Upgrade non-gaming Laptop for gaming

[MotoMike117]

Hi all. I'm new here but know this has probably been asked many times before. I also don't know where else to turn, as I don't know anybody who know's anything about PC gaming, including myself. Back in the day I threw a Radeon into my desktop so I could play Battlefield 2. It worked great, and that's all I remember. (Those were my partying days...)

So now I've given up partying to go back to finish my degree and have found myself extremely bored, with a new laptop that was bought solely for the purpose of schoolwork, hence me not just buying a gaming PC. Well I've always wanted to get into DCS and some other PC games, so I downloaded the free version, thinking it probably wouldn't even start up on this passive rig I've got here.

To my surprise, it actually runs, but obviously not very well. So I'm hoping I can get some decent performance out of a GPU in the $400-$600 range, but have no idea where to even start. I don't have the option of buying a new PC right now with school expenses and all, so I have to make due with what I have.

I don't even know what my laptop is compatible with. There are just so many things I'm reading when I look into it that I don't have the slightest understanding of, being I haven't owned a PC in over 10 years.

I have an HP Laptop PC 15-dw3000 (1A3Y0AV) . It's so thin I don't even know if you could fit a graphics card in it. Thanks if anyone can point me in the right direction of a good, affordable graphics card. I remember I got my Radeon for a great price on Newegg way back in the day.

[Mod edit: changed to paragraphs for clarity from the unhelpful wall of text.]

[Mod edit: changed title for clarity from "Please Help... Need GPU advice."]

[Mod edit: changed title to "Upgrade GPU in laptop?" since discussion expanded.]

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Hi

I'm fairly sure you wont be able to upgrade that laptop. Laptops are not really meant for upgrading especially that kind which is more meant for business use. You certainly cant buy and off the shelf GPU for it in the same way you can a desktop. Sorry to tell you.

 

[Lutfij]

You could use CPU-Z and parse a screenshot of all the tabs that you see in order for us to corroborate that your laptop is missing a discrete GPU.

 

[Brian Boru]

corroborate that your laptop is missing a discrete GPU

If it's this one…
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laptop-15-dw3096nr
…then it only has:
"Integrated: Intel® Iris® Xᵉ Graphics"

@MotoMike117 this means there's no separate graphics card, and no possibility of putting one into it—there isn't a place for it to go.

@Kaamos_Llama @Lutfij I assume an external graphics card wouldn't be viable?

 

[Colif]

need the CPU Z screens as Lutfi suggested as there are multiple models of that, this is a 3000nk

HP Laptop 15-dw3000nk Product Specifications | HP® Customer Support

Looking for upgrade or update information? Trying to find the names of components or programs? This document contains the technical details for this product.

support.hp.com

i don't think it matter really, as they all use Intel graphics. Still nice to know what CPU it is.

 

[Lutfij]

^ exactly, the service manuals for the laptop, in spite of using the serial for the laptop in HP's support portal, doesn't show a specific SKU and their relative specs for the laptop mentioned above. There are variants with Ryzen APU's and there are variants with Intel processors as well.

I see an USB type C port but I'm assuming that the laptop doesn't have Thunderbolt on it(which would've been an option for an external GPU dock/enclosure). I'm also seeing some variants of the laptop with an 8th gen Intel processor with a discrete GPU, which has me assuming maybe the laptop does have a discrete GPU but is flopping around(wrong drivers or the laptop needs some loving to get it back up and firing like new)...?

There's also the option of going for an external dock/breakout cable (like the this shady contraption) but I'd advise against it, especially if you can go for a laptop with a discrete GPU. I had a tutorial on that as well...need to find it though.

Assumptions, assumptions and even more assumptions.

 

[MotoMike117]

Thanks for all the replies. It claims to have an intel IRIS xe and a CORE i5. I will try to get the CPU Z screen. Still learning how to use a PC again, lol. By the way, in about 6 months, when I will be able to build my own desktop gaming PC, what's a ballpark $ figure for a mid-range gaming PC? I'm assuming it will be much cheaper to build one on my own.

 

[MotoMike117]

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWgh3WBL292/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWginHELbg_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWgjLDcLYH2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWgjjrZrLw-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWgjySNLUQH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I don't know if these are what ya'll are talking about but I tried...

 

[Lutfij]

You could've uploaded the images onto Imgur but they work, regardless. Yeah you should forgo the idea that your laptop can accept a discrete GPU whether it's internally or externally. Why not?, you may ask...?

