Have you seen this yet? Now you can not only UPGRADE your video card, you can use DESKTOP video cards with your Laptop!

I dont care if I need an external monitor to use it its even better , I really want to get one, Can I put for example an ATI HD4870 inside?

Wow having this would be awesome I see myself returning from the university and plugging the express card and thats it high end gaming .

 

^--^
Your question has been asked and answered earlier in this thread. For full details, please take a moment to read the entire thread because it will answer your question, and probably a few more that you might have.

 

Hey there I just want to clarify two things that I wasnt sure about.

1. Right now it wont work with nvidia gpu's?

2. Will this work with vista 64 bit?

Asus G50VT-X5

 

1.) - Yes under windows 7
2.) - Yes

Read the thread from the beginning and you will see these questions answered already

 

Well if this device would work with the laptop screen I would be all over it. The other thing Im wondering is the interface. Its PCIE 2.0 but how much longer will this be supported? and will the new interface be backward compatible? Like 2.0 to 1.0

 

There will never be a fix for VISTA because it is part of VISTA’s architecture that you can only have one BRAND of video card used with your laptop at a given time. The fix is to use Windows7. You can download Windows 7 Release Candidate from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx

At this time the ViDock 2 only supports up to the ATi RADEON HD 4670, but we will be introducing ViDock 4, hopefully by mid to late August, that will take the fastest video cards available like the ATi RADEON HD 4890 and beyond.

At this time ATi says on AMD chipset based laptops we can also use it to drive the laptop's LCD...and we are working with their technical group to make that happen as well, but until they can prove it to us we will have to wait on that one.

The PCI-e 2.0 and ExpressCard 2.0 standards are brand new, so new that most laptops haven't even adopted them yet. However ViDock is both forward and backward compatible so no worries there.

 

if this works as advertised, it is a perfect fit for me
can't wait to see some reviews/benchmarks!

 

I am really not certain as to why you would want this to work on your laptop's screen. Don't get me wrong -- I get it. But I think an external monitor (24-30") being powered by my thin and light notebook is the perfect reason to buy one of these.

 

exactly how i'd use it
use a portable but powerful notebook all day at school/work
come home, pop it in the docking station, and use the vidock to play games on a 24" monitor with fullsize keyboard/mouse and speakers

 

I've read through the thread and haven't seen anything about the vidock putting out sound and in the video it looked like it was using a mini to rci cable. The description on the website says it can output in dvi vga and hdmi, can the hdmi also transfer sound?

 

Yes...10char

 

Having the option of being able to do both is best. If it could only output to an external screen then you can forget about any gaming away from home in a different area or a hotel. For example, when you travel portable but still want to game at some point you won't have the choice.

 

Thats because people like me just want a good (and upgradable) gaming performance that can be transported more easily.

I dont live at my hometown because of college, and i get to transport my basic stuff by bus every time vacation comes. I wouldnt be able to tranport a 24-30" monitor with me, that would kill me... k

So, the ViDock would just solve my problems, cuz its small, powerfull, and upgradable.

 

Thanks for the great info paladin. When will we be able to order the ViDock 2/4 - BLANK, the one with no graphics card installed so we can put our own? This is awesome! The ability to play any modern game on any laptop regardless of its internal GFX capabilities is the way to go.

 

^--^
I know this thread is getting long...but your question has already been answered.

We are hopeful to have the ViDock 4 released by mid to late August.

Thanks for your great feedback

 

See, this post has vital information that was missing from the first statement.

Unfortunately, it's the truth. WDDM 1.0 (Vista) requires that all video ouput devices run the same driver. So it's also a no-go for people who want nVidia accelerated PhysX with an ATI card.

I don't know if Microsoft is going to update Vista to WDDM 1.1 (W7) or not.


Edit: This device, while neat, kind of negates the whole point of a laptop. Now it's not portable anymore. At this point, serious question now, why not simply buy/build an inexpensive gaming desktop?

 

Sorry - I am not affiliated with it - was only pointing out that for me -- it rocks.

I take my notebook to and from work every day, travel both domestically and internationally and love to play games. The only place I play a game and use the LCD on the laptop is when I set myself up at the kitchen table, or play in a hotel room. I prefer to set up in my office at home, office at work or anywhere else I can move to a full sized keyboard and mouse.

I would not travel with this, everyone here is right - this doesn't help you play better games on a train or bus. It does allow you, if you have a normal base of operations and use your laptop as a desktop that can travel easily, to take your laptop with you without increasing bulk.

