Replacing disk drive with graphics card

somerandomguy30 · Jun 9, 2013

I own a Samsung r580h. It currently has an nVidia 310m with CUDA. Presently, my disk drive is broken, and I've already gone to the trouble of getting an external disk drive. I wanted to know if it was possible to remove the broken disk drive and install a better graphics card in the disk drive slot. If so, what would be a good graphics cad to use?

luckiest charm · Jun 9, 2013

Ehhh??? Replacing disk drive with video card!?

Well, Optical Drives connect through Serial ATA (SATA) connectors to motherboard.
Video Card connects through PCI Express connectors.

Not possible in any case.

To connect a video card you have to see if your motherboard has a free PCIE Slot.

manofchalk · Jun 9, 2013

Making another thread wont change the answer

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1697960/replacing-disk-drive-graphics-card.html

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

I meant I would plug the graphics card into the PCI port. I know I couldn't plug the card into the SATA port. I would leave the graphics card in the disk drive, but plug it into the PCI port. Another problem is that I don't know if my laptop has 1 or 2 PCI ports. If it has 1, I would have to remove the old graphics card. If you know how many it has could you tell me?

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

1) Plugging it into PCIE port would fix it into a place. It won't be connected by a wire, it would be physically attached to the PCIE slot in the motherboard like a RAM.

2) You can't change a video card in a laptop. I'm sorry about that.

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

Would it be possible to replace my current one, the 310m, with something else like a 560m?

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

Nopes.

The 'M' here means mobility. You can't buy it in market, those cards are discrete cards which come pre-installed in a laptop. To change the video card you have to buy a new laptop.

That is why I consider desktops better than laptops, everything can be changed.

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

If it were possible to get one, would it be replaceable?

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

No.
That would require you to open your laptop the hard way as there is no slot out there. Also you never know if it would fit in or not.
And many other things. Its also going to void warranty.

Not recommended.

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

I know how to open my laptop. Thought I have never completely taken it apart, because I had no reason to and didn't want to damage it. As for the warranty, the computer is four years old and I think warranty is already up.

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

Then you have to find a similar card with similar dimensions. Also make sure it does not heat that much (in other words is not that strong), and change it with your older one.

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

I believe the 310m and the 560m have the same dimensions, but I'm not 100% sure. It would also mean I would need a cooling dock, because as it is the CPU heat burns me if I put my hand over the exhaust.

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

560M is way faster than 310M and also emits a whole lot of heat. A laptop dock won't do anything.

The systems which house high end cards also have multiple cooling systems running. A normal laptop can't do that. Installing it and then using it would emit a lot of heat which your laptop won't be able to deal with.

560M is GTX 560 Mobile version, it is just slightly weaker and is 5 notches higher than GTX 310M.

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

Yeah. I didn't think it would work, but it was worth a try. On ther other hand, I have a 2005 gateway unused in my basement.

Specs:
Intel pentium 820
3Gb DDR2 RAM
Intel Graphics media accelerator (not 100% sure because the card has ATI on it)
Could anything be done to it to make it a good gaming computer without replacing the motherboard or CPU?
It's PCI-E 1.0 I believe

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

I think so. The CPU is moderate.

Add in a GTX 650. That should be enough for the system without bottlenecks. It should run games at medium settings.
Make sure it big enough PSU though!

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

Yeah, that probably needs to be replaced, but that isn't too complicated. Thanks

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

If you are satisfied and your question is solved, you might want to pick as solution. this way it will help others too deal with similar issue.

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

How much RAM should I install? The recommended max is 4 Gb, but DDR2 is cheap. And is it possible to add a 650 to the motherboard? Specs are

Add-in Card Slots:
One PCI Express ×1
One PCI Express ×16
Two PCI Conventional

Not sure if this means it has them or if they were optional. I'm assuming it means they have them. Also, the 650 requires a PCI-E 3.0. Which I'm pretty sure the motherboard doesn't have. If you want to see the specs check out: www.ascendtech.us/gateway-gt5016e-gt5016h-motherboard_i_mb4gat4006106rd.aspx

luckiest charm · Jun 10, 2013

4 GB is max for every game available on the planet (to play on very high settings).

Nothing more than that is needed.

Also, all cards are backwards compatible, so your motherboard will work in every case.

somerandomguy30 · Jun 10, 2013

Ok, thanks.

Replacing disk drive with graphics card

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