DIY eGPU experiences

[invisibleman]

Try a program called "lexar usb format". I personally couldn't get my laptop to boot from USB, so I'm stuck with using 2gb.

If anyone can provide any insight as to exactly why having *more* RAM causes resource allocation conflicts and having *less* does not, please enlighten us as this does not seem very intuitive. Is it possible at all to resolve error code 12 in a simpler way?

[nando4]

Originally Posted by ben.clevo

II tried to do the diy vidock usb bootdisk but i didnt really understand the bit about the .bat files and creating the bootable usb.
...
Can someone please spoonfeed me some instructions on creating the usb bootdisk. or even edit me a batch file and list the files needed?

DIY ViDock Setup 1.x superceded software/information below. Information left for legacy purposes.

DIY ViDock Bootdisk Installation Instructions

The instructions below create a USB or floppy bootable drive to overcome error 12: cannot allocate resources errors in XP/Win7. This should ideally be sorted by your BIOS or Windows, though in at least the 2510P's and DV2000's case it isn't. grub4dos is then used to chainload your XP/Win7/Linux bootloader.

Instructions

All files mentioned below are downloadable from the DIY ViDock Repository.

1. download and extract DIYVDOCK-xx.rar to c:\DIYVDock, where xx is the latest version.
2. Install and run HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool (HPUSBFW_2.2.3.zip). It will create a DOS bootable USB stick. Choose Create a DOS Startup Disk Using System Files located in C:\DIYVDock.
3. Copy C:\DIYVDock files to your USB drives root directory (eg: H:\) using Windows Explorer
4. Boot the DIYVDock USB boot. It will prompt you to 'edit' the supplied 2510P.bat or DV2000.bat for usage on your system. Alter the following lines as appropriate:

set sys=HP_2510P
set port=1
set io_win=2020
set mem_win=CFF1C001
set vid=ATI

5. Uncomment entry in autoexec.bat to allow automated run of your batch file.
6. Now can use your USB bootdisk to allow desktop video graphics to work.

NOTE: latest examples of config_files are in the DIY ViDock repository -> PCIScripts folder

Win98SE DOS DIY ViDock Bootdisk instead?

A report here come that a Asus N61JQ required a Win98SE DOS bootdisk instead of the supplied FreeDOS version, otherwise the USB stick wouldn't boot. I'm not sure what the copyright issues if a pre-made Win98SE bootdisk was made with the tools, so instead below are instructions on how to create your own Win98SE DOS DIY ViDOck bootdisk:

1. Download a Win98SE DOS bootdisk image from allbootdisks.com
2. Use WinImage to mount the image and extract to a DOS directory.
3. Use HPUSBFW_2.2.3.zip to format the USB stick, pointing to the DOS directory for the system files
4. Extract the DIYVDOCK-xxx.rar to the USB stick, ensuring you don't overwrite any existing files (autoexec.bat is OK) - also from Repository.

Automating the bootup so don't need a USB bootdisk

Initially advise using the DIY ViDock USB bootdisk to setup your PCI scripts. Once tested and working to your satisfaction, then automate the process to speed up the boot without needing a USB stick by one of the methods below:

[XP/W7] Using grub4dos's grldr to load your DIY ViDock disk image

(i) Using WinImage, save your final scripts (eg: autoexec + 2510P.bat) to the DIY ViDock bootdisk image
(ii) save grub4dos' grldr to c:\
(ii) create c:\menu.lst

   title DIY VIDock
   map (hd0,0)/DIYVdock-conf.img(fd0)
   map --hook
   chainloader (fd0)+1
   rootnoverify (fd0)

(iii) Add grub4dos' grldr to the bootmenu as explained for Vista/W7 or XP. Note. Use direct mapping to be able to save to the disk image as explained here. See other DIY ViDock user's notes about this here.

[Linux] using grub or grub2 to boot DIY ViDock bootdisk image

If you have grub installed then can have a automated AND fast bootup without needing a floppy or USB disk. Once you have a working floppy/USB DIY VIDock bootdisk completed, use DIYVDOCK-xx.IMG. 'dd if=/dev/xxx of=/boot/VIDVDock-xx.img' to save it as an img file, adding entries below. This boots a ramdisk and is recommended for it's much faster bootup than using a USB stick or s-l-o-w floppy disk.

title           DIY ViDock PCI Bridge Configuration   
root            (hd0,0)
kernel          /boot/grub/memdisk
initrd          (hd0,0)/boot/DIYVDock-xx.img
quiet

Can edit the bootimage in Linux with:

$ losetup /dev/loop0 /boot/DIYVDOCK-xx.img
$ mount   /dev/loop0 -o loop /media/floppy-image
$ cd /media/floppy-image
[ edit the files using vi ]

You'll need to grab syslinux and copy memdisk to make this work.