I found when I bought my first desktop replacement (Sager's first 17" laptop -- was close to 19lbs with the power brick), that people would laugh and say -- just buy a desktop (or 2 - or maybe 7 depending on how many places you want to travel) to do your gaming if that is your goal... I found myself in a different position. I am normally plugged in, just setup in different places. I think the idea of this is great. When I get into the office in the morning, I set my laptop down, plug in the network cable, plug in the speakers, plug in the power, USB hub and HDMI cable. Not terrible, but 30 seconds of plugging in cables. When I get home, I have a similar routine. This makes it so that I plug in 2 things (power and express card). That is not a bad trade-off to me. Does it mean that if I have a 2 year old laptop I can play crysis while over the Atlantic? No. It does mean that I can extend the life of my laptop, knowing that I can still play the latest and greatest while I am at home.

 

I guess this is the part I'm not understanding. If you have a laptop that you use for travel, a lot, and then you have to plug it in to this big, hot, noisy box (also, mouse, keyboard, speakers, display, USB drives, etc) to game, why not dispense with the routine of plugging in 8-10 devices and lower the wear and tear on the laptop and get an inexpensive desktop?

 

Because, as you mentioned, it is difficult to travel with and setup a small desktop, monitor, keyboard and mouse on the tray table in front of me.

If you are talking having 2 machines, then you have to worry about buying software for both, keeping documents and setting in sync. Plus - what kind of gaming computer am I going to get for ~$300?

Don't get me wrong - I built a gaming rig that I used at home for gaming (i7 920 @ 3.8, water cooled, 3 640WDs in RAID 5, triple SLI GTX260s, etc....) but I can assure you that while the gaming experience was top notch, the price was slightly higher than 300....

I just sold it because I am going back to school this fall and am doubting that I will have the time to game enough to justify keeping it. One of the main reasons for selling it was knowing that this product is coming about. I just bought a NP5797 that I will use for gaming / work stuff for now, but I know that in the future I will be able to upgrade the video card in a dock to extend the life of my machine.

 

I had read about external video cards since I had my old Vaio (long time death) and that was like near 6 years ago. I'm waiting for something, but the progress in this technology is really slow.

The compatibility list is little and no logic (stupid). Why somebody with a ATI 3870 or NVIDIA 9800 GTS in his/her notebook will buy this?

I have an Integrated Video Card SIS Mirage Graphics. I am the type of buyer who will be interesting in this technology.

The problem is if needed to get an external monitor. It doesn't work. The people will need to spend $400 + $150 for an external monitor. Thats a sale problem. Specially when with less than $1000 anyone can get a powerful notebook with good graphics like Sager NP2098.

 

The thing itself is bigger than a netbook...

 

Thicker maybe - but not bigger in the small version. I would think the next version that supports ALL graphics cards will be MUCH bigger. But - again - not taking it with me on trips. Going to set it one place while at home / office and use it there.

 

Hell make 7 times the size of a netbook, as long as I dont have to buy another $ 4000 dollar laptop to play games as good as $1000 dollar gaming desktop, im fine.

 

It seems like people break into two sorts of users:

* folk who like it because it lets them use a relatively lightweight laptop as a gaming machine when they come back to a home base, or at least a relatively stationary base; and

* folk who dislike it because it's a big peripheral to take while traveling that also requires an extra monitor and would prefer just having a big beefy laptop

I think the way I'd use it is leaving it next to my TV. If I'm home and want to game on the big screen, I could plug this puppy in and -viola!- big game power on a big monitor, no purchase of an extra monitor.

Granted, I won't have much need until the interior card is a bit more capable than the one it currently sells with. I'm not very up on video cards right now -- are there cards significantly more powerful than the 4670 that fit in the blank?

The only problem I'd see with it is that if you're planning on playing games that outclass your lightweight laptop's ability to play on its own. Then you have a big old app sitting on your hard drive completely unusable unless you're at home. With the size hard drives nowadays, that may be a non issue. Or, if this will be at a home base, you could always put your big requirement games on an external hard drive since you'll only be playing them where ever it is you plug in those extra peripherals anyway.

Oh, I'm also curious: when the larger units that house the bigger cards come out, any idea on much more expensive they will be? It seems that, ultimately, these things basically do for desktop video cards what an enclosure does for a hard drive; if the power and expense it going to revolve around the card you plug in, the the housing shouldn't change price too much (basically, the cost of an improved power supply and materials for a bigger case, right?).

 

Heat dissapation, does this thing have a fan or what? Desktop cards can get pretty dam hot, and i dont want a lava box

 

The size of the ViDock 2 is about 7.5" x 5.25" x 2". Thicker than a notebook or netbook, but that is the only dimension that is larger.

kudvat has hit the nail on the head as to the two sorts of users, so those users that fit in the 2nd category please remember that just because it may not work for you doesn't mean it isn't a terrific solution for those in the 1st category

ViDock 2 will support ATi cards up to the current HD 4670, and all future generations of that size card. The ViDock 3 will support cards like the ATi 4770, and ViDock 4 will support the biggest and fastest cards like the current ATi 4890.

