Is there anything like a "external video card" for laptops?

my dell inspiro 5160 has a small videocard (just 32 mb) and I want to upgrade It. Is there an easy way, like an external video card?|||Yes, although you will have to buy a docking station to get one. Docking stations have their own internal video card. However, docking stations are model specific so the card in the docking station for your machine may not be all that much better than the one you currently have.



Laptops are generally intended for business users. Business use is not normally all that demanding of the video system so it's an easy place for manufacturers to cut costs. Also, high-end video cards use a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. These are problematic for laptops where there is limited space for a cooling system and battery life is a significant consideration.



The exception to these general principals are the so-called workstation class and gamer laptops.



Workstations, in technical jargon, are high-end machines for engineering applications. These applications demand high end CPUs, video systems, large storage systems and lots of RAM. Workstation class laptops meet these needs at the expense of weight, heat and batter life.



Gamer laptops are basically workstation class laptops marketed to gamers. The frequently eschew the anti-glare coating on the display in order to get slightly better video quality but the internals are workstation gear all the way.



Workstation and gamer class laptops are much more expensive than main-stream business class machines. A good business class laptop typically runs in the $1,500 - $2,000 region. Workstation and gamer boxes can run 2 - 3 times that or even higher.|||Dude don't bother trying to upgrade a laptop. It's impossible unless you got a comp from a maker like VOODOO. And trust me, they are expensive.

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|||sorry no such thing as a external video card|||Any off the bus video options for a laptop would be bottlenecked by the possible max speed of the connection used. USB, or Firewire are not nearly fast enough to process video any faster or better than what you already have in your laptop.



In a nut shell, you are out of luck.