Potential GPU failure?

Hello,

Just a quick question.

I wasn't sure which forum to post this in, because i'm not sure if the answer to my question will depend on the laptop being a Clevo or not, but i'm guessing it will so posting here.

I am planning on buying a W670(SJQ1) with a GTX850M, and I am wondering if, at some point after the warranty expired, the GPU were to fail, would the laptop still continue to function properly with the Intel integrated graphics (minus graphics performance of course), or would the fact that the GPU can't be removed cause the whole system to become unusable unless I had the GPU(+motherboard) replaced?

Having a laptop which has an increased probability (however much that is) of lasting 5+ years is quite important to me, so if the GPU failing would cause the laptop to simply not work, then i'll likely do without it and rely on just the HD4600. On the other hand, if the computer can carry on in some capacity after the GPU fails, then i'll get it for the increased performance (which would be nice) and for the redundancy of having two GPUs (well, a GPU and an iGPU).

Thank you for you time.

(Also, I know if I used a desktop this would all be easy, but I require a laptop for several reasons)

 

Generally laptops are expected to last around 3 years, so 5+ is possible. but not designed for. The GPU is not the only thing that could fail, there could be a number of different failures that could occur. Planning simply for the GPU to fail will be of no use to you if it is something else.

 

I do understand that laptops are not designed with long term survival in mind, however if any of the other components fail, I can more easily and cheaply replace them.

Regardless, i'm not so much just planning for the GPU to fail, i'm just wondering about what would happen if it did, and taking that in to account.

 

i always take out extended warranty which for a small price is worth its weight in gold.
my 6 year old clevo is still going strong today. back in 2008 warranty in the uk was only 1 year and i upgraded to 3 years.
after 2 years my 9800GT died and was replaced the same day with a better 260gtx which still runs fine.
so for a £70 extended warranty it replaced a £250 gpu.

 

Yeah, I will be getting a 3 year warranty for sure, and if something were to fail during that period then I would take advantage of it.

However, outside of the warranty, if the GTX850M were to fail, I assume I couldn't remove it like I could with a desktop, since I believe it is soldered to the motherboard on the W670. What I am wondering though is, would the laptop continue to work fine on the iGPU if I uninstalled the GPU drivers and left the dead GPU in the machine, or is there something that would prevent this from working?

 

if it is defo soldered to the motherboard then no, it cant be upgraded. i think the 860 are upgradable on most laptops

if it has optimus then once the nvidia drivers are removed the intel graphics still works so i guess that would be the same if the gpu died. but of course not at 1080 and the icons are huge.

 

None of the W series have removable GPUs, so it can't be changed. The CPU apparently can as it is socketed. It may work without the GPU, but that is not guaranteed. Some laptops with dGPUs can be picky when an expected component is not there even though it should run without. It is incorrect that your res would be limited. There are plenty of 1080p laptops running with just an iGPU, so if it works at all, it will be at a usable res. It is unlikely that the GPU would fail unless you are pushing it constantly anyway.

 

thanks for clearing that up. im only going by what its like after ive removed the nvidia drivers. ive never had to fiddle with the intel graphics so that sure is good to know.

 

The HD4600 can actually go up to 4k with the right connector

 

What happened when you removed the Nvidia drivers on the P150EM then?

I would have thought the HD3000 on your i7-2720 could manage 1080p?

I know it's not the W670, but hey it's a Clevo.

 

everything goes super large but that could be because in doing it in safe mode. yeh i know i dont need to do it in safe mode anymore but im old skool so its just routine for me.
ive never bothered changing any screen settings with the HD4000 as all im doing is updating the nvidia drivers.

 

Ah, got you. I know what you mean though, safe mode is pretty much an automatic reflex for me too.

Anyway, thank you both for your help. If it's a toss up and depends on the model then i'll probably trust that Clevo have accounted for this and get the card. I would hope that most manufacturers would account for this situation.

However, if anyone knows for sure whether the W series or Clevo laptops in general can continue to operate with a dead GPU and/or no drivers then feel free to post, i'll keep an eye on the thread for a while yet.

Thanks again all.