Nvidia: External Laptop GPUs Are "Big Opportunity"

Nvidia general manager said that external GPUs are a big opportunity for the graphics company, even though it doesn't offer a supporting line of products (yet).

"I think it is a big opportunity," said Rene Haas, general manager of the notebook GPU business at Nvidia, in a brief interview with X-bit labs. "We have two strategies at Nvidia: one is to put graphics everywhere, the other one is to [find more ways to] integrate discrete chips into the box. I think there is definitely a place for [external graphics cards for notebooks], no question. We continue to look at whether this is a GPU [docking stations] or external devices."

"I think, the issue that has to be solved for something like that is the right price-point that hits the right segment. There is definitely a lot of interest in it and [this is] something we are keeping our eye on to be able to offer something there," said Mr. Haas.

At the Taipei Game Show, Gigabyte showed off its M1405 with external GeForce GT220 (see pictures and video here). It won't be the last of its kind, if Nvidia has any say in it.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
  • astrodudepsu
    Nothing says portability like another thing to haul around in a laptop case! Especially something that eats battery life. Go nvidia, way to blaze a trail.
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    That's all good nVidia... WHERE IS ME Fermi!!????!?!?
    Reply
  • mhughes81
    astrodudepsuNothing says portability like another thing to haul around in a laptop case! Especially something that eats battery life. Go nvidia, way to blaze a trail.
    Don't forget the external LCD to go with it. I highly doubt the external GPU will hook into the laptop's LCD. They should stick to making mobile versions of their GPU's for laptops. Turning a laptop into a portable desktop is not the answer.
    Reply
  • icemunk
    Is it just me or is Nvidia all talk, very little results these days
    Reply
  • JohnnyLucky
    GEEZ! How many external devices do we really need? Computer desk are already cluttered with entirely too much stuff.
    Reply
  • tgiguere
    anyway there isn't really anything new with the idea, look at the fujutsu-siemens amilo graphicbooster, an external radeon hd3870 if i'm not mistaken
    Reply
  • brett1042002
    Where is Fermi...
    Reply
  • PieceMaker42
    It make sense for those with laptops that have setup at home where they can leave their external devices like monitors/speakers/hard drives/GPU and take the laptop on the go after unplugging the stuff. But I can see why it would be WAY cheaper in most cases to just own a netbook for internet access and quick little things and a desktop for entertainment and high power computing needs. I do not see people lugging an external GPU around with them to use.
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    icemunkIs it just me or is Nvidia all talk, very little results these days
    Sure they do? They bring quality cards like the 8800GT, 9800GTX, GTS250... wait there all the same cards... Good point!
    Reply
  • doomtomb
    mhughes81Don't forget the external LCD to go with it. I highly doubt the external GPU will hook into the laptop's LCD. They should stick to making mobile versions of their GPU's for laptops. Turning a laptop into a portable desktop is not the answer.Wow, so quick to disregard this as gimmicky? As a college student having both a desktop and a laptop, this product would really interest me.

    The external GPU isn't meant to be powered off your laptop's battery folks. The idea is to replace your desktop with a fairly portable laptop with an external GPU and LCD for you to dock with on your desk. When you are on the go, leave that stuff and save your battery life. But when you want to come back and play a few games, you can. I hate having my desktop at school, it takes up way too much room. Cosmos S, 26" LCD, G15 keyboard. I have no desk space.
    Reply