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***Looking To Upgrade My GPU - Help Needed***

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Binary Star

New Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Hi,

I'm new here and I'm in need of some advice. I want to upgrade my videocard [NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M CUDA] to something substantially more powerful, but I don't want to pay an excessive amount [£300 max.] as I've recently bought a new laptop which cost a bomb in itself so my pockets are kind of hurting right now. However, I was contemplating selling the GPU in my computer and adding extra funds to purchase a superior model, but I don't know its market value and Google isn't helping at all. Does anyone know how much my GPU sells for? How much do you think I'd be able to get for it on ebay? The specifications for my laptop are as follows:

Sony Vaio F-Series VPCF13S0E/B.CEK:

Intel Core i7-740QM Processor 1.73 Ghz
6 GB RAM
500 GB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M CUDA with 1 GB Video RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I want to be able to play games like Crysis 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and NFS Shift 2: Unleashed etc. at a decent FPS rate and quality of detail on my notebook. I'm not looking for the latest technology here as my budget is limited and I honestly don't see the point in that level of graphical sophistication, at least not for me. I'm just looking for something with a bit more 'oomph' that will handle the aforementioned games to a reasonable level and last me a while.

Would overclocking be a good idea?

Please leave your suggestions below. Any help is much appreciated.

Regards,

Binary Star
 
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I think most people in this forum refer to desktop video cards.
You may get some responses in the notebooks forum though.
 
you were expecting a flood of responses in 2.5 hours?

most laptops are not very upgrade friendly. even if you can upgrade your GPU, what you are looking for likely doesn't exist, ie cheap and way more powerful than what you've got, capable of running crysis 2 and games into 2012 with no problems.

lastly, making the text of your post massive won't encourage more responses, strangely enough it actually makes the text harder to read and is a bit obnoxious.

all that said, Welcome to the forums!
 
you were expecting a flood of responses in 2.5 hours?

most laptops are not very upgrade friendly. even if you can upgrade your GPU, what you are looking for likely doesn't exist, ie cheap and way more powerful than what you've got, capable of running crysis 2 and games into 2012 with no problems.

lastly, making the text of your post massive won't encourage more responses, strangely enough it actually makes the text harder to read and is a bit obnoxious.

all that said, Welcome to the forums!

Fair enough, I understand laptops are not very upgrade friendly, but I'm sure there must be something more powerful out there that is compatible with my laptop and is more powerful than a standard :confused:.

I said I didn't want to pay an excessive price. £300 is my budget tops. That might not be a lot to you, but to me it's not exactly "cheap". I was being optimistic with my post, no need to bite my head off.

"lastly, making the text of your post massive won't encourage more responses, strangely enough it actually makes the text harder to read and is a bit obnoxious."

:p
 
well now, £300 is more than i thought you were looking at. you might be able to get something for that price and that isn't "cheap" where i'm from either.

i took a quick look around but couldn't find any info about your laptop and what you may be able to upgrade to. maybe call or email sony and find out?

sorry for biting off head. me bad. :(
 
well now, £300 is more than i thought you were looking at. you might be able to get something for that price and that isn't "cheap" where i'm from either.

i took a quick look around but couldn't find any info about your laptop and what you may be able to upgrade to. maybe call or email sony and find out?

sorry for biting off head. me bad. :(

No probz. Yeah, I think I'll email/phone Sony. Need to sort out my warranty anyways. Good idea :)
 
it is somewhat common for a laptop manufacturer to provide different upgrade options from a base model. if that is so, there may be a video card module that you can remove and potentially upgrade but your options will likely be quite limited. i know that my old dell inspiron 9100 had a modular video card that could be removed with some disassembly of the laptop.
 
No probz. Yeah, I think I'll email/phone Sony. Need to sort out my warranty anyways. Good idea :)

That is probably your best bet. They are probably the only ones who will offer a higher end GPU for your laptop. Laptops as a rule use strictly proprietary components because they have to fit into a certain space inside of a certain chassis line. So unless Sony offers that laptop (or another one based on that chassis design) with a higher end GPU, you are out of luck.
 
it is somewhat common for a laptop manufacturer to provide different upgrade options from a base model. if that is so, there may be a video card module that you can remove and potentially upgrade but your options will likely be quite limited. i know that my old dell inspiron 9100 had a modular video card that could be removed with some disassembly of the laptop.

