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How to make an external laptop graphics adaptor



How to make an external laptop graphics adaptor
Give your laptop some gaming power


 Take a spare 3D graphics card and hook it up to your laptop



Laptop graphics have always been something of a joke performance wise. Nvidia and AMD do try, but cramming all those millions of transistors into a low-power, compact package just leads to massive expense and an inability to upgrade.
Wouldn't it be perfect if you could simply use a standard external graphics card to power your laptop's 3D graphics?
The good news is that you can. The suitably technical-sounding PE4H is just that; a passive PCI-e x16 to x1 adaptor, which enables you to plug an external graphics card into a laptop's ExpressCard slot. Currently we're only aware of it being available from the Taiwanese firm www.hwtools.net for around $100 including shipping.
We'd like to say it's as simple as that, but this project does have a few sticking points. The first we've already mentioned: a laptop with an ExpressCard slot.
The second is Windows 7, as it handles multiple display drivers far more adeptly than anything else. We're told Windows XP is next best with Vista being least desirable.
Also if your laptop has more than 2GB of memory a 64-bit installation is also required, as otherwise you'll hit the 4GB address space limit hard. The big issue here is that it'll cause the allocation of memory for the graphics card to fail.
Even though the card has its own memory the processor still needs to be able to address it, this address space is added on top of any existing system memory plus any other hardware resources, including the integrated graphics memory space.
The final sticking point is that there are certain laptop models that this simply won't work with or have some serious documented issues. Some of these can be worked around and others cannot, but before you run off and spend your money it's best to check if people have reported issues with your model.
The best two sources for compatibility can be found on the Notebook Review forum and Village Tronic. The former is the best, offering detailed system configuration and how many issues are solved.
The PE4H comes with the adaptor itself, an ExpressCard, data cable, Molex power cable and ATX power switch. Alongside this you'll need a suitable power supply, the adaptor can take a 12 to 15v supply but for higher-end cards you'll need a desktop PSU anyway. Plus for neatness we're going to house it all inside a mini-barebones case.

PE4H

The walkthrough below details putting together a system. The main thing to be aware of is before plugging the ExpressCard into the laptop, you will need to have Windows fully booted and to have the graphics card powered up. It's important to do this so Windows can recognise and install the correct drivers. If everything goes smoothly you'll have multi-card, multi-monitor system, where there was none before.
This might not be evident but it has happened, check the Display Properties Control Panel to see if the new display is detected and active.
Troubleshooting
In our case we encountered a couple of issues on our Lenovo X200 at this stage, which we can see other people encountering. If the card isn't detected reboot and see how the BIOS handles the new device.
For us booting produced a stream of POST errors complaining about PCI resource allocation problems. A BIOS update later and we had a booting system but one that was running incredibly slowly.
Our next step was to try inserting the card immediately after pressing the power button and that seemed to sort this out. Similarly another trick is to put the laptop to sleep insert the card and power back up. Whatever voodoo cured the problem, once it was up and running we didn't have any further problems and the device could be happily hot swapped. All of these issues are connected to allocation of the PCI address space for the card.
Once it's up and running it just works, albeit within the limitations of a x1 PCI-e system. You may have spotted that the adaptor card offers four PCI-e connections, the obvious question is how do you connect those additional PCI-e lanes?
Most laptops use a mini-PCI-e add-in card for its wireless adaptor, other laptops actually have spare mini-PCI-e ports for 3G modems and the like. If you can locate one of these and add-in one of the HWTool PM3N mini-PCI-e adaptors, then it's possible to upgrade to an x2 system where the performance hit narrows to around 75 percent of the graphic card's full performance.
This, of course, requires a second cable to be trailed from the laptop to the adaptor, as it turns out these are mini HDMI (Type-C) cables, so can be picked up from various sources such as www.lindy.com.
Use something like SiSoft Sandra to see what chipset your laptop has and what devices are attached to them, the Hardware Buses report tool is best. The older ICH6/7M Southbridge can provide up to four PCI-e ports. The newer ICH8/9M and HM55 chipsets can go to six, with the latest HM/QM/QS57 range providing up to eight. You need to use the ports in matched pairs for it to work, so ports one and two or three and four.
DIY desktop graphics for your notebook
We remember getting excited about an Asus prototype called the XG Station a few years back at Computex in Taipei. That device promised to do something similar to this project. It never made it to the UK though, but did pop up in Australia in 2008 before promptly disappearing within a year.
No matter, we'll show you how to hook up your own spare PCI-e graphics card to your laptop. It just takes the right bits of hardware and an ExpressCard equipped laptop. We're even going to look at an easy way to package the whole lot into an external case.
1. The kit you will need to make your adaptor

