How to Look After Your Laptop's Graphic Chip

A laptop's video chip is found within the laptop soldered directly to the motherboard along with other components. It is responsible for generating a display on the screen and is easily damaged and vulnerable to premature failure particularly if mistreated.

If you disassemble an average laptop you will often notice a heat sink with fan covering two large chips. One will always be the CPU chip the other the graphics chip. Both of these chips are very sophisticated and generate plenty of heat during use. The CPU does not produce nearly as much heat as the graphics chip. The CPU is almost always contained in a socket that permits it to be rapidly extracted and replaced should it fail or require an upgrade. Unfortunately, upgrading or changing a faulty graphics chip is impossible or very difficult because it is directly soldered to the motherboard.

Graphic chips are more likely to fail or have a shortened life if they continually operate at a high temperature. If the laptop and particularly its graphics chip are kept as cool as possible then this should help increase the life expectancy of the laptop.

There are a few obvious measures that can be taken to keep this chip cool and a few less obvious ones. Ensure that you do not block the air inlet and air outlet being particularly careful not to use the laptop on a fluffy surface like a bed or carpet. Have the vents and fan cleaned if there appears to be a reduction in airflow or you notice the fan operating quite often. Most users do not realise that certain applications generate considerably more heat from the graphics chip than others. Letting the laptop idle on the Internet shouldn't cause the graphics chip to create much heat, however, playing a game where advanced graphics are operating will usually cause it to generate substantial heat. You will probably be amazed to discover that playing a DVD film will cause the graphics chip to run incredibly hot, so potentially lowering the life expectancy of the laptop particularly if this is done regularly.

If the incorrect or an old graphics driver has been installed on the laptop then this may cause the graphics chip to overheat and will likely cause graphics intensive software programs to judder or crash the laptop. Most laptop manufacturers offer a free service where the correct driver or drivers can be downloaded to help keep it operating exactly they intended when designed.

Some laptops have the graphics chip installed on a small 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 usually only possible on the top of the range laptops.

You may notice that your laptop is pumping out hot air or the case is getting far too hot to the touch then it is extremely probable that the graphics chip will be about to fail. Always treat your laptop carefully, being aware that if it is getting hot then the graphics chip might fail immediately or may have a shortened life.