Best/Max Graphic Card Upgrade for a Business Laptop for HD Video Rendering - Dell Vostro 3450

Hello there

I got a Dell 3450 (i5 second generation + 6GB Ram (thinking to upgrade it) + Two graphic cards, one is INTEL and other is AMD Radeon HD 6630M.

I am seriously thinking to upgrade my graphic card though I really don't have any previous experience in this thing.

Kindly guide me the best and max power graphic card that I can use it with Dell Vostro 3450 without having any software and hardware related problems.

Also which online stores are the best for such stuff.

Thanks.

 

I'm sorry but unless you want to go soldering and potentially ruin the laptop, you cannot upgrade the GPU. The latest laptops (unless they feature an extreme GPU) have the chip soldered onboard

 

I believe the only Dells with replaceable GPU's are the Precision M series and most of the Alienwares. as was said you can not upgrade the GPU in that unit as the Vostro, XPS and Inspirons are all non replacable

 

I learned from Commander Wolf that some Vostros had replaceable GPUs at one point, but I doubt it is the case these days.

 

Like everyone else is saying the only way to upgrade is to replace the entire motherboard with the one that has the 6630m. You would also have to get the bigger version of the heatsink that can dissipate the extra heat.

If you get both the new motherboard and new heatsink (and new thermal compound) your computer should work just fine and your graphics will be roughly twice as powerful as before. Ebay is probably best for parts.

 

Um, he already has the 6630M.

 

There are no upgrades as it has been stated, 90% of GPU's on the market are soldered and are not upgradable.

 

There are the certified cards that Adobe recommends. But to tell you the truth (according to what I have read), any card with 800~MB or more will be able to utilize the Mercury Playback engine that Adobe provides.

I'm not sure how the other video rendering software work, but I suspect some (Sony Vegas) may even require less than that. The certified cards have been tested to be reliable. Choose a laptop with those, if you have a business that depends on reliability.

 

for the Mercury render engine to function on a Gforce card you need to trick it and mod a couple .inf files. but to get maximum performance you do need the FirePro or Quadro cards or at the very minimum a high/higher midrange card. IMO a minimum of a 650 or 7850