I have a Toshiba laptop that I bought in January of '05. The graphics card is integrated with the mother board so that takes away from some of the physical memory. I recently had a "gig" of ram put in my not book so it has 1.5 GB of ram, though now the integrated graphics card uses 128 MB from the physical ram. \n\nI would like to get a stand alone/dedicated graphics card because I know that they are better and they would not be taking away from the physical ram....
210410
Very few laptops has option to upgrade graphics card. Majority has everything integrated on the main board (m/b). And you are right - there is some difference if m/b has graphic chip with own memory chips on it, or it is the chipset with shared memory for graphics. Therefore, graphic card upgrade most often means new m/b, that is almost equal to new laptop.
442787
In general, the video card that goes in laptops and notebooks are built straight into the mainboard for ease of manufacture and shock-proofing. Only very recently did Alienware and other boutique laptop makers introduced laptops that has modular video systems, and even then you MUST go back to the maker to see if they make a better module for your model. \n\nHP has discontinued the model and nothing on their website suggests that the video card can be replaced. \n\nSo I am afraid there is no solution for your problem.
377085
I see from the Toshiba site that most current Equium Laptops are coming with 512/1024 MB onboard with a maximum memory of 2/4 GB. If your laptop only came with 256MB then I must assume its a slightly older model. You will need to be more precise on the model description for accurate advice. Look for the Label with the model description and or the S/n of the machine Toshiba would then be able to  tell you more. As an Alternative www.crucial.com are always very helpfull and have a model based memory selector!
434710
The first thing you'll want to identify is if you have an AGP slot or PCI Express. Most newer computers have PCI Express, but I'm still rocking an AGP slot. I assume you have that out of the way.\n\nNow, when looking for a graphics card the numbers tell much of the story, but it's not always true to form. For example, depending on the quality of a graphic chip or the memory used, you might get varying results.\n\nThere's also varying degrees of "high level" 3D. Odds are you are looking at specific game or two? You can check the game's recommended graphics card levels on the box or website. They will give you two levels "required" and "recommended." Required is the bare minimum. You'll want more than that. Recommended is what they say is best. A good rule of thumb for PC games is to find the recommended specs, and then boost up your power a level or two. This way you won't be lagging behind completely 1 one year. But PC games the way they are now, 2 years is about as long as you'll ever get at "high level."\n\nMemory is highly important, one of the key features of a graphics card. I'd recommend a minimum of 256mb at this point.\n\nNow I could talk specs with you all day, but your main concern here has to be price. Graphics cards that can play any modern game on the shelf today range from $100 to well over $700. What is the difference? Well that $700 is going to be BRAND NEW and have every new piece of technology out there. The $100 card, while serviceable, probably is on it's dying breath and will need to be upgraded to play next years games. The question is, are you going to want to play a specific game now? Are you looking to the future? And how much are you willing to pay for future proofing?\n\nAnother item to consider is that a new graphics technology, DirectX 10 is JUST coming out. If the future if your concern, you'll want a card that features this technology.\n\nIn short: the number one thing you want to look for is a good price to performance ratio. You can do this by researching reviews and all the technical numbers that these kind folks will feed you. A good sweet spot for graphics cards is typically $200-300. More than that and you're paying to be an early adopter. Less than that and you're buying an already outdated card.\n\nI've avoided using specific numbers, due to the fact that "high level" changes every 6 months. And it varies greatly depending on what game you are wishing to play. World of Warcraft is an entirely different beast than F.E.A.R.\n\nI've linked a great source for you to check graphics card reviews. Often times you can find the card you are looking for and see how it stacks up to other cards of similar price and features.
674428
When you install the standalone video card you must first go into the BIOS to disable the on-board video. That should free up shared memory for your PC and probably give your system a good speed boost too! BIOS does NOT self adjust and you must disable the on-board card to avoid conflicts. Don't forget to install the drivers for the new card and I recommend you update these drivers from the manufacturers site on the Internet once your system is up and running again. Good Luck!
154447
Your laptop is a Toshiba and it is not 1337\n\nOh, and monitor is broken.
414176
Most laptops that I am familiar with do not offer the ability to upgrade the video card after purchase.  Couple of reasons:  \n\n1.  LCD screen's are designed to work at a specific resolution, refresh rate, and color set.  If you try to drive an LCD (desktop or notebook) above it's design spec, the results look terrible.  Thus if you upgrade the capabilities of the video card, you also have to consider the impact it will have on the LCD display.  That is why notebook manufacturers offer different display types (XGA, UXGA, WXGA+, etc...) on each notebook.  Those displays or LCD panels are matched to the video card in each notebook.\n\n2.  The video card in a notebook is usually integrated into the motherboard.  Not always but usually.  This allows the notebook manufacturer to save space and have the most efficient chassis design possible.
363946
First make sure you can disable the intergrated graphic controller before you buy a new graphic card. \n\nNext you need to make sure that it is the right Bus like PCI or PCIe. I have even seen some computers come with intergrated graphics only to keep the price down, but also inlcude a AGP slot in case you wanted to upgrade later.\n\nAfter thats  decided then you should get the most recent one ATI or Nividia. Because there are newer features that games use(example: shaders). Other then that just make sure the one you order says retail or boxed version. Because you don't want to end up getting a cheap card that's sent in a bag with a burn cd for the drivers.
