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Can I switch the graphic card in M1330?

post #1 of 8
4/16/08 at 8:39pm
Thread Starter 
I can buy the XPS M1330 for a really good price...About 700$...

The only thing is that it has the basic graphic card, can i update it to the 8400? If so, where and how much?

thanks
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post #2 of 8
4/16/08 at 8:54pm
No you cannot. If you buy with the integrated graphics it uses a different chipset and has no slot for the GPU.

Stu
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post #3 of 8
4/18/08 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 
Man now i think I might end up getthing the M1530 lol ... The discount is so amazing on the XPS now on Dell.com i think i have to order....lol
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post #4 of 8
6/7/08 at 9:38am
What if it has the 8400 already ? Is it possible to upgrade the 8400 for something actually game worthy ?


J.
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post #5 of 8
6/7/08 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JulienDogg View Post
What if it has the 8400 already ? Is it possible to upgrade the 8400 for something actually game worthy ?


J.
No you can't,its soldered to the motherboard.
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post #6 of 8
6/8/08 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JulienDogg View Post
What if it has the 8400 already ? Is it possible to upgrade the 8400 for something actually game worthy ?
Nope, can't be done. GPUs in laptops are soldered directly onto the motherboard, and are not replaceable in any way, shape, or form, without replacing the entire motherboard.

The only exception to this rule are the laptops that use the MXM standard, but only about 6 models were ever made, and people stopped using MXM several years ago. From a marketing perspective, people stopped using MXM because 99.9% of laptop owners out there don't care about gaming, and an even smaller percentage would ever want to upgrade the GPU. From an engineering perspective, replaceable graphics cards don't make sense because you need to deal with different heat, size, and power requirements of graphics cards. This is why the most powerful GPU you could ever put into a 13.3" chassis using today's technology is the GeForce 8400M. Dell designed a laptop that could accommodate the heat, size, and power requirements of a GeForce 8600M, and called it the XPS M1530.
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post #7 of 8
6/9/08 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kent1146 View Post
Nope, can't be done. GPUs in laptops are soldered directly onto the motherboard, and are not replaceable in any way, shape, or form, without replacing the entire motherboard.

The only exception to this rule are the laptops that use the MXM standard, but only about 6 models were ever made, and people stopped using MXM several years ago. From a marketing perspective, people stopped using MXM because 99.9% of laptop owners out there don't care about gaming, and an even smaller percentage would ever want to upgrade the GPU. From an engineering perspective, replaceable graphics cards don't make sense because you need to deal with different heat, size, and power requirements of graphics cards. This is why the most powerful GPU you could ever put into a 13.3" chassis using today's technology is the GeForce 8400M. Dell designed a laptop that could accommodate the heat, size, and power requirements of a GeForce 8600M, and called it the XPS M1530.
Not always true, the Inspiron 8200 did not use MXM and it had a seperate graphics card, as did the 5150, 8500, and 8600. The 9100 was also upgradable as was the 9200 to E1705. The M1730 also has an upgradable graphics card NONE OF WHICH USED MXM!

Generally speaking, you'll see video daughter cards on larger and higher end systems but on the smaller and less expensive ones you'll see soldered on graphics. Motherboards cost alot as it is and integrating $300-$400 GPUs on them isn't a very bright idea.
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post #8 of 8
7/7/08 at 5:05am
getting back to the question. there are 2 discreet bases for the M1330
the Intel gpu based one and the nVidia. 2 completely different mainboards.

i know this as i just rebuilt mine with the nVidia base
Vista does not like you changing a mainboard (full reinstall)
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