Motherboard upgrade for acer predator PH317-53

Feodoro

Hi everyone,

I am the owner of an Acer Predator PH317-53 laptop and I am in need of a Thunderbolt port for using an external GPU for machine learning purposes. However, this laptop does not have a Thunderbolt port.

I have been considering upgrading the motherboard but so far, I have not been able to find a compatible motherboard that is readily available on the market. The only option I have found is to purchase a brand new motherboard, but the cost is almost equivalent to buying a new laptop.

My question is, is it possible to find a used motherboard with Thunderbolt support in the same form factor as my laptop, preferably without the CPU and GPU already soldered on? I am hoping to find someone with a BGA rework station who can help me solder my existing CPU and GPU onto the new motherboard.

Thank you in advance for any advice you may have.

AnhEZ28

@Feodoro it is not possible to upgrade the motherboard to the PH317-55 model which has the Thunderbolt port because it has different ports placement and possibly keyboard/touchpad incompatibility.

But there is another way to use eGPU with the laptop by connecting it via the M.2 SSD slot.