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"OGRE-250" .67L OCuLink eGpu module, using HDPlex GAN 250w

Senjar

What's an ITX?
New User
May 17, 2023
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The Taobao seller has started to develop a solution for, small cables that bring the Oculink connector off and away from the device's m.2 riser (often located in an inaccessible place) and able to be placed into an accessible place with some modding.

So far, the following customized cables are being made: Thinkpad series 14 and 16, Acer Shadow knight, Asrock DB9 port, GPD WINMAX 2, and a few others which don't have specific hardware associated with them.



With all of these though, the host device still has to be modified to place the Oculink connector in an open position.

I believe they are open to engineering new versions for basically any device. It's possible one of the existing versions might work for Steam Deck if someone wants to try (the riser could be cut down to 2230 length).

Is this M.2 with oculink extension sold anywhere?
 

msystems

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Apr 28, 2017
804
1,405
Hi! I’ve been following you for a while now and your ice cream sandwich SFF inspired me to follow along and build the same! I saw this egpu concept on your Reddit post and wanted to express my interest for an aluminum enclosure!

Thanks! Since there's a little interest, I'll go ahead and design an aluminum version and get a quote for 5 units
 

Inferno

Case Bender
New User
May 19, 2023
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Wonderful mod you created here. A week ago I stumbled upon the new Latte Panda Sigma which is very compact and full of features. It would be create to have a base in which I could combine sigma and the PCIe graphics to get a PC experience in the package of a console. Do you think the PSU would be powerful enough to combine the LP Sigma and a RTX3xxx graphics card? It would be a pity if I need two PSUs for this.
 

msystems

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Apr 28, 2017
804
1,405
Wonderful mod you created here. A week ago I stumbled upon the new Latte Panda Sigma which is very compact and full of features. It would be create to have a base in which I could combine sigma and the PCIe graphics to get a PC experience in the package of a console. Do you think the PSU would be powerful enough to combine the LP Sigma and a RTX3xxx graphics card? It would be a pity if I need two PSUs for this.

Possibly a 3060 would work, or the new 4060ti. If you go with a more power hungry card it would be close.

The Sigma has Thunderbolt also. You could also look at more traditional thunderbolt egpu docks which could link + power the sigma over USB-PD
 
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Inferno

Case Bender
New User
May 19, 2023
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I could supply the Sigma with power from the USB-C port on the monitor. That way I have enough for the graphics card. The down point is that I need a separate PS if I want to take the set with me.
 

lesaleika

Case Bender
New User
May 25, 2023
2
0
Has anyone tested this with UM690? I finally got my hand on a HDPlex 250W and a 3060, now looking to build this.

By the way, how important is cooling the 250W? I don't want to add a fan since I bought the HDPlex specificially because it doesn't have one
 

msystems

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Apr 28, 2017
804
1,405
With the release of the 500w GAN im looking to update the design to support that psu. The 500w gan has an integrated fan which remedies the cooling situation, so it won't need a metal housing or separate fan. It also will be able to handle the most powerful cards, and the cost is only $30 more than the 250w gan. Its nearly perfect for an egpu.

You can read about the 500w gan here

 

TheFuriousOtter

Case Bender
New User
May 17, 2023
2
1
With the release of the 500w GAN im looking to update the design to support that psu. The 500w gan has an integrated fan which remedies the cooling situation, so it won't need a metal housing or separate fan. It also will be able to handle the most powerful cards, and the cost is only $30 more than the 250w gan. Its nearly perfect for an egpu.

You can read about the 500w gan here

This is going to be epic! Especially if there’s no “real” loss to performance.
 

eesahe

Case Bender
New User
Jun 20, 2023
2
0
Like I posted on egpu.io, this is such an inspiring build 🙏

But does anyone know if this is safe to use with the SATA connector that has the capacity only for 54w max compared to the 75w GPUs can potentially draw through the riser?
 

msystems

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Apr 28, 2017
804
1,405
Like I posted on egpu.io, this is such an inspiring build 🙏

But does anyone know if this is safe to use with the SATA connector that has the capacity only for 54w max compared to the 75w GPUs can potentially draw through the riser?

As a precaution I would not use it with cards that are powered solely through the pci slot, like the A2000. Other than that, its not a concern since larger gpu average draw is 25-50w and they won't pull 75w (with a few exceptions like rx480). To confirm use HWinfo64 and look under "gpu PCI +12v" power, you'll see the actual draw.
 
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eesahe

Case Bender
New User
Jun 20, 2023
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0
As a precaution I would not use it with cards that are powered solely through the pci slot, like the A2000. Other than that, its not a concern since larger gpu average draw is 25-50w and they won't pull 75w (with a few exceptions like rx480). To confirm use HWinfo64 and look under "gpu PCI +12v" power, you'll see the actual draw.
That's really fascinating and useful information, thank you so much!

Did you find the power draw for rx480 from some spec listing or by personally checking it? Just wondering about ways to verify this in advance if considering a build with a card you don't own yet.
 

msystems

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Apr 28, 2017
804
1,405
You'd need someone with the card to pull up HWinfo and see how the power is being distributed to know for sure, but for a card with a single 8-pin, if you subtract 150 from it's rated TDP, that number is going to be pretty close to the slot power.
 

SFFMunkee

Buy first, justify later?
Gold Supporter
Jul 7, 2021
968
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You'd need someone with the card to pull up HWinfo and see how the power is being distributed to know for sure, but for a card with a single 8-pin, if you subtract 150 from it's rated TDP, that number is going to be pretty close to the slot power.
*Looks nervously at 150W slot-powered A2000*....
 

msystems

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Apr 28, 2017
804
1,405
This is a great and exquisite design. I hope to achieve mass production. I believe many people will be interested.
Thanks, although is likely to remain a diy project of course. Now that I have your OneDock as well, I continue to encourage anyone interested in oculink to see if it is a more practical solution for them.

This project has the similar goal of broadening support for open ecosystem of standard oculink hardware, so we can continue to build our own eGpu like we can with pc.
 

Arboreal

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Oct 11, 2015
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815
A2000 would be 70-75W as standard as you say. Shunt modded monsters double the powaaahh!
 

SFFMunkee

Buy first, justify later?
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Jul 7, 2021
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Aren't those 70W?

Anyway, there's also these options with 24-pin ATX connector: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005429090334.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005377620888.html

Though you might have to design your own case
Yessir but double that with a shunt mod. As tested it really does pull about 150-155W from the wall with its own power brick.

I’ve already got one on order but AliExpress takes a while to Australia. The other option, of course, would be to use a powered riser after the OCuLink to PCIe adapter.

I’m working on plans for a few different types for flexibility with power source (12V, 19V, ATX, etc) but of course I have zero Fusion360 experience so I have to learn from scratch first.