External Graphics!

This was already posted in the Lenovo forum by another user, but I felt that I should post it again here, especially in light of the NBR review of a fujitsu external GFX solution.

Tom's Hardware has taken a look at the ViDock Gfx PRO. Read about it here, and be amazed! Or extremely underwhelmed...

Internals use either an 8600GT or ATI 2600 in the PRO model. If you have Intel integrated graphics, you cant make use of this solution at the current time when using Vista, DOH! But if you use XP, there is a much higher probability that the ViDock wont even work! (cue Price Is WRONG music). Also, an external monitor is still required.

 

Considering the MIA status of the Asus XG, looks like this niche market has some way to go before it can be considered an affordable alternative for notebook gamers stuck with integrated cards.

 

This thing is limited by the low bandwidth... thats too bad, I'd love to run a 9800 on my laptop. Too bad it's relatively expensive as well.

 

although it's not as fast as integrated 8600m GT, but certainly one big step forward.

 

Yeah its a start but not really an ergonomical solution. Limited bandwith and the somewhat high price. Would rather just save that for new laptop/desktop solution.

 

I like the idea of the Expressbox’ - ExpressCard-to-PCIe - then I could use my desktop graphics card while out and about, provided I found some way of overcoming static. By doing that could I effectively have a four monitor output? One integrated in the notebook, one out through the back of the notebook and two from the desktop graphics card? Nice thought. Thanks for posting.

 

FINALLY, Don's got his review up! Been waiting for a while to comment on this.
Anywhoo, despite the underwhelming performance (which anyone familiar with the PCE 1X bandwidth limit would expect), it's more than was available before.
Still remains a pricey add-on where you're still better of selling your old computer and buying another one overall. But to add something to an ultra-light that will never see any robust graphics anyways, it's an option, even if not as good as we'd hope for.

 

looks sweet, actually. But pricey...

 

The latest ExpressCard specification is getting a 16x PCI-E bus IIRC, so before long we really could expect legitimate external graphics solutions.

 

why cant they do a 9800x2?

 

because of bandwidth limitation

 

and at the price, you might as well build your own desktop with a 9800 in it.

 

I seriously doubt external graphics will ever be an ideal solution for laptops, I do see it as viable for powerhpuse desktops and lan party fans, running monster cards in their own box with their own cooling and power supply is a great idea, and would also be perfect for extremely small portable boxes.

 

It already supports it, since early (Feb) last year;
http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/news/press_release/02_07_07
Main issue is latency, and the big question for the spec is cable length.

Interesting little mention from Fudzilla today about the Lasso solution we saw snapped at Hexus in March (which had two 8X connections), supposedly they're going to demo it at computex this year;

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7387&Itemid=1

 

They can, it just won't offer much, like nirvana says, due to bandwidth limitations.

 

I can see this as a great option if you want a 12" or 13" notebook for portability but ability to play games at home.

It's a great step up from a Radeon Xpress or Geforce Go GPU.