Forum:Graphics Card switch?

Well, I got a brand new laptop last september for school, and I got Fallout 3 for Christmas, but it runs a little slow. I've done those online tests, where you find out if your computer has the proper specs to run a game. My computer was good enough in every department to be at the recommended settings, except for the graphics card, which didn't even make it into the minimum requirements. Fallout runs on my computer, but not without a lot of lag, and other problems. Anyway, my question is, is it possible to switch graphics cards with a laptop? Before you ask, I have tried turning down the settings all the way, but it is still really laggy, and I have a hard time playing it when it looks that bad, as well. Thanks in advance for any input. 24.72.49.251 13:22, February 12, 2010 (UTC)

It depends. Some laptops have swappable GPU's, some don't. My best advice would be to pop it open and see. It should be rather obvious whether or not the GPU can be swapped or not. You might also want to consider buying the maximum amount of RAM your laptop can use. Metalfrenchtoast 20:51, February 12, 2010 (UTC)

There's something I found out about, the ASUS XG Station, which is basically an external video card you plug into your laptop's PCI-E slot, but all of the articles I found about it are three years old, so I don't know if this actually made it or not. Also, I found out that a swappable GPU was introduced by NVIDIA a while back, but it didn't take off, so that's pretty much the deal. Shoulda bought a desktop, dude! Metalfrenchtoast 21:05, February 12, 2010 (UTC)

Well, I didn't know I would have liked Fallout 3 at the time, because previously I harbored a grudge against it, cause I liked Oblivion so much, and Fallout was different in a lot of the things that I liked in Oblivion. Also, this was for school, so a laptop was my only choice. I played Fallout a bit more today, and it'sn ot so bad, I just needed to turn off some of the settings, like shadows and shininess. It still has HDR and reflections though. For some reason, it actually runs decently outside of my megaton house. Maybe the robot has a lot of moving parts? Anyway, thanks for you guys's help, I'll look into those things, and maybe someday I'll even be able to run it at a resolution higher than 640x480. 24.72.49.251 22:39, February 12, 2010 (UTC)

That's what everyone says! Paper notebooks still work pretty well for me, though. Also, nobody can steal your computer while you're at school if you don't have one with you ;) Metalfrenchtoast 14:03, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

I don't go to college, I am homeschooled for highschool. The reason I got a laptop is that I like to carry my computer around, and there's no room for another desktop here. Also, like I said, I didn't predict that I would want such a demanding game. Anyway, not important. I talked to my friend, and he said it's rarely done, to switch cards for laptops. He also said a high-end card costs $2000, although he might have meant a high-end laptop. The Ati 3800 is supposed to be one of the recommended cards, although I might be mixed up and it could the only one of the minimum required cards. Anyway, do you know how much an Ati 3800 would cost? Thanks again. 24.72.49.251 16:58, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

I'm having absolutely no luck finding any websites offering single-packaged GPU's... They're pretty much permanently attached to the board, so switching one out means potentially risking the whole laptop. But yeah, your friend probably meant a whole new laptop with a high end built-in GPU and high RAM capacity. Gaming laptops can get really expensive. Anyway, yeah, the ATI 3800 is the recommended GPU for Fallout 3, as well as the NVIDIA 8800 series. I was able to purchase a GForce 9600 (Higher performance) for a little over just 100 bucks, so a GPU along those lines, just by itself would probably be really cheap... In theory... The thing is, you're probably not going to find anybody selling GPU's individually for laptops, because companies usually buy them in bulk to incorporate into various models of laptop. Ironically, I think they do it that way so the user doesn't have to worry about it. Metalfrenchtoast 06:38, February 16, 2010 (UTC)