Upgrading old Laptop to the max with external GPU and new CPU (questions)

[OhKenny]

Hello Folks!

 

I have an old Laptop that i use to play some Games on it. Not the new ones. i'm in to the simulation games like City Skyline, Auto Mechanic Simulator 2018, House Flipper, Beam NG etc.

It works only a litte bit, like 9 Fps. I have no budget for a new PC or Laptop and i love to build something new from the Parts that i have.

 

What i have.

Laptop: Medion P6634 / Intel Core i5 2540M 2,6Ghz / 8Gb Ram / Nvidia Geforce GT 630M 1GB / 120 GB SSD

 

What i want to do:

 

The CPU is socket so i can change that easely. I did that with the Laptop before. From an Intel i3 to the i5. 

I plan to put an i7 in it. My eys on the i7-2640M with 2,80 GHz an the same 35Watt.

 

The next Step is the GPU.

One day ago i saw some Videos about the EXP GDC, the dock to expand from an mini pci-e port to an full pci-e port.

I want to give it a try with a newer GeForce card. I know that an 1080 Ti is a waste on money on that build. But something like an 1050 or 970 Card and 4gb ram could bring some extra smoth FPS to my System.

 

 First i want to take apart the Laptop and build an enclosure by myself that can fit the Motherboard and the "external GPU". 

 

-Big question, make this sense?

-Is the i7-2640 to Powerfull for an i3 / i5 Motherboard and is it possible to take a CPU from the next generation, i read something that so socket could be fine with that but the Chipset may don't like that.

- in the Specs of the i5 is under the max ram capacity 16 Gb. I don't think it is possible to upgrade that to this,  The manual from that Laptop says 8GB max. Or am i wrong?

-Which GPU would you recomment for a systim like this? I only want to play some Simulation Games with a min. of 30 fps. 

 

Thank you so far for reading and give me advice of my stupid Questions

 

Ps: I took 3D mark for a walk.

       Sky Diver v.1.0: 2375 Points

       Cloud Gate  v.1.1: 4622 Points

only for the record. 

 

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

Your motherboard will limit how much RAM you can use far more than your CPU will.

 

The chipset will be fine with a newer generation CPU, but you need a BIOS update that supports it.

 

I wouldn't personally consider it worthwhile, laptops are a one of those things where they're not really designed to be upgraded. Bear in mind, using a dock or something like that will take away the portability of your laptop for gaming.

[WhatsTheWifiPassword]

your laptop will most likely lose it's wifi capability as you have replaced it with the ext. GPU, 

[TopHatProductions115]

If you go down the dock route, look for a GPU that can be powered off the PCI-e slot for maximum portability. Otherwise, you may end up having to lug around an extra PSU to power your docked card  Some laptops come with multiple mPCI-e slots, so be on the lookout - you may not have to give up WiFi to enjoy the performance boost...

[Crunchy Dragon]

17 minutes ago, TopHatProductions115 said:

If you go down the dock route, look for a GPU that can be powered off the PCI-e slot for maximum portability. Otherwise, you may end up having to lug around an extra PSU to power your docked card  Some laptops come with multiple mPCI-e slots, so be on the lookout - you may not have to give up WiFi to enjoy the performance boost...

If the OP can do wired though, it's not a problem and internet speed will also see a big plus

 

To be fair, the laptop would practically become a desktop replacement just from the external GPU, an ethernet wire theoretically wouldn't impact anything.

[OhKenny]

6 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Your motherboard will limit how much RAM you can use far more than your CPU will.

 

The chipset will be fine with a newer generation CPU, but you need a BIOS update that supports it.

 

I wouldn't personally consider it worthwhile, laptops are a one of those things where they're not really designed to be upgraded. Bear in mind, using a dock or something like that will take away the portability of your laptop for gaming.

 

4 minutes ago, WhatsTheWifiPassword said:

your laptop will most likely lose it's wifi capability as you have replaced it with the ext. GPU, 

 

3 minutes ago, TopHatProductions115 said:

If you go down the dock route, look for a GPU that can be powered off the PCI-e slot for maximum portability. Otherwise, you may end up having to lug around an extra PSU to power your docked card  Some laptops come with multiple mPCI-e slots, so be on the lookout - you may not have to give up WiFi to enjoy the performance boost...

Thanks for all your information

 

- The portability is no problem, i dont take that thing out. i have something like this in mind for the Laptop. 

 

- I took a look inside the Laptop and i only have one mPCI-e slot and i use the Laptop on the Lan Port.

 

-Yeah i saw thet it could be possible that i have to use an externe PSU, but i think i will be fine with that. i have an adapter from the Dock.

 

- thenks for the info for the Bios update, i take a search

 

Thanks alot for your help!