$ apt-get install syslinux
$ cp /usr/lib/syslinux/memdisk /boot/grub/memdisk

[Linux] Add entries against your grub2 OS boot item

Means don't even need to boot the DIY ViDock bootdisk to do memory/PCI config space using setpci/pt. grub2 1.98 provides setpci AND write_xxx commands to do it. If have an older version of grub2, then need to convert setpci commands to memory writes as shown here.

Tools used

• pt.exe as part of peridos. Everything that Baredit can do in Windows, pt.exe can do in DOS, plus it can also write to I/O ports too. This is incredibly useful for our purposes. It can read/write/save/dump PCI Registers/IO and 32-bit memory space. Though for individual PCI Device Configuration space modification I used setpci instead, since it's syntax is the same for Linux.
• grub4dos to allow chainloading from DOS to XP/Vista/Win7/Linux.
• setpci/lspci, pcitool to query and modify PCI Configuration Registers. pcitool is a DOS component delivered with PCIScope, Professional PCI probing utilities. Useful to capture all the configuration space (pcitool /DB:all) then import it in PCIScope for Windows for analysis or comparison.
• atiflash to scan the bus to identify ATI video card is present.
• nvflash to scan the bus to identify Nvidia video card is present.
• Freedos provides a DOS environment. edit and choice from a DOS bootdisk.

Copyright?

I hope there has not been any infringement of copyright using these tools. Pls PM nando4 on if that has inadvertently been the case.
______________________________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by invisibleman

If anyone can provide any insight as to exactly why having *more* RAM causes resource allocation conflicts and having *less* does not, please enlighten us as this does not seem very intuitive. Is it possible at all to resolve error code 12 in a simpler way?

See explanation here.

[Rorschach]

Originally Posted by nando4

See explanation here.

So does the memory issue not exist on a 64bit OS?

[ben.clevo]

Originally Posted by ben.clevo

Ive tried what youve said regarding the suspend and resume, i keep getting either error 43 10, or 1. I dont get error 12. It ether brings up the errors i mentioned before, or the screen flashes black then goes off until i remove the express card, then my laptop reboots itself.

(im trying to connect it to a normal old crt computer monitor if that makes any difference, but when i tried using our lcd tv it sort of worked and i got a code 12 error, but it shouldnt make a difference with monitor should it?)

I tried to do the diy vidock usb bootdisk but i didnt really understand the bit about the .bat files and creating the bootable usb.

When i tried this it booted the usb but just stayed on a black screen with a flashing white cursor.

Sorry if im getting anoying but i really want to get this to work as it cost me a fair bit and i dont like being defeated.

Can someone please spoonfeed me some instructions on creating the usb bootdisk. or even edit me a batch file and list the files needed?

I dont even know if you are suposed to leave both batch files on the usb, i basicaly copied and pasted all the files from the first post to my usb stick and tried rebooting. I really dont have a clue anymore. I thought it would be a lot easier than this.

If i can get the usb bootdisk working properly it will probably work

Please help, hopefully this will be the last time and il get it working haha.

Cheers, Ben

Can you please help me with this nando

Thanks, Ben

[trailro]

Hi guys,

First of all, thank you all for all the time dedicated to this project. Also, I have received my PE4H device a while ago and wanted to share my experience as well.

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1501 (Amd Turion X2 64, 2.5 GB Ram, Ati X1150) running Windows 7 32bit.

I removed the wireless card and plugged in the PE4H module with a HD 4670 1GB DDR3 card - external PSU. I also bought a mini HDMI cable from ebai - 1.5m for 4£.

Everything worked flawless - plugged everything in, restarted, card detected, drivers on - good to go. So far I have tested the solution on XP 64bit - same as above - first run.

I do ocasionally get some blue screens on W7 - though I'm not sure its because of the video card.

I don't have enough time to post benchmarks as I haven't done any - but I can say that the difference is supprisingly.

Just one question - to finish this post, what do you think the odds are to have it working 2x mode with an express card as well?

Many thanks and keep it going!

[eazy_e]

do you need an express card slot for this.

will it work with the gateway m6874h model

i just have hdmi,usb, and vga plugs.

[MexicanSnake]

I tried with a 4gb sodimm, it wont work ...

[nando4]

Moved to it's own post at Renice K3VLAR-E (EWS720) ZIF SSD User Review

____________________________________________________________________________________________
DRAFTING - will become it's own post when done.

