couldnt find it on search. i just bought a laptop and came to a realization. When the time comes can i install new hardware on my dell laptop or am i going to have to buy another $2400 computer in the next 2-5 years?
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e-bladed sto
good traders: procircuitmxfh, brtncstm160, apowers365, barchetta, njpaint. -
You'll most likely be buying another $2400.00 computer. Unless you bought a white box/boutique laptop, there aren't too many components of a laptop that are upgradeble. You'll be limited by form factor, parts that are soldered on, or simply the fact the the BIOS won't recogize the updated part.Originally posted by viperx1_1000 -
memory can easily be upgraded, as can the hard drive if you run out of space. Other than that, its a lot tougher than a desktop.
***edit*** it would be easier to buy an external hard drive than crack the case and replace the internal one.Comment
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well that sucks. thanks for the info.E-mail:[email protected]
e-bladed sto
good traders: procircuitmxfh, brtncstm160, apowers365, barchetta, njpaint.Comment
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Originally posted by spwz99
Hard drives are usually a matter of one or two screws. Outside of the IBM X series, I haven't seen a laptop from a major manufacturer that required you to crack the case open for at least 5 years.Comment
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Really? I own a dell Inspiron 8600 and I have upgraded the memory, but there is no easy access for the hard drive that I know of. I might be just missing it, I don't know.Originally posted by robnixComment
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well i know the amount of space it has is good enough for a long time, i was thinking more like graphics cards, sound cards, processors and all that jazz.E-mail:[email protected]
e-bladed sto
good traders: procircuitmxfh, brtncstm160, apowers365, barchetta, njpaint.Comment
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A rough guide to buying a laptop is pay as much as you can afford and then add some as the upgrade path is a new laptop, memory can be added to and in some cases the harddrive but the rest is all bolted on so it leaves you with very little choice.Comment
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Turn the laptop over. With the front facing you, look on the right side. Unscrew the first screw on the right near the front, slide out the bay. THat should be the hard drive.Originally posted by spwz99Comment
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I believe they madke PCMCIA cards for sound and graphics. Depends on you r laptop whether or not you can use them.
Hard drives on Dell's slide into the side and are locked in place by a single screw.Comment
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PCMCIA and even Cardbus32 doesn't have anything like the bandwidth necessary for a modern video card. Perhaps a sound card, but that's really a minimal "upgrade" at best. In function you can not really upgrade a laptop significantly. They are pretty closed platforms. You can't upgrade the CPU, mainboard, video "card" (really just another component of the mainboard) or the IO ports. The harddrive may be replaceable. The RAM may be upgradable, to a point. It's not like a good desktop case that you can completly repalce all of the internals and have a new machine.Comment
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Cardbus supports supports the same level of bandwidth as the PCI bus which is approximately 127MB/sec peak, so running sound or video through shouldn't be an issue. There are several add on cards you can get as well, including a Audigy 2 card, video capture, TV tuner and there are a few video cards using cardbus as well. They're mainly for adding additional displays though, you won't see any 3d accelleration from them simply because of size and heat issue.Originally posted by Hexis
ExpressCard is coming up, which will have throughput of up 2 GB/sec peak.
There are also whitebox and boutique laptops, like Sager and Hypersonic, where the higher end modules use Mini Pci Express video cards that are upgradeble just like a desktop video card.
http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/n...3880&SubType=C
Some of these have even had drop in MB/CPU upgrade modules, but that's pretty rare.Comment
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Dude just got a Dell. Need I elaborate further?Comment
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