An XGP connector, which stands for eXternal Graphics Platform, is an external graphics solution for laptops. The idea was to give notebooks with lower end graphics chips the ability to play the latest graphics intensive games. One benefit of this technology is that you could upgrade to the latest graphics card while keeping your same laptop. ATI announced this technology at the Computex trade show on June 4, 2008, but it only worked on laptops with an external PCI Express 2.0 connector. Unfortunately, very few laptops came with such a connector. In fact, Fujitsu Siemens is the only one that I know of that used this connector. The Fujitsu system was called the Amilo GraphicsBooster. It used a PCI Express 2.0 x8 external connector, and was powered by ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870.
Bright Side Of News is reporting that ATI is showcasing a new laptop from Acer with an XGP connector. The Acer Ferrari One is a cross between a netbook and a notebook. With an XGP connector, this laptop is connected to a Broadway XGP box. The box has one DVI port, three DisplayPorts, an HDMI port, and two USB ports. Inside the box is an ATI Mobility Radeon 5870 graphics card.
When it comes to performance, seeing Tom Clancy’s H.A.V.X. on three displays in Eyefinity configuration is nothing else but sweet. To play the game on three displays using nothing else but a puny netbook gives us hope that there is decent performance out there.
via : AMD showcases 5870 Eyefinity XGP box on a Ferrari netbook
