Replace the GFX on a Laptop?

[Hewhogamez]

So I have a Acer Aspire AS5750G-6873. It has a GeForce 520m in it. Is it possible to buy just the card of say GeForce 550M and if i could buy just the card. Could I put it in my laptop? And how fast should I go as far as ram. I want to get 2x4gb 1333 laptop ram. Could I replace the i3 in it to an i5? Here is a few links.
Laptop http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215193
550M http://www.geforce.com/Hardware/NotebookGPUs/geforce-gt-550m
520M http://www.geforce.com/Hardware/NotebookGPUs/geforce-gt-520m
i3,i5,i7 Specs http://ark.intel.com/compare/52229,50067,53434

 

[warezme]

I normally don't comment unless I've done it or am familiar with that particular model but I'll go out on a limb and say chances are pretty high you can. The thermal envelope for the 520m compared to the 550m shouldn't be that different if at all. Since it is already a discreet graphics card it should be using a standard MXM slot. You will still need to know what version of MXM but your odds look pretty good. Your CPU upgrade is likely also possible but I would look to see if different versions of your Acer model were sold with an i5 as an upgrade. If it was then the chipset and bios should also support either the i3 or i5 and you could also do a swap there. You will need to take all the cooling apart and repaste the CPU and GPU's.

 

[palladin9479]

It's a giant question of "it depends". Laptop GPU's are a standard [strike]mini-PCI express connector[/strike] MXM PCIe connector. There are four or five different connector types so you have to match up the ones you have. Also laptops have a limited power supply and thermal dissipation capacity. Just inserting a stronger GPU may result in the laptop being unstable either too much heat or not enough power. For these reasons you should only do this if you know exactly what your doing.

This is the website to go to about buying MXM GPU's and how to install / upgrade them.

http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/
-=edit=-

Had the name wrong, Mini PCI-e is a different type of connector.

 

[Chainzsaw]

I would highly suggest not trying to upgrade your computer (laptop). The cost would be too high for what little gains you would get.

 

[Hewhogamez]

quick question though is the power supply set at the power cord or on the laptop because if then i could throw a slightly higher wattage power cord thingy and see if it works. BTW what i mean by power cord is the fat part that gets really hot and is about as big as a phone.
And about the thermal paste i put replace it every year and when the cpu or heatsink is replaced. I use the arctic cooling stuff. Just to keep my stuff cool and cold.

 

[palladin9479]

quick question though is the power supply set at the power cord or on the laptop because if then i could throw a slightly higher wattage power cord thingy and see if it works. BTW what i mean by power cord is the fat part that gets really hot and is about as big as a phone.
And about the thermal paste i put replace it every year and when the cpu or heatsink is replaced. I use the arctic cooling stuff. Just to keep my stuff cool and cold.

PSU's are broken into two pieces on laptops. First being the AC -> DC component which is the brick. The second is an internal board that converts DC -> DC, this is something you can't change without being an EE or damn near. The internal PSU goes from 18~19v (typically) to 3.3 / 5 / 12 / -5 and -12.

 

[Pyree]

It is not MXM.

 

[Hewhogamez]

Best answer selected by hewhogamez.

 

[Pyree]

Your laptop does not have a MXM GPU.