Gigabyte's Booktop M1305 was shown as far back as June, but now it seems the stark white ultraportable is nearing its ship date. Nothing about the 13.3-inch rig seems too special at first glance -- after all, a Core 2 Duo, GMA 4500MHD graphics set, 1,366 x 768 panel, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 320GB or 500GB HDD won't set any carpets on fire -- but it's the docking station that makes this one special. When situated in the dock, the M1305 can take full advantage of the discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT220 GPU that's squeezed within, making it entirely more capable of pushing out 3D graphics or HD multimedia to connected displays. We know, docking stations are all but dead outside of the enterprise, but who's kvetching about more power once your portable gets home?
This needs to catch on with other manufacturers. Smarter docks are a great idea. My ThinkPad dock is semi useful with swappable bays and what not, but GFX is fantastic.
This is how all docking station SHOULD BE!!! Not just extra ports that are connected to a printer already. That's only for the lazy and hates to connect things over and over again. It should be useful, like the extra graphics or maybe a small drive and extended memory should be placed in it. I hope this idea can trickle to other companies. At least make a dock where a user might be able to add anything they want in it...like how people do for desktops when they want to upgrade.
It makes sense - If this ever reached a point of having real, decent, upgradeable graphics and storage, I could see using a high power laptop as a real workstation or game machine at home, replacing the desktop all together.
Well, I do like docking stations just because I move my laptop so much, over the long haul it does make a difference not having to constantly replug thins. However you're right that they need to innovate these and add extra features. Extra memory may be problematic (makes the connects too long), but extra hard drive (hot-swappable) is a great idea, and should have other things like a lock, cooling fans, high-gain wifi antenna, maybe Vista Sideshow display, etc.
This is going in the right direction but a GT220 isn't going to do much more than a 9400 - which is in ION and all Apple notebooks anyways at apparently very low power cost. So why not integrate a 9400 instead? I'd say at least a mid-range video card before this becomes useful.
I wish I had this sort of gadget - but make the graphics card upgradeable!! Imagine - a laptop that's a mild-mannered, 13-inch thin-and-light by day, but when he gets home, he turns into - Radeon 5870 gaming desktop!!! :P
meh 9800 220 260 5870 whatever, they will all become old in the future, just make the dock have upgradeable/swappable GPU so that when the NEW ones are out, people can easily upgrade. say for the future 380 495 6890 7990 extreme ftw
while their at it, make it also that it accepts extra 2.5"/3.5" ssd/hdd oh if it aint too much to ask have the dock also run as stand alone NAS DLNA file downloader/server hehehe.
"docking stations are all but dead outside of the enterprise"
Really? I wish there was a semi-affordable docking station for my Macbook (it's currently in a homemade vertical stand) to the point that I'm just going to use a combo of a milling machine and a laser cutter (going to school for engineering ftw) to make a combo monitor stand/laptop dock/keyboard tuckaway thing.
I am a very lazy person. The fact that I will go to that much trouble to save myself the inconvenience of plugging in a ton of cords daily says something...
Or I could plunk down my notebook and go to my living room. Bigger screen, higher resolution, surround sound, but no KB/M. I still say living room wins.
IBM already did this. Its called the IBM Advanced Dock. It comes with a full 16x PCI-e Slot, Card Reader (Small thinkpad), extra hard drive space, and a place for a Multibay Drive. Its really awesome, as I'm using it right now with my Thinkpad T61. Problem is, they cost an arm and a leg, and are much larger then port replicators. (Most docks are just "Port Replicators") However, it is an AWESOME feature, and should be found on more books' then just enterprise level stuff. Just my two cents. BTW, the PCI-e slot can handle any short GPU, and have 4 displays running at once.
From what I found online: Only 1x speed, but 16x graphics cards will work. Speeds of the interface will be between PCI and AGP bus speeds standard length - i.e. about an inch longer than the connector. Only thin cards will fit. Many performance video cards with heat sink/fans are too thick.
Validated Cards: Visiontek Radeon X1300 PCIE 256MB Mfr #: 900237 (Heat sink that comes on unit is too long, you will need to change it to fit)
So it's not actually all that great. A step in the right direction, but they didn't go all the way. Adding a GT220 may not be all that much, but it is definitely better than nothing, and it helps to split the cost. If you don't want the additional graphics, then just get the laptop without it. If you want the extra graphics, then you buy the dock.
If it's just going to be a GT220, then there isn't much point. You have to use an external monitor, and the GT220 isn't very powerful. In fact it's just a bit better than the 9400, the chip used in ION netbooks and the Apple MBP and MBA. An integrated 9400 wouldn't take up that much more power and you could actually use it with the laptop's monitor.
The Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Sa 3650 was the one that did this right. The external dock had a 3870, not great but a significant boost and IIRC after the update the internal monitor can be used.
