ViDock 2 - My experiences so far

I went ahead and ordered the ViDock from PowerNotebooks.com (Thanks for shipping it out so quickly Paladin) and I have been playing with the ViDock for a little over a week now – here is what I have found in working with it. Please note – I am not a professional reviewer by any stretch of the imagination. I am a geek that likes to play games every now and then and would be considered an early adopter by most (if not all) who know me.

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Video Review::
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCK5dLWiO2Q

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First – some pics::

Snazzy packaging. Very high quality


Packaged very securely. The package comes with the 2 DVIVGA adapters, 2 additional faceplates made (it looks like) from Aluminum, power brick and cable, and of course the ViDock itself. Notice – no DVI cable. It is assumed you have one laying around.


For size comparisons – the ViDock sitting next to a Dell Studio Hybrid on top of a Sager NP5797.


Here the ViDock is sitting next to a OneTouch External HDD. To the left is another 5797.


Before I began – I read through the comments and pages on the forum, looked at the product site and read through the compatibility list. I noticed in a number of places the stress for Windows 7 to be used. Windows 7 has the ability to run different drivers for different display adapters (video cards). Windows 7 can also overcome poor BIOS programming for the ExpressCard – which made me hope that my older machines would play well with the ViDock.


I worked with the following machines:
• Sager NP5797. 1920x1200, 1Gb GTX 280M, T9900 (3.06 Ghz), 4Gb RAM, Windows 7
• Dell M1730 – 1920x1200, Core2 Extreme processor, 4Gb RAM, 8800M Graphics, Windows 7
• Lenovo T400 – 1280x800, 2Gb RAM, P8600 (2.4Ghz), Intel 4500 integrated Graphics, Windows 7
• MacBook Pro 15” version – last generation that had an ExpressCard port. ATI X1600 Video card, Windows 7


I will detail my experience with each machine – but the nutshell is as follows:
• Sager – Worked brilliantly and as expected. Video card is ½ as powerful as the GTX280M.
• Lenovo – Worked brilliantly and as expected. This is the perfect solution for this laptop.
• MBP – Screen was enabled before installing drivers, then would not come back on again. Also – with ViDock plugged in during reboot – no video at all.
• Dell M1730 – Never could get anything to work with this laptop. Driver notification came up after plugging in the expresscard – but never got video.


Testing applications:
• 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark06
• Crysis TimeDemo
• Crysis played (had a little fun)



Detailed experiences:
Lenovo T400 laptop. This is a great machine that would represent something handed out in today’s corporate world. Normal machine with a decent processor, integrated graphics, 2Gb of memory, etc.
Without ViDock. I could not get 3DMark Vantage or 3DMark06 to complete without crashing to the desktop somewhere along the line. I was disappointed – but knew going in that the integrated graphics chip from intel is not meant for gaming. That being said – I fired up Crysis. The game was started at 800x600 with all setting on Med (even though the game wanted to go with high). This was a bit troublesome because I was not patient enough to get through the opening movie. Playback was 1 frame every 3 seconds at best…. Crysis has a tendency to put high end machines on notice – and this business laptop was being choke slammed by this game.
With ViDock. The machine was fantastic to play with. Went through 3DMark06 and scored 5301 – this is slower than my 5797, but to be expected as the 5797 is running a faster processor . I was able to play crysis at 1024x768 with 8xQ AA at about 20FPS. This was totally playable and turned this machine into a gaming machine (not a screamer – but as expected with the ATI4670).
Overall – the ViDock was perfect for this laptop. Providing an alternative to the anemic 4500HD integrated graphics chip led to a wonderful gaming experience. I would totally recommend the ViDock to people that I work with that want to game on the side with a work laptop.

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more benchmarks:

Resident Evil 5 Benchmark: -- All DX10 on Windows 7 - 64bit
1152x864
AA - 4X
Motion Blur - On
Shadow Detail - High
Texture detail - low
Overall quality - high

Fixed: 16.9 Avg FPS

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==

1152x864
AA - 2x
Motion blur - off
shadow - high
texture - low
overall - high
Fixed: 17 fps avg.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1280x960
AA - off
motion blur - off
shadow - med
texture - low
overall - med
Fixed: 26.2




Sager 5797. This machine is a beast. It is a desktop replacement that can play darn near any title you want to throw at it with ease. It plays COD4 at maxed out settings at 1920x1200 – without the slightest hesitation. That being said – I was not testing the ViDock on this machine for anything other than compatibility. The ViDock fired right up and I had no problem plugging in the card and removing while up and running.
Without ViDock. No real reason to cover this in this article. This machine screams. An ATI 4670 is not going to be an “upgrade” for this machine.
With ViDock. 3DMark06 was 6398 and 2757 on 3DMark Vantage. Admirable scores for this laptop – but roughly half as fast at the GTX280M.

