The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    laptop aftermarket upgrades?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by chidesd, Jun 28, 2008.

  1. chidesd

    chidesd Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    313
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    ok if u buy say a 15" laptop what kind of after market upgrades can u make?
    I would like a list so i know what to not go all out for? to save money. thanks!!!
     
    chidesd, Jun 28, 2008
    #1
  2. iph03n1xi

    iph03n1xi Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    6
    Messages:
    465
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    RAM and Hard Drives are the easiest.

    You may be able to add stuff like Bluetooth modules in there by taking apart the laptop (only read about this; sounds pretty darn tricky to me).

    CPU and GPU are both hard to upgrade, unless you happen to get a GPU with MXM.
     
    iph03n1xi, Jun 28, 2008
    #2
  3. chidesd

    chidesd Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    313
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    wait GPU is graphics right?
     
    chidesd, Jun 28, 2008
    #3
  4. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

    Reputations:
    1,279
    Messages:
    2,870
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    ram is easy to upgrade, u could save alot of money buying from, say, frys.com then choosing the opton on the website
     
    plasma., Jun 28, 2008
    #4
  5. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    3,905
    Messages:
    6,116
    Likes Received:
    89
    Trophy Points:
    216
    yeah, GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit. In most laptops, the GPU cannot be upgraded.
     
    namaiki, Jun 28, 2008
    #5
  6. X2P

    X2P COOLING | NBR Super Mod

    Reputations:
    3,179
    Messages:
    5,361
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    206
    Generally Memory (check out the ram deals thread) and Hard drives are known as "safe" upgrades, neither should void most companies warranties.

    Processors are not too complicated to upgrade but is not recommended. Upgrading a processor is costly but also voids your warranty with most notebook makers.

    There is a list of "upgradable" gpus ( Click here). It is also a part not recommended to upgrade later on as it is quite a hassel not just to install but to find the actual parts your self. Basically as Chaz says " YOU CANT UPGRADE YOUR GRAPHICS CARD!"
     
    X2P, Jun 28, 2008
    #6
  7. chidesd

    chidesd Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    313
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    ok thanks for all the help
     
    chidesd, Jun 28, 2008
    #7
  8. bigozone

    bigozone JellyRoll touring now

    Reputations:
    1,112
    Messages:
    2,730
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    bigozone, Jun 28, 2008
    #8