System specs
- Lenovo T480s laptop - i7-8550U/Geforce MX150 dGPU/24GB DDR4 RAM/2TB m.2 SSD/2560x1440 14" screen
- Intel NUC8i7BEH - i7-8559U/UHD Graphics 655 iGPU/16GB DDR4 RAM/512 m.2 SSD
eGPU hardware
Akitio Node Lite + Inno3D Geforce RTX 2070 + 0.5 Thunderbolt 3 cable + Dell DA-2 power supply
To make the GPU fit into the Akitio Node Lite several changes have been made
- remove the fan
- cut a hole into the back for the Dell DA-2
- slightly modify the Dell DA-2 plug
- extend the hole around the barrel plug for the power-connector cable
- solder a proper cable to power the GPU (modify the 8-pin connector because of limited height)
- remove the two guiding rails on the top of the outer box not to interfere with the 8 pin power-connector
- add plenty of holes on the side using CNC
remaining things to do:
- I ordered a fan control board with a 70x70x10 mm fan that should be placed right behind the front to push the warm air out
- modify the soldered cable to connect the Akitio board directly with the Dell DA-2 remote/sense pin
Hardware pictures
closed case: https://imgur.com/zpZvuhE
open case: https://imgur.com/bUtti3V
back total: https://imgur.com/uQZEI62
back detail of power connector: https://imgur.com/a5MnhOk
inside case top: https://imgur.com/AJ6cqpX
detail power plug GPU: https://imgur.com/IoL5WS7
Installation steps
On the Lenovo laptop the NVidia driver (417.71-desktop) could be installed without any problems (perhaps because it had an internal Geforce MX150)
On the NUC the driver could not be installed directly (even with attached eGPU) - I solved it by extracting the downloaded driver and selecting it in the device manager
Benchmarks
All benchmarks have been performed with an external screen (no loopback)
The values indicated with OC where obtained by getting the OC-curve using the latest MSI afterburner tool (100% power limit/81°C Temp Limit/ Memory Clock +1000MHz)
| Unigine Heaven | Unigine Valley | Unigine Superposition | 3dmark Time Spy | 3dmark Fire Strike | ||||||
| FHD | QHD | FHD | QHD | FHD | QHD | total | graphics | total | graphics | |
| T480s | 2316 | 1526 | 4008 | 2575 | 13902 | 9001 | 6627 | 7299 | 13722 | 16752 |
| T480s (OC) | 2363 | 1570 | 4078 | 2853 | 14475 | 9756 | 6566 | 7370 | 13492 | 17577 |
| NUC8i7 | 2179 | 1493 | 3940 | 2586 | 13722 | 9218 | 6594 | 7177 | 14122 | 16651 |
Here there are some more benchmark results:
T480s:
T480s (OC):
NUC8i7:
2018 Lenovo T480s/Intel NUC8i7BEH + Inno3D RTX2070 in an Akitio Node Lite
2018 14" Lenovo Thinkpad T480s (MX150) [8th,4C,U] + RTX 2070 @ 16Gbps-TB3 (AKiTiO Node Lite) + Win10 1809 [build link]
Very nice build with that RTX 2070 fitting like a glove! How are the temps during heavy load?
• external graphics card builds
• best laptops for external GPU
• eGPU enclosure buyer's guide
2021 15" ASUS TUF Dash F15 [11th,4C,H] + RTX 3080 @ 32Gbps-TB4 (AORUS Gaming Box) + Win10 2004 // my 3rd RTX 3080 build [build link]
When running Unigine Superposition the temperature stabilizes at around 77°C using the overclocked settings its about 80-81°C. When trying the same with an open case the temperatures are about 4°C lower.
I hope by adding this fan https://www.ebay.at/itm/Y-S-TECH-FD127010HB-H-7010-70mm-x-10mm-Cooler-Cooling-Fan-DC-12V-0-30A-4Pin-B96/171187243015 combined with this controller https://www.ebay.at/itm/DC-12V-Fan-Temperature-Control-Speed-Controller-CPU-High-Temp-Alarm-PWM-PC-CPU/152643299047 i can increase the airflow out of the box. With an additional repasting I do hope to lower the temperatures with the closed case by 2°C.
2018 Lenovo T480s/Intel NUC8i7BEH + Inno3D RTX2070 in an Akitio Node Lite
2018 14" Lenovo Thinkpad T480s (MX150) [8th,4C,U] + RTX 2070 @ 16Gbps-TB3 (AKiTiO Node Lite) + Win10 1809 [build link]
unfortunately the fan never arrived from China - so I kept looking for some weeks for a similar one but later gave up on it. So I can't give you any details about how much the temperature would have decreased using the fan.
2018 Lenovo T480s/Intel NUC8i7BEH + Inno3D RTX2070 in an Akitio Node Lite
2018 14" Lenovo Thinkpad T480s (MX150) [8th,4C,U] + RTX 2070 @ 16Gbps-TB3 (AKiTiO Node Lite) + Win10 1809 [build link]
@markus-fuger, no worries.
If I understood your guide correctly, you have modified the Dell DA-2 8 pin connector to power the GPU and the Node case, correct?
I assume you modified the Dell DA-2 8 pin connector as described here?
@boelly, yes - that's exactly what I did.
2018 Lenovo T480s/Intel NUC8i7BEH + Inno3D RTX2070 in an Akitio Node Lite
2018 14" Lenovo Thinkpad T480s (MX150) [8th,4C,U] + RTX 2070 @ 16Gbps-TB3 (AKiTiO Node Lite) + Win10 1809 [build link]