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I'd just bought a Lenovo G480 laptop and it only comes with a integrated graphic card Intel HD 4000,but according to the manufacturer,this model can reach up to Nvidia GeForce GT630M.I was wondering if I could buy and add this (or any other) graphic card to it.

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Nope. First, the cost to have the GPU properly soldered to your motherboard would be prohibitive. It pretty much has to be done when the other components are attached. Second, your laptop doesn't have the cooling system needed to cool the GPU. Laptops bought with a discrete GPU included the necessary cooling.

If you want a laptop with discrete graphics, you need to buy one. About all you can comfortably change on a laptop is the RAM and the hard drive or SSD.

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Probably it cannot "reach up to" but is available in configurations that include a Nvidia graphics card. Usually, adding or replacing a graphics card is not possible at the user end as it is soldered on the motherboard (in most cases). However, if in your particular case there is an extra PCI express slot left free for this purpose, it may be possible to do this. Moreover, the heat sink and the cooling system should have been designed so as to fit on the Nvidia graphics card (and fit on it properly) when you add it later, as the Nvidia or any other dedicated graphics card you are planning to add will emit a considerable amount of heat. It will also tend to severely reduce battery life, as a dedicated GPU draws more power than an integrated chip.

Lastly, you must consult your laptop manufacturer's (Lenovo) support department / service centre to confirm this. And it is recommended to get this done by an authorized engineer if you are not really confident about handling it. Else you may end up severely damaging other components even your motherboard, just in case you assemble up the things wrongly.

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The manufacturer info is for an optional graphics chip that sits on the laptop motherboard. It is not for an external card that can be plugged in.

There are external graphics cards for laptops (see here) but they are not high performance. Generally they are used for displaying on multiple monitors or custom integration. Your best bet is to use the integrated video.

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  • -1. The link you have posted shows adapters, not graphics cards. Check here instead: techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/…
    – Zeeshan
    Apr 15, 2013 at 18:11
  • 1. There are external cards on that search (see iomega cards) 2. Your link is to a desktop card being used with a laptop, hardly something most users would consider as portable.
    – Brad Patton
    Apr 15, 2013 at 18:15
  • Ghanta. At least it is not a DVI/HDMI connector in the name of a graphics card, as that is what your link directs to.
    – Zeeshan
    Apr 15, 2013 at 18:25

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