Graphics Card

[Wandrille]

ok i have a dell inspiron 5150 with a nvidia geforce 5200 32mb
is a ATI mobility Radeon 9000 M9 32mb any better? to a 64mb?
wuld changing my nvidia geforce 5200 to a 64mb help my gaming and 3d modeling?

[i an not a nerd]

Um, you can't upgrade laptop graphics. Sorry.

[poppy]

Um, you can't upgrade laptop graphics. Sorry.
i an not a nerd, um, if you can't upgrade laptop graphics, why would Dell offer them?

Wandrille, I am not the expert in graphics performance and maybe one of them here will chime in, but I think you might see a little gain but maybe not much for that particular model. It appears you are limited in what you can upgrade to for the 5150.

As a caution if you do decide to upgrade and something happens to break while installing the upgrade and you have to send the laptop back to Dell, be sure and place the original card back in. If you send the laptop in for repair with the new card still in it, you won't see it again. You'll get the laptop back with the original configuration.

[i an not a nerd]

ok poppy, the reason that Dell can offer it is because they can use different mobos that have different video chipsets... So if Wandrille here wants to upgrade his vid card, he would have to replace his whole notebook's mobo. And Dell doesn't let people buy just the mobo.

EDIT: The only Dell laptop with upgradeable graphics cards is the XPS2.

[poppy]

What I was trying to convey is that there are upgrade paths for his laptop. Whether he goes to an authorized Dell Service Center or orders the part from a third party, there are video cards available for that model.

The real problem is that you are limited to the upgrade. There are only about 4 available video cards for the 5150 and are either ATI or nVidia chipsets and you are limited to either 32mb or 64mb. The other big obstacle is the cost. You are probably going to pay anywhere from $160(USD) and up for one and personally in my opinion I wouldn't do it but that's just me.

Now if you get one from a third party and install it yourself, my caution still remains.

[i an not a nerd]

ooo, ok. I was under the impression that you were suggesting that he could upgrade it manually.

Of course there are other upgrade paths, such as more RAM, bigger/faster HD, etc.

[Sempron]

Im somewhat new to laptops myself especially upgrading. Just a quick Q. If I hypathetically buy a laptop with the default vid card, can I install an aftermarket vid card by myself, seeing as I know how to do it myself? If so, what are my options. Can laptops house a 256mb nvidia or ATI?

Thnx

[poppy]

There are no blanket answers to that question. Some laptops are upgradeable and some are not. The video cards are usually manufactured for the laptop maker and as such are proprietary. I don't know of any "aftermarket" makers of video cards in general for laptops.

Having said that, if you know what laptop and model you are interested in, check the manufacturer's web site to see what options are available to you. It is not quite like taking a desktop and building a system yourself. The dynamics are totally different. The inner workings of a laptop are more fragile and I would advise having the manufacturer upgrade it or an authorized service center. Too many things can go wrong.

[Sempron]

thanks poppy. I cant wait to build my own system one day. Im using my parents PC atm. They 'upgraded' from a PII 450 to Sempron 2300+. It was cheap enough for them and I got to install it all. WOOT!

As for the laptop Question, Note taken. So if I wanted a very nice graphics card for my laptop, you would recommend getting the best card the manufacturer has to offer?

[Wandrille]

i can upgrade my graphics card if u wanted to know i am not a nerd
thats why they offer it

[i an not a nerd]

Actually, one of the Voodoo laptops can house a full desktop graphics card I think...

And Wandrille, can you post the link to where Dell offers the upgrade?

[123456]

Hmm...my Geforce FX5200 is 128mb RAM. Then agian it is for desktops.