I would like to point out that (according to the article) the GPU is the Nvidia Geforce GT 220, not the Nvidia Geforce GT 220M. Its the desktop graphics card, not the moblie one. this puts it significantly faster than the 9400m GT that is in the notebooks you mention (approximatly 50% faster depending on the benchmarking software used) also it has dedicated memory as opposed to the integrated 9400/ion
the trade off is performance for the huge docking station... is that what you want? if performance matters this seems like a viable alternative :)
Well, that clearly is the right way to go. I want a nice GPU in the slot, and a optical disk drive. The question remains, can U use the GPU acceleration on the main screen or only on external screens? M.
interesting idea for all the people who do not want to have whole gaming rig at home but still play time to time their action classics like crysis and so forth...and to be honest docking stations are very handy if you only use a notebook with a large screen since you don't have to plug in and out all your accessories...but it's just my opinion
I love the idea, but please make it at least a GTX 275. If they really put in a GT220 (non-mobile) in there that should be possible too, though they would need a better power supply and a (bigger) fan to keep it cool. But why not? I'd love to have an ultra-portable that I can use for gaming/serious work when at home. Maybe use a non ulv C2D, and underclock/undervolt it when on the go. The only thing they would have to take care of would be the cooling and the power supply, so I think that's doable (make the CPU only go full speed when sitting on the dock, which has a stronger PSU, raises the notebook a few inches above the ground and maybe adds a fan to cool the bottom of the notebook/force feed air into the laptop with a 8-12cm fan, thus increasing the cooling performance).
If Gigabyte releases a laptop which has the software to support docks like this, then hopefully it won't be too long until third party companies built docks with better graphics cards for the same laptop.
Finally someone did it! I've been dreaming of external PCI (well in those days ISA) slots since my first 386 PC... This is a step in the right direction :)
This is a quite an interesting idea. The best of both worlds in a way. Because I imagine most serious 3D gaming is done at home and now you don't have to carry that extra performance when you leave home.
actually, other companies have done this before. however, in the long run it makes more sense to have a small desktop pc + a laptop (with optional synergy software) instead of proprietary connectors that run out of support and leave you looking at a very clumsy paperweight.
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posted Nov 6th 2009 2:56AM
umm...yay?
This needs to catch on with other manufacturers. Smarter docks are a great idea. My ThinkPad dock is semi useful with swappable bays and what not, but GFX is fantastic.
Time to move the GPU out of the gaming desktop also, give me back my slots. E-PCIE?
This is how all docking station SHOULD BE!!! Not just extra ports that are connected to a printer already. That's only for the lazy and hates to connect things over and over again. It should be useful, like the extra graphics or maybe a small drive and extended memory should be placed in it. I hope this idea can trickle to other companies. At least make a dock where a user might be able to add anything they want in it...like how people do for desktops when they want to upgrade.
It makes sense - If this ever reached a point of having real, decent, upgradeable graphics and storage, I could see using a high power laptop as a real workstation or game machine at home, replacing the desktop all together.
Well, I do like docking stations just because I move my laptop so much, over the long haul it does make a difference not having to constantly replug thins. However you're right that they need to innovate these and add extra features. Extra memory may be problematic (makes the connects too long), but extra hard drive (hot-swappable) is a great idea, and should have other things like a lock, cooling fans, high-gain wifi antenna, maybe Vista Sideshow display, etc.
This is going in the right direction but a GT220 isn't going to do much more than a 9400 - which is in ION and all Apple notebooks anyways at apparently very low power cost. So why not integrate a 9400 instead? I'd say at least a mid-range video card before this becomes useful.
I wish I had this sort of gadget - but make the graphics card upgradeable!! Imagine - a laptop that's a mild-mannered, 13-inch thin-and-light by day, but when he gets home, he turns into - Radeon 5870 gaming desktop!!! :P
This is the kind of shit I been waiting for! Good Job!
@Ypoknons
GT220 has a better performance 3DMark 05 than 9600.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-220M.20054.0.html
Then again, you can get an 13" LG Taria that has a dedicated GT 9600 full time.
so what you want is a desktop in which you can stick your laptop?
They could also have built-in hdd for auto-backup.
Please try hard sony!
Asus too!
I thought that was a big-ass battery
HUGE dock for only GT220? not GTS 260M?
You mean GTX 260M?
You mean ATI 5870?
(ohcrapiwentthere)
Yes! ATI Radeon > NVidia GeForce.
I vote ATI as well.
meh 9800 220 260 5870 whatever, they will all become old in the future, just make the dock have upgradeable/swappable GPU so that when the NEW ones are out, people can easily upgrade. say for the future 380 495 6890 7990 extreme ftw
while their at it, make it also that it accepts extra 2.5"/3.5" ssd/hdd
oh if it aint too much to ask have the dock also run as stand alone NAS DLNA file downloader/server hehehe.
"docking stations are all but dead outside of the enterprise"
Really? I wish there was a semi-affordable docking station for my Macbook (it's currently in a homemade vertical stand) to the point that I'm just going to use a combo of a milling machine and a laser cutter (going to school for engineering ftw) to make a combo monitor stand/laptop dock/keyboard tuckaway thing.
I am a very lazy person. The fact that I will go to that much trouble to save myself the inconvenience of plugging in a ton of cords daily says something...
