Add an ASUS desktop graphics card to your ASUS laptop.

[Teramungus]

Add an eGPU - external graphics processing unit- to your laptop.:cool:

I love my Asus G74SX-TH71 laptop. It's a great laptop for gaming and 3D rendering. But, I quickly found out that the dedicated (discrete) graphics processing unit (dGPU) is soldered onto the motherboard and thus I am not able to upgrade. Then I found this solution here by 'nando4'.

Basically, I removed the mPCIe Atheros WIFI card and replaced it with an adapter which is powered by an ATX PSU and accepts a full-size x16 PCIexpress video card of your choosing (ASUS of course).

[Another solution would be to use the ThunderBolt (TB) port or ExpressCard (EC) on selective ASUS laptops. And an even better solution would be to use a combination of mPCIe, EC, and TB ports to achieve the most potential of your new external graphics card (eGPU). In some cases it is possible to get an internal graphics processing unit (iGPU), a dGPU and the eGPU all running together thanks to the Optimus drivers built-into nVidia's drivers.]

***Before trying this make sure you know what you are doing; read this carefully (must login to post messages/questions for help. I never noticed the colorful boxes below the large black square were actually very helpful links; I just overlooked them)***

***This worked for me. I can not guarantee it will work for you***

***You have to keep in mind that this setup will not use the full potential of the new eGPU due to bottlenecks inherent to this method.***

My Platform Description
1- Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit (stock).
2- SYSTEM: ASUS G74SX-TH71, Intel 2670m, nVidia GTX560m, dual SSD's (not stock/not RAID).
3- RAM: 12GB system; 3GB GTX560m (stock).
What I used in my eGPU setup
4- eGPU: ASUS STRIX GTX960 2GB RAM (Others should work).
5- nVidia Drivers: 347.52 Desktop & 347.52 Notebook (Most current)/(Need both).
6- ATX PSU: Corsair CX750M (Enough to power your eGPU).
7- Adapter: PE4C-PM3E v1.2 via mPCIe. (Jumpers set to NO DELAY and AUTO for me).
*NOTE: (the mPCIe is in an awkward location on the G74SX; other adapters could work and might require modification to the laptop case).
8- DIY eGPU Setup 1.30 ($25.00 donation required).
9-External Monitor ASUS VN-247 24” LCD, 1920x1080p, 80,000,000:1, 1ms delay.

Steps to perform prior to installation of the eGPU.
A- Read this and this and this. Also, watch some videos like this, this, and this.
B- Buy the appropriate hardware and software.
C- Download and install a graphics driver Uninstaller program to remove old drivers.
D- Download the latest drivers for BOTH the laptop and new eGPU.
E- Download and perform a DSDT override if required.
F- Install DIY eGPU Setup 1.30 from 'nando4' if required.
***Do your homework to assure compatibility***

Optional Software
-nVidia Inspector.
-GeForce Experience loaded as separate program (Don't use the full driver package).
-A bench-marking program. (Run this before any modifications are made for comparisons).
BOOTICE to launch Windows seamlessly with DIY eGPU Setup 1.30 (or current version) after a successful configuration.

Optional Hardware
Get the right adapter for your specific laptop. Other adapter models (some with cases) are available from Bplus, Bangkook, Sonnet, and VillageTronic among others. Every laptop is different and the available ports will determine the equipment used to attach the eGPU to your laptop.

The Results









NOTES
The cable of the PE4C v1.2 seems very delicate and is very thin (like the SSD hard drive cable) and works for my application because I do not want to cut my computer to make another adapter fit (not that I know I would have to, just going off pictures of other adapters). The adapter comes with 100mm, 200mm, & 300mm cables; I started with the longest.

PROBLEM: I could not get the eGPU to work unless I forced it into GEN1 mode (not the outcome I wanted). The process of removing and reinstalling the cable (cable now has some creases but not bad), the cable length is too long and degrades signal quality , or a bad connection by me to start with could be the cause of not achieving stable GEN2.

FIX: I switched out the 300mm cable (damaged maybe) with the shorter 200mm (non-manhandled) one and made sure the connections are correct. I booted into DIY eGPU Setup 1.30 and 'Reset' the startup.bat (to remove the 'force GEN1' applied earlier), set mbr, ran 36bit compaction, and DID NOT specify a GEN configuration. It is now running at PCIe Interface 3.0@2.0x1 and automatically switching to 3.0@1.1x1 as system idles.

