External GPU Enclosure via eSATA or Expresscard?

[ethan206]

So I have a Dell Lattitude E6520 and I want to connect an external GPU to it. However it doesn't have a Thunderbolt 3 Port and I want to know if the eGPU enclosure is possible over eSATA or express card? I don't really know what express card is but some people say you can connect external GPU over it. Dell's website said my laptop had a 54mm Express Card port, but I'm a bit confused as I don't know where the express card port is on my computer. But first of all is it possible to even connect eGPU over Express Card? (by the way, the GPU I want to connect is a GTX 670 2GB) (and can someone also explain to me what a expresscard is thanks

Computer Information: http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/latit/en/latitude-e6520-specsheet.pdf

 

[tejayd]

Express card slot looks like https://m.imgur.com/j1ZNY4B
(The piece inside is just a protector)
Have you looked into the enclosures? If it is possible on your laptop, it may not be as easy or work as well as you may think. 54 mm Express slot, may be able to work.

Thunder bolt 3 works well. Even with that the only enclosures I've seen that seem reasonably priced are the gigabytes that come with a card. Some of the others you can almost build a new pc for the cost.

 

[tejayd]

https://amp.reddit.com/r/eGPU/comments/5jpf2x/diy_egpu_101_introduction_to_egpu/

 

[ethan206]

Express card slot looks like https://m.imgur.com/j1ZNY4B
(The piece inside is just a protector)
Have you looked into the enclosures? If it is possible on your laptop, it may not be as easy or work as well as you may think. 54 mm Express slot, may be able to work.

Thunder bolt 3 works well. Even with that the only enclosures I've seen that seem reasonably priced are the gigabytes that come with a card. Some of the others you can almost build a new pc for the cost.

ok thanks so I found the expresscard port on my computer, but my question is how do I connect it up? What adapters or stuff do I need to buy in order to have the eGPU working and set-up properly?

 

[k1114]

Expresscard to pcie x16 adapter. Exp gdc is $36 but you may find some cheaper ones. Expresscard is harder to find since it's so old and hasn't been used for so long.

Psu to power the gpu. Some adapters will come with a plug for the 24 pin as psus won't turn on without a complete circuit to it.

And a monitor to connect to the gpu.

 

[ethan206]

Expresscard to pcie x16 adapter. Exp gdc is $36 but you may find some cheaper ones. Expresscard is harder to find since it's so old and hasn't been used for so long.

Psu to power the gpu. Some adapters will come with a plug for the 24 pin as psus won't turn on without a complete circuit to it.

And a monitor to connect to the gpu.

Thanks, but I have one last question. If I use this eGPU method how much performance will I be losing from the card? Since I'm not using Thunderbolt 3, how much performance drop do I get when using an external monitor? And is plugging the eGPU straight into my laptop's internal display any good?

 

[TJ Hooker]

The card will be running at 1/8 the bandwidth of a thunderbolt 3 connection, 1/32 of what it would get in a regular desktop PCIe 3.0 x16 slot.

Saying exactly how much performance loss that will result in is very difficult, and depends on what game/settings you're playing at. I would hazard a guess you'll lose at least 20-30% average FPS.

You can't connect the eGPU to your laptop's display, the display connectors on laptops are output only.

 

[ethan206]

The card will be running at 1/8 the bandwidth of a thunderbolt 3 connection, 1/32 of what it would get in a regular desktop PCIe 3.0 x16 slot.

Saying exactly how much performance loss that will result in is very difficult to say, and depends on what game/settings you're playing at. I would hazard a guess you'll lose at least 20-30% average FPS.

You can't connect the eGPU to your laptop's display, the display connectors on laptops are output only.

So if I get a 20-30% FPS drop do you even think it's gonna be worth it getting an eGPU? I currently have a NVIDIA NVS 4200M GPU in my laptop and if I connect a eGPU to my laptop (specifically a GTX 670 2GB or GTX 710) and it gets a 20-30% FPS drop, will it just be the same performance as my current GPU?

 

[TJ Hooker]

A GTX 670 is like an order of magnitude more powerful than your current GPU. Even with reduced performance due to limited bandwidth it should perform much better. Up to you whether it's worth the cost.

 

[ethan206]

A GTX 670 is like an order of magnitude more powerful than your current GPU. Even with reduced performance due to limited bandwidth it should perform much better. Up to you whether it's worth the cost.

