backtop

Hardware ASUS Unveils External Graphics Card
Tim Thorpe (Blog) - January 7, 2007 2:12 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 93 comment(s) - last by Vertigo101.. on Jan 10 at 10:01 AM

The ASUS XG Station is connected via a dongle to the notebook ExpressCard interface
ASUS introduces the world's first external graphics card for notebook users

ASUS today introduced a dedicated external graphics card for laptops -- the XG Station. The XG Station is an external graphics card that allows laptop users to enjoy high end graphics performance while plugged in. As the XG Station is an external graphics it can be unplugged when portability is needed.

The XG Station connects to any notebook’s ExpressCard slot and provides a PCI Express x16 slot for graphics cards. Since ASUS has opted to equip the XG Station with a standard PCI Express x16 slot, the station can be equipped with any PCI Express based graphics card: AMD, NVIDIA or even Matrox. ASUS launched the default XG Station with an NVIDIA 7900GS powered graphics card.

The XG Station is powered externally.  A separate power brick plugs directly into the adaptor.

An integrated LCD display and control also grace the XG Station. The display is customizable and can display information such as frame rate, fan speed, GPU temperature and more while the control knob can change various settings of the XG Station such as the core and memory clocks.

Expect ASUS to release the XG Station in Q2'07 this year. Pricing of the XG Station is unknown at the moment.

The XG Station adaptor only interfaces with ExpressCard interfaces at the moment, but will work with with PCIe ExpressCard interfaces installed in a desktop PC.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
WOW
By Vokus on 1/7/2007 3:48:25 AM , Rating: 2
WOW! If this is really effective and works, then this would be an a very good solution for laptop gamer's. I have a brand new laptop, and it has a nice processor and ram but lacks graphic power, this would really help me out!





RE: WOW
By kokal on 1/7/2007 5:06:42 AM , Rating: 2
I agree it's a step forward but have you people seen that it does require external monitor as shown in the picture - the laptop display is turned off and the image is on the Asus TFT. Also we have no idea of the price tag and when you add the extra monitor cost and realise that laptops get quite hot when gaming above 2-3 hours on external power you may find that a slower laptop + Gaming PC would be more efficient - Laptops still cost quite more than Desktop PCs with same specs. A slower laptop would still be sufficient enough for media/documents as I find that use most appropriate. I think that the price will not be around 30-40$ more like 100+ and it will be oriented at laptop enthusiasts. Still its a great idea so - hats off


RE: WOW
By dubldwn on 1/7/2007 5:12:51 AM , Rating: 2
I guess it's not that big of a deal to have to bring along a monitor with your notebook. Well, other than the fact that that would be completely retarded.


RE: WOW
By The Sword 88 on 1/7/2007 9:30:48 AM , Rating: 5
That is not the idea.

The idea ia I go to class with my laptop and it is nice a nd light with good RAM and a ggood processor then I get home and plug it into my external thing, my big hi res monitor, my mouse my full sized keboard,my speakers, and my graphics thingy and it is now a gaming rig.

Then I unplug that stuff the next morning for school or work or whatever


RE: WOW
By poohbear on 1/7/07, Rating: 0
RE: WOW
By iNGEN on 1/7/2007 1:07:49 PM , Rating: 4
No. It doesn't.


RE: WOW
By EglsFly on 1/7/2007 1:52:28 PM , Rating: 2
Either way, anytime someone comes up with an option to give you a choice or flexibility, thats always a good thing.


RE: WOW
By S3anister on 1/8/07, Rating: -1
RE: WOW
By MightyAA on 1/8/2007 11:08:00 AM , Rating: 2
No, exactly the opposite. You'd get this with a portable laptop. I have a desktop replacement with a 7950GTX thank you very much (5800+ 3DMark06). The problem with laptop users is that to get the good cards like I have, you are forced to a 17" screen: you lose portability and battery time.
But you can get good cpu's and ram with a 14"-15" laptop. Unfortunately, you'll probably only get onboard or a 7600GT gpu.. This solves that by allowing you to get a fast portable laptop for lugging around, and when you get home, plug it in and play the latest games on a real monitor with a real gpu.

My concern would be whether that express card bottlenecks the data, and whether the laptop would accept that box taking over as the primary gpu (I can't even get mine to default to an external monitor, nor can I get drivers from NVidia directly)..


