dell e6400 remove graphics card

Hey guys

I've had an e6400 for a while for school. I chose the e6400 or the e5400 because of the graphics card for CAD use. I was wondering, do you guys know if it would be possible to remove the graphics card so I can save battery life and then put it back in when I need it for classes? basically is the card removable and does the e6400 mobo have the integrated graphics like the e5400 does?

Thanks

p.s. I know my way around computer internals, just don't want to bother taking apart if it won't work.

 

No you can't, its a part of the board.

Ebay link for reference

 

You can try undervolting your processor to save battery life.

 

I've already done that

 

Even if you could remove the card (you cannot) the computer would be unable to function as there would be no way to output video to the screen.

Not to mention every time you remove it you'd have to pull the heatsink off of the GPU and CPU, reapply thermal paste to the CPU, and put the heatsink back on. To put the GPU back in, you'd need to do the same steps all over again but apply thermal paste to the GPU as well. Not to mention cleaning both parts in between applications, etc, etc.

Bottom line is that no laptop, ever, is going to work in that way. What you need to find is a laptop that has an integrated GPU if you want battery life. If you require a dedicated card (CAD for sure) then you need to find a laptop with that new Optimus technology or similar.

 

thanks a bunch