Mobile GPU replacement.

Vox Populi Vox Dei

Vox Populi Vox Dei

High Tory
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OK, here is the deal.

I've got a friend who has a HP NX9010. He has a Radeon Mobility 9000Pro but would like to replace it with a Mobility Radeon 9800 Pro.

First of all, is it possible to replace the GPU in a laptop and does anyone know good dealers in Cape Town (or JHB, Durban if they're willing to ship) who will replace the Radeon 9000 Pro for a 9800 Pro?

Thx in advance. :)
 
unless the card is on a module (plug in board of some description...no use talking about "standard" where laptops are concerned) then you can forget it.

If it is on a module (slight chance) and the manufacturer does the same machine with the higher spec card (even slimmer chance) and they have stock (very very little chance) then you may have happiness and joy in your life.

the short answer is NO.
the long answer is phone up HP and ask, but expect to be disappointed,
 
or expect to see an upgrade bill of R3000+ from HP
 
I doubt it, the GPU will probably be built into the MoBo
 
desraid said:
like general use.
you can run 3d games, but most of the time it disappoints.
Click to expand...

cant really agree with you there desraid. laptops nowadays are powerful enough to run most games. yes it is not as nice as a proper system, but hey, it runs so it is quite tolerable.
 
werner said:
unless the card is on a module (plug in board of some description...no use talking about "standard" where laptops are concerned) then you can forget it.

If it is on a module (slight chance) and the manufacturer does the same machine with the higher spec card (even slimmer chance) and they have stock (very very little chance) then you may have happiness and joy in your life.

the short answer is NO.
the long answer is phone up HP and ask, but expect to be disappointed,
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help :)

Is there anyway in which you can "see" if it's on a module or not by NOT going the "nitty gritty" way and opening up the laptop...

A phonecall to HP, maybe?
 
mic_y said:
cant really agree with you there desraid. laptops nowadays are powerful enough to run most games. yes it is not as nice as a proper system, but hey, it runs so it is quite tolerable.
Click to expand...

yes you can play most games.
but doesn perform equal nor better than desktop.

would you buy laptop to play games?
for same money you can build much better system.
and once its out of date there is no upgrading for it.
but yeah if you are rich and can afford a new laptop every two years to play the new games then by all means.
 
Last edited:
Dominic Rooney said:
OK, here is the deal.

I've got a friend who has a HP NX9010. He has a Radeon Mobility 9000Pro but would like to replace it with a Mobility Radeon 9800 Pro.

First of all, is it possible to replace the GPU in a laptop and does anyone know good dealers in Cape Town (or JHB, Durban if they're willing to ship) who will replace the Radeon 9000 Pro for a 9800 Pro?
Click to expand...

Hmm, I've got an NX9000, but pretty much the same thing. Different adapter tho, an ATI Radeon IGP 340M. I honestly don't know how crappy it is in comparison to the other Radeons.

Anyway, to answer your question, notebook graphics cards are usually NOT upgradeable. You'd have to replace the whole notebook.
 
This is quite interesting, I reckon the days of the desktop are numbered. Correct if I am wrong but I think worldwide sales of laptops has surpassed that of desktops.

I wonder if manufacturers are going to start to create laptops with upgrade paths. With LCD technology now coming to the fore and chips sizes coming down, I think a gaming laptop is not far off ;)
 
FireFLi said:
This is quite interesting, I reckon the days of the desktop are numbered. Correct if I am wrong but I think worldwide sales of laptops has surpassed that of desktops.

I wonder if manufacturers are going to start to create laptops with upgrade paths. With LCD technology now coming to the fore and chips sizes coming down, I think a gaming laptop is not far off ;)
Click to expand...

yes, sales of notebooks have outgrown sales of desktops year on year for the past 5 years.

In terms of upgradeability, nvidia and ati have come to the party and released specs called mxm1, mxm2 and mxm3 for graphics for notebooks.

Basically, if your notebook is mxm1 approved, it will have a certain space for an add in card, with a specific connector and will be able to dissapate "x" amount of heat from that space.

for mxm2, the space is bigger, different connector and more heat disappation...and so on for mxm3. So, technically, we already have 3 standards for upgradeable graphic cards on notebooks.
 
Well that's interesting looks like the day of the desktop is coming to an end. Personally look forward to the day when laptops are really uber and can run all and any games, would make LAN outings allot more practical :D

Then again if we had descent ADSL would be no need for LAN parties :rolleyes:
 
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