Can I change the graphics card on my laptop?

I'd like to know if can change the graphics card myself...(with the help of techy friends ofcourse) on this system? (so i can install my dream card gtx460m)
(sorry if this sounds silly)

My present spec

Dell XPS 17
2nd generation Intel Core i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
6GB,DDR3,2 DIMM
17.3in FHD WLED TL (1920x1080) 3D
NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB graphics
750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Service Pack 1
Integrated 10/100/1000 Network
Tray Load Blu-ray Triple Writer
2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 with bluetooth 3.0

 

No the XPS 17 GPU is soldered onto the motherboard.

You would be better off selling the XPS 17 and getting like a Sager/Clevo rebrand if you want an upgradable GPU (Sager 8170)

 

Blimey that sux..:-( ...
I just ordered that system 2 days back..they are about to ship it...

Thanx for the reply ..(btw tsunade aounds like thats from naruto...sorry if I am wrong..just a massive naruto fan..)

What about the usb based graphics card...i read about it some where...
Would that work?
any idea how much it costs?

 

USB won't work for graphics, simply not enough bandwidth. You can make yourself an eGPU which uses a free minipcie slot (you don't have expresscard) but even then you'll have to use an external monitor.

 

There are USB based GPU's, but their primary purpose is to serve as an external source of display, eg if your laptop does not have HDMI, and you need an HDMI port, the adapters are in a sense USB video cards. But it will not go to your internal display.

Again if you are at all serious about an upgradable graphics card, you need to pretty much look at a gaming notebook or a high end mobile workstation laptop.

 

No you can't upgrade the GPU. Your'e better off returning it and getting a gaming laptop like a Sager or Alienware or Asus G73/74..

 

Thanx for the informative replies..from all these I comprehend that, If I choose to connect my lap to an ext display...i can ve improved graphic support..since I play only at home, that seems like a valid option...what are my options...since I am a total newbie at this concept..kindly gimme some instructions..

 

it wont work they way you want, simply because the optional usb thing was commented is only valid for people that want to connect to more displays, like the triple head to go.

There are other valid options for egpu systems, like getting a toshiba r830, and then getting a desktop gpu for you to game on it, using a external display, and the necessary cables and adpators, for more info go to the egpu thread

 

Thanx every one..so I guess I am a little late...but,well in that case...i shud just improve my desktop..i yhink thats way cheaper than getting it a replacement...or wait for a haswell..

 

well, since you havent received yet your laptop, you could return it the moment it arrived, and get something more portable to play with. Or improve your desktop and buy a laptop next year with ivy bridge, hopefully next year egpu using thunderbolt would be more common, thus giving you greater speed while using it.

 

Returning it immediately...wud that fetch me a full refund? I do need a system immediately...what ever be it...

Besides 550m isnt that bad I guess...because my fnds 540 looks reasonably okay...besides m jus a mild to moderaye gamer,thats all..
Ivybridge and haswell has the same architecture as sandybridge I guess...

 

You could consider getting a lightweight upgradeable laptop like the MSI ge620 or alienware m14x.
It wont fit the GTX 460m, but it will fit the AMD 6770m gddr5 and will very likely fit some new AMD 7000m or Nvidia 600m series in the near future.

Don't get an Asus though, they aren't upgradeable so that was a bad recommendation.

MSI also offers a lot of systems in barebones form like the ms-16f2, which comes with a gtx 560m.

 

Asus is not upgradable? :O
But I thot they are...i mean g74sx 3de model has a lid where the vid card is...and in of the unboxing videos I checked...the reviewer said it was so for an upgrade later..
And besides I was also planning for a cheap 3d to see how it is...

 

It aint. Good luck trying to find a 6990m or a gtx 580m that fits on those asus. Asus uses a proprietary slot

 

Return it and get MSI GT780 or something.. Asus G74 is totally not worth it. Also looks at some sagers with 6990M... Seriously you should rather wait then use this.

