The Computer Megathread

[Becquerel]

Whats a good "Servicing" Kit off newegg?

[Ad Bot]

[TheBlackParrot]

I'd like to know if buying a laptop dock would be worth it.

I wanted to get a dock specifically for getting a better video card without potentially screwing up my laptop beyond repair, nothing else. I'd only use it when I'm playing stuff that tends to slow down, like Audiosurf (recently atually), Minecraft, and Blockland on certain servers.

Dell Latitude D630 (might be D630c?); WXGA+
2GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 (obviously upgraded, it apparently had a Centrino before I bought it)
2GB RAM
I'm not sure about this, but 384MB Intel GMA 965
Windows 7

[Ethan]

No. You just don't want to spend a million dollars on a GPU if your CPU can't compete.

EDIT: Got this case. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156242
Great cooling for only 50 bucks. Side 80mm fan was broken though. :c I sent them an email. Hopefully they can send me a new fan. Anyway, do you think I can fit a 6950 in this thing? My borked 4850 seems to fit with plenty of room.

It should TBH.

I'd like to know if buying a laptop dock would be worth it.

I wanted to get a dock specifically for getting a better video card without potentially screwing up my laptop beyond repair, nothing else. I'd only use it when I'm playing stuff that tends to slow down, like Audiosurf (recently atually), Minecraft, and Blockland on certain servers.

Dell Latitude D630 (might be D630c?); WXGA+
2GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 (obviously upgraded, it apparently had a Centrino before I bought it)
2GB RAM
I'm not sure about this, but 384MB Intel GMA 965
Windows 7

They come with Core 2 Duos, so it wouldn't have been updated.
Also, yes you can get a dock, but IMO it's really quite complicated and not worth it. You spend a lot of money, the bandwidth is severely limited so therefore the performance isn't that good, then you've got power to worry about, and also the fact that your laptop HAS to have the right expansion bay.

[Nickelob Ultra]

I'd like to know if buying a laptop dock would be worth it.

I wanted to get a dock specifically for getting a better video card without potentially screwing up my laptop beyond repair, nothing else. I'd only use it when I'm playing stuff that tends to slow down, like Audiosurf (recently atually), Minecraft, and Blockland on certain servers.

Dell Latitude D630 (might be D630c?); WXGA+
2GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 (obviously upgraded, it apparently had a Centrino before I bought it)
2GB RAM
I'm not sure about this, but 384MB Intel GMA 965
Windows 7

I said it before and I'll say it again.

The Latitude line is cheap for a reason.  An Intel 965 can do mediocre things when it comes to 3D.  The 2GHz Core 2 Duo and 2GB RAM make for a nice laptop for movies and internet surfing etc., but don't expect great gaming at all.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Graphics-Media-Accelerator-X3100.2176.0.html

Here's a link to the benchmarks of it too.  2GB RAM and an Intel 965 for Minecraft will be horrid.  It plays alright on my Acer Extensa 4620 with a 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM and Intel 965 but only on short/tiny fog distance.

Also laptop docks do not boost your computer at all.  They simply give you a convenient spot to easily place your laptop so that you don't have to fuss with tons of connectors or anything.  Dell laptops, including yours, are big with this.  They do not boost performance at all and simply just give some ease to people who pick up their laptops off the desk a lot.  I haven't even heard of an external kind of thing for laptops at all except from ASUS, but like Ethan just said it's not exactly great and it costs tons of money (plus it's barely a concept/in design).

[Ethan]

Ah, I presumed he meant video card dock that plugs in to the expresscard slot or whatever in a laptop.

[KoopaScooper]

Went through a graveyard of computer parts earlier. Found some interesting things:
ATi Rage II PCI with 8MB of VRAM and 3D Acceleration
Pentium 133 with MMX
Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 ISA
Pentium II 400MHz with 512KB L2 cache
nVidia TNT2 AGP with 32MB of VRAM

[Nickelob Ultra]

Ah, I presumed he meant video card dock that plugs in to the expresscard slot or whatever in a laptop.

I've heard of no such things on the market at all, otherwise I'd buy them if they were cheap.

But then again there's the bandwidth and power issues.

[Righteous One]

I've heard of no such things on the market at all, otherwise I'd buy them if they were cheap.

But then again there's the bandwidth and power issues.

You can get them for around $200. Bandwidth is a huge issue because of slow express card slots are. Anything over a 5770 (not sure what current generation cards that compares to) is redundant. Most of the ones I've seen have a separate power supply just for the video card so that you'd have to be plugged in all the time. You also need an external monitor.

Verdict - Impractical

[steve5451]

Went through a graveyard of computer parts earlier. Found some interesting things:
ATi Rage II PCI with 8MB of VRAM and 3D Acceleration
Pentium 133 with MMX
Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 ISA
Pentium II 400MHz with 512KB L2 cache
nVidia TNT2 AGP with 32MB of VRAM

Sounds like my grandma's rig.

[KoopaScooper]

Sounds like my grandma's rig.

yeah they're from 1996 and such

[Ethan]

You can get them for around $200. Bandwidth is a huge issue because of slow express card slots are. Anything over a 5770 (not sure what current generation cards that compares to) is redundant. Most of the ones I've seen have a separate power supply just for the video card so that you'd have to be plugged in all the time. You also need an external monitor.

Verdict - Impractical

Just FYI, a 6770 is just a rebranded 5770, so they are the same card.
And judging by AMDs series naming, the next equivalent will be a 7670 or something, lol.

[Ethan]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAH
HahahAhahAhAHAha

Good fight nVidia :P

[Becquerel]

WHats better?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899196008 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899263023

[Ethan]

WHats better?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899196008 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899263023

Probably the $40 one, although I don't see why all that is necessary TBH.

[Ethan]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAH
HahahAhahAhAHAha

Good fight nVidia :P

Bump for awesomeness.