Inspiron 1545 graphics card.

About $330 for a refurbished one with ATI video.

http://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=6183

While there were attempts to standardize mainboard graphics cards, they all failed - very few adopted them. Since almost all notebooks now ship with soldered-on video chips, it's a non-issue at present.

$330? I might as well buy a new notebook.

The best Graphics card is ATI 3500 or 3000

Bios is what your computers uses to control your hard drive and any divices. If you have an intergraded graphics card you can shut it off from your comtrol pannel or through the BIOs system built in to your computer. When buying the External graphics you have to find if it is compatibale with the you mother board and operating systems weather if it is a laptop or PC. In this Case it is a Laptop so you would have to call dell or look at your paper work to see what kind of pin set you have on LAPTOP. The reason for this is for when you go to install the external Graphics card it will fit properly and it won't short your graphics card out or ruin the mother board. The InSpiron studio is made for Games and Graphics for picture quality.  The mother board In the Studio has the same Mother Board and has the same capabilitys as the inspiron 1545. when you order from dell they try to fit you with the best computer that fits what you are using it for. I have been building laptops and PC for the past 5 years!!!!!!!!!!.

You Don't even need to do that Call ATI up and ask what is the Best Graphics card for your Insiron 1545 Laptop because the graphics card is going to cost between 50 to 125 and you are going to have the same problem.  When you in Stall it Scratch out what I said about shuting the in ternal graphics card off the reason is when you install the new Graphics card you would have to tweek the program a little so that there are no glitches be for you start using the new Graphics card.

However, it is possible to achieve graphics acceleration using an ExpressCard slot. Using a PCI Express expansion chassis, a standard PCI Express graphics accelerator card can be utilized to allow game-level 3D graphics (to an external monitor) even if your notebook came with low-end internal video support. Due to the fact that there is not a simple path back to the internal video subsystem, upgrading the graphics capabilities of your built-in monitor is not possible with this type of setup. Graphics upgrade/expansion (to an external monitor) is also available through the ExpressCard slot via Docking Stations.http://www.expresscard.org/web/site/qa.jsp#01

Its like what i said already lol so boo ya and that comes from their web site

There are so many fallacies in your post, it's not worth responding any more.  To those who get their hopes up by reading your posts, good luck - the vast majority of what you've posted is factually incorrect.

A no I know what I'm talking about I'm working on one right now thats my profession and I went to school for 2 years and got my Certificates/ Associate in computer programiung and installation so you go figure lol.  dedee So you might want to check your posts.

And the Company I go through I can get a mother board Core 2 for 130 so I can get it cheaper then most people.  Because I have acccounts with the top lenders of mother boards and to let bill know that if you do chose to buy a mother board you can get it from dell cheaper then anyon else.

Wow, two whole years?  I don't think the rest of us can even begin to compete with that!

For everyone else, like EJN63 said, there's no easy way of upgrading the video card on a laptop lest you replace the entire system board and with the way that laptop prices have been going, it's totally not worth it.  Wait for the next sale and pick up a new Dell laptop, give the old one to your kid or something.  Back in the day, laptop docks used to come with PCI slots in them which would allow you to install a video card but they've become mere port replicators so this is no longer possible.  Still, between that, an external display plus a new video card, you'd be shelling out over $500 so it's definitely not worth it.  Sorry, the best answer is to get a new laptop.

I'm no tech guy, but I really want my Dell Inspiron 1545's graphics/video card improved.

Surely something like a USB VGA adapter can be used, and just put a good graphics card in that?

Is there really no hope for me and my lowly laptop? :emotion-4:

There have been all sorts of announcements of ExpressCard connected external video solutions - ASUS and MSI the two biggest.  Neither ever shipped a product to the marketplace.  USB is too limited in bandwidth (2.0 anyway) -- maybe someone will come up with one for USB 3, but bear in mind that any of these, IF they ever become available, will mean turning your notebook into a desktop - they will not work with the internal display panel - you'd need an external.

The current answer to your question is yes - there is no current hope.

The fact that ASUS, which is the the most accomplished computer-engineering company around - failed at its XG Station, tells the market the hope may be there, but the reality is not.

I'm thinking about replacing mine next year. It will be two years old in April. The next one WILL have a better GPU.