 

Yep u guys are right just like always...in asus its only the ram and hard disk that u.can,change...it already has 16gb ram...i thought more than 6gb was just useless...
Hm...so its msi or sager...(i prefered 3d because of better refresh rates though) besides 6990 built in models shouls be $2000 plus...and I doubt if they,have any offers at all dor them..i guess then its all down to thanksgiving..sheesh..wait fer another 2 months..:-(

 

you can get a 6990m in a np8150 for 1500

 

I thought M14x had soldered GPU's. At least that's what it looks like from the M14x service manuals.

ASUS with the G74 series no long utilizes the ASUS proprietary backwards MXM, it is soldered onto the motherboard.

 

Bad to know that asus move backwards.

And yes the m14x gpu is soldered to the mobo

 

Hmm, I guess I was under the impression that it was MXM because of all the Dell 6770m cards on the market.
I wonder what notebook was released with those?

 

$2000 for 6990m? Look around because you can get it for much less. I ordered a P170HM from Malibal for $1420.08 (with free shipping) and it comes with a 6990m, 2630qm, 500gb HDD, 8gb 1333 RAM, etc... Just look around and you can find deals. Xotic PC has the same price on their website but with 4x2gb sticks of RAM instead of the 2x4gb sticks of RAM that the Malibal I ordered had.

That's assuming you get the base model and just upgrade the graphics. You can do other things like adding more RAM and an SSD later to save some money. (I got a 256gb SSD + 8GB 1333mhz RAM from Newegg for $420 which is $200 cheaper then getting Malibal to include it.)

 

Well ...is there anyway I can get to know of laptops that let us change gpu's in future..

And btw a fnd of mine got busted too..he was so looking fwd to a gpu'ed one..(with some cash assist from parental banking ofcourse)..when his bro got him a dumb vaio with i3 2xxx , who says its got 'intel graphics' (apparently he doesnt noe what a graphics card is)
So he has been looking around..and then his fnd (2° to me ) said about some 'express slot' blah blah , where u can fit graphic card...now apparently I dint catch any of the blah blah
But I told him about what u guys told me...
I got him gloomy again, either way is there even a remote possiblity thats its possible?

Plus how much does mobile vid cards cost?

 

You need to look for laptops with MXM graphics slots. Those are the only ones that are upgradable. If the laptop has a ExpressCard or Thunderbolt port, then it's possible to connect an external GPU.

 

Sorry to come up with such a stupid question..but how do I know if mine has one?

 

Only extreme gaming notebooks and mobile workstations have MXM slots. Is it essential you buy a laptop with MXM? Not necessarily. MXM cards don't get significantly cheaper down the road, and you have to worry about vBIOS and getting custom heatsinks as if you switch grounds (ATi to Nvidia or vice versa) the manufacturer provided heatsink may not fit/work. To make a long story short, MXM is shrinking due to the complications/hassles of dealing with compatibility and all that. Also if you aren't willing to research options yourself, I'll say good luck. Or you can just invest your money in a high end desktop and it will smash any laptop here (like the one in my sig, will punish anyone's gaming notebook).

Older Core 2 Duo Acer's utilized MXM, no more. ASUS Gaming Series pre G74 utilized ASUS's old reverse MXM which can only be upgraded to another ASUS card. Pretty much it is only Clevo rebrands (Sager, and other resellers), Alienware (M17x,M18x), MSI Gaming series, Toshiba Qosmios/some Satellites utilize some proprietary form of MXM. I'm sure I am forgetting others if others want to chime in.

Lenovo W7x0 series and previous generation W5x0 series utilize MXM, HP's Elitebook 87x0W series, and Dell's Precision M6500 and beyond use MXM.

 

Wow...thats costly..
hmm..i do see that my only option is to clean up my old desktop...
My fnd has decided to convince his dad to buy a new one fer him...since he s broke...!

