AMD Announces Revolutionary External Graphics Solution for Notebooks

[malware]

Computex 2008, AMD today also launched ATI XGP (External Graphics Platform) Technology, a new external PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 graphics platform, designed to deliver enthusiast-class desktop graphic performance and true multimedia upgradeability to notebooks. ATI XGP is an exclusive technology that capitalizes on PCIe 2.0 to deliver enthusiast-class graphics via a connected cable to an externally powered and cooled device.




This unique innovation delivers up to 4.0 Gbyte/s in each direction in bandwidth communication between the notebook and external graphics, whereas previous consumer level external solutions were limited in graphics bandwidth2. ATI XGP is fully optimized for new AMD Turion X2 Ultra notebook platforms, also announced today.

ATI XGP Technology is being first launched with the newly announced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 series for eye-catching HD graphics. As an industry first for notebooks, ATI XGP Technology delivers multi-GPU capabilities of scalable performance with ATI CrossFireX technology. The additional high bandwidth of the included USB 2.0 connectivity allows users to connect to a wide variety of USB-based devices, including external TV tuners, external Blu-ray players, and much more.

“With ATI XGP Technology, notebooks can switch between everyday computing and hard-core gaming with a simple plug-in that’s also portable enough to bring powerful 3D performance on-the-go,” said Matt Skynner, vice president of Marketing, Graphics Products Group, AMD. “This technology allows users to choose notebooks with slim, lightweight and elegant designs, yet enjoy the full performance of a traditional desktop gaming rig wherever it’s convenient.”

Björn Fehrm, head of Strategy and Innovation Consumer, EMEA, Fujitsu-Siemens Corp., said: “Powered by ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 in an external AMILO GraphicsBooster, the ultra mobile AMILO Sa 3650, with ATI XPG technology, takes on two very different but equally compelling personalities. Use it for your daily computing with the internal graphics for outstanding mobility and battery life. Dock it to your AMILO GraphicsBooster when coming home, in a hotel room or at a LAN event and now your gaming and multimedia performance is in another world.”

ATI XGP Technology is contained in an external chassis connected to the notebook via a specially designed self-latching, easy-connecting PCIe 2.0 cable from Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited, a leading provider of electronic devices and connectors. Based on AMD’s dedicated research and development, the cable also provides USB 2.0 connectivity directly to the notebook allowing for additional USB functionality. Independently cooled and powered, ATI XGP Technology offers the potential for higher performance than traditional entry-level graphics solutions. Notebook users can take advantage of the varied usage scenarios including multiple monitor support, high performance gaming, Blu-ray video playback, and increased graphics performance for video editing.

“ATI XGP Technology is cutting edge and we’re excited to participate in this revolutionary solution for notebooks,” said Mark Saubert, marketing manager, Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited. “ATI XGP Technology redefines what mobile graphics is all about.”

The initial offering of ATI XGP Technology features the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 series graphics solution giving notebook users a variety of additional functionality:

• PCI Express 2.0 offers more than enough horsepower for the most demanding professional graphics applications by boosting 3D graphics performance while providing fast throughput resulting in an excellent overall system performance
• ATI Avivo HD Technology that delivers smooth video playback and photos in high-definition format with brilliant colors and sharp images
• ATI Avivo HD technology features an enhanced version of AMD’s Unified Video Decoder (UVD) offering full hardware acceleration of video decode for smooth playback of full 1080p content from Blu-ray movies
• Integrated Digital Outputs enable viewing standard and high-definition content on a variety of devices including HDMI with integrated audio and DVI

For more information about ATI XGP Technology, please visit: http://ati.amd.com/technology/xgp/index.html.

Source: AMD

[Wile E]

So is it PCIe 2.0 1x via an ExpressCard slot, or is it a whole new external connector? And what cards are available for it? Looks awfully thin to be able to use desktop cards.

[InnocentCriminal]

I like this look of it, plus it's a fantastic idea.



Look forward to seeing this develop.

[Judas]

Great idea .....so this works with any lappy?

[mlee49]

Yeah external gpu's could be a great idea. You just have to run a cord long enough to the freezer box.

