Alienware to launch external graphics adapter for laptops

[Crisp]

Alienware to launch external graphics adapter for laptops

 

You can get some pretty decent gaming laptops these days but they?ll never be able to quite compete with a fully fledged desktop system, which is why Alienware has decided to launch a new desktop graphics card adapter for those who choose to game on a desktop replacement laptop.

This isn?t the first time we?ve seen an external graphics adapter for laptops but they are usually only seen at trade shows as prototype models rather can consumer products. The ?Graphics Amplifier? from Alienware will cost $300, it?s essentially a large cage for your desktop GPU. The amplifier hooks up to the Alienware 13, the company?s latest laptop to release. Users will have to buy a desktop GPU separately, making this a pretty expensive upgrade for most.

 

 

 

The amplifier is designed to only support two slot GPUs, although height and length won?t be a problem when it comes to AMD or Nvidia?s latest solutions. With the amplifier, you?ll be able to connect a few external displays as well, just in-case that one 13 inch laptop screen isn?t enough for you.

The Alienware 13 starts at $1000 and comes with a 720p screen, although you can step up to 1080p or 1440p models. If you were planning on doing this graphics upgrade your best bet would probably be sticking to the base model and picking up a nice external 1080p monitor to hook up to your graphics amplifier.

While the Alienware 13 is the only supported laptop for now, future models will be supported eventually. The GPU enclosure comes with its own power supply, so you?ll have another power lead to plug in to the wall, not much is known about the cooling inside but there seems to be plenty of ventilation for non-blower style coolers.

 

Source

[Sikh]

Im interested to see this custom PCI-E cable and how windows is going to like this thing.

If done right, hot plugging won't be an issue, but many times I've seen hot plugging in windows fail because of drivers.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/193000-the-alienware-graphics-amplifier-finally-desktop-quality-graphics-on-your-laptop

 

 

WHY DO COMPANIES NEED TO MAKE EVEN MORE PROPRIETARY CABLES. Not only that, but the cable / connector looks stupid and obnoxious. At this rate they could of used the new USB standard or Thunderbolt. I would've rather had thunderbolt then this stupid pci-e custom dell pos cable

[TPreston]

1. 5400RPM HDD ???
2. I5 on a premium model ???
3. 8GB of ram ???
4. Previous Gen GPU ???

This is appalling.

 

To each his own but I can only laugh at the gpu addon when you could just get a desktop.

[Mr. Gibs]

5400RPM HDD ???

You can upgrade the hardrive but I agree, it should have been 7200rpm standard.

 

I5 on a premium model ???

Fair enough they could have put in an i7 but lets be brutally honest here. The vast majority of people, including gamers, don't need an i7. Games haven't been CPU bound for a decade now so an i3 gives you pretty much the same performance as an i7 in gaming. The only exception is when you have SLI systems.

 

8GB of ram ???

Same thing as above. I have 16gb and I've yet to see usage (minus cached apps) go above 5gb, let alone 8. But yes, the difference in 8gb and 16gb ram is so negligible that they could have gone with the higher.

 

Previous Gen GPU ???

There is no 960M. So the 860M is the current generation for that series until nvidia pushes it out. That and most laptops aren't upgraded as fast as desktop chips are. Alienware refreshes their line once a year, for example, and the 13 series is due for a refresh shortly.

 

To each his own but I can only laugh at the gpu addon when you could just get a desktop.

Most people buy gaming laptops because they want the portability. I have one because I'd much rather sit on the couch, watch tv and play games instead of at a desk. Then you have people who travel for their work, a gaming laptop allows them to game even when they aren't at home.

Sure I could have got a more powerful desktop for cheaper but:

1. My current laptops plays all the games that I have on high -> max at 1920x1080 and doesn't get hot. Not really missing out on that front.

2. I prefer having the portability over the power.

[Denis W. Veteran]

Im interested to see this custom PCI-E cable and how windows is going to like this thing.

If done right, hot plugging won't be an issue, but many times I've seen hot plugging in windows fail because of drivers.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/193000-the-alienware-graphics-amplifier-finally-desktop-quality-graphics-on-your-laptop

 

 

WHY DO COMPANIES NEED TO MAKE EVEN MORE PROPRIETARY CABLES. Not only that, but the cable / connector looks stupid and obnoxious. At this rate they could of used the new USB standard or Thunderbolt. I would've rather had thunderbolt then this stupid pci-e custom dell pos cable

The proprietary connector may be concerning if this requires custom drivers. Hybrid graphics prior to Optimus needed them since you had to flip a hardware switch to electrically redirect the input signal from the integrated to discrete GPU. This sounds like a similar approach which may require custom drivers for the propietary connector. If so, I'm extremely skeptical this will last long given Dell's crap track record with drivers. (had m11x R2)

That being said, Thunderbolt nets you about 2.5 GB of bandwidth whereas you can get 15.75 GB with 16x. Probably explains why they went with the custom route.

Though it's about time someone finally got this out into the mass market, after years of similar solutions that went nowhere due to problems with getting enough bandwidth from laptop to external enclosure.

[Sikh]

The proprietary connector may be concerning if this requires custom drivers. Hybrid graphics prior to Optimus needed them since you had to flip a hardware switch to electrically redirect the input signal from the integrated to discrete GPU. This sounds like a similar approach which may require custom drivers for the propietary connector. If so, I'm extremely skeptical this will last long given Dell's crap track record with drivers. (had m11x R2)

That being said, Thunderbolt nets you about 2.5 GB of bandwidth whereas you can get 15.75 GB with 16x. Probably explains why they went with the custom route.

Though it's about time someone finally got this out into the mass market, after years of similar solutions that went nowhere due to problems with getting enough bandwidth from laptop to external enclosure.

I understand the bandwidth problems but thunderbolt is about to 20Gb (bits) and I'm sure someone can make it work. I've seen thunderbolt push a lot of data and I think it's possible to streamline the gpu data straight to the computer via thunderbolt. I also think that with the lower latency and faster delivery (like fibre) that the bandwidth might not be as much as a problem if done right on the lower level.

I just feel a standard like thunderbolt that's made to be hot plug capable and has proven itself is better then trust sell to make something of quality. Their consumer hardware sucks. Their drivers suck regardless.

I think of Intel and it's partners worked together we could see a instant expansion of thunderbolt on windows.