Laptop Graphics upgrade?

Access

I have a Dell inspiron 5150 which has only a 64mb shared graphics card installed.

Grand for playing games the likes of GTA etc. but I need to upgrade my graphics card for a high end graphics based application which i run as the output from s-video out on the laptop seems to be jerky.

Is it possible to replace/upgrade the internal graphics card in my laptop (I currently have a nVidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics card in my laptop) or would i be better getting a usb/firewire alternative?

Thanks for any info as this is driving me mad!

majiktripp

Graphics in laptops aren't really upgradable,certainly not in your 5150..the newer dell XPS range can be upgraded but at a cost and only with specific replacement parts.....as for getting a usb/firewire alternative I have never heard of such a thing....and I doubt they exist.......

Ruu_Old

Yep the more expensive models that are actually built for gaming can be upgraded, I don't think it is an option for you. There is a PCMCIA graphics card for laptops I believe but they don't speed up the graphics really, they are just for connecting more than one monitor to the laptop.

TerrorFirmer

There is no such thing as a usb/firewire card, or even a pcmcia card for upgrading your graphics card. The pcmcia, actually, might exist but not in the sense that you would need it....

Guess its a new laptop for you...some laptops can be upgraded but its seriously tricky and if you had to ask, then you can't do it.

TempestSabre

No. On a practical level you just don't upgrade a laptop, even if some are in theory able to be upgraded. Yours definately can't be.

Access

Okay, i will have to admit defeat!

Thanks for the info! i will look into upgrading the laptop altogether.

TempestSabre

To be honest unless you have no other choice, you could buy a cheap portable laptop and a reasonable gaming desktop for the price of one gaming laptop. Which will lose value at a horrendous rate.

majiktripp

TempestSabre wrote:

Which will lose value at a horrendous rate.

I agree 100% it makes me shed a tear when I think of how much I spent on my M170 and what its worth now.....love it to bits....just money is money!

blorg

As people have suggested while PCMCIA graphics cards _do_ exist they would be substantially slower than your built-in graphics.

Tom Dunne

blorg wrote:

As people have suggested while PCMCIA graphics cards _do_ exist they would be substantially slower than your built-in graphics.

I would be interested in this, blorg. Do you have any links?

Lord Oz

The expensive laptops (xps) have MXM graphics cards which can be upgraded.

TempestSabre

PCMCIA graphics cards only add more screens or more connectors. I don't think any of them are faster than inbuilt graphics so its not an upgrade as is usually meant.

MXM cards. Can you give a link of an affordable MXM card for a laptop that makes economic sense to buy.

DirkVoodoo

TempestSabre wrote:

To be honest unless you have no other choice, you could buy a cheap portable laptop and a reasonable gaming desktop for the price of one gaming laptop. Which will lose value at a horrendous rate.

Yup, it doesnt really work, a good gaming desktop is the way to go. I quickly realised i had neither the time nor the inclination to play games in college. So I was left with a back-breaking word processor when i should have bought a mac.

blorg

tom dunne wrote:

I would be interested in this, blorg. Do you have any links?

The only one I'm aware of that is in current production is the VTBook card, and it's not fast and not cheap ($249.) It does do the job of giving you more 2D screen real estate though.

There are also older cards which you may pick up on eBay, etc. See the bottom of this review for details (BTW the software that those people make, Ultramon, is great if you use multiple displays.)

TempestSabre

Access wrote:

....Grand for playing games the likes of GTA etc. but I need to upgrade my graphics card for a high end graphics based application which i run as the output from s-video out on the laptop seems to be jerky....

What is the application anyway. If its some video editing system gfx speed might not be the problem it might be I/O.

Access

The Application is actually a DJ program which I play MPEG music videos on.

Basically, I use this program to mix and play my mp3s, and can also mix in my music videos and display them via the night club tvs. I just plug an s-video lead into my laptop and away I go, except the video playback is a bit jerky instead of smooth. Tried altering all settings in the program, but it all just comes down to my small graphics card.

Tom Dunne

Access wrote:

except the video playback is a bit jerky instead of smooth. Tried altering all settings in the program, but it all just comes down to my small graphics card.

I seriously doubt the 64Mb graphics card is at fault here. What's the spec of the machine? Also, how much disk space have you free and finally, what type of mpeg is it (mpeg1, mpeg2 or mpeg4)?

How does video play in say Media player, or some other player?

TempestSabre

tom dunne wrote:

I seriously doubt the 64Mb graphics card is at fault here. What's the spec of the machine? Also, how much disk space have you free and finally, what type of mpeg is it (mpeg1, mpeg2 or mpeg4)?

How does video play in say Media player, or some other player?

Yeah theres some other problem. I can play full screen video/divx from a PIII 733 and a FX5200. It has 384mb ram though How much RAM is in the laptop? Do you have other processess/apps running at the same time? Perhaps theres a patch for the application?