Looking for a graphic card compatible with Thinkpad T420

Thomas_25

Estimable
Oct 29, 2015
8
0
4,510
I have a Lenovo T420 Thinkpad with 180gb ssd which I expanded to 680gb. It comes with an Intel 2520m cpu (2 gen). It also comes with 2 pci express slots (*16). It only has a 1gb Nvidia NVS 4200. I would like to expand the graphic card. I want to know the graphics compatible with the processor and how much gc I can add
 
Solution
You can get this http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-External-PCI-E-Graphics-Card/dp/B00Q4VMLF6 , a cheapish external power supply (wattage is not too much an issue since you are only using it for the video card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438016 and something like a Radeon R7-250X. Anything over a 250X will very likely be held back by the PCIe 1X interface speeds.

Although you may want to spend the money instead on a desktop PC you can use for games or sell your T430 and get one more suited for games, something with an 860m/960m class card would run GTA V decently. You can find a used home/business PC with an i3 CPU for pretty cheap and a power supply and video card upgrade will get you a full system without...
If you are using an external adapter, it does not matter what the graphic card is since you are not putting the card in the laptop. Only limitation would be with the external adapter and the power supply you get to run it. Plus the fact that the external adapters are limited to PCIe 1x speeds from what I have seen so a fast card will be limited by that.
 

Thomas_25

Estimable
Oct 29, 2015
8
0
4,510
I want to buy a compatible external adapter and a gc for this laptop. What do you recommend. I don't have any knowledge of gc and it's compatibility with the processor, motherboard..... I want to play Gta5 on it which requires a 3-4gb gc and a 3.0 or more ghz processor. So please can you help me make a decision on what to buy... I just know that this laptop has pci *16.


 
You can get this http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-External-PCI-E-Graphics-Card/dp/B00Q4VMLF6 , a cheapish external power supply (wattage is not too much an issue since you are only using it for the video card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438016 and something like a Radeon R7-250X. Anything over a 250X will very likely be held back by the PCIe 1X interface speeds.

Although you may want to spend the money instead on a desktop PC you can use for games or sell your T430 and get one more suited for games, something with an 860m/960m class card would run GTA V decently. You can find a used home/business PC with an i3 CPU for pretty cheap and a power supply and video card upgrade will get you a full system without the mess of an external card setup.
 
Solution