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Laptop GPU

Masterdeadly

Masterdeadly

Masterdeadly

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Joined
29 Jun 2010
Posts
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Hello guys, im currently gaming on my laptop which has a nvidia GeForce GT 240M 1GB I'm playing APB (all points bulletin) I've resorted to 1024x768 on the lowest settings and still getting unplayable frame rates is there a driver update that i could for some improvement ? Any suggestions would be nice :)
 
Unfortunately I doubt theres much you can do. The trouble with laptop GPU's is that they are a very cut down version of their desktop brother. So although it'll do for certain things more demanding titles may struggle. As you are finding. Have you updated the graphics drivers to the latest as this may squeeze a few more FPS but other than that theres little you can do. You could look into upgrading the GPU but I'm not sure if you can on laptops and if you can Im not sure where you can get them from
 
if its on an MXM module, then it might be possible to upgrade it to something better - but ultimately probably not too far and it will be expensive. There are modules which are near the speed of the top end cards but it would require certain features of the base laptop such as power requirements to support those. What laptop is it
 
Not 100% sure on the pic... but you may be lucky! That looks like it's an MXM card! Can you open up your laptop just to check it's the same inside?
 
I think you can have both Nvidia or AMD cards in there. Just think of it being similiar to the PCI-E slot on desktops. However I'm not too firmiliar with this area so best to wait and see what the others say.
 
Looking at the benchmarks at the bottom Id say it will play APB perfectly fine at those settings but how much would it be too upgrade the GPU to that model. Also Im not 100% sure on this and so other members would be able to advise better but I think those GPU's are intended for graphic design applications etc and not gaming so I think they tend to be very expensive so there could be a much cheaper option
 
A quick search shows quite a few on the usual auction sites - the best I can see in a quick scan is a HD4870 for £40 or £80(bin) - and an nvidia quadro 3000 for £180.

But whether they will work is upto you really - perhaps ask some of the sellers (take some meansurements/send photos). Some of them cards are Acer branded - but some imply "types" - e.g. "Type A" or "Type III" - which is worrying for compatability. Some of them are confusing as they are branded as Quadro's or FireStreams (workstations CAD cards) - but a quick look on Wikipedia will show you what desktop card is closest in feature sets.
 
Interesting thread. I was also looking for a laptop and found the whole laptop gfx cards business to be very confusing. Subscribing:)
 
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Whilst doable I'm going to err on the side of caution and tell you not to open this can of worms, laptops are made for certain power and thermal envelopes, you can't just say "It can be changed so what can I have" rubbing hands together with a wicked smile on your face.

Your current GPU is fairly low spec which tells me the laptop isn't up to much from a cooling pov, drop something in there that will quadruple the performance and you will likely melt the insides. I'm not saying absolutely don't do it but I think you need to be realistic about your expectations and do some massive investigations into thermal properties of any chip you think you want to drop in...

just trying to add some caution,
J.
 
bridder said:
Whilst doable I'm going to err on the side of caution and tell you not to open this can of worms, laptops are made for certain power and thermal envelopes, you can't just say "It can be changed so what can I have" rubbing hands together with a wicked smile on your face.

Your current GPU is fairly low spec which tells me the laptop isn't up to much from a cooling pov, drop something in there that will quadruple the performance and you will likely melt the insides. I'm not saying absolutely don't do it but I think you need to be realistic about your expectations and do some massive investigations into thermal properties of any chip you think you want to drop in...

just trying to add some caution,
J.
Click to expand...

And similarly, I assume there would be PSU restrictions- lessr PSUs not being able to power better cards- just like in desktops?
 
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