DIY ViDock Experiences

This page (http://tiny.cc/DIYViDock) is a running summary of this 200+ page thread..DIY ViDockExperiences....NEWS..(12-04-10) T5750-2.0+HD5870 implemented(11-28-10) i7-820M 1.73+HD5570 result^3(11-24-10) RM74-2.2+HD5770 implemented(11-21-10) DIY ViDock Setup v1.0e5 released(11-21-10) PE4H 2.4 available on 11-22(11-18-10) i7-620M 2.66+GTX470@x1.Opt impl.(11-07-10) DA-2 220W AC adapter mod(11-03-10) i7-620M 2.66+HD5770 result^3(10-27-10) i5-520M 2.4+HD6850 implemented.
Introduction - The Let's figure out how to make a DIY ViDock thread has produced a PE4L and a x2-link capable PE4H product, either of which can host a pci-e RAID, soundcard or a desktop video card.
This thread is dedicated to the practical application of these products to host a desktop video card in a notebook.
Ideally a place for users to share installation and performance details for others to duplicate or reference.

* Graw/TWE/MafiaII12" X201t+HD5770
* StarcraftII13"_Dell_M1330+GTX460
* Star Trek Online15"_Macbook Pro+GT240Gaming videos running DIY or Villagetronic ViDock implementationsUS$55 PE4L-EC2C (expresscard) or PE4L-PM3N (mPCIe) products HP Pavilion DV2000: internal LCD driven by GMA950, external LCD by HD4670 on PE4L via expresscard slotHP 2510P: [mPCIe] Swapping wifi card with PM3N via underside coversSony VPC-Z119 running 3 displays: 1 via onboard graphics, 2 via DIY ViDock
A compact US$215 12V/80W HD5750 kit was tested on a 14" T6600-2.2 Inspiron 1440/4500MHD and a 12.1" U7600-1.2@1.6 HP 2510P/X3100.
Even at x1 1.0 link speed, the performance difference b/w X3100/4500MHD and HD5750 is staggering.
T6600-2.2 using a x1E link saw 3dmark06 go from 866 to 9551.
RE5 went from an unplayable 4.1FPS to a very playabe 60.9FPS.
U7600-1.2@1.6 using a x1 link saw 3dmark06 go from 586 to 7341, RE5 went from an unplayable 3.4fps to a very playable 44.8fps in Win7/DX9.
Even a low end CPU provides gaming ability.

If you run Win7 exclusively it is very easy to enable HD5750 graphics without a reboot.
Just standby the system, plug in the PE4L, resume, Win7 detects the HD5750 and reverts back to how you have your desktop setup (eg: HD5750 as primary or extended display).
Easy.

ProsInexpensive: US$65-shipped PE4L with HD5670+72W=US$140, GT430-1GB+72W=US$135,
HD5750+80W=US$215, GTX460-768MB+400W=US$250.
Add US$78 for a x2 capable kit using a PE4H.See 10 times or more increase in video performanceCan have Internal LCD-only setup: NVidia Optimus or Ultramon/Chung-Gun method.Desktop video card can provide additional HDMI video+audio, s-video and VGA outprovide dual-link DVI connection for 2560x1600 LCDsprovide ATI Eyefinity to provide up to 3 LCDs attached to the single card.
ATI 5870 Eyefinity edition providing up to 6 LCDs off a single card(!!)provide NVidia Surround to connect up to 2 LCDs.
Note: NVidia 3D surround requires a SLI setup.Easy, on-demand attachment without a reboot if running Win7Can be reused after a system upgrade, or shared amongst multiple systemsSee an extra 30-60% in performance when attached to an expresscard 2.0 system, or do a x2 1.0 setupProvides an additional USB port when connected to expresscard slotTime-share your desktop video card b/w your desktop and notebook system.Perform CUDA processing for applications that support it like Adobe CS5/Premier [NVidia-gfx only]Ability to use physX/hybrid physX & game detailComponents can become a stepping stone to a full deskop system if want higher performanceConsRequires 12V PSU to drive the desktop video cardrequires an external LCD/CRT/TV to connect to display at highest FPSolder systems may require booting DIY ViDock Setup 1.x from a USB stick or disk imageFAQ

1.
How does a DIY ViDock differ from the commercial Villagetronic ViDock3/4?
Spoiler :



The Villagetronic ViDock 3/4 is in essence a PE4L packaged together in nice chassis with a PSU.
DIY ViDock's flexibility makes it imho an overall better solution over ViDock 3/4.
Consider DIY solution's advantages:significantly cheaper: US$77-delivered PE4L versus US$230 for the ViDock3.
A GTX460-768MB DIY ViDock setup works out to be US$230 cheaper, just over half the cost of an equivalent Vidock4+ GTX460 setup.
Costs can be reduced further by recycling or salvaging power supplies with savings put towards better gpus OR towards a system upgrade that's a better DIY ViDock candidate.less losses to try: can try and if unsatisfied, can resell on ebay with minimal losses.
Villagetronic's strict return policy means higher ebay reselling losses.has DIY ViDock Setup 1.x software to overcome error 12: cannot allocate resources issues.developed the x1E tweak and custom NVidia Optimus drivers to deliver highest possible performance.mPCIe AND expresscard systems are supported.
Villagetronic only caters to expresscard systems.
PCI reset delay circuit to boot past problematic bios with unit switched on (PE4L 1.5+/PE4H 2.4+).x2 capable on some systems: x2 1.0 provides ~60% better performance than x1 1.0.can add PSU to match your video card.has inexpensive DIY ViDock enclosure examples if you want an enclosure.unrestricted video card sizes or cooling space: Not limited by chassis package dimensions.PE4H allows desktop video card to be hosted externally and shared b/w notebook and desktop (@x4 2.0 speed via P4HA).extensive user submitted experiences to replicate and set realistic performance expectations.uses a replacable US$6-delivered mini HDMI interconnect cablea NBR creation: came from a global community to serve a global community


