Upgrading Laptop Radeon X1400 -> ?

[Zuoken]

Heya guys,

I got a Dell Inspiron E1705 just before going into college 2 years ago; Radeon X1400 video card, 2 gig of RAM, T5300 dual core at 1.73 ghz. Even at low settings and 1024 resolution it has trouble squeaking out 10 fps during 25 man raids in WoW.

I'm hoping to upgrade the video card but I need some insight. The card isn't integrated, and I ran across some guides from a couple years ago from people who modded theirs (warranty is long gone so no worries about that):

Dell Inspiron E1705/9400 upgrade. Replacing graphics card and installing more memory. >> Inside my laptop
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/349/1/

Those are both from 2006 though so I have no idea what are some possible video card options, preferably <$150. I've heard that the Radeon HD 4770 is one of the best $100 card deals but I'm not sure if it would be compatible.

[drothgery]

Don't try it. Laptop video cards are not designed to be upgraded. There was some effort by NVidia and ATi (independently) to develop standard interfaces for laptop video cards, but neither company's proposal won out (though there are nVidia-GPU built solutions for ATi/AMD's standard, and vis versa) and even with the same connector, there are lots of different sizes for laptop video cards. Plus it's unlikely the power draw of your new card will be the same as the old one, and if it's greater, you don't know if your laptop's power supply could handle it.

[Rackhir]

Originally Posted by Zuoken

Heya guys,

I got a Dell Inspiron E1705 just before going into college 2 years ago; Radeon X1400 video card, 2 gig of RAM, T5300 dual core at 1.73 ghz. Even at low settings and 1024 resolution it has trouble squeaking out 10 fps during 25 man raids in WoW.

I'm hoping to upgrade the video card but I need some insight. The card isn't integrated, and I ran across some guides from a couple years ago from people who modded theirs (warranty is long gone so no worries about that):

Dell Inspiron E1705/9400 upgrade. Replacing graphics card and installing more memory. >> Inside my laptop
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/349/1/

Those are both from 2006 though so I have no idea what are some possible video card options, preferably <$150. I've heard that the Radeon HD 4770 is one of the best $100 card deals but I'm not sure if it would be compatible.

You are basically going to have to talk to dell or someone who sells parts for dells. The notebook graphics cards, even the modular ones aren't something you can buy retail, nor are they something that are necessarily interchangeable. Essentially they are really there to simplify manufacturing and modifications for the notebook makers, not to offer upgradability. There are also going to be only specific cards, not a range available. They have nothing in common with the desktop cards and aren't available in the variety that those are.

Drothgery however, is being overly cautious. If Dell did make upgrade cards for your model and from that second link they did apparently do so, then it shouldn't be a problem. IF you can even get one.