ADLINK Pocket AI NVIDIA External GPU RTX A500

[Red Falcon]

I'm surprised this one hasn't surfaced on here yet, a pocket AI solution by ADLINK featuring the NVIDIA RTX A500 with Thunderbolt 3.0/4.0 and USB 4.0 for connectivity.
Not bad for a portable solution!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP_8TzDGGVU

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

We are talking about 60% of the performance of a discrete 3050, with both at full boost clocks, but this little thing will probably see a lot less in realistic use cases, due to it's 25W TDP cap, compared to 115-130W TDP for a 3050, which means it will probably be power limited a lot of the time.

Based on perf/watt probably being similar similar between the two since they are both GA107 chips, the true performance is probably going to be somewhere between 19% and 22% of a discrete 3050.

It's OK I guess if you happen to need mild compute capability on the go, or maybe some rendering of artwork.

No video out means, this is a compute/AI product only, which is great I guess if you are into that sort of thing.

You could possibly run some light games on it, but you are likely to be held back by passing the frame buffer over USB, rather than just shooting it out to a monitor directly.

For all uses, AI, compute and gaming, most people will probably be better off just getting a prosumer laptop like a Dell XPS that has a on board Nvidia GPU, rather than this janky external USB solution.

 

[Red Falcon]

No video out means, this is a compute/AI product only, which is great I guess if you are into that sort of thing.

It doesn't need video out, it renders the graphics/video and the output goes through the other iGPU.
This has been commonplace for laptops for well over a decade now.

You could possibly run some light games on it, but you are likely to be held back by passing the frame buffer over USB, rather than just shooting it out to a monitor directly.

If you had even skimmed the video you would have seen it can play games above 60fps at 1080p.
Nothing groundbreaking but gaming isn't really what this was designed nor marketed for.

You could possibly run some light games on it, but you are likely to be held back by passing the frame buffer over USB, rather than just shooting it out to a monitor directly.

Maybe at USB 3.0, but this is specifically for Thunderbolt 3.0/4.0 and USB 4.0, so there will certainly be no discernible bottleneck for the transfer rates.
Maybe if this were a 4090 with numerous 4K+ outputs, but not a sub-3050 with iGPU output.

For all uses, AI, compute and gaming, most people will probably be better off just getting a prosumer laptop like a Dell XPS that has a on board Nvidia GPU, rather than this janky external USB solution.

That's what makes this solution nice, not having to carry around a heavy prosumer laptop while keeping the compute capabilities of this optional at home/work/wherever.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

That's what makes this solution nice, not having to carry around a heavy prosumer laptop while keeping the compute capabilities of this optional at home/work/wherever.

You consider a Dell XPS heavy?

This Dell XPS?

It's about the same thickness and weight as what we used to derisively call an Ultrabook.

Heck, even the old 1.25" thick Latitudes aren't even that heavy.

I just don't understand the obsession with thin, light devices. To me weight = quality. Everything feels better when it is heavier. And I don't really want flimsy thin devices.

To me a modern XPS is already too light and flimsy as it is. I can't imagine using anything lighter or thinner than that.

I'm stuck with using whatever work issues me (which right now is a 12th gen Intel Dell XPS with a GTX 3050 in it) but for my own uses (when I need a laptop, I usually don't) I still carry a thick Latitude E6540. They just don't make them like they used to.

So what if it's thick? That's a GOOD thing. It's FAR superior to any of this modern thin flimsy garbage.

As far as I am concerned, no one has made a decent, usable laptop in over a decade. Everything modern is Ultrabook junk, with absolutely horrifically bad chiclet/island design keyboards that are barely usable. I will forever curse Apple for starting this stupid trend, making the worst possible keyboards imaginable the norm everyone strives to put in their products.

Thinner is not better. Lighter is not better.

 

[Red Falcon]

You consider a Dell XPS heavy?

This Dell XPS?

View attachment 606512

It's about the same thickness and weight as what we used to derisively call an Ultrabook.

Heck, even the old 1.25" thick Latitudes aren't even that heavy.

I just don't understand the obsession with thin, light devices. To me weight = quality. Everything feels better when it is heavier. And I don't really want flimsy thin devices.

To me a modern XPS is already too light and flimsy as it is. I can't imagine using anything lighter or thinner than that.

I'm stuck with using whatever work issues me (which right now is a 12th gen Intel Dell XPS with a GTX 3050 in it) but for my own uses (when I need a laptop, I usually don't) I still carry a thick Latitude E6540. They just don't make them like they used to.

View attachment 606513

View attachment 606514

So what if it's thick? That's a GOOD thing. It's FAR superior to any of this modern thin flimsy garbage.

As far as I am concerned, no one has made a decent, usable laptop in over a decade. Everything modern is Ultrabook junk, with absolutely horrifically bad chiclet/island design keyboards that are barely usable. I will forever curse Apple for starting this stupid trend, making the worst possible keyboards imaginable the norm everyone strives to put in their products.

Thinner is not better. Lighter is not better.

While I agree about thinner not being better, heavier can be a pain when one has to carry a heavy laptop around for work.
The thickness isn't the issue, it's the weight, which this device certainly helps with for additional compute.

Being able to optionally keep part of that compute separate from the laptop while travelling is certainly a boon.
If you want to keep using your heavy Dell Latitude 6540 workstation laptop from 2013 with its now EOL and non-degradable Kepler GPU for personal use, by all means go for it.

What works for you doesn't necessarily work for the rest of the world, so you do you and we will do what we need to in the world of enterprise.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

While I agree about thinner not being better, heavier can be a pain when one has to carry a heavy laptop around for work.
The thickness isn't the issue, it's the weight, which this device certainly helps with for additional compute.

Being able to optionally keep part of that compute separate from the laptop while travelling is certainly a boon.
If you want to keep using your heavy Dell Latitude 6540 workstation laptop from 2013 with its now EOL and non-degradable Kepler GPU for personal use, by all means go for it.

What works for you doesn't necessarily work for the rest of the world, so you do you and we will do what we need to in the world of enterprise.

I know everyone comes in different shapes and sizes. Sure, I'm a 6'3" guy, but I'm by no means a body builder. I haven't even been to the gym in over a decade. And even the heaviest laptop I have ever used felt like it was in the category of "light enough that I don't even think of it" to me.

Now I never used one of those luggage IBM desktops with a handle from the 80s, but I have used any number of different laptops from ~1990 through today.

The E6540 weighs only ~6 - 6.5lb. That's like nothing. Like, you could add it to your bag, and in the grand scheme of things you'd barely tell it was even there. You could probably hold the thing with just the grip strength between the pinky and thumb of your non-dominant hand without a problem.

....checking...

Yes, it's a little awkward, but totally possible.

When did we become such wimps that things weighing less than a paltry 10lb are considered "heavy"?

If 6.5 started to feel heavy to me, I'd probably seek medical attention, because something would just not be right. Maybe nerve damage or something? I'd be really concerned.

 

[Red Falcon]

Now I never used one of those luggage IBM desktops with a handle from the 80s, but I have used any number of different laptops from ~1990 through today.

You called?

 

[1_rick]

No video out means, this is a compute/AI product only, which is great I guess if you are into that sort of thing.

Didn't watch the video? He had a section on gaming. 45FPS average, 1080P medium on a 1360P's integrated graphics. 70FPS, same settings, for the A500. I didn't bother checking about noise, and only watched the one game.

The thing supports TB3/4 as well as USB.