MXM

[Geo]

So, what do the experts around here think of the viability of this initiative?

Hasn't this been a Holy Grail with mobile graphics for awhile now, and keeps not quite happening? The earliest I can remember was a similar initiative by, I think, S3 some years ago.

 

[Sxotty]

Yeah it is an "open standard" too like 3dC

 

[AzBat]

It's been tried before: Micron/Rendition's SocketX initiative. I have doubts any initiative not started by Microsoft or Intel would get anywhere.

Tommy McClain

 

[ANova]

Aside from the fact that they are pushing it as a standard, it's nothing new. Quite a few notebook manufacturers have been doing this for awhile with ATI's mobility cards.

 

[Mark]

ATI's response is here if anyone is interested.

 

[Bjorn]

The good thing is that while it might not become a standard, it'll probably speed up the creation of a standard.

 

[AlphaWolf]

The good thing is that while it might not become a standard, it'll probably speed up the creation of a standard.

How many people would really benefit from this? Until the rest of the notebook is upgradeable I don't see this idea ever really catching on with mainstream users. If it costs any more at all, I probably wouldn't be bothered to get it if I were currently in the market for a notebook.

Most people I know that buy notebooks, buy them and throw it out (pass it on to someone who doesn't care about performance) every 3-5 years. So you can upgrade the video card but you're still stuck with a 3-5 yr old cpu/memory, older design, smaller display. Although I suppose display size is reaching (has reached) limits of portability.

 

[Geo]

The good thing is that while it might not become a standard, it'll probably speed up the creation of a standard.

How many people would really benefit from this? Until the rest of the notebook is upgradeable I don't see this idea ever really catching on with mainstream users. If it costs any more at all, I probably wouldn't be bothered to get it if I were currently in the market for a notebook.

Most people I know that buy notebooks, buy them and throw it out (pass it on to someone who doesn't care about performance) every 3-5 years. So you can upgrade the video card but you're still stuck with a 3-5 yr old cpu/memory, older design, smaller display. Although I suppose display size is reaching (has reached) limits of portability.

Well, it might not add much to your options 3 years in, but it could help you out right after you buy a laptop on a closeout sale somewhere at a great price but has unimpressive graphics that you want to upgrade.

 

[Bjorn]

How many people would really benefit from this? Until the rest of the notebook is upgradeable I don't see this idea ever really catching on with mainstream users. If it costs any more at all, I probably wouldn't be bothered to get it if I were currently in the market for a notebook.

I would have agreed with you one+ year ago. But look at the CPU business today ? We've haven't exactly been seeing any large increases in speed over the last year and it doesn't look like much will happen in the near future either. At least not any doubling of performance for quite some time.

So being able to upgrade the graphics card might be considered a very valuable thing at the moment. Perhaps not for everybody but at least for the desktop replacement market and high end laptops

 

[AlphaWolf]

Well, it might not add much to your options 3 years in, but it could help you out right after you buy a laptop on a closeout sale somewhere at a great price but has unimpressive graphics that you want to upgrade.

You really think cheap notebooks are going to support a feature like this? Not if it costs a nickel more.

 

[Geo]

Well, it might not add much to your options 3 years in, but it could help you out right after you buy a laptop on a closeout sale somewhere at a great price but has unimpressive graphics that you want to upgrade.

You really think cheap notebooks are going to support a feature like this? Not if it costs a nickel more.

I don't know if "cheap notebooks" --i.e. those that were built to be entry-level in the first place-- will do so or not. I do know that not all notebooks that are sold at great prices (relatively) at closeout sales and such were built to be entry-level notebooks. And usually in that sales situation you are looking at "as-is" and the ability to upgrade the graphics could be useful.

 

[ANova]

The good thing is that while it might not become a standard, it'll probably speed up the creation of a standard.

How many people would really benefit from this? Until the rest of the notebook is upgradeable I don't see this idea ever really catching on with mainstream users. If it costs any more at all, I probably wouldn't be bothered to get it if I were currently in the market for a notebook.

Most people I know that buy notebooks, buy them and throw it out (pass it on to someone who doesn't care about performance) every 3-5 years. So you can upgrade the video card but you're still stuck with a 3-5 yr old cpu/memory, older design, smaller display. Although I suppose display size is reaching (has reached) limits of portability.

I disagree with this. My dad has been fixing laptops for years now so I'm well aware of what they can and can't do. Most laptops can have their ram, cpu, hard drive and battery upgraded. The option to do so with the video card as well is a good addition imho. Now naturally it does take a bit of knowledge to do it yourself but the point is they can be upgraded, not just thrown away.

 

[PVR_Extremist]

What about cooling requirements?

 

[Dave Baumann]

What about cooling requirements?

I might revisit this when ATI announces their solution. However, the documentation I've seen for the NVIDIA solution does give a couple of cooling solutions, IIRC. They were heatpipe related.