At CES 2024, Lenovo unveiled the new, impressively powerful external GPU, the ThinkBook Graphics Extension. It does come with a pretty big caveat, though, which is that it’s currently only compatible with one laptop model, Lenovo’s own ThinkBook 14 i Gen 6+.
Introduced at the same time, the ThinkBook 14 i Gen 6+ is a sleek, smart-looking business laptop powered by an Intel Core Ultra processor. It uses AI PC features to optimize user experiences in various workflows, including office tools, photo, video and audio editing, and meeting collaboration. It comes with up to 32GB of dual-channel LPDDR5X memory, built-in Intel Arc graphics, and a large 85Wh battery.
The ThinkBook Graphics Extension, or TGX for short, is an intelligent graphics solution that connects to the ThinkBook 14 via the laptop’s TGX port. This port was created by Lenovo specifically to allow a high-speed connection to a desktop GPU.
A powerful boost for AI tasks
The TGX, a product of Lenovo’s partnership with NVIDIA, supports NVIDIA GeForce RTX desktop GPUs, which can significantly boost AI computing power when paired with the laptop’s Intel Core Ultra processor.
Lenovo says the combined intelligence of NVIDIA and Intel “will provide the perfect solution for users who need extra power for graphics-intensive or AI-based tasks.” NVIDIA RTX GPUs are known for their ability to excel at parallel work, making them ideal for running generative AI models, such as Stable Diffusion accelerated by NVIDIA TensorRTTM.
The TGX also serves as a convenient shared solution for office hot desk settings. Users can easily plug in their ThinkBook laptop and use the extra power when needed.
While the launch of the ThinkBook Graphics Extension is great news, the current limitation to just one laptop model may disappoint many potential users. Hopefully Lenovo will extend compatibility to other devices in the future.
The ThinkBook 14 i Gen 6+ and ThinkBook Graphics Extension will be available in select markets starting in Q2 2024, with the starting bundle price expected to be $2,199.