9920G GPU Options?

Hi everyone, this is my second post but I have read a fair bit on the forums, I'm hoping to fix a problem on my 9920G but no luck yet. I originally posted this on an old thread which was probably the wrong way to go about it.

A few days ago I booted up my laptop but only the lights appeared and the drives span up. The screen remained black and blank. I looked through a lot of information on the sysmptoms but none of the suggestions worked. However when I removed the Nvidia 8600m and booted up the system went all the way through to the Windows music. This makes me think the GPU has died which seems to be a commone occurrence.

My question is has anyone successfully replaced the 8600m with another GPU on the 9920G? I'd rather not put the same model back. The ATI HD3650 seems a good alternative but may not be completely compatible.

The only source of replacement GPUs seems to be eBay hailing from Hong Kong or China.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, so I can "unbrick" my 2 year old laptop. I'm running on Windows 7.

 

3650's goes for about £50 on ebay, try to get one thats ddr3! cheap and cheerful

 

Have a gander at the Acer MXM thread for some ideas.
The GeForce 8600M GT was the only MXM card sold with the 9920G, but I don't know a reason why the Radeon HD 3650 wouldn't work.
Alternatively, if you're feeling daring, why not try the Radeon HD 4650 from MXM-Upgrade.com?

 

Thanks, there's some food for thought in there, I'll let you know what I find out and end up doing.

Sorry about the spelling mistake in the title but you don't seem to be able to edit mistakes there.

 

I can and did. Keep us posted!

 

Thanks for correcting the header.

I've bitten the bullet and ordered an ATI 3650 from Hong Kong, should get it in a week to 10 days.

When I do 9920G owners will finally have it confirmed whether the ATI works in that model.

Fingers crossed

 

Unfortunately the delivery of my GPU looks a lot longer now as it's coming Airmail and the volcanic ash cloud is preventing all higher level aviation in England.

An incredible blow to the Airlines in Europe, thankfully the precautions have prevented any accidents.

 

Hurray, the planes are back in the air!

GPU still in Hong Kong but not for much longer, hopefully.

 

My Ati HD 3650 arrived from Hong Kong today and I've installed it with mixed success.

The 9920G monitor doesn't show anything.

However it fires up OK using an external monitor.

Any ideas what is going wrong? Does the BIOS need changing?

My old gpu wouldn't boot up at all.

 

Maybe you didnt connect correctly lcd connector with the motherboard while you were assembling the laptop or it fell out afterwards.

 

Thanks, I'm going back in for a look.

 

I've checked, can't find any loose connections. I can't actually see the screen connections as I can't unscrew the long thin panel directly under the screen. I'm wondering if the backlight has died or perhaps the screen on switch has failed.

 

Been trawling through various items and have found an acer with similar blank screen problems that was fixed by changing the video BIOS.

Will try to find an editor and gain some knowledge on the subject. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

That didn't go so well, used Winflash which crashed midway. Taken me a long while to extract the copy .bin from my hardrive using my son's laptop. I've used a USB stick to blind copy my vbios back to the 9920g.
So the laptop is working again but only using an external monitor. Perhaps my screen has gone.
Anybody know if there are monitor settings in the vbios? As I've changed from Nvidia to ATI, I'm clutching at straws that it's a setting rather than say the backlight.

 

Hi... I just subscribe because I want to upgrade my 9920g with a HD3650 (maybe we bought it in the same Hong-kong shop on Ebay !!! lol)

I bought my laptop 3 monthes ago, and the seller thought the 8600GT was no more functionnal... It appeared that when I upgraded the CPU with a T7700... the nVidia 8600GT was perfectly functional... but I'd rather use the ATI HD3650, because I prefer much more ATI Graphics performances...

When I try to install it... I have a black screen, and the 9920g just turns off after a few seconds.

Since two days, I'm reading a lot things about this, but Your the first one I found with a 9920g and an ATI HD 3650 that seems to work...

Could you, please, help me (giving the vBIOS File for exemple) to upgrade and explain me step by step what you've done since you started to upgrade...?

I propose to make photos and a real tutorial if it works...

 

well... It runs better with en external monitor : I have an image... but the problem is still here : the PC turns off a few seconds after it started.

