Ah, yet another external graphics solution for notebooks

[Mr Buckshot]

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4415


A leaked presentation from Fujitsu Siemens Computers (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4415#) shows that the company is planning to introduce an external graphics card solution in the next couple of weeks.
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/33622.jpg
The AMILO GraphicBooster is based on "ATI XGP" technology and makes it possbile for Fujitsu Siemens AMILO notebook (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4415#) owners to upgrade their graphics card, something that was not possible in the past. Fujitsu claims a 4.7X performance (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4415#) improvement with the GraphicBooster versus the graphics of a "small form factor" AMILO notebook, which are most likely integrated.

The following graph shows that an AMILO notebook with the GraphicBooster can get up to 8,000 points in what is presumably 3DMark06:
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/33618.jpg
While on the go, users can leave the GraphicBooster behind and enjoy long battery life courtesy of their onboard graphics solution. The GraphicBooster allows users to connect up to three external displays to their notebook: it includes DVI-D and HDMI connections. It is unclear how this device connects to the notebook itself and whether it will work with other notebooks besides Fujitsu Siemens AMILOs.

No pricing details are available at this time, and some specifics remain unclear, but this is a promising device. ASUS announced its own external graphics card solution, the XG Station (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3552), at CES 2007, but they have failed to release anything; over a year later nothing has appeared on the market and the company has remained silent about it.
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/33625.jpg
(view large image)


No one in my family owns a Fujitsu Siemens AMILO notebook - the only Fujitsu product we have is my sister's tablet PC which she uses at university. However, this looks far more promising than the Expresscard54 solution adopted by ASUS and MSI (neither of which saw actual releases). The ExpressCard54 solution involved sticking a 16x PCIe video card into an enclosure and linking that enclosure to a laptop via the ExpressCard, but this was like sticking the 16x card into a 1x slot.

If the same connectivity tech is adopted by other companies, this could spell a whole new era for mobile video.

If you want info on the previous Expresscard ideas:
ASUS XG Station (http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/hands-on-with-the-asus-xg-station-external-gpu/)
MSI Luxium (http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/10/msis-luxium-external-graphics-solution-spotted/)

Neither solution made it onto the market but the XG station actually received a hands-on demo, proving that outboard graphics were possible.

Now, I'm aware that true gamers will have l33t hand-built desktop PCs, but there's a significant population that requires mobile computing in their everyday lives (my dad is one of them - he's never owned a desktop for the past 8 years, with the exception of the workstations in his office). Think about it - in the daytime, you unplug the outboard video and take your laptop to work and enjoy long battery life where it's needed. When you get home, plug in the outboard video and start gaming, all without having to own two separate computers.

In fact, when I go to post-secondary, I'll probably not have a desktop for the next few years to save space and make things more convenient. I would have a use for this outboard video solution...

[Sel]

This would be amazing to see for all laptops. I for one would be overjoyed if I could upgrade my graphics in here :D

[Limited]

How the hell does it connect?

[Mr Buckshot]

How the hell does it connect?

Proprietary slot that was first developed by ATI and is now being used in Fujitsu's future models. Exceeds Expresscard speeds.

[SnaFuBAR]

only for fujitsu laptops??

[Mr Buckshot]

only for fujitsu laptops??

Not necessarily, the actual tech is all developed by ATI (Fujitsu is just the FIRST to adopt it), so there's no reason for it not to appear in other brands.

[legionaire45]

Technologically speaking, yes. Toshiba will probably end up making their implementation of this proprietary so they can make a buck off the laptop-upgrade crowd.

[SnaFuBAR]

would be nice to use in conjunction with an asus eee

[Mr Buckshot]

would be nice to use in conjunction with an asus eee

I totally agree too, the problem is that this new tech also involves a whole new connectivity port. If this "port" can become standardized, we could have ultra-portable laptops that would be serious work machines in the day and serious gaming machines at night. A lot of those 12" and 13" laptops do pack some pretty powerful Core 2 Duos under the aluminum, even if they tend to have integrated video.

[Patrickssj6]

My mom got a ePC and I don't like it :/

Except of course going around the neighborhoods and sniffing network packages but else...meh.

[Rob Oplawar]

wait, what? external graphics cards? ,':O
lol defeating the purpose...

[Varmint260]

So, this means that if this takes off, it'll only work with notebooks built specifically with that slot in it. Sucky, since I'm not planning on buying a new computer any time soon. In any case, it's still a great idea and I'd be thrilled to see it on the market, even if I don't use it.

[Sel]

This would be awesome, if they could do it with laptops already released, instead of having to build new ones with the specific port :|

[Mr Buckshot]

This would be awesome, if they could do it with laptops already released, instead of having to build new ones with the specific port :|

ASUS and MSI already tried. The fastest notebook connectivity slot in existence is Expresscard, which is still relatively new, and has a transfer rate of 2.5GB/s. Plugging a 16x PCI-express video card in there will reduce the bandwidth to a 1x PCI-e level - faster than regular PCI but much, much slower than MXM-based dedicated notebook video.

The production of laptops with this specific unnamed port will also open up options for other peripherals that need high speed. Outboard sound cards are a possibility, although I doubt they'll take off. Or maybe two laptops could be linked together via that particular high-speed port for easy multiplayer games/file sharing without having to set up a LAN router. Well, since laptop gaming is typically done with the laptop on AC power, it probably won't be practical either, but local ad-hoc gaming on a laptop PC sounds cool anyway.

I think there was even an early attempt to use USB 2.0 as a connector for outboard video, but due to the slowness of USB, it turned out to be worse than modern IGPs.

Also, this port is quite useful for those slimline desktop PCs, which appeal to those who like to free up space. Slimline cases are unfortunately too small to accommodate many video cards, so plugging them in externally is an option.