What does a video card look like on a laptop?

Today, many users have laptops. But some people often have the question, what does a video card look like in a laptop? If with a regular PC everything is clear, since it is easy to unscrew one side panel of the system unit and see the video card, then with a laptop it is all more difficult to do.

What does a video card look like on a laptop?

The laptop may have a discrete or integrated video card. An integrated card is a graphics core located in the processor that uses system resources.

A discrete card is a separate board with a video processor. This laptop video card, unlike a desktop PC, looks much smaller and is a small board.

What kind of video cards are there on a laptop?

Depending on the type of video card in the laptop, its appearance is different.

Separate fee

Today, such video cards have not been used for a long time. They haven't been installed since about 2006. But, one way or another, these cards had one clear advantage that is not present in modern models - quick replacement.

Reference! Since a breakdown and the need to replace a graphics card is one of the most common problems with laptops, it is also quite expensive.

Chip on motherboard

This type of video card is still used for laptops. Thus, more powerful cards are installed on the motherboard for working with 3D graphics and gaming applications. Since 2014, gadgets have actively used the scheme of simultaneous operation of a discrete and a video card installed in the processor.

Built into the processor

The most popular type of video cards in the budget laptop segment. In this case, the card cannot be seen, since it is located on the surface of the processor chip.

All Intel and AMD laptops have a built-in video card, which is enough to work in text programs and not very powerful games.

What is the difference between the video card of a laptop and a computer?

In ordinary PCs, it takes a few minutes to determine the type of video card, including opening the case. This is more difficult to do with laptops.

Integrated mobile graphics

First of all, regular PC graphics cards are very bulky. To install them in a laptop, you need to significantly increase the dimensions of the device. Since for high-quality cooling the video card requires a powerful fan. But this will require additional free space, which is already not enough on a mobile PC.

So another decision was made. Instead of a full-fledged video card, mobile PCs are equipped with integrated systems for working with graphics. In its simplest version, this subsystem does not have its own processor, which is responsible for video processing. In addition, there is no own video memory. So, to display the image, processor and RAM resources are used. Of course, this system is weaker than a separate card on a desktop PC, which has a full-fledged video processor and RAM.

Attention! This solution has a significant drawback: the card cannot be replaced. In modern laptops, the video system is installed directly into the main processor. It is not possible to replace part of the processor, since it is a single unit. The only way is to replace the entire CPU with a powerful processor.

But in this case, you need to make sure that the new processor is compatible with the motherboard. First, you need to check the slot that is responsible for the fastening and operation of this element. In addition, you need to make sure that the BIOS will support the processor. Otherwise the system will not work.

Discrete cards

There are certain models of mobile computers that have a discrete graphics card installed. “Discrete”, that is, separate, indicates the ability to install another video card, if necessary. But in reality, this improvement can be quite complex and expensive.

It's just that most "discrete" cards are not actually installed separately. More precisely, they are not separated from the motherboard, as they are secured by soldering into the corresponding connector. In this case, to improve the power of the video card, you must first carefully unsolder the old block, and then connect all the contacts to the new video card.

Of course, it is quite difficult for a non-professional to do this work without special tools. It is no coincidence that installing a new video card in a repair shop costs a considerable amount of money.

Naturally, there is always hope for some friend who knows a little about electronics. But this can easily damage other PC components. And in this case, there will be only one correct decision: installing a new chip at the same time as the board.Whether this should be done is up to the PC owner to decide. And experienced professionals have a common opinion: a specialist must install a new video card into the device.