How to Setup eGPU on Lenovo Laptop – EXP GDC (NGFF Version)

How to Setup eGPU on Lenovo Laptop – NGFF Version

Hello every buddy, Setup eGPU !! This is the topic which peoples are extremely searching for, to get the final answer how to successfully setup external graphics card on laptop. In this article i will clear all the doubt about eGPU , how to setup and what products you need.

The first talk about is this real ?? Does it work?? Can you put a desktop graphics card on my laptop externally with an eGPU dock ?? The answer is only one, Yes you can do it using Exp GDC Laptop External Independent Video Card Dock. It’s a Chinese device that works with a GPU and Power Supply (PSU), it’s easily available to buy on banggood.com (Best Bang for your Luck) and it comes in 5 different versions for different types of laptops.

This article is based on the Lenovo laptop, but it’s also helpful for other laptop brands. There is only a little difference in the installation process for other laptops. I am using a Lenovo G50-70 laptop for an example, you can do the same with your ones. First see how to find your laptop is compatible with the eGPU setup, find the following things:

Step 1: Turn on your laptop and open BIOS. (Bios key for Lenovo Laptops are “NOVO Button” or FN + F2)

Step 2: In the Bios find these options, Graphics Device – UMA, Graphic Mode-Integrated, PXE Boot to LAN or Network Boot. If one of these options is available inside the bios then your laptop is easily ready for eGPU setup. Just needed to disable these settings in the bios.

Step 3: If these options are not available in bios, then you have to go with the hard way. You need to use a software called DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to avoid hardware conflicts.

Step 4: Done with the Bios ! Now you need to disassemble your laptop to find a WiFi LAN card inside your laptop. (This is on your luck, sometimes you will find it by just opening the access door of the laptop. Sometimes it’s below the laptop keyboard or sometimes you have to open the whole laptop to find the LAN card.)

Step 5: Once you find the Wifi LAN card, now match the card with the following image:

Step 6: If your LAN card looks like any of above, then you can order (Buy) the same version of  EXP GDC Dock online. Some Laptop has other options too, such as Express Card slot, M.2 Slot you can check all of those versions and their prices from below:

Exp Gdc eGPU Dock comes in 4 different versions, Select 1 for your Laptop.

Which Graphics Card should i use for eGPU ??

There are a bunch of different Graphics Card (GPU) available on market, they are made to use in  Desktop computers. Using them as eGPU using Exp Gdc dock, you need to have attention at this point. Some GPU is not quite compatible with the dock (Especially 10 Series GPU). I will leave a list of supported GPUs below both NVIDIA and AMD, but don’t trust them they work differently in different laptops.

In my experience i installed Asus ROG GTX 1060 6GB GPU on Dell Inspiron n4010, it worked well here is the Dell Laptop eGPU Video. But same Card did not worked in my Lenovo G50-70 Laptop, Yes this is truth. So i tried GTX 760 2GB in Lenovo laptop and i got success, find that video some where below in this article. I am putting some graphics card links which i trust:

Here are some list of graphics card recommended officially

Nvidia Graphics Cards: GTX650 GT740 GTX650Ti GTX750 GTX750Ti GTX650Ti BOOST GTX660 GTX660Ti GTX760 GTX670 GTX680 GTX770 GTX780 GTX970 GTX Titan, GTX780Ti, Titan Black GTX980 GTX690 GTX Titan Z, GTX980 2SLI, GTX980 3SLI, GTX980 4SLI

AMD Graphics Cards: R7 250 HD7750 HD7770, R7-260X, HD7850 R9-270 HD7870 R9-270X HD7950 R9-280 R9-285 HD7950-B HD7970 R9-280X HD7950-B R9-290 R9-290X HD7990 R9-295X2

Special Tip: You can also search USED graphics card on ebay, Check out now: ebay.com

What about Bottleneck ?? Check yours Now: https://pc-builds.com/calculator/

Which Power Supply Do i Use for eGPU ??

To run a single Graphics card we don’t need any powerful PSU as we use in gaming desktops, the official recommended PSU starts with 250W. But I will recommend at least 450w of any brand, you can go for the cheap or the expensive one doesn’t matter to run a single GPU.

But if you are using a high-end GPU which have an extra supplementary socket (6 x 2 or 8 x 2) then you have to take care while buying a PSU, make sure it has those extra PCI connectors. I used a cheap PSU which costs around $17 (USD) / ₹1200 (INR) and it have those connectors, see images below:

So you need an EXP GDC eGPU Dock, Graphics card, and a Power supply to complete the setup. These 3 items are mandatory for the setup, in secondary, you may need a WiFi USB adapter because the dock will be connected to the laptop instead of the WiFi LAN card. One wireless mouse keyboard is also useful to this setup to get the desktop feel.

Select a Power Supply Unit according to your Graphics Card Wattage capacity.

EXP GDC eGPU Setup on Lenovo Laptop (NGFF Version)

Once you collected all the required items, now you have to put those items on a table. Make sure you have good electricity, otherwise use a UPS or Inverter. OK, you are ready for the eGPU setup follow these steps:

Step 1: Turn on your laptop and download the graphic card driver which you are going to use in this setup.

• NVIDIA Driver Download Page
• AMD Driver Download Page

Step 2: Go to bios setup and Disable PXE BOOT to LAN in Boot tab. (For Lenovo Laptop)

Step 3: Remove your laptop’s battery and open the back door to find the WiFi LAN card.

Step 4: Once you found it unplug it using a screw driver, cover the WiFi wires with tape for safety purpose.

Step 5: Plug the HDMI to NGFF cable to the laptop instead of the LAN card and tight it with screw.

Step 6: Now try to adjust the Back door of laptop to way out the wire or just make a small hole if you can, otherwise leave the back door just put the laptop straight on table.

Step 7: Laptop’s hardware setup done, Now plug the battery.

Step 8: Lets setup the eGPU dock with Power supply Unit (PSU).

Step 9: Take out the power connector given with the dock, plug the 24 pin connector and 4 pin CPU connector as shown in the below images:

Step 10: Plug the power Connector to the eGPU dock and eGPU cable from the laptop.

Step 11: Insert the Graphics card to the dock and plug the extra power connector if your GPU needed.

Step 12: the setup is almost ready, just plug the laptop’s charger to laptop and Power cable to the PSU.

Step 13: Now turn on your laptop (The Graphics card will turn on automatically with the laptop)

Step 14: Open device manager and find the Graphics card is detected or not, Install the Graphics card driver then.

Step 15: Congratulations !! Setup is completed now in the NVIDIA control panel select NVIDIA GPU as preferred GPU (if driver is installed and you are not seeing the NVIDIA control panel that means you need a external monitor, its depends on the GPU you are using) Now install some games and enjoy the gaming.

External Graphics Card on Laptop for CHEAP – (Video Guide)

Thank you for reading and watching my eGPU setup guide, hope you learned so much in this tutorial. All the required item’s link are mention above, buy them and enjoy your gaming life. If you still have any questions let me know in the comment section. Have a good day 🙂

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