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So if this was straight up (IE didn't go to ExpressCard) then the performance would be even greater.

Yes. If have a native TB solution then it's 10GBps. The Thunderbolt-to-expresscard adapter limits it to 5Gbps. How does this play out in real life?

13" MBP + GTX660Ti + HD7870 (TH05 @ x2 2.0) tells us:

What performance benefit does x2 2.0 give over x1 2.0?

* external LCD: +4.8%, max=18.1% [GTX660Ti: +6.3% max=18.1%; HD7870=+3.2% max=8.8%]
* internal LCD Optimus: +14.6% max=40.8%
* internal LCD Virtu^$35 : +21.5% max=36.6% [GTX660Ti=23.6% max=36.6%; HD7870=19.5% max=34.2]

Users with IVB/SB expresscard/mPCIe eGPU implementations would likely want to know how much better performance would a Thunderbolt eGPU provide.

We see external LCD sees only +4.8% with max 18.1% performance improvement over x1 2.0. This means the sample benchmarks
are not taxing the pci-e bus. The extra bandwidth showing it's significance when running in internal LCD mode where both Optimus and Virtu benefit significantly from the increased bandwidth.
 
I've had experience with prior attempts at external laptop video cards, all of them using an express card port on the laptop. That IMHO has been the biggest problem as it is only a x1 connection and didn't have enough bandwidth to use a very high end card ( at the time it used a 37xx series from ATI when the 4870 was the high end).
I know AMD and some third party GPU makers like MSI and others had shown off their own proprietary solutions using external PCIe cables that connected, but they never took off or even became products.
Higher speed thunderbolt 4x PCIe could help this with a native PCIe interface....

I'd be surprised this guys hacked up solution with an express card in the middle could even support a high end card like a 670/680/7970 without dramatically holding it back
 
I really think this will be the future of computing - light, think machines like an Air or a Surface that plug into daisy chained high end power and storage while at home to boost up to a powerful machine.
 
nvidia and/or amd should come out with their own thunderbolt dock and market it for PCs and macs. If they made drivers for PC and osx, it would be amazing. And, it would convince so many people that would otherwise never get desktop to game on PC - increasing sales of their high-end cards.
 
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i still dont understand why no firm is evolving something like this... like GSUS etc.

im sure many people would buy this
 
If he were to trade that 11in for cash, I bet that he could get a very nice gaming PC. Haha. Then.. no need for so much pain trying to run all that jazz, cables and win 7 on a MBA. Lol.. He definitely got the wrong type of computer. XD
 
Plllllllease someone make this and we'll throw our money! Someone kickstart this already.
 
1. The affordable ~$320 Sonnet Echo Express SE enclosure is too small: it won't host a double-width full length card. It needs to be deshelled to work. The double-width version is $800, stupidly expensive.

2. It has no PCI Reset Delay so MBR/BIOS (bootcamp) Win7/8 will not work.

3. BPlus had a TH05 product without either of those limititations that sold for $180 (inc Thunderbolt cable) but Intel killed/threatened them to pull it.

http://www.taiwantrade.com.tw/resou...47-5c66-44c6-967d-4f5c85dc4cc2_TH05_brief.pdf

4.The ~$250 Silverstone TB T004 (double-width, full length, 450W) looks the goods. Let's hope that it makes it to market without Intel/Apple interfering again.

Could you please explain more about the PCI Reset Delay is and how this makeshift solution supports it?

Thanks a million!
 
- Uses a somewhat dusty "high end" card
- Calls playing on a tiny 11" screen notebook "gaming"
- Plays Borderlands 2 to demonstrate graphics power.

Yeah.
 
Excellent work!!

Bravo!!!

This demonstrates the gentleman's thorough understanding of the hardware/software/middleware processes.

- I understand all the parts from the back of the MBA to the graphics card...
- But I dont understand how the display gets output back to the MBA screen though?
- It would have made sense to output it to a large screen and enjoy the gaming experience, but I keep scratching my head how the video output goes back to the LCD.

Anybody cares to help me understand this?
 
If Apple doesn't put this contraption in a pretty box and sell it for use alongside any macbook pro/air, I will be extremely disappointed. They could make millions from it! I know I'd be lined up to buy one on day one! (if the money was there)
 
I'd prefer the 13" myself, but 11" could do.

Our generation (I'm assuming you're about my age) used to play the hell out of our Gameboys. It had a little 2.5" green and black screen that had to be played under direct light to even see what was on it. Yet despite the shortcomings, we all LOVED that thing. I think I played it more than my NES back when.

An 11" screen? Hell, you're spoiling us, modern technology.

The GB is still one of my fave systems, after all these years I'm still finding gems on that machine and most my 3DS library consists of GB and GBC titles ;).
But they were easily legible. Large, 4 colour pixels are easier to read than a dense 11" display sat a couple of feet from your face displaying an image designed for something 3 or 4x larger.
I played through Half Life 2 on a 15" laptop back in the day... and that was pushing it! I swear these 27" iMacs have spoiled us.
 
It could also conceivably be used on other Thunderbolt-equipped Macs, including the iMac and the upcoming Mac Pro.
Because that's why I buy a $5k MacPro, to cobble together this bundle of wires to run Windows to play a game. :rolleyes: Don't get me wrong, great proof of concept, but there's no way I'm gonna do this with the new MacTube (Pro).
 
Wasn't this the whole point of thunderboldt?
The whole point of TB was to provide Apple with a unique docking solution. Everything else that TB can do is gravy.
Why is this so surprising.. the new mac pro has soldered graphics cards...
What makes you think this? From the pics I'd say they have plug in cards.
this is the direction apple is headed.
Err not exactly, the whole industry is going this way, Apple is just along for the ride. Process shrinks drive the industry and at some point you have so much space on the chip that te most economical solution is a full SoC. intel is real close with Haswell. In any event computers will become more compact in the future or they will become more powerful in smaller volumes.
 
so, correct me if im wrong, but this kinda thing could also be used on the audio side of things?

Avid, among others have Protools HD cards which (if memory serves) are PCIe? (I haven't read into it properly, but remember lil bits :p)

So we could get our IO cards into an enclosure like this, and use it with?... well anything that tickled our fancy? A macbook pro, mac mini etc etc?

That would be pretty dope!

Pete
 
I tip my hat to this guy but this whole story makes me so sad.

Thunderbolt has been out for over two years, and it's only just NOW that someone on the internet cobbles together a way to unleash its true potential!

WHY HAVE YOU HELD OUT ON US SO LONG, APPLE AND INTEL!!!!!??? :mad::mad::mad:
TB expansion chassis have been around for ages, this is nothing new.
 
As another poster said, why use an ultra-thin laptop for this kind of setup if a user is only going to bulk it up with adapters and extra hardware so that it can accept a PC graphics card? And, more importantly, how does this affect the MBA's battery life? I am sure that this is a battery-guzzler and would kill the machine before even the first level of a game is finished...
Maybe because some people own an MBA and if you'd read the article you'd know this is made for home use.
Connect TB and use the power cord instead of the MBA's battery.
Just because you don't have a use for something doesn't mean no one else has one.
 
Bravo!!!

This demonstrates the gentleman's thorough understanding of the hardware/software/middleware processes.

- I understand all the parts from the back of the MBA to the graphics card...
- But I dont understand how the display gets output back to the MBA screen though?
- It would have made sense to output it to a large screen and enjoy the gaming experience, but I keep scratching my head how the video output goes back to the LCD.

Anybody cares to help me understand this?

I have the same question. I also read a couple of articles on external Thunderbolt GPUs, and they said that you need to connect it to another display.
 
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