Question Where Can I Get a Discrete Laptop gpu?

[thanks_bud]

So I have a Lenovo Ideapad 330s which I recently opened up to put an SSD in, and I saw that it has an empty space for a discrete graphics card to be soldered onto the motherboard. I have the Ryzen 5 version of this model, but there is a higher end spec with a gtx 1050 in it.

Is there a place or any way to buy the mobile gpu chip? I'm willing and able to solder it on, and I know I'll have to get the cooler for the better laptop to actually use it.

Note: this is not asking about an external gpu, I'm specifically asking if I can buy the mobile gpu chip.

 

[Eximo]

No. That is not something that is sold.

You would also need a lot more than that to get it working. There will be other components missing from the motherboard. Not to mention that the BIOS would be wrong and a whole host of other problems.

 

[TJ Hooker]

The only sort of mobile cards you could buy would be MXM modules. Bare GPU dies/packages aren't sold, even if they were you probably wouldn't be able to solder the BGA package yourself, and even if you could it probably wouldn't work anyway.

 

[Rogue Leader]

So I have a Lenovo Ideapad 330s which I recently opened up to put an SSD in, and I saw that it has an empty space for a discrete graphics card to be soldered onto the motherboard. I have the Ryzen 5 version of this model, but there is a higher end spec with a gtx 1050 in it.

Is there a place or any way to buy the mobile gpu chip? I'm willing and able to solder it on, and I know I'll have to get the cooler for the better laptop to actually use it.

Note: this is not asking about an external gpu, I'm specifically asking if I can buy the mobile gpu chip.

Not only is there nowhere to purchase it, its not just the chip you would need but quite a bit more. And I don't care how good you believe you are with a soldiering iron, theres no way you'd be able to properly get that chip in there.

 

[hang-the-9]

As above ^, trying to use a soldering iron to put in a new chip on a motherboard is like using a hammer and chisel to do brain surgery. You don't just solder in some contacts to the surface of the board. As in 99% of cases, when it comes to laptops, you get what you want to use for the next several years, not buy a cheap model in the hopes of doing upgrades to it.

 

[Eximo]

You wouldn't use a soldering iron on surface mount BGA packages like those. You would need a thermal soldering station, which is a hefty expense in and of itself, though certainly affordable. But the real problem, assuming you could even remove a chip from another board, is not having a circuit diagram or knowing what components were left off the board that supply power, communication, etc to a GPU. Even components on the board might need to removed and replaced with ones that would support the GPU.

Just as a top of my head example, there is going to be a current sensor somewhere on that board, it could have a resistor divider soldered next to it calibrate the sensor for the laptop as configured and would need to be modified if the system were to have a higher maximum current draw. No idea if that would be the case here, but just one of the MANY things that would need to be known to do such an upgrade.

If you really want to upgrade such a laptop, best to find a replacement motherboard from one of the other SKUs with the components you want on it. However, this is a relatively new system, so used boards should be hard to come by. Then you can at least sell off the motherboard you have and recoup some expenses. (Or sell the whole laptop and buy one with a discrete GPU)

 

[jsmithepa]

Dudes, u just told the guy there is no Santa Clause!

OP, if laptops intend for you to add a GPU, they would provide you with a plug-in slot, like mini-PCIe.

Check out Rossmann utube videos how he deal with surface mount chips.

Check out StrangeParts utube videos how he upgraded his iPhone memory chip (spoiler: he spent more on tools and failed tries than buying a new phone, but I guess utube video looks bring in $$)

There are eGPU, an external box that you can "potentially" hookup through your thunderbolt/USB-C but report in the field say crap.

But hey, u got the patience and the $$, go for it. Watch StrangeParts first.

 

[thanks_bud]

I'll give you all benefit of the doubt, but when I said I can solder it I meant that I actually can solder surface mount parts with a whole thermal soldering station. I appreciate the information that the BIOS won't work with it, and I hadn't really thought about the fact that there might be other hardware parts needed to support it, so thanks for that.

As for hang-the-9, the entire purpose of doing this would be to save money in the first place. If I had the budget to get the better laptop, I would have. A $450 laptop and a $100 part would obviously be much cheaper than a premade $1200 one, even if I have do a good couple hours of work on it.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I'll give you all benefit of the doubt, but when I said I can solder it I meant that I actually can solder surface mount parts with a whole thermal soldering station. I appreciate the information that the BIOS won't work with it, and I hadn't really thought about the fact that there might be other hardware parts needed to support it, so thanks for that.

As for hang-the-9, the entire purpose of doing this would be to save money in the first place. If I had the budget to get the better laptop, I would have. A $450 laptop and a $100 part would obviously be much cheaper than a premade $1200 one, even if I have do a good couple hours of work on it.

Apologies for the assumption, I can see you understand for every person like you who can do it properly we get about 100 who want to do the same thing with dad's old Radio Shack soldiering iron and some 18 ga pipe soldier.