Alienware video card upgrade?

[bloodandsoil]

Can you remove the video card from an Alienware laptop and upgrade it? Let's say, a couple years down the road, I want to upgrade an Alienware laptop. Would I be able to pop out the old video card and put in a new one?

 

[bloodandsoil]

PS: It's a Dual 512MB 8700M GT

 

[theworminator]

It depends on the model, and if it uses an MXM slot. If it doesn't, you'll have to hope that the slot isn't phased out by the time you upgrade.

 

[dmacfour]

Do a google search to figure you whether ot not it's MXM, and what type of MXM it is. Even if it is, laptop video cards are expensive and sometimes hard to come by.

 

[Shadow703793]

^Agreed. Laptop video cards are quite hard to find. Many e-tailers (ie. Newegg) don't even carry them.

 

[badgtx1969]

Ebay will usually have some options, however, these mobile video cards are normally used (from a parted out laptop) and expensive

 

[lostandwandering]

One thing you need to keep in mind is that even if they do use a modular form, they may end up being proprietary pieces. My brothers Dell Inspiron uses a modular Go 6800, but it's not a standard part and can only be upgraded with another Dell part. A general rule with laptops is try not to buy with the hopes of upgrading down the road. CPUs, HDDs, and RAM are easy to do, but GPUs are pretty hard.

 

[SeafoodPho]

I seen a few of them on www.pricegrabber.com like a Geforce 8600m gt something like that for about $150...

 

[Quantumstate]

Speaking of the Sager NP9262, what's battery-life? How about the NP5793?

 

[lostandwandering]

Between an hour and an hour and a half for the 9262. Battery life is around 2 hours for the 5793.

Info courtesy of www.notebookreview.com