Intel 945GM GPU upgrade

It says on intel's specs that the 945GM chipset supports an external PCI express graphics card. How legitimate a claim is this? obviously there is no room in my laptop for a graphics card, but is there some way i can connect a faster gpu to my existing integrated s**t to give me some graphics performance? does anybody know, or has done this. and if i could, what degree of graphics card could i get before it became handicapped by the way it was set up?
basically, is there any hope of improving my laptop's graphics capability?

 

If you have an integrated graphics processor currently in use on the notebook, then its not possible to attach a different graphics card. This is because there is no physical connector on the motherboard, where is a possible relacement graphics card existed, could connect to.

 

thats waht i'd'a thought... check out http://download.intel.com/design/mobile/datashts/30921904.pdf and it sounds as though it's saying otherwise... but im pretty sure you cant upgrade it... or i wouldnt have expectrd so, but a man can hope...

 

and indeed also http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/945gm/945gm_diagram.htm
? im confused...

 

No, what it is saying is that the chipset supports a PCIe-16x connection. If you get the (north/south)bridge that has integrated graphics, you don't get the connection. If you get the (north/south)bridge without integrated graphics, then the PCIe lanes are open for a dedicated card.

That is why you cannot upgrade an integrated card. It is literally a slightly different motherboard than the dedicated GPU motherboards...there is no connection available because it is being routed to the (north/south)bridge.

 

The Intel 945GM supports integrated graphics only. The 945PM supports a PCI-E interface, and from what I gather, it seems the PCI-E is mentioned only in the technical papers of the 945GM, because it is a non-functional part of the chipset itself because it already has integrated graphics. All of the 945GM chipsets I have seen, have integrated graphics.

 

The integrated graphics controller itself is attached to the internal PCIe connection I believe...it isn't that it is non-functional...it is just only internal.

But either way, you cannot upgrade it.

 

Ah, right. I see. Thanks for the information.

 

At least I think that is how it works. See: questions like this even get the moderators arguing sometimes

 

Its a bit confusing, and I totally understand the logic on your answer. I agree fully. Its just the notes on the chipset, don't exactly explain what it means, in the best of ways.