586547
I use my laptop primarily for gaming.  It's not as comfortable as a desktop, but I enjoy being able to take my games with me.  If you're playing anything more sophisticated than internet chess, a good graphics card isn't just important.  It's a neccessity.  Laptops generally have slower processors and less RAM than desktops, which means they need the extra boost even more.  Otherwise, graphics processing sucks up all of your system resources, making your games slow down, lag, freeze, or just not run at all.\n\nOn the other hand, if you don't intend to play high end games on your laptop, you probably have no need for a graphics card.  The integrated video processing on modern motherboards is sufficient for most applications.   Unless you're using it for rendering or engineering applications, you'll just be paying for a component that you'll never use.\n\nEDIT:\nYes, if you want to play Halo at anything resembling a decent framerate, you need some decent graphics equipment.  I'm not saying it wouldn't run on a machine without a vid card.  It might.  It would definitely look horrible and probably lag a good deal.  First person shooters have a notoriously high graphics demand.  My laptop has an ATI 200 card and high-midrange specs, but still lags sometimes when I play Battlefield 2 with all video settings set to minimum.  If you want serious gaming, you need serious gear.  Sorry to say, that comes at a price.
318323
No. They're very different. I highly recommend to buy extra ram for your laptop straight from the laptop manufacturer as several compatibility issues are often experienced when installing non-branded RAM into branded laptop.\n\nCall the customer service for the computer's brand and order the RAM after giving them the model number for your laptop... or just bring the laptop to an authorized dealer that can probably also instal the RAM for you.\n\nAnd if you want to know about sizes... laptops memory is way smaller that desktop computers' memory modules.
472188
Firstly your graphics card is integrated on your mother board, if you are a gamer, this is a big no no. \n\nA new graphics card will sort this nicely. YOu can pick up a cheap one that will play this game for about £30 ($50) from ebay. Or new for £45 ($60). Id advise buying more RAM too, its dirt cheap and worth more than gold for any computer system, especially gaming.\n\nEDIT : As your system is fairly low in general it is worth saving for a new one. If you are saving for a new one dont buy any more RAM, dell and other places give good memory on new computers. I'd still invest in the graphics card though to keep you goin while you save.
596621
The guy was right.  You cannot change/upgrade the graphics card on your laptop because it doesn't come with one.  The Intel chipset which is built into the system board is your graphics controller cannot be upgraded.
102851
Seems liek your buying aPc instead of a laptop....well u defintly need at least 1 Gb of Ram in  it...other than that i would personally advice you to go for an intel dual core processor they are the latest processors and the most effective. if you store or download a lot of media files you would need at least 160 gb of memory . Dell computers are one of the best  i think. they have reallygud monitors too.. if you get a dell it will mostly come with a monitor so that shouldnt be a problem. other than that  windows media centre home edition is a gud operating system,  if you are  gamer u SHOULD give very much importance to graphiv card. i would advice you to get a Nvidia Geforce card they come in different prices  depends on how much you would really use them. i have listed below the site to dell & a few other brands. how this would help you. Best of Luck..!!! :D
556406
for the best value/performance ratio, i suggest you try checking out aldi or lidl... i know it sounds crazy, but they actually use good quality components from well-known manufacturers such as pioneer and samsung... you don't end up spending money on a brand name.\n\ni got my laptop from lidl about 18 months ago and it was as good a spec as anything out there - and it's still up there, no problems whatsoever.\n\nit also has a three year guarantee, which dell will charge several hundred quid for...\n\notherwise, toshiba machines are generally regarded as being very reliable. \n\nof course, if you're not doing a lot of gaming, pretty much any laptop will do the trick nowadays. i would advise against a laptop with shared graphics memory however...\n\ntry and get one that has its own dedicated graphics card and video memory...
190426
Definitely make sure you get one with a TON of RAM and a killer video card.  You'll also want to make sure that you have a super fast processor.  Maybe even one of those dual core ones they have out now.  We sometimes play WoW on the laptop via an external HD, but only because the laptop happens to be an older model, and installing it directly seems to slow the refresh rate down a bit.  Right now we've got a pretty slick setup involving RAID on SATA drives which optimizes game and PC performance.  Email me for more information.  At any rate, the external - that might be an option for you to consider as well, if money is an issue.
453933
System Specs \n Type of system: Laptops \n Bus Architecture: PC Card (PCMCIA) \n Native OS: Windows 95 \n CPU Type: 100MHz Intel Pentium \nSystem Memory \n Standard Memory: 8 or 16 MB (non-removable) \n Maximum Memory: 40 or 48 MB \n Maximum Expansion: 1 socket \n\n\nSorry, it might be time to get a new computer.  This computer would really SUCK if upgraded.    You see, just to get on the internet with anti-virus, you would want 128MB of RAM and this old buddy won't do it. \n\nVisit your local Staples or Costco store and get a new Toshiba.  They are totally awesome. \n\nGood luck and Happy Computing!
266750
no, definitely not. you stuck with your intel graphics 900 because it's integrated on the mainboard.\nonly top notch laptops have the opportunity to upgrade the graphics card (i.e. some Alienware and the Dell XPS M1710).