With HBM and 14/16nm shrinking GPU area, will we see m.2 GPUs?

[davidthemaster3]

The m.2 format supports larger than 22mm sizes, so it could be possible


Wiki

The M.2 standard allows module widths of 12, 16, 22 and 30 mm, and lengths of 16, 26, 30, 38, 42, 60, 80 and 110 mm

So it could be possible to have a 30mm x 110 mm GPU ... I'm sure some designs could fit into it, like DDR3 designs because of the lower bus width and performance segments these designs have.

I could also see servers using m.2 remote administration type gpu's instead of embedding them in the mobo.

 

[NTMBK]

In all honesty, I would expect any GPU low powered enough to fit in an MXM slot to be directly integrated into the CPU. Unified memory pool with a big eDRAM/HBM cache.

 

[Blue_Max]

Yeah, this is MXM. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

I'd just like to see MXM as a more easily replaceable standard, so just about anyone could pop one in and out of laptop without the barbarism we've got now.

Admittedly, that's harder due to laptop design. I'd happily settle for an external PCIe port to allow external graphics. A few exist, but they're so rare and expensive it's cheaper just to sell the old laptop and buy a new one.

 

[Headfoot]

I'd just like to see MXM as a more easily replaceable standard, so just about anyone could pop one in and out of laptop without the barbarism we've got now.

Admittedly, that's harder due to laptop design. I'd happily settle for an external PCIe port to allow external graphics. A few exist, but they're so rare and expensive it's cheaper just to sell the old laptop and buy a new one.

I'm sure its only going to get worse as they keep making laptops thinner and less serviceable :/.

 

[sm625]

m.2 will be obsolete by the time we have GPUs that can truly fit in that form factor.

 

[kaesden]

any GPU that could fit in the space and thermal constraints of an m.2 slot would likely be similar enough in performance to the CPU's IGP that it would be pointless, especially if we're talking about an AMD APU. There's just no reason to waste the space on an M.2 slot and additional cooling setup when the IGP provides similar performance and all in one thermal envelope, no m.2 required at all.

 

[freeskier93]

That's simply not true. PCIe 3.0 x4 has the same bandwidth as 1.0 x16, and there have been quite a few articles exploring PCIe bottlenecking on older motherboards - all of which conclude that 1.0 x16 is no a bottleneck for a single high end GPU today.

Unless you know something about the next generation of GPUs you can't make the claim that PCIe 3.0 x4 will be good enough... If the next generation of GPUs is as good as everyone is expecting then I predict the high end cards will max out PCIe.

Pascal roadmap has NVLINK, if I had to make a guess we'll see some very niche high end Nvidia cards next year using NVLINK instead of PCIe because they need more bandwidth.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7900/nvidia-updates-gpu-roadmap-unveils-pascal-architecture-for-2016

 

[Blue_Max]

I think external would be the way to go. MXM follows a common layout so it wouldn't take much to make an external module about the size of a pack of cards. Or a big external brick for mid-sized desktop cards if need be. (Like I said, a few exist... at a stupid-high price.)

What's needed is a data connector between laptop & whatever. Some sort of external graphics plug standard is needed, then one could connect any manner of external graphics just like plugging in a video card in a desktop! Then the laptop could be a nice, thin ultraportable but allows you to tap into some good graphics when you reach an AC outlet.

Heck, I'd settle for the days when docking stations included expansion slots!

 

[MrTeal]

I think external would be the way to go. MXM follows a common layout so it wouldn't take much to make an external module about the size of a pack of cards. Or a big external brick for mid-sized desktop cards if need be. (Like I said, a few exist... at a stupid-high price.)

What's needed is a data connector between laptop & whatever. Some sort of external graphics plug standard is needed, then one could connect any manner of external graphics just like plugging in a video card in a desktop! Then the laptop could be a nice, thin ultraportable but allows you to tap into some good graphics when you reach an AC outlet.

Heck, I'd settle for the days when docking stations included expansion slots!

It's available now, in Thunderbolt 3.

 

[Blue_Max]

It's available now, in Thunderbolt 3.

I knew I should've said something about Thunderbolt.

Glad to see it's still progressing - we may get somewhere with this yet - especially with Intel giving it a push! :thumbsup:

http://liliputing.com/2015/08/intel-says-thunderbolt-3-will-bring-external-graphics-to-laptops.html

You know, since it can handle 100W of power, there's a good handful of desktop cards that wouldn't even require an extra AC plug (provided the lappy's original AC adapter can handle the load!)

 

[MrTeal]

I knew I should've said something about Thunderbolt.

Glad to see it's still progressing - we may get somewhere with this yet - especially with Intel giving it a push! :thumbsup:

http://liliputing.com/2015/08/intel-says-thunderbolt-3-will-bring-external-graphics-to-laptops.html

You know, since it can handle 100W of power, there's a good handful of desktop cards that wouldn't even require an extra AC plug (provided the lappy's original AC adapter can handle the load!)

Yeah, though if it's an ultrabook that might be questionable. Depending on the laptop, I might see it run the other way. Big AC adapter into the GPU case, and the single Thunderbolt cable provides PCIe to the GPU box and charges/power the laptop at the same time. A box with a couple USB3 ports and a x4 (electrical) PCIe, along with the Gigabit Ethernet port and bunch of USB2 for peripherals would be just about perfect. You'd still see some bottlenecking on a 980 class card with a x4 interface, but your laptop CPU would probably be just as much of a bottleneck anyway.