External gpu for getac s400?

[NotABigGamer]

I have an old getac s400 I had laying around and I was wondering if I got a external GPU dock (using the express card slot and a gtx 1050) if it would work and possibly game. I watched a few videos on it and it looked like a pretty good option. Has anyone tried using one of these before?

https://primetechstores.com/collections/egpu/products/express-card-mini-pci-e-version-v8-0-exp-gdc-pcie-pci-e-laptop-external-video-card-dock

 

Thanks!

[jaslion]

This has been done multiple times in the past and well a simple hd 6450 could max out the bandwith of the expresscard. So a 1050 will be beyond horribly wasted on it and just perform miserably if even work at all.

[NotABigGamer]

18 minutes ago, jaslion said:

This has been done multiple times in the past and well a simple hd 6450 could max out the bandwith of the expresscard. So a 1050 will be beyond horribly wasted on it and just perform miserably if even work at all.

The original video I watched to get this idea was this: 

Would the WiFi card route be a better choice?

[jaslion]

5 minutes ago, NotABigGamer said:

The original video I watched to get this idea was this: 

Would the WiFi card route be a better choice?

Not really. I mean what are you expecting really? To play games on it or something?  That system is most likely pcie 1.0 and the wifi card is maybe at most a x2 link (probs just a x1) so it's not really going to be much better. It's a fun little project to do but don't spend too much on it. That and modern cards normally do not work on these due to the lack of bandwith/adapter incompatibilities.

[NotABigGamer]

9 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Not really. I mean what are you expecting really? To play games on it or something?  That system is most likely pcie 1.0 and the wifi card is maybe at most a x2 link (probs just a x1) so it's not really going to be much better. It's a fun little project to do but don't spend too much on it. That and modern cards normally do not work on these due to the lack of bandwith/adapter incompatibilities.

It sounds like a fun project but if its not going to preform that well then I will probably just scrap the idea. Thanks for your insight!

[jaslion]

Just now, NotABigGamer said:

It sounds like a fun project but if its not going to preform that well then I will probably just scrap the idea. Thanks for your insight!

For example a 750ti in heaven at default 1080p settings at the section shown in the video is around the mid 80 fps in desktop but the video it's basically hard locked at 50 due to bandwith constraints. That is a old low end card so yeah the 1050 is going to be chocked even more IF it works at all.

[NotABigGamer]

7 minutes ago, jaslion said:

For example a 750ti in heaven at default 1080p settings at the section shown in the video is around the mid 80 fps in desktop but the video it's basically hard locked at 50 due to bandwith constraints. That is a old low end card so yeah the 1050 is going to be chocked even more IF it works at all.

I wanted to test how well it would do for Beamng.Drive on medium (720p) and then give it to my friend who doesn't have a pc and doesn't want to spend a ton of money. Since I had this computer laying around I wanted to give it to him with the external GPU with it. Maybe if it was a good option I would pick up a used 750ti if it preformed better then the integrated GPU. 

[jaslion]

4 minutes ago, NotABigGamer said:

I wanted to test how well it would do for Beamng.Drive on medium (720p) and then give it to my friend who doesn't have a pc and doesn't want to spend a ton of money. Since I had this computer laying around I wanted to give it to him with the external GPU with it. Maybe if it was a good option I would pick up a used 750ti if it preformed better then the integrated GPU. 

Beam ng is very cpu heavy too and a first gen core I series cpu is not exactly good for it either.

 

I'd say the best course of action would be sell it. Rugged laptops tend to sell for a decent bit of money and then out of that construct a system.

[NotABigGamer]

9 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Beam ng is very cpu heavy too and a first gen core I series cpu is not exactly good for it either.

 

I'd say the best course of action would be sell it. Rugged laptops tend to sell for a decent bit of money and then out of that construct a system.

Its kind of beaten up and the handle fell off. On eBay it looks like they sell for a decent price. A build would probably be a bit more expensive but performs better so that's probably the better route. I guess I will scrap the external GPU idea then. 

 

Thanks again!

[NotABigGamer]

On 2/22/2021 at 6:21 PM, jaslion said:

Beam ng is very cpu heavy too and a first gen core I series cpu is not exactly good for it either.

 

I'd say the best course of action would be sell it. Rugged laptops tend to sell for a decent bit of money and then out of that construct a system.

Sorry to bother you again, but in this video that I watched the person says that plugging in there external monitor directly to the GPU cuts down on the express cards bandwidth issues. Is that true? The option of the external GPU is really compelling and I have a old 720p monitor laying around. I could probably get a 750ti used for a little over 100$ and total cost would be lower then any pc list I could come up with.

Thanks!

[jaslion]

15 hours ago, NotABigGamer said:

Sorry to bother you again, but in this video that I watched the person says that plugging in there external monitor directly to the GPU cuts down on the express cards bandwidth issues. Is that true? The option of the external GPU is really compelling and I have a old 720p monitor laying around. I could probably get a 750ti used for a little over 100$ and total cost would be lower then any pc list I could come up with.

Thanks!

It does but that is like a 2-3% performance gain which again isn't really much. That and even if you had the best possible cpu in your laptop it would still have issues with running beam ng due to the physic engine being very cpu heavy. I really would not do this at all. It's the worst possible solution for a gamin capable machine really.

[NotABigGamer]

32 minutes ago, jaslion said:

It does but that is like a 2-3% performance gain which again isn't really much. That and even if you had the best possible cpu in your laptop it would still have issues with running beam ng due to the physic engine being very cpu heavy. I really would not do this at all. It's the worst possible solution for a gamin capable machine really.

I see now thanks again!