Hi I am new to the world of lappys and I need some nooblet advice!

Ok basically I am wondering about the inspiron e1705 i just ordered with a core 2 duo @ 2.16gz and 2gb of ram at 667mhz 100gb sata @ 7200 rpm and I was wondering how high I can upgrade the video card. It comes with the geforce go 7900gs. Lets say in a year when prices drop I want to get the 7950gtx or an even higher end card when it comes out will this lappy support it without any other changes having to be made?

 

another sort of noob question is that i am switching from a desktop that I built a couple years ago to this and I was wondering what % of a performance I can expect. I used to have a p4 2.26gz with 1gb pc2100ram and ati 9700pro. With the specs I posted above what % performance in video and graphics can I expect if any?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Put it this way... It's like a race between a snail and a panther.

Seriously though both CPU & GPU are at least double the performance of your old desktop.

The vast majority of notebooks graphics can't be upgraded. Even the select few that can, you may encounter problems such as extremely high cost, availability of the GFX component, the cooling system unable to cope with the extra heat, the extra power requirements, the difficulty in actually removing the GFX to be replaced by the new one etc...

 

Sorry but notebook gpus aint upgradeable unlike their desktop counterparts. The problem is notebooks are specially designed for specific gpus. That is the single biggest issue for gaming on notebooks so i still recommend if your into hardcore gaming use a desktop.

 

I think the E1705 has a MXM type 2 interface so as long as the 7950gtx is an MXM type 2 you can upgrade it but as for the difficulty of the upgrade i do not know and the upgrade will be costly.

 

well surely i can put the 7900gtx instead of the gs right? also i was wondering... they don't provide any information on who manufactures their parts... for example i read their uxga screens have light leakage if they are made by samsung but if you get on made by phillips or sharp then it wont. where can i find this. would be nice to know who makes my ram and hard drive.

 

one last important question... i used my friends hp dv9000 to play doom3 and when i turned on vsync it make it stutter and made popping noise in the speakers. is this because it couldn't handle it or can you not turn on vsync on a lappy?

 

The e1705 at the moment can only go so far, and by the time a year passes, you'll need a whole new motherboard to accommodate for the e1705, if the model is still in production.

Pretty much most notebooks are not upgradeable, and if they are, it is toa very limited degree that is not worth it. Notebook GPUs are completely different from desktop GPUs.

 

VSYNC generally is a dumb idea...there's no need for it. Turning it off on desktops and notebooks result in high performance.

 

How much does the M1710 have in common with the 1705? They have the same chassis. If they share motherboards then you should be able to upgrade to the Dell specific 7950 that is in the M1710. However, I'm pretty sure the 7900 should be more than powerful enough for pretty much anything thrown at it.

 

Sounds great thanks all! Any ideas on how to find out the manufacturer of my ram, mobo, and hd? i wouldn't mind knowing who makes the lcd as well. i called dell and finally got someone who speaks english and they couldn't find it either. Thanks

 

I was kind of wondering about the lcd backlighting... i know the hp models with ultrabright have two lamps that illuminate the lcd does dell do the same with the truelife or truecolor whatever it's called?

 

dell does not. very few notebooks have dual lamp lcds.