As teased a few days ago, AMD revealed AMD XConnect technology which allows gamers to play graphically intensive games by connecting a powerful external GPU with a lightweight laptop through Thunderbolt 3.
Traditionally, PC gamers have been faced with the problem of choosing between gaming notebooks, sacrificing portability for gaming performance, or ultrathin notebooks, sacrificing gaming performance for portability. A lightweight notebook or 2-in-1 with Thunderbolt 3 that is compatible with AMD XConnect technology brings the best of both worlds to life – conveniently lightweight on its own, but as needed, can easily tap into serious framerates and image quality of a gaming notebook with a powerful external GPU. The connection between the external GPU enclosure configured with Radeon R9 300 Series graphics is made possible over Intel's Thunderbolt 3, and can be connected or disconnected at any time.
The news was first teased a few days ago when AMD's Head of Global Technical Marketing, Robert Hallock, hinted that AMD was working on a standardized solution for external GPUs. Interestingly enough, there was no mention of that in AMD's announcement. In fact, XConnect is currently supported by the Radeon R9 300 series only.
AMD also revealed that there is a notebook available today that can unlock the potential of AMD XConnect technology, brought to you in a collaboration with Intel's Thunderbolt group and Razer: The Razer Blade Stealth, a brand new ultrathin notebook compatible with AMD XConnect technology, and the Razer Core, an external GPU enclosure that connects to the Razer Blade Stealth notebook via Thunderbolt 3. When the Razer Core is equipped with a Radeon R9 300 Series GPU, gamers can experience desktop-like gaming performance in a convenient plug-and-play solution on a Stealth running an AMD XConnect compatible driver. Configuring the Razer Core with a Radeon R9 300 Series GPUs even allows gamers to play on the Blade Stealth's high-resolution IGZO screen, or connect to an external AMD FreeSync-enabled monitor for a smooth gaming experience.
AMD plans to expand the list of Radeon GPUs that can support AMD XConnect technology, which will enable gamers to upgrade their enclosures beyond the Radeon R9 300 Series. For a list of compatible systems, GPUs and enclosures for AMD XConnect technology, please visit www.amd.com/xconnect.
