SLI/CrossFire, GPU dock for Elitebooks, other HP notebooks

So there’s been a lot of talk about GPU docks since Gigabyte showcased one of their notebooks recently, which has integrated Intel graphics but allows users to park their notebook to a dock which holds an external Nvidia desktop graphics card. Besides feasibility and potential demand (how many people need/want such an accessory?), there’s no reason why HP can’t do the same for their Elitebook series, and perhaps their other notebooks in the future.

SLI/CrossFire GPU dock for Elitebooks

Let’s split things up into two sections – first, I’ll talk about the Elitebook side of things. The Elitebook series are already prepared to support such an accessory – via the dedicated connector for existing docking stations (small/large) at the bottom of the notebook. Since HP’s Elitebooks (14 inches and up) already come with built-in dedicated graphics solutions, an external graphics dock can house a secondary graphics card which the notebook can make use of. So when docked, your Elitebook can become an SLI/Crossfire dual graphics card powerhouse! This might pose a bit of a problem for Nvidia’s graphics cards, as SLI only works with two of the same cards and, correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t think Nvidia’s Quadro mobile cards can bind to work as one (Quadro Plex seems to be only for desktop cards?) – seeing each Elitebook model uses different Nvidia graphics, I’d say it’ll also be too expensive for HP to create ‘GPU docks’ unique to each notebook/graphics card combination.

But wait, we have ATI’s FirePro mobile cards coming to 2010 HP Elitebooks. Could GPU docking/cross-firing be one of the reasons why HP is bringing ATI graphics to their ex-Nvidia exclusive Elitebooks? I’m not quite sure… but seeing existing CrossFire (ATI’s version of SLI) implementations allow use of two different graphics cards, then HP could make a one-size-fits-all GPU dock – stuffing in something like an ATI Mobility Radeon 5870 or FirePro equivalent of that – as an optional add-on. If you’ve ever seen the performance increase in CAD work using 1 vs 2 graphics cards, then you’d know why such an accessory (CrossFire GPU dock) has the potential to sell like hotcakes to the market of mobile power-users, artists and designers.

Dedicated graphics GPU dock for Pavilion/Compaq notebooks

The thing which makes me think such an accessory can sell is because of real life experience with some people I know. Most recently, I “converted” one of my friends from ‘game spectator’ to ‘player’. All it took was watching me play Left4Dead 2 on an Elitebook 8440w I was testing, and she was sold on the idea of ‘PC gaming’ – she had never expected that a 14 inch notebook could play games so well (versus consoles), and also because a game about chopping up zombies somehow seems to appeal to many people (huh?!). She initially installed Left4Dead 2 on her Dell notebook (I think it’s either an XPS or Studio 14) and was disappointed by the choppy frame rates because of Intel integrated graphics. Long story short, she now has to temporarily play her newly acquired PC games on her sister’s notebook which has a Nvidia GT200-series mobile card while she shops for a new one with discrete graphics.

There is an untapped market of users who want to ‘game’ with their notebooks but don’t know that they can’t game for peanuts with Intel integrated graphics, either that, or the psychology is that ‘no laptop is powerful enough for games, I will need a desktop but in that case, I’d rather buy a PS3/XBOX instead’. Including a desktop graphics card in a notebook dock can not only help in performance (dekstop graphics typically have better performance per dollar than mobile equivalents), but also might help computer makers earn more per customer. Why? Traditionally, the average consumer and/or student would not pay more than $500-$900 for a ‘laptop’ due to their ‘budgets’… and for games, they go out there and buy a gaming console instead; since the common false perception is that PS3/XBox 360 consoles are superior compared to PC’s for gaming (Personally: To hell with that statement, how do you explain things like the HP Envy 15 and Alienware M11x?!). An external graphics card dock for ‘gaming’ would psychologically fall under the “accessories I should buy” list in consumers’ minds, for which they have separate budget allocations for. Yup, I’ve seen it happen before: Most people aren’t willing to pay a few more bucks for the discrete graphics option so they can game, yet they’re willing to pay something ridiculous like a hundred bucks for a ‘color/pattern matching notebook case’ or notebook cooler.

