Question for the technical about graphic cards on laptops?

Hi all,

I have question about the graphics cards on laptops. How come laptop manufacturers are not yet able to make swapping graphic cards on laptops as easy as on pc ?

I would think it should be even easier. Just plug in a graphics card that is supported by your motherboard and power supply and is should work ? I am not that technical so I don't understand what's the problem. Is it just that laptop manufacturers don't want to do it

Even some collaboration between the laptop manufacturer and motherboard manufacturer should lead to something very quickly?

I know there are these new external graphics card options from ASUS and AMD but they still not that easy to use. Sounds like they are holding back on purpose.

 

I do no know if the issue is "able" as much as it is "willing"...however, it might be hard to make it "easy" as the inside of each laptop is completely different, and the big heat-sinks are likely not positioned the same in any given laptop.

I think they are holding back...b/c when the gamer wants the new card...he typically has buy a whole new lappy to get it.

 

I agree. If one manufacturer can do it and even for just one particular laptop than others would follow. Could become a new standard. I wonder what's the best way to get these guys to start putting some focus on this issue. Just have to change the mindset of some marketing manager. Any ideas ?

 

With Dell, it's not really all that hard, providing you got a machine with an optional video to begin with.

I've had my old Inspiron E1505 apart a few times, now, and it's really not that hard, with a normal, everyday person's common sense and a little care.

I mean, for whatever one old man's opinion is worth, of course.

 

George,

That is what bugs me. It should be easy but they are making no effort to inform us or develop that area. I can see the thought pattern of the marketing team. They will not be able to sell as many laptops if it is so easy to upgrade but then we the consumers lose out.

 

Well if you go with a Clevo system, one designed for high end gaming such as the M570TU and the D901C, switching cards is as easy as opening the back, unscrewing the video card and sliding a new one in. Just like the Dell XPS series.

Its becoming more and more common place to do this as people begin to realize the potential that laptops have. I'd expect it a lot more in the future, who knows, maybe they will get to the point that they will be as easy to replace as PCI-Express card...

 

I think its also because of the use of thermal paste and the extremely high use of integrated graphics cards in the past. We're slowly moving away from that now because a lot of people who want a high performance machine can't simply have a desktop because people like Mike, me and various others on this forum have to travel a lot either for work or school and thus its not feasible. Will we see a change in the future? Probably, but it'll take time.

 

You can look here for a partial answer to your question. There is a "standard" called MXM designed not really to make it easy to replace cards, but to make it easier for laptop manufacturers to offer multiple video options with a laptop without having to create a different motherboard for each video option. Only a couple of laptop manufacturers are using this technology on just a handful of models and only ASUS makes some not-exactly-cheap aftermarket cards (even the cards on ebay are expensive... $136 for a 7700Go?!?!). There is also a standard for Express Slot video adapters, but it's PCI-Ex1 and isn't designed for high-end video (which makes one wonder why they bothered). And of course high-end laptops have a higher profit margin than desktops and manufacturers are going to fight to keep that margin for that as long as they can

1) they would rather sell you a new laptop than sell you a video upgrade for your old one
2) there is much greater risk of warranty returns if they allow you to open up the back of a laptop than there is a desktop system - that eats into profit.
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And the form factor is just one aspect of the MXM standard to consider. There isn't room for larger heatsinks or extra power cables (how many people upgraded their power supplies so they could power their SLI config when PCI-E cards hit the market? Not gonna happen in a laptop)

 

I disagree with the price argument. Would you pay $1000 for a GeForce 9800M GTX or buy a brand new computer with that graphics card for $2000+? Desktops are upgradeable, why aren't laptops? About the warranty issue, manufacturers can just have a sticky on the graphics card area saying "Warranty void if removed." That would make it so that someone that bought a laptop 2-3 years ago could upgrade their graphics card and have the computer last a year or so more.