external gaming card

With the PCI-e interface already in modern laptops why can't there be external laptops that would give the ability to for notebooks to compete with desktop rivals and upgrade.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/...irst-external-laptop-graphics-card-226648.php

 

express card = 8GB/s
8600m GT = 12.8GB/s
my 8800m = 60.8GB/s

 

Couldn't have put it better myself.

 

maybe so, but surely this will be a thing of the not so distant future. Look how far laptop architecture has came in last decade.

and doesn't alienware have 8800m on their laptops?

 

I are waiting for eyetop.

 

Well, it's not a thing of the Express-Cards' future, that's for sure.

And yes, Alienware has 8800m GTX's in select notebooks.

 

the 8800m in action, what is the heat like when playing a demanding game? just curious

 

you can check my temperature in here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=250458

 

A decade is a ways off yet, in a decade and a half silicone technology is predicted to be maxed out. So I suppose in theory many things are possible.

 

Cooling is fantastic on my P-FX. After an hour or so of Crysis, my temps get up to around 68C. After a few hours of Age of Conan, I've seen them tap 69C once or twice.

Idle around 40C-42C.

 

Wow, that article was over a year old. I'm prettysure those slots are phased out of laptops anyhow.

 

Is this Moore's theory?

Yes eventually electronics will hit a stopping point and have to head in a new direction.

 

In 2015, it is believed that computer processors should contain more than 15 billion transistors!!!!!

 

Hopefully we'll find a better route than transistors...

Just like before dual cores...we probably belived cpu's would reach speeds of +6ghz

 

Silicone technology is on its way out, manufacturers are already looking at new materials to use.

 

OK fellas I am not a technician or computer science expert so I am going beyond my expertise (none) but I know wrong when I see it so will try and explain.

Kevin could be coming sooner rather than later but will not be Express Card. The first could be AMD and making use of direct external port (HTX) on Hyper Transport configuration. Making what is connected as a 1st class citizen on the MoBo[1] not thru the usual adapter interfaces that among other things have overhead cost that reduce theoretical vs real world performance.

On to my two posters, "the peas in a pod". Can I ask why both of you feel Memory Bandwidth has much to do with this issue. You pull it out for the 8600m GT and 8800m from about 20GB to 60GB's? Compare that to the Device Bandwidth of the Express Card? The disconnect in your understanding is the mistaken belief that the 20-60GB/s must fit thru the 8GB/s Device Bandwidth?

Why would you think that? The PCIe x16 has a Bandwidth of 4000MB/s so about 4GB/s and it works fine. So while you are correct that the Express Card slot does not work well for external GPU's and likely never will. It is not for the the reasons you have identified. And if it in fact was for the reasons you stated you would, well, be wrong as the PCIe 4GB/s does work.

Think of that massive Memory Bandwidth as needed to deliver the end result that would then need to be transfered thru a bus of some kind that would be much lower Bandwidth.

I would expect by about 2010 we will see much. AMD is already running co-processors thru the HTX I mentioned before. Intel with Nehalem are going to Integrated Memory Controller and replacing the FSB (FSB no more). They have there own proprietary answer to HT and when Intel gets on top of things, they seem to roll fast being the giant they are.

[1] The issue of bandwidth between CPUs and co-processors has usually been the major stumbling block to their practical implementation. After years without an officially recognized one, a connector designed for such expansion using a HyperTransport interface was introduced and is known as HyperTransport eXpansion (HTX). Using the same mechanical connector as a 16-lane PCI-Express slot (plus an x1 connector for power pins), HTX allows plug-in cards to be developed which support direct access to a CPU and DMA access to the system RAM. The initial card for this slot was the QLogic InfiniPath InfiniBand HCA. Recently, co-processors such as FPGAs have appeared which can access the HyperTransport bus and become first-class citizens on the motherboard.Wiki

Edit: I mis quoted 8600m GT as being about 20GB/s the Bandwidth posted was 12.8, I confused as during research it is actually 22.4 it has no effect on the points so will leave as mistake with explanation.

 

Powerpack nailed it on the head. Current Express Card slots can't push enough bandwidth to make use of any GPU above the low-end.

The only real solution I have ever seen to this issue is the HTX port he mentioned, which saw a tiny bit of press coverage over 4 years ago and is only now seeing more. We wont even see it in laptops for a year or two.

 

Thanks for the info, Powerpack. It was always my understand that the 8Gb/s would bottleneck any modern GPU.

 

Ok so what does this thing accually do?

Does it use the graphics card of a desktop that already has an 8800 GTX and then it transfers that to the laptop or something?


Cuz in the pictures i saw that it was hooked up to a laptop and a desktop

If not, then where can i buy one of these?

 

KGann I will be honest I think I know why you think that as I myself have in the past had the same misconceptions, I simply read a lot and such.

I think what is throwing you off or confusing you. Or at least the issue I had to learn. Integrated cards that use system memory are bottle necked. What we are now at least in theory talking about would use their own so that bottleneck is not the issue. My memory bandwidth is like 4GB/s? Well if that is, for to be non techie, to do the work, convert, create the end result? Yes that is a bottle neck. But 4GB/s 8GB/s is not bad if just transferring the completed/compiled data or whatever the proper term is.

I did not know this so as to write what I wrote 1 month ago. It is all about reading. You don't even want to see my early posts! I new some stuff but other not a clue!!!!!!

 

Thanks powerpack, this is why I came to this forum - to learn! And I am sorry for the misleading.

 

Well, again, thanks for explaining that. I now know I should research more before misleading folks!

 

No! You don't want this thing! It is not ready yet. At this point no good external GPU worth buying. But like all things, they are working on this and in two years we might have options.

My points were about the future and what might/could happen. No one has said this is a good thing.

Edit to KGann, research? I didn't and don't. You should post what you know. I am embarrassed by many of my previous posts but that is how one learns. If anyone does not say what they misunderstand how will they ever learn.

I want to make clear your posts were cool I just happened to be reading in that area and thought I could input. Better to post than not post. This is supposed to be about learning and maybe a little fun? Tomorrow you may teach me something bud. I know I have stolen some of your ideas and all.