Coincidentally, HP has this port called “Expansion Port 3″ for an external dock for some of their Pavilion notebooks. I wonder what other things they could do with it…

Big bad earmuffs!

Hey all, how was your week? Mine was hectic as ever.

I’ve been very busy over the last one week, attending several events and product launches (errr… non-HP ones unfortunately) and I recently received a pair of Panasonic ‘earmuff’ headphones as a gift. And let me summarize things for you: Best. Gift. Ever. If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’d know that I’ve been enjoying loud, thumping bass along with crispy clear sound. I’m loving it! This pair of Panasonic headphones have better sound quality, bass thump and design versus my old, now-defunct Creative headphones. Well, not exactly defunct, it still works, but because of the dumb design, the second ‘upper’ band which keeps the ‘muffs over your head broke. Oddly enough, it’s made of plastic and there used to be a small, visible plastic ’seam’ at the breaking point – planned failure, huh? Don’t get me wrong, I love Creative’s in-ear buds though, just not their big headphones.

I know I’m supposed to post my review of the HP Elitebook 8440p and HP Envy 15 feat. ATI Mobility 5830. And I will… over the coming days. And I also caught a few more titbits about the ever-elusive Elitebook 8740w during the weekends – Will have that posted soon as well =)

DreamColor 2 Full HD displays coming to Elitebook 8540p/8540w

Hey, remember that Elitebook 8540 document posted earlier this week that mentioned the unannounced ATI FirePro M5800 graphics card? Well, I read through it again, more thoroughly this time, and I spotted options for all new “DreamColor 2″ full HD (1920 x 1080) display options for both the Elitebook 8540p and Elitebook 8540w (complete with your choice of webcam-equipped or webcam-less display). Isn’t this a dream come true? The Elitebook 8540w is getting even more powerful and better than the old flagship Elitebook 8730w by the day! This can only mean two things: the Elitebook 8540w is really the ‘true’ Mobile Workstation which packs almost all your needs into a neat little 15 inch design AND HP will make the next-generation flagship Elitebook 8740w even better to differentiate it from the 8540w powerhouse!

Man, this is getting better and I hope HP has even more surprises and options to come! Goodbye, Envy 15, because the Elitebook 8540w is officially my notebook of choice now! [Now waiting impatiently for the ATI graphics option to become available]

ATI FirePro M5800 to be based off ATI Mobility Radeon 5850?

I’m a curious person who likes doing a lot of thinking and analysis of things. And after yesterday’s revelation of an unannounced ATI FirePro M5800 card, I’ve been thinking… which consumer ATI card would be the mysterious workstation-class FirePro M5800 be based on? The answer, I suspect, lies with HP and their Elitebook 8540w. See, their current Elitebook 8540w makes available two Nvidia Quadro graphics options: the 512 MB Quadro FX880M and 1 GB Quadro FX1800M. Both are 40 nm chipsets. All of ATI’s new Mobility Radeon 5000 series graphics cards are based on the 40 nm process, plus the fact that ATI (with their recent reputation of coming out with all the good stuff) is very unlikely to use their “old” 4000-series designs for a new product… first part solved – the FirePro M5800 will be based off a card in the 5000-series.

Now, which specific card in the ATI Mobility Radeon 5000 series? The Nvidia Quadro card options for the Elitebook 8540w have bandwidth figures of 25.6 to 31.2 GB/s and TDP values of 35W and 45W respectively. So the ATI FirePro M5800 card HP has chosen should sit with specifications somewhere near those ranges. Also, the Nvidia Quadro FX1800M is a DDR3/GDDR5 card. So at first guess, one would probably suspect the ATI Mobility Radeon 5470 as the “base” of the new FirePro card, but no… it has a lower minimum bandwidth (12.8 GB/s) and significantly lower TDP (13W-15W) than the Nvidia cards.

