Graphics Card Upgrade

Hi everyone,

I hope this finds you well

I'm pretty new to this whole notebook field and was wondering about a specific problem.

I currently on an ASUS X50RL and would like to upgrade the graphics card in this machine.

Currently it has a ATI Radeon Xpress 200M but I am trying to play a game called FIFA 09, which requires a stronger graphics card.

Could anyone shed any light on what I need to buy to upgrade this machine and where I could possibly get one?

When I ran a test at www.yougamers.com it said I needed at least a GeForce 6600 or ATI equivalent, but reccommended a NVIDIA GeForce 7800 or ATI equivalent...but I think they're for PCs rather than notebooks?

I am at a loss here because I haven't much idea about this side of notebooks and would like to learn if upgrading my machine is possible.


Many thanks in advance for your help.


Ian.



PS, When I asked a friend they reccommended an external graphics card...do such things exist? I am unable to find much about these online in regards to sales.

 

You will not be able to upgrade a Radeon Xpress 200M since it is an integrated GPU. In other words, there is no card to replace since it is integrated on the motherboard.

Edit: There is no such thing as a real external graphics card... there are some USB things you can buy that will allow you to have an extra monitor but it would be even slower than your existing GPU for gaming.

 

some people are excited about this piece of equipment and its potential on graphics card upgrades, but I'm not holding my breath.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=390634

 

Is that thing for real? I can't find any reviews of it or anything...

 

As I understand it, they just hit retail, but I'm very interested in reading some reviews.

 

Thanks for the replies so far everyone...looking like bad news then?

 

External graphics are available, but not readily available from every reseller/store. It was fist announced a few years ago. IRCC, there was only one reseller that sold the Asus XG Station and the reseller was based in Australia. Also, in order to efficiently use an external graphics card, it will have to be connected through express card. If your notebook doesn't have an express card slot, then you're out of luck.

 

Now I'm not sure I do or not to be honest...I've tried to see what one looks like from google images but not having much luck.

Beside my headphone and speaker jacks I have a thing that pops out which has holes cut in it and then leaves me a space to put something in is that what you mean?

I dont know how to upload a picture onto this...if anyone who can help has msn or an email address i can send them the pics?


Ian

 

That should be it. The slot should be around 2 inches across and a few inches deep. The new Vidock2 uses a special connector that slots right in apparently. Personally I am also interested in reviews. Remember to use the dock you also have to buy a decent screen, external keyboard and mouse in addition to the Vidock and its Graphics card. Add up the cost of all those components and it might not be worth it.
If it didn't need an external monitor and therefore external keyboard then it would be much more attractive.

 

Hmmmm, I have my laptop hooked up to my flatscreen television and have a wireless keyboard sitting about somewhere from a previous PC

Would those work? How much roughly would it cost?

 

Depending on your funds and how much of a gamer you are, it may also be better (easier, and possibly also with a higher return/price ratio) to just get a new notebook with a more powerful GPU...

 

think i'm gonna settle for fixing and then upgrading my desktop, looks to be a better solution to the problem