DIY eGPU experiences

[DuyFat]

Hi, I have some problems: I use NEC Versa E6500 laptop with a GTX 460 and 620W PSU. I connect my GTX 460 card to a 23" Dell LCD support 1920x1080 through a VGA port.

I was able to install modded NVIDIA 285.62 modded driver for Optimus.

and


However, In my Screen Resolution, my LCD is detected as "2. Display device on:VGA", and the Resolution available is only 1920x1200, 1600x1200, 1600x1024 and so on. 1920x1080 was not found.

I tried all the method: uncheck "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display", look at Advanced Settings => List All Modes but 1920x1080 cannot be found. It looks strange, because usually when I connect my LCD to my laptop, it shows the display name as "Dell ST2320L" and default switch to 1920x1080 on the LCD...

PS: link to 285.27 Optimus Retrofit driver Post Link died, could we have an alternatives?
Thank you so much

[Kallogan]

I've done a full windows seven reinstall and in fact my Vostro 3750 doesn't need any pci compaction to make the egpu work. It wasn't simple to get internal screen to work since it doesn't seem to activate with all modded drivers for some reasons while they worked before the reinstall...I mean Egpu is correctly installed without any errors in device managers but 3dmark06 and games still use Intel HD even if i select Nvidia gpu prefered in Nvidia control panel...Anyway it worked with the last Nvidia desktop drivers, don't ask me why cause it's a mystery.

Actually i think i have a small clue. During my first attemps, i was uninstalling nvidia drivers before installing new ones. It didn't worked at all. Tried ten times at least with different drivers !!! Each time internal screen failed to work even with last beta desktop drivers. Last attemp, i installed last beta drivers without uninstalling 275.33 and it worked. Blah.

Funny thing with my lap is if i plug the Egpu before windows boot, the egpu doesn't work and i get an error 12. If i put windows 7 in sleep mode and then plug the Egpu, it works like a charm, no error 12.

[Slagatron Prime]

What is the PSU specification? Max current on +12V?

Ah, you may be onto the problem. Would the card not be recognized at all, even at idle, if the psu wasn't strong enough? I have a Cooler Master Extreme Power 460W with 18A across 12v+ rails one and two. But I couldn't get that one to jump using a paper clip. The fan will twitch when you flip the switch, but then it stops and the thing won't turn on. It WILL turn on as soon as you hook the 20pin into a mobo, so apparently some pin besides PS ON and a COM need to be connected to jump that PSU. So I've had to use a PSU pulled from an old Gateway desktop, which will put out 256W across the +12v rails combined (two of them), which should be sufficient though not ideal...now that I think of it though, I don't know which of its connections are on which rail, since I obviously don't have a spec sheet for it. The Cooler Master PSU as is would be carrying 150W on one rail and 75W on the other since I have two 6 pins on rail 1 and the pcie slot on rail 2. I can't remember the Amperage rating for the old PSU. I will check when i get home and edit this post. I will try to find an adequate PSU to test with before I give up on the PE3A. Thanks for the help Kizwan.

[kizwan]

Actually, eGPU will only draw power from +12V1, not both. +12V2 is only for CPU (4-pin power connector). Other connectors are connected to +12V1.

GTX560Ti power requirement is minimum 170W & can consume up to 205W when at peak 3D. So, PSU must have at least 19A of max current on +12V1 or +12V (12V * 19A = 228W, calculated with 10% margin).

[Slagatron Prime]

I have the PE3A wired to the +12V2 4 pin, using a 4 pin adapter that I cut the yellow and black leads from the male end I,m not using. So those power and gnd wires are soldered directly to the PE3A's 12v terminal posts, and the PE3A's internal power regulation system has been cut in such a way that it only allows a 12V connection to the PE3A and not a 5v or 3.3v connection Wouldn't that work? Giving me 75W at 6.25A on +12v2? Also, I tested the PE3A and gateway PSU (made by HIPRO, it's 18A across both rails. combined, that should be much greater than 19A) with the old gateway GPU, an ATI pcie card that has only a pcie connection - meaning its power requirements are pretty low - obviously, if the HIPRO was running the whole gateway system before, it should be able to do just the card, but I couldn't get it to pick up. Unless, of course, the 4 pin thing doesn't work - it does send at least some power though, because both gpu's i've tested warm up a little, and the 560's fan starts even while plugged in only to the PE3A, with no 6 pin connection. It will not turn on under 6 pin power with no PCIE power.

[zodiark1234]

Are there any brick and mortar retailer that sells the PE4H adapters, or are they such a niche item that they must be purchased online?

Anywho, despite using the older Arrendale Core i5, the PE4 setup with the GTX 460 would still be somewhat more practical than building a desktop just for gaming, and more enjoyable than a similarly priced console for myself. I really appreciate the information this thread has provided. Before, the only such solution I've heard of was ViDock, and that would be ludicrously expensive.

[Slagatron Prime]

Are there any brick and mortar retailer that sells the PE4H adapters, or are they such a niche item that they must be purchased online?

Pretty positive you have to get them through HIT or Bplus, otherwise we would all be buying them from somewhere else and not paying $20 shipping

[vivekm85]

@kizwan
thank you very much for your reply. Can i use this tutorial to use with GT430?(There was a post whcih used it for GTS450 not GT430) i want to get the maximum out of GT430. So would you recommend the PE4L or PE4H to use with GT430?
My device manager looks like this

[zodiark1234]

Pretty positive you have to get them through HIT or Bplus, otherwise we would all be buying them from somewhere else and not paying $20 shipping

I just opened up my laptop and the wireless card is half length. I might have trouble fitting the adaptor.

[Khenglish]

90% is a lot better than what i was expecting tbh

what kind of games do you think will have issues? older dx9? newer dx11? or just random? main games i want to play atm are tera and swtor lol

It's random. SWTOR runs very well on a PCI-E 2.0 link, however on PCI-E 1.1 it microstutters around 30% of the time. I do not know about tera.