Dell Inspiron 7720 GT 650M Graphics Card Upgrade

Hello everyone.

I realize this question is asked so often it is ridiculous, but I have done my homework and searching on this forum and others. I understand it requires taking apart the entire laptop, but that isn't really an issue for me. The only scenario I currently see this not working is if the GPU is soldered and entirely non-replaceable or the BIOS doesn't accept any other cards.

Here's my system information if it helps:

CPU: Intel i7 3630QM @2.4ghz with 3.4ghz turbo boost (long term usage sits at 3ghz to remain within longterm TDP)
Memory: 8gb
GPUs: Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated and the aforementioned Nvidia Geforce GT650M
Hard Drive: 512GB SSD and 1TB HDD
PSU: 130 Watt Dell power brick

GT650M specs:
Core clock: 745mhz with 835mhz boost
Memory clock: 1000mhz
Memory type: GDDR5
Bus interface: PCI-E 3.0x16

I have no current cooling issues without a cooling pad, and I have one at my disposal that I use when gaming.
Running heaven and prime95 simultaneously gives me 66C max for the Nvidia GPU and 80-85C for the CPU cores. I was getting about 80C (forget the exact number) on GPU just running heaven before I blew out the dust haha. Given that I have 66C for 100% utilization (and stock thermal paste) it seems to me that this laptop could easily handle the extra heat.

As far as I can tell from reading articles is that I need a card with the same PCI express mobile (MXM slot?) and that I need to find a card that has the same adapter type. I'm a little bit confused because I've read the hardware slot is an MXM-A or MXM-B for example, but the electronic interface is the PCI express... Expanding on that the following article where I was looking for compatible graphics cards it lists bus types as "PCIe 3.0 x16" for some cards instead of "MXM-B/A".

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/ (under mobile > Nvidia are my selections I was looking at)

My card lists "PCIe 3.0 x16". Does this mean I just need to find a card with that same bus type, or is there some relation or other thing entirely about MXM-A/B and PCIe 3.0 x16 I am missing? For example, it appears as if the GTX 760M has the same bus interface, so will that work in my laptop? (Does staying with an Nvidia GPU help with bios compatibility if that's an issue?)

Looking at TDP in regards to my CPU it appears that the CPU can pull more power than its rated TDP for short times. Does this mean putting a GPU with a modest increase in TDP be supported by the motherboard and supply enough power? From what I can tell this 130 watt power brick should support a significant GPU upgrade (Does the motherboard support more but they just slap a lower power GPU into it?)

On a last note (maybe I should have opened with this), is PCIe 3.0 x16 a simple adapter that the graphics card plugs into?

NO, I do not want a desktop computer. This laptop works wonderfully and has a phenomenal screen and CPU that is hardly pushed. Everything performs excellent except the GPU on this beast. I have no problem dismantling my laptop to replace the GPU, so no warning about that please (unless we have soldering to the board issues)

I sincerely apologize if this has been beat to death before, but I did use the search function a lot
I appreciate any advice from you folks. Thanks!

 

Isn't the GT650M soldered?

 

You are only going to find non soldered MXM (Mobile PCI-Express Module) graphic cards on gaming laptops and on professional workstation laptops. I'm 100% sure that 650M on the Inspiron is soldered, there is no upgrade.

 

Agreed.. Its 100% likely to be soldered to the motherboard...