I casually mentioned that I was interested in changing the graphics card on my laptop to one of my friends, but he said that they aren’t really cards like in a desktop, but soldered to… something inside which makes it impossible to change. I’d look myself, but I don’t have any tools to crack the thing open. Is this true? Is it only for certain models? I have an hp pavilion ze5300 if that makes any sort of difference.
Certain dell models have changable graphics cards. I think some others do too, but it’s not an easy procedure. Getting a hold of a compatible graphics card is difficult and you obviously void your warranty.
Laptops with upgradeable video are rare. The upgrade cards themselves are also rare.
On most laptops the video card is built into the motherboard.
In the olden days of computers, there was the processor and a bunch of support chips, like the keyboard controller, timer, I/O ports, etc. These days, most of these chips are all integrated into one big chip. In laptops, and even in some desktops, the video “card” will also be integrated into this one big chip. This is one of the little tricks they use to make laptops so small and low power.
In a desktop with a built in video card, you’ll often have an AGP slot that you can use so that you can upgrade to a better video controller. You’ll still have the one that is built into the motherboard, but you can usually disable it in the BIOS. Laptops usually don’t have room for a standard sized interface card.
Laptop motherboards are not interchangable, and even if they were, it would cost about as much to replace the motherboard (so that you could get a better video interface) as it would to buy a new laptop. I’ve seen a few companies over the years try and make “standards” for laptop parts so that they could be interchangable, like desktops, but these always end up costing more than regular laptops (which already cost more than an equivalent desktop) and the whole thing usually fizzles out due to lack of sales.
That sucks…
Welp, looks like somebody’s finally going to break down and get an X-box.
Just letting you know how to really get the SD on such a simple question. Just go to the manufacturers web site, search for you model number and look at the docs etc. I did that for your model and in no time found that indeed there is no graphics upgrade available for it. (Which is no surprise at all.)
Does your computer have docking capabilities? Occassionally you can connect the laptop to a docking station and then tell it to use the video card you install in that. Of course it’s incredibly expensive, and you’ll probably only be able to use PCI-type cards, but hey, it’s an option, right?
I have never seen a laptop with any kind of graphics card and I’ve been inside alot of different brands and models. Upgradeable graphics, in my experience, means that you can add additional graphics memory but you can’t change the GPU. Many laptops today have the GPU built into the core logic chipset but not always. When Zoomed Video was common on PC Card slots, there were a couple of PC Card graphic cards available but they were never common. Most Zoomed Video cards were MPEG2 decoders.
It is possible to have graphics cards in CardBus or MiniPCI format but I’ve never seen one.
It is possible that Dell released a couple of models with the GPU on a custom daughtercard with some upgrade path available. A couple of years ago there was a bit of a call for a “gaming laptop” but AFAIK, the concept never took hold.
All that being said, the only way to know if your particular laptop is in anyway upgradeable is to check online for further information specific to your model. If you don’t know what to look for, you don’t have any business poking around inside a laptop in the first place, IMHO. Just opening a laptop case is a task best not left to the thumb-fingered or faint of heart.