Pricing has not been set yet on the larger versions, but I would expect the ViDock 4 Blank to be under $400 when it is first introduced.

 

The video card has its own fan(s), and the ViDock Blank has its own fan as well as plenty of ambient cooling exhaust.

Further, since the ViDock will not be near your keyboard, rather it will be more likely be off to the side or behind your laptop heat is just not an issue.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, that would mean that Vidock 4 uses the new express card 2.0 dock leaving this product useless for all of those that want to actually have a good video card in our laptops. I consider all Ati cards to be crap and I'm guessing that there is a reason for having this ati card is that its what the current bandwidth limitations allow to use. For anything bigger we need expresscard 2.0?

If I wanted to get a gtx 285, could I just rig my own power supply onto the current model, install windows 7 and have it work?

 

Ok, correction forthcoming

1st, Have you read this entire thread? Most of your questions have already been answered in this thread.

1. All ViDocks use ExpressCard 2.0, but will work in any laptop with ExpressCard 1.0 as long as the rest of the compatibility requirements are met.

2. You cannot use nVIDIA cards yet because only ATi has the capability to work with ExpressCard technology. nVIDIA is working on it, and we will hopefully see them come through shortly, but you know how it is with big-shot companies (think barge vs. speedboat).

3. There are going to be 3 sizes of ViDock (2, 3 and 4). Each will be designed for a particular class of card. Since a GTX 285 is physically much larger that an ATi 4670, but the same approximate size as an ATi 4890, you would have to use the ViDock 4 for it.

 

@LEoR

From the description of ViDocks, I think the card limitations are from size and power supply, not the ExpressCard interface. Paladin44 said that the cord is some sort of proprietary jobber that they developed so that the peripheral would be useful, albeit at 6%ish loss. Then again, I am a tech-idiot, so I could be inferring the completely incorrect thing.

I did a quick Wikipedia check and looked on PCMCIA's site, and they said that ExpressCard 2.0 is backward compatible, so if the ViDock4 uses 2.0, it should still be usable. If the bottleneck isn't at the ExpressCard interface, the bigger ViDocks should work just fine. If the bottleneck is at the interface, then you'd be right.

 

Thanks for the corrections! If this baby can take on a GTX 285 or 290 later on in the future, I would be more than willing to buy it. Also what does the laptop compatibility signify? I saw some brands like an hp dv2 and others signaled as not working, is this because of their internal video card or other problems, I currently own a dv5t.

 

looked through the thread and didn't see an answer, I know the older ViDock worked with 34 Express Card but don't know about this one

 

I got mine in the mail today - it is a 34. I will report back what I find - but it is very solid so far.

 

please post what the specs of your laptop are and before and after settings of the games you play and the fps please

 

Cheers man, this products enough to make me happy, i look forward to release

 

Im sorry but this is a dumb idea. The point of buying a "gaming" laptop is so you can move around and game. Lets see how much will you spend on a laptop, lets say $700.00 average. Ok now how much for a hign end card to play on $400.00. Now the dock $380.00 Thats already $1,480.00, go get a gateway FX and game wherever the hell you want, without a thousand cables everywhere. Secondly your proc is going to have to feed that GPU. No T7 series proc is going to satisfy a 4870. This is a fail, and will always fail. Why turn your gaming power into a stationary thing? If you want a gaming station and a portable machine get a netbook and a desktop.

 

First off, you're right. Gaming laptops are for on the go gaming. But if it's your primary machine, coming home and plugging into a MUCH more powerful GPU is very appealing. As for being CPU bottle necked, a 2.8-3GHz C2D will be fine, not to mention the i7/i5 lines are coming.

If you don't see the need for this product, then clearly it's not for you. But there's a market for this if it's executed correctly.

 

This is a good idea, your 9800m GTS is like nothing compared to even some midrange desktop cards. This for people who

1) dont want to carry around a 10 pound + laptop.
2) dont want multiple computers or gaming consoles
3) like the idea of easy upgrades for YEARS to come
4)dont want to be achored to a desktop system
5) dont want to spend 4k on a laptop that will never be as good a 1k desktop
6) Dont want to buy a laptop based on the graphics card.

Also I guarantee you that most everyone that has a gaming laptop plays games 95% of the time at home. If I need to game on the go (and I will never have that need really) I can buy a PSP for 90 bucks.

 

Yeah I can see 4 pounds difference making me want to spend a few extra hundred dollars, not.

Tell me what the difference is other than if your NB breaks your SOL between having a desktop or a GPU case with a monitor?