K thanks

 

[tejayd]

Agreed with the above. You can do it. Just it's probably not going to run as well as you expect. And probably going to be a bit of money and work to set up. If you google your laptop with an external gpu, I would think you could find something.

 

[ethan206]

Agreed with the above. You can do it. Just it's probably not going to run as well as you expect. And probably going to be a bit of money and work to set up. If you google your laptop with an external gpu, I would think you could find something.

yea true the whole eGPU market is very expensive right now.

 

[k1114]

You can use the internal monitor with the egpu but you use more of the bandwidth and you get even less performance. You don't connect it directly to the monitor but it goes over expresscard. You could if you get a lcd controller but that's an extra cost.

Expresscard is pcie 2.0 x1 which is 1/32 of pcie 3.0 x16. A 670 wouldn't fully saturate that but it can be as bad as 50% but you can also get 100% performance. It depends more on the game. In any case, it will be miles ahead of what you have. You don't have it so doesn't really matter but tb3 is pcie 3.0 x4 which is 1/4. That still gets lower performance but it's a much smaller hit, ~5% so people don't worry about it.

Diy solutions have never been expensive except with tb which was an issue with tb royalties and low volume production. Mpcie is the cheapest and can be found for $7. You do have that which is being used for your wifi card but I never checked if you could get to it easily since you have expresscard. It's pcie x1 as well. Expresscard used to be cheaper but now the adapter is $35 so still isn't so bad. I don't know if you already have a psu and monitor too but it could be a rather cheap setup if you do. If you don't, you could always re-use gpu, psu, and monitor for a desktop.

 

[ethan206]

You can use the internal monitor with the egpu but you use more of the bandwidth and you get even less performance. You don't connect it directly to the monitor but it goes over expresscard. You could if you get a lcd controller but that's an extra cost.

Expresscard is pcie 2.0 x1 which is 1/32 of pcie 3.0 x16. A 670 wouldn't fully saturate that but it can be as bad as 50% but you can also get 100% performance. It depends more on the game. In any case, it will be miles ahead of what you have. You don't have it so doesn't really matter but tb3 is pcie 3.0 x4 which is 1/4. That still gets lower performance but it's a much smaller hit, ~5% so people don't worry about it.

Diy solutions have never been expensive except with tb which was an issue with tb royalties and low volume production. Mpcie is the cheapest and can be found for $7. You do have that which is being used for your wifi card but I never checked if you could get to it easily since you have expresscard. It's pcie x1 as well. Expresscard used to be cheaper but now the adapter is $35 so still isn't so bad. I don't know if you already have a psu and monitor too but it could be a rather cheap setup if you do. If you don't, you could always re-use gpu, psu, and monitor for a desktop.

I do have a mPCIe slot in my laptop that's currently being used by my wifi card but let's say I buy a USB wifi thing and use that for wifi and now I can insert something into the mPCIe slot. However, is mPCIe slower than ExpressCard or faster? And also I found out that inside my laptop I also have a sata flash port and also a WWAN port. What do those ports do and can I make use of them?

 

[TJ Hooker]

mPCIe most likely has the same bandwidth as the express card. A SATA port cannot be used. I'd never heard of a WWAN slot, but with a bit of googling it sounds like it's likely just mPCIe with a different physical connector or something.

 

[ethan206]

mPCIe most likely has the same bandwidth as the express card. A SATA port cannot be used. I'd never heard of a WWAN slot, but with a bit of googling it sounds like it's likely just mPCIe with a different physical connector or something.

I'll just use ExpressCard then. Can you send me a link to all the things I need (preferably on Walmart or Amazon), thanks!

 

[k1114]

I did say mpcie is the same bandwidth in the last post. The only other port that can be used for egpus on laptops is m.2 which replaced mpcie for wifi cards.

I don't know if you need anything but the adapter. Even a knockoff version costs more on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/XCSOURCE-External-Independent-Expresscard-AC773/dp/B0725B6L99

 

[k1114]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from ethan206 : "eGPU Hardware Equipment?"

So I have a NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB and I want to use it as an eGPU for my laptop. I plan to connect it over ExpressCard 2.0 and I'm wondering how to do it. Won't I just need a PSU for the GPU, 2 6-Pin PCIe cable (I think that's the wrong name) to power the GPU, and an expresscard to pcie x16 adapter? Also, how much performance will I be losing compared to a Thunderbolt 3 connection or if mPCIe is better instead of ExpressCard? Can someone also send a link to a good expresscard to pcie x16 adapter (that is relatively inexpensive)? Thanks