Framework 13 eGPU troubleshooting

Community Support
, ,
1
  • Windows 11 25H2
  • Laptop 13 AMD 7840U, BIOS 3.20
  • Minisforum DEG2 with Radeon 7800 XT or GeForce 1070 ti.

I just bought a Minisforum DEG2 to get me back in the game during the current economy after my motherboard died in my gaming PC.

I’ve spent a few working on it, but I am not seeing the GPU appear in Device Manager under Display Adapters. I do see the DEG2 on Devices and Printers. I’ve tried 2 PSUs, and 2 GPUs in 3 different configurations. The troubleshooting lights on the DEG2 show the top 5 lights on (ATX_ON, PSU_ON, TBT_ON, GPU_PLUG, PCIE_TST).

Since this is my first go with eGPU, I’ve looked up videos and forums and found some tips that I tried. I made sure the switch is moved to thunderbolt while the power supply is disconnected. I can see the GPU fans spinning, and when I plug in HDMI, the monitor lights up with “no signal”. I’ve tried the included TB5 cable on both of the USB C ports closer to the screen. My PSU is 700W, and 100% is available on the 12v rail, so it should be more than enough. When I plug in the eGPU while already powered on/logged in, I see an error “Use different USB port”, noting there may be limited functionality, but again the DEG2 is available in Devices and Printers.

I’m out of ideas of what to try. Anyone have experience with Framework 13 and eGPU that might have some helpful tips? I haven’t played games for 6 months and I’ve got some time I can spend on making this setup work.

2

All the power cables on the gpu are connected right?

3

Correct. Both GPUs have 2x 8-pin connectors. I’ve tried attaching both connectors, and on the 1070 ti there is a power light that turns from red to green when both are plugged in fully.

4

Good.

That is probably what is going on, you may need a different cable. The device is available in devices because newer thunderbolt and usb4 chipsets have usb fallback for displays and usb devices and stuff but of course not pcie tunneling.

5

“different cable”

I will see what I have lying around, but I assumed the Thunderbolt 5 cable that came with the device would be sufficient. Are you suggesting that the DEG2’s cable is the issue?

I think another test I can try is to see if this thing will work when plugged into my work laptop.

6

That is not entirely unreasonable but it is a chinesium uncertified cable so they can be hit or miss (and there also have been quite a few reports of chinesium tb5 cables doing tb5 fine but having issues at tb4/usb4 for some reason). The tb5 one that came with my TH5P4 does work fine with my 7840u fw13 though.

Windoze telling you “Use a different port” sugests it is aware that the device can do usb4 but it is not actually running usb4 and given you were using the back ports that are usb4 the cable is a likely candidate.