Ron Savoie

Estimable
Feb 19, 2015
2
0
4,510
The graphics card in my Dell Latitude D-620, is shot completely. Can I use an external graphics card, and if not, what is the approx. cost to get the card replaced, with a card that would be good for gaming.
 
Solution
I don't think a latitude d-620 had a didciated graphics card, it was just an integrated chip on the motherboard.

If you can output to an external monitor then your screen or inverter board is bad
If you cant output to an external monitor then your motherboard is shot, and that is more money then the laptop is worth.
I don't think a latitude d-620 had a didciated graphics card, it was just an integrated chip on the motherboard.

If you can output to an external monitor then your screen or inverter board is bad
If you cant output to an external monitor then your motherboard is shot, and that is more money then the laptop is worth.
 
Solution

sz0ty0l4

Estimable
Jan 9, 2015
2
0
4,510
Hey. laptop/notebook dedicated graphics cards are solderd on their motherboard, meaning there is no way to change it, and also the whole notebook designed for a type of card, this means the board has thermal limits etc. if you have an ultrabay for sli, you can change the ultrabay card but you won't gain anything because you can't sli 2 different cards.

I'd suggest to sell your laptop for as much as you can, and build a gaming desktop pc if you want to enjoy 2014-15 and upcoming AAA games on high quality 1080p or higher resolution.
 

zarugal

Estimable
Jun 30, 2014
5
0
4,510
Currently there is only one laptop that I know of that can do that which is the MSI GS30 Shadow. It comes with a box that contains a desktop GPU and power supply for the GPU.

As far as I am aware, aside from that laptop, connecting a desktop GPU to a laptop is near impossible without some serious hardware and software bodging.
You can buy adapters that allow you to run desktop GPUs, but they seriously restrict them and come up against multiple software issues.
 

If it's dead as in completely nonfunctional and you get no picture, then no. There's nothing you can do except swap the motherboard or throw away the laptop. There are an extremely small number of gaming laptops whose GPU can be replaced, but generally you already know that if you bought one.

If it's dead as in it crashes/freezes whenever you try to play a 3D game, but Windows and the desktop works fine (i.e. the discrete GPU is dead but the integrated GPU on the Intel CPU still works), then there is sort of a way to use your desktop GPU. There are a few programs which encode the desktop's picture as a video stream, and transmits that stream to your laptop (or tablet or phone). Your laptop can then play a game that's actually being run on your desktop with its GPU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIL71Q6eJ2Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDt4DQXEwco

Splashtop, Limelight, and Steam In-Home Streaming are the names you want to research
 

Eggz

Honorable
Sep 3, 2013
14
0
10,570
That is one seriously old laptop!

Don't bother with it. They are selling for as low as $75 on eBay.

Just assess your needs and get a new computer. Do you need to carry it around, or will a desktop do? What is your budget? Let me know those things to get help.
 

zarugal

Estimable
Jun 30, 2014
5
0
4,510


Just transfer via external HDD or by Cloud storage.
 

Eggz

Honorable
Sep 3, 2013
14
0
10,570


One step at a time, yo. What's your budget and intended use?

But to answer your question about data transfer, just spend $7 on one of these (see pic below), pull your laptops old drive out, and then plug it into your new computer just like any other USB drive. Boom! There's your stuff. Also, clikc the image for a link to Amazon, selling the drive enclosure for only $7.

 
On a side note, if you have important files BACK IT UP. If the hard drive had died on you then what?, your files would be completely gone.

On the bright side once you have the files off the old laptop you can reformat it to remove windows and now you have an external drive you can use to backup to.
 

Eggz

Honorable
Sep 3, 2013
14
0
10,570


Right, I assumed you'd use the enclosure to copy your stuff to your new computer, but I didn't actually say that. Be sure to do it. The drive is old, so you don't want to rely on it any more.

If I were you, I'd just get the stuff off the drive, and then throw it at the ground as hard as possible. It's fun, and it's a symbolic way of moving on - out with the old and in with the new!

Then you could replace the drive in that enclosure with a large storage drive like this small drive that holds 2TB.

Just dump your stuff on there every once and a while, and then keep it somewhere safe. In case anything goes wrong, you can always dust off the backup and load things back.