Upgrading a Dedicated Graphics Card in HP Pavilion Power 15

[Crystalstorm77]

Hi there HP forum.

So I am wondering if it is possible to upgrade the dedicated graphics card I have in my laptop. I know that upgrading laptops can be a very fiddly and risky process, and often isn't even technically possible to do, but from what I've been able to find online it seems that it might be do-able. Which is why I am here.

So my laptop is the HP Pavilion Power 15. It has the following specifications:

Processor: Intel Core i7-7700HQ

Installed RAM: 8:00GB (7.89 usable)

Graphics cards: Integrated: Intel HD Graphics 630

                                 Dedicated: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050

The integrated card I'm pretty sure is impossible to change, but that's fine. That's not what I'm interested in. The dedicated card however, I think it might be possible?

To give a little background information, the upgrade I have in mind is to go from the current GTX 1050 to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, and the reason is that I'm interested in virtual reality - specifically the HTC Vive. The GTX 1060 is the recommended card for VR. The laptop I have works amazingly with everything else that I need it for, but if I'm going to move into VR this graphics card falls just a bit short. Everything else is compatable with VR too, so it really is just the graphics card that I'm looking at. If possible, I'd rather spend a bit of money upgrading the card, rather than having to face paying ~$800 for a new, VR ready desktop, with the $1000 HTC Vive on top of that.

Anyway, so to summarise: Is it possible to perform this upgrade? If so, what price range should I be expecting? Is there a proper, professional company that I could take my laptop into to have the upgrade done, rather than doing it myself and risking damaging it? And if anyone has any other general advice, that'd be helpful too! If you need any extra information, like the exact model number, just let me know.

Thanks in advance!

[iomare]

Hi,

It is not going to be possible to upgrade the GPU in the laptop as it comes integrated on the motherboard (soldered) together with the graphics subsystem (graphics dedicated RAM).

I do not know the exact model of your PC, if it has a Thunderbolt port, you could use an ecìxternal graphics card.

Hope it helps,

David

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[Crystalstorm77]

Ah, okay. Thanks for that. I knew it was a long shot, but figured I'd make sure.

I've been looking into external graphics cards, but they all seem to be pretty expensive. Actually, at the prices I'm seeing, it might just be cheaper to buy a pre-built desktop specifically for VR, and at that point it's getting a little too high to even be worth considering anyway.

Could you give any reccomendations for where to buy them? And the price range I should be expecting to come across?

Either way, thanks for the quick reply!