RE: WOW
By FITCamaro on 1/7/2007 10:06:46 AM , Rating: 2
He's absolutely right. Many laptops today would be perfectly suited for games given the right graphics chip. They often throw a bunch of RAM and a great processor into one but skimp on the graphics. With this you can have your portable, light laptop thats great on battery life during the day and then when you get home, you plug it in (as many people do) to an external monitor along with keyboard and mouse + this new external GPU and enjoy gaming. At my office those with laptops don't have desktop PCs often times. They plug their laptop into a docking station thats connected to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Personally I think its an awesome idea. I do wish though that there was some way to make it work with the laptops LCD screen. Because if it could, it'd be a great way to be able to upgrade your laptops graphics. My laptop still has a pretty decent processor for gaming and a good amount of RAM, but its 128MB 9600 Pro is a bit dated.


RE: WOW
By borowki on 1/7/2007 11:34:51 AM , Rating: 3
That doesn't make sense at all. Just think about it. You are basically investing high-end technology into the laptop only to leave it crippled half the time. The high-capacity hard-drive that you pay dearly for will be filled largely with programs (i.e. games) that you can't use while on the road. The fast CPU will be idling most of the time. The high-end audio solution will be outputting to earplugs or tinny speakers.

Kokal is right: You get more bang for the buck by having a mid-range laptop and a high-end desktop. The price premium of a high-end laptop almost certainly would exceed the cost of a separate CPU, RAM, sound card, Windows license, and disc drive.


RE: WOW
By iNGEN on 1/7/2007 1:08:57 PM , Rating: 2
You miss the point.


RE: WOW
By One43637 on 1/7/2007 4:33:50 PM , Rating: 2
quote:

by FITCamaro on January 7, 2007 at 10:06 AM

He's absolutely right. Many laptops today would be perfectly suited for games given the right graphics chip. They often throw a bunch of RAM and a great processor into one but skimp on the graphics. With this you can have your portable, light laptop thats great on battery life during the day and then when you get home, you plug it in (as many people do) to an external monitor along with keyboard and mouse + this new external GPU and enjoy gaming. At my office those with laptops don't have desktop PCs often times. They plug their laptop into a docking station thats connected to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Personally I think its an awesome idea. I do wish though that there was some way to make it work with the laptops LCD screen. Because if it could, it'd be a great way to be able to upgrade your laptops graphics. My laptop still has a pretty decent processor for gaming and a good amount of RAM, but its 128MB 9600 Pro is a bit dated.


my sentiments exactly. i was looking to build a new desktop because of the performance increase over my current DC Opteron system, but now that this is announced, buying a notebook with a decent CPU and RAM looks even more attractive. :)

i wonder though, if you can use an LCD TV with a DVI hookup as your monitor and attach a USB wireless keyboard and mouse so you can sit on the couch?


RE: WOW
By FITCamaro on 1/7/2007 4:57:59 PM , Rating: 2
I don't see why not.


RE: WOW
By borowki on 1/8/2007 10:26:31 AM , Rating: 2
How about the fact that laptops have slower processor, smaller, slower hard-drive, less room for memory expansion, and crappy built-in sound?


RE: WOW
By dice1111 on 1/8/2007 12:23:10 PM , Rating: 2
Where do you get that from? Haven't you been Laptop shopping in a while? A lot of lappy's out now would kill a midrange PC in all those aspects.


RE: WOW
By borowki on 1/8/2007 1:14:10 PM , Rating: 3
And they set you off a couple grands. There is no question that mobile components are more expensive. A 100+ hard-drive is high-end in laptops, whereas it's under of the line where it comes to desktops.


RE: WOW
By dice1111 on 1/8/2007 4:21:09 PM , Rating: 2
The whole premiss and importace of this article; Power for portability.

I love the power and afforability of a Desktop, but some people can't put a price on portability, like myself. I could never concider a Desktop, and this gives me a graphics upgrade without having to get a new Lappy. Almost makes me feel like my original decision on investing in a laptop (more cpu and ram, less gpu)is more valuable because I have this new option.


RE: WOW
By borowki on 1/8/2007 6:07:16 PM , Rating: 3
If you want portability, then get a gaming laptop that's properly engineered to be used on the road. Or get a machine with MXM support and an MXM card. The XG Station doesn't offer much mobility. First of all, you need to carry around an external display--either a projector or an LCD screen. Second, you a keyboard and a mouse, since you probably want to keep the lid closed so it doesn't obscure the external display. Third, you need the station. Fourth, you need the power block that powers it. You don't see it in the photo, but it's likely to be sizable as video cards draw considerable power.