Question Pico ITX motherboard with mobile gpu option

[Ragahv]

Whiskey Lake Pico-ITX SBC offers M.2 and mini-PCIe expansion

Aaeon’s “PICO-WHU4” Pico-ITX SBC is powered by an 8th Gen Whiskey Lake-UE CPU with up to 16GB DDR4 plus SATA, M.2, mini-PCIe, and a pair each of GbE, HDMI, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. There’s also an enclosed “PICO-WHU4-SEMI” variant.

linuxgizmos.com

I am trying to connect a mobile gtx 980 4gb to this pico itx Motherboard. The Pico ITX logic board employs a mini PCI express socket which enables consumers to run a flat short cable to the PCIE attachment connection of the mobile GPU (gtx 980).

Does any one know will it be a possibility to connect the mobile gtx 980 to the pico itx Motherboard I stated a link for using mini pci express cable?

Are there any conversion options I must use.
The specs like RAM is sufficient like 16gb ddr4 and m2 supports up to 1tb ssd I think. So this mini pc using a 12 v psu is cool. Perhaps I can insert ultra light batteries in it and charge them up.

 

[richiestang_78]

What you want is called a PCIe to MXM adapter then youll also need a PCIe to mini-PCIe adatepr . They are typically for mining rig.

Found this https://www.ebay.com/i/274039873143?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=274039873143&targetid=885732117796&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9015306&poi=&campaignid=9343998933&mkgroupid=100238949571&rlsatarget=aud-622524042678la-885732117796&abcId=1139336&merchantid=110581361&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjcfzBRCHARIsAO-1_OpuyJ6DwMkbv9QQ_rL_5qaAPgIErUZUjamN5A3juD8nl55gD-Ktil0aAvyQEALw_wcB

Says you need to flash the cards BIOS inorder to force it into PCIe X1. No Idea if it works no idea if it works. Also found another one that is similar and it says its for 75 Watt MAX cards.

Honestly sounds more like a hassle then its worth. Also 980m's are expensive, at least here in the US.

If you're trying to build a small gaming computer, I think you'll have to sacrifice size alittle. There are ultra small cases like the Velka 3 available. Or you can use some MDF/Particle board and construction your own and use a standard ITX mobo.

 

[kerberos_20]

conversion from mxm to pci-e should be possible
eurocom sells one for 699$
otherwise chinese market

 

[Ragahv]

Hello. I was planning to build myself a handheld gaming pc using this PICO-KBU4-A10-0004 motherboard. I choose Pico - ITX because it's small form factor and nice and compact style.

I was wondering since the board requires 12V DC input using it's power supply cable (power brick) is included with the cable, I can buy a NCHI 10* or 20 * battery pack for my PICO-KBU4-A10-0004 board and somehow fit it all into one 3D printed case.

I saw someones post regarding how to make mini itx i7 run off batteries and someone mention as a reply that you need 10 times NCHI batteries and a AUX cable and a charger and you need a proper setup. However i don't understand. So can someone please explain me in order to get the set up done, what would i need and how would i get it done properly?

These are my parts so far:

PICO-KBU4-A10-0004 Motherboard
12V DC Power Supply - If it doesn't come with it what do I do? and how to make one manually if I wish to regulate 12V to battery and charge them and use battery pack for 6-7 hours on high performance gaming.

Also i will be using mobile gtx 980 GPU (laptop GPU) small compact card which fits into the mini pci-e card slot.

 

[Ragahv]

Would it be possible to attach a dedicated mobile GPU to this motherboard: PICO-KBU4-A10-0004?

I was planning to buy a Mobile GTX 980 (Laptop Sized Small Card Shaped GPU) and using a Mini PCI-E Cable, connect it to the PICO-KBU4-A10-0004 motherboard on the Mini PCI-E Socket. I have seen many Mini PCI-E Socket with various options like Mini PCI-E 2 M.2 or 2 USB 3.0 Flat Cable.

Please tell me how to do this. The question is not that i want an E-GPU or external GPU. I don't want to hook a graphics card from my laptop motherboard's M.2 card slot to my monitor using HDMI. It's similar idea, on laptop motherboard, using the M.2 card slot or Mini PCI-E slot which looks similar to each other, hook the card like GPU which is the mobile GTX 980 to the monitor.

Please beware that a M.2 card slot provides 12V to SSD's and Mini PCI-E Sockets provide ultimate charge to connected periphals.

So take into consideration for example you asked me, you wanted to make a handheld gaming pc. I would tell you this to take this MB: PICO-KBU4-A10-0004 and the next post you asked me what GPU would you use because most dedicated GPU such as GTX 980 4GB are to big to fit on your palm these days. I'd say a mobile gtx 980 is like holding a card and most acer laptops these days have it due to portablity. Can you suggest which cable i need to connect my mobile gpu to the PICO-KBU4-A10-0004 Mini pci-e socket NOT THE M.2 socket and on the Mini PCI-E socket what converter or adapter i would need?

 

[Ragahv]

I'm planning to build a handheld gaming computer that is capable of running Windows 10 pro for workstation x64.

These are my specification requirments:

DDR4 16GB 2400MHz RAM
GTX 980m 4gb VRAM (dedicated) using mini PCI express expansion bay on PICO ITX board.
1tb M2 Samsung Evo 970 Pro SSD
Onboard sound chip, Wireless, LAN port, USB 3.0 and 10-20× NHCI batteries charging using 12v battery charger and power supply.

My question is , what pico ITX motherboard is able to take a mobile gtx 980 through its mini pci express socket without it throttle lp ing old causing it to loose power? I need the you to run on high performance mode while gaming or running BF4 on ultra or high settings online without losing FPS, lagging or clutching.

