Can I upgrade my laptop? Please HELP! info inside

[Lopyswine]

ok. So I have a Dell 1420 from 4 years ago. At the time it was pretty decent but it has really aged... are there any upgrades I can make to this system. Especially with regard to the video card, I have a Geforce 8400m GS

I have already completely dissembled and reassembled this laptop several times. I am pretty familiar with the components, however I have no unsoldered a card or soldered a card. I am open to learning if necessary. My biggest question is whether I can find a card with the same pin configuration that I can solder into place. I'd also need to learn to removed the soldered 8400m GS card.

Specs are below. So a lot of unnecessary stuff is listed here. I currently have a Geforce 8400m GS (*shudder* I really didn't research this when I bought this computer).

1 M244D Processor, T8300, 2.4, 3MB, Core Penryn, M0
1 UX281 Heatsink, Central Processor Unit, Notebook, Santa Rosa MeromLanai/Verrazano
1 DF771 CORD..., Power, 125, 1M, C7, 2P Dual, United States
1 PN306 PLACEMAT..., GETTING STARTED..., 1420, DAO/EMEA
1 WM391 GUIDE..., OWNER..., 1420, ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
1 Y870G TECHNICAL SHEET..., INSPIRON..., EXTREME PERFORMANCE SYSTEM..., DAO/EMEA/BCC
1 YK181 Guide, Product, Information Client, DAO/BCC
1 NK750 Keyboard, 86, United States English, Single, Pointing Barents
1 GX808 ASSEMBLY..., ADAPTER..., ALTERNATING CURRENT..., 90W, FLEXTRONICS..., 2P, WORLD WIDE...
1 JX284 Bezel, Plastic, Liquid Crystal Display, Notebook, 1420, W/CMRA
1 PM027 ASSEMBLY..., CAMERA..., 2M, INTEGRATED..., MANUFACTURED IN CHINA..., LITEON..., M08
1 MX846 Card (circuit), Wireless Minicard, DW1505, B1
1 TW430 Hard Drive, 160GB, Serial Ata 9.5, 5.4K, SA160
1 JX282 Assembly, Cable, Printed CircuitBoard, Liquid Crystal Display 14.1, Lanai/Verrazano
6 JX283 Bumper, Liquid Crystal Display Rubber, Arctic Silver, 1420
1 NR444 Hinge, Left, Metal, Liquid Crystal Display, Notebook Lanai/Verrazano
1 W513G LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 14.1WXGA, VIDEO ELEC. STDS. ASSOC...., SAMSUNG..., V3
1 K257H KIT..., Software, VHP32SP1A, DigitalVideo Disk Drive, Multiple, 5
2 2864D Screw, M3X3, K SCREW HEAD..., MICROSOFT..., BLACK OXIDE...
1 DT135 kit, Hinge, NUCKLE, Plastic, 1420
1 FW350 Assembly, Cover, Keyboard Plastic, 1420
1 JX269 ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., NOTEBOOK..., DISCRETE..., 1420, ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC...
1 XK200 Assembly, Connector, Board To Board, 22P, Lanai/Verrazano
1 JX286 Assembly, Cover, Back, 14.1LCD Black, 1420
2 Y9540 Dual In Line Memory Module 2GB, 667, 256X64, 8K, 200
1 MN127 Battery, Primary, 56WHR, 6C Lithium, Panasonic
1 F987H Kit, Software, Dell Media Direct, 3.5, Digital Video Disk Drive, W1, Inspiron
1 R020C Kit, Software, Works, 9, English
1 P005H KIT..., SOFTWARE..., ROXIO..., 10.2-0, DE
1 DM697 Assembly, Dvd+/-rw, 8x, IDE (INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS) ..., 1420 Hitachi Lg Data Storage

I also have a PCI slot on the side of the computer. Is there anything could place there to increase performance?

thank you for any help you guys have to offer. I am completely stumped.

 

[elcamino74ss]

most laptops you can really only upgrade memory, hard drive, and possibly cpu on very easily. some of the gaming laptops have where you can upgrade the video card but the designs are usually based around being able to cool the factory GPU. Best bet is to sell the current and get a new/newer one.

 

[KingFatty]

Yes, there is hope for monster video upgrade.

I saw an article where you use an external video card, connected via a PCIe-to-cardbus adapter that you plug into the cardbus slot. I don't have a link for you, but I remember seeing something where you can get a PCIe x1 or PCIe x4 throughput (based on how much you are willing to spend on the adapter). The guy was using a radeon HD 5870 at PCIe x4 speeds for his laptop, so it was like 5-10% slower than a full PCIe x16 connection. You may find something by googling it (PCIe cardbus adapter)?

Sorry no advice for desoldering the internal video card, but are you sure it's not removable somehow without desoldering?

 

[nsavop]

Here is a thread related to what kingfatty refrenced link

You could try mxm-upgrade, they have lots of laptop gpus and very helpful. Try emailing them with your specs.