Video cards with usb-c or Thunderbolt III as one (or more) of the displayouts?

[cbn]

Is this something we can expect on the horizon?

One reason I am asking is because I think it would incredibly useful to have for scenarios where limited expansion or blocked expansion is an issue.

For example, Some older SFF Pre-builts will come with a PCIe x 4 in addition to the PCIe x 16, but when a dual slot low profile card is installed it blocks the PCIe x4 leaving either nothing available (Eg, Dell Optiplex 9010 SFF) or only a PCIe x1 and PCI (Eg, HP Elite 8300 SFF).

Then, of course, there are Mini-ITX/MIni-DTX builds to think of as well.

P.S. Intel Pre-builts with the H110 chipset can also lack PCIe x 4 even in the larger form factors.(Examples here and here) and the PCIe x1 they do have is PCIe 2.0 which is not enough for usb-c (which needs PCIe 3.0 x 1 or PCIe 2.0 x 2).

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I doubt it.

 

[cbn]

An old (2015) diagram from Kitguru showing Dockport as a possible option for dGPU:

DockPort (originally codenamed Lightning Bolt[1]) is a backward compatible extension of DisplayPort, adding USB 3.0 and DC power, in addition to DisplayPort's video and audio signalling. Standardised by VESA, it is the first royalty free industry standard to combine these four interface functions in one connector.[2][3] DockPort was developed by AMD and Texas Instruments, two member companies of VESA, as a low-cost alternative to Thunderbolt, for use as a docking interface for laptops and other mobile devices.

The Texas Instruments HD3SS2521 is a DockPort controller that routes DisplayPort and USB 3.0 signals along with power over a standard DisplayPort cable. It was unveiled in 2013, and used as the basis of the final DockPort standard.[4] The docking, for instance, can provide MST hub implementation for multiple displays (through DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or D-Sub), a SuperSpeed USB hub, alongside audio and full bandwidth Gigabit Ethernet.

 

[PeterScott]

There is a standard to use USB-C as a port on Video Cards for VR. It's called VirtualLink:
https://www.roadtovr.com/virtuallin...connection-nvidia-amd-valve-oculus-microsoft/

New RTX cards all have it:
https://www.roadtovr.com/nvidia-gef...-price-release-date-announcement-virtuallink/
"All of the GeForce RTX cards also offer hardware support for the VirtualLink VR connector, which is designed for the next generation of VR headsets. It appears that all of NVIDIA’s ‘Founder’s Edition’ GPUs will include the USB-C based port alongside DisplayPort and HDMI ports. "

Though I don't know how usable it is for general purpose.

 

[cbn]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/vr-virtuallink-usb-type-c

This alternative USB Type-C port will need to be located right on your graphics card, which requires Nvidia and AMD to offer USB functionality directly on the PCB itself.

The VirtualLink standard hopes to do away with unnecessary breakout boxes tethering you to your PC and instead replace it with a single lightweight cable capable of DisplayPort, USB, and power, all firing simultaneously.