step 1

The catchy named PE4H from www.hwtools.net comes with a x16 PCI-e adaptor, the ExpressCard interface, an ATX power switch, plus the necessary Molex power cable and PCI Express data cable.
2. Grab a passive PCI Express adaptor

step 2

The adaptor that takes the PCI Express graphics card is called a passive adaptor, which is actually not doing any processing or routing, it's simply connecting two buses together.
3. Connect the GPU to the ExpressCard

step 3

Getting started is easy enough, plug the graphics card into the adaptor and connect the data cable to the first PCI-e port and to the ExpressCard, not forgetting the power cable.
4. Get a PSU powering your graphics card

step 4

So you can use a standard PC system power supply for your graphics card an ATX power adaptor is supplied, which will attach to the 20/24-pin power cable of the PSU.
5. Everything hooked up and ready to go

step 5

With a basic PCI Express graphics card the set-up looks a little like this (with or without a loop in the cable). At this point you don't want to connect the ExpressCard but you can boot your laptop.
6. Now, power up the pixel pusher

step 6

Before you go ahead and connect the ExpressCard to your laptop, you must make sure that the graphics card is powered up, so turn on the ATX switch and power up the PSU.
7. Get in on some ExpressCard action

step 7

With your Windows OS laptop up and running along with external graphics card, you can now safely push the ExpressCard into its slot, being careful not to knock over the graphics card in the process!
8. Displays ahoy, as far as the eye can see

step 8

If you have a compatible laptop, then after a flicker or two and perhaps a reboot, the laptop should detect the new graphics card and automatically start installing the driver.
9. Control, multimonitor is a go

step 9

If everything has worked correctly then you will now have a multimonitor system that you can configure from the Windows Display Control Panel.
10. Put her safe 'n' sound in the mini

step 10

To create a neat external box, we're going to cheat a little and just shanghai this rather nice mini barebones box. We won't need the original mobo though we might be able to use the PSU.
11. Compact and decidely bijou

step 11

This box has space for two PCI cards, so even a double-width graphics card should easily fit inside the chassis and the PCI-e adaptor sits nicely, where the mobo used to be.
12. Get the power that you really need

step 12

It's important to make sure the power supply unit's 12v rail will meet the power supply needs of the card. Check the Wikipedia entry to look up the TDP of your chipset if you're unsure.
13. Get a cable, that is Type C

step 13

We're going to route the connecting cable out of the side of the case. To make life easier it'd be best to pick up a longer mini HDMI (Type-C) cable, which is actually what the cable is.
14. Connect up the power button

step 14

The ATX PSU is activated by connecting pins 14 and 15 (20-pin) or 16 and 17 (24-pin) together. It's the green wire and any black wire, so you could connect up the case's power switch instead.
15. And this is one I made earlier…

step 15

And here she is, our neatly finished solution for getting desktop graphics on your weedy laptop. The mini-case, as it turns out, makes quite a handy monitor stand. Or you can just hide it away.
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Nvidia prepping GTX 560 Ti with 448 CUDA cores


With the holiday season coming up, Nvidia is busy prepping an ‘improved’  version of the GeForce GTX 560 Ti to win back the performance crown from AMD. The new card dubbed, GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores, will feature 448 CUDA cores over the original card which had 384. Another thing that’s changed is the memory bandwidth which is now 320-bit instead of 256-bit and will feature 1.2GB of GDDR5 memory. Nvidia should be announcing this card on the 29th of this month, just in time for the holiday shopping spree.
Looks like a decent improvement
Looks like a decent improvement (Image Source)


Interestingly, it won’t be based on the GF114 core as the only GTX 560 Ti, instead it will use the GF110 silicon, the same used in the GTX 570, GTX 580 and the GTX 590. The new 448 core card is more like a stripped down version of GTX 570. The clock speeds have been reduced to 730MHz whereas the memory runs at 3,800MHz. The TDP is also increased to 210W from the old card but is still under the GTX 570. The card will also support 3-way SLI for those who are mad enough to use three of them in tandem.

With the pricing sitting between the GTX 560 Ti and the GTX 570, Nvidia is going straight after the AMD HD 6950 2GB, which has no doubt giving them sleepless nights. The puzzling part is why release a card that’s almost 90 percent as powerful as the GTX 570? I would have been simpler to just drop the price of the GTX 570 which would no doubt guarantee a victory over the HD 6950. I’m sure all those who just bought a GTX 560 Ti are probably kicking themselves right now.
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MSI N450GTS Cyclone 1GD5 review


Graphics card prices have plummeted and we’re seeing prices normalise. An entry-level graphics card that’s capable of running most of today’s games is within reach for many. The recent comparison test we held for entry-level graphics cards concluded that some of the pricier cards in the Rs. 8,000 range offered great performance. Move down the price range and there are some interesting cards that are worth looking at. The MSI N450GTS Cyclone is one such card and it’s not just the name that gets our attention.

