Possible to upgrade the GPU in XPS M1530?

[bostonfan05]

Not sure if this is the right forum but does any one know if you can upgrade the Nvidia 8600 GT. I've heard that it is the "max" graphics card for the XPS M1530 but idk...Also I don't know how upgradeable laptops are in general but I'm thinking it might be hard to upgrade them for anything?...other than maybe RAM. The reason I ask is I'm going to want to play Empire: Total War when it comes out in February (so I wouldn't upgrade till then) and it would be nice to have a better GPU for it. Thanks in advance.

[jlreich]

Other than ram and hard drive you really can't upgrade laptops. Technically if Dell makes a higher end card for that chassis you can replace the card, but it would be prohibitively expensive to do so just for the part.

You can always contact Dell to see what it would cost to get a better card in there if one is available. It would be worth a good laugh. :p My best guess would a be a minimum of $300.

Your best bet would be to max out the ram. Ram is cheap and easy to install.

[bostonfan05]

Thanks for the reply. If I hear Dell comes out with something compatible and can be installed I'll probably look into it even if it's expensive to do. I may upgrade the RAM eventually but 3GB will have to do for now. Another question though- do you know if the 8600 GT is always GDDR3 in the XPS M1530?- or is there a way to check?...Because I believe that makes the card noticeably faster/better?

[jlreich]

You're doing fine with 3GB. If you only had 2GB I would say remove the 2 and install 4GB. But you are good to go.

do you know if the 8600 GT is always GDDR3 in the XPS M1530?
I don't know for certain but probably yes.

There really isn't anything that will make an 8600 any faster. It's a poor gaming card to begin with. The improvement of faster ram would be negligible in that card. Serious gaming is best left to desktops. Unless you have 3-5K to drop on a laptop meant for gaming. Sorry if that busts your bubble, but that's the way it is. No matter what lines the marketing department comes up with and slaps in the description. :(

My best guess would a be a minimum of $300.
Let me expand on that. Minimum of $300 with little performance gain.

[mjc]

Thanks for the reply. If I hear Dell comes out with something compatible and can be installed I'll probably look into it even if it's expensive to do.

Generally, it is cheaper to buy a new laptop than to upgrade the video in an existing one. Yes, some laptops these days do have 'cards' that can be replaced, but finding a compatible replacement isn't easy...and it isn't a simple, open a panel, pop out the old one, drop the new one in, close everything up, reboot and install the drivers operation...more often than not, it requires at least a partial disassembly of the laptop.

[bostonfan05]

Ya the reason I figured it may be possible is that I've seen someone do it on youtube (seems legit) on an XPS M1730. But like you said he had to take the laptop apart..but once he did he simply took the old card out and slipped the new one in. Here is the clip.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yklqhb7PRXY

[jlreich]

Like I said it is possible. Although not as simple as doing it in a desktop system. But one good thing about Dell is they do have pretty good service manuals available that show you how to do all of this. So if you are good at following instructions you can do it.

But is it going to be worth it? In the case of the guy in the video it is a pretty good boost in performance. But I can tell you he paid a pretty hefty price for the new set of cards as well.

Most of the time it is not worth it. Usually the cost/performance increase ratio is not in your favor. ;) But if you are willing to pay up then all the power to you.

[bostonfan05]

Thanks for the info guys. Ya it sucks that laptops aren't what desktops are but I need the laptop for college. I might be willing to pay up- we'll see what happens when I try to run Empire: TW on my current setup. I must ask though (sorry if I'm missing something)- If it is possible to upgrade it my self why would it be more expensive than doing it in a desktop. I understand it is hard to install but the graphics card is not costing extra...so wouldn't the performance increase be the same for the same price if my other specs are decent?

[jlreich]

the graphics card is not costing extra...
Where are you getting a video card for your laptop from and how much does it cost?

[bostonfan05]

I don't know where I would get it...I'm just saying if Dell came out with a newer card that is compatible with the XPS M1530 I don't know why it would cost that much. I mean the 8600 GT cost $90 on newegg. So if a new card came out and cost $150 couldn't I theoretically buy that and install it in my laptop...

By the way I did read somewhere that they are working on a better card for the XPS M1530.

[jlreich]

Yeah but laptop cards are more expensive and you have to either get them from the manufacturer, which will cost you big time, or find a damaged system on ebay or something that has a better good working card.

That's why I said I would guess a minimum of $300 just for the part. I could be wrong and it's only $200, but I kind of doubt it.

Call Dell up and see what they have available for your system and ask how much. If they don't have anything better for your system ask them how much for a replacement of the card you have to get an idea of how bad they are going to rake you. I would actually be interested to know.

Although I am a contracted Dell technician I don't usually see the prices. But when I have they are usually very high. ;)

Take the average price you would expect the part to cost on the street and triple it when buying from the manufacturer, as a starting point. ;)

[bostonfan05]

Oh...so you're saying: 1. Laptop cards are more expensive than desktop cards (so for example the $90 card is not a laptop card?) and 2. You can only buy them from the manufactuerer and that will make them even more expensive.

I guess this is where I am confused..Why can you only buy laptop graphics cards from the manufacturer? I just assumed I would be able to buy one anywhere...

[jlreich]

1. no it is not a laptop video card.
2. you cannot buy them separately from retailers.

Why can you only buy laptop graphics cards from the manufacturer? I just assumed I would be able to buy one anywhere...
Well, the chip manufacturer (nVidia, ATI) just makes the chip, lays out some base specs for they way the actual card should be made, stock clock speeds, ram types etc.

I am not certain on which way it goes at this point, but I believe then the laptop manufacturers have the actual PCB designed the way they want it to fit inside their machines. Laptop designers have to be creative in how they put their machines together and I am sure any system that has a dedicated video card takes extra consideration because of heat. Or, it's possible there is a certain amount of standardization in the way the PCB is made with some proprietary tweaks for ventilation and such.

Either way you can't just go out and buy a laptop video card and slap it in. At least no where that I know of. You are stuck with whatever the laptop manufacturer offers for that particular chassis.

Now that doesn't necessarily mean your model since the same chassis is used for different models. Your basic chassis design is probably also used in the Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, and Vostro lines. Most of my customers are business so most of what I work on are the Latitude and Precision lines, but I have worked on XPS and Inspiron and seen the same chassis used across the board. They just rename it in the BIOS and offer different options per that particular model. I would imagine they also enable/disable certain features on different models at times.

I have actually seen some older Inspiron and Latitude models that are identical inside and out with the exception of the blue trim on the Inspiron.

[bostonfan05]

Thanks for clarifying that-makes more sense now- especially since laptops are not desktops so it makes sense that they have to make adjustments to parts.