x230t PE4L v2.1b External monitor won't boot

[w7jh9a2]

Hi all,

I'm having a problem with my egpu setup. I can run on my laptop's internal monitor just fine, but when I plug an external monitor into the gpu, the laptop gets stuck on the Thinkpad boot screen.

Here's my setup:

Nvidia GTX 750 ti with 120 watt power adapter

PE4L 2.1b with expresscard attachment

Lenovo X230t intel i7-3520M @ 2.9 GHz 8 GB RAM

My start process has been to plug in/power on the egpu, plug in the expresscard, and then power on the laptop.I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Edit: I forgot to mention, the egpu doesn't seem to pick up on the external monitor either. I've tried starting the laptop with the internal screen opened and closed. When its open I can see it get stuck on the Thinkpad booting screening. Pressing buttons on the keyboard for stuff like booting options doesn't seem to work either.

[guyfromthe50s]

Have you tried keeping the egpu connected to the laptop but not the external monitor and then starting it? Or did I miss read?

[w7jh9a2]

Have you tried keeping the egpu connected to the laptop but not the external monitor and then starting it? Or did I miss read?

So I tried this and it seems to work out.

In order to use the external monitor my boot process is as follows:

1. Plug in the power to the egpu.

2. Plug in the usb followed by the expresscard into the laptop. (At this point the fan on the gpu begins spinning).

3. Power on the laptop.

4. After laptop has completed booting, plug the external monitor into the egpu. This results in the display being extended from the external monitor to the internal monitor.

And I guess after that I should disable the internal monitor to maximize the performance? Thanks for the help.

Edit: Although this works I'm hoping there might be a more convenient solution. Having to replug the external monitor every time is less than ideal.

[guyfromthe50s]

So I tried this and it seems to work out.

In order to use the external monitor my boot process is as follows:

1. Plug in the power to the egpu.

2. Plug in the usb followed by the expresscard into the laptop. (At this point the fan on the gpu begins spinning).

3. Power on the laptop.

4. After laptop has completed booting, plug the external monitor into the egpu. This results in the display being extended from the external monitor to the internal monitor.

And I guess after that I should disable the internal monitor to maximize the performance? Thanks for the help.

Edit: Although this works I'm hoping there might be a more convenient solution. Having to replug the external monitor every time is less than ideal.

I don't believe it would effect performance. When the egpu is used, for gaming at full screen, all of the game rendering is sent to the display directly connected with a displayport or hdmi. The internal display would be at the desktop during that time or just turned off. Though having a second display shinning at me while gaming would be distracting so I would make the external monitor the only display. Instead of disconnecting and reconnecting the display could a hdmi or displayport hub switch be used? You're welcome.

[artearte]

What I do for my T430 is just suspend on windows, plug in the express card then power the eGPU and unsuspend

If you disable the internal screen your iGPU will stop working which means your CPU will run much cooler.

My CPU temps are lower when I play The Witcher 3 on high with my eGPU on (it's not even a quadcore, crazy.) than when I idle on chrome with my eGPU plugged out because the iGPU is running.

Sometimes I enable the internal screen so I can stream with OBS and encode with quicksync (intel iGPU) and it still keeps the temps pretty low since the game runs on the eGPU