Can You Upgrade GPU | How to Upgrade GPU [Laptop & Desktop]

Can You Upgrade GPU in Your PC?

Whether you can upgrade GPU in your PC? This depends on the following 2 factors:

#1. Your motherboard has a GPU slot.

In this case, you can upgrade GPU even if your PC has an integrated graphics card.

The graphics card usually uses the AGP, PCI, or PCI-E slots to connect to the motherboard. The following picture shows the 3 kinds of slots:

If your PC has one of the above 3 kinds of slots, it can upgrade GPU.

PCI vs PCIe: What's the Difference and How to Distinguish Them?

This post tells you the differences between PCI and PCIe. It also shows you how to distinguish them.

Read More

#2. Your power supply can handle the video card’s additional power requirements.

In general, higher-end GPUs can handle screen images better, but this also requires more power. If the PSU can’t offer enough power for the upgraded GPU, you need to upgrade the PSU, too.

What Power Supply Do I Need – 5 Important Factors

This post tells you how to choose a proper PSU for your PC. You need to take 5 factors into consideration. Read this post to know them.

Read More

Can you change graphics card on desktop? In general, the desktop motherboard has a separate GPU slot and the CPU can be replaced, so you can change the GPU in a desktop easily.

Can you change graphics card on laptop? Most laptops have soldered the CPU and the GPU onto the motherboard to reduce the thickness and weight of the laptop. So, you can’t change the GPU on a laptop. But if you have one of those high-end/workstation 2000+ USD laptops which use MXM (Mobile PCI Express Module) slots, you can upgrade the GPU on a laptop.

Here is an example. Both CPU and GPU in this Eurocom laptop can be replaced:

What GPU Should You Buy?

For a laptop, you should purchase an MXM GPU. For a desktop, you need to consider the following 2 factors:

• Make sure the interface of the GPU is the same as the slot on the motherboard. Otherwise, the GPU can’t be inserted into the motherboard.
• Pay attention to the size of the GPU. The full-size graphics card is the most common. But if a PC case is not big enough, it will limit the length of the graphics card. For example, an ITX case requires a mini or nano GPU card, also called an ITX graphics card.

How to Upgrade GPU

In this part, I will show you how to replace graphics card. You will know how to remove graphics card and how to install a graphics card.

How to Add a Graphics Card to a Laptop

1. Open the D side of the notebook.
2. Remove the processor/graphics integrated radiator, and you can see the original MXM graphics card.
3. To disassemble the MXM graphics card, you just need to remove the two screws on the front left and right, and then you can pull it out.
4. There will be a heat dissipation backplane and bracket behind the MXM graphics card. Use a small Phillips screwdriver to remove the screws.
5. Usually, in addition to screws, the MXM graphics card and the built-in bracket are directly bonded with double-sided tape, so you need to use a hair dryer to heat the double-sided adhesive on the bracket, and then use a plastic crowbar to insert it into the gap of the bracket to pry up and remove the bracket.
6. Install the new graphics card onto the bracket and backplane, then push it into the MXM slot at an angle of 45°, push it to the bottom, and press it down.
7. After installation, paste the solid silicone grease on different video memory according to the thickness and apply liquid silicone grease on the GPU core at the same time.
8. Install the radiator and the PC bottom panel back.

How to replace graphics card in desktop? You can refer to this post: How to Install a Graphics Card in Your Computer? See a Guide!

After the GPU is installed, you may need to upgrade the PSU and update the BIOS.

Bottom Line

MiniTool Partition Wizard can help you clone the system, manage disks better, and recover data. If you have this need, you can download it from the official website.