t520 gpu upgrade 870m?

[Pandora]

so title is pretty explanatory i need a better laptop that i can use for gaming. i was thinking about getting a used t520 for 250$ and throwing more ram, an ssd and if possible a better gpu in it.

 

i was thinking a 870m or something like that. i dont need extreme power just enough to push medium settings or low at 1080 at 40 fps +

 

i dont know if its locked down in the bios or anything like that.

[8-Bit Ninja]

i wouldn't laptops are a bitch to upgrade past storage and ram

[Theguywhobea]

No, there really aren't any laptops that you can put a GPU into, you could try and external GPU if you can find a laptop with an express card slot or something.

[niffcreature]

the thinkpad w520 and w720 use somewhat standardized MXM graphics. its likely possible to get the w720 to work with an 870m, but not the w520, as it will take a smaller type A card. you could upgrade it to a number of type A cards like the AMD m5950/6770

[Pandora]

Just now, Theguywhobea said:

No, there really aren't any laptops that you can put a GPU into, you could try and external GPU if you can find a laptop with an express card slot or something.

the issue is it needs to be portable. like on a plane without the TSA stopping me. also i dont want to put a monitor in my back pack so an external gpu isnt really an option.

 

also alot of laptops use a standard connector for GPU's including this one.

 

[Pandora]

1 minute ago, DEcobra11 said:

I don't see a MXM slot in T520's motherboard

ya just did some more resarch and it looks like i was looking at the wrong laptop. ur right this one doesnt have a MXM slot. 

 

[Mr.Meerkat]

3 minutes ago, thorbrantly101 said:

the issue is it needs to be portable. like on a plane without the TSA stopping me. also i dont want to put a monitor in my back pack so an external gpu isnt really an option.

 

also alot of laptops use a standard connector for GPU's including this one.

 

Nope, most laptop's only have iGPUs which is built into the CPU and if it has a dGPU, the chances of it being soldered is like 90% so not very many laptops with swap-able GPU indeed  

[niffcreature]

business laptops that use MXM: Thinkpad W series, Dell Precision, HP elitebook (i know most HP business laptops are elitebooks now, whatever the higher end ones with dedicated graphics are) and for all of these 15.6" and 17.3" models only, with the 15.6" using MXM A and a lot less options for upgrades (though more going forward)

 

I'd recommend a precision m4500

[Pandora]

1 minute ago, niffcreature said:

business laptops that use MXM: Thinkpad W series, Dell Precision, HP elitebook (i know most HP business laptops are elitebooks now, whatever the higher end ones with dedicated graphics are) and for all of these 15.6" and 17.3" models only, with the 15.6" using MXM A and a lot less options for upgrades (though more going forward)

 

I'd recommend a precision m4500

oooh i like that. and it has a MXM slot?

[niffcreature]

sure does! my brother just upgraded his to some AMD card better than the m5950. sorry i can't be of help figuring out the incredibly confusing firepro model numbers. i just know he got the card for 90$ and since its a firepro he overclocked the heck out of it.

[Mr.Meerkat]

1 minute ago, niffcreature said:

sure does! my brother just upgraded his to some AMD card better than the m5950. sorry i can't be of help figuring out the incredibly confusing firepro model numbers. i just know he got the card for 90$ and since its a firepro he overclocked the heck out of it.

hehe, firepro naming scheme is indeed confusing but a good rule is bigger the number, more power is usually delivered  (until you get screwed by Polaris 10 and 11)

[niffcreature]

3 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

Nope, most laptop's only have iGPUs which is built into the CPU and if it has a dGPU, the chances of it being soldered is like 90% so not very many laptops with swap-able GPU indeed  

its really silly to say "the chances of it being soldered" its not like a dice is rolled when you buy a laptop. its pretty simple, if you want MXM you just have to go for a higher end gaming laptop or one of the business series i listed. the vast majority of these will have MXM.

back in the day there were a few manufacturers doing some interesting stuff with cheaper MXM machines, namely Acer, but no longer. 

[Mr.Meerkat]

Just now, niffcreature said:

its really silly to say "the chances of it being soldered" its not like a dice is rolled when you buy a laptop. its pretty simple, if you want MXM you just have to go for a higher end gaming laptop or one of the business series i listed. the vast majority of these will have MXM.

back in the day there were a few manufacturers doing some interesting stuff with cheaper MXM machines, namely Acer, but no longer. 

Really? Business laptop's have MXM cards?? Holy sh**...never knew that  but with consumer lappys, almost all dGPU are soldered (for example, my 840m is soldered, my friends 860m is soldered, basically all low-mid range dGPUs are soldered with some high end dGPUs that are MXM but some are soldered as well )

[niffcreature]

i'm not so sure!! the m4000 is what my bro has actually, and its better than the m5950 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

[Mr.Meerkat]

2 minutes ago, niffcreature said:

i'm not so sure!! the m4000 is what my bro has actually, and its better than the m5950 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

Are we even talking about the same thing?  

[mikat]

7 minutes ago, niffcreature said:

i'm not so sure!! the m4000 is what my bro has actually, and its better than the m5950 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

dis m4000? lol

[niffcreature]

i'm not sure! i don't know anything about desktop cards, if that's what you're talking about.

 

MSI has a few consumer laptops that use MXM, as well as Toshiba and Asus, but with those 2 they're often weird non standard types of MXM

[niffcreature]

4 minutes ago, mikat said:

dis m4000? lol

nope, the AMD Mobility Firepro m4000, or whatever they're calling their mobile stuff now.

wow, only 45$ right now.

[Mr.Meerkat]

7 minutes ago, niffcreature said:

i'm not sure! i don't know anything about desktop cards, if that's what you're talking about.

 

MSI has a few consumer laptops that use MXM, as well as Toshiba and Asus, but with those 2 they're often weird non standard types of MXM

please quote or tag (using @(their name)) so I can see you've replied but most of the times, unless it's a high end consumer lappy, you're not going to see changable GPUs  

[niffcreature]

1 minute ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

please quote or tag (using @(their name)) so I can see you've replied but most of the times, unless it's a high end consumer lappy, you're not going to see changable GPUs  

i was trying to do that, but i quoted you once earlier and then it kept using that quote instead of the more recent ones.

[Mr.Meerkat]

5 minutes ago, niffcreature said:

i was trying to do that, but i quoted you once earlier and then it kept using that quote instead of the more recent ones.

delete it and quote, it a bug and it's a known one