Replacing laptop graphics ( and some other nonsense )

[Poreo]

Althought this section is very quite, I still thought I might be able to get some answers here

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PLEASE NOTE : REFRAIN FROM THE USUAL " LOL @ LAPTOP GAMING, GO GET DESKTOP NOOB " and general desktop vs laptop argument. I am frequently moving to and from me mom's and stepdad's house so I do prefer a laptop.

Well here goes, my first laptop I bought 4 years ago. I paid for part of it from my xmas money and the rest came from my granma. It was a decent asus laptop, and at that time it was better than some of my friends' desktops. Specs :

Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 Ghz
15.6 " Screen 1366 x 768
4 Gb RAM ddr2
320 gig Hard drive 5400 rpm
GeForce GTX 260M ( 1gb)

It was a solid laptop and I did most of my gaming on here , WoW , CS , LoL , Bloodlines so on so forth . After a few years it started wearing down

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1. Hard drive was failing ( tried defragging and checking health with Crystaldisk )
2. Started using stuff like Rainmeter / launchy and video editing and Ram was an isssue
3. Hard drive was also getting full, not to mention is was small and slow to begin with
4. The GTX, which I kinda liked was starting to act up the driver would randomly crash and sometimes cutscenes / animations wouldn't even show up

Recently I managed to save up enough money to buy a decent laptop.

Asus a665
Intel core i7 @ 1.73 Ghz w/ TurboBoost up to 2.93 Ghz
16 " 1366 x 768
4Gb RAM ddr3
640 gig Hard drive 5400 rpm
GeForce 310m ( 512 )

As you can see, almost everything was an upgrade . Better processor, screen a little bigger, RAM is going to be upgraded eventually but I have learnt to not run unnecessary crap, so much more space for movies / music but the main problem is the graphics. I didn't think it was going to be SO bad. I was in a hurry when I bought it and I thought it was a 330m. Every other person who did a review / website that sold it had the exact same specs with a 330 instead

Pshh no big deal right ? I'll turn down the settings, maybe play on medium. But no, it can barely manage SCII on medium ( have yet to install WoW ). I tried toning some things down to low and messing with the saved variables file but Im only able to squeeze out about 20-30 fps. I was thinking of either returning it ( comes with a 1 year warranty and it actually gave me the blue screen of love on day 1 along with the GPU driver crashing within 30 minutes of turning it on ) . As much as I want to do that, there are so many things I do like about the computer.

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I looked on the back to find 2 easy access panels, 1 to the RAM and 1 to the hard drive. I have read that certain laptops from a year or two ago would require you to take apart the entire laptop to remove and replace the horrid 310m that I have. Im assuming it has become no easier and would like to know if anyone has done it. Should I return it ? Should I buy some sexier graphics ( preferably around 80-100 bucks ) ?

Thanks if you have read through the whole thing

[voodoodad]

Unless you've really got your heart set on portability the simplest answer is to get an Asus desktop.

I've got an I7 8-core running at 3.6 ghz. Just put a second 1 tb hard drive and an ATI Radeon 5750 in it and I'm going to add 4 gigs of Ram when I get around to it.

I can run most new games with either "high" or "highest" settings at a rock steady 60fpx.

I've been the laptop route and was so intimidated looking at its "guts" that I can't see ever going back.

[Poreo]

I would be all for desktop gaming but I don't really have a place to game. At my stepdad's sometimes I'm gaming in the kitchen, maybe in the back room, maybe in the living room. Sometimes I get driven home and game in the living room, the dining table, sometimes in my mom's room

[voodoodad]

I feel your pain. It took a lot of wheedling, cajoling, groveling etc. to talk my wife into letting me set up a permanent spot for my desk in the living room. The end result was worth it though.

Sorry, gotta go do the dishes... then dig out the driveway... then clean the house... then...

[MidgetMage55]

If cracking open your laptop to replace the gfx card makes you squeemish (or isn't necessarily possible) One potential solution is called the ViDock. Its initial intent is to allow for laptops to support more than just one external monitor.

Not sure how viable it is however looking at a potential external solution is worth a shot.

Here is a link to a Tom's hardware review of the overall tech. It's worth a read. It might even point you to other solutions.

[Poreo]

Originally Posted by MidgetMage55 If cracking open your laptop to replace the gfx card makes you squeemish (or isn't necessarily possible) One potential solution is called the ViDock. Its initial intent is to allow for laptops to support more than just one external monitor. Not sure how viable it is however looking at a potential external solution is worth a shot. Here is a link to a Tom's hardware review of the overall tech. It's worth a read. It might even point you to other solutions.

That big ass back panel hiding the awful 310m doesn't have very long *evil laugh* , it's gonna come off before the end of today just so I can have a look , maybe ill even snap some pics

[Poreo]

Thanks for the help but on second thought, Im going to BestBuy in the morning to return the lappie. Not sure if they will give money back but I'll be happy with store credit. Now I'm wondering what I should get

[Fodaro]

If you're looking for a good gaming laptop, I can recommend the Dell XPS 15 (http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xp...~ck=dellSearch). It's quite expensive, but it has both a high power and low power graphics card, so that when you're plugged in (or only need about 2 hours of battery life) you can use a good nVidia card, but when you want good battery life you can use the low power and get about 5 hours.