eGPU in WiFi slot

What do you guys think about this for the Alienware 18?



It’s basicly using the PCI-E slot to run the gpu. Looks workable and quite a cheap alternative

 

The issue is it would only be running at X1 speeds, which is very slow compared to the x16 its used to. people have been trying to create MXM 3.0 to PCIE x16, but im not sure whats happening there, but that would give full x16 speeds.

And in the alienware 18 you can get current gen video cards, so its abit pointless, but in cheaper laptops without graphics cards there would be atleast some usefulness to it.

Ive currently got a gtx 1060 in my alienware 18, but you could order a cheaper older card, and get better performance that you probably would from even a 1080ti in one of those, because of the x1 limitation

 

Its called Sour Ninja Dual Wield IIRC, but it never made it to market ( it did have a kickstarter) and I believe there is a guide to making your own version of it floating somewhere in the web

I have no clue on earth why you would ever want a x1 eGPU, the bandwith slows everything down to around 1050 speeds at max, and you could just buy a 980M at that point

 

Yeah the sour ninja died in kickstarter, and the guy basically went awol. and there was a DIY one, but last i heard they were using bad cabling and needed improvements and went quiet

and if you had say a i5 notebook with no mxm at all, and you hooked up an egpu with even like a 680 youd probably see improvements over integrated graphics

 

A shame, but possible with good soldering skills

Well of course it would yield improvement, but OP is asking specifically about the AW 18

 

yep, and in my original reply I stated that it would be pointless

 

I’m not sure what you mean by a x16 but my neanderthal brain can realise that it would be better than x1.

I guess this idea is off the table then and I may as well get a 1060 mxm to replace my 780s .

Does anyone have a link to the modified heatsync that’s needed for the aw18 r3 please?

 

think of it like a highway but for your data, now pretend x1 is just a standard two lane highway. one up, one down.
now compare that to the amount of cars that would go through on a 16 lane highway

and I got mine off of @woodzstack , he modified my heatsink, and sold me my 1060 at a great price

i can try finding a link the the mod you need to do on a 100w heatsink though if you want

also - Door-Hinge rhymes with orange

 

IMO 980M is better, as its usually cheaper, doesn't require modification for the heatsink, and can be SLI'd

 

Funny that this thread should come up today.

I've always wanted to try the ghetto eGPU Mini PCIE idea. I already have a Dell PSU that I can use to power the Beast GPU dock, so I just needed the dock itself and a GPU. I Ordered the dock and a used GTX 750TI today.

I occasionally play games and so far my current iGPU systems have actually been OK for older titles. I recently got into Hitman Absolution, where the iPGU's have showed their inadequacy to the point that they are intolerable. In addition, there a few other uses where an eGPU might be useful and I've always just put up with painfully long wait times rather than buy a system with a solid discrete on-board GPU. I know that there'll be a big performance hit due to the Mini PCIE connection but I'm curious to see whether it's worth the improvement over the iGPU.

In all likelihood the setup will be terrible but I will at least have done something that I've always wanted to try. I can then just build the super-budget desktop that I've been considering building and use the 750TI there. On the other hand, I don't really want yet another computer lying around, so the iGPU could be a viable improvement in the event that the performance is OK . The super-easy access to the MPCIE slots on my systems make this a genuinely viable option. In addition, the Dell PSU means there's just a discrete power brick and not a huge ATX PSU powering the dock - something that has always annoyed me about homebrew eGPU systems.

None of the systems that I'll be trying the eGPU on will be amazing quality however I'm more than happy to post up some results if you'd like. At least then you can see how much improvement you gained by upgrading the internal GPU for your system - rather than a janky MPCIE eGPU solution that effectively kneecaps your GPU's performance.

 

Alienware 18 #mobileminingrig

jk.

I did just get an idea though. Why not use either the wifi card slot or msata slot to x1, then modify and stick a x1 card where the second gpu would go(ive got a 1060, so i cant use that slot anyhow) better wifi? more usb ports? more sata slots if you find a place for the hard drives? usb c?

 

The MSATA slot is wired specifically for Sata, and same for the mPCIE slot. As for MXM to X1, why? Why not just make a MXM to X16, or better yet, upgrade your dGPU?

 

Trust me, mxm to x16 is being worked on, but its not complete yet

and whilst wired specifically for it, it can be used for other things. like you can put a mpcie - usb port there and itd work.

but im not saying mxm to x1, im saying mpcie and put the card itself in the area where the second mxm chip would go

 

Is it? It seems the creator is now where to be found sadly, but there is a DIY version of it

Anyways, eGPU on a X1 slot is just silly anyways, and you would need a a special MPCIE extender from the MPCIE slot, which would take up the only MPCIE slot there is on the 18 R3

 

In case you have a 780m sli with flawless cards I personally see no point in ugprading. I have checked my 2 systems with the "Steam FPS-Counter" and they behave on-par, with minimal differences of maybe 2-3 FPS, smtimes the 780m SLI even gives more FPS than the 1060.
Same games on both sytems.

 

Yeah, but the DIY is still in progress last i heard

and Egpu on x1 is silly, but im concidering doing a project now using the mpcie for other things, by converting it to a x1 port directly, and maybe a soundcard, more usb's, or something

and I would agree with M18x Oldie here, unless your having a specific problem with your dual 780m's no real need to upgrade. I would definitely assume though in games without proper sli support, that a 1060 upgrade would be nice. (Killing floor 2 last time i played it on my m18x with 460'm sli it would flicker block, and everyone seemed to have that problem with sli) and Pubg would just crash with sli open, but those may or may not have been fixed.

But alot of newer titles arent coming with sli support, so beware of that. But unless you currently are having difficulties, why upgrade?

I do need a pair of 780m's for my m18x, so keep me posted

 

As far as I'd read and understood, 2-way SLI won't be affected that much, mainly 3-way and up, but possible I'd not read the articles clear enough


To date I didn't have any probs with SLI at all, there may be different experiences due to everyone's playing different games

 

Let’s utilise the 3rd dimension and have bridges and tunnels over and under the x16 2d !

I’ll let you know if I end up leaving my 780s.

 

Well, I did it and the results are up:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...tx-750-ti-great-success.822497/#post-10788048

E7440 with a GTX 750TI works fine. Doesn't really apply to the OP but might be of general interest.

 

Yeah cool stuf, cause the E7440 does not have a full x16 MXM-Slot at all

 

Obviously it doesn't. What's your point?

OP asked about EGPU in a WiFi slot - maybe other people will be curious about EGPU via M-PCIe. If someone has MXM then that's going to be the best bet in terms of performance. The thread title states: "eGPU in WiFi slot" - is my reply so off the mark?

 

No your build is cool, just our discussion/suggestion here was: an eGPU is pointless in terms of performance when you have a x16 MXM Slot in your laptop