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Federicus View Drop Down
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    Posted: 08 Jun 2016 at 10:33am
Hi, i'd like to upgrade my graphic card (Nvidia geforce 540M) on my vison 3d series sandybridge intel core i5 2520.
I'm looking for something decent that is compatible, is there any chance?

If someone could help me i would appreciate so much, thanks in advice!


Edited by Federicus - 08 Jun 2016 at 10:35am
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Xaltar View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Xaltar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2016 at 1:41pm
You will have to determine what revision your MXM slot in the system is (the slot the dedicated GPU fits into). The 540m is an MXM based card not a standard desktop PCIe GPU. Once you know the MXM version you can then search for what is available for that slot. I would guess something from the same series 5(XX)M or possibly, if you are lucky, something from the 600 family. The problem is that there have been numerous MXM versions and each will only support a fairly narrow selection of GPUs.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Federicus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2016 at 9:41pm
Thank you very much, do you know if it would support a SLI technology?
I am trying to verify if the 580M is compatible and if so the 580M SLI might work?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Xaltar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2016 at 10:01pm
SLI I am quite sure is not supported. You need to open the casing and ensure that the GPU is actually an add in board not soldered to the PCB. If it is an add in board then look at the slot and check if you can make out what version of MxM slot it is. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote parsec Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2016 at 10:25am
I'm sorry but I don't think you know what you are getting yourself into here.

Your PC was not designed to be upgraded in the manner you would like to.

There are so many details that you would need to know before even thinking about purchasing a different video "card", which in this case is a laptop-type video card, nothing like those used in desktop PCs.

For example, your current 540M video card has a power consumption of 35W. Scroll down in the page below to find that specification:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html

The 580M video card you mentioned has a power consumption of 100W. Again, scroll down in the page below to find the specifications:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-580M.56636.0.html

The standard power supply for your entire PC is rated at 90W. So you would need a new power supply of at least 150W.

Since the 580M can use up to 100W, almost three times the power of a 540M, its cooling must be better than that used with a 540M. The cooler used for the 540M will be inadequate. You would need to change the CPU/video card cooler used in your PC. Would the larger capacity version even fit in your PC?

This is only the beginning of the differences and issues you would be dealing with. Plus the only source for these older cards is eBay and Amazon, as they are long out of production.

You mentioned SLI, which is impossible with your PC's mother board.

Unless you are very technically inclined, and have good experience in the area of mobile PC hardware, which is what is used in your PC, I would not consider attempting the modification you would like to do.

It's not an upgrade you would be doing, it is a modification, and a major one. The price of the parts alone would be well over $500, and guarantees nothing about BIOS compatibility, etc.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Xaltar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2016 at 1:13pm
I am afraid I have to agree with Parsec, this is not an endeavor for the inexperienced or the unsure. Even for a pro a mod like this is hit and miss. The GTX 580m was a notoriously hot running GPU on top of everything Parsec stated which means cooling would also be an issue in your rather small casing. The way I would do this is to determine the MXM slot generation and look for the newest GPU range it can support then pick a new card with the same 35w requirement as the current GPU. Even then, as Parsec noted, there is no guarantee that it would be supported in the BIOS. Best case scenario you might gain 1 - 5 FPS in gaming loads using this method.  

Even worse, if the MXM slot falls into the category where the GT/X 500 series is the newest it supports then you are basically out of luck completely.  

I would take the money you planned to spend on an upgrade for the GPU and put it into a basic gaming system. For about $700 you can build a PC that will handle just about any game you can throw at it. Even an Athlon 860 paired with an R7 380 and 8gb of RAM will serve you better with less difficulty and stress.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote parsec Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2016 at 11:16am
To add to Xaltar's comment, it would easily cost $700 in parts to begin attempting to modify your PC in the way you would like to upgrade your PC.

That same $700, as Xaltar said, would get you a PC whose gaming capabilities would be much better than your current PC after the $700 worth of modifications. IF those modifications could even be done, which is highly unlikely.
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