DIY eGPU experiences

[Havokoff]

First of all, let me say kudos to all of you! This thread is very interesting and informative. The work being done is absolutely fantastic!

Now, I would also like to profite from some extra GPU power. I recently found out that my expensive laptop is unable to play Skyrim at medium level! :-(

Any who, I would appreciate if someone would tell me what my options are. I would like to maximise my performance for gaming.

Lenovo W510
Qm57
i7 Q820
12gb of ram
Fx800m

Questions:
Would I be able to do x2 or x4?
Which components should I buy?
What would be my maximum performance output?

I truly appreciate all the help!! Cheers!

Attached is my everest stats

[User Retired 2]

hi........ i'm new to this site and these kind of stuffs...... so please someone help me to get a best egpu to me.... i got a HP Compaq Presario CQ61-105EE Notebook PC. it's specs are...
2.16 GHz Intel Pentium processor T3400 Microprocessor
Memory 4096 MB (2 x 2048 MB)
Video Graphics Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
Windows 7 (32-bit)
Product Specifications - HP Customer Care (United States - English)
i dont know nothng about the hardware thing like pci ports,express ports etc...
so someone plzzzzzzzzzz help me to get the best egpu 4 my laptop..........

If your wifi slot is accessible then your system could do a x1.Opt NVidia implementation using a PE4L-PM3N or PE4H-PM3N (eg: GTX460-336 cores). Do note that HP whitelist the slot so you'd either have to boot with wifi then hotswap it to use the eGPU or use the Setup 1.x's software undo-whitelisting feature.

For simplicity's and performance sake, I'd suggest upgrade your system to one in the thin-and-light link in my sig and enjoy superior x1.2Opt performance using a PE4L 2.1b. Dell 3550, Lenovo E520 or HP Probook 4530s likely available for a reasonable price in India.

Any who, I would appreciate if someone would tell me what my options are. I would like to maximise my performance for gaming.

Lenovo W510
Qm57
i7 Q820
12gb of ram
Fx800m

Questions:
Would I be able to do x2 or x4?
Which components should I buy?
What would be my maximum performance output?

Lenovo W510 is x2 capable using [port3+4] but wifi is affected

The W510 schematic shows

port2=wifi 
port3=UWB/mPCIe slot
port4=expresscard
port5=media card
port6=LAN
port7=USB 3.0
port8=firewire

So you could do a x2 1.0 [port3+4] implementation. Issue there is running port3 in x2 mode makes port1 run in x2 mode, so the wifi would get knocked out. Unless there is another mPCIe slot that is port1 you'd need a USB wifi stick to run the x2 1.0 eGPU + wifi concurrently. In addition, port3 is likely whitelisted requiring additional workarounds - Setup 1.x software could be used to do that.

Though I'd suggest you consider offloading your system for a T520/W520 or others in the thin-and-light link in my sig that are x1.2Opt capable. You'd get double the bandwidth from a simpler and cheaper single expresscard slot solution, without needing Setup 1.x software when using a NVidia Fermi/Keplar card.

[danyk72]

Hello. I`am new here.
I just bought PE4H-EC2C and want to use it with my HP Dv6-2155dx, 8 gb RAM, Intel HD video card. eGPU is going to be nVidia GT 9600.

I connect all staff together,but get error 12.

I tried to use 36-bit root bridge DSDT override steps,
DIY eGPU experiences
but stuck on #4. I got 116 errors and have no idea how to fix them.

dv6.dsl.txt

Asking for help. Thank you

[celli]

Hi,

finally I got my eGpu runnig nice. I just needed a fresh Windows 7 and now everything looks great.

I get at 3D mark 06 : 16121

System:
Vostro 3450
I5 2140
4 GB RAM
GTX 560 (non Ti) @ PE4L 2.1b


Later I will post my Resident Evil Score but in the moment my Internet Connection is quite slow and so I need some tome to download the benchmak.

[atomicfungus]

I have a rather silly question:

How do I connect the external monitor? Do I connect it to the eGPU or to the laptops' display output port? Do I have to change some BIOS setting for boot display?

Also, I have tested my PE4L 2.1b with my X220 and a Leadtek PX9600GT. The GPU is detected, and the overall CPU temperature is not as high as without the eGPU, but there is no noticeable increase in performance. Is it because the GPU is simply too old?

[Havokoff]

Lenovo W510 is x2 capable using [port3+4] but wifi is affected

The W510 schematic shows

port2=wifi 
port3=UWB/mPCIe slot
port4=expresscard
port5=media card
port6=LAN
port7=USB 3.0
port8=firewire

So you could do a x2 1.0 [port3+4] implementation. Issue there is running port3 in x2 mode makes port1 run in x2 mode, so the wifi would get knocked out. Unless there is another mPCIe slot that is port1 you'd need a USB wifi stick to run the x2 1.0 eGPU + wifi concurrently. In addition, port3 is likely whitelisted requiring additional workarounds - Setup 1.x software could be used to do that.

Though I'd suggest you consider offloading your system for a T520/W520 or others in the thin-and-light link in my sig that are x1.2Opt capable. You'd get double the bandwidth from a simpler and cheaper single expresscard slot solution, without needing Setup 1.x software when using a NVidia Fermi/Keplar card.

First of all, thanks for the supper quick reply Nando4. Your involvement in this project over these past two years (or more!) is rather impressive! :-)

Unfortunately offloading is not an option. I would prefer to put that money in buidling a new desktop. Just looking to get a little more use out of my laptop before going down that road.

I have a few more newb questions:

1)When looking at my everest stats I notice my PCIe ports are identified as "PCIe 2.0 x1". Wouldn't that mean I would get x2 2.0 by combining port 3 and 4?

2)How difficult is it to use Setup 1.x software. I really don't have to much experience with changing bios...

3)And just to confirm component wise:
a)PE4H ver2.4
b)EC2C
c)Do I also need PM3N for x2?

[danyk72]

Hello. I`am new here.
I just bought PE4H-EC2C and want to use it with my HP Dv6-2155dx, 8 gb RAM, Intel HD video card. eGPU is going to be nVidia GT 9600.

I connect all staff together,but get error 12.

I tried to use 36-bit root bridge DSDT override steps,
DIY eGPU experiences
but stuck on #4. I got 116 errors and have no idea how to fix them.

dv6.dsl.txt

Asking for help. Thank you

Can you guys explain me how to fix these errors???? should i delete some data from file or change????

[Fabi3n]

Hello, i just run a benchmark with 3dmark06 and i get 17334 score.
I don't know if it's a good score regarding my conf and it was displaying on my internal screen.
link here
Complete post tomorrow.

[celli]

So meanwhile i did the Resident evil benchmark. I scored 128 fps but I can not give you a screenshot because the taken one was black

But so far everything is great And as next step I want an eCPU because with a Dual Core Battlfield 3 is playable but its not perfect.


@Fabi3n
I think it is ok because I scored a little bad less with external LCD but only an I5 and 3D mark 06 likes CPU performance alot

[denneboom]

this could be interesting, my old laptop has poor 3D performance,
luckily it has a fast cpu+express slot. a egpu could increase fps dramaticly.
(its still not a game notbook, i dont play shooters, just casual games like tropico4, rayman origins etc)
now i need to decrease the reslolution to keep it playable

pro's
nvidia's 8300 are cheap for use as a eGPU's
more performance then IGP.
if u dont need the egpu u could leave it at home

cons: for arround 200€ in could buy a (2nd hand) ACER 5920, witch has a GT8300
that means i could sell my old laptop to minimize the costs.
carry extra weight for the power supply and gpu