External GPU for HP Zbook 15 G2

[Cilwer]

So i just bought a cheap laptop (390€) with pretty good specs for its price

CPU Intel Core i7-4910MQ 2,90Ghz

Memory 32GB 

Screen 15,6" 1920x1080 IPS

512GB SSD

GPU Nvidia Quadro K2100M

1 Express Card 54mm, 1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 VGA, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock,

1 Docking Station Port, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo , Card Reader: SD reader , 1 SmartCard, 1 Fingerprint Reader

I don't know anything about external GPUs but i'm wondering if it would be possible to switch the current one with something better for gaming purposes and which would be the best options then. All the gaming laptops i checked were almost triple the price and barely any better apart from the GPU.
And as a side note, i do own a gaming desktop myself. This laptop will be a present for my wife since hers is much worse in comparison but would be good to know if i can upgrade it to a state where it can run the newer games, even if in minimum settings.
(her current laptop specs)

[banhien]

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@Cilwer wrote:

... 1 Express Card 54mm, 1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 VGA, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock,

1 Docking Station Port, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo , Card Reader: SD reader , 1 SmartCard, 1 Fingerprint Reader

@Cilwer 

Given it has Thunderbolt port which is a good candidate for an eGPU such as

      https://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/omenaccelerator/overview.html

Regards.

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Its also one of the few laptops with a removeable upgradeable and replaceable internal MXM form factor video card. Since yours has an MXM video card already you have the cooling fan and heatsink hardware and all you would have to do is get a more powerful MXM video card and install it. It can be accessed from the service panel. Post back if you want to discuss further as MXM video cards are a bit of a tough subject to deal with. They are not universally interchangeable like desktop video cards. 

[Cilwer]

It was more of a "in the future" idea that i wanted to have an answer for right now.
So external and internal upgrades are both an option which is good to know
I appreciate the replies and will deal with that problem in details when the time comes.

[NZForrest]

Hey Huffer, 
I seen you comment on a couple of these so hopefully you're the man to ask.
I have a Zbook 15 G2 as well, just with Name NVIDIA Quadro K1100M

I started doing some CAD work with Fusion 360 and it took forever to do some rendering.
Whats the best value GPU I can get for this laptop that is fairly easy to install (ie, compatible) 
Thanks in advance.

[Huffer]

K2100M was the highest and best nVidia option offered that would allow you to swap it in using the same heatsink assembly. The K2100M is maybe 20% +/- better than the K1100M 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Quadro-K2100M-vs-Quadro-K1100M_4832_4833.247598.0.html

The price is a K2100M is pretty reasonable:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-ZBOOK-15-NVIDIA-QUADRO-K2100M-2GB-VIDEO-GRAPHICS-CARD-N15P-Q3-A1-7852...

Its also a fairly easy procedure to replace the K1100M with the K2100M and we can help with specifics if you wish. 

We could maybe try to hunt down something mode powerful but it would be a crapshoot as to whether it would work. 

[NZForrest]

Hmm. ok. thanks.
If I'm going to go to the effort of ordering something and opening this thing up. I'd prefer to spend $200-400 on something a little more decent than 6yr old tech and 20% improvement.
This is still a pretty solid machine. I've put a 1TB Samsung SSD in it which is great.
Still 16GB of RAM, but i'm thinking to upgrade that and if I spend a few hundred on the graphics I should get another 5+ years out of this thing.
I wont hold you too it it if doesn't work, but do you have any suggestions on what could be a good option?

Appreciate your time on this.  

[Huffer]

The basic problem is the platform is 6 years old. It is a 2013 business laptop model. MXM video cards are a grey art. It is not like slapping an off the shelf video card into a desktop computer so you can play games. HP pretty tightly locks down the BIOS and people who do serious upgrading of MXM cards often have to flash vbios, which is something I have done but is an enormous pain to find the right ones and make sure you don't brick the card. 

There is also the issue of form factor: MXM-A vs. MXM-B and yours is the older MXM-A which cannot have more than 2 gb dedicated video memory.

Here is a thread from Tom's Hardware, a very reputable source, that explains why the K2100M is agoing to be about as good as it gets for you:

https://forums.tomsguide.com/threads/hp-zbook-15-graphics-card-upgrade.90892/

[NZForrest]

fair enough.

worth a shot. Thanks for the prompt feedback.