I'm sure everyone wants to know more about quality of cards, noise, and heat/power. Should be good stuff to look forward to.

[DanTheBanjoman]

Laptops are made for mobility, external devices are not handy at all. If you require high performance graphics on a laptop for whatever reason, why not get a slightly larger laptop? I doubt this will ever catch on.

[thoughtdisorder]

Originally Posted by DanTheBanjoman

Laptops are made for mobility, external devices are not handy at all. If you require high performance graphics on a laptop for whatever reason, why not get a slightly larger laptop? I doubt this will ever catch on.

I would have to agree with you on this one. Being a daily laptop user for work and lugging it all over the place is a pain enough as it is. Then again, I was hard pressed to find a mobile phone without video, mp3 and other features designed to do everything except make a clear phone call!

I dont think you guys caught on right away. the idea is thet you get your laptop, but when you go home, you plug it in and it becomes a gaming desktop. you get both options, as long as you dont expect to play anything while you're out. I dont think many people would want to pull around a monitor.

[TUngsten]

Well, it could be a viable solution for those who regularly use a laptop but don't want to build a separate system for gaming at home

[turtile]

Originally Posted by bassmasta

I dont think you guys caught on right away. the idea is thet you get your laptop, but when you go home, you plug it in and it becomes a gaming desktop. you get both options, as long as you dont expect to play anything while you're out. I dont think many people would want to pull around a monitor.

I agree. Not only that, you'll save battery life without running a high performance card all the time and you can upgrade much easier and cheaper (maybe even more powerful).

[thoughtdisorder]

Originally Posted by bassmasta

I dont think you guys caught on right away. the idea is thet you get your laptop, but when you go home, you plug it in and it becomes a gaming desktop. you get both options, as long as you dont expect to play anything while you're out. I dont think many people would want to pull around a monitor.

And that my friend, is why Chuck Norris is in your avatar.

[newtekie1]

I assume by "revolutionary" they really mean "copied from ASUS" right? Of course ASUS's designe was universal and would work with any laptop that had an express card slot, while this seems to use a special propriatary connector, I guess that is the "revolution".

[Mussels]

The reasons this has going for it are many. dan asked why people dont get a bigger laptop, here are a few points (seriously theres a ton, and i'm too lazy to write em all)

A smaller laptop is convenient for 95% of people, its portable so size matters.


as a bonus, Using ATI's hybrid crossfire with an onboard GPU, lets people use an internal OR external screen - if you bought a laptop with integrated graphics for on the move - lower power means more battery and less weight to carry around, being able to come home, plug it into the wall socket and this beast, and get 10x the gaming performance... yes, it WILL be popular. To many users, this would be no different to a video card upgrade - buy a cheaper laptop now, and a bigger card later!

Oh and not to mention... you can CHANGE the video card! this thing will be a PCI-E 2.0 box, so you can theoretically throw any ATI card you want... or even several, in crossfire.

[DanTheBanjoman]

Originally Posted by Mussels

The reasons this has going for it are many. dan asked why people dont get a bigger laptop, here are a few points (seriously theres a ton, and i'm too lazy to write em all)

You took away the context there.
"If you require high performance graphics on a laptop for whatever reason"

Originally Posted by Mussels

A smaller laptop is convenient for 95% of people, its portable so size matters.

That same 95% don't need a 8800, they can do with any IGP. I use my laptop (12") for some browsing, some simple visual studio work, office, etc. I have a 16MB Radeon mobility, I never utilize it even though there is little to utilize in the first place.

There is a small market for people who actually require high end graphics on the road. And those who do usually can settle for a 15" laptop.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by DanTheBanjoman

You took away the context there.
"If you require high performance graphics on a laptop for whatever reason"



That same 95% don't need a 8800, they can do with any IGP. I use my laptop (12") for some browsing, some simple visual studio work, office, etc. I have a 16MB Radeon mobility, I never utilize it even though there is little to utilize in the first place.