This test unit would hang under constant write load like CrystalDiskMark or AS-Cleaner and fails to complete a clean Win7 installation. Until those issues are resolved, perhaps with a new firmware, I would advise to advise purchase this unit.

MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof (PS3105) 1.8" microSATA SSD User Review

Introduction

The MyDigitalSSD (MDD) Bullet Proof (PS3105) 1.8" microSATA use the same controller, NAND and cache as a Patriot Torqx 2. That benchmarkreview link giving a lot of info on the internal architecture used in this SSD with their benchmark results mirroring what I found below. It is available now for purchase from MyDigitalDiscount. Below is my user review of this product.

external housing	installed in HP 2530P	internals

MyDigitalSSD 128GB Bullet Proof 1.8" microSATA SSD specifications summary

Interface: 1.8” microSATA Price: 32GB-US$70, 64GB-US$100 128GB-US$190 Random 4kb reads | writes: (measured 83MB/s | 66MB/s)

Seq read/write MB/s: 250/185 (measured 254/231 Mb/s) Average access time: 0.1ms Power consumption idle/active: 0.5/2W

Installation

Installation was relatively straight forward. I placed the MDD Bulletproof in a USB enclosure then did a block-for-block copy using Linux. Windows users could use the Acronis TrueImage 15-day trial demo instead.

Performance Comparison: MDD Bullet Proof versus microsata HDD

Drive	Idle/Active Power (W)	Benchmark
		CrystalDisk | AS-SSD | PerformanceTest | atto | BootRacer
128GB MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 1.8" microSATA SSD	0.7/2.2^
120GB Toshiba MK1229GSG 1.8" microSATA SSD	0.4/1.2

Test platform: HP 2530P SL9600-2.13 ICH9M
^ measured by using the Toshiba's 1.2W active to establish I/O overheads

The MSD Bullet Proof gives the same benefits as other SSDs over any HDD. Boot times decreased from 76s to 19s (to less than a quarter), Firefox doesn't have momentary seek delays when scrolling windows or reading/writing cache, applications just popup instantly and there are no longer any HDD seek noises. Experiencing this sort of quiet speed makes it difficult to go back to using a slow, noisy HDD.

The differentiating factor between SSDs is however their write speed and IOPS. The latter determining how well the SSD can handle loaded situations. It is there where the MSD Bullet Proof trails the latest and pricier Sandforce/Intel/Crucial SSDs which see two or more times faster IOPS.

Power Consumption and Running Temperature

The SSD always remains cool to the touch. The unit does however use more idle and active power than the microSATA HDD it replaces resulting in a slight decrease in battery life.

Garbage Collection

The Phison firmware has onboard GC as well as provides TRIM support. This ensures write performance is maintained at a peak.

Bang-per-buck factor

Budget conscious customers would consider a lower cost SSD for lower performance. The Bullet Proof certainly meets one of those criteria. It's a budget-performing SSD with a budget 1yr warranty but is close to premium SSD price. Consider the 64GB MDS Bulletproof is retailling for $100 but a 64GB Crucial C300 is available for $120, has significantly faster IOPS and comes with a 3yr warranty. The 128GB Bulletproof retails for $190 but a OWC Aura Pro (SF1222) is available for $215 which again is faster and also comes with a 3yr warranty.

The MDS Bulletproof would need to be at least 25% less than either of those better performing and warrantied SSDs. A street price of $90-64GB and $160-128GB would be in the right ballpark to be considered a genuine budget alternative to the performance offerings.

Pros

• Noteworthy 254/231 MBps read/write speed with CrystalDiskMark
• Consistent read and write bandwidth
• Phison SSD processor supports TRIM, NCQ, and SMART

Cons

• Only one year warranty. Competing products offer two or three year warranty.
• Low solid state IOPS performance
• Higher power consumption than a microSATA SSD meaning a reduction in battery life
• Questionable value against faster C300/SF1222 offerings costing only ~13-20% more

Conclusion

The MDS Bullet Proof is a budget microSATA SSD offering considerable performance improvements over a HDD. What remains to be seen is whether it will find a market at it's current pricepoint.

---

Related links

• mSATA & 1.8" SATA SSDs available - competing products currently available.

____________________________________________________________________________________________
DRAFTING - will become it's own post when done.

Renice X3 (SF1200) 1.8" microSATA SSD User Review

Note: Reviewed below is the 60GB product whose read/write speed is 75%/50% that of the 120GB or 240GB product.

Introduction

The Renice X3 1.8" microSATA SSD use a SF1200 controller delivering a affordable, high performance storage upgrade for SATA systems. It is available now for purchase from MyDigitalDiscount-US or from Renice-CN. Below is my user review of this product.

