AMD XConnect External GPU Technology for Radeon Graphics

PC gamers that want to game on the go have always faced some tough choices when buying a notebook. Do we buy a gaming notebook that’s great to game on, but tough to carry? Or an ultrathin that’s easy to carry, but tough to game on? Some of us just buy two notebooks. Some of us buy a gaming notebook, wishing it were lighter every time they carry it.

Some just buy the ultrathin, acknowledging that comfortable portability is probably more important than gaming over the long run. Every choice has drawbacks.

AMD XConnect technology is a new feature debuting in today’s Radeon Software 16.2.2 graphics driver (available from AMD.com) that makes it easier than ever to connect and use an external Radeon graphics card in Windows 10. External GPU enclosures configured with Radeon graphics can easily connect to a compatible notebook or 2-in-11 over Thunderbolt 3. Best of all, a PC configured with AMD XConnect technology and external Radeon graphics can be connected or disconnected at any time, similar to a USB flash drive—a first for external GPUs.

When ATI Technologies Inc. (ATI) introduced the ATI XGP (External Graphics Platform) in 2008, XGP solved for bandwidth constraints with initial support for eight lanes of PCI Express 2.0 connectivity and a second-generation version of the standard that could have supported a full x16 graphics card.

ATI partnered with Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited (JAE) to design a new custom cable that could deliver the necessary bandwidth in a smaller form factor than was previously possible, while the XGP connector could mount to any motherboard that could supply eight or more lanes of PCI Express 2.0 connectivity. The ATI XGP external box was designed to provide additional USB ports through a simple USB 2.0 hub, but the platform could hypothetically accommodate additional features and capabilities.
The ATI XGP platform also included support for native PCI Express hot plugging under Windows Vista—a feature that remains elusive in the world of external graphics today. XGP could even output directly to the laptop's display, rather than requiring a separate monitor. This, too, is unusual even in today’s external GPU solutions.

The ATI XGP platform plainly solved many of the issues related to external graphics, however XGP was not without limitations. The custom-designed cables by JAE would be considered large relative to modern notebook form factors, and the XGP hardware platform was only compatible with ATI video cards. As a result, ATI XGP devices only shipped alongside a small number of systems.
Today, several vendors have created their own external GPU platforms, with varying levels of performance and limited support for features like hot plugging.

The Razer Core configured with an AMD Radeon R9 Nano GPU, activating compatibility with AMD XConnect technology when the user installs Radeon Software 16.2.2 (or later) on the Razer Blade Stealth.

QUALIFIED RADEON GRAPHICS CARDS:

• AMD Radeon R9 Fury
• AMD Radeon R9 Nano
• AMD Radeon R9 300 Series
• AMD Radeon R9 290X
• AMD Radeon R9 290
• AMD Radeon R9 280
• Mobile derivatives of these ASICs
• PLANNED: Radeon dGPU products based on the Polaris architecture

VALIDATED THUNDERBOLT 3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

• Radeon Software 16.2.2 (or later)
• 1x Thunderbolt 3 port
• 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cable
• Windows 10 build 10586 (or later)
• System BIOS ACPI extensions for Thunderbolt eGFX (check with vendor)
• Thunderbolt firmware (NVM) v.16 (or higher)
• Pass Thunderbolt certification

Available starting 10 March, 2016 in Radeon Software 16.2.2 (or later), AMD XConnect technology is an important piece of a three-party effort designed to solve the problems that have kept external graphics solutions from achieving mass market success. Developed in collaboration with Intel’s Thunderbolt group and Razer Inc., it is the first graphics driver qualified for use with validated Thunderbolt 3 external graphics (eGFX) solutions on Windows 10. Rather than relying on large and/or proprietary cables, AMD XConnect is compatible with simple/reversible Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cables and connectors, and conforms to eGFX requirements of the Thunderbolt 3 specification.

Four PCI Express lanes are provided by Thunderbolt 3, which gives the external solution up to 40Gbps of bandwidth (equivalent to a PCI Express 3.0 x4 slot). AMD has invested significant effort in the detachable graphics architecture of its own driver stack to support these capabilities, and has worked closely with Intel’s Thunderbolt group to qualify a range of gaming-class AMD Radeon graphics cards for the Thunderbolt 3 spec.