Video card question (laptop 630m related)

[Stemin]

I've been itching for a new laptop for months. My desktop runs very well, but my current laptop is a Celeron. IIRC it's a 1.65 with only 2gb of ram and an integrated intel graphics card. Just browsing the web is taxing it with the amount of tabs I'm used to using.

 

I don't need a traditional gaming laptop, but I would like one that's beefy enough to run Skyrim well (like high or better) and will run 3ds max.

 

The problem is, anything like that is going to run me $1200 or more and while I can afford it, I don't want to shell out that kind of money since I'm saving for a house and work is slowing down.

 

While browsing Craigslist I found a used laptop for $500, that has an i7, 4gb of ram (upgradable to 8 ), and a geforce 630m.

 

If I have a good understanding of that card, it's going to be an upgrade over the 550ti I have in my desktop, but I have 3 questions...

 

1. Is a 630 upgradable to say a 670 if I choose to upgrade down the line?

 

2. Can the 630's video ram be upgraded?

 

3. Am I correct in believing that video ram is now the same as regular memory, i.e. ddr3, ddr5, etc?

Edited October 26, 2012 by Stemin

[hoofhearted4]

2. Can the 630's video ram be upgraded?

no

 

3. Am I correct in believing that video ram is now the same as regular memory, i.e. ddr3, ddr5, etc?

yes and no. its not like actual sticks of memory that you can take out and replace. as such, the answer to your previous question is no. you cannot upgrade a GPUs VRAM. it is what it is.

 

 

idk much about the rest of your scenario. i have no clue how good a 630m is. if your laptop is upgradeable then you probably can put a better laptop GPU in it. for $500, id say its worth a shot. my laptop has a 260m (again idk how that compared to a 630m) and it runs the games i play like a champ.

[Erik005]

There is a very good chance that the gt630m will be soldered to the motherboard.

 

There are several other reasons you can't upgrade the GPU,

 

The laptop would get to hot, it it designed for the 630 and its heat production.

 

You can't buy mobile CPU's they are OEM.

 

The cards would be physically very different, you would have to modify the cooling of the laptop.

 

I don't think the 630m would run skyrim at the settings you want, with the 630m you would be at medium you would need a 640m for high.

 

http://tbreak.com/tech/2012/03/nvidia-geforce-gt640m-mobile-gpu-review/

Edited October 26, 2012 by Erik005

[JimboUK]

If you want to run Skyrim on high or better then you're going to need a gaming laptop and sadly they don't come cheap, you might be better off sticking to the desktop for gaming and buying a lesser laptop or even tablet for other things.

[kalikka]

Laptops are like game consoles, you cant upgrade your ps3 with a new CPU/GPU ;) Edited October 26, 2012 by kalikka

[ginnyfizz]

If you want to run Skyrim on high or better then you're going to need a gaming laptop and sadly they don't come cheap, you might be better off sticking to the desktop for gaming and buying a lesser laptop or even tablet for other things.

 

Very true, my laptop does run Skyrim on high and was certainly no budget buy. Mind you neither was the desktop seeing as it recently blew £600 worth of hardware sky high...

[RitualBlack]

Laptops are like game consoles, you cant upgrade your ps3 with a new CPU/GPU ;)

 

Not all laptops are that way. With most Clevo/Sager and Alienware laptops you can upgrade just about any part you want. Maybe some of the high end Asus and MSI can also have aftermarket upgrades done to them but I think MSI normally fills their laptops with those 'do not remove/warranty void' stickers and I don't have any experience with Asus laptops.