can you really not change graphics cards?

I've been thinking about getting an Asus G1s-b2but I dont want to buy a new laptop when the next series of graphics cards come out. Also Asus is going to release 2 new models sometime this month which I am liking.

 

You Can't Upgrade Graphics Cards.

 

on any laptop?

 

Sorry for the tone here, but if you can't google a specific laptops "upgradability" then good luck actually upgrading the card.

 

It is possible only if the laptop uses an MXM graphics card, which are extremely rare.

 

You will be better off waiting, and buying a new, better notebook, rather than upgrading the GPU..!! It will be hard to find that specific GPU that might be able to work in your notebook..!!

 

Some laptops (mainly Dell's)have their own proprietary graphics cards, but upgradeability is generally limited. For example I could upgrade my Dell Inspiron's ATI Mobility X1300 to an X1400 for a minor performance gain.

 

9001,

Here is a site with a HUGE list of MXM capable (upgradeable) laptops and information concerning how to upgrade them.

www.mxm-upgrade.com

 

Really?
Can you share with me your knowledge about DELL proprietary cards?
Are they made by DELL for DELL or they are made by 3d party exclusively for DELL only?

 

Oldman,

Check out that site I linked above for all the answers about Dell cards.

 

I've checked and haven't found any DELL cards

 

Basically,

Dell uses there own preparatory cards. Usually they release a specific model and SOMETIMES they offer an upgrade for that specific model down the road. However, this really doesn't happen too often and even when it does, it's usually only one card.

This is what I've gathered from reading into this stuff for awhile. Some models have a few more card upgrades offered from Dell, but it's not a normal thing. The forums on mxm-upgrade.com have some more info and a google search will give you even more specific details. But, this is the quick version.

EDIT: ALSO, keep in mind that only a FEW Dell models use preparatory cards! Most models have the graphics card soldered to the motherboard.

 

A simple way to find which upgrades are available for which laptops is to search the eBay category for laptop GPU's. The available upgrades are usually a result of different configuration offerings, and usually newer options aren't given once the model's successor is released.

 

NightWalker, I want to keep in my mind just ONE proprietary DELL made video card.
Please, just give me definition/model number. Why it so difficult?

 

...... What are you even asking? Also, why is it so difficult for you to do a forum/google search for whatever information you want? Am I supposed to do everything for you?

Since you can't seem to do any work for yourself, a quick google search yielded this website within 10 seconds that gives a list of Dell notebooks and upgrade possibilities:

http://www.bay-wolf.com/videoupgrade.htm

Here's another website with a video showing how to upgrade the video cards in the Dell M1730 to dual 8800M GTXs:

http://laptoping.com/dell-dual-nvidia-geforce-8800m-gtx-upgrade-kit-for-xps-m1730.html

There are a lot more web sites with more information about specific models/card upgrades. I rather dislike Dell, so if you are looking for me to recommend a specific model, then I can't help you.

Bottom line: If you want the "best" upgradable laptop, pick one that has an MXM-III or MXM-HE slot in it. This should give you the highest selection of video cards when you decide you want to upgrade later.

MXM "type" specifications: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Upgrade-Replace-a-Notebook-Video-Card.3236.0.html

 

NightWalker.
I see the whole extend of your googling all over the internet in search for a DELL video card. Great effort.

All your links do not lead to a proprietary DELL cards as you promised. This is bad.
All your links lead to well known Nvidia brand cards that all other brans use also

Please google word 'PROPRIETARY' - wikipedia is good - to fix your problem.

BTW everyone in here knows about MXM type cards.
Be advised that not only DELL use this type of video cards.

If you insist after all on existance of proprietary DELL video cards
you should continue your quest on Google

 

Wow, I don't even know where to begin....

First of all, I never PROMISED to show you ANY preparatory Dell laptop cards. I told you to do a google or forum search. What I did do however, is inform you that Dell does NOT use MXM type video cards like you seem to believe!

The links I provided you show many different Dell models that can be upgraded with different Dell (NOT MXM) laptop GPUs. I even provided you with a link to a video showing an M1730's preparatory Dell card being upgraded to an 8800m GTX card! In case you did not pay attention to the video here is a picture (which you could have found by searching THESE forums!!) of the 8800m GTX upgrades:



If you look at the picture, you can clearly see these are NOT MXM cards. They are Dells own preparatory video card format.

Oldman,

I really don't know what the point of any of your posts are. You seem to be very confused about this matter even after I have given you more then enough information. You asked about Dell cards and I told you to look at the link I provided and then do a google search. It only takes a few seconds of searching these forums or google to learn that Dell does NOT use MXM cards as you seem to believe.

Please review the information that has been provided to you!

 

Thank you NightWalker.
Now I see I can't learn from you more. What I have learned is already hard to fathom...
BTW I'm not a believer...

