Can I improve the video on my laptop?

Question

My laptop gets really hot when I play a DVD or even when my screensaver comes on. I figured that my video card is wimpy.
Any suggestions could be helpful.

Thanks
e777

Answer 1

If you are using a demanding screensaver then your processor and video chip will of course heat up (and the nice looking OpenGL screensavers I use do that very well) and DVD playback which requires some CPU time will make your computer get hot but it shouldn't raise the temperature much (and the video chip shouldn't have a problem, I've done DVD playback on computers with less powerful chips than even the worst that's bought today and had it work).

For the most part though laptop components are designed to survive running hot so it probably isn't anything to worry about (and for what you're doing a non-wimpy video chip would just mean a video chip that is more likely to get hot, not less likely).

Oh and if you were thinking of upgrading the only way to upgrade the graphics on typical laptops is to buy a new laptop.

Answer 2

You could get a laptop cooler to put under the laptop or you could look into getting a new laptop. My laptop gets hot when it's turned on, even if it's not doing much of anything.