External Cards for Laptops

cavemanoc

cavemanoc

cavemanoc

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Just stumbled across the Alienware Graphics Amplifier - can't believe it's taken so long for this to become a thing. Are there any others available? Any way to build a generic one that works via thunderbolt (I would love to be able to do this for my Surface Pro 3 - Just imagine being able to add a 970 to it :D)

It always seemed like such a no brainer - we've had docking stations for so long, but never for what laptops really needed - GFX!
 
eGPU solutions are going to slowly trickle out this year but you will need a certified thunderbolt port on your laptop, so you are unfortunately out of luck with the Surface Pro 3 (and indeed the Pro 4). The Alienware Graphics Amp. is a proprietary solution that doesn't use Thunderbolt...You can see a list of new laptops /tablets that have the required certified port here:
https://thunderbolttechnology.net/sites/default/files/ces2016/TBT3_PCs_Announced_CES_2016_Final.pdf

Razer, MSI and Asus are all working on external graphic card docks, watch this space!
 
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I was interested to read Dell's justification for their method - the fact that it uses a proper, dedicated pci-e port, rather than thunderbolt (shared between everything) makes a lot of sense.
 
It's only a 4x connection though so higher end GPU's may suffer bandwidth issues. MSI do one with a full PCi-e 16x connection but it's a 13" and requires the laptop to be sat in a dock.

The Alienware system is a great idea as you can put the amp out the way under a desk. I was meant to be getting one for review but nothing has come of it as yet...
 
Thanks for that - would you mind posting a reminder in here if you do? I'm very tempted by the Alienware and would love to see what it can do - especially if you do push to see where the bandwidth limits are.

Edit: Interestingly the tech spec says full 16x pci-e now... wonder if it's been upgraded?

(1x) PCI-Express x16 (electrical spec: x16)
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MSI are also doing a new dock with a special version of the GS40 (960M) it seems like with the same x16x Gen 3 connector.
 
£250 plus a graphics card seems quite steep though, I mean you could just build a sound PC for not much more. (Minus, monitor and perphirals. But most people wanting this will have them already)
 
Begbie said:
£250 plus a graphics card seems quite steep though, I mean you could just build a sound PC for not much more. (Minus, monitor and perphirals. But most people wanting this will have them already)
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Hard to take a whole PC around the world with you - hence a nice addition that you can use when you get home - or you can use it to boost the system if you want to carry the extra weight, but still want to avoid taking a monitor / PC box etc...

Looking at the current Alienware line, I could grab the lower end machine, the accelerator, and a 2nd hand 970 all for the cost of the high end spec - but this would last me years longer as I can upgrade the GPU over time. Win / Win for my needs.
 
cavemanoc said:
Hard to take a whole PC around the world with you - hence a nice addition that you can use when you get home - or you can use it to boost the system if you want to carry the extra weight, but still want to avoid taking a monitor / PC box etc...

Looking at the current Alienware line, I could grab the lower end machine, the accelerator, and a 2nd hand 970 all for the cost of the high end spec - but this would last me years longer as I can upgrade the GPU over time. Win / Win for my needs.
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Yeh very nearly went with the Alienware when I bought my laptop but I got a decent deal on the Asus G751. I am in the process of turning my main rig into an HTPC so going to make my laptop my main rig. Really hope the Asus version (ROG XG station 2) will work with my laptop
 
Jae-So said:
Yeh very nearly went with the Alienware when I bought my laptop but I got a decent deal on the Asus G751. I am in the process of turning my main rig into an HTPC so going to make my laptop my main rig. Really hope the Asus version (ROG XG station 2) will work with my laptop
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It's USB 3.0 C type or Thunderbolt 3 form what I have been told. G751 has thunderbolt 2 so no idea if it will work. It's confirmed working with G752 series but only at PCi-e 2x due to the single USB 3 type C connector which is going to hurt performance. It uses PCI-E 4x via dual USB 3 C type connectors. It's pretty much a copy of Alienwares but not using a proprietary connection.
 
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Ah right thanks for the clarification. Looks like when games aren't good enough on this then I'll have to grab a new laptop. Couple of years I guess
 
Moogleys - did you ever get this in for review? Just had a quick look/think and I might make the laptop move a bit sooner than later. This alienware external box can be had for about 150 now. A 6700hq with a 980m is about a grand (scratch and dent - like I care)... that's VERY tempting unless I missed something. Basically about the same power as my desktop (ok, minus an overclock) when plugged in and still very decent on the road.
 
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Mercutio said:
Moogleys - did you ever get this in for review? Just had a quick look/think and I might make the laptop move a bit sooner than later. This alienware external box can be had for about 150 now. A 6700hq with a 980m is about a grand (scratch and dent - like I care)... that's VERY tempting unless I missed something. Basically about the same power as my desktop (ok, minus an overclock) when plugged in and still very decent on the road.
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No mate have not had one yet.
 
If I'm reading that correctly, you will be able to run external GFX (ATI/AMD) on any machine that comes with thunderbolt 3 as long as the Bios is updated to match? That will be a massive game changer if it's true. Anyone know what the T3 penetration on the market is like at the moment?
 
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