Is it possible to add a Video card to R60?

Hi everyone!

I recently bought a brand new samsung r60 with the following specifications:
Intel celeron 1.6 520
1024MB Ram
120GB HDD
ATI X1250 256 MB shared

All'd be fine with it, if it wasn't for the uninspiring performance as far as the graphics is concerned.
As soon as I start watching a mediocre quality movie, everything slows a bit down.
Games aren't going smoothly. I suppose, it is because of the poor video specs, which steals memory from RAM and uses the not-so-powerful celeron processor.
I thought I could boost the perfomance by upgrading it a bit, by installing a dedicated mobile video card.
However I have absolutely no idea whether I could do it, nor do the store staff where I bought it from.
So my Q is:
Can my otherwise-pretty-good R60 host a PCI express mobile video card?
Or, how can I check this?

Thank you very much!

 

Basically, with very few exceptions, it is not possible to change the GPU on any notebook. In the case of integrated graphics, having a relatively low powered CPU doesn't help.

You will get a modest boost to the graphics performance by increasing the RAM above 1GB. If the RAM you have is PC4200 then PC5300 RAM will run a little faster. You may also see some improvement by changing the visual settings to "best performance".

Also look into the DVD player's playback options. Check if that is set to best performance.

John

 

Thank you John, for your reply!

So, to put it explicitly, SAMSUNG R60 CANNOT host a dedicated video solution. Right?
PS. John, I did not thank you for your reply to my previous post about the XP video driver for the R60. I happily do it now;-)!

 

You cannot change the internal graphics of the R60 (or most other notebooks) but if the Asus XG station (or something similar) ever arrives in the retail chain then you could connect it to the Express Card slot.

Think positive about your GPU: It doesn't emit lots of heat and make the fan run very loud!

John

PS: A question for you: Can you look on the label on the battery and report the voltage and mAH rating. This site says "6 Cell (2000mAH/ Cell)" which is an unusual capacity. What running time are you getting on the battery?

Thanks

PPS: In PowerDVD, right click, > configuration > mobile power settings. Try the maximum performance option.

 

Right, here the Rating:
DC 11.1V
4000 mAh
How many cells, errm.. , can't see anywhere written down, it could be 6, as the notebook seamed really cheap to me, but I can tell you that in max performance mode the battery is good for about 1.5h.
In power saving mode you'd normally get about 2.0h
Speaking of GPU, I recently had a chance to exchange my R60 with the specs listed above for another R60 but with a dual core 1.86 Ghz, and ATI X2300, with dedicated memory, just what I wanted! The drawback was that I had to pay 120 euro for the trade, which seemed a bit of a non-sense for me, for it's not that I really need the marginally better performing laptop for 120 euro more. And following your judgement, a louder laptop too !
Thanx for PowerDVD advice, I'll try that as soon as the opportunity comes.