AMD XConnect External GPU technology launched

[HEXUS]

AMD's Thunderbolt based eGFX experience is said to simply work "like it should".

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[Nifl]

Nice! Now my smartphone can finally run Crysis! If it had Thunderbolt 3... and Windows 10... and a BIOS with external GPU support :/

[lumireleon]

Nice! Now my smartphone can finally run Crysis! If it had Thunderbolt 3... and Windows 10... and a BIOS with external GPU support :/

that a serious expensive approach and not forgetting the snapdragon/etc will overheat to the extent of shut-downs which gives the question of the game support for such custom hardware, is crysis optimized for ARM architectures? NO, maybe in the future.

[Plasmastorm]

I have 2 laptops, boohoo woe is me.

/facepalm

[lumireleon]

[QUOTE=lumireleon;866177]

by the way very few mobile devices come with Thunderbolt reason being its expensive due to the complex nature of PCie lanes which also makes them power hungry so at the end for now is tablet sized mobile devices.

[Ttaskmaster]

So... how is having an external GPU particularly beneficial to me?

[Michael H]

Now all we need is for Nvidia to update their drivers in a similar way to support external GPU's, and these external docks would have a real shot of taking off if they were truly GPU agnostic.

I've read that the performance hit on a high-end GPU is estimated to be around 10% compared to using the card internally on a x16 PCI-E 3.0, but that would decrease as software is optimised around the constraints, which is not too bad considering the benefits offered.

I wonder if AMD will start pushing for Alpine Ridge controllers on their PCI-E 3.0 equipped mobile platforms to provide TB3 and USB 3.1, rather than being limited to supporting Intel-equipped systems.

[fmq203]

Do you have a laptop with a GPU? You can get a better one this way
Do you have a laptop without a GPU? You can get one this way
Do you want a stylish small laptop that can also play games? You can have one now

[Ttaskmaster]

Do you have a laptop with a GPU? You can get a better one this way
Do you have a laptop without a GPU? You can get one this way
Do you want a stylish small laptop that can also play games? You can have one now

Oh, right...
I was wondering what need my massive desktop would have for even more desk space being taken up!!

[Plasmastorm]

Its for the folks that complain about gaming laptops being too heavy.
Now they can buy a lighter one and have a different heavy things to carry \o/

[keithwalton]

It seems like i'm not the only one struggling to work out a use for this device.
It might make sense in a few years as a way of giving older devices a graphics boost when docked. But the use of thunderbolt limits it macbook's which it doesn't support yet ...

[Worms]

Why would i want this, i mean if i want something small, i can't take such a huge pc case with me...

[Michael H]

It seems like i'm not the only one struggling to work out a use for this device.
It might make sense in a few years as a way of giving older devices a graphics boost when docked. But the use of thunderbolt limits it macbook's which it doesn't support yet ...

Did you miss the Razer laptop shown in the article, or Dell's XPS range or any number of premium Skylake laptops that have launched recently with more due shortly.

Incorporating thunderbolt 3 carries a premium, so it's not going to be on the low end systems at this time, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't become ubiquitous on ultrabooks as a universal charging/docking/io port - with only higher power DTR's that require more than 100w having to supplement and the race to the bottom 'value' laptops staying away.

If AMD start pushing for Thunderbolt to be incorporated on their laptops all the better. Perhaps there is some co-marketing cash Intel could put forward in the manner of Centrino and Ultrabooks that could make take up grow faster.

[MiSJAH]

Ultrabook + eGPU = win.

[crossy]

It's interesting to me to see that everyone - so far at least - is assuming that this is a laptop only development. How about being able to give a small form factor a boost for gaming only when needed? Especially if that was a SteamOS box! <grin>

All that's needed is for Thunderbolt ports to become more widely available. For example, if you're running certain of the current Asus Sabertooth motherboards then all that's needed is the Thunderbolt backplate, because the header is already there.

[quantasm]

I would prefer a cross platform solution but we might see that with more competition.