Upgrading Your Laptop’s Video - Would You Try It?

I have a HP Pavilion dv2745se laptop which comes with a MCP67M (7150 / 630i card). I found out that this was a integrated video card and that I might not be able to change it. Maybe you can disassemble the laptop up and check to see if you could unscrew and replace it with anything if possible. Don’t new graphic cards come with ports, etc. not just the card?

well, im a gamer, so i know about this stuff too. in most laptops the video is onboard, meaning you cant put a new video card in or replace it, contrary to a desktop where you can put a video card in even if there are integrated graphics.

nowadays dedicated graphics for laptops are becoming more common, i know that dell does a lot of that.

in the end though, if your laptop does have a video card that can be replaced, its actually VERY easy, (maybe not so easy as a desktop, but still) ive done it.

the hardest part is opening up the bottom of the laptop and trying not to break anything. then, when you get to the card just unscrew it and pull it out with the heatsink. laptop video cards look kindof like processors, but with wierd cooling pipes, and you’ll need to take those off of the old video card and put them on the new one.

then just pop it in! of course, its not that way for every laptop but you know what i mean.

anyways, as a gamer, i dissaprove of gaming on a laptop. desktops FTW!

Well actually last week i had to do this. I have an alienware m15x and my 8800M GTX had some issue that alienware said was covered under my warraty and if I wanted to i could replace it myself. The guy on the phone gave me very good directions on how to do this and i did it without a problem. new 8800 works even better actually. Just thought id let you know i have done this and it was very easy

Hello,

As far as I know, very few notebook computers use upgradeable MXM module for their graphics. There is also the question of power consumption and thermal dissipation which will need to be addressed if the new graphics module consumes more electricity and radiates more heat than the previously-installed module.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Thanks for all of your comments. Your thoughts are appreciated.
All the best, Ron

If the laptop video card is upgradable, then it’s usually on high-end laptops, rather than more modest units which as we know, have on-board graphics. Check with your laptop manufacturer (mfr.) to see if a service manual is available for download. Read the manual, and see if the card can be replaced. Typically, the entire laptop must be disassembled to replace a video board - this is expert level work - if the manual is NOT available, don’t even attempt unless you have SIGNIFICANT laptop (and fine-detailed work) experience. Even my best guys can take half an hour to get a laptop apart (esp. without a manual), documenting and accounting for each and every screw and module…. If you are fortunate to have a laptop which has separate “access panels” on the underside to reach the various sub-components, then the job is vastly simplified. Don’t forget to remove any dust that may have accumulated. Best wishes.

IBM, now Lenovo, have some Thinkpad models which not only have discrete graphics cards - removable, replaceable, but when you order you can choose from ATI or nVidia, certainly just a model from each…

I am certain they should be “socket compatible” at least, which means a kind of a standard. I do not believe this “socket” be available for other makers, but it should be so nice…

Hey, man, beware the Dells. I can get on the board and unsolder and resolder fresher video chips on stuff like that and not even I like working on them because they have shown me to have repeatedly engineered a ridiculous surprise into their stuff (such as the infamously bastardized placements of two of the main power connector pins on the mainboards of a couple of their desktop models). If you want good graphics capability in a laptop, first consider the fact that there will be more heat buildup in them than in desktops because of the physical size, thus requiring less powerful components because heat reduces system performance. Second, keeping that in mind, look at a more reputable brand (not necessarily popular brand, though the two traits tend to go hand-in-hand), such as HP or ACER. Sometimes you’ll find a good Sony on sale, but you won’t pay too much when you consider the power-heat issue in your choice. Third, replace a few components like the hard drive with a more efficient one, upgrade your RAM so it doesn’t have to work as hard (thus lowering the total amount of heat it generates) and downgrade to XP while you still can if it comes with Vista (it needs less power and resources to run than Vista, thus further minimizing the considered issues), and there you go. And as that one guy said earlier, laptops suck for gaming. Enjoy.

Hi George O;Neal,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It is appreciated.

Regards, Ron

I have a toshiba satellite with a ati mobility radeon hd 3470. From the pictures on the ati web site it appears plug n play. So now I want to upgrade to thier top of the line video card but who sells this stuff. I’ve looked on several sites and they just sell desktop video cards. The closest I found was a x1800 card wich appeared to be used.

so where might one buy such a card? newegg doesn’t have a category for these unless i am mistaken.