Recommend Me a Notebook Video Card!

[golfking222]

Hey, my friend just got a new laptop, sadly it's only got intel integrated graphics. He wants a cheap notebook video card which is capable of playing new games (Counter-Strike: Source even) at a low/medium. He tried playing CS:S and it doesn't allow him to load. He wants a cheap yet somewhat powerful notebook video card. I'm not sure if it's AGP or PCI-E, but could you recommend some of both. I'll post up again when I find out if it's AGP or PCI-E.

Thanks in advance.

[core2due]

If it has intel integrated graphics i don't think you can add a graphics card.

[golfking222]

Where'd you hear that? I'm pretty sure you can... Can somebody follow up on this?

[BossBorot]

this is not even remotely worth trying to do unless you have done it before. You will have to take apart most of the laptop and even then most likely it is not upgradeable.

[golfking222]

Then why do ATI and nVidia sell mobile cards?

[BossBorot]

because some people can upgrade. its kind of like in the desktop arena if you dont have a pci-e or agp slot on your mobo your are more or less screwed* but if you have that add in slot you can upgrade your system. However if you have a desktop you can simply replace the mobo without much effort which is not really the case for notebooks. Basically if you already have a discrete gpu you may be able to take it out and upgrade it however if you are just using integrated the system most likely does not have any slot to put an upgrade card into.

*well in this case you could get a pci card but some integrated cards are faster then the best pci cards out now.

[IWasHungry]

Even if you could get a mobile video card seperately (Which you cannot, unless you have connections. Or obtain it off Ebay), chances are that your friend's laptop was only designed to use an integrated video card. Since it's a laptop, the company that made it wants to save space/money. They rarely add a video card slot if it was built to use integrated graphics.
Upgrading video cards in a laptop is NOT the same as doing so in a desktop. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but it is a fact.

[golfking222]

K, np.

[Immortal_Hero]

Generally the mobile chips are just that chips. ATI or NVIDIA sell these chips to the OEM's mobo makers and they put them right on the mobo. A few LT's have AGP or PCI-E slots for GFX solutions but these are usually 17" + ones.