 

Even with MXM, no upgrade capabilities are guaranteed. Do not buy a notebook and expect to upgrade the graphics card. I have seen many false promises from companies promising graphics card upgrades over the years.

MXM is **NOT** intended for consumer use. It is designed to help notebook manufacturers reduce cost by having modular graphics card solutions. In the past (and still very much the case today), graphics cards in notebooks were integrated into the motherboard. When it failed, the manufacturer had to replace the entire motherboard, and when a new card came out they had to produce an entirely new motherboard. Obviously not the case with a modular GPU.

MXM never took off though. It's only used in a few notebooks that make sense to offer different GPUs in - workstations, as noted. That is where the cost benefits make sense. For a notebook only offered with one card, it's likely cheaper to simply integrate the card into the motherboard and produce one part instead of producing the motherboard w/ a slot + the card + having additional standards or whatever else is needed to include MXM support. Basic cost/benefit analysis says NO for most notebooks (read: 99.5%).

Finally, there is absolutely no guarantee an MXM card from one manufacturer will work with another. The cards are often proprietary despite the fact they are modular. There are many factors - BIOS support, heatsink design ... notebooks are not desktops. You can't just swap components.

The percentage of consumers willing/desiring to upgrade their graphics card is almost too small to measure, and certainly too small to consider investing in. So companies have basically no interest in offering them as aftermarket accessories.

 

I dont know why I even thought about buying a laptop...sine everything I want may be added on to a desktop at a cheaper price..except for 3d monitor..

 

In rare cases you are able to switch out your graphic cards to the other options that they were offering but that's really about it. For instance, I was able to upgrade my GPU from a 8400M GS to 8600M GT, but only because it was an alternative GPU that was offered when I was buying the laptop and I opted to get the former at the time of purchase.

But in your case, since it's soldered on to the motherboard, it makes the degree of difficulty far greater and well, unorthodox. I would recommend selling your laptop, especially since it is unused and new, you probably could catch a really fair price for it, perhaps even make money on it via eBay/Craigslist, but don't open anything and sell it the second you get it delivered and use the money to purchase a better laptop.

 

You can't fold up a desktop and toss it in a backpack?

 

Dell XPS Gen 1. The only upgrade was the Radeon 9700 to the 9800. Woohoo.

 

Haha nicely put hockeymass...but affordability and usability are issues..;-)

 

Here's my opinion...By buying a "gaming notebook", I figured that I was basically paying extra, at least in this point in time, for the portability and size difference of a notebook compared to a desktop with similar gaming performance. I have no idea if MSI will support GPU swapping/upgrading in the future on notebooks, but I knew that already prior to purchasing it. The graphics performance is more than enough, even for games like the witcher 2 and starcraft 2. If I were to buy similarly named desktop components, I would no doubt pay less and have superior performance. "Gaming notebooks" and desktops are in completely different leagues, as far as gaming performance/cost. However, a desktop is obviously less mobile than a notebook. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and do not regret it at all. In the end, you just have to decide if the portability difference is worth the extra cost.

On another note, Alienware laptops can get crazy fast speeds, but they are also crazy expensive. A fully loaded m18x with SLI or CF will probably be about 3 times as fast as my MSI GT780DXR, but the cost/benefit of the AW was just way to high for me to justify getting one. My MSI is probably in the upper-mid range of gaming performance notebooks, and it works out great for me! =)

 

Thays a great system you ve got there..

 

I guess you haven't see the ultra cheap medium range gaming notebooks in the $400-$500 range.
look for something with an i5 and a 6650 or 540m, it should cost around $500 and after it gets outdated in 2 years for gaming you will have laptop that depreciated much less than if you had bought a $1200 one. thats a savings of over $500, and all you have to do is play games that are 2 years older

 

Nothing with a 6650 or 540 is a "gaming notebook".

 

Hockeymass has a point there...infact 540 is a mid middle class range card...infact I.ve a 550 which s a upper middle class range card..gaming cards belong to upper class cards..
That was the reason why I asked if I cud update my card..