DIY eGPU experiences

[Inception418]

This is looking really promising for me. I have for a few months now been looking for a a thin/light laptop that could really game. The closest thing that I could find has a gt540m which can only really game on low. Before I go forward I have a few questions. I apologize if they have already been addressed.

1. If i get a laptop with say a gt540m dedicated already in the machine, can I switch back and forth between using the 540 when travelling, and my eGPU when at home? (I would think you could as long as I have optimus and disable the 540 when using the eGPU)

2. How does this (eGPU with lets say a 460/560ti) compare to a big bulky sager gaming latop that comes with a gtx 560m card. Would the x1 PCI-e throttle the eGPU so much to make the 560m better? If so how low a mobile card would equal an eGPU, 555/550/540?

Thanks guys.

[Lord_Epithis]

Okay, so I have one last question.

If the eGPU is supposed to run through the external graphics card, then why is my on board GPU (330M) still whirling and freaking (fan loudness I mean) as if it was doing all the work? Is there a way to tell my on board GPU fan to shut the hell up because I'm using an External GPU?

[kizwan]

This is looking really promising for me. I have for a few months now been looking for a a thin/light laptop that could really game. The closest thing that I could find has a gt540m which can only really game on low. Before I go forward I have a few questions. I apologize if they have already been addressed.

1. If i get a laptop with say a gt540m dedicated already in the machine, can I switch back and forth between using the 540 when travelling, and my eGPU when at home? (I would think you could as long as I have optimus and disable the 540 when using the eGPU)

2. How does this (eGPU with lets say a 460/560ti) compare to a big bulky sager gaming latop that comes with a gtx 560m card. Would the x1 PCI-e throttle the eGPU so much to make the 560m better? If so how low a mobile card would equal an eGPU, 555/550/540?

Thanks guys.

1. Exactly. If your notebook is Nvidia Optimus ready notebook (Intel HD Graphics/3000 + GT540M), you can use eGPU when at home & dGPU (GT540M) when traveling.

2. Graphic card is not throttled when connected to x1 link. For example, if the graphic card have core clock of 950MHz, it will run at 950MHz if there is demand for it (e.g. playing games), regardless whether it's connected to x1 or x16 link. What slowing down the eGPU is the bandwidth. On desktop, graphic card can run at x16@2.5Gbs/5Gbs (depend on the chipset/north bridge specification) while on eGPU, graphic card can run at x1@2.5Gbs (x2 if Optimus & x2 link setup), 5Gbs on SB notebooks when the compliant kit available. So, a lot of data is push through x1 link. It is bottleneck by the bandwidth. If I compare my eGPU (ATI HD5870 @x2) with GTX560M, using Starcraft 2 games as comparison, FPS are roughly identical. On Dirt 2, my eGPU perform worst than GTX560M. eGPU might get higher score in benchmarks but mobile card have a lot of bandwidth which make them perform much better. For eGPU vs. desktop, graphic card on eGPU will lost at best roughly 30% of the actual performance.

Okay, so I have one last question.

If the eGPU is supposed to run through the external graphics card, then why is my on board GPU (330M) still whirling and freaking (fan loudness I mean) as if it was doing all the work? Is there a way to tell my on board GPU fan to shut the hell up because I'm using an External GPU?

Does your notebook have two fans? If only one fan, it will whirling & freaking because CPU need it for cooling.

[xtraman122]

I already did. See post #7449.

My bad, totally missed that. Thanks!

[Lord_Epithis]

Does your notebook have two fans? If only one fan, it will whirling & freaking because CPU need it for cooling.

I believe only one. When I web browse its not making a racket, but when I play fricken Age of Empires 2 it goes into hyperdrive. I felt the laptop and its not hot at all, just a little warm if barely. I mean, as of the moment I do not have my eGPU set up because I'm moving, but it did the same when it was connected. Its just that its loud and obnoxious.

[jake225]

Thanks you kizwan.
I understand you correctly.

because I have the HD5470 i Can only do 1x eGpu with mPCIE slot

or

2x eGPU with 2 mPCIE slot (however I cannot risk removing the wifi card to free up a slot)


Is the performance of 1x terrible compared to 2x and is there any tweak to get 1x faster?

[kizwan]

Performance on x1 is poor than x2. Definitely you'll experience stutters & lags when playing games, especially on huge map, outdoor scenes & heavy effects. x2 only possible if you can access & use 2 PCIe ports, and they must in either of these combinations:-
- PCIe port#1 & port#2
OR
- PCIe port#3 & port#4
OR
- PCIe port#5 & port#6

Considering you need to use mPCIe port, I can't recommend you to do x1 link. Unless you can do x2, it just doesn't worth it.

[Inception418]

1. Exactly. If your notebook is Nvidia Optimus ready notebook (Intel HD Graphics/3000 + GT540M), you can use eGPU when at home & dGPU (GT540M) when traveling.

2. Graphic card is not throttled when connected to x1 link. For example, if the graphic card have core clock of 950MHz, it will run at 950MHz if there is demand for it (e.g. playing games), regardless whether it's connected to x1 or x16 link. What slowing down the eGPU is the bandwidth. On desktop, graphic card can run at x16@2.5Gbs/5Gbs (depend on the chipset/north bridge specification) while on eGPU, graphic card can run at x1@2.5Gbs (x2 if Optimus & x2 link setup), 5Gbs on SB notebooks when the compliant kit available. So, a lot of data is push through x1 link. It is bottleneck by the bandwidth. If I compare my eGPU (ATI HD5870 @x2) with GTX560M, using Starcraft 2 games as comparison, FPS are roughly identical. On Dirt 2, my eGPU perform worst than GTX560M. eGPU might get higher score in benchmarks but mobile card have a lot of bandwidth which make them perform much better. For eGPU vs. desktop, graphic card on eGPU will lost at best roughly 30% of the actual performance.

Hrmmmm so I would probably be better off getting a sager/lotus with a 560 unless I want a smaller computer in which case making and eGPU would get me to where I need to be. Tough decision. How do you think a 540m stacks up against some of the more common eGPUs?

[xizzu]

Hello All,

I would like to thank Nando4 and all contributors for this fantastic thread.

I am an owner of ancient (by today's standards) Asus N80 laptop. I would really like to try to make an eGpu, but since i cant connect it ta an external screen, im considering buying a budget/mid laptop (with a good cpu) and on board gfx so i can use optimus for internal lcd.

The questions is should i wait a bit more for thunderbolt and/or usb 3.0? or should i bite the bullet and buy a laptop right now since those technologies are still not on the market?

For now i can still game on the asus n80 luckily im not fan of fps games, but its showing its old age.

Thanks.

[SimoxTav]

Hrmmmm so I would probably be better off getting a sager/lotus with a 560 unless I want a smaller computer in which case making and eGPU would get me to where I need to be. Tough decision. How do you think a 540m stacks up against some of the more common eGPUs?

Consider that with the newer adapter, the performance of the eGPU should rise enough to almost match a GTX570m (check nando's results in the first page).
The GT540m is a midrange card, good enough to play at medium on 720p (check my videos in sign to have terms of comparison, but to me is a no match against an eGPU (even with a GTX460)