2.
Can I make this work using just my notebook's LCD display?
Spoiler :



The desktop video card outputs to it's HDMI/VGA/DVI connector.
The notebook's LCD display uses a LVDS input on your systemboard with no external jack to connect to it.
Meaning then they cannot be physically connected together unless adapt a US$30 ebay kits allowing external input to the internal LCD as discussed, which only quite an advanced user would ever attempt.

There are however these less drastic ways of getting your accelerated graphics card to render to the internal LCD, all of which will have lower performance than when running using an external LCD:NVidia Optimus driver provide a transparent internal LCD cloning mode for systems with 4500MHD/HD primary video when using a NVidia GTS4xx/GTX4xx card.Ultramon/Chung Gun method can clone from the desktop graphics window to the internal LCD for windowed games/apps.
USB 3.0 framegrabbers have sufficient bandwidth to capture the image from the desktop video card and pipe it back to your notebook's display.It is not feasible to use USB 2.0 framegrabbers.
The desktop video card outputs HDMI/S-Video.
To try to clone the output from the desktop video card via a USB frame grabber can be done, but consider say 1280x800x32-bit = 4MB per image.
If gaming at 30FPS that's 120MB/s bandwidth required.
USB 2.0 is 480Mbps (60MB/s in *best case* scenario..
more like 30MB/s in real-life).


3.
I don't have an expresscard slot.
Can I still do a DIY ViDock?
Spoiler :



Yes, if have an accessible mini pci-e (mPCIe) slot via the underside covers that works with your wifi card then could use a PE4L-PM3N or PE4H-PM3N mPCIe setup.
The example HP 2510P and Lenovo X61T both do a PM3N mPCIe-based DIY ViDock.


NOTE: WWAN mPCIe slots with only USB pins cannot do a DIY VIDock.
USB-to-expresscard adapters cannot be used since it just uses the 480Mbps USB pins.
mini pci slots can't be used.
Can see the difference bw mini pci and mini pci-e here.


4.
(Performance) What affects the performance of a DIY ViDock/ViDock?
Spoiler :



The x1 1.0 pci-e link restricts performance from normal desktop levels.
PCI-E Scaling Analysis shows x16, x2 and x1 performance.
Compared to x16 2.0 we can summarize that there is 50% performance loss at x1 1.0 and 20% performance loss at x2 1.0 link speeds.
Or x2 1.0 is 60% faster than x1 1.0.ViDock and hwtools PE4L are using the same x1 expresscard/mPCIe pins so we will get exactly the same performance using either solution.
Only ways either solution will see improved performance is by:RE5 ConfigResolutionFPSU7600-1.2@1.6HD4670-1GB x1 1.0 W7/DX91280x80034.71280x102432.51680x105027.61920x108025.3Performance Scaling with resolutionpetition ATI to get full duplex performance on Intel chipsets without needing the x1E tweak.
petition NVidia to roll the Optimus performance tweak into their standard desktop driver as shown hereTry 3rd party tweaked drivers.
Realistically only giving < 10% better performance.wait for expresscard 2.0, with it's x1 2.0 providing ~60% faster performance than x1 1.0.Link two x1 expresscard and/or mPCIe ports to get a x2 link, like hwtools' PE4H does.If system supports it, overclock the pci-e bus using setfsb.
Eg: 100->105 yields a 3.3% RE5 FPS increase.minimise pci-e traffic by disabling hypermemory/turbomemory and video card's HDMI soundcard.


5.
(Performance) Can my system do a PE4H x2 or x4 link as shown in PCI-E Scaling Analysis?
Spoiler :



hwtools' PE4H has made provision to allow compatible 2xmPCIe ports, or mPCIe+expresscard ports to be combined to form a x2 port.
To identify what is possible, find your Intel I/O chipset below to identify what ports can be combined to create a x2 or x4 width link.

Intel Chipsetmax#pci-eportsx2 linkx4 linkICH7M4p1+2, p3+4*p1+2+3+4ICH8M/ICH9M/HM556p1+2, p3+4*, p5+6PM55/HM57/QM57/QS578p1+2, p3+4*, p5+6,p7+p8^p1+2+3+4, p5+6+7+82510P's port DV2000's port
*=switches port1+2 into x2 mode.
^switches port5+6 into x2 as well.
An Intel limitation.

Other combinations to get x2/x4 ports such as p1+3, p2+4 do not work! In example above, the 2510P can't do a x2 link since it has only the 1 physical mPCIe slot.
You'll notice on the 2510P port1 is enabled - it's a root port that