external GPU on old Laptop

[Devryd]

Hi Guys, 

i have a question. Is it possible to run an external GPU on an old laptop (pre thunderbolt) over the internal Display?
If its possible, what would I have to do for that?

[mahyar]

in theory yes

what laptop specifically?

[Devryd]

Its an old sony vaio laptop
16gb of ddr3
i7 2760qm
gt540m 

1080p panel
I dont use the system a whole lot, its just my secondary rig and I use it, when I am on the go. I like working on this kind of thing and was wondering, what has to be done to make it work. Most guides I found use a dedicated monitor

 

[Moonzy]

You could

There's nvme and mPCIE, but it's seldom worth it to do for a long term setup

 

It's fine if you just want to tinker around, or as a hobby though

[Moonzy]

Just now, Devryd said:

Most guides I found use a dedicated monitor

That's because the bandwidth is very limited, sending any data back to the laptop is expensive, bandwidth wise

 

1 minute ago, Devryd said:

i7 2760qm

So pretty much only mPCIE

[Devryd]

Yes. I have one mPCIe connecter, which is normally used for the WIFI module. I dont know, how many lanes are allocated to it though...

[mahyar]

Just now, Moonzy said:

So pretty much only mPCIE

well no 

my previous laptop (which was from same era) had an express card slot and i connected a egpu to

so it might be practical

[mahyar]

1 minute ago, Devryd said:

Yes. I have one mPCIe connecter, which is normally used for the WIFI module. I dont know, how many lanes are allocated to it though...

are you sure it does not have an express card slot?

[Aereldor]

1 minute ago, Devryd said:

Yes. I have one mPCIe connecter, which is normally used for the WIFI module. I dont know, how many lanes are allocated to it though...

Doesn't matter, because there's no alternative. If you want to keep using wifi while using that for an external GPU, get a USB Wi-fi dongle.

 

Also, I wouldn't recommend getting a GPU that needs extermal power, so stick with something like a GTX 1650, otherwise you'll need to buy a PSU to power it as well.

[Devryd]

Yeah I dont have a expressCard slot

[mahyar]

1 minute ago, Aereldor said:

Also, I wouldn't recommend getting a GPU that needs extermal power, so stick with something like a GTX 1650, otherwise you'll need to buy a PSU to power it as well.

????

mpcie cant provide any meaningful amount power for a gpu anyway

so he has to buy an psu

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, Devryd said:

Yes. I have one mPCIe connecter, which is normally used for the WIFI module. I dont know, how many lanes are allocated to it though...

mPCIE is 1x I think

 

And that CPU is pcie 2.0 if I'm not mistaken

So you basically have very little bandwidth to go with

It's not practical but definitely fun to try anyways if you're into that

 

1 minute ago, Aereldor said:

Also, I wouldn't recommend getting a GPU that needs extermal power, so stick with something like a GTX 1650, otherwise you'll need to buy a PSU to power it as well.

I would argue that you'll need a converter that accepts external power because your laptop ain't gonna supply enough power through the slot

You might burn out the board while trying

 

3 minutes ago, mahyar said:

well no 

my previous laptop (which was from same era) had an express card slot and i connected a egpu to

so it might be practical

Mine doesn't

It depends on the model, I guess

But express cards are already uncommon by then

 

1 minute ago, Devryd said:

Yeah I dont have a expressCard slot

Remember to quote when replying

[mahyar]

1 minute ago, Devryd said:

Yeah I dont have a expressCard slot

pls quote me

[Devryd]

1 minute ago, mahyar said:

pls quote me

I will do it in the future, sry
didnt think it would be such an improtant aswer

 

What exactly do I need to connect an external gpu?
An adapter from mPCIe to PCIe I guess?

[mahyar]

4 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

Mine doesn't

It depends on the model, I guess

But express cards are already uncommon by then

yeah it was an old hp workstation and had a lot of modularity 

and express card slots to egpu adaptors do exist so its not a niche thing

[mahyar]

2 minutes ago, Devryd said:

I will do it in the future, sry
didnt think it would be such an improtant aswer

 

What exactly do I need to connect an external gpu?
An adapter from mPCIe to PCIe I guess?

yes

[Devryd]

Just now, mahyar said:

yes

can you recommend anyhting for that?

[mahyar]

1 minute ago, Devryd said:

can you recommend anyhting for that?

well no 

and i suggest you to not do it 

it does not worth it

[Devryd]

2 minutes ago, mahyar said:

and i suggest you to not do it

I dont want to do it for everyday use
Just something I want to try out

For normal gaming, I have a ryzen desktop

[mahyar]

3 minutes ago, Devryd said:

I dont want to do it for everyday use
Just something I want to try out

For normal gaming, I have a ryzen desktop

oh ok

there are tons of adaptors on ebay and aliexpress look there

[Devryd]

if I read the intel arc correctly, my cpu has 16 PCIe lanes, from these, 8 go to the chipset. Is that correct?
If so, is there a possibility to get hold of the other 8 lanes?

[Devryd]

just realized, that I have a dedicated gpu which takes some lanes. Is the Chipset connected to the cpu over over PCIe, if so, how many lanes does it use?

[Aereldor]

2 hours ago, Moonzy said:

I would argue that you'll need a converter that accepts external power because your laptop ain't gonna supply enough power through the slot

You might burn out the board while trying

You misunderstand. The mini-pcie connection to the laptop is data only. The adapter thingy comes with a wall adapter (round hole) or an option to use an 8-pin cable from the PSU if you want. If the GPU is >75w and needs the extra power not provided by the slot, you'll need a PSU, can't make do with the bundled adapter.

 

 

 

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, Aereldor said:

You misunderstand. The mini-pcie connection to the laptop is data only. The adapter thingy comes with a wall power adapter that plugs into an 8-pin thingy. If the GPU is >75w and needs the additional 6-pin, you'll need a PSU. At that point, you can just use the PSU for both connections tbh.

 

 

 

ah i see

but yea he'll need an external source of power for the gpu

 

also, it's not like even the 1650 will be maxed out given the bandwidth available, unless it's non-gaming tasks

[Aereldor]

2 hours ago, mahyar said:

????

mpcie cant provide any meaningful amount power for a gpu anyway

so he has to buy an psu

 

2 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

You misunderstand. The mini-pcie connection to the laptop is data only. The adapter thingy comes with a wall adapter (round hole) or an option to use an 8-pin cable from the PSU if you want. If the GPU is >75w and needs the extra power not provided by the slot, you'll need a PSU, can't make do with the bundled adapter.

 

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