Easily upgradeable graphics card on laptop?

[Darkleoco]

Looking to pick up one of these babies from Asus
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...rive/5176239.p?id=1218621250769&skuId=5176239

I'm just wondering whether the graphics card on it would be easily upgradeable if i wanted to put something with a little more power in it at a later date, I know that it has one hard drive bay left empty and an empty ram slot as well so I know it does have easy access to at least both of those areas however I have not seen any information about graphics card access, does anyone know if this particular model has a simple way to get at the graphics card?

 

[Fourstaff]

Doesn't look like it supports MXM (it uses MXM connection but according to some the dimensions are a bit wrong).

I would personally just get a laptop without the ability to upgrade, you usually end up paying much less than if you would upgrade.

 

[Darkleoco]

Well this laptop is no slouch in itself and for the price I really cannot beat the specs it has to offer especially with how simple it would be to slip in a SSD when i get the money, the question of upgrading the graphics card is not something that I need I'm just curious because of how simple it is to upgrade the RAM and add in the extra hard drive. Also it would be nice to be able to put a 670m or 675m in and get that extra boost in bf3 and skyrim for when I feel like playing them.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Looking to pick up one of these babies from Asus
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...rive/5176239.p?id=1218621250769&skuId=5176239

I'm just wondering whether the graphics card on it would be easily upgradeable if i wanted to put something with a little more power in it at a later date, I know that it has one hard drive bay left empty and an empty ram slot as well so I know it does have easy access to at least both of those areas however I have not seen any information about graphics card access, does anyone know if this particular model has a simple way to get at the graphics card?

when it comes to swapping out laptop graphics, things can get a little tricky in reguards to upgrades....


Firstly the holes on the cooler might not match up with the holes on the PCB/GPU

secondly the cooler might not be able to cope with something more powerful. not saying its impossible, but with a laptops heatpipe cooling, it really limits how far you can go.

thirdly. even if you did manage to install a new GPU and match up the holes properly for a good mounting. the OEMs bios might be 'locked' down which means you can only 'upgrade' the GPU with the same one that was previously installed otherwise it wont recognize it - 99% of the time OEMs lock their bios's down. the possible way around it is either look for a whitelisted bios for that particular laptop or buy your laptop from companies that specialise in building made to order laptops like Eurocom

 

[zithe]

I have a 2 year old model of this with the 5870. It's like a 4890 with DX11. This has to be decently faster.

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

I would consider the MSI GT60/70 rather, IMO. It DOES have an MXM. Better GPUs too.

 

[Darkleoco]

I would consider the MSI GT60/70 rather, IMO. It DOES have an MXM. Better GPUs too.

Now if i "could" get one of those GT70 I would in a heartbeat I was looking at MSI and ORIGIN level gaming laptops previously but my budget is sadly not where it needs to be to get one of those at this time, whether more funds will make themselves known however is still up in the air so for the moment the G75 I linked is really the highest end of my current budget. Also the fact that it has MXM is irrelevant in my opinion with that 3 GB 670m in the GT70 their is nothing short of a 675m or 680m that would even be worth sticking in their, though I am curious if that GT70 might have a spare hard drive bay hiding somewhere

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

Now if i "could" get one of those GT70 I would in a heartbeat I was looking at MSI and ORIGIN level gaming laptops previously but my budget is sadly not where it needs to be to get one of those at this time, whether more funds will make themselves known however is still up in the air so for the moment the G75 I linked is really the highest end of my current budget. Also the fact that it has MXM is irrelevant in my opinion with that 3 GB 670m in the GT70 their is nothing short of a 675m or 680m that would even be worth sticking in their, though I am curious if that GT70 might have a spare hard drive bay hiding somewhere

Look at the GT60 then, if you can go 15". You should be able to score one for very close to the same budget, with better specs than the 17" option. Only difference: ~.1.4" of screen space.

Friend here just paid $1500 for a beefed up GT60. I'm sure you could find one for 1200-1400.

GT60 has 2 drive bays+ CDROM. The 70 should, too.

 

[Darkleoco]

Look at the GT60 then, if you can go 15". You should be able to score one for very close to the same budget, with better specs than the 17" option. Only difference: ~.1.4" of screen space.

Friend here just paid $1500 for a beefed up GT60. I'm sure you could find one for 1200-1400.

GT60 has 2 drive bays+ CDROM. The 70 should, too.

The only thing worth it in my opinion would be the GT70 for its beefed up specs and larger screen because the GT60 is only about equal to the Asus G75 but from what I have seen has lower build quality

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

The only thing worth it in my opinion would be the GT70 for its beefed up specs and larger screen because the GT60 is only about equal to the Asus G75 but from what I have seen has lower build quality

The build quality is the same as all other MSI laptops. What exactly is different about their build quality? MSI tops feel just as sturdy as sager/Asus tops, only beaten by Apple and Lenovo IMO.

If you're looking for build quality, Asus/MSI/Sager are all in the gutter compared to the more portable business laptops.