Dell 1420 graphics card possibilties...

Hey all!

I just purchased my first laptop, and as a junior in college, this is a very welcome change from the ol' desktop.

basic specs:
core2 duo t7250 2.00 ghz
2 gb ram
120 gb hdd 7200 rpm
nvidia geforce 8400m gs 128mb
vista 32-bit


I ordered my inspiron 1420 from dell with the 8400m gs graphics card, as it was the only upgrade they offered in the graphics department. i checked out the nvidia webiste, and noticed they had the 8400m gt, which is a step up from the gs. i was just curious on whether or not the gt would be a direct replacement (fit wise) with the gs. they are both for the thin and light cetegory of notebooks, so i would think it would work.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8400M.html

im just looking for a gc with a bit more punch; but i don't need anything in the extreme category... just enough to play the occasional game of half-life2, fear, prey, supreme commander, etc... again, nothing hardcore, but something that will do a little better than the gs.

any suggestions? would it fit? any other card manufacturers ya'll
reccommend? or is this search in vain?

thank you for your time!
Tyler

 

Nope, for notebooks you can't upgrade unless its explicitly in written letters and with the MXM tag. Even if it says it is MXM, it doesn't mean there is a guarantee that it can be upgraded. Bottom line is, notebooks can not have it's GPU upgraded in most(97%) cases.

The 8400GS in the 1420 is modular, meaning it can be removed as a unit. This may mean something can replace it - however, it doesn't mean it can be an upgrade, it can be a downgrade.

 

thank you for the reply.

and just for clarification, where do i find this MXM? ...and what does MXM stand for?

just curious to see if i can find out if my notebook may be in that 3% category...

you did say it was modular...

"so you're telling me there's a chance!"
-dumb and dumber

haha

 

MXM stands for Mobile pci-eXpress Module

There are a few notebooks with it, but I don't knowwhat they are

 

Your laptop is not MXM. Please read the gaming stickies.

 

If Dell made a better gpu for the 1420, then you could upgrade to that.

But since you have the best one for your machine, there's no other one you can upgrade to. You can't just take any ol' mobile gpu and put it in there. Dell has to make it for the 1420 specifically for you to have any chance at upgrading.

 

thanks for the fast replies!

i am currently reading through the stickies right now; alotta good info.
pardon my ignorance for the stupid questions.

but purely out of curiosity, what makes a 'dell-approved' 8400 different than a non dell-approved one? what do they change?

i am fairly knowledgable about computers, but less so concerning laptops and their 'special' hardware. but thanks for educating me!

s'pose i'll just have to be happy with the gs.

 

It's just the form factor. The 8400GS can be put in many different types. Unlike in the desktop world, where every pci-e card is the same, in the laptop world there are many forms. Thus, a card that fits in a Dell might be a completely different shape and size than the same exact chip but in a different machine.

But the advent of MXM, manufacturers are trying to universalize this, so that all cards and laptops have the same form factor, thus be interchangeable.

 

well thats good to know. i simply thought that all, for instance, nvidia geforce 8400's, were similar enough to interchange. i suppose i assumed this from my knowledge in the desktop realm... my bad.

i guess that difference does make sense, but its definitly time for the manufacturers to adopt a universal fitment. just for simplicities sake, if not cheaper manufacturing costs.

so, generally speaking, how different is the 'standard' geforce 8400m gs i would order from nvidia, newegg, or similar place, than the one that is put into dells?
its gotta have the same function in the end, so im just curious on how 'incompatible' and different they are in layout, size, etc...

 

You can't order a 8400m from Newegg...

Dell uses a proprietary connector, while most companies solder the card onto the mobo.

 

i was just using newegg as a namesake for simlar computer component companies...

but thanks again. i'll keep that in mind next time i buy a laptop.
ya'll have been very helpful. i'll definitly stick around for when i have some more questions.

 

It may be remotely possible to upgrade to a 9400M GS in the future if it's also made for a Inspiron/Vostro 14XX line of notebooks.

No guarantees, however.

 

What Lithus meant was that you cannot buy a "standard" 8400M-GS, from newegg or anywhere else. Laptop video cards are not sold as seperate components, unlike desktop video cards. Most are physically soldered onto the motherboard even. The one's that aren't, the one's that are modular and removable, can sometimes be found on ebay or from spare parts suppliers, however each one of those is specific to the model of laptop that it was originally designed for, except in a very few instances. The only real "standard" form factor is MXM (and supposedly AXIOM, but that never went anywhere), and the only real MXM store is MXM-Upgrade.com, run by our own forum member Ice-Tea.