Village Tronic ViDock 2 gpu + external display question

Hi,

From what I am reading, only 18mm cards fit in the ViDock 2 (from Village Tronic). Is that correct? In particular I was wondering whether an ATI HD 5770 (or higher) would fit in?

Also, from the reviews I have been reading and the "specs" posted on Village Tronic website, there is really nowhere mentioned that an external display is required. Now, keeping in mind that DYI ViDock genuinly requires an external display in order to deliver any reasonable performance (I am excluding here the dummy display trick), this made me start wondering if the Village Tronic ViDock 2 does or does not really presuppose an external display hooked then to one of its DVI/HDMI outputs. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks in advance!

 

A HD5770 requires 112W at max peak usage. ViDock 2 is chassis limited and supplied with 12V/72W adapter. MSI GUS appears capable of hosting double-width cards but is supplied with a 12V/90W PSU. DIY ViDock's PE4L/PE4H has no chassis/power supply constrictions. So it's easy to hook up an ATX PSU to drive a HD5770.

MSI GUS, Villagetronic ViDock2, DIY ViDock all work the same. None of them are designed to drive the internal LCD. It would be great if there was a switchable HDMI input into the internal LCD that one could just plug the desktop video card in, switch and away you go. But it doesn't exist. More details in the section DIY ViDock Experiences. FAQ: Can I make this use my notebooks LCD display?

These are my favorite DIY ViDock setups atm. Latest GTX480 benchmarks@x1 very impressive. Wish NVidia had a 40nm HD5770 class/price card. GTX470 is pricey.

1. PE4L + HD5750 + 12V/80W AC adapter, a compact setup ~US$250
2. PE4L + HD5770 + ATX PSU a nice and inexpensive solution ~US$250
3. PE4H + GTX480 + ATX PSU @x2: for premium performance choice ~US$600.

 

Thanks a bunch for the clarification!