Asus XG Station external GPU, it works
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 9th 2007 at 9:25AM }
Engadget scored a CES hands-on look at the Asus XG Station, an external GPU capable of converting your aging laptop into a capable gaming rig. The demo featured two identical laptops with internal Intel GMA 945 processors. Asus reps attached the XG Station to one and left the other bare -- and struggling. The test seemed to prove that the XG Station, which also simulates 5.1 surround sound, is an adequate option for underpowered-laptop owners who enjoy the occasional peek at what's good in PC gaming.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonathan @ Jan 9th 2007 10:28AM
Hey cool I wonder if I could use this on my MacBook with Bootcamp and XP.. don't see any reason why I couldn't. It might boost up my graphics in WoW..
Fred T @ Jan 9th 2007 9:58AM
Maybe Nintendo can do something like that for the Wii. Then wii wouldn't have to put up with crap like Far Cry, Splinter Cell, Excite Truck, Call of Duty, etc, etc..
Stephen @ Jan 9th 2007 10:09AM
WOW. I didn't know such a gizmo existed. Useful indeed!
Sean S @ Jan 9th 2007 10:42AM
Now the big question is...
Can I go and open this thing to swap in a new graphics card down the road? So long as its PCIe? If so, AZSUS has officially sold me.
It would be a great way to keep your machine(s) updated without having to go and dig deep in your pockets for a new lappy or mainboard (especially when it becomes compatible with the desktop version of ExpressCard down the road).
Pal @ Jan 9th 2007 11:00AM
Good god. I've dreamed of such device for years. Praise Asus.
Nick Mercer @ Jan 9th 2007 12:19PM
Thats awesome, definitely an amazing idea that could help alot of people who want to play new games but can't afford a new game console or computer.
-Nick
Pam @ Jan 9th 2007 1:06PM
haha, I soooo need this for my laptop! Powerful, but it has no video card (not a good one), I'd pick this up instead of paying $2000+ on a desktop that I can't afford just yet (damn student loans...)
Stevo @ Jan 9th 2007 5:19PM
Pam, exactly my situation!
Pam @ Jan 9th 2007 2:08PM
Yeah, if I can upgrade and change graphics cards that would be sooooo sweet!!!
Was there a price for this at all? And when my VISA will take a hit for buying this, hahaha...
Sammy @ Jan 9th 2007 2:22PM
This thing is going to cost almost as much as building your own desktop probably. With dedicated laptop graphics cards coming out now, there is no reason for this type of device. Noone with an old laptop is going to be able to afford this thing, and if they could afford it, why wouldn't they just buy a new laptop? It makes no sense. I 'd be willing to bet that the FPS would only go up slightly with this thing, especially on FEAR and Oblivion, so you wouldn't be able to play the newest games anyway.. Asus had a decent idea with this thing, but I think they've fudged. Now if they could have made an external graphics card for the PC, that plugs into PCI-E and then sits on your desk through a cable out the back of your PC..that would be worth it for all the heat you'd be getting out of your case and away from your CPU and Ram.
Meh
Bizzle @ Jan 9th 2007 2:10PM
Sound awesome...But I'm not sure what kind of interface they are using...I would think you would need an eSATA r something with massive bandwidth...
withoutasol @ Jan 9th 2007 2:50PM
meh my vaio t series doesn't have expresscard slot, and its barely a year and a half old so no luck here.
Kesh @ Jan 9th 2007 7:51PM
Sammy: 'Now if they could have made an external graphics card for the PC, that plugs into PCI-E and then sits on your desk through a cable out the back of your PC..that would be worth it for all the heat you'd be getting out of your case and away from your CPU and Ram.'
Surely the same logic would apply for laptops twice over?
Airan @ Jan 9th 2007 6:00PM
I think Nvidia has already done this, except it was aimed at the industry market (it sported something like 16 GPUs in a massive PC tower sized box). I'm glad it's finally being downsized appropriately for the consumer market.
TexRob @ Jan 9th 2007 9:39PM
Am I the only one old enough to remember the Monster 3D? This idea is actually old tech. The Monster 3D had a cable going from your video card into it, then out to your monitor. Sure, it was in an internal slot, but it performed much in the same way.
Definitely cool to see it come back, and very useful for gaming on a laptop.
mlaheji @ Jan 14th 2007 9:12PM
This thing runs on the EXPRESS card (replacement for PCMCIA CardBus), which has a bandwidth of 2.5GB/s. Almost as fast as AGP 8x. Definitely fast enough for games.
I heard it comes with a 7900 :-D