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External video card?

  • 08-09-2008 7:41pm
    #1
    Dr.Louis
    Closed Accounts Posts: 236 ✭✭


    Hi there.

    Recently bought a Toshiba laptop for general college work and stuff. Turns out I'd be able to play some alright games if only my video card was better. I looked into upgrading my existing video card but apparently with Toshiba it's a no no... (correct me if I'm wrong- I hope I am). Then I heard something about an external video card?

    Haven't a clue what it is or if it exists. A few google searches have just confused me. Could something like this solve my problem?

    I did a test on system requirements lab and apparently I have this - Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family (Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family)

    And I need this- 128 MB DirectX 9 video card with Vertex & Pixel Shader 2.0 support (NVIDIA GeForce 6600+ / ATI Radeon 9800+)

    Any help would be mighty appreciated!!


Comments

  • #2
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,125 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    External video cards are apart of amd's puma platform. Unfortunately for you it's still relatively new so chances are it's not on your laptop (I haven't seen a single laptop that has it yet) and is probably restricted to the highend.


  • #3
    Sarn
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,112 ✭✭✭Sarn


    Afraid you're stuck. There are some companies developing them but I'd imagine it'd be more cost effective to buy a new laptop. Very few laptops allow you to upgrade your card. You would find that option in some dedicated gaming machines.

    Unfortunately the card in your machine is integrated rather than dedicated and has a relatively poor performance (probably a GMA 950).

    Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards
    Check the list on the right and you'll see a rough guide to graphic card capabilities.


  • #4
    Dr.Louis
    Closed Accounts Posts: 236 ✭✭Dr.Louis


    thanks for the replies! it was just an after thought really. an added bonus that wasn't to be! ha

    cheers!


  • #5
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    I'm always amazed at the amount of these questions, it's not really as simple as saying 'gosh, if only my video card was better I could play these games!' - because in the same model laptops, the difference between integrated and dedicated card can mean 100's of euro. Especially with a brand like Toshiba.

    What games are you trying to play? The X3100 lacks the raw power of even an old card like the 9800/6600 but it does meet those technical requirements. You're not going to be playing Call of Duty 4 or Crysis on it (actually, you can run them no problem technically, but the framerate will be awful at lowest settings), but it does handle games like Half Life 2 and Battlefield 2 OK.


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