http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/ Engadget Comments for ATI to release power-hungry external video card? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jun 6th 2008 12:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
As for the "external interface", in case this is real it'll most likely include a card that connects to PCIe16x and has a special cable input which would have lots of bandwith. Still I don't see how this could be done without massive electromagnetic interference (for such high speeds)]]>Jul 28th 2006 10:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 10:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 10:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 10:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
I'm stuck paying a HECK of a lot of money for a high end laptop, because of the videocard.

If I could buy a midrange desktop and a midrange laptop, I wouldn't mind buying ONE external videocard for $400-500. I don't game on the go often enough to justify the $400-500 for another highend videocard in my laptop.

This would rock the laptop world.]]>Jul 28th 2006 10:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 10:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 10:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
AMD = Hypertransport
ATI = External Video

External Hypertransport! Why not?

]]>Jul 28th 2006 10:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 10:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 11:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 11:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 28th 2006 11:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
I read awhile ago about a modular PC. I think this is a great idea in general.]]>Jul 29th 2006 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 12:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
This from a former 3dfx employee, if you doubt my source.]]>Jul 29th 2006 12:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
If they need more power they can always have their own power brick externally which plugs into the back on an internal card, although with 1KW power supplies nowadays I don't see how much more power they could need.

My money's on internal cards. Just like external sound cards and external hard drives, an external videocard will never match the performance of it's internal countpart.]]>Jul 29th 2006 12:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 1:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 1:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
I suspect that the card itself will remain in the tower, attached to the motherboard in the same way it is today.

For the external rumour... I can see a power port on the outside of the card, similar to the SVIDEO port on a lot of cards today, hooked up to the same kind of power brick notebooks use (or xbox360, usb enclosure etc). To keep it from being unplugged by accident and crashing the system, it will probably screw in place the same as serial/vga/dvi/parallel cables connect.

The only advantage to this would be that graphic card manufacturers wouldn't have to worry about under-powered PSUs in desktops, or have to create a new PSU connector inside the PC.

Remember back when the ATI 9800 series was introduced and you had to start plugging in your floppy connector to the video card? Then they introduced specific PCI-E video card connectors, but had to wait for PSU makers to bring out models that featured these, and everyone had to upgrade.

A dedicated external video PSU would eliminate this need to wait for a new PSU spec, and let them change the power requirements as needed. Faster to market with next gen chips is a huge bonus in the market share war.

Of course, it also means 1 more thing to plug into that firetrap of a powerbar we all have behind our desks...]]>Jul 29th 2006 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
ATI - Maker of the finest convection ovens.]]>Jul 29th 2006 2:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
I'm still with everyone else and am very curious as to how the interface hook up would look. I'm not very geeky in that department but with the mention of USB coming up earlier would firewire be a viable option as it is commonly available on most machines and consistently faster by my understanding?

Anyway, just my two brownies.

Another Troller]]>Jul 29th 2006 2:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 5:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
Still, fantastic concept, hope it doesn't cost a bomb.]]>Jul 29th 2006 5:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 5:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 7:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=2&l2=8&l3=233&model=968&modelmenu=1]]>Jul 29th 2006 7:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 8:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
From the reactions though, it seems like a powerful external GPU has a lot of market potential. Perhaps, even if the rumours are untrue, ATI/NVidia will consider doing something like this anyway.

What with Vista requiring DX9 cards for glass, and lots of laptop users out there not having enough beef to satisfy it, I can see that external GPUs surey do have potential.

So even if ATI/NV don't do it, perhaps a 3rd party will? A PCIe interface in a box, connected via gigabit ethernet to your box, with a special driver to redirect calls on the PCIe bus to the ethernet interface. Of course, gigabit ethernet is my suggestion only because it has lots of bandwidth, not because I propose networked GPUs...]]>Jul 29th 2006 9:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
An earlier commenter mentions the external PCI chassis for use with PowerBooks (I believe they predate the PowerBook G4). They provided like three PCI slots and they interfaced with your laptop through the PCMCIA slot so the bandwidth was pretty limited. And yes they were very expensive as well.]]>Jul 29th 2006 9:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 10:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
Like so many great ideas there's usually a catch and this won't come cheap.

]]>Jul 29th 2006 10:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 10:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 12:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
Although it is possible. A fiber optic connection could easilly handle the required data speed. 100Gbit/sec is absolutely no problem for it, although it may be too costly.]]>Jul 29th 2006 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 4:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/a. test a gfx card before installing it properly
b. test a game with a variety of gfx cards without the hassle of playing around in the back of the computer
c. use any (yes ANY) kind of gfx card with a laptop
?

As soon as that comes out I'm buying it. ]]>Jul 29th 2006 10:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 10:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 29th 2006 11:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 30th 2006 12:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 30th 2006 1:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 30th 2006 1:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 30th 2006 7:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
Well, if were talking ultra high end here, why not simply REQUIRE a higher capacity power supply and connect the card directly with it's own molex ? I mean serious gaming rigs usually have heavier PSUs anyway, and for a while there it wasn't uncommon for people to have 2 PSUs back when everyone wanted ump-teen fans in their box. What's an extra $25 - $50 spent on power compared to the purchase price of the $500 video card that creates the need for it ? Just state and require. Problem solved...though of course it does nothing for the laptop crowd...]]>Jul 30th 2006 10:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 30th 2006 2:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
The solution could look something like this.
http://www.tell-it.ch/catalog/images/X-4%20Ultrabase.jpg

]]>Jul 30th 2006 9:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
ATI: Make it, people will buy it.

James]]>Jul 31st 2006 3:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 31st 2006 9:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/
Now how about a laptop that could make use of standard Desktop video card?

Yes, it would sport some crappy on-board unit...but with a flick of a switch (after a power down...),and your playing in the big leagues.

Not portable...but Do-able.

Now you could do all the hardcore stuff...Games, Video, Por...ART Images!...and so on.

Anyway you look at it though...you WILL have to BUY a NEW Laptop. There is no quick, easy, $50 upgrade that will allow you to avoid this.

Me: "So...How can I make this car faster? Is there an Upgrade kit or something?"

Machanic: "Get a faster car." ]]>Jul 31st 2006 10:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/ati-to-release-power-hungry-external-video-card/Jul 31st 2006 9:31PM