Help! External GPUs

[daniel2carr]

I hope that I may be able to get some better answers than I am on the Web. I have a Lenovo w520 with a i7-2720. 32GB RAM. It also has a Intel HD Graphics 3000 and a Nvidia Quadro 1000M. I dont have any complaints with the computer and it serves me well with my audio editing. I am getting back into the world of gaming and my wife wont let me build another gaming pc. So what I want to know, is there a trust worthy external dock that can be used with the pci express card slot i have to run a decent gpu?  I came across this device but it only supports 1.1  nothing higher (that I know of.) 

http://www.amazon.com/SAWAKE-External-Independent-expresscard-version/dp/B013P0T97G?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_1&smid=A2B8YUJLML2GI6

I hope this all makes sense and that someone can at least point me in the right direction. 

Thanks

[don_svetlio]

It won't work unless you have Thunderbolt

[C1intFunWood]

Does you laptop have a expresscard slot? It'll work, but it depends on the speed that the slot works at on your laptop.

[C1intFunWood]

21 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

It won't work unless you have Thunderbolt

Not exactly true, some expresscard slots can run at PCI-E 3.0 4x speed

[don_svetlio]

Just now, C1intFunWood said:

Not exactly true, some expresscard slots can run at PCI-E 3.0 4x speed

Still going to bottleneck most GPUs unless you go back to 6000/500 series

[C1intFunWood]

Just now, don_svetlio said:

Still going to bottleneck most GPUs unless you go back to 6000/500 series

Not by much tho.

[don_svetlio]

Just now, C1intFunWood said:

Not by much tho.

A guy had 290 CF on PCIe 3.0 x4 - couldn't get them past 50% usage

[daniel2carr]

it does have a pci express card slot though i am unsure of what speed it will support

 

[C1intFunWood]

5 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

A guy had 290 CF on PCIe 3.0 x4 - couldn't get them past 50% usage

I think you're talking about about PCI-E 2.0, because 4x slots are usually run on the chipset  which is 2.0

[don_svetlio]

Just now, C1intFunWood said:

I think you're talking about about PCI-E 2.0, because 4x slots are usually run on the Chinese which is 2.0

No, 3.0. Nvidia don't even allow their cards to run on 3.0 x4 IIRC

[Rodniz]

 

Maybe that'll help you out somehow.

[daniel2carr]

this is what the spec sheet says my card slot is.  1 x ExpressCard/34

 

http://www.cnet.com/products/lenovo-thinkpad-w520/specs/

[C1intFunWood]

4 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

No, 3.0. Nvidia don't even allow their cards to run on 3.0 x4 IIRC

"Computer ports with Thunderbolt 3 provide 40Gbps"

 

Which is equivalent to PCI-E 4x 3.0

[C1intFunWood]

Found it, http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=95662

[don_svetlio]

7 minutes ago, C1intFunWood said:

"Computer ports with Thunderbolt 3 provide 40Gbps"

 

Which is equivalent to PCI-E 4x 3.0

PCIe 3.0 4x is 4GB/s
What that means is that a PCIe 3.0 x4 connection (3.94GB/s) should have nearly the same bandwidth as PCIe 1.1 x16, or PCIe 2.0 x8 (both 4GB/s). Modern GPUs use a x16 PCIe 2.0 or 3.0 interface. That doesn't mean they always run at x16 speed, though

[C1intFunWood]

What are you going to be using as a EGPU?

[daniel2carr]

1 minute ago, C1intFunWood said:

What are you going to be using as a EGPU?

im not sure yet i was thinking of a 960 or 970. but it has been a long time since i last messed around with pc gaming and video editing. do you have a suggestion that could work with my setup without breaking the bank?

 

[daniel2carr]

I also plan to run 2 monitors when i am editing music

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, daniel2carr said:

im not sure yet i was thinking of a 960 or 970. but it has been a long time since i last messed around with pc gaming and video editing. do you have a suggestion that could work with my setup without breaking the bank?

 

Those wouldn't work. Nvidia drivers don't allow modern GPUs to run slower than PCIe 3.0 x8

[C1intFunWood]

1 minute ago, don_svetlio said:

Those wouldn't work. Nvidia drivers don't allow modern GPUs to run slower than PCIe 3.0 x8

It will, it's SLI that they don't allow on slower than 8x

[don_svetlio]

Just now, C1intFunWood said:

It will, it's SLI that they don't allow on slower than 8x

It will get bottlenecked though - even if it somehow works (which I doubt) it won't go past 50% usage thus making the 970 essentially a 950 or lower

[daniel2carr]

Just now, don_svetlio said:

Those wouldn't work. Nvidia drivers don't allow modern GPUs to run slower than PCIe 3.0 x8

ok so is there a decent option to use that wont totally suck? i wont be doing any heavy gaming but i want something that is better than the   Nvidia Quadro 1000M  that is in my laptop now?

[don_svetlio]

Just now, daniel2carr said:

ok so is there a decent option to use that wont totally suck? i wont be doing any heavy gaming but i want something that is better than the   Nvidia Quadro 1000M  that is in my laptop now?

Probably a 660? Maybe 670?

[C1intFunWood]

10 minutes ago, daniel2carr said:

I also plan to run 2 monitors when i am editing music

Please don't listen to this guy, are you using CUDA accelerated programs or will OpenCL work?

[daniel2carr]

honestly im not sure i was just planning on  installing a few games for fun, and doing my audio and video editing at other times. so i guess the answer is OpenCl will be fine