Can I use an eGPU setup on my laptop (Lenovo IdeaPad 320-14ikd) which only has m.2 (currently used my Bluetooth and WiFi)? it doesn't have Thunderbolt so it won't be possible to use USB C.
-
No, not possible.– user772515Feb 22, 2018 at 15:09
-
Can you use BlueTooth to connect an external GPU to your system? - No; Can you use WiFi to connect an external GPU to your system? - No; What you want will not be possible with the laptop you have. What you should use, will not work, because you have a laptop– RamhoundFeb 22, 2018 at 15:19
-
But you can change wifi and bt card on mini pcie to egpu(used on my old laptop)– nikodem the gamerFeb 22, 2018 at 19:38
1 Answer
In theory, assuming you're willing to give up Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and have a ribbon cable running out of your laptop case, yes, it is technically possible, and you can find adapters that will let you do this.
In practice, there are a lot of issues with this approach:
The adapters are generally designed to take regular PCI-e GPUs, which aren't designed to be run outside a case.
The GPU will need to get its power from somewhere, and an M.2 slot probably won't be able to supply enough for it.
The long cable will usually result in signal degradation that will have a significant impact on performance (and may impact reliability too).
A lot of laptop manufacturers (Lenovo included) take particularly draconian measures in their firmware to ensure you're only running hardware they approve of in your system. As a result, the computer probably won't boot with the GPU plugged in, and M.2 does not support hotplugging in any realistically reliable way.
-
I can just fix a psu from an old stationairy pc, and the whitelist is going to be a problem, but there is nothing perfect, lets find how to edit it :) i will hopefully delete the whitelist if there is any Feb 22, 2018 at 20:41
-
-
I would advise against messing around with your firmware at that level, one wrong step and you've got a really expensive paperweight. As far as performance degradation, there will likely be some, but I have no idea how much. Feb 23, 2018 at 13:45
-
I will flash the bios using usb bios programer so it should be pretty secure Feb 24, 2018 at 10:01