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Linux - Laptop and Netbook Having a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).

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Old 02-19-2010, 03:13 AM   #1
urcindalo
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Is it possible to replace the internal graphics card in a laptop from ATI to Nvidia?


Hi and thanks for reading this.

I don't know if this is the correct forum for my question, but here I go. I own a PackardBell EasyNote TJ62 laptop, with comes with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 card. The thing is this card is causing me too much of a trouble.

Would it be possible to replace it with a Nvidia card? I mean, is it as easy as unplugging the ATI card and plugging a Nvidia model in the slot, or is there no slot at all? I don't want to open my laptop if what I want to do is impossible.

Has anybody done that?
 
Old 02-19-2010, 07:14 AM   #2
kilgoretrout
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It's generally not possible to do that. Graphics cards have specific power and cooling requirements and laptops are physically designed with these requirements in mind, making upgrades impossible. Physically, how the card locks into the laptop varies; it's not like working on a tower PC. Many times the graphics card is built into the motherboard in which case, upgrading is impossible. It's not clear from your spec sheet, but that appears to be the case for your laptop.

Sometimes you can if the laptop had the option to be configured with more than one graphics card at the time of purchase. This would indicate that the graphics card is a removable module, i.e. not on the motherboard, and that more than one graphics card module is compatible. In that case, you can contact the manufacturer and see if an alternative card is available after purchase. Or if you know what the graphics card choices originally where, you can try your luck on the used hardware market. I've heard of this being done on certain Dells but the alternative graphics card generally will cost you an arm and a leg even when purchased used.

Last edited by kilgoretrout; 02-19-2010 at 08:00 AM.
 
Old 02-19-2010, 08:00 AM   #3
urcindalo
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My worst nightmare came true

Thanks for the clarification, though.
 
  


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