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    Laptop Upgrade Questions?

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by Freestyle, Jun 4, 2009.

  1. Freestyle

    Freestyle Newbie

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    I currently have a Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5934
    Specs:
    -S5934 : Detailed Product Specs
    Processor*

    AMD Turion™ X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor RM-70
    Operating System*

    Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit)
    Memory Size*

    3GB
    Memory Speed*

    PC6400 DDR2 800MHz SDRAM
    Display Size*

    15.4" widescreen
    Display Type*

    WXGA with TruBrite® Technology
    Display Resolution*

    1280x800, Supports 720p content
    Graphics Engine*

    ATI® Radeon™ 3100
    Graphics Memory*

    256MB-1406MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
    Hard Drive Size*

    250GB
    Hard Drive Speed*

    5400rpm
    Secondary Hard Drive Size*

    None Available
    Optical Drives*

    DVD-SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash™ drive supporting up to 11 formats
    Wireless LAN*

    Atheros® Wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
    Bluetooth

    No Bluetooth (No Antenna)
    Webcam

    Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
    Inputs and Controls

    TouchPad™ pointing device, 86 key US keyboard, Mute button, Media button, CD/DVD Buttons (Play/Pause, Stop, Prev Track, Next Track)
    Modem

    Modem
    LAN

    10/100 Ethernet LAN
    Audio

    Standard stereo speakers, Microphone jack (mono), Headphone jack (stereo)
    AC Adapter

    90W (19V x 4.74A) 100-240V AC Adapter
    Battery

    Li-Ion (4000mAh, 6-Cell)
    Battery Life*

    Up to 1.66 hours
    PC Express Slot

    1-ExpressCard™ Slot
    Media Card Reader

    4-in-1 Bridge Media Adapter
    USB Ports*

    3-USB (2.0)




    I want to upgrade the video card to GeForce 9400 Gt or a Radeon HD 3650 OC
     
    Freestyle, Jun 4, 2009
    #1
  2. Ghold

    Ghold Notebook Evangelist

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    Ghold, Jun 4, 2009
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  3. Freestyle

    Freestyle Newbie

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    Freestyle, Jun 4, 2009
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  4. Ghold

    Ghold Notebook Evangelist

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    Well, did you read the link I posted?
     
    Ghold, Jun 4, 2009
    #4
  5. Ripfire

    Ripfire Minecraft Architect

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    Sorry bud, that's a negative. :(
     
    Ripfire, Jun 4, 2009
    #5
  6. Freestyle

    Freestyle Newbie

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    i dont know much about computer, just the basics, but i was wondering what stops me from being able to upgrade?
     
    Freestyle, Jun 4, 2009
    #6
  7. Ghold

    Ghold Notebook Evangelist

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    Ghold, Jun 4, 2009
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  8. crash

    crash NBR Assassin

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    crash, Jun 4, 2009
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  9. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    As an add-on to crash's statement:

    Integrated GPUs are built into the chipset themselves, and the PCIe lanes that are used to connect to a GPU are basically routed internally to the integrated card. So there is no way to add on a dedicated GPU or anything.

    Dedicated cards are, 90% of the time, soldered on to the notebook's motherboard and use a proprietary interface. So you aren't going to be able to remove the card, nor find a comparable card that uses the same interface.

    Dell is an notable exception, in that some of their laptops feature upgradeable graphics. But they use a Dell-proprietary interface, so you're upgrade options are EXTREMELY limited.

    Some notebooks, that advertise MXM compatibility and whatnot, are upgradeable. But there are issues with inter-compatibility of different versions of the MXM interface, the ability of a notebook to deliver enough power to a new GPU, to cool a new CPU, etc, etc...that there really isn't a point to even considering these notebooks upgradeable if you ask me.

    Bottom line, laptops can easily have their CPUs, RAM, HDDs, and sometimes optical drives upgraded. Screens can also be upgraded to some extent.

    But graphics card upgrades just are not really possible.
     
    Greg, Jun 4, 2009
    #9