Dell 1720

[ncc74656]

I want to upgrade my video card in my laptop to add HDMI. I currently have VGA out. i wounder what it would take to do this, i currently run a 8600GT and am thinking of upgrading to a 6850. It has a core2 duo and i would like to upgrade to a core 2 quad as well, i am not certain if its a socket P or not, i need to look into that. the MB has a nvidia chipset with a mobile p35 equivalent.

how do laptop video cards transfer there signals? do they have controllers on the board or do they sync up with a port controller on the MB that then sends video signals out the port? i figure there will be a few dozen joints i will need to solder to add the port physically. i am just unsure how it would link to the card.

before anyone says i need to buy a new laptop i am only interested in how to do what im aiming for, not how to buy a new laptop. This one has sentimental value, it was with me when i started school and it survived my ex (for this alone it deserves to live).

 

[hang-the-9]

You won't be able to do what you want, video card won't fit, you'd have to take apart the motherboard and rebuilt it with the right tracings for HDMI, you'd have to re-build the case for the cpu upgrade to add extra cooling.

If you want an upgrade, buy a new laptop. If you really like this one, put it in a nice display case and show it off to people, but you won't be able to do much upgrading aside from maybe the CPU, if any extra heat generated will be handled by the cooling system.

 

[ncc74656]

I have already modded it with a small bilge pump and liquid cooling for an over clock i did a few years ago. i will need to check on the dimensions of the video cards and see what cards can fit in there. maybe there are power issues as well? im not to worried about power as i have modded some batteries to provide more juice. If the HDMI support comes from the card then perhaps i could trace and solder to the card and run a separate ribbon cable to the HDMI port. I have not done much research into laptop video card design so im unsure how much weight the actual MB has on routing or processing a video signal.

 

[hang-the-9]

You'll have to look at the actual card and the video card socket to find out if it will fit, power issues for sure, but that depends on the specs of the motherboard as to how much power is passed to the video card slot. And the other issue is using a different brand of card in there, laptops are not made to swap components around that much, even if they are made to be upgradable.

If you like that laptop that much, you may want to rethink all this, one slip or power surge and it's toast. CPU upgrade is safer than trying to add a new video card and connection. Get one of those external boxes that can hold a desktop video card if you're dying for more video power. Maybe a bit more expensive but would be fast and safer.