RESULT: Battlefield is now running on HIGH settings in 1920x1080p 60Hz 100% resolution and averaging 60's fps (dips to 50 and spikes to 70). I was previously getting 50's fps (pretty stable) with dGPU on LOW and 80% resolution, so a nice improvement over stock.

NOTE: It will BlackSOD when I plug in a USB and sometimes recovers? Can boot with USB already plugged in no problem.

[Teramungus]

Teramungus wrote:
Add an eGPU - external graphics processing unit- to your laptop.:cool:

I love my Asus G74SX-TH71 laptop. It's a great laptop ......

NOTE: It will BlackSOD when I plug in a USB and sometimes recovers? Can boot with USB already plugged in no problem.

Update: It appears I was experiencing a ground loop caused by a loose connection on my headset (also getting feedback from mic). I replaced headphones and have had zero problems.

[Mr_Whiterain]

Grats! I'm looking at a setup like this as well. I've been told doing this with the G75VW is relatively plug an play with the EXP GDC Beast. But I believe that is only with another Nvidia card, if I get an Radeon gpu, like the R9 390 I'm looking at, there may be some conflicts. But that could be a simple driver conflict and nothing serious, like having to flash the bios and as easy as unistalling your nvidia driver suites and installing catalyst.

I also learned that my G75vw is MXM, meaning I can replace the gpu, cpu and sodimm ram, of course. Seeing as the CPU and Ram are relatively awesome, i7 3630qm and 8gb of ddr3 1600mhz, I could also pick up a socket 2 motherboard with sodimm ram, like the Jetway NF9G-QM77 Intel Socket G2 , with a mini itx case like Thermaltake Suppressor F1, and save yourselves about 3-400 bucks on a mini-itx desktop build.

[ALMTREERING0]

I spent a few days (waiting for my PE4C to arrive) preparing to replicate this build on a G74sx-BBK7 by going through Teramungus' experience on the tech inferno forums and reading through the process people went through to get their eGPU set up. After all of that work I was greeted with... a plug and play instant success. No DIY eGPU setup, no DSDT override, nothing. I just ran Display Driver Uninstaller, installed the eGPU drivers, rebooted, and then reinstalled the dGPU drivers and it was recognized in the device manager as working properly. I was not able to get any output from the eGPU initially but upon opening NVidia control panel it automatically started outputting to my external display. The result is the exact same as what is described here but with absolutely none of the hassle. That said, I used different versions of the hardware from Teramungus' build. The differences being he used a PE4C v1.2 whereas I used v3.0 and he used an Asus Strix GTX 960 where I used a 950. The mPCIe connector for the v3.0 has to be fit in at an angle with the bottom panel of the laptop removed (I will be exploring mPCIe extension options for this issue).

[AndreySy]

Hi! ASUS G74SX. EGPU BEAST v. 8.3 PCI-E with PSU Dell ASUS GTX 960 4Gb Strix I could not make it work. The lamp on the adapter and videocard lights up, but laptop does not recognize EGPU. EGPU SETUP 1.30 and troubleshooting on techinferno forum, did not help. Or incompatible or defective EGPU? Sorry for the bad english.

[bowen161]

For those who have successfully done this. Does this actually use the video cards at their maximum capability or should I expect limited power from this setup. I can't see how a x16 to mPCI-e wouldn't lead to some limiting in actual capabilities, or maybe I'm just not understanding what is actually happening there.

[aigamboa]

bowen161 wrote:
For those who have successfully done this. Does this actually use the video cards at their maximum capability or should I expect limited power from this setup. I can't see how a x16 to mPCI-e wouldn't lead to some limiting in actual capabilities, or maybe I'm just not understanding what is actually happening there.

I believe there is a bottleneck affect on your performance. I think it depends on your setup but you will get performance up to 94% that of a desktop from what I have seen and some lows of about 80%. How I said depends on setup and I'm fairly new at this so don't quote me on this haha

[aigamboa]

Has anyone tried to add and eGPU to a ROG GL552VW?
I know this computer is fairly new but I wanted to see if it would be possible to give it more juice in the future.
Please don't be shy.
I'm fairly new with gaming rigs and stumble upon eGPUs recently and found it extremely fascinating given that intel has that in mind with the new Thunderbolts and all.
I'm pretty sure someone else must have been curious about this as well and someone out there must have tried it.
Let me know how you got it to work on this model or similar ones(:
Also sorry if my reply looks weird I'm new to ROG forums not sure if you peeps like certain layouts haha thanks for the help guys.