Separate graphics drivers would be required for each notebook in order to use an external graphics card. Therefore, it is also not possible to connect it via this widespread interface. The following interfaces can be used: ExpressCard: A connection via ExpressCard slot is most common. It supports a bandwidth of up to 5 Gbits - older device from before 2009 achieve 2. Because of its size and the available peripherals, less and less new laptops feature this slot. Thunderbolt: Thunderbolt was developed by Intel in cooperation with Apple. Thunderbolt is currently the fastest interface for connecting an external graphics card. Because of the complexity of the interface and as only few adapters are offered, the price of a graphics adapter is extremely high in comparison. First of all, this means that the bandwidth is much lower. Then the question arises whether the bottleneck effect is so big that external graphics cards cannot outperform the internal graphics of a laptop. In early tests, a connected graphics card would often not pass. Meanwhile a lot has changed - but several things did not. In order to achieve a significant performance gain, we will consider special types of notebooks. They meet certain requirements that allow the connected graphics card to use its complete bandwidth. external graphics card If your type of notebook is not listed, this does not mean that it is not possible to connect a graphics card. However, the performance gain might be limited and the installation could be quite time-consuming. However, it is not listed by the operating system. It is especially easy to connect another graphics card to the first two types, since no preparatory work is needed and a high performance gain can be expected. Type 3 possibly and Type 4 need some preparatory work and have to be discussed separately. Examples of implementations and experience are available in this English. Finally, we want to discuss briefly the other notebook types in this chapter. Notebooks with a Thunderbolt interface are a category of their own. You can always expect a performance gain on these, but installation sometimes requires an enormous effort. In addition, all older notebooks, which either feature weak internal graphics cards or cannot keep up with current standard office notebooks; belong to the other types. Seen relatively, you can also expect a big performance gain here. So far, we know which interfaces are compatible and which hardware the notebooks needs. Only one question remains: Which graphics card. Certain Linux distributions and setups allow deactivating a graphics card. The forum mentioned above discusses such problems. The release of the Optimus driver, known for switching between internal graphics cardsalso brought a positive side effect for external graphics cards. In case of a connection via an x1 interface, data for the graphics card will be compressed and the graphics card itself decompresses them again. Because of the high performance of the graphics card, the performance loss is low despite having only a fraction of the bandwidth. Further, these graphics cards allocate the memory of the notebook in a way they will have sufficient memory. So far, user reviews do not exist. A small aluminum case, which is apparently not designed for graphics cards, is included. You select the printed circuit boards and cables and build your own adapter. If you still own an old power supply and a suitable case for the graphics card, this is the cheapest solution. This model is unfortunately too small for most graphics cards and cannot be connected since it lacks a power adapter. Because of the high price, there are only a few applications described on the Internet and hardly any resellers in Germany. The case also is from aluminum and houses a temperature-controlled fan, too. Sonnet is the only manufacturer producing ExpressCard-to-Thunderbolt adapters. We will discuss later, why this could be interesting. In our review, we used a Sonnet adapter as representative for the Thunderbolt interface. VillageTronic: VillageTronic belongs to the pioneers of external graphics adapters. The VillageTronic ViDock was already often tested in early reviews. Nowadays, we compare a new model to the Sonnet adapter. VillageTronic ViDock 4 Plus Overdrive The ViDock features two 6-pin power connectors and can be connected via ExpressCard. As mentioned external graphics card, we need a second adapter - the Sonnet Echo Pro, in order to install it. The case of the ViDock is exactly two slots high 5. Otherwise the ViDock appears to be very robust and compact. Turn the MacBook off 2. Connect the Sonnet Echo Pro to the MacBook 3. Select the Windows partition 5. Connect the ViDock with the Sonnet Echo Pro immediately after pressing the Enter key. You have to repeat steps 1 to 5 every time the system is booted. The start-up routine only appears arduous at first glance. It can be remembered easily after some repetition. In this case, the notebook switches to the internal graphics card. However, it only has a 6-pin connector. So, an external power adapter is needed. Installation The installation is even simpler than the ViDock's. You only need to connect the Sonnet before booting. Contrary to the ViDock, the Sonnet adapter appears very massive. Because of its fans and the bigger internal space, it is also quieter. Switching to the internal display will also switch to the internal graphics card. Therefore, the external graphics card can only be used for a connected display. It remains to be seen, whether there will be cheaper alternatives available in the future. Find a list of things we liked and disliked below. Pros Cons Thunderbolt 2 x4 since February 2014 Extremely expensive solution A second adapter is external graphics card needed Internal display can only be driven by the internal graphics card Several devices can be connected simultaneously Tool needed for opening. It is surprising that the ExpressCard connection scores more points than the connection via Thunderbolt. The reason is the data compression of the Optimus driver, while data via Thunderbolt is not compressed. We are excited to see, what Thunderbolt external graphics card and other graphics cards will bring in the future. In our tests, the MacBook could indeed keep up with gaming laptops, but it failed to reach desktop performance. In our tests, we saw that a usual subnotebook could turn into a more than capable gaming notebook under certain circumstances. The problem is that the notebook has to meet many requirements, in order to drive a graphics card via the interfaces mentioned external graphics card. However, if the requirements are met, the external graphics card pays off a lot. Looking ahead: It is a problem that ExpressCard slots are disappearing and alternatives are missing. Because of Intel's restrictions when it comes to Thunderbolt devices, there will hardly be any new manufacturers of external graphics cards in the future and the price will remain at this level. The WiGig standard was certified last year and should be available for the first time in notebooks this year. Because of the bandwidth of 2.