Unfortunately, I checked the Sony's official site and there's only one option [the graphic's card I have]. True, my options will be limited :( It's best if I contact Sony. No love for notebook owners. :rain:

Might be a dumb question, but is there such a thing as external GPU stations?

Yeah...I'm desperate here :S
 
That is probably your best bet. They are probably the only ones who will offer a higher end GPU for your laptop. Laptops as a rule use strictly proprietary components because they have to fit into a certain space inside of a certain chassis line. So unless Sony offers that laptop (or another one based on that chassis design) with a higher end GPU, you are out of luck.

"proprietary" *shudders" That word. Being a Sony product that probably means I'm stuffed lol.

Serves me right for not doing my homework enough. Everything else is top notch.

The bigger brands like Sony probably intentionally manufacture laptops to be less upgradeable so customers keep buying their latest products.

*sigh*

:bang head
 
Unfortunately, I checked the Sony's official site and there's only one option [the graphic's card I have]. True, my options will be limited :( It's best if I contact Sony. No love for notebook owners. :rain:

Might be a dumb question, but is there such a thing as external GPU stations?

Yeah...I'm desperate here :S

I don't think so. At least not any good ones that will do what you want.

You already have a pretty good GPU for a laptop. You can't ask for much more than that unless you want a laptop that will run hotter than hell and require its own power plant to run for a decent amount of time on the road.
 
I don't think so. At least not any good ones that will do what you want.

You already have a pretty good GPU for a laptop. You can't ask for much more than that unless you want a laptop that will run hotter than hell and require its own power plant to run for a decent amount of time on the road.

haha! Okay. I haven't tested it as it's been a long time since I've bought a PC...heck, any game, but does this help at all with identfying the kinds of games it can handle? >-

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-Geforce-GT-425M.34152.0.html

NVIDIA's labelling is confusing :S

GTA IV, for instance, requires a 7900 Go GPU according to http://store.steampowered.com/app/901583/?snr=1_200_200_250_103_5, but I thought that meant I was out by a couple of hundred so to speak lol, but comparing the specs from that link and this >- http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-Go-7900-GS.2133.0.html

...I can see that my card is significantly better, right? If so I've at least got an idea of what it can do.
 
When the desktop version of the GTX 480 came out, everyone jumped on it and loved it (besides horrid heat issues). I think that was a generation ago. It could chew through Crysis like it was nothing. My HD 4850 can run Crysis without too much trouble.

After the 9000 line, Nvidia changed to a 3 number naming scheme. The 400 line is a pretty good line, and i'd think that particular chip would be good for most anything you might have in mind. You might have to turn down the graphics on some really really new games, but things like Crysis shouldn't be too big of an issue.
 
When the desktop version of the GTX 480 came out, everyone jumped on it and loved it (besides horrid heat issues). I think that was a generation ago. It could chew through Crysis like it was nothing. My HD 4850 can run Crysis without too much trouble.

After the 9000 line, Nvidia changed to a 3 number naming scheme. The 400 line is a pretty good line, and i'd think that particular chip would be good for most anything you might have in mind. You might have to turn down the graphics on some really really new games, but things like Crysis shouldn't be too big of an issue.

I see. That puts things into perspective for me so thanks a bunch!
 
No problem. :) Always glad to be of help. And :welcome: to the forums :)

You have a really nice laptop. It's probably just as capable as my desktop since my GPU is so old (4850. The ATI 6000 line is out now, and the 4850 was a middle of the road card when it came out)
 
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-Geforce-GT-425M.34152.0.html

You'll dig that site. Scroll down to the 3dMark comparisons.

Edit: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Upgrade-Replace-a-Notebook-Video-Card.3236.0.html Upgrade/replace notebook video card

Edit 2: There is an external graphics card solution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XG_Station but it's sorta slow, and not sold anymore :p

Edit 3: Wow I just realized you've already been to notebookcheck :) I have a GTS 360m in my ASUS G60JX. It's basically a 9800GTX+. It's much faster than a 425M, and it's still, fairly slow in comparison to mid end desktop graphics :/ That said, it all depends on what settings and resolution you are running at. I don't mind 30 fps, some people can't stand it. I was contemplating a laptop with a 425 and I ended up getting the Asus with the 360M. The battery life is really crap and the 425 has something I don't, Optimus, which turns the GeForce off and the i7 graphics on when you aren't loading the GPU. Which equals loads more battery life. Laptops are supposed to be portable right? :)
 
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