http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/ Engadget Comments for AMD's ATI XGP external laptop graphics platform goes legit http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/This could have worked for both, but I doubt it is the same performance.]]>Jun 4th 2008 11:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Add to that the fact that I played Crysis at around 30 FPS. I'm happy with it and don't think Black Friday would offer any better deal.
I don't think the mobile one would be as fast, considering it is using USB. Plus it would probably cost north of $200]]>Jun 4th 2008 11:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
Read the story again. It does not use USB for the graphics data. It uses a "proprietary 4.0Gbps PCIe 2.0 connector."

It just happens that the device supports USB ports.]]>Jun 4th 2008 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
Kinda like if you buy an EEE 900 when the 901 is just around the corner.]]>Jun 4th 2008 11:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 12:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/special/products/rgseries/rg_200dl.php]]>Jun 4th 2008 11:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 12:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
But thanks for playing. ]]>Jun 4th 2008 3:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Maybe Matrox does have one for laptops, but again, it "isn't for gaming 3d acceleration".

But thanks for playing.]]>Jun 4th 2008 10:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Many-headed Macbook Pro FTW!]]>Jun 4th 2008 11:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCIE#External_PCIe_Video_Cards]]>Jun 4th 2008 12:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCIE#External_PCI_Express

The press release says the cable also permits USB, but you don't need a special cable for that; you can just put a USB chipset in the external box.]]>Jun 4th 2008 12:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 12:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 2:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
It's not USB, it's a PCIe connector, same as your regular computer video card: "a proprietary 4.0Gbps PCIe 2.0 connector." Instead of the card being inside the PC it's just connected to some cables so it's external.

@Chad

No Chad, that's not the same. That's closer to a KVM for splitting a keyboard, mouse and video signal, but unlike a traditional KVM that degrades the video signal by splitting it the Matrox box has a simple 2D video chip so the video quality is better. More proof it's KVM: "Remote keyboard, mouse and audio support"]]>Jun 4th 2008 6:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
Why can't people see the obvious benefits of this. It's not for retrofitting your current laptops, but it's an added feature of new laptops going forward. Think about it, you can get your 12 inch light weight with an integrated GPU like the 780G chipset for vista aero and light gaming and great battery life. Then when you want to play COD4, you simply plug your graphics card in and there you go. Having this flexibility is great.]]>Jun 4th 2008 7:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 12:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
They need to make this thing work with the lower tier series so that i can save some cash and space, i thought the idea was that i can take a 12.1 incher, hook it up to this thing and a monitor and play high quality games... i wont be purchasing until i can do that.]]>Jun 4th 2008 12:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 12:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
On the other hand it's 4 Gbit/s as Engadget reports it's more or less worthless since even a lowend card such as ATI Radeon 2400 HD would be bandwidth starved.]]>Jun 4th 2008 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 8:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
is the "proprietary 4.0Gbps PCIe 2.0 connector" a PCMCIA/Express card?

Please, someone confirm this with a definitive answer.]]>Jun 4th 2008 8:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 10:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
I think the new tech that allows you to switch between a low-power integrated graphics chip along and a high-powered discrete mobile GPU in the same laptop is even better than this! You get both awesome battery life and great graphics performance when you need it. The only disadvantage compared to the above solution is that the discrete GPU takes up room in the laptop, so you wouldn't be able to use that in a small ultraportable.]]>Jun 4th 2008 10:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 4th 2008 11:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Jun 8th 2008 11:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/Plus I'm tired of waiting I mean the XG Station was meant to be released Q3 2007 and we're about to enter Q3 08. I'm not believing anyone until I see one of these on a shelf.]]>Jun 30th 2008 10:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/amds-ati-xgp-external-laptop-graphics-platform-goes-legit/
There seems to be confusion about a few things thou, heres what I reckon:
ATI have done the smart thing here......they have realised that all the current standard cable connections (USB, Firewire etc) and card slots (Express etc) simply dont have the bandwidth to handle a decent full size PCI video card, so they have invented their own (to quote "proprietary 4.0Gbps PCIe 2.0 connector").
Yes, thats a probem for current model notebooks because they dont come with one, and I can imagine getting their new type of connection as a standard component on notebooks is proberly the thing which is holding them up. But I am guessing that AMD themselves or someone else will make a hybrid connector that will allow you to hook it up in a standard slot/connection.
This WILL limit the bandwidth available and once you reach a certin point, it wont matter how fast the GPU in the XGP is, it'll only work as good as the bandwidth allows.
Now this isnt as bad as it seems, because you will still get an improvement over the standard on board graphics (specially if you have a middle to low range notebook), just how much is yet to be seen.
ASUS have a system thats available now and use's a standard notebook slot to connect it. It works, it improves things greatly, but its limited to the bandwidth on the cables connecting it to the notebook.

Cheers Gump!]]>Jul 26th 2008 7:19AM