MSI debuts the GUS II external GPU enclosure for your laptop
MSI will soon start shipping (H2 2012) a new external GPU enclosure dubbed GUS II that appears to be the successor to the original GUS launched a few years ago. Essentially, customers are provided with an external “GPU in a box” enclosure that they can use by connecting it to their notebooks. Nevertheless, it is important to point out that users will need to have a Thunderbolt-enabled portable computer in order to do so.
The GUS II can reportedly incorporate any NVIDIA or RADEON graphics controller provided it utilizes less than 150W. According to the manufacturer, the GPU itself will be powered by a built-in PCI Express slot. In addition, this new product will presumably support multi-monitor output and thanks to Intel’s Thunderbolt technology data transmission speed can reach 10Gbps per channel.
As exciting as it might sound, if you do not have a laptop equipped with the required interface or drivers, you cannot take advantage of MSI’s new enclosure. Furthermore, a Notebook Italia report indicates that MacBook Air owners will need support from AMD, NVIDIA and Apple before they can actually use the GUS II with their ultra-portable notebooks.