upgrading graphics card can it be done?

Hi guys been browsing the forum and still cant find an answer!!!?? i need help.

I have an Alienware m770 and want to upgrade the graphics card, i am currently running an ATI mobility radeon 256mb with 256mb of dedicated memory.

My problem is that i use the laptop mostly for gaming and it has never let me down apart from the 20mins battery life you get as standard, it runs crysis on pretty reasonable settings but now most of the games coming out need 3d shader model 3 but this card i have in it only supports 2!!!!

I have been looking to buy the ATI mobility radeon x1900 or the x2500 as both of these come in 512mb and support the shader model 3, but, there is always a but!!! will these cards fit into my laptop? do they have dedicated memory? how hard is it to change one? can i change it and worst of all where can i buy these darn thing from, i have been searhing the internet for ages and havent found one place that sells them!!! am i going mad or can you just not buy them from the internet or any pc hardware suppliers?

Money is not a big deal, i am well aware of the prices of notebook hardware, i just need an answer before i start tearing all my hair out!!!!!

Cheers in advance

 

Wouldn't bother trying mate. Most are on the motherboard and most need an excellent solderer if you can get them off. You also need to make sure that it will fit. Best option is to buy a newer mainboard that will fit into yours

 

Mainboard??? surely it would be cheaper to sell the laptop and buy another one instead of changing all that?

 

maybe. One thing to do if you are unsure whether the graphics card will come out easily enough is to take it apart and see for yourself.

 

The answer is mostly no. Here's as far as it goes.

The Alienware M770 uses a proprietary MXM II slot for the GPU card. The best you can do is to find out what cards were offered for the M770 during the product's life. If they offered a better card as an option for that notebook, then that's the most you can POSSIBLY upgrade to. Trouble is, upgrading may require a simple BIOS update or may require an entire motherboard change. Prices will be on the silly side all things considered. No less than $600+. But you did say that money is no object...

First thing to do is to research all GPU card offerings. Then call alienware to see if you can get that card as a replacement. You also need to know your motherboard revision so that when you call, you can ask if that upgraded card is compatible with that motherboard.

Personally, I'd wait another year at most and simply buy another notebook with a better graphics solution. But not from Alienware since they tend to be a bit overpriced.

 

Cheers guys, thanks for the help!! never had answers so quick on a forum!!! I think im just going to bite the bullet and get a new laptop, sounds a bit easier!! lol. Any suggestions on high end laptops capable of playing any game brought out in the future??

 

http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=51114

This is probably going to be the best bang for your buck, and play all the latest games for the next three or four years, same notebook in my sig. Also, Montervina platform is coming out this summer with support for Nvidia's mobile 9 series cards, so if you can wait, it will probably be more future proof than the current version with the 8800MGTX.