Hi,
Apologies for another hardware post but one of the pleasures of the DK1 was using my laptop to demo to friends.
I have an I7 8GB Dell fairly modern but the graphics card is not going to cut it for the DK2.
I have asked Dell but they do not have any upgrade options to a higher end Graphics card for my model (Latitude E6530)
but they did say there were third party options for upgrading to higher cards. I am off to Google now but wondered if anybody had used such a piece of hardware?
Thanks
Russell
0
Comments
If you want to change it you have to buy another Mainboard and change the entire Hardware....
But it will cost a lot more than a new Laptop!
So there is no way to change the card like you do on a desktop PC.
I heard about external GFX Cards. But even the external ones are expensive as hell. About 200-300 $ just for the external casing without the actual GFX Card.
So better sell you Laptop and get a better one.
In theory at least. I have no idea how well those things perform in practice. That place is the manufacturer that you can order direct from (Taiwan) or you might want to try eBay as there are a couple of (supposedly) US suppliers.
Bear in mind that you'll need a chassis to mount it all in (unless you want to play it risky) and you'll need a power supply too. You might want to consider putting the money you'd need to spend on a power supply, a case and the adapter card itself towards a used i5 or i7 computer and then put a new graphics card in that (if funds are tight - if not, just build a new PC).
Ill take a look at your suggestions. I do intend getting a new PC as well, so considering the laptop is fairly new I didn't want to have to buy a new high end PC and a new high end laptop. The reason is I want to take my laptop with me to demo etc. but by the sounds of it that will no longer be possible unless I use some really Rift basic demos.
I am thinking that if you had success with the NVIDIA®NVS™5200M (GDDR5 1GB) then I might be able to get away with this AMD Radeon HD 8970M Graphics 2GB GDDR5 for DK2 (for demoing it out cause I wont be lugging a huge PC to my friends')
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on forums?
A buddy of mine is in this same situation. He liked being mobile and showing off the DK1 with his gaming laptop when he's out and about. With the DK2 needing more horsepower he asked me to piece together as compact a PC as possible that would be more powerful, and cheaper than an a whole new laptop.
Sitting at 14.69" x 9.8" x 8.27" is the following build he has on order.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($288.29 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($97.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Other: 25ft 18 AWG Power Cord ($10.99)
Total: $1061.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
With the DK2 only needing power by USB (assuming you don't use the USB hub), the only power cord necessary is the one from the PSU to the wall outlet, so I included the cost of a 25' power cord in the overall cost. This build will easily last him through DK2, only needing a new GPU for CV1. I can't wait for his parts to arrive just for the thrill of piecing together another PC.
My wife is a teacher and I showed 3 /4 classes full of kids VRCinema or Dumpy the elephant using it, they were totally amazed. It was a great day, we had to stop in the end as practically the whole school wanted to see it. I have promised to go back again with the DK2 to demo some more.
Thanks eepoole4 that is an interesting idea, I'll look at the build you listed.
Hey, no problem. There's money to be saved if you're not interested in the small form factor a mini-itx build grants you. If you're confined to a specific budget then let me know, too. Adjustments can be made (i.e. removing WiFi from motherboard for ~$20 savings)
Hello, If you have some spare time do you mind updating this config with what you think is the best part available now (late August)? Also confirm that you are selecting the Radeon GPU to avoid problems with nVidia Optimus technology hitting 75Hz at 1080p (or is that only a problem with mobile chipsets?) Thank you.
Sorry I'm so late to respond to you. If you still need assistant putting together a DK2-ready PC I can help accommodate whatever needs you're looking for. Shoot me a PM or reply here. Whatever's easier.