14 DAY TRIAL // MSI may not be the first company to think about external graphics solutions for laptops, but it seems to be one, if not the first to build one that takes advantage of the mostly unused ExpressCard slot. With Computex around the corner, any and all PC and hardware makers are setting up the most impressive collection of product they can. The one prepared by Micro-Star International reportedly includes, among other things, a certain gadget dubbed Graphics Upgrade Solution (GUS).
There are a great many laptops on sale today, many of which have quite high computing and graphics capabilities. Nevertheless, most mainstream and especially entry-level users can't afford the higher-end machines, which is why they usually have to settle for a far lower performance level than they would like. Graphics is usually the area where lower-end machines are found lacking, which makes it all the more logical that buyers would be very interested in somehow using a significantly more affordable desktop card as a workaround.
MSI's Graphics Upgrade Solution enables this very feature. Designed with its own power supply and PCI Express interface, the accessory will be able to take any desktop adapter and deliver its performance to the notebook, as long as the TDP (thermal design power) of said video board is of no more than 84W. This makes the ATI Radeon HD 5670 the highest-performing option available. For older-generation systems, however, this may prove to be more than enough.
GUS will be on display at Computex and will be sold for $100, or in a bundle with a variety of video boards. Such bundles will have a starting price of $169, but can go all the way up to $229 if the Radeon HD 5670 is chosen. Considering the costs usually associated with upgrading a laptop, or buying a new one, however, this price tag may even be considered convenient.