Dell m6600 GPU upgrade

[Insomniator]

Hey guys, work gave me a few year old M6600. Its a beautiful machine, 17" 1080p, i7 2720m, 8GB, 750GB with a quadro 3000m.

I know the 3000m is pretty weak, and it'd be fine for me if it plays Sc2 and D3 really. But since this was such an expensive machine that I got for free, with still fairly high end parts I wonder if it would be worth upgrading the GPU. I see HD6970Ms on ebay that mention supporting this laptop, but they are ~$300. Nvidia 4000m's are $700!

Something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/for-Dell-Al...pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3cd5bed4e7

Any thoughts?

If I could get a huge upgrade for say... 150 I might be interested, especially if the 3000m is huge dog. Is it worse than a integrated hd4000?

thanks!

 

[Stuka87]

The 6970M is quite a bit faster. It will certainly be noticeable. The 4000M is not worth going too unless you do workstation type work. Is it worth $150, yes if you plan on using it a given amount.

I actually the 15.7" version of your machine. Its a good work station, but the GPU sucks.

 

[Insomniator]

Hmm I guess its all about what price I can find one at, and if it will work as a drop in replacement. Think the heat sink is different? Kind of doubt it since they are so specifically designed for the chassis.

 

[wilds]

If the 6970m has 2gb of GDDR5 or more, I'd go for it. It's essentially an underclocked 6850. There is also the 6990m which is an underclocked 6870. Whichever has the good price I'd go for it. I don't have a lot of experience in replacing dGPUs for laptops though.