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Integrated Graphics Card Upgrade

Tags:
  • Hardware
  • Upgrade
  • Intel
  • Laptops
  • Lenovo
  • Graphics
  • Graphics Cards
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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November 19, 2013 5:44:24 PM

I have a Lenovo laptop with an Intel Core i7-4500U CPU @ 1.80GHz 2.40GHz and 8GB RAM. It has a integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400 graphics card, but as an avid gamer, I'm wondering if its possible to upgrade this hardware in any way. Thanks


Update: So it seems the general consensus is that its not possible. Thanks anyway guys

More about : integrated graphics card upgrade

a b U Graphics card
November 19, 2013 5:46:56 PM

no... it would required extensive soldering experience and a custom motherboard bios... among other things.
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November 19, 2013 5:47:54 PM

In almost all laptop except high end models you cant upgrade anything but ram or the HDD, as they are integrated into the motherboard. So no you cant. If you are an avid gamer you will want to look into desktops.
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November 19, 2013 5:49:24 PM

nikoli707 said:
no... it would required extensive soldering experience and a custom motherboard bios... among other things.


no no no. the integrated graphics is on the cpu die, so i dont see how soldering or custom bios applies
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November 19, 2013 5:51:12 PM

Depends on the cpu, some have a secondary graphics chip which is extremely hard to replace. And the cpu which holds most of the graphics for laptops is also soldered on. So you would have to replace the cpu to upgrade graphics, which requires a new bios as well.
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a b U Graphics card
November 19, 2013 5:53:17 PM

airplanegeek said:
nikoli707 said:
no... it would required extensive soldering experience and a custom motherboard bios... among other things.


no no no. the integrated graphics is on the cpu die, so i dont see how soldering or custom bios applies


certain laptops "can" have amd or nvidia mobile gpu's soldered on and have their hdmi port line up with the outer case and. some of those just go or some need a custom bios. the cpu itself can sometimes be upgraded to the highest level offered on that particular product line from the same manufacture... but in this case the hd4400 is the highest already anyways.
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November 19, 2013 5:57:36 PM

nikoli707 said:
airplanegeek said:
nikoli707 said:
no... it would required extensive soldering experience and a custom motherboard bios... among other things.


no no no. the integrated graphics is on the cpu die, so i dont see how soldering or custom bios applies


certain laptops "can" have amd or nvidia mobile gpu's soldered on and have their hdmi port line up with the outer case and. some of those just go or some need a custom bios. the cpu itself can sometimes be upgraded to the highest level offered on that particular product line from the same manufacture... but in this case the hd4400 is the highest already anyways.


sorry but mobile gpus do not have any output connectors. they all output through the motherboard ports. and if the power, socket, and bios requirements are met then cpus can be upgraded to cpus not offered by the manufacturer. and the highest integrated gpu is not the 4400. its the Iris Pro 5200
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November 19, 2013 6:00:40 PM

The ports on the motherboard originate from the mobile gpus if there are any. Thats how that works. Cpus are almost always soldered in anyway except, like I said, on high end models. A new bios is needed regardless as well. Try throwing a Phenom series into a motherboard that had an FX a few minutes ago, it fits, it has lower wattage, but the PC still needs the info.
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November 19, 2013 6:04:53 PM

how long have you have laptop if new can you return and get a desktop or a amd apu laptop
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November 19, 2013 6:05:34 PM

i have a GT 540M in my laptop and ive taken my laptop apart. the gpu is the size of the cpu and there are no connectors to any ports. its not like a desktop graphics card. i agree that sometimes a BIOS update is needed but not all cpus are soldered. my mom's $400 laptop doesnt have a soldered cpu. and phenom and FX cpus dont exist for laptops
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November 19, 2013 6:08:33 PM

You missed my point, on a desktop you cant do that, laptops have stricter running conditions on top of that. The gpu itself on the board dosent have a slot attached to it, but if you follow the connections and pathways on the board it connects to it. It has to connect to the gpu at some point.
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November 19, 2013 6:15:39 PM

Gam3r01 said:
You missed my point, on a desktop you cant do that, laptops have stricter running conditions on top of that. The gpu itself on the board dosent have a slot attached to it, but if you follow the connections and pathways on the board it connects to it. It has to connect to the gpu at some point.


no, the ports connect to the cpu which is connected to the gpu
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November 19, 2013 6:19:25 PM

It wouldnt make sense for the data to be sent to the cpu to be sent there, it is a redundancy.
This conversation is veering off topic fast here, the post has been answered lets leave it at that.
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November 19, 2013 7:20:40 PM

Gam3r01 said:
It wouldnt make sense for the data to be sent to the cpu to be sent there, it is a redundancy.
This conversation is veering off topic fast here, the post has been answered lets leave it at that.


if the port is connected directly to the port, then on integrated graphics you couldnt use the port, but thats not the case. connecting to cpu allows the port to be used when the gpu is off
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a b U Graphics card
November 19, 2013 9:52:23 PM

ive honestly only seen msi gaming laptops taken apart and i can tell you for sure that the hdmi port in msi's recent laptops is directly connected to the "actual" gpu (7970m in this case) which is then obviously connect to the mobo. you really only need that hdmi port if your trying to output to a seperate monitor though. i dont know about run of the mill hp or lenovo etc. laptops that use low to midrange discrete gpu's. ive heard of people performing these hacks but its generally not recommended unless you are just bored and have a scrap laptop to experiment on.
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