Sunday, March 4th 2007

ATI developing Lasso

The gap between high performance desktops and notebooks is getting smaller and smaller - yet one area where notebooks could use a boost is undoubtedly the graphics department. For any sort of high resolution/high detail gaming, a notebook integrated GPU just won't cut it.

It would be benefitial if power-hungry GPUs could be placed outside of the notebook, and then connected to it via some interface. ASUS has caught on, its XG Station should offer such a solution.

Now, it looks like ATI has something in the works as well. Hexus reports that ATI is developing Lasso, an external board interconnecting multiple graphics boards with your notebook.

Below is a picture of an early prototype:
Source: Hexus.net
Add your own comment

25 Comments on ATI developing Lasso

#1
magibeg
That would be awesome... something tells me i wouldn't be able to hook up one of those fancy video cards to my dell laptop :P
Posted on Reply
#2
sinner33
Seems like a sound idea, except for the fact that you'd obviously look like your gaming in front of the professor with that little get up :roll: Defeats the purpose of hiding it.
Posted on Reply
#3
unsmart
This kinda looks fake to me:wtf: I think ATI would have a better test set up then some guys desk and a piece of foam.
Posted on Reply
#4
WarEagleAU
Bird of Prey
DaAMti is on the horizon once again :)
Posted on Reply
#5
AshenSugar
unsmartThis kinda looks fake to me:wtf: I think ATI would have a better test set up then some guys desk and a piece of foam.
you clearly have never worked in a development enviroment, i have seen hardware companys test new stuff they made on wood planks,foam,plastic, rubber, and even those rubber/foam mats like used for wrestling, whatever works, beta/test versions of hardware are alwase to large and tested on a countertop, they dont get casings/covers till they size them down after extencive testing , someplace areound here i have a box of old beta hardware,
mobo thats about 4in longer then full atx, the ver ver of that board was acctualy a 7screw mount smaller then full atx

videocard thats a good 2in taller and 3in longer then the production version

even got some pc150 beta ram sticks someplace(dont get excited they where slow at normal speeds) that are about 4in tall(no joke and they only have 256mb a stick lol)

i have a few other things in that box as well, all stuff i got to eather test myself or was given by ppl who tested it and got the full version when it went gold and gave me the test stuff.

never ASSume that you know it all, because "pride goeth before the fall"
Posted on Reply
#6
Demos_sav
Could that be used on desktops too? I mean, my mobo is not capable of crossfire. Can I buy one of these and start using crossfire? That would be awesome:rockout:
Posted on Reply
#7
Jimmy 2004
ASUS has been working on something like this for a couple of months - it was posted, but a while back. I like the idea of being able upgrade laptops more easily, you essentially have an on-the-go laptop which can handle your surfing and documents, then once you get home, you plug in your X2900XTX and play Crysis :D
Posted on Reply
#8
AshenSugar
i had a lappy years back that had a docking station that could ake 4 pci and 1 agp card as well as 4 ide drives and even had an external scsi connection!!!

