I know this article is a couple months old but this is really interesting. Light peak tech or as some might call it "Thunderbolt" (apples branding) technology would allow tons of connectivity and data transfer. To be honest I think usb 3.0 is nice but I think that Light Peak is a better viable option especially when your able to hook up a video card via a light peak port. Consumers seem to be buying more mobile options of computing, and gaming on a laptop is rather limited and can be very expensive. This would pretty much eliminate the graphics problem in laptops or lower end desktops. If every computer had a light peak port we could all PC game a little easier. I think to the average Joe and students/Highly mobile users this is a HUGE breakthrough, all you have to do is plug this into your laptop VIA light peak and boom, play your games sooon. Me gusta Light peak tech. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/sony-vaio-z-puts-graphics-card-in-thunderbolt-connected-box/
IIRC neither thunderbolt or USB 3.0 offer anywhere near the transfer speeds of your typical PCI-E 2.0 port. So cards in these external boxes would still be limited by transfer speeds. It'll be a long time before there are viable replacements for a good desktop when it comes to PC gaming.
I'm not really sure what this means. Almost everybody these days has a PC and the whole non-gamer gaming thing started on PC with things like Popcap, etc. Games are free on PC all over the place and you don't even have to buy, download or install stuff for a lot of them.
IIRC neither thunderbolt or USB 3.0 offer anywhere near the transfer speeds of your typical PCI-E 2.0 port. So cards in these external boxes would still be limited by transfer speeds. It'll be a long time before there are viable replacements for a good desktop when it comes to PC gaming.General_X
Actually the they have said that these external boxes are around 80 percent of the actual transfer rate of a PCI-E slot. So its still developing tech and its not perfect but is definitely a viable option for the future. Especially those that want a very portable computer but want to game at home. It wont happen until Light Peak is pretty much mainstream with all laptops/ultra portables.
PC gaming isn't even hard to get into nowadays, all you need is google and youtube, done.
Chris_Williams
Well to some people getting into Pc gaming is too complicated for them, that fact they have to open up the PC and go through a long list of parts is daunting to them. I know its not that hard for gamers like us who are familiar with tech and games, but for the average joe that wants to play games or people that cant afford a new PC but jsut need that extra graphics boost, this is a great new thing. And the graphics card box is actually geared more towards what is capable with a mobile setup in the future. Take your laptop to class/work whatever. Go home Plug it into your monitor and Graphics box and Boom your playing crysis. Granted it will take a few years considering current light peak ports are only limited to 10Gbps transfer rate but that is supposed to grow exponentially in the coming years. God I love tech.
PC gaming isn't even hard to get into nowadays, all you need is google and youtube, done.
AkimboBFGNinja
Well to some people getting into Pc gaming is too complicated for them, that fact they have to open up the PC and go through a long list of parts is daunting to them. I know its not that hard for gamers like us who are familiar with tech and games, but for the average joe that wants to play games or people that cant afford a new PC but jsut need that extra graphics boost, this is a great new thing. And the graphics card box is actually geared more towards what is capable with a mobile setup in the future. Take your laptop to classwork whatever. Plug it into your monitor and Graphics box and Boom your playing crysis. Granted it will take a few years considering current light peak ports are only limited to 10Gbps transfer rate but that is supposed to grow exponentially in the coming years. God I love tech. ...well i don't think the average joe needs a uber rig if he's not really familiar with tech and games.
I think the OP is under the impression that most people have laptops and with the ability to hook up an external graphics card PC gaming will take off.
PC gaming isn't even hard to get into nowadays, all you need is google and youtube, done.
Chris_Williams
Well to some people getting into Pc gaming is too complicated for them, that fact they have to open up the PC and go through a long list of parts is daunting to them. I know its not that hard for gamers like us who are familiar with tech and games, but for the average joe that wants to play games or people that cant afford a new PC but jsut need that extra graphics boost, this is a great new thing. And the graphics card box is actually geared more towards what is capable with a mobile setup in the future. Take your laptop to classwork whatever. Plug it into your monitor and Graphics box and Boom your playing crysis. Granted it will take a few years considering current light peak ports are only limited to 10Gbps transfer rate but that is supposed to grow exponentially in the coming years. God I love tech. ...well i don't think the average joe needs a uber rig if he's not really familiar with tech and games. Maybe not but this is a technology that is happening now and not just for "joes". Especially for mobile users this is a great tech, and its not even just about the graphics boxes, it is something that Intel wants to use for connectivity in general. I am not an average Joe but I am a poorer college student that can't afford to build a new rig so im stuck with this laptop, If all I had to do was purchase one of these boxes It would definitely boost my PC gaming capabilities.
