can I move my GO 7900 GS from my 1705 to my new 1720?

I was wondering if anyone knew if I can I move my GO 7900 GS from my Dell1705 to my new 1720?

On Dell's website, I can not build the 1720 with a 7900gs.. it's best card is the 8600m or something. I want to give this older 1705 to my dad and get the new 1720 for myself *IF* I can swap video cards.

After reading the Sticky on upgrading your video card and how impossible it is... I am still not sure what type of slot this card plugs into.

I'm going to open up my Dell E1705 and take pictures of the GO 7900 GS. I'll post them here in a few...

 

The 8600m gt is basically equivalent to the 7900gs, plus it has directx 10 support...it would be stupid to switch them, but I don't think it's possible in the first place...

 

I would be interested in knowing, as a lot of people wonder if their e1505's and e1705's can be upgraded in the future with 1520 and 1720 cards...

 

I had an Inspiron 1705 with the Go 7900 GS. I later tried the 8600M GT and I thought the 7900 GS was faster with the 256-bit bus. It's too bad they still don't offer it as an option.

I heard from Dell customer support that they're going to offer the Inspiron 1720 with the 8700M GT in the near future, although the Dell sales staff doesn't know about it...

 

LoL, so what your saying is that the customers WANT that card, but the staff doesnt know if they will use it

 

maybe there is some confusion... The 7900 gs is in my 1705. I want to KEEP the card and put it in the new 1720. Then GIVE my dad the 1705 with the basic Intel card (not the $200 8600) that will ship with the 1720.

I also heard that the 7900 was faster than the 8600... I'm only interested in Gaming (HL2, Doom, etc.)

Here are the pics of the video card and motherboard.

http://www.slowdemon.com/images/dell/index.htm

 

Now, i wouldnt see why it wouldnt work, but why not just give your dad the 1720? and keep the 1705?

 

I'm not quite sure you can move integrated graphics processors around...

I may be wrong though.

 

you're right

the intel x3100 is soldered onto the board and CANNOT be moved

 

It's not soldered, it's part of the board. And if you get a dell with integrated graphics, you can't upgrade to any of the dedicated options.

 

The 1720 has a number Keypad, and I ordered the onboard soundblaster Audigy and the better High Rez Glossy LCD with it (Which I couldn't afford at the time I purchased my 1705). Other than that, they're identical.

So you guys are saying they put a different Motherboard in the same model laptop? One with onboard and one with a Video card slot (don't know the type of slot)??

Does anyone know this for sure? The new laptop is about to ship!

Look at my pictures with the Video Card removed and let me know if you see a place to solder on an 'Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100' ?

CLICK FOR PICTURES OF THE REMOVED CARD AND MOTHERBOARD!!!

 

Does anyone know for sure if the default 'Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100' plugs into the same slot that the nVidia plugs into?

OR if the intel is already onboard and the slot is just empty?

I'm not sure they would build 2 different motherboards for the same model of laptop just to stop people from plugging in a graphics cards... that would be mean.

 

The X3100 is integrated into the chipset processor controller. It does not use a slot.

And yes, to answer other questions earlier: two motherboards are used. One with a slot for dedicated, one without a slot for integrated. That is why no integrated Dell can EVER be upgraded.

Why? Simple...the integrated mobo is cheaper when you de-populate the slot and associated circuits, and if you ever want to update you have to purchase a new notebook then.

 

Wouldn't it just be better to spend some more money and have the 8600M GT already installed onto the 1720? By soldering the graphic card in, you're risking damaging the laptop, and I'm pretty sure your warranty will be voided if you go around doing things like that.

Not really worth the risk, in my opinion. However, that's just my view. If you think that you're experienced enough for this kind of stuff, don't mind me and go on with what you have in mind.

 

Wow... I guess I'll be returning this new 1720 the day it shows up then... What a bunch of mean people. That's just evil. wow... I'm lost for words.

Thanks for your help tho! I'll let you guys know how hard it was to return a dell 1720 when it shows up without a slot to plug in my video card!

 

Yeah.. I could spend an extra $200 for the 8600... but I figured that I wouldn't have to throw that money in the trash if I could just switch over my other card.

I won't be soldering anything onto this motherboard anyway... I was just wondering if it would fit in the slot.

 

It's not like making 2 motherboards is a big effort by Dell to deliberately prevent this sort of thing. The GM965 (with the GMA X3100 built into the northbridge) and the PM965 (without the GMA X3100) are pin compatible so they can just choose which ones to pop into the motherboard before soldering. Then they probably just choose not to solder on the slot onto motherboards with the GM965. I believe the GM965 and PM965 are actually identical anyways, just that PM965 were sorted because their IGP had manufacturing defects. The GM965 is also more expensive, like $3 or something, so Dell saves money by not using GM965s unnecessarily in their discrete laptops, preventing video card swapping is probably a bonus for them.

 

It definitely is. There are apperently very few people like me who will cancel my $1800 order because of it.

I still think they're just being mean and I'll probably not buy another dell because of it. Unless ALL manufactures do this in the future.

 

Good luck finding any manufacturer that has upgradeable graphics cards on their entire laptop product range. Maybe Alienware or other similar boutique suppliers (that would never offer integrated graphics to begin with), but certainly not any mass market vendor.

Not having a slot makes everything cheaper (and smaller). The vast majority of consumers will never use a video card expansion slot on a laptop with integrated graphics, so why bother engineering a laptop around one? You might be surprised to find out that a large fraction of laptops with discrete graphics have it soldered onto the motherboard...again it saves money and space.

 

Very few laptops have upgradeable CPU's let along GPU's. Everything is tied together on the motherboard. Laptop PC's are a miracle IMHO. You can get near desktop level performance in a fraction of the size. But you sacrifice upgradeability. I never cared for laptops before because of this, but then I realized I end up spending a ton upgrading my desktop every couple of years anyways that I might as well just get a new laptop every couple of years and sell the old laptop on eBay to offset the costs a bit.

 

Yeah I know... I was just hoping really. Manufacturers are still slow these days. nVidia might straighten them out.

I made the switch from desktops to laptops about a year ago. I swore I'd never own a laptop cause the LCDs used to be blurry with fast movement and the 'gaming' ability was no where near the performance of desktops. Then I saw one of my buddies playing Half-Life 2 at a resolution of 1920x1200 with good Frames Per Sec. on a Dell Inspiron e1705 with a go7900gs in it for under $1800.

We'll see if I can find a laptop for under $2k that will do everything I need it to do.