Why are GPUs soldered?

Why are GPUs soldered onto the mobo while CPUs can be removed and replaced?

 

Soldering decreases the amount of space required to put a GPU in a system.

 

and oems make a TON more money when we have to buy a new computer every year rather than upgrade them every year.

 

Then why are CPUs not soldered on? Wouldn't they just increase sales?

 

some cpus are. I know apple does that.

 

CPUs are much smaller to begin with. Though in ultralight notebooks and netbooks, you'll find soldered CPUs.

 

Technically every GPU is soldered. The Graphics processor is and has always been surface mounted onto a circuit board, whether integrated onto the motherboard or on a removable card.

Mainstream laptops do not have soldered processors because it would be pointless. The amount of warehouse space Dell, Hp, Gateway, and all of the big notebook sales places would be tremendous, and they would generate a ton more surplus. That is because if the processor is soldered in, and different processor options are available, many more systems would need to be held on inventory.

On any laptop, there are generally say a dozen or more processor options (whenever the processor is removable)
However on the graphics, there are usually just a few options.
Case in point my E1505. It has the nVidia 7300, ATi X1300 or X1400 as graphics options. They are all essentially the same size, and can be easily swapped from one system to the next. So in regards to building the laptop its easy, very few choices on the graphics end in terms of the assembly process.
If you had a laptop, say Dell produced a laptop which could have 40 different graphics card options, it would be very impracticle for a few reasons.
1) the design would need to allow for the thermal load of 40 different types of graphics card, say rating from 5watt TDP up to say 50 watt TDP.
2) the designer would need to either make a different heatsink for each graphics card, which would fit on each card, and fit in the laptop.
or the designer would have to design one heatsink which can cool the high end gpu. However if the second part is done, you will end up with a monster heatsink designed to cool a high end graphics processor on a low end graphics card.

Laptop manufacturers do what they do because it is practical, and rational.
Design your own laptop and you will see why they do what they do.

K-TRON

 

In my SXPS 1640, the CPU looks similar in size to the GPU.

That is a good reason, never thought of it that way.

I guess a GPU wouldn't suffer any performance issues if it wasn't soldered and was connected with a socket like the CPU?

 

Dang, someone already beat me to it.

 

Agreed.. ppl usually buy new laptops because they need new graphics cards and companies can earn much more selling new laptops then MXM cards...

 

MXM wasn't designed to be an end-user upgrade anyway - it was intended specifically for OEMs to have flexibility in their manufacturing and repair processes.
That's why none of the major OEMs provide MXM upgrades to consumers - resellers may be the lone exception (I'm thinking of Eurocom here).

 

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/screenshots/250x375/2009/02/GPU-z-0.3.2-RV730.png
a low end gpu would be smaller, hd4550 has a die size of 73mm^2 http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/HD_4550_passive/images/gpuz_oc.gif

 

Its not just the die size that you have to consider for the GPU, whereas that is all you have to consider for the CPU.

 

Yeah, basically everything they put on a MXM card. (in response to tianxia and fred2028)