GPU-Xpander for Laptops

XpanderIO

GPU-Xpander may be an economical way to enhance the Input/Output (I/O) power of your laptop computer. GPU-Xpander is a hardware-only solution that may be able to expand the I/O capability of your laptop or notebook computer by adding slots, power and cooling. Each GPU-Xpander may be able to add two or four PCI Exress (PCIe) slots to your notebook computer. The ExpressCard socket in your notebook computer may support a GPU-Xpander if the computer's BIOS supports external PCIe graphics but not all do, so check with your notebook vendor.

  • For connecting GPU-Xpander to notebook or laptop computers, read on.
  • For connecting GPU-Xpander to tower computers, click here.

Overview
GPU-Xpander provides a PCIe x1 connection transfer rate and four PCIe expansion slots. If your notebook has an ExpressCard socket, contact Cubix to determine if you can connect it to external GPUs. Unfortunately, Apple MacBook Pro, even with an ExpressCard port, does not support external multiple GPUs with video ports.

Support a variety of single and multiple GPUs
GPU-Xpander, depending upon the model, supports one to four NVIDIA® GPU adapters including but not limited to:

  • Quadro™ FX 3800 / 4800 / 5800
  • Quadro 4000 / 5000 / 6000
  • Tesla™ C2050 / C2070
  • GeForce™ GTX 470 / 480 / 580

Support a variety of PCIe adapters and controllers
GPU-Xpander supports one to four multi-port, multi-function PCIe adapters including:

  • FireWire multi-port
  • USB 2.0 multi-port
  • Gbps Ethernet fiber-optic or copper multi-port
  • Professional audio multi-port

Support a variety of software
GPU-Xpander supports a variety of operating systems and applications, including but not limited to:

  • Acceleware® Solvers
  • Adobe® Creative Suite®
  • Apple® OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (some NVIDIA products, e.g., GTX470/480, require Boot Camp 3.x and Windows drivers)
  • Autodesk® 3ds Max or Maya with Mental Images iray
  • BlackMagic Design® DaVinci Resolve 7.1 and 8.0
  • Bunkspeed® Shot with Mental Images iray
  • Microsoft® Windows® 7 / Vista / XP
  • Refractive Software Octane Render
  • The MathWorks™ MATLAB®
  • Wolfram Research® Mathematica®

Installation and Use
With GPU-Xpander Desktop 2, users can take turns using GPU-Xpander in the office.  If the need for GPU computing or multi-port adapters is sporadic among users, move the ExpressCard adapter from one notebook to another and move GPU-Xpander to each as needed. Optionally, you can also leave the ExpressCard adapter in each notebook computer and move the GPU-Xpander cable to each as needed. Contact Cubix to determine if your laptop with the ExpressCard socket will support external GPUs. Unfortunately, Apple MacBook Pro, even with an ExpressCard port, does not support external multiple GPUs with video ports.

GPU-Manager for Microsoft Windows
Cubix GPU-Manager is an application that provides management of graphics processing unit (GPU) clusters in Cubix GPU-Xpander enclosures. The primary aims of GPU-Manager are asset management, health monitoring and technical support data of GPUs. GPU-Manager runs under Microsoft Windows but does not support PCIe devices that are not GPUs. If you run Microsoft Windows on computers connected to GPU-Xpander, you can download and install GPU-Manager by creating an account on the Cubix Website here.

  • Asset Management - GPU-Manager collects data from distributed GPU clusters into a central management console that lists the following:
    • all attached GPU-Xpander enclosures
    • the GPUs within each GPU-Xpander enlosure
    • GPU capabilities such as number of GPU cores, amount of RAM, etc.
    • operating system and software driver version numbers
  • Monitoring - GPU-Manager continuously monitors GPU clusters, and provides the following:
    • link status, number of lanes, and link speed for each enclosure
    • temperature, fan speed and GPU load characteristics for each GPU

Which GPU-Xpanders are best for me?

  • I want to connect several notebook computers with the ExpressCard34 socket one at a time to external GPUs.
    GPU-Xpander 5 for Laptops provides one PCIe x1 host adapter and one ExpressCard adapter as well as 2 to 4 PCIe x16 slots. Add several optional ExpressCard adapters (one ExpressCard adapter per host). The connector provides a 1,500 mating duty cycle.
  • I want to connect several notebook computers with the ExpressCard socket and several tower computers one at a time to external GPUs.
    GPU-Xpander 5 for Laptops provides one PCIe x1 host adapter and one ExpressCard adapter as well as 2 to 4 PCIe x16 slots. Add several optional ExpressCard adapters and host adapters to support multiple hosts. Install one ExpressCard adapter per host and one adapter per host. The connector provides a 1,500 mating duty cycle.


GPU-Xpander for Laptops
GPU-Xpander Desktop 2 provides a maximum bandwidth of 2.5Gbps and 4 PCIe Gen 2 x16 (x1 electrical) slots with external PCIe x1 connectivity to the host. GPU-Xpander Desktop 2 connects to an ExpressCard in a notebook computer.

For details, visit the GPU-Xpander Desktop 2 product page or contact Cubix for assistance in determining if your notebook computer supports external GPUs. For other GPU-Xpander models, visit the GPU-Xpander Product Family page. For purchase information, visit the Cubix GPU On-line Store.