Asustek XG Station external graphics card

ExpressCard Maximum Throughput = 2.5Gbit/s.
PCI Express x16 Maximum Throughput = Up to 4 GB/s of peak bandwidth per direction, and up to 8 GB/s concurrent bandwidth.

Enough?

 

PCI Express Bandwidth
x1 5 Gbps
x4 20 Gbps
x8 40 Gbps
x16 80 Gbps

Yep its only x1

 

Isn't 5gbps enough? Maybe it will use some type of compression method.

 

Thing is that Expresscard max thruput is 2.5gbps as you stated out

 

I have a Z33 (PCMCIA), I was joking if anyone wanted to trade with me for a Z35. I like it though, and I have a desktop for games, so it's not a big deal.

 

It is 2.5GBps in each direction. So both are right depending on definition. Although I'd call it 2.5GBps since no one calls a 100Mbps network 200Mbps just because it's full duplex.

 

ok, my bad

 

would it be a expresscard34 or 54 or does it not matter?

 

I'm not sure if anyone has confirmed that it is ExpressCard yet.

The 34 and 54 both use the same 26 pin connector. The size difference is only physical.

 

PCI-E x1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2010380048+1069620108&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=48
PCI-E x16: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2010380048+1069609641&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=48
That should be plenty.

From what the site said, it appears that the XG Station is bundled with the EN7900GS graphics card; note that there is no 'Go' before that. It is a desktop graphics card.

Stamar: I still like the W5Fm idea, but after thinking for a day, I think that I would also like the Z35F because its $250 cheaper, or the R1F Tablet, even though thats very pricey.

@Jumper: Oh, I thought you were wanting to trade a Z35 for something else lol.

 

I thought we were running under the assumption that it needed the express card slot to manage to have even the chance to be a graphics card, or does the regular PCMCIA slot also have the same bandwidth?

Asus laptops are all mostly expresscard compatible now aren't they?

 

Good point, I just read the vr-zone article and it does seem to be using an ExpressCard slot.

 

Yes, the XG is ExpressCard.
Almost all non-business notebooks these days have an ExpressCard slot, Asus is no exception. As far as I know, all of the Core Duo/C2D models in both Ensemble and barebone lineups have the expresscard slot.

EDIT: I stand corrected. The G1p and G2p are alone in the Ensemble line (not counting the R2H UMPC) in lacking an ExpressCard slot. The rest do, according to PROPortable's spec pages. Thanks to MilestonePC for pointing out the error.

 

Now the only problem is finding a portable notebook that has enough battery life and portability to make getting the XG + notebook a worthy deal . I can't seem to find an asus laptop that has that great of battery life in the unfortunate case that this technology is asus-only

 

Lets see....
With 6 cell batteries:
Z35F barebone: 4.2lbs, 4hours battery
W5F ensemble: 3.8lbs, 4.5hrs battery

50% more than that with the optional 9 cell battery (it costs about 150)

 

Well generally yes, the newer laptops will have or contain the latest technology, but there are exceptions to this rule. For example the G1 does not have an express slot, but the older PCMCIA slot because of the current variety and availability of devices compared to express slot ones.

 

Wasn't aware that there was a z35f 9 cell battery, could you point me in the direction of one, can't find one on milestonepc.com or proportable.com's websites

 

btotech is one place that i believe has it.

 

My laptop gets 4.5 hours of battery life, I would consider that pretty good for a current notebook. Its a V6j.

 

I get 6-7 with my 9 cell, I would expect about the same out of a Z35 with a 9 cell. Small screens++

 

it is a device that defies common sense. This xg has many features that do not make sense.

If it were a best case scenario it would be a revolutionary product. It would actually destroy the desktop business completely

it would entirely end the sager 5670 type of machine.

Thats why it cant possibly be a best case scenario,

but if it were, I would buy one for upwards of 500 or more. even more if the card would be exchange able.

 

It will be bottlenecked in some cases. You'll see the biggest performance hit in games with lots of high resolution textures. We won't know the full story until people start doing game specific benchmarks and comparing them to desktop scores.

 

I highly doubt that the scores will match those of a desktop with the same card because of the bandwith limitation, but I am sure that it will beat a laptop with a mobile version of the same card. For example, an Asus W5Fm with the stock XG pack (EN7900GS) should match an Inspiron E1705 with the Go7900GS.

Whoever asked about the 9 cell battery, btotech has it as a $149 additional option. It should be worth 5 - 7 hours of battery life, depending on usage.

MilestonePC: It surprises me that the G1 has PCMCIA instead of ExpressCard. I thought only the business ThinkPads, Latitudes, and the like still had those. The reason is, as you said, for the variety of cards currently out there. There are very few ExpressCard devices on the market now.

It may defy common sense, but if it works, it will be revolutionary. I will kiss my desktop goodbye, then proceed to throw it out the door (I would have already done that if my laptop didnt have GMA900; I discovered that the ATI 9250 in my desktop isnt all that bad for playing NFS MW on low[est?] settings lol). I dont need world beating benchmarks, after 35 or so, it really doesnt make any difference. I need it to be able to play XBOX 360 games ported to pc, like Project Gotham 3 and Forza 2.

