Gamertell

For gamers on the go there is a bit of a problem. Laptops don’t really allow much in the way of upgrades, especially with the graphics cards. However, ATI announced that it is developing the first external graphics cards for people who dabble heavily with multimedia and graphics.

The ATI XGP will have to be connected to a laptop via PCIe 2.0 port connection and will take a laptop from everyday computing to hardcore gaming capabilities. To start, the options to fill the casing for the external graphics solutions are the higher end ATI Radeon HD 3000s, more specifically the HD 3870s as shown by ATI. It will also be Crossfire-enabled (Crossfire is ATI’s equivalent to the nVidia’s SLI technology). This independent self-cooled graphics solution will increase the power of the GPU dramatically.

It will also offer different options that will increase the output/input abilities of your gaming lapto so you can connect three or more monitors in addition to the standard laptop screen. It will also have inputs allowing laptop users to also connect TV tuners, Blu-ray drives and other such high-definition devices with ease. According to Rob Bushway at GottaBeMobile, one of the companies that will release the box, Fujitsu, will be building the first box starting in August 2008 and will announce more graphics solutions that follow this design at CES 2009.

This is something that will be incredibly useful. First boxes may be out for public buying and would start off roughly the same price as most GPU’s when they are initially released. It is looking like to start off, it would cost around $450-500. However, to ditch being at the mercy a quick descent into the obsolete that $450-500 will be worth the price.

Site [ATI] Read [GottaBeMobile]