DISCLAIMER:
DO NOT setup or perform modification to your equipment without taking proper precautions for preventing electrostatic discharge. I would highly recommend building this in an ESD safe environment and with the proper personal protection. Modifications to your system / using your system in a way that the manufacturer did not intend will likely invalidate any warranty you have - USER BEWARE.
ADDITIONAL HARDWARE:
I would recommend the purchase of the following pieces of equipment:
--- REQUIRED ---
Dell DA2 220W 8-pin Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Replacement-Adapter-OptiPlex-Compatible/dp/B00ECOILA6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447523096&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+da2+220
--- Required for GPU's that need more than 75w of power / if your GPU has external power connectors (6-pin, 8-pin etc) ---
EPower 450W Dedicated GPU Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/EPOWER-ATX12V-EPS12V-Supply-EP-450CD/dp/B013XFJXS8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_23_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=31mzDJOePGL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0ZX0G182AD5NZQS8GG0R
AND
http://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Hard-Disk-Power-Supply-Drive/dp/B00RFK99W8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1447528829&sr=1-1&keywords=12V+5V+HDD+power+supply
or get creative with a USB to 2.5in HDD adapter and a SATA to 4pin Molex power adapter for the sense circuit to switch the EPower PSU on with the system. Lots of other ways to accomplish this too.
Tested OS's:
Windows 7 Professional and above
Windows 8.1 Professional and above
Windows 10 Professional and above (1507,1511,1607)
MY SETUPS:
Primary - Using "Akitio Thunder2 PCIe Box" with EPower Dedicated PSU (custom Molex and 5v sense)
Dell Precision M3800
Core i7-4712HQ / 16GB RAM
Internal GPU: Dell NVidia Quadro K1100M
Tested External GPU: Zotac GTX 970, ASUS DirectCUII GTX 680
Secondary - Using EXP GDC Beast (ExpressCard54) and Dell DA-2 220w PSU
Dell Precision M6700
Core i7-3740QM / 32GB RAM
Internal GPU: Dell NVidia Quadro K5000M
Tested External GPU: Zotac GTX 580, Asus DirectCUII GTX 680, Zotac GTX 970
SETUP INSTRUCTIONS:
DISCLAIMER: TAKE ALL PERCAUTIONS - IF YOU DONT KNOW: ASK, RESEARCH, OBSERVE - DO NOT MAKE GUESSES WHEN WORKING WITH ELECTRICITY.
1) Connect GDC Power Supply
Connect the Dell DA2 power supply to a standard wall outlet, 'clean' power is recommended - use a UPS with power conditioning. Then connect the 8-pin end of the Dell DA-2 to the GDC's 8-pin port.
2) Connect GDC to Laptop
Ensure your laptop is OFF (not standby, OFF.) - hot-plugging the Express card interface can cause problems on some systems, it's worth testing but if you are less technical, always plug in while the laptop is OFF.
Plug the HDMI end of the adapter into the GDC's HDMI port. Then plug the ExpressCard54 into a compatible slot.
3) Power your GPU
For GPU's without extra power connectors, get started! Move on to next step.
For GPU's requiring LESS than 200w in power, use the included "6pin to 8pin + 6pin PCI-e power" cable to connect your GPU. If you are using the Dell DA-2, you will not need to add additional power for the GDC to function.
For GPU's requiring MORE than 200w in power, set-up your EPower external PSU and wire appropriately. Refer to the above disclaimer if you have questions.
4) System Specific Setup
Your results may vary. In my specific case it was VERY easy to get my GTX580 onto my precision M6700. I would not recommend attempting to use two different manufacturers of GPU for your setup. For instance, my laptop has discrete graphics made by NVidia and I am using a NVidia GTX580; I do not have any issues on this setup. I plugged in an ATI HD7750 and the NVidia and AMD drivers did NOT play well. As soon as the card had load I blue screened. If you have discrete graphics already in your system, keep it the same manufacturer. NVidia with NVidia. AMD with AMD.
Drivers: Ensure the driver revisions (ForceWare versions) are the SAME or as CLOSE as you can get them. In my case, I have a Quadro K5000M and a K1100M in my laptops, finding the same driver versions of the Quadro and GTX series can be annoying. I am currently running ForceWare version 372.54 for both my Quadro and GTX cards with NO problems.
5) Performance
The M3800 over Thunderbolt 2 with the GTX 970 is by far the highest performing with no stability issues - all issues experienced were driver related. BUS utilization lower than 10% at all times. 3DMark TimeSpy score of 3174, better than 24% of all results. 3DMark Firestrike score of 7998, better than 53% of all results.
The M6700 over the EXP GDC with the Asus DirectCUII GTX680 works very well and I have no stability issues - at first, was the worst setup with the worst performance / reliability. Clean Power is REQUIRED. Low noise environment is REQUIRED. Do not be forceful or bend the HDMI connector while it's inserted into the ExpressCard slot. Isolate from other high-power components and do NOT use in a high-humidity environment. BUS utilization around 40-90%, shows that the ExpressCard link is the performance bottleneck. 3DMark TimeSpy could not run cleanly without artifacts - apparently a Nvidia driver bug as reported by another user and a FutureMark Staff member named "Jarnis" on the FutureMark forums, should work with other GTX680's. 3DMark Firestrike score of 6183, better than 40% of all results.
Overall Impressions:
I'm thrilled. Just game'd on both laptops the other night with my wife for 20-hours straight and had NO issues, dropouts, crashes, anything. Both setups have been performing perfectly since the driver issues were resolved in the beginning of the year with the 353 and above releases.
I've now been using eGPU's for the last three years and have watched a number of my co-workers and friends drop upwards of $4K on new hardware while all I will need to do is buy a new GPU every few years - I'd rather spend the $$$ on a laptop with a GREAT processor, as much memory as I can fit and a stunning SSD. All the workstation performance and mobility with a high-performance gaming experience only an ExpressCard or Thunderbolt2 port away.
ExpressCard Tested with:
Dell - E6430, E6420, M6700, M4700
HP - Elitebook 8560w
Thunderbolt2 tested with:
Dell - M3800
Let me know if you have questions.
[EDIT 2016-09-25]
Added tested ForceWare versions.
Added GTX970 and GTX680 to tested GPU's with EXP GDC Beast.
Revised setup instructions for external power supply.
Added disclaimer.
Added M3800 Thunderbolt2 comparison.
Clarified power requirements.
| Brand | Andrew_store |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 0.01 ounces |
| Package Dimensions | 7.28 x 5.59 x 1.89 inches |
| Manufacturer | EXP GDC Laptop External PCI-E Graphics Card |
| ASIN | B00Q4VMLF6 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | November 25, 2014 |
