at one point companies made docking stations that would house desktop video cards and allow a laptop to use it while it was plugged in.
kind of a good idea, kind of not.
i've been a system builder for as long as i can remember, to be honest, 10 years ago it mattered if it was a laptop or a desktop. these days, it really doesn't. my 2 year old laptop is probably twice to four times as powerful as the old desktop it replaced. i can use it anywhere, and it doesn't use a whole lot of juice. i can use it in the car with a power inverter even.
in another ten years it will matter even less. desktops are great in the fact that you can swap out parts all day long. 20 years ago, nothing was integrated into the board and everything could be swapped (ide controllers, keyboard interface connectors, etc), then along came integrated boards, for awhile they weren't as good as the old AT style boards. nowadays the only thing you can find is a integrated board.
laptops are no different then this.
being able to pack up and move out at a moment's notice is the real draw of a laptop. in the olden days when they weren't as good as a desktop it was more common to have a separate setup for your games, and use the laptop on the go. nowadays it's just extra junk and more money to waste on your electric bill every month.
now that laptops like these exist, with replaceable video cards, the chance of a good laptop being put out to pasture because the board is bad is even less. that's always a awesome thing.
oh and one last thing on upgrading the video card, there's nothing better to upgrade it to. nobody makes a better mobile video card than that really.
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dstrakele wrote:
I just blow the flames out and keep playin'....