Internally, the motherboard has the processor and the GPU soldered onto it. So if the laptop didn't come with a discrete GPU out of the box, in order to get a discrete GPU onto the motherboard, you're going to have to ditch/replace the entire board, which is near same as buying a brand new laptop.

Externally, the laptop doesn't seem to have a Thunderbolt port whereby you can tether an external GPU dock to the laptop. I'd advise against using the eGPU dock as linked above in the tutorial, since that's not practical. You own a laptop...you shouldn't turn it into a Frankenstein system and risk damaging the unit(since the hinges on HP and Dell laptops are notorious for breaking).

Build your own or source a gaming laptop from the get go, is much more cheaper than the amount of resources you're going to dump in order to reverse engineer something that's not meant to be reverse engineered.

Also a desktop built from the ground up allows for more fine tuning out of the box and the future as opposed to a laptop that is quite frankly obsolete from the day it's purchased(as the motherboard is bespoke to the SKU).

 

[MotoMike117]

Thanks for the info. Looks like I'm gonna have to wait until after I pay tuition for spring and just start building a gaming PC. Sounds like a fun project anyway. Any idea on ballpark $ figures on building a mid-range gaming PC? Can I use my 4k smart TV as a monitor for gaming?

I know I shouldn't be trying to make this into a gaming PC, and after getting the advice in this thread, I'm not. But it's all I have to play around on until spring . Also, since I've already been learning some DCS flight systems and playing a few other games on low settings on this laptop, will adding some RAM help a little? And can I add joysticks and gaming controllers to it? I'm guessing I'd have to use USB ports. Or maybe people use bluetooth to connect controllers these days? Thanks a lot for the help, guys.

 

[Brian Boru]

Can I use my 4k smart TV as a monitor for gaming?

You can, as long as your graphics card/system has the power to run 4K. I'm fairly sure you could run the TV at a lower resolution like 1080p, since you're stuck with integrated graphics. I've been gaming on TVs for over a decade.

Moderator action:
I'm moving this to Gaming Laptops forum since the discussion has widened from just the GPU, and changing title to "Upgrade non-gaming Laptop for gaming".

 

[Lutfij]

But it's all I have to play around on until spring .
If you're into cars, you'll know what limp mode means.

will adding some RAM help a little?
Not without spending money on a platform that's not meant for gaming. That little will be moot when you factor in the amount being saved and invested onto a proper gaming setup = desktop/laptop. Again, it seems like you want to cripple what you have as opposed to taking care of it.

As for the game you're playing, you're being held back due to the GPU and the ram...this leads me back to not bothering with your laptop unless you're looking for an excuse to kill the laptop and (re)invest on another device. You're trying to push a laptop to do something it's not designed to do. When you do that, it's either going to end up dead or become unreliable, both of which are bad to have as a student if this holds true;

with a new laptop that was bought solely for the purpose of schoolwork,

To add, the higher the res of the monitor and the higher the resolution setting in-game, the more you tax the GPU(be it discrete or an iGPU) so for your laptop's form factor, you're merely asking it to do more in a smaller confines than what a gaming laptop or a well ventilated desktop will have at it's disposal, meaning cooling the innards. I've had to deal with laptops from clients that were cooked from the inside out simply because they were expecting too much from their investment to end up with expensive paperweights.

As for your mid-range question, not all games are coded/developed the same way. You're going to have to parse a list of titles you'd want to play...and some more information asked of in this thread. Yes there's a similar thread in the laptop section. It's to help get the most out of your investment.

 

[MotoMike117]

Luftij,
I'll repeat what I said in my last post. "I know I shouldn't be trying to make this into a gaming PC, and after getting the advice in this thread, I'm not. " I also stated that it's all I have to play around with until I build a real gaming PC. So adding ram means I want to cripple my laptop? I'm asking about RAM because I can actually run DCS but obviously not at a great level, so I was just wondering if RAM is something that will give me a little more power for the time being. since there are some games that it will play. Like I've stated, I know very little about all of this, but adding some RAM never crossed my mind as something that would "cripple" my laptop. I'm just asking, because I don't think you quite understood my last post. I've also looked into an external GPU. And I'm definitely not into the idea of rigging up some shady shiz (with the lack of Thunderbolt) to something I have to take to school everyday. and apparently doesn't have the motherboard, etc., to even handle it. As far as games go, I was in love with Battlefield 2 back in the day, so games along that line. ARMA and COD are definitely gonna be on my list. And as I've stated, DCS. So basically FPS and simulation. As far as the TV question, that was pertaining to when I actually build a competent gaming PC. I was wondering if I need a new monitor, or if I could just use that. As to all the helpful info, thank you guys.