Upgrade laptop video card?

[YoyoBoy]

My NVIDIA GTX 780M just died and I am wondering if it's possible to upgrade. My 3-year-old laptop is based on an MSI GT70, which has Intel graphics integrated into the motherboard, and the 780M sits on top of that somehow. Would it be possible to pop a 940M card in there? I haven't opened it up to see how doable or not the surgery might be, but I figured I would ask here first.

Thanks!

[JezUK]

I'm probably stating the obvious here but am sure a laptop repairer technician will be able to fix this for you (and advise on the upgrade possible).

When I needed a new motherboard in my son's laptop, I sourced the mobo (took me ages because Acer supplies were not cheap - eventually I found a used mobo on Amazon) - and then I took that to a local repair guy - cost me around $60 to get him to swap the mobos over.

Whether you'd be able to fix your's yourself - only you can answer that.

[YoyoBoy]

Well, my main concern is compatibility. I don't really know anything about laptops, so I don't know if it's just a matter of popping an old card out and a new one in (like a desktop), or if a newer card would even be compatible with whatever connections my motherboard has. I know that in most cases a dead GPU spells death for a laptop, but this one is separate from the one on the motherboard, and I'm not sure how that all works. I guess I should just take it to a local shop and see what they say.

Or get a whole new computer, since my brain really likes to obsess on that sort of thing...

[Syclone1]

I have an MSI laptop too and there are a ton of videos on youtube taking them apart and doing upgrades and repairs, I do know some of the MSI laptops are able to have their video chips upgraded but you would have to search your specific model on the MSI support site to see if it is or search it on youtube as well.

[benb32]

I have an MSI laptop too and there are a ton of videos on youtube taking them apart and doing upgrades and repairs, I do know some of the MSI laptops are able to have their video chips upgraded but you would have to search your specific model on the MSI support site to see if it is or search it on youtube as well.

Dave is absolutely right. Confirm that the graphics card is not soldered to the motherboard first, otherwise it's a new motherboard/laptop. The upgradeable laptop graphics cards use a mxm board, which is similar to a mini pcie slot. The graphics card bios needs to be compatible with the laptop bios for the nvidia optimus multiplexing to work (where the integrated graphics can be used in conjunction with the descret gpu). So using a gpu designed for a different laptop/manufacturer may not work. Finally, make sure the thermals of the new gpu are close to the original gpu.