is it possible to upgrade the graphics card on a inspiron 1720?

ive ordered a inspiron 1720 with the following specs:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5850 (2.16 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 cache)
4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB DDR2 dedicated graphic memory
320GB (5400RPM) SATA Dual Hard Drives (2X160GB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software
Dell™ Wireless 1395 802.11b/g Mini-Card - Europe
Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth 2.0 Module (up to 3Mbps) with Enhanced Data rate - Eur
Midnight Blue Colour with Microsatin Finish & 2.0mp camera
17.0" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™

is it possible to upgrade the graphics card to maybe the 256mb version or a different model manually and if so is it relatively simple?

 

Upgradeable only to the superior part advertised on the Dell website (likely the DDR2 8600m GT). Upgrading will cost you quite the arm and leg if you do it yourself and not configure it from the start before purchase.

 

cheers, a bit l8 for changing the order now will stick with the 128mb

 

Yeah the 8600M GT would be your only option, and would cost a lot. If you don't do gaming, the 8400M GS should be fine.

 

if you just ordered ,you can cancel and order again

 

Currently 8600M GT DDR2 is the highest end configuration for your 1720's GPU even mine. But yes, the GPU is removable and upgradeable - But it'll cost you a bomb to upgrade. For users with 8600M like me, If only dell would get up from his lazy ass and give a proprietary 8600M GDDR3 for all 1720s... woohoo, but that's just fat hope.

 

im not planning to game very often on the 1720 and when i do, i like c&c games which are relatively old so should be ok. and i did call up dell 2day to check if i can upgrade to 256mb but they said i would have to re-order but i would lose 3 weeks of waiting, and it's 6 before delivery anyway without any delays!! and i just cant simply wait that long, my current laptop is falling to pieces. it's got 3 keys missing, the plastic casing lifts up and it's a little bit melted (i was soldering lol) and i agree that dell should offer the best out there and it's up to the customers whether to get it or not. and will DVDs play alrite with the current graphics above?

btw top gear is awesome

 

this is a false statement...

 

this is a true statement...
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/sm/graphics.htm#wp1179839

 

wow, dell give you everything. you could almost build the laptop yourself if you had the parts. i always thought the playing around with laptop hardware would very diffucult. guess i was wrong. btw will 128mb be sufficient to play good quality movies, DVDs etc

 

Most definitely, my integrated 7150 can, and it should be able to play RTS games like that as their more CPU intensive.

 

I think you're getting the wrong idea. Just because yours has 128 MB and the other has 256 MB, it doesn't matter. What matters is what GPU you're getting. You've ordered an 8400M GS, which is a low end mid range graphics card, useful for light and casual gaming. The 8600M GT is for higher end gaming.

Just to let you know, I can configure an HP Pavilion with a 256 MB 8400M GS and it will be pretty much the same performance-wise as yours. They also offer a 512 MB 8600M GS, which is NOT as good as the 256 MB 8600M GT.

When it comes to GPUs, look for the GPU itself (8400M GS, 8600M GT etc), then look at the type of memory that comes with it (GDDR3, DDR2), and then look at the amount of memory that comes with it.

The amount of memory won't really matter a WHOLE lot.

 

8400M GS on C&C?? And you don't really intend to play much games? You shouldn't even consider creating this thread in the first place! No seriously it is enough to play as far as I know. The things you described doing on your laptop in your post, I don't think you really need an 8600M at all. You're lucky at least you didn't get yourself an integrated card. The 8400M GS is more than enough to cater what you do. Also, I did some searching on the net and here's what others are saying about the 8400M GS on C&C
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070805003215AAXzY9Y
oh and also this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=150677 (Most probably talking about the latest C&C games I think.)

BTW, hope this thread created by our great leader might help to sort you out.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=39568

 

thanks everyone. it's all clear now. you were right, i was getting too worried about the amount of memory. and cheers for the links, cant wait to get the laptop and try it out

 

Ha, no problemo! Enjoy your machine! Oh and er, if you think we have helped, gives us all a +1 rep. Helps us to grow. It's entirely up to you.

 

is that the add reputation thing that looks like scales on the left? cos if it is done it already