And then theres the price. Keep it under that of a 360 and I will buy it with my laptop. The bundled graphics card is $200, the sound card maybe $50. That leaves the rest of the package. I really cant see them charging more for that stuff than an ipod (same kind of stuff: LCD, GUI, ports, connecting cables, no hard drive) so around $200, which takes us to $450. I would buy that.

 

Khm, I don't think that battery power is important in this case. I mean, if you want to play games that require 7900GS, you'll play it somewhere near power outlet for sure.

This isn't about having high speced gfx card while on the move (on the move, I mean without AC adapter pluged in).
This is about having thin and light laptop, easy to carry around and with decent specs, and having that same laptop ready for game bashing once you are home (for example).

Anyway, I just hope that this will not be Asus-only product and that it will be able to drive any laptop with ExpressCard slot, no matter brand...

 

If they can get crossfire to work wif it. I ll get any ATI notebooks and throw in the X1950 in the XG. No more Nvidia for me... (since Nvidia require the SAME GPU for SLI and unfortunately, Asus never even have a 7800 notebook.)

 

Hi,

i found some more Infos about the XG Station

http://golem.de/0701/49759.html

To sum it up, there will bei 2 Versions of the XG Station, one bundled with the 7900gs and one without a GFX-card.
You can use even the big graphiccards which require 2 slots in common PCs.
And there will be a second generation of the XG, supporting "Mobile PCI-Express Module" (MXM) from Nvidia.

The rest is the same as on VR-Zone.

Tobi

 

Oh, hav another question, since the 7900 is connected, would the actual performance be displayed on the main laptop display or the external? (If it's in this thread, sorry for not readin all of them.. just 2 long.)

 

Display will be on an external monitor connected to the desktop graphics card.

I am surprised they are selling one without a graphics card included. That is sweet.

I wonder how bad the bandwidth limitation is. When onboard graphics memory was small, bandwith was mostly limited by texture transfer. With 512MB cards, I don't know of this is the case. Since PCI-Express x16 provides more then enough bandwidth, no one has really played with new cards in low bandwidth situations. The closest I can think of is in SLI systems with only 20 PCI-Express channels available, where each card gets 8 channels.

 

If thats the case I wont buy it.

 

Me too. If they could project the power to the main screen, it would be awesome to bring along to LAN parties and so. No sense at all since u have to carry an extra monitor.

 

Well there is really no other way for it to work. The bandwidth to the external card is already limited enough without having to send the data for each frame back into the laptop as 2D information to be displayed by the onboard graphics.

 

True, but for me this thing is great, this is my first nonwork notebook. I really like the idea of having a capable 14" notebook turned into a gaming machine when I am home at a desk. On the road or surfing around the house I don't play games. I want a full size mouse and keyboard and 20" screen for that. This thing could be very very cool. You can skip audio on board though headphones and integrated are fine for me.

I am coming from years of desktops and trying to simplify my life a bit (no more water cooled 400+ Watt drawing beasties). Given what Asus seems to push in their laptops I think I am their target demographic.

 

Well, I don't want to buy an external display.

I was hoping for it to power the laptops main display or an external one, but now that it only powers an external display, I no longer see a point in buying it.

 

Yes, this seems to be a disspointment in the fact that it will not power the LCD of the laptop, but will power an External Monitor.

However, for example, those who are interested in ultra portables, 13" or 14" or even 15"/15.4" screens, they will find that gaming or doing tasks on these LCD sizes too small for home and office work. But good for work and usage on the go.

Therefore people will have to use External Monitors, be it LCD or CRT, and you can game much more effectively on a comfortable monitor that you like.

But for the other side, many don't wanna go and purchase an external monitor, also some may not even have the space for an external monitor, and only have space for the XG Station.

 

Asustek isn't dumb they wouldn't release it if it was bottle-necked at all or by a large degree. This is clearly an attempt at taking market share from companies with 17" desktop replacements that are superior to Asus's 17" laptops (asus as we know doesn't have the best 17 inchers).

We have to wait and see. This will either be a breakthrough and hurt 17" sales or it will be a dud. I can't see it being in between -.- .

 

Even though I do own a 32" LCD HDTV that'd be too big for the 7900GS to power.

And plus its hooked up to an Xbox 360 which is being used 75% of the time.

 

It will be, like all good things, copied and sold to the unsuspecting masses by the larger well known OEM's so you don't have to worry about it hurting 17" notebook sales. If it is successful that is.

 

usapatriot: the 32" LCD would do fine. It shouldnt be too large, as the res on most 32" LCD HDTVs is 1366x768, which isnt a lot more than the actual LCD on your laptop. As far as desktop monitors go, that would come in second least pixels, after 1024x768. The majority of current monitors are at least 1440x900 or 1280x1024. I dont see a 7900GS having problems powering that. The Xbox 360 thing: It must have more inputs, otherwise, just unplug the xbox. Depending on what video connectors it has, you could run it through a DVD player too.

