A laptop’s video chip is located within the laptop soldered directly to the motherboard as well as other components. Without a video chip a laptop could not produce a display on its screen and is vulnerable to failure particularly if the laptop is mistreated.
If you disassemble an average laptop you will most likely notice a heatsink with fan covering two large chips. They are the graphics chip and CPU respectively. The CPU and graphics chip generate plenty of heat when the laptop is operating. The graphics chip though generates the most heat. The CPU is nearly always contained in a socket that allows it to be rapidly extracted and replaced should it fail or require upgrading. The graphics chip, however, is almost never incorporated into a socket so cannot be upgraded or changed.
Graphic chips will probably fail or have a reduced life when they continually operate at a high temperature. So any measures that could be taken to keep this chip cool will lengthen the lifespan of the laptop.
There are a few obvious steps that may be taken to keep this chip cool and some less obvious ones. Always use the laptop on a tray or table, and not on a rug, your bed or on your knees since this may obstruct the cooling vents. If you notice that the air leaving the exhaust outlet is slow or very hot then you will probably need to have the fan and vents cleaned by a laptop repair agent. The majority of users do not realise that certain software programs generate considerably more heat from the graphics chip than others. Letting the laptop idle on the Internet should not cause the graphics chip to create much heat, however, playing a game where sophisticated graphics are running will usually make it generate considerable heat. You probably will be amazed to discover that playing a DVD film can cause the graphics chip to run very hot, so potentially reducing the life span of the laptop especially if this is done regularly.
You might discover that the graphics software driver is damaged, outdated or simply missing. This will usually result in the graphics chip overheating along with the laptop locking up or crashing. Most laptop manufacturers provide a free service where the correct driver or drivers can be downloaded to maintain it operating exactly they intended when designed.
Some laptops have the graphics chip attached to a little circuit board that is socketed into the motherboard; this allows for easy upgrade or repair to the graphics chip. This is generally quiet pricey and is only possible on the top of the range laptops.
Look after your laptop’s graphic chip since it is either very expensive or extremely hard to replace. Look after your laptop’s graphic chip since it is either very expensive or extremely hard to replace.
Graham Kelly is experienced at repairing broken and damaged laptops and USB RAM drives. He has spent in excess of 30 years inside the electronics industry focusing on electronic design and repair. He has published many articles relating to laptop and notebook faults to assist users diagnose and perhaps perform simple laptop repairs by themselves where appropriate. He is always happy to give technical guidance and may be contacted at Trilogic’s internet site for laptop power connector repair or memory stick repair.
This article has been written by the author, Eric James. Should you require anymoreWhy The Tablet PC Is Getting Left Behindplease visit his Tablet PC resources!