So... about laptop graphics?

[kris4015]

Err, guys - I know this will sound stupid, I'M SURE, but I have to ask... Can I change a laptop graphics card? It's the crappy nVidia 310m ( some guys will probably know me from the windows 8 section, where I asked about Just Cause 2). So I've read some posts that say that the 310m is soldered to the motherboard - is it true?

 

[El Tigre]

Yes it's true, it's imbedded, the only way you can swap out a laptop GPU is if you have those high end gaming laptops that allow you to do so, they are expensive however.

 

[kris4015]

hmm, thanks for the reply el tigre. But what about those videos on youtube that show how to change laptop video cards? Or are they for cards that support replacement? About the nvidia 310m, what if I swap the whole motherboard and shove it another one that supports a really good graphics card?

 

[El Tigre]

Those are from those high end gaming laptops I mentioned already.

You best bet is to get a better laptop as swapping motherboards is very tricky and most likely will not fit inside your case. It's too much trouble swapping it out, just sell your current one and buy a better one.

 

[jaguarskx]

Some laptops can allow you to change the video card, but the video card is usually soldered into the motherboard.

To find out if you can change the video card you must take apart the laptop enough to determine if in fact the video card is soldered to the motherboard. I would say if you do not have a laptop that was advertised as a gaming laptop selling for around $1,500+ then the chances of swapping in a new video card is very low.

 

[kris4015]

Well, my laptop is a Samsung brand, model is SF310 and price was about 600 euros ( maybe $750 or something)

 

[El Tigre]

I checked the specs of it, it does not allow you to swap the GPU. You will need to buy one of those high end gaming laptops if you want to swap out the GPU to upgrade them. As mentioned earlier, they are indeed expensive.

 

[jaguarskx]

Then it is very unlikely that the video card can be replaced.

However, as I alluded to above, there could be a slim chance the graphic card is not soldered to the motherboard. I believe I read somewhere and some time ago that someone was able to upgrade the graphic card in some Dell laptop, but he had to take his laptop apart to determine that.