Surprisingly, you can change laptop graphics card. Although only in the case of certain models that use a type of plug-in designed for this. We tell you how to identify them and what kind of improvement you can make to them. So that your computer is no slouch when it comes to running the most advanced games.
We usually have the idea that in a laptop, its graphics card cannot be changed. Which is true if it’s on the same chip as the CPU. However, there are models with a dedicated graphics chip with its video memory in the middle of the laptop circuitry. They are called gaming laptops or workstations for content creation.
Well, popular wisdom tells us that it is not possible to change the graphics card of a laptop. Although this is not always the case, since there are cases when the graphics card is located on a separate card. Using a variation of PCI Express slots where graphics cards are connected with a different shape than desktop computers. They are called MXM modules. Well, in many cases said module is not soldered and we can replace the graphics card of our laptop with a more powerful card. Of course, these modules are much more expensive than a desktop graphics card.
How to change the graphics card in a laptop
First of all, you have to take into account that you may not be able to do this, because not all models can. And it is that in recent times it has sought to make increasingly thin laptops. This was achieved by replacing some components with others. Well, the reduction in height has led to the rarefaction of MXM modules for laptop graphics cards. However, there are still models on the market that include them and you might be one of the lucky ones.
Well, the laptop graphics cards that can be changed are the ones that are on a separate card, placed above the main card and which we call MXM. So, to find out if your laptop has this capability, you need to open it up and consider the type of Mobile PCI Express module or MXM card you have mounted in your laptop.
- MXM-A has a width of 82mm and 70mm in lengthof a 55W peak power and is intended for graphics cards with 64 or 128 bit buses. That is to say 2 or 4 memory chips.
- MXM-B, Instead, it has a greater length, 105 millimeters. The the maximum consumption is 200 W and is intended for graphics cards with 192-bit or 256-bit memory interfaces. That is to say 6 or 8 memory chips.
So if the graphics card is in an MXM module you can change it for one of the same type. Of course, it is important to consider the thermal system you are using. Not in vain, in the case of the MXM-B, we find high-end laptop graphics card models that use cooling systems that cannot fit in our laptop. So you should look at the specifications of the MXM module with which you want to modify the graphics of your laptop and see that they are the same in terms of consumption as the one that was in your PC before.
