Posted this over at NBR where I got my inspiration from their DIY ViDock thread.
Thought you guys might like to see it as well:
Finished my eGPU case, designed it from ideas from Shuttle XPCs I've owned in the past.
All construction done with hand tools, a drill, and a Dremel knockoff by Black and Decker for cutting.
(click on any of the thumbnails for a higher res version)
Here you can see my PE4L settings used with the Corsair HX520 external power supply, eVGA GTS 250, connected to T420:
Along with the required T420 1.15 BIOS
I used nando's 275.33 Optimus tweaked drivers here with good results.
Please, do yourself a favor and buy a Fermi based card. I am replacing my GTS 250 with a GTX 460 once it shows up in the mail. The non-Fermi based cards apparently can't do the x1.opt link so performance suffers.
Cutting the plexiglass sides (0.25" for the sides and bottom, 0.13" for top and front/back):
Cheap hand saw blade, good thing I had replacements:
Gluing the L-bracket braces onto the base:
Drilling ventilation holes, using the Cooler Master notebook cooler as a template:
Making sure everything fits, measure twice, cut once:
More gluing:
Everything fits!
Top view:
I put an adjustable speed Thermaltake 80mm fan in there for additional ventilation, don't think cooling will be an issue:
Power supply side with its ventilation holes:
Shot of the rear:
Put a 1" cable grommet in the bottom for the USB cable to power the Thermaltake fan (you can see its adjustment knob) and the mini-HDMI cable to connect PE4L to my laptop:
Completed product:
Thought you guys might like to see it as well:
Finished my eGPU case, designed it from ideas from Shuttle XPCs I've owned in the past.
All construction done with hand tools, a drill, and a Dremel knockoff by Black and Decker for cutting.
(click on any of the thumbnails for a higher res version)
Here you can see my PE4L settings used with the Corsair HX520 external power supply, eVGA GTS 250, connected to T420:
Along with the required T420 1.15 BIOS
I used nando's 275.33 Optimus tweaked drivers here with good results.
Please, do yourself a favor and buy a Fermi based card. I am replacing my GTS 250 with a GTX 460 once it shows up in the mail. The non-Fermi based cards apparently can't do the x1.opt link so performance suffers.
Cutting the plexiglass sides (0.25" for the sides and bottom, 0.13" for top and front/back):
Cheap hand saw blade, good thing I had replacements:
Gluing the L-bracket braces onto the base:
Drilling ventilation holes, using the Cooler Master notebook cooler as a template:
Making sure everything fits, measure twice, cut once:
More gluing:
Everything fits!
Top view:
I put an adjustable speed Thermaltake 80mm fan in there for additional ventilation, don't think cooling will be an issue:
Power supply side with its ventilation holes:
Shot of the rear:
Put a 1" cable grommet in the bottom for the USB cable to power the Thermaltake fan (you can see its adjustment knob) and the mini-HDMI cable to connect PE4L to my laptop:
Completed product: