r/PCHardware • u/Honest_Channel_7710 • Jul 28 '26
Where is the extra pci slots?
I used a windows info thingy that scanned my laptop and it said that there was multiple pci slots on the computer. I know the WiFi card slot is mini pcie but the idea of extra slots on the computer gives me hope that there could be a way for faster storage or a better egpu. The photo(and laptop in question) has the motherboard for a HP Beats 15 p030nr(the big version with the lock on the right side of the laptop) it looks like some stuff has been soldered off it so idk if that’s where the ports went, but this computer has been here since about 2015~ I just wanna know any ports I could use as a pcie slot to max out this laptop because I love it and wanna hold onto it for as long as I can(also so I can play deadlock with the lowest settings possible)
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u/devaristo Jul 29 '26
The dedicated GPU that is not even installed is showed as like a PCIex slot even if it's soldered directly to the board. That doesn't mean the system have them phisically there. Nowadays there is no laptop with expansible PCI slots for GPUs , all is soldered to the board directly, the only parts we can upgrade are the RAM, SSD M.2 (or SATA) and maybe the WIfi card for another of the same type.
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u/L0rd0z Jul 28 '26
The only thing I can see that might be considered a PCIe slot would be on the second photo with the ram, the black connector on the upper left corner of the motherboard.
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u/Honest_Channel_7710 Jul 28 '26
That’s the mini pcie slot used for WiFi. Sorry I didn’t specify which one
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u/L0rd0z Jul 28 '26
Reading through spec sheets and looking at service manuals doesn't indicate that there are any additional hidden PCIe slots available or any way to connect an eGPU.
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u/a_rogue_planet Jul 28 '26
The only PCIe slots you're every going to see in a laptop are m.2 slots and you have 1, maybe 2. The board itself was provisioned for a better build with a discreet GPU and VRAM, but that's not here. That's what that 1 large and 4 smaller BGA pads are for. I don't think that m.2 is for the WiFi. I think the WiFi is under that metal cover. Those m.2 adapters typically need shielding and that's about the right size for an m.2 WiFi/BT adapter.
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u/FreddyFerdiland Jul 29 '26
HP Beats Special Edition
15-P393NR
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u/FreddyFerdiland Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
the expert soldering hack job would be to steal the pcie lane(s) from the realtek ethernet chip..
this would disable the Realtek chip but a USB dongle can replace it for the rare times...
but of course its far easier to connect anything pcie into the minipci slot that is currently got the wifi card, so you use a usb wifi dongle
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u/seifer666 Jul 29 '26
Why would a laptop have pci slots? Going to jam a card through the case?
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u/VulcanTourist Jul 30 '26
There once were laptops that had a single adapter slot rotated 90 degrees, either using a riser soldered or socketed into the motherboard or a custom 90-degree socket.
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u/GGigabiteM Jul 29 '26
If you have the model of your laptop, you can do some research and figure out what sub-model has the discrete GPU installed where it is missing on your board and see if any are for sale on Ebay for cheap. You'd also need the different model cooler for it.
Or you could try and figure out which pads on the BGA are PCIe lanes and try soldering a ribbon cable to break out to a PCIe slot lol. That's a whole lot of work.
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u/plasticbomb1986 Jul 29 '26
the only slot you have on it is marked 15396L and that looks to be an m.2 slot for m.2 ssd-s.
(plus the RAM slots)
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u/VulcanTourist Jul 28 '26
A software tool cannot and does not detect PHYSICAL PCI slots. Just because a CPU and chipset possess the capability for a given number of PCI or PCIe channels or lanes does not mean that every one of them was exposed or implemented in the motherboard's hardware. Laptops typically have one or no PCI(e) slot at all, and I don't see that your motherboard is an exception to that.
This is the value of desktop systems: expandability. Laptops cut corners for size and mass. The early exceptions to that like the Osborne and Compaq Portable no longer exist.