Upgrading a Gaming Laptop's GPU

[kuzko]

Hello everyone !!

 

I will keep this post updated with edits.

 

I have an MSI GT70 0NC (048FR) which happen to be a gaming laptop with an Nvidia 670M discrete GPU and the warranty is going off in about 10 days (yay memory upgrade from 12 to 16GB, etc!)

I would like to Upgrade my system to a 770M or maybe a 765M because I already know that the 670M inside my beast is in MXM format and the TDP of these cards is around the same amount than my 670M.

link that I think is useful : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units

But... I don't really see where to buy mobile laptops gpus (i'm in FRANCE) and the heatsink that goes with and all the stuff I should think about. (any ideas?). And I don't know if the PciE MXM slot is in 2.0 or 3.0 and if it will generate any kind of issues...

 

*EDIT* I saw THIS :  is this REAL??? http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-870M-6GB-DDR5-for-clevo-alienware-upgrademonkey-/131090582677?pt=DE_Elektronik_Computer_CPUs&hash=item1e859b8c95

 

*EDIT2* According to this, the 670M has a MXM 3.0B BUS =, same as the 770M and 870M, so I should be able to upgrade with no problems for the BUS side.

 

My question being : do somebody already upgraded a laptop's GPU of any kind, and what would be your advices for the gpu to buy ? (amd/nvidia , now /later (maxwell??))

 

In any case, thank you for reading !

[EChondo]

I don't know how it is over in France, but in the U.S. mobile laptop hardware is extremely expensive.

 

Depending on the price, you might want to consider buying a whole new laptop, but again that is if the price is out of your comfort zone. I'll see what I can find about parts in France.

[Goldilock]

wait, why is your warranty off? I though I can upgrade the RAM without voiding the warranty.

[kuzko]

wait, why is your warranty off? I though I can upgrade the RAM without voiding the warranty.

The computer is almost 2 years old (in 10 days).... the warranty is 2 years ... so.... and if I open the case, I'm voiding the warranty

[kuzko]

I don't know how it is over in France, but in the U.S. mobile laptop hardware is extremely expensive.

 

Depending on the price, you might want to consider buying a whole new laptop, but again that is if the price is out of your comfort zone. I'll see what I can find about parts in France.

Well, i don't really care about the price, it's mainly an Idea beacause I'm going to mod the case etc... so investing in the computer will be needed but the 670M is now a weak gaming card so I would like to see what  can do about it...

[TheRetiredSlave]

Generally the only place you can really get mobile GPUs is from ebay (I'm seeing several 770Ms for about 350-400 USD).. Since the cards all use the same MXM form factor, you should be able to re-use the same heatsink from your current laptop. You should be able to buy thermal paste at any retailer that sells PC hardware.

 

I would go with a 770M over a 765M simply because the prices aren't very different and the 770M should be a bit faster..

Waiting for Maxwell could be an option, but sometimes mobile GPUs get released much later than their desktop counterparts. There's really no guarantee that the next generation of GPUs will even be backwards compatible with earlier laptops, so I don't really see any point in waiting.

[Sheldon_King]

Hello everyone !!

 

I have an MSI GT70 0NC (048FR) which happen to be a gaming laptop with an Nvidia 670M discrete GPU and the warranty is going off in about 10 days (yay memory upgrade from 12 to 16GB, etc!)

I would like to Upgrade my system to a 770M or maybe a 765M because I already know that the 670M inside my beast is in MXM format and the TDP of these cards is around the same amount than my 670M.

link that I think is useful : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units

But... I don't really see where to buy mobile laptops gpus (i'm in FRANCE) and the heatsink that goes with and all the stuff I should think about. (any ideas?). And I don't know if the PciE MXM slot is in 2.0 or 3.0 and if it will generate any kind of issues...

 

My question being : do somebody already upgraded a laptop's GPU of any kind, and what would be your advices for the gpu to buy ? (amd/nvidia , now /later (maxwell??))

 

In any case, thank you for reading !

The MXM version needs to be the same as the card you are installing. As far as I remember, the physical connector is different on the different generations of MXM. 

 

As far as upgrading laptop GPUs before, indeed I have. I installed a FX3600m into my Precision M90 (Actually closer to a M6300 now, due to a motherboard upgrade to get SATA II and the 965 chipset). My case is different from yours though, as the M90/M6300 line had a proprietary connector for the GPU, despite being MXM 1.0 (iirc) compatible.

As far as getting the GPU, try Ebay or the like for your local area. You may try something like  http://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-mxm-ii-video-card.html, but I don't know if they can be trusted though, they were just the first to come up with a google search for "buy mxm gpu in france" 

[Coombzy]

The computer is almost 2 years old (in 10 days).... the warranty is 2 years ... so.... and if I open the case, I'm voiding the warranty

I doubt that... you can open it up and install new hardware like more ram or an ssd without voiding a warranty to my knowledge.

[kuzko]

Generally the only place you can really get mobile GPUs is from ebay (I'm seeing several 770Ms for about 350-400 USD).. Since the cards all use the same MXM form factor, you should be able to re-use the same heatsink from your current laptop. You should be able to buy thermal paste at any retailer that sells PC hardware.

 

I would go with a 770M over a 765M simply because the prices aren't very different and the 770M should be a bit faster..

Waiting for Maxwell could be an option, but sometimes mobile GPUs get released much later than their desktop counterparts. There's really no guarantee that the next generation of GPUs will even be backwards compatible with earlier laptops, so I don't really see any point in waiting.

Thank you, 

I wanted to know if there are other places where I could get mobile gpus than EBAY but yeah i looked at it and I found only one seller in europe 

I found it : upgrademonkey : http://www.ebay.fr/usr/upgrademonkey

[kuzko]

I doubt that... you can open it up and install new hardware like more ram or an ssd without voiding a warranty to my knowledge.

It's my first very own computer and i got a sticker on a screw that says "warranty void if tampered" so... i guess i can't

[kuzko]

The MXM version needs to be the same as the card you are installing. As far as I remember, the physical connector is different on the different generations of MXM. 

 

As far as upgrading laptop GPUs before, indeed I have. I installed a FX3600m into my Precision M90 (Actually closer to a M6300 now, due to a motherboard upgrade to get SATA II and the 965 chipset). My case is different from yours though, as the M90/M6300 line had a proprietary connector for the GPU, despite being MXM 1.0 (iirc) compatible.

As far as getting the GPU, try Ebay or the like for your local area. You may try something like  http://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-mxm-ii-video-card.html, but I don't know if they can be trusted though, they were just the first to come up with a google search for "buy mxm gpu in france" 

 

Thank you,

I bought a 64 GB usb stick on Aliexpress, got a bugged 256GB one (7.2 real)... 

I don't really know the platfor though... but thanks for the link, it seems that there are many gpu cards there but no 770M nor 765M

[Guest]

I doubt that graphics card is an 870m, i think its an 770m,
look at this image and compare the GPU cores
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/2306/geforce-gtx-765m.html

[kuzko]

I doubt that graphics card is an 870m, i think its an 770m,

look at this image and compare the GPU cores

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/2306/geforce-gtx-765m.html

 

In the description of the video card : "The picture is a sample / preorder"

[Guest]

In the description of the video card : "The picture is a sample / preorder"

Ah i didnt see that, maybe it is legit because we do seem to get the Laptop GPU's before the desktop equivalents.