Graphics Upgrade?

Hey everyone,

First of all, this is my first post here!

My initial situation is my dilemma on putting more money in to my laptop or saving to buy/build a desktop in the future. I am more concerned with long-term benefits versus short-term.

Here's the low down on my rig:

Dell Studio 1535
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T9300 @ 2.50GHz 2.50GHz
RAM: 4.00 GB
OS: Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit
Graphics Card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series

It's not much of a gaming rig, but this is the best computer I own to play games. To give a bit of perspective, it runs World of Warcraft pretty well on all low settings. I only get lag when I enter high-profile cities where there are a lot of other players. I believe that lag comes from the graphics card. I'm also below the minimum requirements for Diablo 3.

I still have the original battery that came with the laptop and it is now dead. If I choose to continue using this laptop as my main computer, then I will need to replace it as well.

Some people find the "Windows Experience Index" useful while others find it useless. Mine is at 4.0 due to my lowest subscore: graphics. Game graphics, however, is rated at 5.4.

I'm posting this in the laptop forum because I'm also looking for general opinions from others on my laptop and decisions that I am about to make. These decisions cost money and I am a full-time student with a part-time job.

So what are you all thinking?

• Buy a new graphics card, replace the battery, and continue using this laptop for gaming purposes
• Start saving in order to buy or build a desktop with it's primary use being games

If you need any other information, don't hesitate to just ask! Thanks in advance.

Have you verified that your laptop has the option of having the graphics card replaced? Sometimes you just can't.

Anyhow, I wouldn't invest much. If you get a much better graphics card, then it's gonna be your CPU dragging your gameplay.

I'm not sure if it does have the option of having a graphics card. It's a moot point now because my concern is the same as yours: the CPU dragging it down. Looks like I need to just go ahead and invest in a new computer.

Not that you could replace your GPU even if you wanted, that laptop is a Dell and they don't use standard (MXM) graphics slots. In fact, I think your Studio 15xx does not even have a GPU slot; the GPU is soldered on-board.

Thanks txus.palacios and dostov. After some research, it would seem that you are right txus. It is integrated, so there is nothing I can do. Thanks for the guidance though!