Crysis runs:
Run #1- DX10 800x600 AA=No AA, 64 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 19.18
Run #2- DX10 800x600 AA=2x, 64 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 17.45
Run #3- DX10 800x600 AA=8xQ, 64 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 17.44
Run #4- DX10 1024x768 AA=No AA, 64 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 17.20
Run #5- DX10 1024x768 AA=2x, 64 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 15.51
Run #6- DX10 1280x960 AA=No AA, 64 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Last Average FPS: 14.57
Overall – This version of the ViDock was not targeted at this laptop. The graphics inside the laptop were far faster than the graphics outside.


MBP and Dell M1730 – I could not get the ViDock to work with either of these machines. You may have different luck – and let me know if you do, but I was not able to get this working.

Overall impression of the ViDock – Very good build quality. I could not really hear the fan (especially with everything going on in my office). I can’t wait for the faster version (version4) to debut – as I will definitely pick up ones of these for gaming at home and a great docking station solution for work.

Please let me know if you have any questions but I did see this on the site and thought it reasonable to show again:
Any laptop that is using Windows7, and has its BIOS properly written to allocate the proper resources to the ExpressCard slot, should work. Not all laptop models out there have been tested, but to see which ones work and which ones don’t from those that have been tested so far, please check the Compatibility List at http://www.villagetronic.com/vidock/compatibility.html



Some additional pics - of the inside:

 

Great work. Many of us have been waiting. Thanks +1

 

Thanks man defintally plus one for you to have the guts to shell out the money and try it. Would you guys this would run on a dell studio 1537. And could that ati vidock gpu be overclock? Also do you think the price would go down?

Thank you

 

Congratulations Steiner32 it seems the vidock it's a success.I cant wait to see the 3 and 4 versions.
@xxbadboys93 It should work with Studio 1537 and it should be overclockable after all it's desktop card.

 

Thanks for your review!

+24 Rep

 

Thanks mate +rep. This is very useful, Im glad that finally I can see the final product.

 

Wow, never knew something like this existed. Thanks for the review!

 

Funny you mention that. I thought about overclocking that card as well. The best part (just because I am an idiot) is that it is external. I am thinking about breaking it open and water cooling it with an external enclosure - like a reserator or something.... I really like this thing!

I am really excited about it because I sold my main gaming rig in an attempt to help me focus as I go back to school. This will allow me to buy the tablet PC I was looking at for class but still have a killer gaming experience at home when resting -- and the wife will be much more OK with me buying a "docking station" rather than another gaming machine.

 

You sound so happy about a product that looks like it totally sucked.

I'll wait for this version 4 and pass my judgment then, but currently it looks slow and like it has a lot of compatability/stability issues.

 

I think it worked as described and as expected. The Dell is an older revision - and the MBP I didn't expect to work at all. The upside on this is that as you pick up new machines that fully support the standard - the older machine will fall by the way side.

The down side is that it doesn't make coffee.

Look - all things being equal - I am an early adopter of most things and I want to see a company with a good idea bring the items to market that I am interested in. I bought one of those 3 button LED keyboards from that Russian company (Art Lebedev) the day it came out because I wanted to support them in getting to the point where you could buy the full LED keyboard. I never bought the full keyboard (would have paid 450 - not 1450 for it) but this is just an example of my mindset when it comes to bleeding edge technology.

I am looking forward to the ViDock4 - and would love it if this could output on the laptop screen and would love it if it came with a free game and would love it if this could help my potty train my youngest........ For what it is - I am very impressed and would recommend it to the people that I work with in a heartbeat.

 

Can you please upload a video of this thing?

 

thanks for the review its nice, next time try not making everything so big, it made it annoying to read. + rep anyway though thanks

 

You asked for a video in the other thread, and you were pointed to the link to the YouTube video that was just two posts before yours. Is there a reason that video is not what you are looking for, or is it that you can't find the link?

In any event, here it is again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE5NmURV5P8

 

Thank you OP for the detailed review. Rep+
I have a request to ask of you if it isn't too much trouble. Can you run the 3dmark at 1280 x 800 oppose to the standard 1280 x 1024 and report back with the score?

At notebookcheck.com (not the most concrete source but still good for quick comparison), with p8600 and HD 4670 (MSI Ex625) scored 7600~ at 1280 x 800. I want to see if the ViDock is comparable in performance. Link below if anyone is interested.

Notebookcheck: ATI 4670

 

Steiner32,

Thanks a lot for the review, but please just post in the default font size next time. Using larger sizes for headings or titles is fine, but not for the whole post.

Thanks

 

Atleast its better than people that post 1920x1200 images without thumbnails

What was the cost of the unit? I dont think I saw that anywhere and consider that a crucial part of a review.