There is a small market for people who actually require high end graphics on the road. And those who do usually can settle for a 15" laptop.

didnt take away the context... didnt SEE it in the first place :P

This is a way to make a cheaper laptop faster, when at home. I know a lot of people who would love a laptop they can use on battery for hours for work/net, and then simply plug it into a base station at the desk for gaming (or, take it to a LAN with the VGA box)

it gives a lot more options than 'buy a $5k laptop that matches a $2k desktop every year'

[jydie]

Finally!! I would love to use this with my laptop... and it would be awesome if I could plug it into the desktops too. Why the desktops? I can buy 1 nice video card and share it between the home computers... if I am busy and the kids want to play a game, they can simply borrow this and plug it into their computer.

This has so many positives... your PC will stay much cooler without a video card heating the case up... a cooler running system means the parts should last longer... you will not need a $100+ power supply since the external video has its own power... you could use a smaller case for your PC if you do not need to worry about adding a full size video card... heck, since the video card is external then it too would always have access to fresh, cooler air.

The only negative I can think of would be possible driver issues each time you switch between external and internal, and having to fight the kids over who gets to use this.

[Steevo]

Are current systems GPU bound? or CPU?


No wait, we are still software bound and waiting for the market to catch up to what current gen hardware can do. So the purpose of this is to, play a game on a home system, or mimmic playing a game on a home system, with poor audio and a better keyboard, mouse and or controller hooked up to your laptop.


http://www.kontraband.com/show/show....tn=index-top20


I WANT MOAR CABLING SO I CAN BE LIKE A MAC!!!!!!!!

[flashstar]

This would be great because the only non-upgradable component on most laptops is the GPU. Plus, CPU's take much longer to become outdated. Say you spend $2000 on a machine with a 3650 video card. It will be enough for HL2, but it won't work for games in the next few years. With this device, all you need to do is purchase a new video card rather than a whole new laptop.

[suraswami]

Wow so much innovation from AMD camp but still they are treated so bad. Go AMD Go Show the world where the real brain is

[newbielives]

This feels all too much like another Sega CD?

[Pinchy]

I agree with the whole: Small laptop for roaming around, get home and plug this thing in with a monitor/kb/mouse to play games.


In all honestly, graphics is the only reason I didnt change my desktop for an XPS M1330. I loved the small little thing but doesnt have the graphics for me. With one of these, it all becomes possible

Although....what kind of cable will deliver all that bandwith

[KieranD]

lol yeah i remember the sega cd addon it was supposed to be amaing and all but with the ps1 and new sega console around the corner it was doomed plus you dont really need bit cds for a little 2d game do you? I remeber the sega 32x addon for the mega drive and genesis.

This might be good for those with good laptops but need a good card. I mean you get some laptops with top line cpus and those shitty intel graphics.

A better solution is to spend a little more for a lappy with a good dedicated gpu. I know that eventually your lappy will be outdated but by then you can get a new one. Id say that if your going to use your lappy for a home rig youd be better of getting a full on pc.

You better get used to lesser graphics on a laptop not only because of space and what not but because of cooling.

[wickerman]

Originally Posted by newtekie1

I assume by "revolutionary" they really mean "copied from ASUS" right? Of course ASUS's designe was universal and would work with any laptop that had an express card slot, while this seems to use a special propriatary connector, I guess that is the "revolution".

The biggest difference is this is a lot smaller and uses MXM type mobile graphics cards, where as Asus unit used a standard pci express x16 graphics card. Using MXM type cards is nice, but far from a good idea. MXM cards are expensive and really still lack proper standards that the industry follows.

I would much rather see full pci express x16 card support from one of these. With a solution like that you just pop on newegg and grab a card, or upgrade your desktop and use your old card for your laptop external graphics. Unless AMD intends to sell a variety of modules for these external cases, I dont think this will be as big a hit as it could be. Asus has yet to release their unit as far as I know, and from the last indications you would be forced to buy it with a bundled card, meaning you pay $300 for the enclosure and an 8600GT, and then another $150 dropping an 8800GT or HD3870 in there.

[a111087]

that stuff has been made by other companies a long time ago and was on sale, but price is just way too high for a VERY simple device

[WarEagleAU]

This seems like an interesting idea. Im sure it would probably work with only laptops with ATI chipsets or cards in them. I somehow wonder if it would work with an Nvidia chipset as I would assume it would. Wonder what the price tag will be though.