Under the fairly accurate assumption that HP would like to keep power consumption/heat output/TDP similar to Nvidia’s cards, so to get the most out of the Elitebook 8540w’s design, the ATI FirePro M5800 will likely (with high probability) be based off the ATI Mobility Radeon 5850. The Mobility Radeon 5850 ticks all the boxes for being the perfect candidate for creating a workstation-class graphics card which matches/bests Nvidia’s top offering (FX1800M) for 15 inch notebooks – bandwidth (28.8-64 GB/s), DDR3/GDDR5, manufacturing process, TDP (30-39 W) and all are a closer match than any other graphics card that ATI has. So I’m almost 99% certain this will be it – the FirePro M5800 will be based off the ATI Mobility Radeon 5850, and time will tell if my guess is correct.

ATI FirePro M5800 graphics leaked; coming to HP Elitebook 8540w!

ATI FirePro M5800 listed in a HP Elitebook 8540w document

Big, big, BIG new folks! In the specifications/overview section of a PDF document (PDF reader required! ATI FirePro M5800 is listed on Page 9) posted on the HP Elitebook 8540w support page. Initially said to use “exclusively Nvidia Quadro” cards (though I did beg to differ), looks like HP had a change of heart over choice of graphics on the new Elitebooks (after reading my widely-spread bright idea?) and will be giving those that lust for high-end performance (example: me) a dose of ATI graphics! Workstation-class graphics too!

For now, all we have is a name in the document: ATI FirePro M5800, yet I can draw several things from this piece of info alone. First off, this card will be part of ATI’s new workstation-class graphics line for notebooks, and will be equivalent to or better than Nvidia’s Quadro FX1800M/GeForce GT335M graphics cards. Several of my trusted sources have confirmed the news of ATI making a comeback to HP’s Elitebook mobile workstation notebooks. The ATI FirePro M5800 workstation card is expected to be derived from its ATI Mobility Radeon 5830 or 5850 consumer-counterpart and have 1 GB of DDR3/GDDR5 graphics memory. Given my cool experience (no pun intended) with HP’s new Elitebook 8440p/w and 8540w notebooks, I’d say the airflow/cooling of the 8540w will be more than enough to handle this new, fast and furious graphics from ATI!

Oh, there are also numerous other references to the ATI FirePro M5800 throughout the rest of the document as well (such as the fan/heatsink section). For those interested, go ahead and download it; it’s a pretty interesting read on the guts and components of the Elitebook 8540.

New 2010 Elitebooks up for order; new ATI FirePro M5800 graphics to come

Good news folks, they’re finally up for order! Yes, I’m talking about HP’s new Elitebook models. The Elitebook 8440p, 8440w, 8540p and 8540w notebooks have just appeared on HP’s official website, are up for order and have the following base list prices:

• HP Elitebook 8440p starts at $979
• HP Elitebook 8440w starts at $1425
• HP Elitebook 8540p starts at $1299
• HP Elitebook 8540w starts at $1399

I currently have access to three of the Elitebook models above (don’t ask!) and I’ve been very impressed with them, each with a unique strangth: the 8440p for very cool (temperature-wise) and silent operation, 8440w for portable power (the only 14 inch notebook with quad-core Core i7 in the market) and 8540w for sheer power (more versatile than HP’s own Envy 15 and more powerful than some Elitebook 8730w configurations!)

So far only pre-built models are available, with “configure to order” models that you can customize expected to become available soon, later this February.

Impressed by ATI’s new Mobility Radeon 5000 series graphics cards?! Want plenty of power in your new Elitebook 8540w? Well, apparently someone listened to my plea/bright idea… because the new Elitebooks available today were initially planned as “Nvidia Quadro exclusives” but now, there’s word that ATI’s new (and currently, unannounced) FirePro M5800 workstation-class graphics card (a professional variation of one of the consumer Radeon 5000-series) will be making its way to the Elitebook 8540w some time in the future. This is according to a PDF document spotted by one of our readers, Domiel, on HP’s support page for the 8540w, one of the graphics options listed for the HP Elitebook 8540w was a “ATI FirePro M5800″ card.

I have also received confirmation from several trusted sources that ATI’s new line of workstation class graphics will indeed be coming soon for both the Elitebook 8540w and currently unannounced Elitebook 8740w. Yay for the world! Stay tuned