HP EliteBook 8760w Upgrade

Can I upgrade my FirePro GPU to a Quadro 5010M. Just wanna know if its upgradable. Thanks very much.

 

Yes sir. But, please don't spend that much money on a single GPU.............. I think the 7970m would be a better idea at half the cost.

 

Unless he needs the workstation precision?

 

HP offers it on that model so technically yes. However you would need to verify:
-Is a specific motherboard revision required to support it?
-Does it require a larger power adapter (EliteBooks are sold with varying wattage power adapters depending on the components, especially the processor/graphics card)
-Will the notebook's existing heatsinks work with the new card?

...the risk elements are pretty substantial. And all this is compounded by the fact that it's going to be extremely expensive.
If you want it that bad, personally I'd suggest selling your existing 8760w and simply getting another one with the 5010M. Might come out ahead financially vs. trying to upgrade.

 

Theoretically you could, but again as mentioned, heatsink/backplate could be an issue, power adapter you probably would need to buy the higher rated adapter. I remember when I was looking at the 8740W, HP wanted you to get the 220 watt adapter if you got the 5000M and an i7 Extreme. Also HP are very picky with vBios, you'll probably have to buy an HP card. If you like your unit, or it is already customized to the way you want, you could call up HP and see if they'll upgrade you for the cost and they'll cover it under warranty. Or if that doesn't work, as Charles pointed out you can sell your unit and buy another one, but the 5010M is an expensive upgrade.

 

Why did you opt for the Firepro card in the first place? There is such a huge difference, I'm trying to figure out what is motivating this upgrade.

 

Isn't there a chance the 7970m will still be better for that when modded to firepro drivers?

 

This would be great if possible as I'm searching for a possible upgrade for my Dell M6400 (need a faster GPU for gaming) and the 7970M seems like a worthy upgrade. Plus, I prefer the 8760W design to M6600 (which looks kinda bland design-wise, more like 8740W style; I'd prefer the M6400/M6500 design with a titanium color of 8760W on the outside shell).

 

M6400 is Dell proprietary GPU modules, while the M6500 utilizes MXM 3.0 but unsure about if vBios will give you any trouble.

 

Personally I'd advise not upgrading to any card other than the ones offered with the notebook - and even then, make sure the module is from the notebook maker.