View Full Version : Is it even possible to upgrade laptop video cards?
Damien
06-19-2007, 11:53 AM
Just wondering, I'm going to probably buy this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220167
and I want to eventually upgrade the 7600 in it, but IDK where to buy laptop gpus or how to even install them. Anyone know?
Sorry if this is the wrong section :P
RyderOCZ
06-19-2007, 11:56 AM
Only if the Video is separate from the motherboard. Some laptops have the Video as a separate card just like a Desktop. If this is the case then many times you can upgrade, if its soldered on the board, then no.
Damien
06-19-2007, 12:01 PM
oh ok luckily it's a dedicated card which means it IS upgradeable. Now where can you buy them? :P
I think there are PCMCI graphic cards for laptops
you can only upgrade if it's an MMX, or XMX (i forget!), just because it's dedicated means f' all as it's still likely soldered on.
koc - REALLY doubt it
Damien
06-19-2007, 04:51 PM
"An integrated GPU is built into the motherboard. As a result, it will not have its own memory (excepting the Radeon Xpress 200M) and its performance is generally severely crippled. The chip itself will be short several features in order to properly fit into the northbridge of the motherboard, and it will have to borrow memory from the system RAM. This leeches some memory bandwidth from the system itself and can be a very minor detriment to overall system performance.
The flipside is that integrated GPUs run very cool and can substantially improve battery life. If you're not going to really be gaming on your notebook, these are usually preferable.
A dedicated GPU is separate from the motherboard and generally has its own memory (excepting odd variants that can share system memory - see the HyperMemory and TurboCache section below for details). These frequently offer superior gaming performance but at the cost of battery life."
meaning dedicated means it can be switched out. You can see on the laptop I linked that you can unscrew where it is and take it out ;)
ineedaname
06-19-2007, 05:01 PM
Unless the company specifically says its upgradeable its most likely soldered on.
carey8
06-20-2007, 01:41 AM
Why do you want such a decent GPU in a laptop anyway, it'll just heat the whole system up.
Damien
06-22-2007, 11:13 AM
because it'll be replacing my desktop. I doubt it'll heat it up so much that it wont run, considering there's 7950GTX for laptops and newer series coming out.
Knight
06-22-2007, 11:24 AM
because it'll be replacing my desktop. I doubt it'll heat it up so much that it wont run, considering there's 7950GTX for laptops and newer series coming out.
My laptop with a 2.00ghz c2d and x1600 mobile heats up to 70+c during gaming.