I appreciate your commitment to laziness. and engineering skills.
"I appreciate your commitment to laziness. and engineering skills."
Aren't those in direct conflict with each other?
One of the main points of good engineering is to make things easier down the road. Laziness goes hand in hand with that.
As my physics Eng prof said, "Engineering is applied lazyness"
i want this! then when i get home, time to plop that laptop in its dock and bust out some call of duty
Or I could plunk down my notebook and go to my living room. Bigger screen, higher resolution, surround sound, but no KB/M. I still say living room wins.
IBM already did this. Its called the IBM Advanced Dock. It comes with a full 16x PCI-e Slot, Card Reader (Small thinkpad), extra hard drive space, and a place for a Multibay Drive. Its really awesome, as I'm using it right now with my Thinkpad T61. Problem is, they cost an arm and a leg, and are much larger then port replicators. (Most docks are just "Port Replicators") However, it is an AWESOME feature, and should be found on more books' then just enterprise level stuff. Just my two cents. BTW, the PCI-e slot can handle any short GPU, and have 4 displays running at once.
From what I found online: Only 1x speed, but 16x graphics cards will work. Speeds of the interface will be between PCI and AGP bus speeds standard length - i.e. about an inch longer than the connector. Only thin cards will fit. Many performance video cards with heat sink/fans are too thick.
Validated Cards:
Visiontek Radeon X1300 PCIE 256MB Mfr #: 900237 (Heat sink that comes on unit is too long, you will need to change it to fit)
So it's not actually all that great. A step in the right direction, but they didn't go all the way. Adding a GT220 may not be all that much, but it is definitely better than nothing, and it helps to split the cost. If you don't want the additional graphics, then just get the laptop without it. If you want the extra graphics, then you buy the dock.
If it's just going to be a GT220, then there isn't much point. You have to use an external monitor, and the GT220 isn't very powerful. In fact it's just a bit better than the 9400, the chip used in ION netbooks and the Apple MBP and MBA. An integrated 9400 wouldn't take up that much more power and you could actually use it with the laptop's monitor.
The Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Sa 3650 was the one that did this right. The external dock had a 3870, not great but a significant boost and IIRC after the update the internal monitor can be used.
I would like to point out that (according to the article) the GPU is the Nvidia Geforce GT 220, not the Nvidia Geforce GT 220M. Its the desktop graphics card, not the moblie one. this puts it significantly faster than the 9400m GT that is in the notebooks you mention (approximatly 50% faster depending on the benchmarking software used) also it has dedicated memory as opposed to the integrated 9400/ion
the trade off is performance for the huge docking station... is that what you want? if performance matters this seems like a viable alternative :)
Don't talk if you don't know the facts. The 220M is on par with 9600M GS.
call me when they cram a nvidia 295 in that fat boy
Well, that clearly is the right way to go. I want a nice GPU in the slot, and a optical disk drive.
The question remains, can U use the GPU acceleration on the main screen or only on external screens?
M.
GT220? Weak sauce.
Welcome PowerBook Duo Dock 1992...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerBook_Duo#Duo_Dock
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_duo/stats/mac_powerbook_duodock.html
http://www.kevinomura.com/powerbooks/duodock/index.html
interesting idea for all the people who do not want to have whole gaming rig at home but still play time to time their action classics like crysis and so forth...and to be honest docking stations are very handy if you only use a notebook with a large screen since you don't have to plug in and out all your accessories...but it's just my opinion
I love the idea, but please make it at least a GTX 275. If they really put in a GT220 (non-mobile) in there that should be possible too, though they would need a better power supply and a (bigger) fan to keep it cool. But why not? I'd love to have an ultra-portable that I can use for gaming/serious work when at home. Maybe use a non ulv C2D, and underclock/undervolt it when on the go. The only thing they would have to take care of would be the cooling and the power supply, so I think that's doable (make the CPU only go full speed when sitting on the dock, which has a stronger PSU, raises the notebook a few inches above the ground and maybe adds a fan to cool the bottom of the notebook/force feed air into the laptop with a 8-12cm fan, thus increasing the cooling performance).
If Gigabyte releases a laptop which has the software to support docks like this, then hopefully it won't be too long until third party companies built docks with better graphics cards for the same laptop.
That's quite an interesting poster.
The optional battery in the optical drive slot is a great idea.
thats not really new, you used to be able to do it in older thinkpads i think it was called ultra bay or something
it looks sweet
but i would prefer a 4870
Finally someone did it! I've been dreaming of external PCI (well in those days ISA) slots since my first 386 PC... This is a step in the right direction :)
This is a quite an interesting idea. The best of both worlds in a way. Because I imagine most serious 3D gaming is done at home and now you don't have to carry that extra performance when you leave home.
WHY HASNT ANYONE THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
actually, other companies have done this before.
however, in the long run it makes more sense to have a small desktop pc + a laptop (with optional synergy software) instead of proprietary connectors that run out of support and leave you looking at a very clumsy paperweight.