A long longed for feature among enthusiasts is the possibility to discrete graphics cards to a notebooks. ViDock has had these kind of products on the market for some time where it has used the ExpressCard standard, which is becoming more scarce with ultrathin computers. It is now working on a solution with Intel’s new interface Thunderbolt.
It will possible to connect a notebook to a graphics card only when needed, a feature that we have longed for for some time. Several companies have tried to deliver, but the problem has always been some sort of proprietary standard and then ignore the updated assortment of Plug’N’Play graphics cards. ViDock looks to have a solution using Intel Thunderbolt.
Currently only Apple uses Thunderbolt for its Mac computers, and there are basically only Mac products using Thunderbolt. This should change next year when other companies start to use the new standard and then ViDock’s solution looks very interesting. It doesn’t just have graphics cards in mind, but also other units.
Imagine using your thin and light laptop PC during the day on the job, at school, or at the local café then arriving home, or dorm room, plugging it into your ViDock and firing up your latest PC game on a large format monitor. Just plug in one cable into your laptop PC and you instantly have a powerful 3D workstation with a big display, a big keyboard and your pointing device of choice. You are ready for gaming, video transcoding, photoshop, 3D design, watching full 1080p HD movies, and more!
Concept of how ViDock could be used
Besides adding graphical performance, it is also a docking station where you only need a single cable (Thunderbolt) to make it work. ViDock comes without graphics card, so it is up to you to buy a graphics cards to install in there. There are three versions to pick from; ViDock 3, ViDock 4 and ViDock 4 Plus that supports graphics cards up to 240mm and 75W, 316mm and 150W, and 316mm and 225W.
ViDock supports fairly energy hungry graphics cards with advanced energy saving fucntions. The controller reads the mode of the notebooks and adjust itself accordingly and turns off when not needed. This will also help the user by removving the hassle of switching the dock On and Off again. ViDock will also remember the settings last used, for example screen resolution on the notebook and external monitor.
ViDock costs between $180-250 plusshipping. What the coming ViDock with Thunderbolt will cost is still uncertain.
Source: MacRumors
