Possible to upgrade a graphics card?

Question

Is it possible to upgrade a graphics card in an Inspiron 9100? It currently has a ATI Mobility Radeon™ 9700 (64 MB). I would like to get a 128 MB card or better if possible. The Radeon™ 9700 does have a 128 MB card. I was wondering since it would be the same card (just more on board), it would be an even swap?

ejn63 · Answer

There is a 128M ATI 9700 and there's a 256 M ATI 9800 for that model.

Both are proprietary to the 9100/XPS Gen 1.

This is the ATI 9800

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-9100-XPS-ATI-Radeon-9800-256MB-Video-Card_W0QQitemZ180197290416QQihZ008QQcategoryZ74957QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Scotlady · Answer

I just added a 256K Dell refurbished card to my 9100.  Works fine in general.  Just be aware - this card has some problems with Flight Simulator and some other high-end games - there are strange lines and checkerboard patterns in the graphics.  The problem is that Dell has not updated their driver for this card since August 2005, and apparently never bothered to fix the problems.  There are new ATI Catalyst drivers that solve the problems, but they can't be loaded onto a Dell machine.  I'm still looking for a solution.  Supposedly there is a modtool that will fix it so that the ATI driver will load to the Dell, but haven't tried it yet.

tmaurer · Answer

Yea thanks for the Ebay link. The same seller has the 128 MB card for around $50:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-9100-XPS-ATI-Radeon-9700-128MB-Video-Card_W0QQitemZ180198964141QQcmdZViewItem?IMSfp=TL0712240837a9874

The 256 MB card would be perfect, but I was hoping to not pay that much. I would still need someone to install it for me. I never swapped parts out on a laptop before.

Message Edited by tmaurer on 12-27-2007 12:30 PM

tmaurer · Answer

That was what I was thinking. I assumed that going from the Radeon 9700 64 MB to the 128 MB would speed things up a bit for gaming. Is that a wrong assumption?

Could you also tell me if this is compatible with my Ispiron 9100:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=155057&cm_keycode=85

That is an awesome deal I can't pass up if it is.

Message Edited by tmaurer on 12-27-2007 01:57 PM

ejn63 · Answer

The 128M version won't gain you any speed, if that's a consideration.

ejn63 · Answer

The added RAM may permit some games to run, which won't in 64M but won't speed things up at all.

I'd be very leery of ValueRAM - it has a track record of not working well, or not working at all, with many Dell systems.

tmaurer · Answer

Thanks for the replies. And yes the RAM will NOT fit into my laptop. The chips are almost identical, but on the one I just bought, the notch is about a 16th of an inch off and will not install.

Not sure what to do now. I'm certainly not going to buy RAM off Dell for twice the price. Any more suggestions?

ejn63 · Answer

What you bought is likely DDR-2, the most common current type of RAM. What you need is DDR (PC2700 DDR). The two are incompatible, and yes, due to rapidly declining production and popularity, DDR is more expensive than DDR-2.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Inspiron%209100

tmaurer · Answer

Thanks so much for your help.

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Possible to upgrade a graphics card?

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