i never put a high end videocard in it but i could have, kinda like the diea now :D
Posted on Reply
#9
unsmart
Well, no I haven't worked in a development environment. I just ASSumed as tight lipped as ATI/AMD is about development and the rash of fake hardware pics and benches,that AMD/ATI would not let a photo of a upcoming release be taken in such a setting. The only pics or specs I trust when it comes to AMD/ATI is the ones they release.
It could be real, I don't know. Hexus is a trusted site but how many posted the fake R600 benches. The only thing I know for sure is your an A** :laugh:
Posted on Reply
#10
AshenSugar
they probbly want to get some good press without letting more info about the upcommin cpu/gpu combos that are due out soon :)
Posted on Reply
#11
RickyG512
i hope u can use the monitor in the laptop unlike the asus one
Posted on Reply
#12
Jimmy 2004
RickyG512i hope u can use the monitor in the laptop unlike the asus one
Didn't realise that at the time... could just be because it's still in the development phase - you would exepct them to fix it. The ASUS one does look somewhat more complete though.
Posted on Reply
#13
Namslas90
unsmartThis kinda looks fake to me:wtf: I think ATI would have a better test set up then some guys desk and a piece of foam.
You have to start somewhere, Remember the first computer was mounted to a piece of wood!!
Posted on Reply
#14
KennyT772
hopefully they will bend the pcb just past the pci-e port so the whole thing is roughly the size of the video card. add a 80mm fan to one end and your set!
Posted on Reply
#15
AshenSugar
Namslas90You have to start somewhere, Remember the first computer was mounted to a piece of wood!!
the first real home computers sold where orignal made with plywood cases :), i know somebody whos got a first gen apple thats case is wood lol
Posted on Reply
#16
Dippyskoodlez
RickyG512i hope u can use the monitor in the laptop unlike the asus one
I would imagine this is relativly trivial to implement, and a must for laptops :/
Posted on Reply
#17
Scavar
I don't this personally seems silly to me. Desktop Replacement Laptops are more then powerful enough in all departments, and if you are getting a notebook for travel or for school and you want to play games on it, that thing isn't entirely convienant. I would rather have a weaker graphics card in the laptop itself that can do things decently or ok, and still run on battery, and carry around with me without any hassle in the least, then have that thing.


But hey, thats just me.
Posted on Reply
#18
Casheti
Well done ATi :toast:

F**k you AMD :toast:
Posted on Reply
#19
KennyT772
this is actually a very good thing especially with where things are heading, cpu power etc.

imagine a small laptop with a decent cpu that you can carry around and get 4-5-6 hours out of the battery. then you get home plug it into a base station and boom you have a different kb/mouse, crossfire x2900's, a 30" lcd, and surround sound. sounds good to me..
Posted on Reply
#20
zekrahminator
McLovin
CashetiWell done ATi :toast:

F**k you AMD :toast:
Now Casheti, I thought your several pages of infractions might have tought you that flaming AMD is a bad thing :roll:.
Posted on Reply
#21
Casheti
It most certainly is not! :D
Posted on Reply
#22
tvdang7
home come it looks like its using usb ports... wouldnt that be slow? the other asus one is express port or something.
i wish something will come out soon. this 6100 needs something new. any idea when something should pop up and at what price. i think i read the asus thing was like 500 bucks.
Posted on Reply
#23
KennyT772
just imagine if they run with this idea..


pointing at the tower and calling it the CPU might be correct. i wouldnt really mind having a home theater style comp. one box with a freezer in it could house the video cards. another unit would house the 4, 16 core processors, and finally another would house the hard drives and optical disks...
Posted on Reply
#24
Casheti
KennyT772just imagine if they run with this idea..


pointing at the tower and calling it the CPU might be correct. i wouldnt really mind having a home theater style comp. one box with a freezer in it could house the video cards. another unit would house the 4, 16 core processors, and finally another would house the hard drives and optical disks...
Sounds good to me...cost a lot though :p
Posted on Reply
#25
Saurian
RickyG512i hope u can use the monitor in the laptop unlike the asus one
Why?

The purpose of a solution like this would be met best in this scenario as Kenny pointed out: You buy a small portable notebook (13-14" screen) packing a C2D, 2GB of ram, GMA950, and whatever else you want. Basically, a configuration that can run around and get the 4-6 hours battery life as mentioned. You get home from school/work/gf's/whatever and go to your desk. You set your laptop down onto its dock to the side, and plug in the graphics card to its port. You're now sitting at your standard kb and mouse, your nice gaming widescreen lcd, and surround sound setup ready to play Crysis on whatever DX10 card you have in the graphics bay. Maximum mobility on the run, maximum power at home. And with your 2GB of ram and fast C2D, you can still easily work on the run and at home. Also removes the heat issue of vid cards from affecting other parts of the lappy.

This issue at hand here is that an interface needs to be standardized. Something like a PCIe External x8 slot minimum available externally. They ahve eSATA, and the X34 slot that is a 1x PCIe link. x8 link is needed minimum, if not a full x16 bandwidth slot. This is what this all hinges on.
Posted on Reply
Add your own comment
Jun 7th, 2024 03:59 EDT change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts