two questions that might seem stupid, but i really don't know

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blahxyzblah

New Member
1.do notebooks have video/graphics cards? i went to gateway.com and was playing around with the cutomization when i noticed there wasn't an option for the video card....

2.can you open up a notebook the way you can open up a desktop, so you can upgrade parts? like ram?
 
Notebooks either use integrated graphics or they have dedicated graphics card. Usually you have to choose a notebook with the graphics card you want, only a handful of companies offer notebooks with a choice and then it's usually only two choices. nVidia and ATI just came out with upgradable graphics cards, nVidia's is called MXM. They just came out with MXM cards hopefully the next generation of graphics cards will be available for upgrades. So to answer your second question, no you can't upgrade your graphics card in a notebook as you would a desktop. I hope this helps.
 
Some laptops allow you to inter-change graphics cards, but they are usually high end ones. Your big name brands usually use integrated, or a fixed card that can't be replaced except by the same model incase of failure.

You can open a laptop and gut it easily, it's jsut a bit harder. You work with alot of inter-twined parts that have to be removed in a certain order. For example you have to dissassemble the case and remove the keyboard and under trays before you even have access to the CPU. And before you can remove the keyboard you have to take off the screen and disconnect some wires, etc. With a good manual it's all quite easy though.
 
You can check if the laptop has user-upgradeable ram. Usually you'll just have to open the bottom part of the laptop and stick the ram in ;)
 
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