 

Guys, please calm down!

I think Nightwalker might be right in this case. I have never heard of Dell using a MXM GPU ever. HOWEVER, just because a GPU is MXM, doesn't mean that it's any better since many manufactures have slightly different spatial requirements (eg. the 8600m GT MXMII for the Asus C90s can not be used on the HP Compaq nw9440 also using the MXMII form).

Below is a picture of Dell (from Inspiron 1720 - 8600m GT - top image) and Asus (from M50Sv-A1 - 9500m GS - bottom image) GPUs - Asus uses MXMII, and Dell doesn't.

 

Gosh.....People can't just even do a search nowadays....
Read here....
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86864

 

...

It's like it needs to be stickied.

There's always those advocates who keep insisting on how everything is upgradable on the laptop and follow that false mantra that "if the socket is the same, it must work!". This isn't a desktop! There are several give-and-take design decisions makes with each model since they have to balance out power usage and thermals. Otherwise you'll have a laptop that runs on its GPU for like 30 minutes before the batteries run out, or worse still, the GPU burns up.

A desktop is a desktop. A laptop is a laptop. If you want expandability and upgradability, get a desktop. If you want to carry around a laptop that you can do gaming on, expect some very severe unfavorable compromises compared to a desktop (always being a generation or two behind, getting hot a lot faster, sacrificing performance for portability, notebook parts costing more than desktop counterparts, etc).

And as far as upgrading the GPUs on a laptop is concerned, unless the manufacturer says it's supported, you are asking for trouble. It might fit, it might work, but it'll always be a ticking timebomb in the background getting ready to go off and make you have a bad day. It might be when you upgrade your laptop firmware and it nukes the VBIOS on your GPU. Or it might be the day that you heavily load the GPU and it exceeds the thermal dissipation capability of the heatsink. Or it might be the day that it overdraws the power system and burns your DC board or even the motherboard. Heck, it might not even physically fit in your unit EVEN if it follows the so-called MXM standard due to other spatial restrictions!

If you want to upgrade your GPU on a laptop, sell the old laptop and get a new one. It's that simple. It is the new nature of the business. You can't really keep much from the older systems except for parts that must be standard.

 

AlexF,

I hope you are not referring to me? Upgrading laptops that use MXM is definitely possible. It is however difficult and NEVER, EVER, a guarantee that it will work. But, I also never said it would definitely be possible to upgrade every laptop with ANY standard of video card.

As mentioned, there are other factors, sometimes an upgrade is possible and extremely easy. On the other hand, sometimes it's impossible even if it's MXM.

I'm not really sure why a few people have had such bad attitudes in this thread but all I've done is give information and provide links that will clearly demonstrate what IS and ISN'T possible. It's up to the person viewing this information to decide if it's worth it for him/her.

 

Han Bao Quan,

Thanks for providing that link. Hopefully that, along with everything else, can at least put the Dell video card issue to rest.

 

No, I have a beef with someone says that it *should* work, and then it doesn't. It's more like it probably won't work, but you can try it if you want.

No problem with suggesting, but as long as it's made clear that they are actually taking a risk. The real danger is that they don't realize how much over their head they might be getting with that sort of thing.

Manufacturers have their sneaky ways of doing things. MXM isn't a standard slot like PCI-E 16x or AGP where only they would suffer if they didn't follow the standard. It was backed by nVidia, but fact of the matter is that there is no apparent consequence if manufacturers don't follow the specification since nobody else is technically "supposed" to be using that slot, so they will tend to do things their own way rather than the way they *should* if they're following spec.

Sure, we all want bigger and better and newer, it's just that market doesn't seem to be controlled by what we want, just what the manufacturers want to sell. I have an X1700 on my V1J. Would I like to upgrade it to a 9500GM? Sure. Would I want to risk blowing up my 2000$ laptop (when I bought it, probably not worth 1300 now) trying to hack one up? Hells no.

The only laptop I've seen that openly advertised swappable video cards is the C90, and even then I think we haven't seen any other video cards yet.

If it's a desktop, sure, you blow up any piece and I could probably swap it out with a functional one in a jiffy with a part probably less than 100-150$ depending on what it was. Then there's the fact that you can get a newer piece that probably works better than the older one.

Now, with a laptop, you blow up any of the core pieces (ie: motherboard, GPU, CPU) and not only do you have to replace it with almost exactly the same piece, you should expect to pay at *LEAST* 200$ for that piece, depending on what piece of was. Then there's the fact that doing that usually voids the warranty and the question of whether the part is even available (typically older units have pieces which are backordered).

That's the real nuisance about laptops. It would've been nice if CBB had come further and actually made them more flexible and serviceable without being tied down so much.