Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, David, mac_h8r1, Nelliesboo

 
swampfox
Gerbil First Class
Topic Author
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:15 pm
Location: Alaska

Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:26 am

I have a friend said his graphics card was broken and was looking for recommendations for a new one. Naturally, I said, "Send an email with the relevant specs and I'll let you know." He sent this:

"I have an Asus laptop. 4G ram, runs Vista, nVidia GeForce 9800m 512mb video card (which is the broken component)."

Uh oh! Never replaced a laptop graphics card, so I'm looking for advice. Is it possible (I'm suspicious that the card might be soldered onto the board), and if so, is it worth the time/effort/expense? (I looked at Newegg and Amazon and didn't even see mobile graphics cards for sale.) He's not a tech guy, so he didn't know more specifically. Sounds like the laptop is from 2008 or so (judging by the graphics card).

Thanks!
C2D E7300 | ASUS P5Q Pro | 4GB OCZ Fatal1ty DDR2-800 | ASUS Radeon HD 4850 TOP | 500W OCZ ModXStream | WD10EADS | WD6400AAKS | Win7 64bit | Antec P182
 
grantmeaname
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1695
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:49 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Contact:

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:42 am

No, it's not possible. No, it's not worth it.
Krogoth wrote:
Care to enlightenment me?
 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:52 am

The notebook's graphics card can pretty much only be replaced with cards specific to a few models. Replacement Asus MXM II graphics cards can be hard to find. This guide may give you an idea of what's involved:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/45 ... -card.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-ga ... guide.html

Here are two listed on the auction site:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Asus-G50VT-G94- ... 3f04f2f8d0
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Asus-G50VT-NSZV ... 3f04f5a535
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
UberGerbil
Grand Admiral Gerbil
Posts: 10368
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2003 3:11 pm

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:45 pm

In theory, it is sometimes possible. In practice, it is very difficult. You pretty much have to get one of the cards that was exactly the one that was offered in that model when it was new; even slight differences can make it incompatible or cause driver issues. Ideally you pull a working one out of an identical laptop that was broken in some other way; otherwise, you're at the mercy (and pricing) of the vendor's replacement parts offerings, if they exist.

But what makes you so sure the graphics card is "broken"? Just the opinion of "not a tech guy" who thinks that is the case?
 
potatochobit
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 919
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:56 pm

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:51 pm

laptops become outdated faster than desktops
I am sure you can get a new laptop for 500$ or less that would be better than a laptop 2 years ago
so shop around first before replacing any parts from a manufacturer
 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:06 pm

potatochobit wrote:
I am sure you can get a new laptop for 500$ or less that would be better than a laptop 2 years ago.
I challenge you to provide a link to a new $500 laptop with a 1680x1050 display, a dual-core 64-bit processor and a GeForce 9800M GS (or better) GPU for less than $500.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=fdhHRbJtRlOCqy5C
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
potatochobit
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 919
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:56 pm

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:16 pm

 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:20 pm

What's the resolution on that display, and can you buy it for that price today?
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
potatochobit
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 919
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:56 pm

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:35 pm

most sony laptops are 1600x900 or 1366x768

you know when I made that comment I didnt mean you can compare ASUS's top of the line gaming PC to the cheapest entry level notebook available today
i think you are not giving current gen IGPs enough credit. that G50Vt or whatever is a porker and I really doubt the FPS difference is going to be that much more noticeable over a 9800GS.
 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:45 pm

swampfox wrote:
"I have an Asus laptop. 4G ram, runs Vista, nVidia GeForce 9800m 512mb video card (which is the broken component)."
That sounds very much like the G50Vt to me, unless it's a similar G73 variant.

I use mine for gaming while I'm traveling.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
swampfox
Gerbil First Class
Topic Author
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:15 pm
Location: Alaska

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 8:25 pm

UberGerbil wrote:
But what makes you so sure the graphics card is "broken"? Just the opinion of "not a tech guy" who thinks that is the case?


Unfortunately, nothing makes me sure that it is broken. Just him. We're not even in the same state, so I just offered to help over the internet. Sounds like I might not be able to do much though. :)
C2D E7300 | ASUS P5Q Pro | 4GB OCZ Fatal1ty DDR2-800 | ASUS Radeon HD 4850 TOP | 500W OCZ ModXStream | WD10EADS | WD6400AAKS | Win7 64bit | Antec P182
 
UberGerbil
Grand Admiral Gerbil
Posts: 10368
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2003 3:11 pm

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Sun Jan 09, 2011 10:32 pm

Well, what are the symptoms? If he's seeing artifacts / corrupt video, it could be overheating due to dustbunnies for example.
 
computron9000
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2420
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:21 pm

Re: Is a laptop graphics card replaceable?

Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:46 am

If it turns on but is overheating (causing artifacts in games), cleaning the laptop case and possibly reseating the heatsink with better thermal paste could help. This stuff works pretty good:

http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/ic-diamo ... 16605.html

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
GZIP: On