Video Driver Update Site

Cass Broadview · Posted 27 Jan 2009 11:06 pm

My daughter has a Toshiba Satellite A205-S5872 laptop. Her laptop has an Intel (R) 965 Express Chipset Family video {card}. Of course which is not a card at all. But we can't seem to find an intel video driver update web site. Are these things part of the mother board, or can you upgrade them? Cass

John Cipriano · From: San Francisco

Cass, that is a pretty popular video solution, so you might be able to get drivers on windowsupdates.com. Choose "custom" on the site and then "hardware" and they might show up.

Try Windows Update first, but you can also get it here:
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intelgm965/

Is there a problem with the current driver?

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Avoid Microsoft's Windows Update site for device drivers. Usually what they have is old outdated drivers. The vendor's site (Intel in this case) would be the best place to look for a driver.

But, do you really need an updated driver? Many times the updates are only for specific items and don't apply to all applications of the driver. Generally drivers fall into the "if it aint broke don't fix it" category.

I've seen a lot of cases of updated drivers "break" devices.

Cass Broadview · Posted 28 Jan 2009 9:15 am

Thanks Jack,
The kid found out the hard way that the average lappy is no good to play most of these games that are out. She found out she needs a lappy specifically designed for games. Now where she would get one, or just how expensive they are i have no idea. I'm not into the game playing thing. But there she sits, with a game subscription, and no lappy to play them on. So i take it, there is no way to change out the video card? And... of course she purchased the lappy in germany from the army exchange. Rolling Eyes

Thank You John for the site info. Cass

Wiz Feinberg · From: Mid-Michigan, USA

Cass;
Dell and Alienware both make high-end laptops capable of running modern games. These computers have faster CPUs, more fast dual channel RAM, built-in video chipsets with 512 Mb of dedicated memory and much better cooling fans and flow through ventilation. They also use the best and fastest responding materials in their LCD panels, which are usually 17" hi-def widescreen. Expect to lay out well over a thousand bucks for such a laptop (many are priced well over $2,000).

Here are some gaming laptops that Dell carries.
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Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

FYI, Dell owns Alienware.

To answer the other question, some laptops can accept laptop video cards and others can't.

Cass Broadview · Posted 28 Jan 2009 5:08 pm

Sounds like they would be up there in price. Knowing lillie, she will sell this laptop and buy one. I will pass this thread along to her. Thanks

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

A note on Dell's. Most will not record streaming audio from the net as they do not have the "What you Hear" or "System Mixer" function. This is a major complaint on the Dell forum. Those with desktops that must have this feature are adding PCI sound cards that will do this. I'm not sure what the laptop users are doing.

This is also an issue with some other brands.

John Cipriano · From: San Francisco

The main thing is that a laptop used for gaming should have dedicated video hardware. The term varies but "dedicated" is common, because the GPU will have its own dedicated RAM, as opposed to sharing the CPU's RAM. What you have with the 965 is called integrated graphics.

The really short version is, if you go into a place like Best Buy, look for the laptops with stickers that have the NVIDIA or ATI logo on them. They may also say GeForce or Radeon, which are those two companies' brand of graphics chip.

My very broad recommendation would be a laptop with a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo CPU with 2GB RAM and a dedicated video card. But needs vary, and it depends on what you mean by gaming. First person shooters like Crysis will require good hardware. With a game like World of Warcraft you can afford to be less picky. I will tell you that I have been helping some people shop for laptops lately and I haven't seen much that was under $500 (new) that I'd feel confident buying. That number excludes netbooks, but you wouldn't want to play a game with those, for one thing, they lack a CD/DVD drive.

If you shop Dell, I should tell you that in my experience I find their computers often for cheaper prices in stores than on their site. We "built" a computer for a cousin on their site and then we found almost the exact setup at (I think it was) Best Buy for hundreds less. So check the club stores, electronic stores, etc, at the same time that you check their site or their circulars. Their pricing is all over the place, really. Also, in case you weren't aware, many manufacturers like Dell and even Apple have an outlet site where you can get a refurbished machine if that's what you're looking for. But be aware that a lot of the value in a laptop is in the battery, and if you get a refurbished one you run the risk of getting an old battery, unless the company says they put new ones in refurbs.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

A note on Dell support. If you buy a Dell PC direct from Dell then Dell will provide support. If you buy a PC somewhere else, such as Best Buy then Dell won't support that you have to go back to Best Buy for any type of support - software or hardware.

Dell uses "Service Tag" numbers as the serial number and if enter the Service Tag number and it wasn't bought directly from Dell the system will tell you it's invalid or not found.

On the "refurbished" systems. Dell does sell refurbs, some are a good deal and some are not as you have to look closely to what the refurb contains in both hardware and software. I've seen refurbs listed that were basically the same price as what a new one was selling for with more hardware and software. The refurbs that Dell sells can be one that was returned or one from a cancelled order and was never shipped, but there is nothing on the listing to indicate the PC's status. Lately, I've seen several that were returned because the buyer wanted to install XP on the PC that came with Vista and Dell did not support XP (no drivers).

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