I also notified that the fan (?) doesn't start... I suppose the problem is here. The GPU is very hot and I used a cold iced block from my freezer to make it cooler, but it only stays 20s On...



The good news, is that in the BIOS, the card is activated... so, I think maybe my heat sink is failure

 

Hi, my ATI card is working fine so far, I did put on a lot of the paste to make a good firm contact. The card itself is a perfect match in size and shape with the 8600.

The BIOS has settings for shutdown I believe mine is set to 79C, presumably this is what is causing your shutdowns. I'm using Speedfan to monitor the temperatures. The highest I've seen so far is 67C.

I bought my card on eBay from "Mokkin".

 

Careful with using too much thermal paste - that can actually reduce the effectiveness of the compound!
If you've got a large gap to fill, get heatpads instead of a thermal paste.

 

Thanks for that advice, the gap is completely closed, I just meant that I made sure the complete chip surface was covered.

Unfortunately the screen or inverter seems to have died, for the time being I'll continue using an external monitor, the 9920G is hardly portable anyway weighing 17 pounds

I may eventully remove the screen as it weighs a lot more than the main unit. I'd then have a very light weight desktop!

 

Sorry I misled you earlier the option to setup a shutdown temp is in my desktop BIOS got confused switching from one to another when I was trying to blind flash the original vbios back. I'm still using the vbios that came with the card.
I did get two shutdowns earlier today playing Battle March. But I've since raised the base two inches of the desk and have just finished the game without getting hot at all according to Speedfan.

 

It seems I have the same problem on my 9920G. I have ordered the ATI HD3650 too so hoping it will drive my laptop screen as well as external. It seems to work fine on other acer models, as per this link

Acer 7520G MXM upgrade

I had given up on fixing it, deleted backups and put HD's in caddies etc..... but at least I hadn't ordered a new machine before I stumbled on this and other threads

I will post how I get on.

As an aside has anyone tried using 2 external monitors at the same time? I assume it wont drive 2 external <and> the on board display, but if it does drive 2 externals then I can live without the onboard... I was about to test this but my GPU died..

Interesting to note that apparently ALL 8400 and 8600 chipsets have an inherent heat management issue

All nvidia g84 and g86s are bad - The Inquirer
All NVIDIA 8400M / 8600M chips faulty? -- Engadget

 

Best of luck with your replacement GPU.

At least if your replacement completely sorts your screen problems it will prove that I had two problems at once, i.e. the graphics card and either the invertor or LCD have given up.

Until then I still have a nagging doubt that there is a BIOS difference causing the screen to remain off.

The 8600 card seems to have a very high failure rate.

 

Hi Lockhart,

Has your GPU been delivered yet?

If it has, have you successfully upgraded. I'm very curious to know if your onboard screen works OK.

 

Nope not arrived yet, hoping in the next day or two. Thermal paste should be arriving at the same time.

I will post here as soon as I have a result

 

The waitings always the hardest bit, my Hong Kong GPU was delayed due to volcanic ash problems.

When it did arrive it came with thermal paste included. I suppose it's in their interest to make sure you do a good job of the installation.

 

Sorry that font is tiny!

 

No worries, Puddleduck - fixed it.

 

Ack, part in Dublin and I'm not anymore, so another week before I can have a crack at it.

Puddle does it run two external screens ok do you know?

 

The card will run 2 external displays but the internal one will shut off.

 

The week will be worth the wait if you can resurrect your laptop.

 

Thanks Meaker.

Looking like it could be a good while yet, have a horrible feeling the part will be winging its way back to Hong Kong, rather than to England so might be a few weeks.... Ah well, will get my hands on it eventually and post feedback

Edit: Next week finally

Edit2: Boy did I speak too soon! One of these days I will see the chip in my hands, taking longer for a mate to get to me than if it had gone all the way back to HK......

 

Glad to here the GPU is getting closer.

Good luck with the upgrade.

 

Ok , chip arrived, happy days.... Installed, fantastic... Laptop screen does not work, not so hot....

So same issue as yourself PuddleD. Literally just installing win7 to start some more digging and the elusive solution. Not exactly optimistic.... Will update with progress if any

 

Hmmm, it keeps powering off as soon as install process is underway, so I suspect overheating may be at play. Time to open her up again..... Shame the bios functionality is soooo limited.

