DIY eGPU experiences

[Fabi3n]

No when i clic start render test i see the 3 cards igpu dgpu and egpu but i had desactive the nvs4200 ?! and dgpu and egpu stay in 1.1
i think it's not normal that i can't launch nvidia control panel.
Tomorrow i will test on a fresh install.

[minnus]

Look a few pages back, nando and some other guys were discussing that, saying that it could probably be expanded in some way, adding a PSU

EDIT: page 933

Yeah ~ I am just really hoping it comes out next week, especially if it will be sub-$200. Magma's solution is way too expensive at almost $1000. As long as the interfaces work, I'm sure we could butcher some power supplies.

I'm especially eager for the Thunderbolt ViDock though...if it ever comes out.

Edit: Perhaps this will work ~ http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=31784 ; an additional 90Watt external power supply that has a 4pin molex connector (which can be converted to whatever we need for our GPU).

[captainvera]

Magma's solution is way too expensive at almost $1000.
I'm especially eager for the Thunderbolt ViDock though...if it ever comes out

Whats Magma's solution? and why are you so eager for the vidock, whats the difference between that and the MSI GUS II?

[minnus]

Whats Magma's solution? and why are you so eager for the vidock, whats the difference between that and the MSI GUS II?

This is Magma's PCIe to Thunderbolt solution: Magma Thunderbolt Expansion | ExpressBox 3T

The only big difference between the ViDock and the MSI GUS II is that the ViDock will support up to 325W, as well as provide a USB hub function. It wasn't very clear, but I believe they mentioned that at some point, they want to incorporate more ports, such as Ethernet.

The ViDock was estimated to release for around $400; but all these 'specifications' were made during an announcement like 5 months ago - and there hasn't really been any updates since. Supposedly, there will be an annoucement in the coming week(s).

[EpicBlob]

But if you don't need the 325W, there will be a $50 TB upgrade kit if you buy a Vidock right now. BTW, a card like the new 680 fits under the requirements of the Vidock 4+, so that means the TB one would cost $320.

Minnus, if you want TB right now, you could buy the Sonnet TB adapter :P.

And I too can't wait for TB egpus to start popping up. If the MSI GUS really does have a price point of $150 (even 200) it will hopefully bring down the prices of other egpus.

[minnus]

Yeah, the Sonnet TB adapter would be a little silly for me at this point, since the adapter would be useless to me once a real PCIe to Thunderbolt interface is released ~ resulting in a $140 brick (the 1x speeds aren't very appealing to me either...). I would rather wait with bated breath for the release (I'd settle for an annoucement!) of the MSI GUS II / ViDock G4 / ExpressBox 3T.

[EpicBlob]

True. I bought my sonnet adapter about a month and a half ago for $120 and it has served me very well; I think if I sell it for $80 I will be happy with the performance it gave it.


It's just crazy how long its been since these egpus were announced... I hate waiting but it sure feels nice once it's all over

Edit: btw, what type of macbook do you have? My 13inch mbp's CPU is definitely a hold-up, seems like the 15 or 17inch quad cores would pair much more nicely with an egpu (especially a 680 in your case).

[maxjiang]

Vista doesn't support two graphic cards from different vendor. That's why Win 7 is recommended for eGPU.

I don't know what's wrong with Laptop 1. Please try boot without eGPU, do PCI compaction & chainload. This is to see whether PCI compaction worked OK or not on your notebook.

Hi Kizwan, I have tried that last night. Booting without eGPU, do PCI compaction on all devices (well, only iGPU left anyway) and chainload. It fails at the same time as with the eGPU, which is when windows 7 logo starts to appear. The laptop reboots after a BSD is shown for a split second. I still have the old versions of the software, shall I give them a shot? I have a feeling that this might relate to the sudden malfunction of my dGPU about a year ago which it simply disappeared from device manager and could not be switched on. A faulty motherboard perhaps.

[User Retired 2]

Hi Kizwan, I have tried that last night. Booting without eGPU, do PCI compaction on all devices (well, only iGPU left anyway) and chainload. It fails at the same time as with the eGPU, which is when windows 7 logo starts to appear. The laptop reboots after a BSD is shown for a split second. I still have the old versions of the software, shall I give them a shot? I have a feeling that this might relate to the sudden malfunction of my dGPU about a year ago which it simply disappeared from device manager and could not be switched on. A faulty motherboard perhaps.

On the Sony Viao VGN-SZ412N, disable the dGPU using Video cards->dGPU[off]. Ensure the system can chainload into Win7 OK when set. Then try:

1. Hotplugging the eGPU in Windows, do a Device manager rescan. Is it detected?

2. 32-bitA PCI compaction on eGPU-only. Chainload into Win7. If it BSODs then post the the resultant \config\pci.bat file so I can edit it down into the minimal changes needed to configure the eGPU.

3. After cold booting the system. Do a Save Diags->compact fails. Archive the resultant \diag folder files and post a link here.

[schnauzer1107]

Hi, everybody

I bought PE4L and connected it to R500 (t8100,2g), and zotac gtx460 ua.
However, the laptop will beep if I use the 2g+1g ram when I booting with eGPU powered on.
I then used 2G RAM only.

3D MARK 06 TEST 5833
win7 ex rate 5.5 5.5 6.1 6.1 5.9

What can I do to improve the performance of my eGPU?

Thanks in advance.