Upgrading Graphics (yes ive read the stickies)

ok guys,
on my old quanta kn1-pm...it said that it uses an mxm module II graphics board, and even in the supported mxm notebook page, it lists the kn1-pm
http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/Table.html (look under quanta)...
so i gave the notebook to my bro, and it has a go6600 128mb graphic card (mxm module ii) and the graphics performance is very bad in the latest games....so i was wondering that if i buy this graphic card from ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MXM-II-nVidia-GeForce-8600M-GS-Laptop-Graphics-Card_W0QQitemZ120325022283QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120325022283&_trkparms=72%3A1234|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

will it work in the quanta?bios?
oh, and what else do i need to know?

 

I'd rather pick ATI mobility Radeon 3450, 3650 or 9600m GT GDDR3.
Avoid the 8400 and 8600 lines of cards as there is a good possibility they could die before their time.

Also make sure you can cool your laptop accordinly as dedicated gpu's of recent and newer generation can get rather hot.

 

Deedeeman, I'd also ask this question in the MXM-Upgrade.com forums, if you haven't already.
One thing you should be wary of is the video BIOS of the new MXM card - if it's incompatible, you won't be able to see anything on your notebook!
Oh, and make sure to put a fresh coat of thermal compound on the core, and new thermal pads on the memory chips.
Otherwise, it should be just fine.

 

or just wait for an mxm ii version of an ati 4000 series card.

 

That may not happen - apparently, the MXM standard is to be revised soon from five form factors (I, II, III, HE, and IV) into two (A and B).
Take a peek here.

 

Even if you can upgrade the graphics card, it won't be worth it because the Pentium M processor in that notebook will be a significant bottleneck. You should really have a dual-core processor for the latest games. Save the money for a new notebook in the future.

 

yea...its my younger brother's now....so yea, in the future ill prpbably buy him a laptop with a 9600 in it....they are cheap nowdays anyways....like the hp d5v or something......atleast the go6600 can play farcry 2 on low-mid settings and still be "playable"

 

if you can get a 3650 itll be pretty similar to an 8600 DDR3, a 9600 DDR3 will be better, but dont get a 3450 as it is inferior to the other 3 by quite a bit, i have a new 8600 in this and its running fine, i think the new batches of them are fixed.

 

i have an 8600 gts in my desktop, and that thing runs like a stovetop...it idles around 70C and under load it reaches 93C

 

right but thats also meant for a desktop which usually have better cooling methods for stuff like that

 

I stick to what I said, avoid 8400 and 8600 gpu's.
I don't think that Nvidia made any changes to their older gpu's.
Besides, WHY waste money on an older product that has a potential for dying too soon anyway?

I think that 3450 would be a better choice though.
Since the laptop in question IS older, no point in putting a too powerful gpu inside as the CPU will be the bottleneck, plus the manufacturing process for 3450 should be the same as 3650 and produce less heat.

 

Now, why you said that not nice thing about 8600 cards ?
I just bought 8600 GT...

 

I was not trying to be mean.
I merely said there is a good possibility those lines of cards could die before their time because of the associated problems they were constructed with.
No need to get emotional about it.

Having said that ... there is no real guarantee that your 8600 will die before it's time ... although do yourself a favour and keep an eye out on the temps just in case.

 

The 3450 uses a different architecture than the 3650, and is considerably slower. The older 6600 would probably be similar in performance to the 3450, so there would be no advantage.