Laptop graphic card upgrade and the DK2

Luciferous

Hi,

Apologies for another hardware post but one of the pleasures of the DK1 was using my laptop to demo to friends.
I have an I7 8GB Dell fairly modern but the graphics card is not going to cut it for the DK2.

I have asked Dell but they do not have any upgrade options to a higher end Graphics card for my model (Latitude E6530)
but they did say there were third party options for upgrading to higher cards. I am off to Google now but wondered if anybody had used such a piece of hardware?

Thanks
Russell

nicorose

On Latitude E6530, the video card is integrated on the motherboard of your Laptop. Like in most laptops.

If you want to change it you have to buy another Mainboard and change the entire Hardware....
But it will cost a lot more than a new Laptop!

So there is no way to change the card like you do on a desktop PC.

but they did say there were third party options for upgrading to higher cards.

I heard about external GFX Cards. But even the external ones are expensive as hell. About 200-300 $ just for the external casing without the actual GFX Card.

So better sell you Laptop and get a better one.

Vylen

You can get an external GPU solution... essentially having a desktop GPU in an external case that is connected in through your Express Card slot...

hellary

You can use something like one of these: PE4H

In theory at least. I have no idea how well those things perform in practice. That place is the manufacturer that you can order direct from (Taiwan) or you might want to try eBay as there are a couple of (supposedly) US suppliers.

Bear in mind that you'll need a chassis to mount it all in (unless you want to play it risky) and you'll need a power supply too. You might want to consider putting the money you'd need to spend on a power supply, a case and the adapter card itself towards a used i5 or i7 computer and then put a new graphics card in that (if funds are tight - if not, just build a new PC).

Luciferous

Thanks for the replies.

Ill take a look at your suggestions. I do intend getting a new PC as well, so considering the laptop is fairly new I didn't want to have to buy a new high end PC and a new high end laptop. The reason is I want to take my laptop with me to demo etc. but by the sounds of it that will no longer be possible unless I use some really Rift basic demos.

danknugz

E6540 here. AMD Radeon HD 8970M Graphics 2GB GDDR5, seems to chug along in UE4 OK. Of course I will be building a real PC, this is just from work. I am surprised to hear that you actually brought your E6530 around with the DK1, that lists NVIDIA®NVS™5200M (GDDR5 1GB), did that run fast framerates for the demos like rift coaster? Or was it a slideshow.

I am thinking that if you had success with the NVIDIA®NVS™5200M (GDDR5 1GB) then I might be able to get away with this AMD Radeon HD 8970M Graphics 2GB GDDR5 for DK2 (for demoing it out cause I wont be lugging a huge PC to my friends')

eepoole4

danknugz wrote:

E6540 here. AMD Radeon HD 8970M Graphics 2GB GDDR5, seems to chug along in UE4 OK. Of course I will be building a real PC, this is just from work. I am surprised to hear that you actually brought your E6530 around with the DK1, that lists NVIDIA®NVS™5200M (GDDR5 1GB), did that run fast framerates for the demos like rift coaster? Or was it a slideshow.

I am thinking that if you had success with the NVIDIA®NVS™5200M (GDDR5 1GB) then I might be able to get away with this AMD Radeon HD 8970M Graphics 2GB GDDR5 for DK2 (for demoing it out cause I wont be lugging a huge PC to my friends')

A buddy of mine is in this same situation. He liked being mobile and showing off the DK1 with his gaming laptop when he's out and about. With the DK2 needing more horsepower he asked me to piece together as compact a PC as possible that would be more powerful, and cheaper than an a whole new laptop.

Sitting at 14.69" x 9.8" x 8.27" is the following build he has on order.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($288.29 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($97.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Other: 25ft 18 AWG Power Cord ($10.99)
Total: $1061.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

With the DK2 only needing power by USB (assuming you don't use the USB hub), the only power cord necessary is the one from the PSU to the wall outlet, so I included the cost of a 25' power cord in the overall cost. This build will easily last him through DK2, only needing a new GPU for CV1. I can't wait for his parts to arrive just for the thrill of piecing together another PC.

Luciferous

I could run most normal demos with my laptop with the DK1. it wasn't brilliant but still enough to give people a real sense of what is to come. Probably averaging 30fps but varied greatly demo to demo. The more complicated stuff it wasn't great with and Tridef games were a total no go. I have had this laptop about 1.4 years and was not bought with the DK1 in mind. At the time nobody really new how much processing power it was going to take. Like a said before I intend to get a new high end PC, which I am waiting for clearance from the wife. So if I was to say I now want a second high end laptop as well..... :shock:

My wife is a teacher and I showed 3 /4 classes full of kids VRCinema or Dumpy the elephant using it, they were totally amazed. It was a great day, we had to stop in the end as practically the whole school wanted to see it. I have promised to go back again with the DK2 to demo some more.


Thanks eepoole4 that is an interesting idea, I'll look at the build you listed.

eepoole4

Luciferous wrote:

Thanks eepoole4 that is an interesting idea, I'll look at the build you listed.

Hey, no problem. There's money to be saved if you're not interested in the small form factor a mini-itx build grants you. If you're confined to a specific budget then let me know, too. Adjustments can be made (i.e. removing WiFi from motherboard for ~$20 savings)

jtreyes

eepoole4 wrote:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($288.29 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($97.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Other: 25ft 18 AWG Power Cord ($10.99)
Total: $1061.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Hello, If you have some spare time do you mind updating this config with what you think is the best part available now (late August)? Also confirm that you are selecting the Radeon GPU to avoid problems with nVidia Optimus technology hitting 75Hz at 1080p (or is that only a problem with mobile chipsets?) Thank you.

eepoole4

jtreyes,

Sorry I'm so late to respond to you. If you still need assistant putting together a DK2-ready PC I can help accommodate whatever needs you're looking for. Shoot me a PM or reply here. Whatever's easier.