Dell Proprietary Slot

• Dell designs many of its laptop components to be interchangeable. Although the purpose for this is cost effectiveness (by standardizing component production), it also has the side benefit of being able to upgrade the components.
  
  

MXM by NVIDIA

• Like Dell's proprietary slot, MXM was designed by NVIDIA to lower production costs, but also makes it possible to upgrade laptop video cards. To see if your video card is MXM-compatible, consult the laptop manufacturer or mxm-upgrade.com.
  
  

Axiom by ATI

• Axiom is ATI's laptop graphics card upgrade option. According to Alexis Mather, technical marketing manager at ATI, the company built the Axiom platform not to become an industry standard but to offer additional solutions to its customers.
  
  

ExpressCard Options

• Laptops with ExpressCard slots have a special advantage: their video cards can be upgraded--for a price--if you don't mind making the laptop stationary. Docking stations that include full desktop PCI Express cards and connect through a laptop's ExpressCard slot can be purchased, but these units are often large and expensive, and only compatible with external monitors, not the laptop's original screen.
  
  

Word of Caution

• It is not recommended to try to upgrade, replace or repair a laptop video card unless you're comfortable with computer hardware and aren't afraid to accidentally damage your machine or void its warranty.