AMD's ATI XGP external laptop graphics platform goes legit

Well why go for a M860TU now then?



This is just around the corner. If it works, any ATI capable notebook will be capable of CrossFireX (ATI SLi for mobiles). Moreover it will be easy to upgrade the cards not to mention that heating problems due to high end cards will be over. Let's see how that proprietary PCIe Express (4Gbs) holds on.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~126120,00.html

Fujitsu is already playing ball:



http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/home/products/notebooks/amilo_graphic_booster.html

Now this is disruptive tech. I'm sure Clevo will be on this ball game too . If it will I'll buy it!

Trance
PS: We usually buy these super dupe laptops due to the video cards more then anything else. Granted, ATI leatest mobile cards (320 SPs "only") is not has powerfull as NVIDIA latest and greatest 9800M GTX, but you don't need to sell your pants to buy notebooks capable of this in the near future since probably one can buy these external cards from any brand. Hopefully we will not have with this thee mess MXMIV created with dubious motherboard replacement requirements imposed by notebook manufacturers.

 

that's nice, just hope it doesnt cost that much

 

Looks pretty darn good, but yeah, ^^the price will probably be high

 

Some more pics:







On its own, this 13.3-inch notebook uses the graphics core from the mobile version of 780G chipset as far as we know, but add the GraphicBooster via the external PCIe 2.0 8x interface and you get the power of a mobile Radeon HD 3870.

What will the near future bring us (this year).

Do people still want the M860TU? Especially with an ATI HD 3870 card as an option?

Stay cool,

Trance
PS: I know this is not a Clevo notebook, but since people are talking about future just wanted to share these findings since a I own a Clevo.

 

Defeats the purpose of mobility... but good if you use your notebook for basic functions on the go then come home and rock out with some awesome games, graphics rendering, encoding, etc. However, I don't see a bright future for external cards if you could simply have a way more powerful desktop and a simple notebook for the road.

 

I don't play games on the road but I do need a powerfull laptop for work. I play only at home, or with some friends.

I wonder how big and light a laptop would look with similar specs as the d901c but with external graphics cards such as this

I wonder also if we needed to upgrade the motherboard to upgrade the external device

Trance
PS: Do most people really need to take such a powerfull video card to the classroom or library? I honestely doupt they do. Even if they, most probably just once in awhile ... and look how big is that external box (looks like Apple TV or some external router).

 

Somehow, this ,if it will come true,will make gaming laptops obsolete...
Imagine gaming on a MacBook Air,with the proper CPU...

 

I am impressed.But is the communication fast enough between the card and laptop?

 

@RAMBO

For one of today's cards certainly. For SLI I have some doupts, but hey one can always use two connectos for two PCI-E links I guess.

Trance

 

Yeah, it's full PCI-e x16

 

According to Trance, it's PCIe 8x...

 

They will have the version with 16x, i saw in ATI specs sheet somewhere

 

Would these be able to hookup to current notebooks?

Or are we going to need new computers with a special port?

 

You will need a dedicated/custom interface!

Trance

 

they will have this solution with the future 4870