GeForce FX Go5600 (or better) for the Inspiron 5150?

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I bought my Inspiron last year with the 64MB Go5200 in it as I wanted a
platform capable of running some of the latest games because I travel quite
a bit and wanted to be able to kill long stretches in hotel rooms by gaming
while on the road.

Unfortunately, the Go5200 just doesn't cut it on my current favorite game,
America's Army, so I am thinking of a video card upgrade. When I ask Dell
about upgrading, they won't even discuss it with me saying that they don't
recommend it. It doesn't appear they yet offer anything beefier than what I
have for the 5150.

So my questions are as follows:

With mobile video cards, am I limited to only what Dell produces and is
willing to sell for that particular model or can I find other cards, perhaps
from different vendors, that will fit the 5150?

What is the liklihood that, for example, the Radeon 9700 (available on the
Inspiron XPS) will fit into my 5150?

While I am pretty knowledgeable about desktop components & replacements, I
am completely newb when it comes to lappys. Any advice or help would be
appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Kevin Kennedy" <halofan@kpia.MAILSPOIL.com> wrote in message
news:1%cec.25517$TS3.1657@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...

> So my questions are as follows:
>
> With mobile video cards, am I limited to only what Dell produces and is
> willing to sell for that particular model or can I find other cards,
perhaps
> from different vendors, that will fit the 5150?

You are limited to what Dell offers. Though some systems made by Compal
have appeared through other vendors (the N30W and N38W2 were sold not only
as the Inspiron 5000/5000e, but also by WinBook, Systemax and others), the
1100/1150/5100/5150 are custom built by Compal for Dell only.

>
> What is the liklihood that, for example, the Radeon 9700 (available on the
> Inspiron XPS) will fit into my 5150?

Effectively, zero. That's a high end card and the 1100/1150/5100/5150 are
low end systems. The size alone of the 9700 chip makes integrating it into
a mainstream notebook just about impossible (just look at the size of the
card and you'll understand why the new 9100/XPS is as large as it is - it's
effectively an 8500/8600 chassis with a docking station integrated).

>
> While I am pretty knowledgeable about desktop components & replacements, I
> am completely newb when it comes to lappys. Any advice or help would be
> appreciated.

You're limited to what Dell offers for this series - the ATI M9 (9000) and
nVidia 5200 are the two highest-end video cards you can get for these
series.

Given that Intel has published plans to drop the Mobile P4 from notebook
use, I wouldn't expect to see another series of machines built on this
chassis, so it's likely close to end of upgradeability.