How upgradable are sager and clevo GPUs

I know that access is great, they use mxm cards that go in easy, and to use clevo cards for ease. Thats all fine and dandy, but what Id like to know is if one gets a top level card now will there be an upgrade down the road or is it only upgradeable to a few generations? Im talking about SM models only currently. The reason I ask is I have a once in a long while opportunity to get a high end laptop and I need it to last a loooong time and the idea of being able to grab a new card in 3 or so years and have a near top end gaming rig again is quite a draw. CPU technology hasnt grown in the past few generations as my sandy bridge 2860 is still a very potent chip despite its age; so getting a higher end in the line CPU will serv well enough down the road.

I know its alot of fortune telling in this thread, but after seeing people putting 2+ year newer cards in alienwares I assumed thats possible over here too.

 

That is an excellent question for a Clevo/Sager n00b like me. I am glad you asked it. I would gladly pay $1000 on a video card upgrade if the rest of the system is still strong.

 

If it fits the slot. MXM and it has the proper bios to read the card, officially or unofficially. Than you can. Otherwise you have to buy a new system. Hopefully they don't change the MXM slot.

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Yes and no. If you are willing to do things like flash a bios or a vbios, you can get a next gen card to work (as long as it is the same MXM make)

With that being said, buying a new gpu is very expensive, up to about half the cost of a new laptop. The benefit to having a sager (or AW or MSI) model is that should the card die, it can be replaced (hopefully while still under warranty) without having to trash the laptop. With laptops with soldered on GPU (most mainstream notebooks) if the card dies, the entire laptop is done.

If it is something that interests you, I suggest you go visit Prema's site (and make any appropriate donations) or check out the BIOS threads here for him.

 

Yeah my precision is an mxm slot but sadly a 2 and not a 3. Reason Im asking is the general likelihood of such sagers as the 8258/8268/8278/8298 being able to be upgraded down the line. I typically spend 1800-2000 on a laptop every 2-3 years. If I spend 2k on a sager and in 2-3(typically closer to 3) years upgrade the GPU for 1k to get another 1-2 years (maybe more) then Ill be saving money unless worst case scenario Ill spend about the same. Honestly I doubt an gtx880m will be that bad in 2-3 years, but who knows. Plus my up[date cycle is based off upper mid level GPUs and not a top end king of the hill GPU so I may be able to get most time before upgrading.

 

The biggest problem seems to be the slot, but that's just going to be luck. Good rule of thumb is to invest in the best thing possible now to delay upgrading later. I think you'll be fine with a top card for many years. My 7970m is nearly 2 years old and I can still play everything fine imo.

 

Yeah I dont see a need to upgrade for a long while, but its nice to know that you can.

 

I hear you, open doors are always nicer

 

Within the same generation of GPU yes, beyond that there may or may not be bios issues (Eg, none of the EM series machines accept 7xx series nvidia cards).

 

Oh so current sm can run nothing greater then 8XX cards? If thats the case then I guess it is back to the drawing board.

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Sight derailment...

The EM came before the HM, correct?

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Well now its all about the SM models.

 

I am just curious is because I don't know which one came first.

I am sure someone here knows the answer.

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hm -> em -> sm