Yeah sure, years to come. How fast is the C2D gonna be years from now?

This is an ANCHOR!

Buy an Asus W90 for 2.2K and get great performance their.

Yeah I hate buying cars based on the motor. I much rather worrying about the interior color.


Well if everyone plays games at home, spend the 1k on a FASTER Desktop and the other $500 on a netbook and have TWO computers. I swear if their is a market for this its people who fall for gimmicks.

 

Why the hell are people complaining about this!? There are people who think desktop replacements are a complete and utter waste of money, but try and tell that to someone who owns and loves their dtr. This is the same freakin deal. If its not for you, its not for you, but understand that there are people who think this is in fact a good idea.

 

I am trying to show people how much of a gimmick this is. Did you not see my numbers? Buy a laptop with a descent proc HDD and Mem. $900. Buy the GPU case $280. Buy a good GPU $400. Buy a monitor $250. $1830.00. Now check this out. total-Notebook= $930.00. You could buy a pretty fast desktop for that price and keep your NB for whatever else.

 

I saw your numbers but you're not understanding...what if someone doesn't want a desktop? What if they already have a monitor? And a laptop? What if people aren't concerned about the money? ad infinitum...

Look, desktop gamers have been calling DTRs gimmicky for years, yet they're pretty popular (i've had one myself). Are all those DTR owners idiots because, yes DTRs are heavier than regular laptops, and hotter, yet slower than desktops, non-upgradable for the most part, oh and yes, very expensive.....or do they simply have different needs than other users?

This is the same deal. It will satisfy the needs (whatever they may be) of a certain subset people, just like DTRs satisfy the needs of another subset. You're taking too narrow a view when you call this a bad product, ie. you are not considering that others' needs may be different from yours.

 

What's the video best card the expresscard 1.0 can handle without bottlenecking it?

 

but it looks like you ave to connect it to an external monitor. not use your laptops screen...

so, tat decides it for me....

 

I think you are forgetting the fact that. That you are getting a more portable computer, a more powerful CPU & more (hard drive, etc) thanks to not wasting money on the GPU. And upgrading your GPU for... years... How long are you going to be able to run the new games with your ¨total-Notebook¨of 930 dollars? a year and a half max?
I just think you are just closed about the idea of this product.

 

I think the major deal breaker for me is the required use of an external monitor. If ATI/AMD can get this to work, then I'm over this. I'm just wondering about the upgradeability of the VD2 due to the size constraints shown. I wonder if a 4770 can fit. I don't want to wait till the VD3-VD4 come out.
Another problem is the price. At 300 for a blank case, it's pretty expensive for a power supply and a cable. I may wait for the price drop.

Besides Infinateone: Many people may already have monitors that are just collecting dust. And personally, I think Desktop replacements are gimmicky. They simply do not have the lifespan of a real desktop. And who says I want a $400 graphics card?

 

I don't know about you - but playing on a 27" monitor at 19x12 is a helluva lot more entertaining than a 1280x720, 14" screen.....

But - I guess that is just me.

 

I agree with you, but it'd be nice to have the option of just going with the laptop + VD2 on the go and at home having the monitor as well.

 

Occasionally I take my laptop with me and play games away from home so having the option of being able to use this external GPU with the internal laptop screen would be a nice feature.

You may like playing on a 27'' at 19X12 but having the option of using the internal laptop screen gives you more flexibility. If this device never allows using the internal screen then I will never buy it period.

The Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Sa 3650 eventually allowed driving the laptops internal screen so why accept less in another product.

 

I am not trying to be stupid here - but did that 3650 ever hit the market? I looked for it for months - starting the day it was announced and finally gave up. I understand that fujitsu sells mostly in Europe = but I would expect to find them somewhere for sale in the US.

I am certain to also be a PITA about this - but if I am traveling, I would not carry the extra brick and large enclosure for the video card. I will agree 100% about the notion that allowing crossfire / SLI with an onboard video card would rock, but I am wondering what hardware modifications would have to be made at an individual laptop design level to enable an external card to replace the driver of the screen on your laptop. There are those that are looking to travel home from school for the holidays, or going somewhere for the weekend, but I am not that person. When I travel, I try to pack lightly, because I know that I will return home at some point.

To those who ask - why not just buy a 1000 gaming desktop? I don't want to support 2 machines for gaming and work. I want to have all of my personal settings, applications, music and documents in one place.

I see this as the perfect device for corporate America. You are issued a laptop every 3 years, and while most companies will max out memory, processor and hard drive, most will hesitate at a high end video card, unless you work in CAD or video creation. This is your out.

This might be a niche market - but I picked one up. I am going to try it on all of my laptops to see which ones work best with it.