1520 video card swap?

I have a Dell Inspiron 1520 that I recently bought. It has a 128MB Nvidia Geforce 8400M GS video card in it. I play the odd pc game and know currently this is a mainstream card where as the upgrade that I could have bought, the 256MB Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT is more of a Performance card and has almost a 50% increase of performance in b/w the 2 cards.

I am thinking that since this video card is not integrated into the motherboard theoretically it should be able to detach itself from the motherboard.

So I am wondering if it is possible that I could buy the geforce 8600M GT card from Dell spare parts(I'm thinking I would do that by phone?) and take out the 8400M GS and put the new card into my laptop? Is this possible?

 

Well, unlike 99.9% of laptops out there, you can in fact switch your gpu.

So if you call up Dell, you can order a 8600GT gpu and replace your old card (given that you know how to).

 

Yup. you can.. it's really easy to do, I take my laptop apart every so often, clean it really throughly, check to make sure everything is in place solid, everything working. Heres some crappie pictures I took lol.




Advice : be very gentle.. don't force nothing, and for every part you unscrew, and try to pull off/out do it slowly.. and expect wires to be connected.

msg/pm me if you need a hands or anything lol..

 

heh whoops made a few typos in the picture.. ignore them.. I did it while I was like extremely tired (4am) on a laptop about to blow up into flames it's so hot (stupid alienware)

 

Great pics....so when it is said that Dell laptops are upgradeable does that go for all the parts in the laptop? Is the processor upgradeable? And also Dell will give you the parts you need and it will not affect the warranty? So if you want to upgrade with Dell, your best bet is to buy from Dell I guess. Would it be too risky buying a 512 MB Geforce 8600M GT off ebay?

 

Dell.. are the best laptops for enthusiasts because they are extremely upgradeable. Dell encourages you to even open up and service your own machine, but mind you if you break something you will void you're warranty. I've had and heard Dell reps even suggest over clocking your machines.. Frankly.. when it comes to laptops.. Dell rock.

Yes, the processor is upgradeable, it pops in and out just like a desktop. theres a slight difference though, instead of that little latch that's like a rod you lift up, on a laptop it's a screw you turn, but same end result though.

Your best bet IMHO, at least this is the way I run things, I just buy directly from the computer company (dell). You might be able to pick up pulled hardware from returned machine which is 100% fine, pretty cheap or get brand new. Just don't let them know what your doing because if you break something it'll be noted in your records lol. But if it's on e-bay and it's exactly what you need I see no harm..

Honestly, I don't see how one part of this computer isn't upgradeable. Correct me if I'm wrong but if you can find the parts that fit and work then hell it's upgradeable.

 

yup, wen the technician came to fix my grainy screen he even brought a spare gpu in order to be sure. and i saw how easy it is to replace the gpu.

 

good thread, it'll probably get more recognition in the gaming section though...