Video Card for my laptop?

[BASPro]

Hey all,about to go out of town for 2 weeks for work and am going to need my gaming fix.I have built a desktop and is running great but this laptop has a mobility radeon 9000 32mb which is just not going to cut it.I am also going to order 512 more ram.I am somewhat familiar w desktop cards but this laptop card not real sure of,(onboard,agp slot?)This is my work laptop so i may have to buy the card myself since i dont really need any more card than i got 4 what i do(may get away w it,im sure goin to try)I play sof2 which is not a very intensive game(but is somewhat)and i would like to get a card that would run it without a glitch.I dont know where to look for a laptop card and how to determine if i can even change this graphics card?(built on mobo,seperate agp slot for offboard video?)Dont want a super expensive card but something pretty nice,and what type im going to need,here is the system,Thanks 4 the help....







Computer:


Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/)


OS Service Pack Service Pack 2


DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c) (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/)


Computer Name THELAPTOP (Mylaptop)



Motherboard:


CPU Type Mobile Intel Pentium 4M, 2200 MHz (22 x 100) (http://www.intel.com/products/browse/processor.htm)


Motherboard Name Dell Inspiron 8500 (http://www.dell.com/)


Motherboard Chipset Intel Brookdale i845MP (http://www.intel.com/products/browse/chipsets.htm)


System Memory 512 MB (PC2100 DDR SDRAM)


BIOS Type Phoenix (07/12/04) (http://www.phoenix.com/en/products/default.htm)


Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)


Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:


Video Adapter MOBILITY RADEON 9000 (32 MB) (http://www.ati.com/products/gamer.html)


Video Adapter MOBILITY RADEON 9000 (32 MB) (http://www.ati.com/products/gamer.html)


3D Accelerator ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (M9) (http://www.ati.com/products/gamer.html)

Multimedia:


Audio Adapter Intel 82801DBM ICH4-M - AC'97 Audio Controller (http://www.intel.com/products/browse/chipsets.htm)

[b]Storage:


IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801DBM Ultra ATA Storage Controller - 24CA (http://www.intel.com/products/browse/chipsets.htm)


Disk Drive IC25N040ATMR04-0 (40 GB, 4200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100) (http://www.hgst.com/products)


Optical Drive QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-242 (DVD:8x, CD:24x/10x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW) (http://www.qsinc.com.tw/qsi/Official_Product_en)


SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:


C: (NTFS) 38115 MB (29925 MB free)

Input:


Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard


Mouse Alps Touch Pad (http://www.alps.com/)

Network:


Network Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller (http://www.broadcom.com/products)


Network Adapter Wireless-G Notebook Adapter with SpeedBooster (192.168.1.101)


Modem PCTEL 2304WT V.9x MDC Modem

Peripherals:


Printer CAPTURE FAX BVRP


Printer hp deskjet 450 printer (http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/gateway/printing_multifunction.html)


Printer Lexmark 3100 Series (http://www.lexmark.com/US/products/products_supplies/1,1228,fDE=,00.html)


USB1 Controller Intel 82801DBM ICH4-M - USB Controller [B-1]


USB1 Controller Intel 82801DBM ICH4-M - USB Controller [B-1]


USB1 Controller Intel 82801DBM ICH4-M - USB Controller [B-1]


USB2 Controller Intel 82801DBM ICH4-M - Enhanced USB2 Controller [B-1]


Battery Microsoft AC Adapter


Battery Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery


Battery Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery

[pop pop]

I'll just take a stab at this, cuz I'm making an educated guess, me thinks you may be SOL. Meaning, no upgrade possible for the graphics...RAM--yeah, HDD--yeah, optical--likely, video--nope.

I could be wrong though.

[hockey man]

As far as I have seen that is the case. Sorry.

[BASPro]

http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/frown.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/confused.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/frown.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/confused.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/frown.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/confused.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/frown.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/confused.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/frown.gifhttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/confused.gif

Well that just bites,any reason for that educated guess???

[Paleo Pete]

Laptops are not built to be upgradeable, it wouold not be feasible. A desktop has lots of room, unless it's a cheap Dell, HP or Compaq in a tiny case, laptops are built with much smaller components squoze into a box barely big enough to fit it all.

I've had to take a few apart, mainly to solder AC adapter jacks back in, usually it takes over 2 hours just to disassemble the critter, and it's absolutely mandatory to lay everything out in order so you know exactly how to get it back together. Putting it back together will definitely test your patience, aand takes at least another 2 hours.

Then there's the physical properties of the parts. A desktop again has plenty room, any card from a half length low end card to a top of the line Radeon or gForce will fit into the same slot, usually with a little room to spare. Most are different sizes and shapes, some have fans on the heatsinks and some don't. The laptop must have a card the exact same size and shape and in many cases the video is built into the motherboard so there is no card to replace and no place to put one.

That's the main point here, most laptops will have onboard video and no place to put an add-on card. I took apart one (Dell I think) that had an actual video card, but it plugged into a small wide cable manufactured only for that machine and would require the exact same size and shape card capable of fitting the same cable.

So, the bottom line is laptops are not built to be easily upgraded, or upgraded beyond RAM at all. Make use of its current capabilities and if a RAM upgrade won't allow the computer to handle the applications you need to run, get another one that will.

[saphalline]

Yep, I'm afraid you're SOL here. Pete has explained many of the main reasons that laptops are not upgradeable in this way. Some laptops have a few options in this regard, but that means sending it back to the manufacturer to have either the mobo switched out (for embedded VPU's/GPU's which are the most common) or the vid card switched out (for proprietary separate vid cards which are specific to the manufacturer). Certain high-end gaming laptops (if you can call them that @ 10+ pounds! :eek: ) are experimenting with expansion modules like NVidia's MXM, but nothing standard has been produced yet. And without standards, not many will adopt anything. And that's the problem with laptops, they're all so different anyway.

Another problem with laptops is that they're flat. Meaning that you pretty much have a mobo in there, and a tiny amount of depth in which to fit a CPU and its heatsink. Fans are usually tiny or mounted horizontally. With no depth to work with, there's no room for a perpendicular expansion card like in a desktop. Even the RAM on a laptop is mounted flush with the mobo. Most laptop graphics solutions are put right on the mobo, along with any video memory chips. If you were to open your laptop, you'd basically find that the base is one gigantic PCB. All it has room for is a mobo with everything on it. And with laptops getting smaller all the time, the amount of room for expansion is ever-shrinking...

Another problem with laptops is power consumption. Laptops are designed with very specific electrical ratings, and they can accomodate only a small amount of upgrading at all. Some more RAM, maybe a faster hard drive, but that's about it! Most of them won't even let you upgrade the CPU. And don't forget that vid cards are a prime power consumer in a desktop system. So upgrading your laptop from a Mobility Radeon 9000 to say a Mobility Radeon 9800 would probably cut your battery life in half for gaming! :eek: Not to mention you'd probably need to contact Dell and pay an additional $60-100 for a new & more powerful AC adapter - that is, if it were possible to upgrade the graphics.

So you see, this is not an easy design decision. In fact, it borders on the impossible, which is why most laptop manufacturers don't even bother. This is why everyone always recommends buying the most expensive and powerful laptop you can afford right away. Because laptops are largely considered non-upgradeable.