Can i get an external graphics card?

[Makavelithadon]

Hey guys, i want to know if it is possible to buy an external graphics card for my laptop. i wanna be able to play certain games that i can not run with my current graphics card, here are my specs:
HP pavilion G6 notebook intelcore i3 M370
2.4GHz (4 cpu's) 4 gb ram.
intel HD graphics
i hope thats the right info. im not really that good at computers and stuff XD.
thanks

 

[AdviserKulikov]

External graphics cost more than the whole laptop you're looking to upgrade, they aren't common, they usually require significant knowhow and mechanical skills to get working and cheaper solutions turn it into a desktop since you can't easily remove it.

Additionally, the CPU in your current laptop is pretty wimpy, just get a new laptop.

At ~$800 you can get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232132&cm_re=i7_gtx-_-34-232-132-_-Product

That's a legitimate gaming laptop that will run just about anything at 1080p, provided you turn down the appropriate graphics settings.

As a general rule of thumb: you can't upgrade laptops, so buy something that will last you a while. Some ultra high end laptops have ability to swap CPUs/GPUs, but they are thousands of dollars. Most laptops are limited to upgrading storage drive, RAM, maybe CPU if there's a better one in the series of laptop you are running.

 

[shardayas]

Do you really need to able to play games mobile? Building a desktop PC would be much cheaper and you could still use your laptop for mobile applications besides gaming.

 

[USAFRet]

Do you really need to able to play games mobile?

Even that doesn't work. Once you add an external GPU and all the bits, it becomes non-mobile.

 

[electrontau]

Even if you get an external graphics card it will connect to laptop via USB which is a major choke point. Even with USB3.0. Throughput considerably lower compared to PCIe. Not worth it.

As AdviserKulikov said, laptops are not good for gaming. Another issues is heat removal which is a major factor. I have i7 with AMD graphics card on 13.3in laptop. When playing game the CPU fan goes crazy with really loud noise and palm rest gets really warm.

 

[shardayas]

Do you really need to able to play games mobile?

Even that doesn't work. Once you add an external GPU and all the bits, it becomes non-mobile.

That's true 😛