 

Great review mate, I was really looking forward for an owner's review

Second on that. I'm planing to buy a HD4670 if I find one (MXM-II), but maybe I'll end up with ViDock

 

^--^
MXM-II is a laptop form factor video card. The ViDock 2 is for desktop video cards.

 

I think he knew that, because he was planning on upgrading his laptop but may go for the vidock instead

 

^--^
Ah yes, I may well have misinterpreted what he said.

 

This really would be a MUCH better option if the Vidock could use the laptop monitor as the main screen. That way you dont have to lug around a 2nd screen. Very nice review BTW.

 

I'm glad you did this review. Good lenght too.
If you know more of electronics:
Do you think ViDock4 will need different requirements, may be a faster Express card slot. I read in Tomshardware that that might have been the limitation of ViDock1.

 

Doesn't seem like it will. Sounds like it will use the standard interface and you will be good. Paladin (Donald) may say differently though. That is my understanding.

 

Hey, I wonder if something like this can be put in a small freezer (-15 Deg.) and really overclock it.

 

hehe - thinking about doing just that.

 

No, the ViDock 4 will not need different requirements. It will work with ExpressCard 1.0 or 2.0 and beyond.

 

I am guessing that the ViDock 4 will just have a bigger powersupply that can handle a larger video card like a GTX295, and a little larger case to accomadate these cards ??? Again just my guessing here. God Bless

 

^--^

All of what you say is correct...including the God Bless!

The only addition is that it will have a different logic board as well.

 

It will also support networking, more USB port and I read somewhere that it will have a spot for coffee filters -- trying to find out if that last part is true.....

 

This sounds like a cool way to get some extra life from a aging laptop.
Nice review.
Can you swap out the GPU to upgrade for more performance?
When is ViDock 4 coming out? Any idea what GFX card it will have?

 

The Vidock has been designed with upgrading in mind.

 

Because I still don't get it, would there be a benefit in running the ViDock 4 with a laptop that has ExpressCard 2.0 slot over one that has the 1.0 slot?

 

Yes, it uses desktop video cards, and it can be upgraded for years as each new generation video card comes out.

The ViDock 4 will be out later this year, and will take up to the ATi 4890 or any future ATi card that size that will be supported by a 230W Power Supply.

Yes, it will run better with ExpressCard 2.0 because the pipe is faster...but again...regardless of its relative speed based on 1.0 or 2.0 it will be faster than any laptop card in its class because you will be using desktop cards.

ViDock already supports ExpressCard 2.0 we just have to wait for laptops to start using 2.0 to take advantage of its extra speed.

 

Doesn't the 2.0 slot have a faster transfer rate than the 1.0?

 

Of course, its newer tech .

 

Thanks for sharing the info Steiner32!

+13 rep.

 

I think the 2.0 has double the bandwidth so it should give a great performence boost.

 

Doesn't it get limited in performance as its through the Expresscard slot?

 

Yes, but it is only very minor. The ViDock 2-4670 shows about a 6.5% loss when compared to a desktop with similar configuration.

This still puts its performance way above laptop cards of the same class.

For proof, just look at the scores achieved in the OP's review.

 

I will try to take a video of the ViDock tomorrow on the Lenovo. You guys will love the onboard video card's Crysis intro...

 

lol cant wait. and im serious

thanks a bunch man.

 

Thamk you stiener

 

Is there anything stopping you from buying a seperate PSU for the card and throwing a bigger one in there?

 

At what point does the performance cap with the ExpressCard 1.0, though? By that I mean when upgrading the video card no longer has an effect on performance, like the Asus XG (I think it was)

 

Not sure if I would fry something on the circuit board on this thing. More wattage flowing through might not be very healthy for it.

 

We are waiting for the video Steiner .

 

and the 1280 x 800 3dmarks if possible!

 

I just got into work - PST....

I did have another thought (rare occurrence) about testing the hardware with a different PSU and a beefier graphics card. Maybe I could open the case, use a normal ATX PSU to power the graphics card itself and use the included PSU to power the electronics of the ViDock.

The only crap part is I don't have a beefier ATI card around right now.

small problem. Can't use the Lenovo today - so - I am going to use a Dell E6400. I must say this is a slick little machine. Cross your fingers that the ViDock works well with this laptop. I am just beginning the install of Windows 7 now. I have a pretty busy day today - so I probably won't have the video up until later tonight.

Bigger problem. Got windows 7 installed and ready, slide the Express card in only to figure out that Dell put a PC-Card in this machine....... Are you kidding me????

On the hunt for a different machine.


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update:
got another lenovo -- installing windows again.....

 

Steiner32 how much did you pay for you vidock. Do you think its really worth it?

 

The ViDock was 379.00 plus shipping. I think it is totally worth it.

I am ready to go with 3DMark06 - but I can't change the resolution without buying the product. Anyone have a key they want to part with? I am not really into buying something just to prove a point on this.

I have recorded some videos and will put them together this evening and hopefully post tonight.