HP HDX9430ea 20"

HP HDX9430ea 20"

Anybody know if the Graphics card is upgradable or if it is intergrated into the Motherboard ?

Thanks

 

Please look at HDX thread. There were discussion about that. Generally speaking GFX is not soldered to motherboard. In theory the graphics card is upgreadable but would required laptop bios update and new card should have mxm connection the same as your existing one. The question is what graphics card you have now and what would you like to have?

 

I was thinking of buying the one with the 8800M GTS card but if it can't be upgraded then it would be usless in 12months as a gaming setup.


I did check the HDX thread but i could only find the reference to the nx9420/nw9440 not the HDX9430ea .and http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/Table.html just says that the HDX dragons are MXM Type III without any additional notes which is why i asked on here.



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Which thread is it that you are referring to? The HDX owners thread never made such a specific reference to a model. Only a general reference such as 9000-9100 with ATI (which cannot be upgraded to the Nvidia card) and then the rest from 9200-9400 (which can be downgraded to the ATI).

In any event, the specific model number is irrelevant. The only relevant issue is the motherboard version and the series version (92xx-94xx).

What is more, as already mentioned, a BIOS update would be required even if it were possible to upgrade the card. Plus there is the distinct possibility that the HDX has a proprietary MXM card much like the Clevos used to be.

The other question is, where would you get an updated card from in the first place with any notebook? MXM is practically a useless standard from an end users perspective - rendering almost all notebooks non-upgradeable unless the manufacturer offers it.

 

There are so many posts in the HDX section and what with others posts like this

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=68109

I was getting confused what info applied to what model and being a newbie to the idea of a MXM upgrade i wrongly assumed you could buy one of the MXM cards from Ebay as i didn't realize that upgrading was so awkward with manufactures using their own proprietary design cards.

I'm somewhat disappointed now as i really had my hopes set on buying one of these but there is no way i can afford to buy new one every 12months just so i can play the latest games.


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Here's the thing;

If you get the WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 - which is made by LG), you would be properly matching the GPU's power to resolution ration (tm).

I've play all the latest games at native resolution with full graphic details except for Crysis and World in Conflict on my HDX 9300. For those you scale back a some on the graphic detail to play at native resolution with best FPS. Latest official Nvidia drivers (179.28) were a big improvement over the stock HP drivers. I'm not the least bit worried about games that will be out at the end of the year. Worse come to worse, I'll play them @ 1440 x 900 and it will still look and play great. And that will last until about mid 2010.

The 8800M GTS is no slouch.

Consider also that many programmers have taken note that Notebook sales have outstripped desktop and will continue to do so. Though most notebook are sold with IGP, more and more are being purchased with dedicated graphics such as ATI's and Nvidia's mid tier GPUs. So they have begun optimizing their code so that games can scale to play on Notebooks. Crysis Warhead is one such example. It plays better than Crysis.

Up to you, but you will not see another 20.1" notebook. 18.4" @ 1920 x 1080 will be as big as they get for a long time.

 

I've been told that the latest batch have a WUXGA instead of the WSXGA screen is that good or bad ?

 

Bad for gaming. Reason being, lower FPS at the higher res. Best mating to the 8800M GTS is WSXGA+.

Not only that but the WSXGA+ is made by LG and is of better quality than the WUXGA which is made by Chi Mei (CMO).

 

You can upgrade it. This is one of the few hp laptop's that use's MXM. As to if the system will boot after putting in the new card i dont know.

 

Why can't nothing ever be easy.

I'm starting to think that building a base unit on a Micro ATX might be the way to go but all the extra leads to plug in sucks.

 

Not for nothing, that was what I was thinking before buying the HDX. The other thing is you can't overclock the X9000 in the HDX. HP used a fixed PLL and the Bios is locked. Its front end menus are very, very basic.

So if you're a hardcore to semi-hard core gamer, you might want to go the mATX route. ThermalTake makes some nice cases as well as Antec. This way, you're free do to any config you want. You can get a better CPU and obviously better GPU. You can even go 24" WUXGA which would be sweet while gaming.

My next kit will likely be a desktop or something more upgradeable as I doubt there will ever be a 20" notebook again. But for now, I couldn't be happier with the HDX.

 

As much as a Matx would be the most cost effective and best in terms of Upgrades it still seems so tempting to own a 20" laptop