GTX mobile edition on my gaming laptop never causes any issues but on a Pico ITX logic board since only 12v psu is being issued to motherboard only, I guess the GPU won't be getting enough power to even turn on or go on high performance mode so won't it affect its run time?

Will installing batteries like I said using 10 times NCHI batteries help the board gain more power once the batteries have charged ( obviously if have to regulate the Input voltage to the board)

The batteries I will be using are 10 or 20 NCHI batteries and each will get fully charged prior to turning the pc on.

So considering pico form factor do you think making a gaming handheld out of it is a decent and smart idea?

Or shall I go with nano or mini itx instead which allows a consumer to input more than 12v to the main board and the GPU also gets same power and CPU etc???

The smach z and gpd win2 have got mobile or pico itx boards.

 

[Ragahv]

Thanks for your replies. Very helpful. I don't think that I mentioned power here.

The mobile GTX 980 on the pico ITX motherboard, may lack power and not gain enough power through the mini pci express port. So will mxm cable or adapter allow it to gain more power through external power?

I'm planning to make a gaming handheld here. I also want the card to run on high performance node

 

[Ragahv]

Hi I want to build a Pico ITX system. Please help me build one.

I want the following specifications:

I5 Quad Core with Hyper threading and VTX feature or I7 Quad Core with VTX feature
16gb DDR4 2400MHz RAM
1TB M.2 SSD any brand
Mobile GTX 980 4gb ( card sized GPU) small laptop sized.
Pico ITX motherboard such as the

PICO-WHU4 which has many options like i7 , i5 or i3

so I choose i7.

I don't want to use a Pico psu or hdplex for this project because I'd need to use atx plugs.. and my main board dlont employ atx..soxket..

The problem is the gtx 980m has low power demands and I don't know how much the
PICO-WHU4

wants the gpu to be supply.

So can you help me a way around the problem? I want a power supply to be single or the one supplied and no external one but only 12 volts is being supplied to main board.

 

[Ragahv]

Hi. I want to create a handheld gaming computer out of this PICO-WHU4-A11-0004 motherboard which can be found on :

https://www.aaeon.com/en/p/pico-itx-boards-pico-whu4

I thought this would be wonderful since it has an imbedded i7 processor with quad core up to 4.4GHz

I was thinking about a dedicated mobile GPU issue regarding the Mobile GTX 980 : https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-gtx-980-mobile.c2763 - This card is a small business card sized GPU suitable for most gaming laptops. It has 4GB of VRAM and a fast memory clock. So I was thinking to connect this card using a MXM 2 mini PCI-E adapter or cable but I was worried about the power, because the power input to the PICO ITX board only gets 12V , so the whole board gets only 12V and how much would the GPU draw from the MINI PCI-E expansion slot and how much would the expansion slot give to the GPU and what if I want to run AAA games on high performance mode on the GPU? It would be impossible. So I thought instead of using it plugged in all the time I would get around it using small NCHI batteries either 10-20* of these won't hurt but it would be impossible to fit it in the handheld case 3D printed of course.

Don't worry about the case I can use a 3D printer to make it at a later stage. I just need some tips and ideas.
I need to connect a mobile GPU to the mini PCI - E expansion slot on the PICO ITX board and somehow gain full power and wattage for the GPU card so it doesn't throttle. Any ideas on how to do this? I don't care the amount of time it takes for batteries to charge.

I need batteries to be NCHI ones and rechargeable ones and the battery pack needs to be ultra light and sleek, flat and think so it fits just like in a Nintendo DS system or the GPD WIN 2 device which is a handheld gaming computer but its a i5 quad core but it lacks a dedicated GPU. I can get it but it lacks a dedicated GPU - that's the only problem so I try to make my own handheld like that.

Do you know how to get a battery like that on board or ultra light laptop type which will enable me to run a gpu like the 980 mobile edition on full power and on high performance mode using the cpu allow me to game 5-7 hours on full power and on balanced mode 8-9 hours maybe?

I don't care about the price. My budget is 4K. I already have a gaming pc and its not handheld. I have 208GB of ram, i9 9820K cpu, X299 UD4 Pro motherboard and the best hardware. I can get something like zotac mini pc and turn it portable and put batteries in it and attach a 7" screen to it and use it my way but the only problem is that its not fanless and it needs lots of power.

 

[Ragahv]

Does anyone know how can I run this computer using batteries and what rechargeable light weight batteries I would put inside the case to make it last for 5-6 hours on high performance mode and when the GPU is on high performance mode?

Someone mentioned in another forum that the NCHI batteries look like the AA ones and are light weight and are good in anti heat production so they wont over charge and explode.

I just like to harness the power of portability and i don't like sitting down at a desk. I like going to work and sitting down in cafes, flying my plane and going in trains etc and i dont like laptops because they get too hot.

So i thought battery pack like the ones in ultra light notebook will be usfull. Does anyone know the best work around for this sort of computer?
Do i need a small regulator for the power supply to supply regulated 12V to the batteries? I want the batteries to be built into the case and something that fits.

ZBOX QK7P3000

 

[richiestang_78]

Thanks for your replies. Very helpful. I don't think that I mentioned power here.

The mobile GTX 980 on the pico ITX motherboard, may lack power and not gain enough power through the mini pci express port. So will mxm cable or adapter allow it to gain more power through external power?

I'm planning to make a gaming handheld here. I also want the card to run on high performance node

No. The adapters can only supply 75 watts at best and the 980m uses roughly 120watts and I dont see a way of supplying supplemental power to the MXM board.

I think you're going to have to abandon this idea.