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    Dell "discrete" Graphics card options?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Toryglen-boy, Jun 18, 2008.

  1. Toryglen-boy

    Toryglen-boy Notebook Consultant

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    sorry if this is in the wrong place, it seemed more Dell orientated than Gfx orientated.

    I have recently discovered that some Dell laptops that dont have integrated Gfx, have a special type of connector (XMX?) that allows you to change the video card.

    I have just ordered an Inspiron with an 8600GT, i know this card is pretty good (although not fabulous) i was thinking more of the future.

    has anyone got experience of this? anyone know if its the same interface for all cards? and what cards can be put in there?

    many thanks

    :)
     
    Toryglen-boy, Jun 18, 2008
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  2. paper_wastage

    paper_wastage Beat this 7x7x7 Cube

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    i think the inspiron's graphics card is soldered on
     
    paper_wastage, Jun 18, 2008
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  3. only

    only Notebook Evangelist

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    they're not soldered in, it's a porprietary slot, no other card but the ones Dell made for the inspiron will fit.
     
    only, Jun 18, 2008
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  4. eL_eRiC

    eL_eRiC Notebook Evangelist

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    I think that the 8600M GT is the best card that will fit if it is really MXM.
     
    eL_eRiC, Jun 18, 2008
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  5. coriolis

    coriolis Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    A few things to straighten out first.

    Discrete = Dedicated = Video memory that is not siphoned from the RAM. The video card has its own(thus dedicated) video RAM chips.

    MXM = nVidia modular graphics card technology. Rare and hard to find, only found in certain brands like MSI, Clevo, ASUS and Arima. Note that Alienware, Sager and other 'resellers' sell such barebones.

    Reverse MXM = The technology Dell uses in their notebooks. It's reverse so the sockets are, well, reversed so you need specially designed MXM graphics cards(which are sold and only available on Dell units). With this being said, it's very limited in terms of upgradability.
     
    coriolis, Jun 18, 2008
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