Can I replace my graphics card in my HP G7 pavilion?

[Bones77]

I have a refurbished HP Pavilion G7 notebook Model#B5R83UAR#ABL

It has an Intel i5-3210m cpu @2.5 GHZ

The GPU is a Radeon HD 7670M.

Is it possible to upgrade the GPU, and if needed the CPU as well?  Thanks in advance.  I am new to owning a laptop. 

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

The only way to upgrade the video adapter in a notebook is to completely replace the motherboard with one for your model that may have better graphics.

Normally such a project will set you back more than you paid for the notebook as the motherboard alone (assuming there is an available one with better graphics) will cost several hundred dollars just for the part.

Below is the link to the service manual for your notebook.  Supported processors can be found in chapter 1, on page 1.

It used to be that quad core processors required a different motherboard than the dual core processors but I don't see different motherboards listed for quad or dual core processors, only the type of graphics (chapter 3).

So, I cannot tell you if an i7 quad core will work in your notebook or not.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03345593.pdf

[Bones77]

Wow, thanks for the quick response.  I was worried you were going to say that.  I tried to locate some info on it myself and did not have much luck.  I thought that since I had a dedicated graphics card, it may have been replacable.  Thanks again for the quick and informative response.  I wish laptops were more easily upgradable. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Yes, lots of folks feel that way, and believe that because a video card is "dedicated," that it is also removable.

On some older notebooks it was exactly that way, but on these newer ones, the gpu and gpu dedicated memory are all soldered to the motherboard.

I would be interested in knowing if the i7 quad core processor works on the same motherboard as the i5.

Not that you should experiment with a few hundred dollars, I am just interested in knowing. 

I know for sure the higher speed i5 would work, but IMO, that wouldn't be worth the cost and risks associated with dissecting your notebook for such a small boost in performance.

[Bones77]

Yeah, I will save my money and upgrade when this one bites the dust.  I built my desktop from the ground up and have since, upgraded literally every component.  Is there an upgradeable laptop?  It would be a be nice to find a laptop that was easily upgradeable.  Something with a nice case and hi-def monitor that you could easily change out gpu's and cpu's, etc.  I may do some searching and see if anyone offers something similar.  Thanks for your help.  It is greatly appreciated. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime!

I do not know of any HP consumer notebook model where the video adapters are easily upgraded.  They are all like yours.

There may be some high end business notebook workstations (HP Elitebook workstations) that are in the $2,000 range, that may have upgradable video adapters, but I have not really looked into their service manuals for what you can do with them.

If you want to look, you can query on an HP Elitebook 8770w, and then select the manuals section to see what options there are to upgrade the video.