Video Card upgrades for laptops?????

M

MYSTic Jedi

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
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^^^^ Is there such a thing? I would love it if i coud upgrade that, but i really dont think there is, or at least ive never seen any for sale or advertised. But if there is some sort thing like this, please let me know. Thanks.
 
Never seen anything like it for sale.

I'm going to go with NO. It would be hard to do since alot of video card are in the motherboards or have it with shared memory.
 
Video cards for laptops are very laptop specific. If the model laptop you have had a better video card option, or their next model used the same motherboard, then you might be able to upgrade to that specific card. You need to look for info specific to your model laptop to find out. Also if your laptop has integrated graphics there may not even be a connector for a video card.

Some docking stations also had upgradable video cards.
 
Newer Dells are probably the best for this.

I upgraded my 7800Go in my e1705 to a 7800GTX. Also the i9300 can be upgraded from the 6800Go to a 7800 series. These laptops will also most likely handle the newer 7900 series that has yet to be released by Dell.

(for sale here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1042895 )
 
I could upgrade the video card in my laptop - check with the manf. of your laptop to see if it is an option.
 
Upgradeable video is definately catching on in the notebook market. However, the main problem remains that there really isnt a universal format to the video cards. It still remains the design of the OEM for the most part. Nvidia is pushing its MXM format but its still not mainplace. Until they can get everyone onto a common format it will be up to the OEM whether the graphics will be upgradeable or not. Dell and Sager both offer upgrades just to mention a couple.
 
ok, well that gives me an idea, but i have a Toshiba satallite, one of the 17 in. widescreens, i forget the modle number...... I might check with them, but i doubt it.........
 
Hi there,

Dell has a few somewhat upgradeable models, so does Clevo (Alienware, Sager) but they use a proprietary format, sometimes loosely based on the MXM form factor.

I run a site about MXM (http://www.mxm-upgrade.com) It also features a list of all currently known MXM lappies.

Check it out,

Ice-Tea
 
vekt0r said:
Newer Dells are probably the best for this.

I upgraded my 7800Go in my e1705 to a 7800GTX. Also the i9300 can be upgraded from the 6800Go to a 7800 series. These laptops will also most likely handle the newer 7900 series that has yet to be released by Dell.

(for sale here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1042895 )
Click to expand...

I agree. The XPS laptops were also upgradable.
 
Q: Can I upgrade the graphics on my Laptop?

A: The short answer is no. The more correct (and subsequently more long-winded) answer is, only in specific circumstances. Say you have model X from company Y. First off the first criterion you have to meet is the Laptop’s graphics must be on a daughter card. If the graphics are soldered onto the motherboard…you can’t upgrade. So say you do have a Video daughter card. Does your laptop currently have the highest option for graphics that your model ever came with? If you answered yes, then no, you can’t upgrade. Ok, so now we have a Laptop with a Video daughter card that doesn’t have the highest level of option that was ever available for that model. Under this circumstance and ONLY this circumstance can you upgrade. Currently major notebook manufacturers design Laptop Video cards SPECIFICALLY for that model. In certain extreme cases your Laptop’s BIOS will only recognize certain models of video cards. So for example, an Inspiron 8xxx series or Latitude C8xx series notebook (they’re the same, just different BIOS) the most you’re gonna upgrade to is the Mobility 9000 Radeon from Ati. And to get that card to run in a Latitude, you’ll have to use Omega drivers since that card was never offered in a latitude.

Granted, Ati and nVidia both have announced a modular system for their PCI Express graphics cards in mobile applications, but as yet few manufacturers have chosen to use the technology. It might be some time before we see modular graphics cards incorporated into Laptop designs.


***STICKIED on Laptop Q & A. I just copied & pasted.***
 
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