Features
The MSI N450GTS is powered by NVIDIA’s GeForce GTS450 GPU. It’s based on the 40nm fabrication process like the rest of the GeForce 400 series of GPUs. The GeForce GTS450 GPU is clocked at 783MHz, but MSI’s OC edition of the card runs at 850 MHz, a small increment, but one that should hopefully help it challenge cards of a higher caliber and those based on newer GPUs. There’s one gigabyte of GDDR5 memory onboard the card on a 128-bit memory interface.
SLI support for an additional card
SLI support for an additional card


There are three video output connections - two DVI and one mini-HDMI. The package contains a molex to 6-pin convertor, as well as converter adapters for DVI to D-Sub and a separate mini-HDMI to HDMI. There’s also SLI support for upto two cards. In terms of power requirements, a single 6-pin power connector is required. NVIDIA’s card requires 106W of power on load, which isn’t a lot. A 450W power supply should suffice for a mid-range PC running a GeForce GTS450. MSI has employed Samsung’s GDDR5 memory chips on the card. Those aren’t cooled by the heatsink.

Design and Build quality
Although this is a budget graphics card, it’s pretty huge all thanks to its cooler. The card occupies two slots and you’re unlikely to be able to use a second card in the adjoining slot.
A mean looking card
A mean looking card


The cooler is bulky and has two heatpipes running through two sets of heatfins. The main heatsink block itself is pretty thin, but has fins on them, which should all add up to offer good heat dissipation. The fan on the card is pretty small in size in comparison. 

Performance
While the MSI N450GTS Cyclone is another one of the GeForce GTS450 cards, it’s overclocked and that gives it an edge over the rest of the GTS450. The ASUS GTS450 is slightly faster in overall scores, but it’s the most expensive of the GeForce GTS cards in the test. 
Score in fps (frames per second) - Click to enlarge
Score in fps (frames per second) - Click to enlarge


The N450GTS beats all of its competitors in its price range easily. In general, it’s a good 20 to 30 percent faster than other cards in its range. Sure, it’s not as impressive as cards priced at Rs. 1,500 above it such as the XFX Radeon HD6790. It’s closest competitor is the ZOTAC GeForce GTS450. The other GTS450 cards fail to match its pace. Game frame touch 60 fps in games running at 1680 x 1050 resolutions with high details, which is pretty impressive. Lower the resolution and one can cross the 70 and 80 fps mark.
Power requirements - a single 6-pin connector
Power requirements - a single 6-pin connector


In terms of temperature, too, everything seemed stable. At idle, it managed 32 degrees celsius, which is extremely good and under a lot of load, it rose to a temperature of 53 degrees celsius, lower than most overclocked cards. With such temperatures, we feel that there’s space for more overclocking. 

Verdict
The GeForce N450GTS might be an older generation card, but with DirectX 11 complacency and sufficient oomph courtesy of the overclocked core, it manages to challenge cards priced higher and built around newer technology.
Massive cooling solution on the MSI N450GTS Cycle
Massive cooling solution on the MSI N450GTS Cycle


The MSI N450GTS offers the best of both worlds - it gives a very solid performance for its price, despite being one of the better performing cards in its price range. Priced roughly at Rs. 7,000 in India, it makes for a great purchase. The only better value-for-money product out there is the XFX Radeon HD6770. 
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NVIDIA's Maximus combines Quadro and Tesla for serious warrior power


NVIDIA's Maximus combines Quadro and Tesla for serious warrior power

Back in August, NVIDIA sneaked us a few deets about its curious Maximus project, and now the joint CPU / GPU card is officially ready to rev up your workflow. The idea is simple: dramatically improve productivity by using one system to handle the graphics along with the processing to deliver it. You might say it's got the looks and the brains. By melding the graphics ham of its Quadro GPUs with the cheesy smarts from the Tesla C2075, NVIDIA has made one epic processing sandwich that 'transparently' delegates tasks to the right processor; also expect to see Maximus-optimized applications from the likes of Adobe and Bunkspeed in the not-too-distant future. Workstations can supe up their core immediately, but whether the Maximus will ever be accompanied by a companion Biggus Diskus is unclear.

Update: As many of you pointed out in the comments, Tesla is technically still a GPU. Though, in this case, the cores are being used exclusively for general computing purposes to offload work from the CPU while the Quadro half of the equation handles graphical tasks. 
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