As CES 2017 approaches, the usual stream of rumors and leaked information continues unabated as companies inadvertently — and sometimes intentionally — let loose information that pre-empts their upcoming official announcements. This time around, there is a tidbit that indicates Zotac will be joining in on the external GPU dock craze that is transforming portable gaming.
The company issued a teaser that speaks of a new “Zotac External Graphics Dock,” a generic title that’s likely a placeholder for something more exciting. Although Zotac didn’t tell us much, it’s clear that the company is planning to offer another external chassis to add faster graphics capabilities to supported Thunderbolt 3 machines, as Tom’s Hardware reports.
According to Zotac’s press release, “The external graphics dock enables any device equipped with Thunderbolt 3 ports to take full advantage of the transfer speed and bandwidth, potentially becoming exponentially more powerful.” The company followed up on its initially sketchy information with a clarification that the dock will support both Nvidia and AMD GPUs up to 2.5 slots wide and 13 inches long.
Although Zotac’s description is vague but also rather promising, it’s unlikely that the company has magically overcome the requirement for a machine’s Thunderbolt 3 to specifically support external graphics adapters. It is more likely that only specific machines, such as the Razer Blade line, will work with the dock for the fastest possible gaming performance.
Other details about the dock include its single PCIe 3.0 X16 slot, three USB 3.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port with Quick Charge support, and 400-watt power supply. Of course, we don’t have long to wait for more details, as CES 2017 is right around the corner. Most likely, Zotac won’t be the only company introducing new products to enhance PC gaming.