AMD Debuts External Graphics CardAMD Debuts External Graphics Card

AMD (parent company of graphics card vendor ATI) has proposed a graphics booster for GPU-deficient laptops, in the form of the eXternal Graphics Platform (XGP), a box that connects to a laptop through a special PCI Express connector.The idea is that low-cost, low-power laptops can be used with their built-in displays while mobile but then connected to an XGP for improved display when back at the office. Fujitsu has shown an implementation of the concept in the form of an Amilo GraphicBooster, a slim unit containing an ATI Radeon HD 3870 GPU and 512MB of GDDR 3 video memory. The GraphicBooster ccould drive four displays simultaneously from one laptop, the company claimed.

The primary drawback is that the XGP box requires a laptop with a special XGP slot. The slot is available on notebooks built on AMD's new Puma laptop platform.The Register, Computer Shopper