1.8": X3 plain black external housing	1.8": X3 conformal-coated internals	1.8": X3 in HP 2530P

Renice X3 1.8” microSATA specifications summary

Interface: 1.8” microSATA Price: 25GB-US$130, 60GB-US$200 120GB-US$300 240GB-US$500 Random 4kb reads | writes: 120MB/s | 40MB/s (measured 178MB/s | 102MB/s)

Seq read/write MB/s: 285/275 (1.8") (measured 206/102 Mb/s) Average access time: 0.1ms Power consumption idle/active: 0.5/2W

Installation

Installation was relatively straight forward. I placed the Renice X3 in a USB enclosure then did a block-for-block copy using Linux. Windows users could use the Acronis TrueImage 15-day trial demo instead.

Performance Comparison: Renice X3 versus msata HDD

Drive	Standby/Idle/Active Power (W)	Benchmark
		CrystalDisk|PerformanceTest|atto
Renice X3 (SF1200) 60GB 1.8" microSATA SSD	0.5/2.0
120GB Toshiba MK1229GSG 1.8" microSATA SSD	0.4/1.2

Test platform: HP 2530P SL9400-1.86 ICH9M.

The Renice X3 SSD is a very noticable improvement in performance over any HDD. Boot times decreased to less than a third, Firefox doesn't have momentary seek delays when scrolling windows or reading/writing cache, applications just popup instantly and there are no longer any HDD seek noises. Experiencing this sort of quiet speed makes it difficult to go back to using a slow, noisy HDD.

Power Consumption and Running Temperature
...
Garbage Collection

The SF1200 firmware has onboard GC as well as provides TRIM support. This ensures write performance is maintained at a peak.

One thing I did notice however was that write performance degraded after some usage, clearly seen from reduced sequential writes: 100MB/s to 65MB/s. Forums suggest that storing non-compressible data causes this. My solution to restore write performance was a secure-erase using hdparm, which erased the whole SSD.

Pros

• very fast 4KB AHCI read performance
• Win7 trim garbage collection maintains write performance
• internal automated garbage collection maintains write performance on XP installations

Cons

• 25/60GB product is slower than the pricier 120GB/240GB product.
• new product with no product history

Conclusion

The Renice X3 is one of the highest performance MLC msata/1.8" SSD at one of the lowest prices making it a very attractive upgrade.

---

Related links

• mSATA & 1.8" SATA SSDs available - competing products currently available.
• Renice support forum - direct interface to Renice engineers.
• Renice X3 firmware update - update to the newest if have any issues.

[JohnnyEM]

Originally Posted by nando4

Great. I *hope* we see x1 2.0 performance.



Instructions for applying 2510P.bat to your system:

0/1C/1 = port2

T5010.bat (nvidia 8800GTX)

:START
:: 0/1C/01 - Bridge 4KB I/O Window
setpci -s 00:1c.01 1c.w=2020

:: 8800GTX needs 256 MB prefetchable memory (register 24)
:: plus 48 MB non-prefetchable memory (register 20)
:: The default setting may only allocate 32 MB.
setpci -s 00:1c.01 20.l=E2F1E001
setpci -s 00:1c.01 24.l=DFF1D001

Nando, big thank you for your pointers.

According to Everest, my mini PCIe card is on port 2, so 0/1C/1 for port2.

Where can I find out if my Nvidia Geforce GT240 also uses register 24 for the prefetchable memory and register 20 for the non-prefetchable memory?

Thanks.

[ben.clevo]

hi nando, thankyou for your instructions, but nothing has worked.

I followed everything to the letter, i formated like you said, i copied all the files to the usb from vdock folder. Then rebooted, it comes up with an error, something like" no boot media" then tells me to remove my usb/media and reboot.

Ive tried suspend and resume, everything i can think off.

Am i doing something wrong.
With the express plugged in it fails to boot bios.
It crashes and the screens go black once drivers have been installed, and then everytime i plug it in the screen goes black and doesnt do anything until i unplug the express card, then reboots.
If i disable onboard graphics, plug it in, it recognises it and works fine, but i cant use it because me onboard graphics arent on, so then i enable the onboard and it either brings up an error 43 for the vidock, or the screen goes blank and flashing white cursor apears and does nothing until i unplug the diy vidock, then it restarts itself again.

Sorry for these constant posts, hope no ones getting anoyed at me yet.
Does anyone have any sugestions?

Why wont it boot to usb? I can try and post a video on youtube tonight to show you all what im doing and what happens if it helps someone understand whats happening.

I wish this thing would work, is it just compatability with my laptop?

Many thanks, Ben