Jason, is there a way to upgrade the graphic card in a laptop?
Or is it built into the motherboard?
Or is it built into the motherboard?
Who is running MS Vista?
- Thread starter cleanteamofny
- Start date
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Graphics cards . . .
The ATI card on my three year old Fujitsu laptop crapped out a few months ago, and cost $400 to fix. That beat spending the fat part of $2K on a new laptop, but sure didn't make me happy, especially since the problem was random and I spent most of a day formatting the drive and reloading all my applications just to make sure it wasn't a software issue. According to the tech, the Pentium 4 chip is the real culprit because it makes so much heat. I think ATI should have insisted on better ventilation before allowing Fujitsu to use their product.
That said, nVidia is on my sh*t list too. The cooling fan on the Quadro FX card in my desktop started making nasty noises after about a month, and had to be special ordered from nVidia by the manufacturer of the computer. So far the replacement is woking well, so I keep my fingers crossed. I can't figure out whay nVidia distributes the Quadro FX series so poorly, while they push the GeForce line so much. Most of the GeForce cards work well, but according to user groups there can sometimes be display issues with graphics intensive applications. The Quadro FX line was fully certified by the manufacturer of my software, while the GeForce wasn't, so that made my decision.
Best cards I ever had were a Matrox of some sort under Win 3.1 and 95, and a 3d Labs card under Win 2000 Pro. Neither gave a moment's trouble. The 3d Labs card would open and run new applications even after it and the computer became outdated enough that the software manufacturer said it wouldn't work without a more powerful card. I'd have insisted on a 3d Labs card in my new computer but they seem to have abandoned the graphics card market to ATI and nVidia. Sad, because I really think their product was more professional and better made.
The ATI card on my three year old Fujitsu laptop crapped out a few months ago, and cost $400 to fix. That beat spending the fat part of $2K on a new laptop, but sure didn't make me happy, especially since the problem was random and I spent most of a day formatting the drive and reloading all my applications just to make sure it wasn't a software issue. According to the tech, the Pentium 4 chip is the real culprit because it makes so much heat. I think ATI should have insisted on better ventilation before allowing Fujitsu to use their product.
That said, nVidia is on my sh*t list too. The cooling fan on the Quadro FX card in my desktop started making nasty noises after about a month, and had to be special ordered from nVidia by the manufacturer of the computer. So far the replacement is woking well, so I keep my fingers crossed. I can't figure out whay nVidia distributes the Quadro FX series so poorly, while they push the GeForce line so much. Most of the GeForce cards work well, but according to user groups there can sometimes be display issues with graphics intensive applications. The Quadro FX line was fully certified by the manufacturer of my software, while the GeForce wasn't, so that made my decision.
Best cards I ever had were a Matrox of some sort under Win 3.1 and 95, and a 3d Labs card under Win 2000 Pro. Neither gave a moment's trouble. The 3d Labs card would open and run new applications even after it and the computer became outdated enough that the software manufacturer said it wouldn't work without a more powerful card. I'd have insisted on a 3d Labs card in my new computer but they seem to have abandoned the graphics card market to ATI and nVidia. Sad, because I really think their product was more professional and better made.
jasonl
New member
On most laptops, the video card is soldered to the MB. They never have enough ventilation, that's why they have very loud fans in the machine. Next PC I get is going to be a desktop I built myself with water cooling.
Zalman and Koolance sell awesome kits with blocks for cpu, gpu, northbridge, ram and even your hard drive. All that heat goes to an external radiator and blown out of large fan. The very little heat that the case will have will get sucked through its own exhaust fan which won't need to be loud at all.
Zalman and Koolance sell awesome kits with blocks for cpu, gpu, northbridge, ram and even your hard drive. All that heat goes to an external radiator and blown out of large fan. The very little heat that the case will have will get sucked through its own exhaust fan which won't need to be loud at all.
jasonl
New member
Laptop cooling
There are laptop coolers as well. Zalman makes one that blows cool air up into the laptop. I bought a Targus one that does the same. Very quiet and makes a big difference in temps.
There are laptop coolers as well. Zalman makes one that blows cool air up into the laptop. I bought a Targus one that does the same. Very quiet and makes a big difference in temps.
exploder3211
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2006
- Messages
- 1,664
I am going to buy one of those cooling pads.. I am going to fix the old Gateway and probably look at getting a basic vista laptop which will be partitoned with vista on one half and xp on the other. I think that will solve it. So far my partners new dell with vista basic has been ok.. Only time will tell
I have what is called Vista Home Basic, which just happened to be on the computer that I bought. I haven’t had it for very long, but it seems OK. It seems like any other Windows system to me. I’m somewhat unsophisticated in my computer knowledge, and my needs are pretty simple, but I have been able to do what I want to do with it so far.
The Windows Mail that comes with it, though, might be another matter. It worked fine at first, but now, when I open it, I often get a “Windows Mail is unable to run” message; then it does a little scan and eventually works. Hmm, that’s not encouraging. I will probably end up getting Eudora, which is what I had on my old computer and always worked fine.
I do have to say, though, that I am not entirely pleased with Word 2007 (not the main subject here, but I thought I would mention it anyway). It does what it’s supposed to do, but I don’t find it as intuitive as the earlier versions. I find the multiple menu array cluttered and confusing, and it’s not always easy to accomplish things with keystrokes instead of the mouse, which I prefer. One pleasant surprise was that I was able to install programs and macros that I made on older machines (dating back to 1993), and they actually work, so that’s a good thing, but, apparently, some aftermarket applications (eg, specialized dictionaries and spellchecking software) won’t run on it yet, which is not a good thing.
The Windows Mail that comes with it, though, might be another matter. It worked fine at first, but now, when I open it, I often get a “Windows Mail is unable to run” message; then it does a little scan and eventually works. Hmm, that’s not encouraging. I will probably end up getting Eudora, which is what I had on my old computer and always worked fine.
I do have to say, though, that I am not entirely pleased with Word 2007 (not the main subject here, but I thought I would mention it anyway). It does what it’s supposed to do, but I don’t find it as intuitive as the earlier versions. I find the multiple menu array cluttered and confusing, and it’s not always easy to accomplish things with keystrokes instead of the mouse, which I prefer. One pleasant surprise was that I was able to install programs and macros that I made on older machines (dating back to 1993), and they actually work, so that’s a good thing, but, apparently, some aftermarket applications (eg, specialized dictionaries and spellchecking software) won’t run on it yet, which is not a good thing.
jasonl
New member
Not ready for prime time
Vista was released too soon with many bugs, much like alot of Windows OS's. Wait for SP1 and more drivers to come out.
Vista was released too soon with many bugs, much like alot of Windows OS's. Wait for SP1 and more drivers to come out.
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