Upgrading your laptop's graphics card

Upgrading your laptop's graphics card is no walk in the park; in fact it's something more akin to open heart surgery. But it can be done, and the rewards can be well worth the trouble and risk.

By Christopher Null

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Who doesn't want better graphics quality from their notebook PC? You can get there by doing it yourself. But be warned: If the upgrade is possible at all for your laptop, it can be a time-consuming operation that involves disassembling virtually your entire notebook, so don't enter into this process unless you are willing to accept the risk of doing serious harm to your machine. That said, if done properly, this project can give you noticeably higher frame rates in the end. The process should take about 45 minutes all up, and it's not a procedure for novices. Here's how we did it...
Photograph: Charlie Nucci

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