Upgrading Laptop

A10Pilot3 · Post by **A10Pilot3** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 6:14 pm

I would like to upgrade my laptop, it's a Gateway that I bought about 2 years ago. I has 512Mb memory so I'm not going to worry about that, I just want to upgrade the video card. It currently has a 32Mb ATI card in it and I would like to put in a 9700, is that possible and what do I have to look for? I've never worked on a laptop before.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 6:47 pm

it sounds like you are running discrete graphics, which is better than having integrated graphics in your northbridge chipset.

Now for the bad part... None of the current laptops have the ability to change out graphics chips or add to them. ATI and Nvidia will be using MXM technology (interchangeable PCI-Express graphics cards on notebooks), but the technology is still in the works. Expect MXM notebooks to pop up in Q4 2004 or Q1 2005.

So to answer the question: "I just want to upgrade the video card"

Can't be done on your notebook.

Sorry man

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 9:29 am

This is why i tell people that if you want to game there is NO reason to get a laptop. I know that all the laptop makers are pushing laptops as gameing systems, but they know they are suckering you in. If people want to game then get a desktop, if you need portable gaming then get an SFF. its going to be at least another year untill there is a real graphics standard for laptops.

Wirehead · Post by **Wirehead** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 12:11 am

I'd have to disagree there. Yeah, you end up paying more for a laptop, but you can't honestly say that it's pointless trying to game on a laptop. I'm on the road about 3 weeks a month. A lot of that is spent in airports, on planes, and other places where you can't exactly drag out your SFF setup and game for half an hour. As it is, I've got a laptop that will run Doom3 acceptably at 800x600, and runs anything else available today just fine as well. In six months or a year I'll sell it for a couple hundred bucks less than I paid, buy a new one, and probably end up spending about as much money on the new one as I would have spent keeping a desktop up to date in a similar length of time. I've got a fast desktop too, but I dont' see it much these days.

Also, Alienware currently has an upgradeable graphics solution in their notebooks, but you have to pay through the nose. Not only do the systems themselves cost an arm and a leg, but the replacement graphics cards are only available directly from them and cost around $350 last time I checked.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:07 am

wirehead --

Alienware charges so much to "upgrade" the video card because they have to swap out the entire motherboard. For that as you know you have to gut the entire system. Takes time and money.

EDIT: Wrong Answer... See Below for the correct answer from Alienware themselves.

Wirehead · Post by **Wirehead** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:32 am

Uh.... you sure about that? On the Alienware site they've got pics of a separate, discrete graphics module that's sold separately for $229 (just checked, that's actually not too bad these days). That's the price for a Geforce FX5700, incidentally.

I can't find much that really explains this anywhere, but Sager (sells the same hardware as Alienware but generally targets corporate customers) also advertises upgradeable graphics modules. This leads me to believe it actually is a separate module.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:37 am

I asked Alienware before I posted and they just wrote back to me...

Our Area-51m systems have a proprietary graphics module which can be removed and replaced with a module with a newer model GPU. Before MXM and AXIOM, Alienware’s module was the only user-replaceable graphics solution out there. People simply purchase the new module and then plug it into their current system with the original motherboard…

I stand corrected ;)... Mainly because I don't follow the alienware systems too close. Pretty nifty though.

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:41 am

You are in a privlaged/need enviorment, the average person does not sell their computer every 6-9mths. It can be alot of work to sell a computer and to find a good replacement. While the cost difference may be the same as upgrading a desktop, i doubt most people will see it that way to them it will look more like a $2k upgrade.

Wirehead · Post by **Wirehead** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:04 am

I understand that some people don't want to mess with stuff like that, but that's their laziness, not any sort of actual barrier. 90% of the time when I sell my old equipment I get paid more than I actually paid originally, because I'm very careful to get a good deal in the first place. Also, Ebay is king. It takes ten minutes to list your old stuff, and if you're sufficiently honest about it and didn't buy a piece of junk to begin with, you won't have trouble selling your old stuff. Hell, I sold an old copy of Win98 SE for $120 about two months ago. I couldn't believe it, but sometimes you get lucky I guess.

It really isn't a big deal - for a total investment of perhaps an hour of your time (if you've never used ebay before, anyway. I can set up a listing in about ten minutes these days) you can get back about 70%-90% or more of the money you originally laid out for whatever you're selling. If you're willing to deal with the pain in the ass of more frequent upgrades, you can often actually make a profit - that is, buy a new laptop or video card, or whatever, use it for maybe 3 months or so, then list it on ebay. If you were a careful shopper to begin with, you can make back more than you spent on it while still giving the buyer a good deal compared to going to CompUSA or whatever. The markup at places like Circuit City and CompUSA is OBSCENE.

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:22 am

Meny of us on Legit are weary of Ebay because a few good members got very very burned and Ebay did nothing to help, the Fed did nothing to help, and local police did nothing to help. And while listing on ebay is an easy way to sell old and used stuff its the shiping that puts people off. It is a real pain in the as for people like me to get to a PO or store to ship. I go to school 18 hrs a week work 20 and then i have to maintain my regular life on top of that. For me shiping is what keeps me from selling on line.

Wirehead · Post by **Wirehead** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:36 am

Yeah, there are some nasty scams out there. But generally if you're careful, pay attention, and apply the old adage about "if it LOOKS too good to be true...", you're in good shape.

Shipping really isn't that big of a deal though. Usually I reuse shipping boxes other people have sent me stuff in - I bought my new laptop so that it'd arrive a couple days before the auction ended for the old one on Ebay, and then just shipped the old laptop to the buyer in the custom fitted laptop packaging that the new one came in.

If you're talking about the costs of shipping something to yourself after buying it, that can be a drag, but often when you're buying high-ticket items they'll throw in shipping. Even if they don't, I can stand to shell out $40 for shipping a heavy laptop in exchange for saving nearly $2000 by using that seller in the first place.

Anyway, XoticPC delivered for me, so if anyone's interested in their stuff, they've got at least ONE happy customer testimonial.