AMD hints at standardization for external graphics cards

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 03/01/2016 10:46 AM | source: | 27 comment(s)

Personally I feel it's kicking a dead horse as the idea has been done over and over again. However on it's facebook page Robert Hallock (chief technical marketing AMD) is making a case for a standardization of external graphics cards.

The idea is that you can hook an external graphics card into a laptop. So if you are traveling, you do not need to carry arround the external GPU, but at home you could plug it in to play games. Let's just call this port external PCI-Express.

Hallock:

Alright, let's have some Real Talk about gaming on the go. Gaming notebooks are great for gaming, but nobody in their right mind wants to carry one all the time. Ultrathin notebooks are awesome to carry, but nobody in their right mind would confuse one for a gaming notebook.

But there's still a HUGE appetite for thin notebooks that can game. I also bet there's a bunch of gamers out there who, as they get into their 30s and 40s, wouldn't mind condensing their entire computing life down into one device that does it all. I ALSO bet that some people wouldn't mind giving up an mITX LAN rig if their notebook had the potential to serve that role with gusto.

External GPUs are the answer. External GPUs with standardized connectors, cables, drivers, plug'n'play, OS support, etc.

More info very soon.

It is not the first time AMD is attempting to do something like this, back in 2008/2009 we have already seen the ATi XGP, or ATI eXternal Graphics Platform (graphics booster). Which back then failed substantially. But sure, to get an open standard for this would give the concept more chance of succeeding this round.

If you want to have a nice flashback into the past, read our (pretty old) article about that right here.

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Cave Waverider
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Joined: 2010-07-25

#5237988 Posted on: 03/01/2016 12:31 PM

wait... so I am supposed to buy a laptop so I CANT play demanding games on the move,

so that later when I'm home I can have ALMOST desktop-like gaming experience???

LOL the marketing genius behind this...

Well, I guess the group they target is people that need/use the laptop for other things on the move, like "playing work", "playing student", etc. and want to play a demanding game on the same PC in their downtime when coming back home.

It isn't really that much different than having a gaming laptop with integrated GPU to fall back on next to a dedicated one (which usually requires more power than a battery can really provide for a longer gaming session), but it shaves a few kilograms to carry around off one's back/arm.
And it's easier to upgrade, find and pay for a desktop video card, provided the external case supports it, compared to an internal laptop card.

I could also imagine scenarios where you have the capability for such a card on desktop PCs and you could easily carry your expensive, high-end video card(s) with you when you move from one computer to the other (be it at a different residence or at your house) so you'd only have to buy one expensive card for the best gaming experience and not buy one for each computer.

I do welcome such an open standard, which would mean I could use the case with different computers for a long time. If performance is up to par with using an internal video card on a desktop (not like the "Alienware Graphics Amplifier" you can get for certain Alienware laptops where it's limited to PCIe x4) and all cards fit physically and power-wise and manufacturers across the board would support it, it'd be a great thing.

Ameubius
Junior Member

Posts: 7
Joined: 2015-02-24

#5237990 Posted on: 03/01/2016 12:41 PM

Personally, I don’t think it's such a bad idea.

I have a Dell XPS 15" (9550), and it could be interesting to be able to connect this type of laptop up with an external GPU, along with a descent gaming monitor, gaming pad and mouse, when at home.

Off course I wouldn’t get the most powerful system on Earth, but considering I mostly play Battlefield 3, I guess it would do…

RzrTrek
Senior Member

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Joined: 2012-04-16

#5238010 Posted on: 03/01/2016 01:52 PM

They have to try every crazy idea conceivable by man before they go bankrupt...

TheDeeGee
Senior Member

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Joined: 2010-08-28

#5238013 Posted on: 03/01/2016 02:02 PM

They have to try every crazy idea conceivable by man before they go bankrupt...

Pretty much a sign of a company going downhill.

Denial
Senior Member

Posts: 13628
Joined: 2004-05-16

#5238022 Posted on: 03/01/2016 02:12 PM

They have to try every crazy idea conceivable by man before they go bankrupt...

Why is it a crazy idea?

I don't get why people don't like this? If I could take one of my older cards, say my 980 when I eventually upgrade and shove it into a external unit with thunderbolt, why wouldn't that be awesome?

Nearly all the new ultrabooks coming out have thunderbolt 3 on them. The Intel CPU's in those are more than capable of feeding a 980 to the point of playing some games on it.

Idk, when I saw all the companies talking about this at CES I was excited about it.

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