Aftermark 8600gt upgrade on the 1420?

I was just thinking, what if you could upgrade the 8400gs with an 8600gt from dell aftermarket, if they use the same model 8400gs in both laptops, the form factor should allow u to fit a 8600gt into the spot of the 8400gs. I think someone should take some pics of the internals of there inspirons or someone actualy try it.

 

you can't switch graphic cards in laptops. i don't know why, but you can't. i'd imagine because graphics cards in laptops are manufactured differently for every brand and no after-market cards would be of same size/shape.

 

First, this is assuming the form factors are the same, second you'll need BIOS support. Dell BIOSes are not like desktop motherboard BIOSes. They are quite specific in what hardware they support. Additionally, one of the reasons the 1420 does not have support for the 8600M is due to the thermal envelope. I'm not certain how well the cooling system in the 1420 would be able to cope with the added heat dissipated.

But in theory, this may be possible.

 

>you can't switch graphic cards in laptops.

On ones with a MXM video card you can...

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


BTW... A 8600m GT is a MXM type II.

 

If they ever make the 1420 with the 8600 series or a better 8400, you might be able to upgrade to that card. Otherwise you are stuck with the 8400gs.

 

From the mxm-upgrade website:
"Dell?

Ok. I'll try to state this as clear as I can: Dell does NOT use MXM. They never have and probably never will. There is no way 'to make it work'. You simply can't fit a square peg in a round hole. "

 

with enough force you can fit a square peg in a round hole hehe

 

We're not talking about MXM upgrades.

Take a look at the E1705/9400 upgrades to the Go 7900GTX. It is possible, as long as Dell has a part. In this case, it's possible that Dell uses the same form factor for the 8400M GS and the 8600M GT as the 1520 has both options. Whether that 8400M GS is the same as the one used in the 1420 is another matter.

 

i only said that because someone said the 8600M GT is MXM II

 

Dell uses a reverse MXM format, but to be clear, its a proprietary format.

So pretty much, if Dell ever releases the 1420 with anything else, you can upgrade or downgrade to that. However, chances are pretty slim.

 

mmhm, i'm used to building desktops, i'm getting a vostro 1400 as my first laptop. My friend got his inspiron 1520 2 days ago and he uses it to lift weights ( jk ) but the thing is hefty and fat and I dont think i would ever get a 15 inch unless it was like a mac book pro, which i would just have vista/xp running on it 24/7 because i don't like the mac os.

 

So... Dell doesn't use the MXM standard. Do they use some proprietary standard that makes interchangeability amongst their own products possible? Or would a GeForce 8600 out of an Inspiron 1510 have a completely different form factor from an 8400 out of an Inspiron 1420?

Also, my Inspiron 1420N (the 'N' denotes the Ubuntu version), is not offered with the NVIDIA card, only with the onboard Intel chipset. At the time of the 1420N launch, the NVIDIA Linux driver didn't yet support the GeForce 8400M GS that is available on the regular (Windows) 1420. So, even though the hardware is identical between the two machines, and the Linux driver is now fully functional, you can't convince them to add the NVIDIA to my machine.

My understanding of what this means is incomplete. Is there still a slot to insert a graphics card if I could acquire one that would fit? Do the factory jobs with the nVidia cards still have the onboard chips, or must these be absent for the NVIDIA cards to work?

My understanding is that the onboard chips are essentially impossible to remove, so what I'm asking boils down to this: is it possible to install a graphics card in a machine with an onboard chip? If so, can I use any 8400M GS (the model offered on the 1420), or must it be one from a 1420? (ie. Does NVIDIA manufacture cards with the same model number and different form factor?) And finally, can I use other NVIDIA cards from Dell laptops?

 

Proprietary to its specific model. So cards for the 1500/1520 will only be for the 1500/1520, same goes for the 1420 and 1720.

Onboard graphics are soldered onto the MoBo, and from what past MoBos have shown, the area where the 'modular' graphics card is taken up by the integrated card(which is soldered on). The only way is to buy a new MoBo.

 

With enough force, neither the shape of the peg nor the shape of the hole matter at all!

 

That sucks, but that's what I was afraid of.

Thanks for the enlightenment, coriolis.