Lenovo Y40 Upgradability?

[Shuredye]

Hi, I recently got into the computer world due to having the necessity for a laptop for schooling purposes. I was looking into gaming potential for as little money as possible in a laptop, and after doing a bit of research I settled on a mid tier Lenovo Y40. I was attracted to the I7 cpu, but at that point I didn't realize the long term benefits of having a quad core vs dual cpu. Anywho I'm satisfied with it, but I am not satisfied with the gpu's performance. I am very new to the world of PC master racehood, so I know very little of the logistics of upgrading a computer in general, and a notebook even less. I would love to upgrade the crappy radeon gpu if possible, and if I can I want to know how far I can upgrade it if I so desire. I haven't cracked the bad boy open to look at the layout, for fear of voiding a warranty if it ends up I can't do anything with it. Also I am unclear as to what dictates which parts you can and can't use on a laptop and I would love to know what it is. If someone could shed some light on my situation, that would be beautiful. If you don't know what the specs are on the Y40 they are as follows:
Processor
4th Generation Intel Core i7-4510U Processor (2.00GHz 1600 MHz 4MB)
Operating system
Windows 8.1 64
Display
14.0" FHD LED AntiGlare Backlight (1920x1080)
Graphics
AMD Radeon R9 M275 2GB
Memory
8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz
Hard Drive
Hybrid 500GB 5400 RPM+8GB SSHD
p.s. I know the display is less than stellar but there's nothing I can do about it, so it's good enough for me.
p.p.s. I'm an 18 y.o. from Toronto Canada

 

[delaro]

You can not upgrade the GPU without replacing the entire motherboard, you maybe able to find a motherboard replacement with a different GPU on Ebay but it wont be cheap.

 

[Shuredye]

Shoot, ok... What do you recommend?

 

[delaro]

Turn down your setting or Replace the Laptop, finding a used or rebuilt motherboard upgrade will cost you 1/2 or more of what you paid for the laptop originally. Replacing your Hard Drive with a SSD could speed up game caching and make a slight difference. That GPU should handle any game at Medium settings, it should be playable with AA/AF off. Make sure you have the latest drive updates.

 

[kireinekokun]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html Your graphics card should be able to play most modern games on high settings. I fee like you are having issues with the software that switches between the Intel HD graphics and the R9. This is old so if you still need help let me know. I have the same laptop and play DA: Inquisition on high settings without any issues.

 

[Shuredye]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html Your graphics card should be able to play most modern games on high settings. I fee like you are having issues with the software that switches between the Intel HD graphics and the R9. This is old so if you still need help let me know. I have the same laptop and play DA: Inquisition on high settings without any issues.

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't been having trouble per say, I've just been avoiding taxing games. If you hve any suggestions as to what problems I might be having with the switchable graphics, any help is much appreciated. I'm gonna try to clean up my processes because I might be shooting myself in the foot by having unnecessary strain, so I'll get back to you on that front.

 

[saamlee92]

i bought this laptop this weekend for an amazing price. I think is more than enough for me.
For the screen, i think that the only option we have is to upgrade it for ourselves.
http://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/IBM-Lenovo/IDEAPAD~Y40~SERIES/

Check this out. Only option i came around with,.
Also i'm planning in upgrading the hdd later

 

[ladd1989]

i have a lenovo y40-70 that also lags while gaming. I turned down my games screen resolution to 1600x900 and i started getting 60 70 FPS on medium and high settings. you can also turn down the settings on Catalyst control center which also helps.