The video connection thing is bothering me a bit. I want it to have VGA, DVI, and S Video, but I need the VGA for my monitor (I went for a cheaper model of the Sony 19" LCD that doesnt have DVI - it was on sale and the DVI model cost $300 more).

 

I like the idea of it not powering the internal monitor, that would be way too much for it to handle, and I think this can improve performance, not to mention I use a 19" monitor for games anyway, so might as well keep using it.

 

I already have a nice 19" 1280x1024 monitor... But I'm not in the market for a new computer right now.

I just hope this idea sticks around another two years so I can have a 13.3" laptop with integrated graphics on the go and desktop graphics when I'm at home. That would be amazing.

 

Me too, I am looking into getting a V2 or V6 or 15.4" without a dedicated GPU for the end of this year.

I want something smaller, thinner, and more battery life, the V1JP is good! but I want more battery life and more portability, and now I can sacrifice graphics because I have the V1JP and the XG station allows for a decent solution for home use and gaming.

I hope this product creates competition amongst other companies, so that they can create their own "XG Like Stations" and market them in competition to the ASUS counterpart.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

My thoughts exactly MysticGolem! This product is only going to fit a specific niche of user really well for a while.

It gives a solution for a person that needs portability and battery life (something you just can't have with a dedicated graphics card, the battery life on the sz proves that), but also likes to game casually (not hardcore!) at home. The XG will at least provide performance that will make its price worth more than buying both a laptop and a desktop then.

 

Im liking the XG Station...

I plan on getting a laptop (v1jp) but the possible lack of graphics affected my decision. And this is the perfect solution.

I am a university student and plan on taking my laptop places. The graphics card would be used to play occasioanl games, but mainly to render my 3d work. With a base unit like this, i could possible get a Quadro and render at home.

The CES this week will determine the real specs of the machine, so lets hope its all good

 

Rendering? Most rendering is done by processors. There is NVidia's Gelato but the last review I read said the performance was only noticeably better when working with nurbs. What software package are you using?

 

You know Asus........ great ideas, but markets that won't support their costs! The W5fe is a great concept and considering it was the first sideshow concept before "sideshow" was even term........ We should see that in early March. As for the external gpu and sound card, it's probably going to be a $200+ device and those have proven to be none-movers in the NA market - for whatever reason..... It's a great product and I can attest to that, but it won't do well here in the states..... It'll do well in Asia and OK in Europe.... but not here.

 

The bandwidth is a little limiting but may not be that bad. pci e x16 slot has plenty of headroom. Afterall they always think about the future graphics being used in the slot e.g. 8800GTX and beyond. So pci e x1 maybe be okay for 7900GS. Fingers crossed... The sums still don't quite add up but hey here is me hoping.

When AGPx8 was introduced I remember reading articles about even top end graphics card during that period just about utilised AGPx4 bandwidth and benchmarks+games test were done on both AGPx4 and AGPx8 with hardly any difference.

Its a bit like Serial ATA intereface with up to 300MB/s bandwith but no current desktop hard drive even utilises 1/3 of the bandwidth.

 

Well I am more interested in the desktop version than the notebook gpu version.

Unless.... unless the notebook itself can power the notebook mxm version. Even then, where can I buy mxm gpus? And what are the best ones?

The desktop one is the only one I would want.

I read somewhere than no current gpu goes past pci e x8

however a 7900 gs surely goes much faster than pcie x 1

thats interesting about the sata because the one in my notebooks only goes to 150 mb/s and i assume these new solid state hds exceed that they go closer to what you said 300 mb/s
I do believe there is um, super sata? something like that, its not in notebooks the sata in notebooks is about 50% faster than ide and already seems obsolete

 

A recent link i found:
http://pcexposure.com/2007/01/06/as...lds-first-external-graphics-card-for-laptops/

 

I think the Picture Quality will not suffer much,after that the data has been passed to the GPU dedicated memory, they will not be much data travel in the bus.
But of course,if you minimize the program,all the texture data has to be reloaded

 

The thing is that the bandwidth limitation has nothing to due with the internal PCIe x16 connector for the actual desktop graphics card, but for the external Express Card connector that goes to the notebook. The Express Card only supports PCIe x1 which is a definite bottleneck.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6118&page=6

In these benchmarks they ran a desktop X1300 Pro in PCIe x16 and also configured the slot to operate in PCIe x1 mode. There is a 6 fold drop in memory bandwidth and a 10% drop in performance as measured by 3DMark05. Admittedly that is hardly conclusive, but if a low-end X1300 Pro feels the effects of a PCIe x1 connector, the effect would be greatly magnified for a higher-end card like a desktop 7900GS.

I don't see this replacing true gaming notebooks in the true hardcore gaming sense since I don't think there is enough performance to beat a Go 7900GS or other high-end mobile GPUs. What it does do is open new doors for ultra-portable users who need battery life that an IGP provides, but would like to be able to game at home. It is kind of a niche though, since the XG Station requires an external monitor and a 120W external power supply.