Fitting a new graphics card into a laptop....how easy is it?

[mojouk]

I'm thinking of buying this laptop as it has great spec for just £750 (believe me it has been difficult to find something this good at this price and new).

These are the specifications:

Acer AS9423WSMi / 17" WXGA+ CB / Centrino 2 Duo T5500 1.66GHz / 128MB dedicated Nvidia GeForce 7300 / 2048MB (2x2024)MB DDR2 / 120GB 5400RPM / DVD SuperMulti / 802.11g / 6 cell battery / 1.3MP Orbicam / MS-Work / MCE

The only problem is I don't think the graphics card is that great.

I spoke to ACER who told me that the graphics card is upgradable (but not by them), but if anything went wrong, such as the laptop overheating due to the graphics card getting too hot, then the warranty would be void.

Is it easy to install/remove a graphics card from a laptop? What are the chances of it overheating if I put a graphics acrd that was say....a 7800 256MB dedicated?

Would be interested to know your thoughts....and whether it is actually worth the hassle of buying a new laptop and upgrading the graphics card....

 

[Anon_F]

Warranty will be invalid if you remove/upgrade parts

"Is it easy to install/remove a graphics card from a laptop"
Depends how competent you think you are at doing it, however you warranty will be void if you do!
You could get Upgrading & Repairing Laptops by Scott Mueller to use as reference if you decide to go ahead.

Have a look Here

 

[muckshifter]

"Is it easy to install/remove a graphics card from a laptop"

err, a laptop does not have a "card" that you can just pull out and plonk in another ...

If you would like to have a go first source these items ...

A good small-head soldering iron ... note; you are not allowed to use solder anymore.
a graphics chip that is compatible ... mission impossible
the circuit diagram of the MB used ... see above

... find them first then come back for more information.

I spoke to ACER who told me that the graphics card is upgradable

That, is the best joke I've heard all year ...

Bottom line is ... laptops are NOT upgradable in that sense.

 

[mojouk]

Well, maybe they are telling me a pack of lies They told me it was a removable graphics card. i.e. not integrated, so I assumed it would just slot in/out.

Acer said that the warranty wouldn't be void unless a technical problem occurred because of the new graphics card.

Maybe the existing one is good enough for 3D rendering/gaming???? What do you think??

http://www.acer.co.uk/acereuro/page...en&ctx3=-1&ctx4=United+Kingdom&crc=3696975374

 

[psd99]

alrite mate

so finally u getting a laptop
hope u fone ur reaearch

where u geting it from mate
sick deal!!!!

 

[muckshifter]

... you are more than welcome to prove me wrong

Well, are they telling me a pack of lies? They told me it was a removable graphics card. i.e. not integrated, so I assumed it would just slot in/out.

Acer said that the warranty wouldn't be void unless a technical problem occurred because of the new graphics card.

Things change, hardware moves on, I see no reason for Acer to tell porkie-pies ... find me the tech sheet on the motherboard ...

As a general rule of thumb, Laptops/notebooks, do not have a graphics card as we know it in a Desktop PC.

 

[Anon_F]

err, a laptop does not have a "card" that you can just pull out and plonk in another ...
That, is the best joke I've heard all year ...

Bottom line is ... laptops are NOT upgradable in that sense.

Shows how much i know about laptops

 

[mojouk]

Here's where I saw the deal. I think it's the cheapest laptop I've seen NEW, with this spec......I'm still not sure about that graphics card....

http://www.savastore.com/productinf...me=Savastore&page=productspecification&pid=45

http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;...40_Aspire+9423WSMi+=28LX=252EAEW0J=252E048=29

The technical specification sheet doesn't seem to exist muckshifter (I've checked on ACER website and they only have that technical specification webpage, that I put in my previous post, and there's no info about the m/b on that).

 

[muckshifter]

The technical specification sheet doesn't seem to exist muckshifter (I've checked on ACER website and they only have that technical specification webpage, that I put in my previous post, and there's no info about the m/b on that).

Yep, I know ...

What I'm trying to point out is ... yes you can "replace" the graphics card on some laptops ... but YOU will throw a fit in 'trying' to do it yourself.

On a Desktop you undo two screws to take off the side of the case, if you are unfortunate, you will find one screw holding the graphics card in place, and these day a plastic clip at the other end.

You just yank it out & plonk in the new card.


On a laptop that does have a true separate graphics card, there are quite a few of them, you have to take the whole bloody thing to pieces ... I know, I've done it ... and it is a pig-in-a-poke when you find you have leftover bits.


Buy the right system for the right job ... laptops/notebooks are primarily designed for "work on the move" NOT playing games ... and before you tell me you can buy "gaming laptops" I'll just say, yeah, sure, go ahead. They are getting there though, if you have the money ... and boy, you need some dosh to get a 'real' gaming laptop.

'nuf from me, your money.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Mucks, you can still solder, as long as the solder is ROHS compliant.

It may seem fernickety but these safety laws are actually brought in to protect us.

Replacing a grafix card on a laptop is not for the faint hearted. You really do need to have had some experience with repairing electronic appliances before attempting it.

Here's a fair example of what's involved.

 

[mojouk]

That's a good website. It doesn't seem too difficult to put it in. It's the soldering part that could be tricky....

I was just looking at the 3D Mark tests and AquaMark tests....what do these actually mean and can I perform them on my PC so I can test what the graphics ability is like on my desktop...or any laptop?

And is there a 3D Mark standard list which tells me what results are good/bad, so I can compare my PC/laptop against it??

 

[crazylegs]

Listen Mojouk the guys on here are not being funny in any way but just trying to give you some decent advice, so take heed....

Right first off I can take a laptop to pieces and put it back together again with no pieces left over in an hour, as i do this all day long for my job, if you have to ask about 3d mark and aquamark, i'll tell you now your not up to the job of stripping and removing and/or installing new graphics in a laptop so don't even go there....

You can take the advice offered on this forum or you can ignore it at your expense..It's your call mate...

We just trying to help you thats all...

 

[mojouk]

Well. That's told me off proper!

I have taken the front of a laptop before to get under the keyboard, and it was tricky, but I do take your point. I just thought that if there were instructions about doing it, then it was something I could follow (and save money)

I'm not saying I'm any kind of expert or know much about the inner workings (or running) of a PC, but I just thought it might be something a non-laptop technician could do.

Anyway, You've convinced me to leave the whole graphics card upgrade option. I will just try and find a laptop with the spec that I need to begin with

 

[Anon_F]

I tried to upgrade an old laptop 6 months ago and read the book i mentioned in an earlier post. Laptop is currently in bits, not working and only keeping it as my other P2 233 screen is cracked.

All we are saying and you have now admitted yourself is it is bloody difficult to upgrade a laptop apart from RAM & the HDD.