M17x Video Card Upgrade

Beleynn

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Mar 18, 2010
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I am planning to purchase an Alienware M17x - one of the newer models with a Core i7 processor. How difficult would it be to open the system up and upgrade the video card?
 
Solution
Not very. The problem is getting a card upgrade it with. The ones Dell will sell you will be at least $500, and there's about nowhere else to get them. You should not plan on upgrading the GPU of a notebook. Simply get the best GPU you can afford, and run it for as long as you see fit. If you've the money and you find a part for an upgrade, you can try it - but, I think you'll find, that, at that point, it's really not worth it.

frozenlead

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Not very. The problem is getting a card upgrade it with. The ones Dell will sell you will be at least $500, and there's about nowhere else to get them. You should not plan on upgrading the GPU of a notebook. Simply get the best GPU you can afford, and run it for as long as you see fit. If you've the money and you find a part for an upgrade, you can try it - but, I think you'll find, that, at that point, it's really not worth it.
 
Solution

Beleynn

Distinguished
Mar 18, 2010
3
0
18,510
Thank you for the quick response.

The current i7 models only offer ATI cards, and I would prefer one of the nVidia cards offered on the Core 2 models. I guess I'll just have to wait until the next refresh.