Gaming Changing laptop video cards?

[da_head]

is it possible? are there new gen laptops that let u do so? is there a way to do it at all? (even if it voids ur warranty?) cuz i'm thinking about getting a laptop soon, but i can't find any with a 1gb graphic card. so i was thinkin about gettin one with 512, and mebe in a year or two, upgrading it? i no 512 is more than enough now, but this laptop needs to last me for like 4 years or so :S

edit: i found this video http://revver.com/video/377211/how-to-chan...top-video-card/

but it looks rly risky and that definitely voids the warranty lol.

 

[p1ngpong]

Yeah man it isnt a good idea, in that video the guy wasnt upgrading his card just replacing it, laptops dont have much room to play around with inside so they are designed to seat the specific card they are designed for. I mean you could try, its not impossible, its just really fiddly and not a great idea!

 

[da_head]

Yeah man it isnt a good idea, in that video the guy wasnt upgrading his card just replacing it, laptops dont have much room to play around with inside so they are designed to seat the specific card they are designed for. I mean you could try, its not impossible, its just really fiddly and not a great idea!

o.. replacing. yeah i see wat u mean. o well

 

[FAST6191]

There are a select few that allow it but most laptops are proprietary pieces of junk. Those that do will often require serious soldering/electronics skills and/or very specific hardware.

External graphics cards are starting to appear though so it may be worth a little wait:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/06/amd_launches_xgp/

Failing that I suggest buying a decent desktop (if you really want portability then you can probably thrash out a small form factor machine, microATX or even home theatre size) and splashing out on a little eeepc type thing (I forget the technical term for them).

 

[da_head]

There are a select few that allow it but most laptops are proprietary pieces of junk. Those that do will often require serious soldering/electronics skills and/or very specific hardware.

External graphics cards are starting to appear though so it may be worth a little wait:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/06/amd_launches_xgp/

Failing that I suggest buying a decent desktop (if you really want portability then you can probably thrash out a small form factor machine, microATX or even home theatre size) and splashing out on a little eeepc type thing (I forget the technical term for them).

that's wat i wanted to do at first. get a dirt cheap laptop (or keep the one i have) and get a desktop for gaming (jeez they're so much cheaper than laptops >.>). but my parents won't let me have 2 comps, and i MUST have a laptop. so no choice.

hm the external graphic cards seem interesting, mebe i can get one in a few yrs.

 

[UltraMagnus]

well, i seem to remember a few high spec "desktop replacement" (read 10kg monsters with 10 min battery life) laptops having modular graphics cards, but the manufacturer did say they may need a PSU upgrade too...

the isn't much point in upgrading just a graphics card any way, if you do that then the limiting factor of the PC will be something like the processor, and to upgrade those usually requires a new motherboard... at which point you may as well buy a new PC.

just buy a laptop with a good gpu and sell it on ebay once it gets too slow for you.

either that, or maybe you can convince your parents that an eeePC netbook isn't a real PC, its an appliance

 

[FAST6191]

In that case I have seen the odd laptop that could essentially be a docking station, rather than a add a few ports it essentially becomes a part of the machine. You will pay through the nose for it though and aside from some apple stuff (and even then I am not sure if it still exists) I have not seen anything like it as far as mainstream stuff is concerned in about 15 years. What I have seen tends to be aimed at the technical/extreme conditions market or be custom made*. That being the case I am not sure if it would be possible to make a suitable gaming machine.

Solution 2. Some of the latest palmtops/mobile phones feature some serious connectivity (USB for keyboards and multiple forms of graphics out). You can bung a basic word processor, internet browser, network apps and be cruising happy.
Stick it through a KVM switch ( http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSectionView...ction_Id=204012 ) and you will likely never know the difference.

I dislike phones and palmtops though (and the US and to a lesser extent Canada are still in the dark ages of mobile phones) so I am afraid you are on your own there.

*Custom building a laptop is possible but expensive.