1. The GPD G2 dock supports PCIe 5.0 x8 hardware via the GPD Box mini PC, offering higher bandwidth than most current mini PC ports, but actual speeds may be limited by USB4 v2 and Thunderbolt 5 interference.
2. It features a PCIe Gen 5 x16 GPU slot with 126GBps bandwidth, an 80Gbps USB4 v2 port with 100W Power Delivery, and an 800W PSU suitable for high-end GPUs.
3. Additional ports include two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, a gigabit Ethernet port, and an M.2 NVMe slot, expanding storage options.
4. The G2 dock is set to launch soon but lacks confirmed pricing and availability details.
Introduction to GPD G2 Dock
GPD has released details about their new G2 dock, designed specially to work with the GPD Box mini PC which is equipped with the MCIO 8i port. This dock is an upgrade over the traditional OCuLink PCIe 4.0 x4 standard because it utilizes 8 lanes instead of just four, promising better performance and more bandwidth for users.
Technical Compatibility and Support
The specifications sheet of the GPD G2 dock states its support for PCIe 4.0 x8, but the company has confirmed that the GPD Box’s port supports PCIe 5.0 x8. We contacted GPD for clarifications, and a company spokesman said that the dock physically supports PCIe 5.0. Nonetheless, due to potential interference between MCIO and USB4 v2 or Thunderbolt 5, the actual speed might not hit the full PCIe 5.0 x8 bandwidth. Still, operating at PCIe 4.0 with 8 lanes, the dock should surpass most modern mini PC and handheld gaming device ports in throughput.
Additional Features and Connectivity
- The PCIe slot meant for a GPU is a Gen 5 x16 slot, offering a data bandwidth of roughly 126GBps, capable of supporting high-performance graphics cards like the Nvidia RTX 5090.
- It includes a USB4 v2 port rated at 80Gbps for versatile connectivity across a range of devices.
- This dock supports Power Delivery 3.0 with up to 100W, enabling charging of connected devices through a typical 5-feet Silkland USB4 v2 cable, priced at around $24.95.
- The built-in power supply unit (PSU) outputs 800W, suitable for running large GPUs and demanding desktop setups.
- Expandable storage is possible through an NVMe M.2 slot with PCIe 3.0 x2 interface, which can be used to increase the storage capacity of the connected host device.
- Other ports include two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, besides a standard gigabit Ethernet port for network connections.
Availability and Final Notes
GPD has not announced the official price or release date for the G2 dock yet, but it is expected to be available soon. This expansion dock appears to be a powerful addition for users needing high-speed data transfer, graphics processing, and flexible connectivity options in a compact form factor.