Can I upgrade my Toshiba Satellite's graphics?

[Natos]

So about a year ago, I bought a Toshiba Satellite L955-S5370 laptop, and it has a Core i5-3317U. I have not opened the laptop in fear of breaking something, as I have very little experience with tinkering with the insides of laptops. I am now starting to realize that I need more graphics power than the Intel HD Graphics 4000 unit the laptop currently has can offer, and my CPU gets extremely hot when I run any strenuous task. So I looked at the market of mobile graphics cards.

Before I consider anything, I would like to know if my laptop can use a dedicated graphics card, and of it can, I would like to know of any limitations so that I buy the right card the first time.

If the graphics card can be upgraded, I have about $70 to spend on a card.

 

[Kingfury4]

Most laptops can't have dedicated graphics cards installed into them. And I can't really find anything that says your laptop allows a dedicated GPU. So I'm going to say it's a no go.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

As said above, most graphics cards in laptops are built into the processor. What you could do is find a processor with better Intel graphics. Intel Iris Pro graphics are the newest kind and should give you about a 70% boost. Though those processors are mainly in Macs, you could probably find them online. Just make sure that it can fit in your laptop's processor socket. Also you could get a can of compressed air and try clearing dust off your motherboard for less heat. And if you touch the motherboard and change the parts, take out the battery first and ground yourself with an anti-static wrist strap. This is NOT so YOU don't get shocked, but so YOU don't shock IT.

 

[Hazle]

no to the GPU & no to what Turkey3_scratch is suggesting that is upgrading the CPU. the i5-3317U uses a BGA socket, so you're limited to upgrading the RAM & HDD/SSD

http/www.techpowerup.com/cpudb/1074/core-i5-3317u.html

the only other solution really is an external GPU, though being a modern laptop, i doubt it has an express card slot, leaving you with the mini-PCIe, usually accommodated by the wifi adapter. unless this laptop is more of a replacement desktop i.e. you don't take it around with you a lot, this means it won't actually be portable no more. add in the cost/performance problem, and you're looking at spending a whole lot of cash on a ViDock + GTX780 just to get a GPU that performs as well as a GTX760. the cheaper DIY option is probably the more better choice, but if simply opening a laptop already scared you, the technical aspect of a DIY eGPU may not be for you.

if you want to play games & you got $500-600 to spend, the real sensible & practical option is consider a desktop.

 

[johnclein]

no to the GPU & no to what Turkey3_scratch is suggesting that is upgrading the CPU. the i5-3317U uses a BGA socket, so you're limited to upgrading the RAM & HDD/SSD

http/www.techpowerup.com/cpudb/1074/core-i5-3317u.html

the only other solution really is an external GPU, though being a modern laptop, i doubt it has an express card slot, leaving you with the mini-PCIe, usually accommodated by the wifi adapter. unless this laptop is more of a replacement desktop i.e. you don't take it around with you a lot, this means it won't actually be portable no more. add in the cost/performance problem, and you're looking at spending a whole lot of cash on a ViDock + GTX780 just to get a GPU that performs as well as a GTX760. the cheaper DIY option is probably the more better choice, but if simply opening a laptop already scared you, the technical aspect of a DIY eGPU may not be for you.

if you want to play games & you got $500-600 to spend, the real sensible & practical option is consider a desktop.

@Hazle Do you know if putting an external graphic card on a Toshiba Satellite C660 would work (windows 10)? The mini PCie is located under the key board. I wand to try to buy adapter and gpu