video card replacement?

Message

ewthompson · #1 Post by **ewthompson** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 10:12 am

Pardon what may be a basic question,

but the TP I configured has a 32MB ATI Mobility card installed. Am I correct in thinking that down the line I can swap out the card, similar to how I could replace and upgrade a non-integrated soundcard? Part of my decision to go with the IBM was it's capacity for upgrading, based on reviews I've read. I have not received the unit yet to inspect it physically, so my video card ignorance is exposed. Any replies appreciated.

One other question, to those experienced in digging into the software bowels of the TP(42)...

As I understand it, 8 gigs of the 40 GB harddrive mine will ship with is occupied by IBM pre-loaded systems maintenance programs. Again, I will likely replace the harddrive at some point, but how much (if any) of the preloaded stuff can be reasonably safely removed? Giving up a fifth of my storage hurts, especially given my expected usage of the computer is for school and basic work tasks. No corporate networking, no need for over the top security for my basic computing.

I'm finding this forum to be a wealth of information.

Regards,

EWT

stgreek · #2 Post by **stgreek** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 10:39 am

ewthompson wrote:Pardon what may be a basic question,

but the TP I configured has a 32MB ATI Mobility card installed. Am I correct in thinking that down the line I can swap out the card, similar to how I could replace and upgrade a non-integrated soundcard? Part of my decision to go with the IBM was it's capacity for upgrading, based on reviews I've read. I have not received the unit yet to inspect it physically, so my video card ignorance is exposed. Any replies appreciated.

You are out of luck. Graphics card is the only non-replaceable part on a Thinkpad.

One other question, to those experienced in digging into the software bowels of the TP(42)...

As I understand it, 8 gigs of the 40 GB harddrive mine will ship with is occupied by IBM pre-loaded systems maintenance programs. Again, I will likely replace the harddrive at some point, but how much (if any) of the preloaded stuff can be reasonably safely removed? Giving up a fifth of my storage hurts, especially given my expected usage of the computer is for school and basic work tasks. No corporate networking, no need for over the top security for my basic computing.

I'm finding this forum to be a wealth of information.

Regards,

EWT

You don't have to keep anything, especially since most of the 8 gigs is not the software, but the software installation packages. Besides, with some exceptions (DVDplayer, CD-R software and a few more), you can download everything from IBM's site upon a clean XP install.

ewthompson · #3 Post by **ewthompson** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 10:43 am

Stgreek:

Hmmm

well thanks for the news. So video cards are not user replaceable then?
They are built onto the motherboard?

Would I however be able to tack on a new video card using the pcmcia slot, and override the default setting to use the onboard one?

EWT

tranle · #4 Post by **tranle** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 10:43 am

I have just opened mine (to swap a cpu) and the graphic chip is soldered on the motherboard. So I don't think that you swap the graphic card without changing the motherboard.

For the 2nd question, there is an 8GB hidden partition that has the pre-loaded software to allow you to recover the machine to the level of the initial factory setup. But if you know for sure (e.g. have the recover cd) that you will never have to restore it, you could unhide this partition from inside the bios, delete from windows disk manager, and reclaim that free space with a tool such as partition magic.

Note that you will loose the <Access IBM> button at boot and the diagnostic utility. You will have to use <F1> to get to the bios.

ewthompson · #5 Post by **ewthompson** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 12:51 pm

Understood. Thank you for the info

EWT

stgreek · #6 Post by **stgreek** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:00 pm

ewthompson wrote:Stgreek:

Hmmm

well thanks for the news. So video cards are not user replaceable then?
They are built onto the motherboard?

Would I however be able to tack on a new video card using the pcmcia slot, and override the default setting to use the onboard one?

EWT

No PCMCIA card on the market will be faster than your card, mainly due to bus issues. Even if it were, you cannot override the on-board one for a PCMCIA one, only for a PCI one, if you have the dock, and an external monitor. Sorry for the bad news

Stavros

video card replacement?

video card replacement?

Re: video card replacement?

Who is online