ATI® Radeon Xpress 200 PCI Express Graphics.

[sed8ed]

Hi,

Just wanted to clear a few things up for myself. I was just recently told by my laptop vendor that my laptop graphics card was not in fact upgradeable. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this graphics chip. ATI radeon xpress 200. The graphics level put out by this chip is in fact quite passable for uma (currently set at 128mb) it runs bf2 and doom 3 at low but respectable levels. In the original product sheet (link supplied below) it is listed as upgreadeable in a few or more words and is stated as being of the pcie bus standard...I read this to be "can be upgraded later"...although it is not. The motherboard of the notebook does not in fact have a pcie bus for an mxm format card. I hope I have explained things correctly???

Product link:

http://www.itchannel.com.au/Products/Metabox-722.asp.

I have already spoken to my laptop vendor about the fact that my laptop was advertised as being upgradeable when it wasnt!!. Apparently the ATI chip is soldered to the MB and cannot be replaced. Based on that fact I have pursued my laptop vendor with a somewhat aggressive stance and they have now agreed to offer me a new product due to the poor marketing of the notebook I originally purchased. My question (now that I have gotten to it) is the new notebook will be fitted with a pcie bus (i think this is correct) and will incorporate a nividia go 6600. My question is will i be able to upgrade easily or will I have to wait for the cards to become more available in the future. From what I have read some manufacturers wont offer the cards at a retail level is this true? Secondly I have I lost the whole concept of mxm or pcie upgradeability...

My soon to be acquired product replacement link:

http://www.itchannel.com.au/Products/Millennia-8000.asp

I am yet to discuss with them (laptop vendor) the type of mxm format the new card will utilise but should I find out before recieving the product so that I give myself the best possible upgrade solutions in the future. What format would be the best option, are the form factors something to consider when choosing the card that is inserted into the notebook? Or when given limited choices what would be better for me? I am a bit lost so forgive me for being vague, I found out more on this website than I have in days.

I have read only a portion of this website and must say that I am extremely impressed, I googled all sorts of laptop related graphics questions and got very little info, seems like a dirty little enterprise by the companies that produce these cards is going on and the more that can be done to help out laptop buyers with the correct info seems like a good thing to me.

Laptops are fickle things and mine was supposed to be a desktop replacement as mobility for me means going to someones house and plugging in to their power socket, I really only got it for the fact that there was less to pack up (more mobile than my desktop), I really wanted to get something that could easily compete with my desktop and keep me happy for 2 years or so before upgrading. I really appreciate all answers to my questions (however vague and lost they seem) as I am a relative newbie to the laptop scene....having said that though I have repaired a few (damaged USB ports, re: solder new one on) and a couple of lcd screen repairs so I am sure that anything you post I can google and find out more on my own...Dont hesitate

to correct the proper terms and jargon I have written here as it will only better help me to understand what it is I need to know

thanks in advance.

sed8ed.

[Ice-Tea]

Hi there,

That xpress200 is indeed integrated and in no way upgradeable.

The one you're getting right now is indeed MXM... Kinda. It is infact an Arima notebook. As you may know, MXM comes in three types, I, II and III. This Arima notebook has a 6800 on a somewhat strange type. It's not really Type II and not really Type III. That means that it certainly can be upgraded with Type II cards, but satndard Type III is not sure. I hope to update my site this weekend with the 'Arima Special' Type :)

Hope this helps,

Ice-Tea

MXM Upgrade

[sed8ed]

Hey Thanks,

Much appreciate the info. Just wanted to make sure what I get in place of my other notebook is exactly what I wanted. The old notebook was a great machine and I really didnt want to get rid of it, I just hope that all the specs match what I get in return as they build the new model in quite a few different configurations and I want the same spec as I had, I dont want to compromise on HDD, RAM, SPEED, just to get better graphics as it will no doubt cost me more in the long run to spec out the machine at a later date. Because of my extended warranty (a must on a white book) I cant do a lot of work on my own.....

Thanks again and I will keep you posted on my update.

[sed8ed]

Dang!!!! Laptop is great but unfortunately BF2 doesnt like it......Looks like all my hopes have been dashed. Have tried three forceware drivers (with modded .inf) but nothing will start the picky BF2 engine. Not sure what to do now. Looks like I will have to stick to playing doom. Very dssapointed. The graphics are mean though on doom3.....geforce go 6600 128mb (compared to my old uma 128mb share). Tried editing all the config files, re-installed, read post after post of other peoples pain and suffering, honestly EA need there heads read. Sorry bout the off topic.....I will try and post some pictures of my new ARIMA notebook with type/II/III ge force go 6600 128mb. One big problem I have is the refresh rate the screen only supports 58,59 hz. BF2 auto starts in 800x600 60hz, I have tried to edit the video.con file but it doesnt work.....Edited start movies. Resized start window to see any error messages and i get:

Battlefield 2 error:

Debug assertion failed

Gives me version no of BF2

Module: RenDX9

File: c:\dice\projects\bf2\code\BF2\RenDX9\VideoOptions.cpp

Line 234

Text: Unknown DynamicOption Value 800x600

Current confile:

Cancel, Try Again, Continue.

I am not to sure what to do now, I have googled myself to death and havent really found the answer to above problem.

Dang!!!