, I wouldn’t try this if I hadn’t read your post. I also want to thank nando and everyone else involved. This project really deserves more attention.

System:
Dell Studio XPS 13
Intel C2D P8400 (2.26 GHz)
4 GB RAM
Windows 7 Pro - 64 bit
MCP79 chipset

DIY Vidock hardware:
XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB
PE4H & EC2C (ExpressCard)
Deltaco PSU - 350W
No enclosure needed

Pictures:





Benchmarks:

3Dmark06: 10344


RE5-DX9: 65.2


DMC4-DX10: 49.59


3DMark Vantage (GPU): 6923

[User Retired 2]

Wow! I'm so impressed with my new system. I've tried a few games and for the first time in many years I can run them with maximum settings! Thank you Stacky, I wouldn’t try this if I hadn’t read your post. I also want to thank nando and everyone else involved. This project really deserves more attention.

Thank you for posting your experience. It has been added to the first post.

All the benchmarks are where I'd expect them compared to the T9300-HD5750@x1E and P8600-HD5750@x1E. The only odd one out is your 3dmark vantage score. Based on the other results I'd expect the GPU score to be in the 5300-5500 region unless those other results are amiss.

MCP79 is x2 capable

If you connect a PM3N to your wifi card, it might default to x2 mode. The chipset is capable of x2 (x16, x2, x1, x1) based on the information here. If it defaults to x1 then would require the programmer's reference from NVidia that shows how to set it to x2.

Another place to figure out how to do x2 would be by using PCI Scope Trial, seeing if it's internal database of PCI registers makes mention of pci-e lane width anywhere. You'd need to load XP to use it as it BSODs in W7.

[Fardavid]

I received all parts what I needed and try to get them work, unfortunately no success so far. The card and PE4L has enough power, the fan works and the leds are on. Nothing happens if I just plug everything while windows is on, nor when it is asleep or if I reboot the whole system, so I probably need the diy vidock usb reboot. The problem is that it just doesn't work. If I do the first version it says no boot files on the usb, if I use win95 dos boot, it doesn't say anything it just simply doesn't boot.
Could you please help me what to do?

THANKS!

[User Retired 2]

I received all parts what I needed and try to get them work, unfortunately no success so far. The card and PE4L has enough power, the fan works and the leds are on. Nothing happens if I just plug everything while windows is on, nor when it is asleep or if I reboot the whole system, so I probably need the diy vidock usb reboot. The problem is that it just doesn't work. If I do the first version it says no boot files on the usb, if I use win95 dos boot, it doesn't say anything it just simply doesn't boot.
Could you please help me what to do?

If the 4870 is working and connected successfully on the system it will appear in Everest -> Motherboard -> Chipset -> South bridge, with or without having a driver loaded. If it doesn't appear then check the expresscard slot is active and working.

Once the card is detected OK you'd be able to install ATI Catalyst to provide a driver for the 4870. At that point if you see an error 12 on your 2GB setup then the underlying bridges are not configured. Suggest trying the Magma Full driver first and resort to the DIY ViDock bootdisk if no go.

There are many tutorials on the web on how to create a USB DOS bootdisk. Could try FreeDOS, MSDOS 6.22. Win95 DOS, Win98SE DOS.