Laptop video upgrade

[chunky_lover53]

So i've recently come to the conclusion that i need to upgrade my video card in my laptop cuz it sucks big time, the only thing is is that i have no idea what to look for in a laptop video card, any body got any info

[foodmaniac2003]

Your laptop most likely won't be able to upgrade. Your only option is a whole new system.

[SteVen]

Pretty much 95% of laptops video cards can't be upgraded. foodmaniac is right, your only option would be to get a brand new laptop.

[chunky_lover53]

yeah well this is a new laptop so i don't see that happenin

[Bs|Archaon]

Then you're screwed, to be honest. Your two options are to get a new laptop or put up with it. If you can't do the first, it leaves you with the second...

[Vince]

Desktop wins

[Oblivious]

On somewhat the same topic, I know if you have integrated video in your laptop (which I think most do), you're screwed. What if your laptop already has a videocard in it, is it more likely possible to upgrade it to some extent, or still pretty rare that you can?

For instance, the one I recently got from my ex-girlfriend is a 1.5 yr old Dell Latitude D820 with a GeForce Go 7400 (Quadro NVS 120M) in it. Upgradeable perhaps?

Thanks for any info. You can fit what I know about laptops into a thimble!

[Bs|Archaon]

Originally Posted by Oblivious

On somewhat the same topic, I know if you have integrated video in your laptop (which I think most do), you're screwed. What if your laptop already has a videocard in it, is it more likely possible to upgrade it to some extent, or still pretty rare that you can?

For instance, the one I recently got from my ex-girlfriend is a 1.5 yr old Dell Latitude D820 with a GeForce Go 7400 (Quadro NVS 120M) in it. Upgradeable perhaps?

Thanks for any info. You can fit what I know about laptops into a thimble!

No. Even if it's not integrated into the motherboard, it's still not replaceable. Some even go as far as to solder the card onto the motherboard. Laptop graphics cards can be very hard to source, and some are specific to particular models so in many cases a 'card' from one manufacturer won't fit in a laptop from someone else. Even if you do source one they're extremely expensive for basic models, let alone ones that are worth upgrading to.

There's also other issues. For one, it's not a user serviceable part so you void your warranty if you go anywhere near it. Do you want to do that on a new or recently purchased laptop? No.

Second, the laptop is designed to cope with the heat its hardware is supposed to output (and some of them barely manage that), so if you whack a hotter card in there it is likely to cause problems. It's not a desktop; you can't exactly drill a blowhole in your case and strap a fan to it.

The only real exception to the rule is laptops equipped with MXM (think of that as the PCI Express equivalent of the PCMCIA card designed for graphics cards). Generally only high spec laptops have MXM, and even then it's extremely rare (in short, if you've got an MXM laptop you wouldn't need to upgrade it yet, and you'd probably know it has MXM).

Even with MXM, the cards are hideously expensive. I mean, you're looking at around $550 for an X1900...and that's the only site I've found (other than eBay) which sells them.

[Oblivious]

Thanks for the quick info! That pretty much spells it out right there.

I kind of figured as much. Some day I'll buy a "gaming" laptop, but that is so far down the priority list, I can't even see it! Mine plays games like WoW and stuff released 3-4 yrs ago just fine, so that's good enough for my current needs anyways.

[Bs|Archaon]

As you've might have noticed from my posts in topic like these, I'm a big fan of the 'Buy a decent desktop and a cheap laptop' theory. Hence my combination of my PC and an ASUS Eee PC (which is about as cheap and portable as laptops get).