- Dell laptop user upgradeable graphics?
- Posted by Avid Qam on January 25th, 2004
Does Dell sell a laptop having user upgradeable graphics?
The Alienware Area-51M has user upgradeable graphics. This sounds
good, but...wouldn't the motherboard port limit the new graphics card?
For example, installing an 8X AGP graphics card into a 4X AGP
motherboard would not yield all the possible benefits.
I do not find Dell mentioning user upgradeable graphics for their
Inspiron 5150 or 8600, their Latitude D800, or their Precision M60.
Yet I do find "Computer Gaming World," Feb-2004, page 92, stating that
Alienware, Voodoo, and Dell sell laptops having user upgradeable
graphics.
I seek a pointer to this Dell laptop having user upgradeable graphics.
Thank you.
- Posted by G Tom on January 26th, 2004
avidqam@yahoo.com (Avid Qam) wrote in message news:<faebb8a0.0401251401.2f883bc@posting.google.c om>...
Upgradeable (user or otherwise) graphics is a relatively new idea for
modern laptops. As such, I don't know of anyone who has successfully
upgraded their graphics in a meaningful way (I've heard of Dell users
upgrading their ATI9000:s from 32mb to 64mb, but that's it). Because
of the space limitations of laptops, it will probably be hard to find
those cards for your laptop. They should theoretically work, but they
may not actually fit into your case.
As of right now, I wouldn't base your decisions on this. BTW, there is
little to no performance increase between 4x and 8x AGP cards.
If you look at the manuals and info on the Dell website for specific
laptops, it will show you how to replace your video card. It's really
meant for field technicians, but I think they're pretty simple to
follow. IBM has these type of manuals as well, but I am not familiar
with the graphics setup in Thinkpads.
I used to have a Dell M60 and you theoretically upgrade the video
card, although it already came with a 128mb nVidia QuadroFX...
Cheers
- Posted by WiccaIrish on January 26th, 2004
xanthinine@yahoo.com (G Tom), on 1/25/2004, wrote:
I upgraded from the GeForce2 GO 32MB to the GeForce4 GO 440 64MB without a
problem. Are the new FX and ATI cards bigger? I was planning on upgrading to
the new 128MB GeForceFX GO 5700.
--------------------
Inspiron 8100
i815ep chipset
15" UXGA
1.13Ghz PIII-M
512MB SDRAM
60GB Hitachi 7200 RPM HD
64MB GeForce4 GO 440 video chip
ActionTec 56k + 10/100 NIC internal modem
8X DVD-ROM
8X CD-RW
Windows XP Pro
- Posted by G Tom on January 26th, 2004
wiccairish@aol.com.no.spam (WiccaIrish) wrote in message news:<20040126125736.21861.00000717@mb-m14.aol.com>...
That's awesome!!! I'm was just concerned because the card is shaped
kind of weird and that it appears different from the Alienware module.
I could be wrong about that, but then again my memory isnt so good for
that sort of thing.
Nice job on the upgrade!
- Posted by Sequoia on January 28th, 2004
I'm very glad to hear you were able to do that!
What model do you have, and did you install it yourself?
I purchased a Dell 8500 for my son in late Oct with 32 mb and wished we had
gotten 64mb by the time it shipped. He already notices the 32mb is lacking
in a simple game like SimCity4. I don't know how soon we should try to
upgrade it.
Nan
"WiccaIrish" <wiccairish@aol.com.no.spam> wrote in message
news:20040126125736.21861.00000717@mb-m14.aol.com...
- Posted by G Tom on January 28th, 2004
"Sequoia" <WoodyJo@SMBSD.net> wrote in message news:<zCKRb.680$px6.544@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>...
Although you won't really know until you try....
I looked up the boards for the 8500, 8600, and M60 and they all look
like the same module to me. This suggests that your son's 8500 SHOULD
be able to take the 64MB version of the geforce5200, the 64MB geforce
5600, the 128MB geforce 5650, the 128MB QuadroFX700, as well as the
128mb ATI9600!
One thing to keep in mind, is that I believe you void the warranty
when you upgrade the video (you have to remove the keyboard and some
other stuff to get at it). But someone correct me if I'm wrong!
Cheers,