I think the OP is under the impression that most people have laptops and with the ability to hook up an external graphics card PC gaming will take off.
menes777
there will always be a desktop PC but a lot of consumers like having their PC being mobile and their is a growing trend in mobile computing. This new tech could really fix the limited gaming capabilities of a laptop. especially all the heat heat heat, from gaming laptops and the super bulkiness. it will take off in some form or another. Looks like a pretty cool glimpse into the future.
If you can afford something like a sandybridge 2630m and a GTx560m in your laptop, it's quite decent for gaming.
I'm receiving my Asus G74SX at the end of the month so make a new thread in 3 weeks and I'll provide some information ;)
Filthybastrd
Well yes if you can afford it, but this tech could provide another option for gaming on a laptop in the future. No bulkiness or heat problems, no need to buy a laptop cooler either. Only time will tell how this will take off though.
This is actually Intel's tech that'll likely be the next USB. It has insane speeds and could provide real external GPUs (10Gbps speeds now and x5 that by 2015.)
Another quick article i found http://www.mactrast.com/2011/08/vidock-may-be-the-ultimate-thunderbolt-dock-for-your-mac/ sorry about not having links Not sure how to add them on here.
well not even that, AMD's APU looks more promising, the first gen performs on par with the consoles, with the next gen going to perform as well as todays midrange dedicated GPU's all for a combo that's under $150
This isn't making PC gaming easier. It's additional hardware you have to plug into your computer, and install.
And on top of that due to the limitations of the hardware it won't be all that great. You're better off buying a gaming laptop. No additional hardware, better performance, and w/e.
PC gaming isn't even hard to get into nowadays, all you need is google and youtube, done.
AkimboBFGNinja
Well to some people getting into Pc gaming is too complicated for them, that fact they have to open up the PC and go through a long list of parts is daunting to them. I know its not that hard for gamers like us who are familiar with tech and games, but for the average joe that wants to play games or people that cant afford a new PC but jsut need that extra graphics boost, this is a great new thing. And the graphics card box is actually geared more towards what is capable with a mobile setup in the future. Take your laptop to class/work whatever. Go home Plug it into your monitor and Graphics box and Boom your playing crysis. Granted it will take a few years considering current light peak ports are only limited to 10Gbps transfer rate but that is supposed to grow exponentially in the coming years. God I love tech. It's 2011, the average 11 year old could easily build a PC. My 14 year old niece did, all I did was point her in the right direction in terms of parts to use. There is nothing at all hard about building a PC.
PC gaming isn't even hard to get into nowadays, all you need is google and youtube, done.
i5750at4Ghz
Well to some people getting into Pc gaming is too complicated for them, that fact they have to open up the PC and go through a long list of parts is daunting to them. I know its not that hard for gamers like us who are familiar with tech and games, but for the average joe that wants to play games or people that cant afford a new PC but jsut need that extra graphics boost, this is a great new thing. And the graphics card box is actually geared more towards what is capable with a mobile setup in the future. Take your laptop to class/work whatever. Go home Plug it into your monitor and Graphics box and Boom your playing crysis. Granted it will take a few years considering current light peak ports are only limited to 10Gbps transfer rate but that is supposed to grow exponentially in the coming years. God I love tech. It's 2011, the average 11 year old could easily build a PC. My 14 year old niece did, all I did was point her in the right direction in terms of parts to use. There is nothing at all hard about building a PC. And yet there are many people that still cannot build a PC, which really isnt the issue, I know I can build a Dekstop PC, but now with Light Peak tech people with laptops or ultra portable machines can hook their lappy up to a GPU box and have a considerable performance boost whether or not they have the new APU's coming out. As I have said before, its not perfect they are still playing around with the tech but it is indeed interesting.
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