Fan working fine, everything seems properly seated and thermal paste quantity looks ok and in proper contact. All the original thermal pads seem ok too. So now I'm a bit stumped. As soon as it gets any kind of load it cant handle it and powers off. Time for some memory tests and such like I suppose. If I just leave it running, sitting at a no boot loader screen, the copper heat sink running from the new graphics chip gets extremely hot so it is conducting a lot of heat away, but it is under no load whatsoever. No wonder it is tripping out as soon as it has to do any work.

So the initial happy thoughts at seeing the old beast boot up once more are somewhat subdued now....

Propped it up with a fan blowing under it and install working away so defo an overheating issue. Just hoping I can control the settings from windows with a utility of some sort once installed.

Ok so now have Win & all set up and running. Now turned off the fan underneath and monitoring GPU temp using GPU-Z 0.4.4 and it fluctuates between 58C and 71C with no load whatsoever on it, maybe the on board fan is kicking in but it doesn't sound like it. The CPU is fluctuating between 40C and 53C again under no load. No system hangs at all so far. Cant help thinking that a mild load would send the figures through the roof....

I have also been trawling the web for possible solutions to the non working laptop screen and found some interesting stuff but no joy as yet. I am really not sure that flashing a differnt bios, at least the ones out there, will make any difference. The search continues.

Beginning to think the screen has gone.... Inverter or cable problem, maybe just fried when the video chip gave up. Now having no overheating issues whatsoever.... I just love a consistently inconsistent PC problem! ;-)

 

So good news and bad just like me.

It seems quite a coincidence if we both had a GPU and screen go together. I still suspect there could be something in the GPU BIOS thats not right. Shame we don't seem to be able to print it out.

To keep my 9920 cooled I prop the back up on an old portable Scrabble board. the extra inch of clearance seems to make a big difference. I've had no crashes since I use this method.

 

I've got exactly the same problem. No starting up, when I remove the video card it does start up (I hear the windows sound, thanks PuddleDuck for that hint).
I'm now weighing my options: getting a new card and discovering like you guys that the screen is fried as well, or sinking the whole brick and move to a new one (mine is from beginning of 2008, has been on almost 24/7 ever since so basically it's a write off anyway). I'll keep you posted on my proceedings.

 

Hi Fufse, join our elite 9920G duff GPU club

My laptop hails from January 2008 but not used as much.

I thought it was worth a £50 gamble to get the laptop up and running again, will cost considerably more to replace the whole beast.

My laptop and desktop share the same monitor now, permanently connected via a Y cable.

Still hoping for some info on the GPU instructions held in the vbios.

Best of luck

 

Good luck Fufse. It might be worth having a chat with these guys...

MXM Upgrade Home Page

I am gonna call them I think and see if they have a view on the dead screen problem. Will feedback.....

Mine is from Jan 2008 too and was on just about all the time so it was a proper work horse. With a new working vid chip and screen the new windows rating is high enough to keep it as a work machine for another 2 years I'd say. Such a shame..... I just wonder if it's worth getting another Nvida 8600M chip. Another 50 quid or so and we know they have a heat problem but may well be worth a shot if it lasts another year or so...

 

Interestingly this item on Ebay for a straight swap of the nvida card has a comment in the compatibility section saying not suitable for Acer 9920 due to a bios limitation...

nVidia GeForce 8600M GT 512MB MXM II Graphics Card UK on eBay (end time 23-Aug-10 22:47:24 BST)

Response from the seller...

No this card isn't compatible. THe VBIOS is very difficault to change....

Back to the drawing board....


Maybe get someone with a working 9920 to copy their bios and post it to flash onto a new 8600. Doesn't help with the ATI card though...sigh

 

Well, having exchanged some emails with the MXM guys, in their opinion the only card that will work is the Nivdia 8600 which they can order and make it work.

I am going to find out costs for this route, see if it is worth it.

"We ship suitable 8600GTs for 180€, including VAT and shipping"..... ouch

 

hi

it seems i have joined an elite band of brothers, namely a 9920g with a dead screen , but mine won't even work on separate screen despite pressing f5

I have tried a new screen inverter card, re-seating everything inside with no success, i spoke to a company who advertise laptop repairs on ebay and the reply i got suggests it is a simple fix for £ 80 + vat.

i found this thread after typing in screen probs for acer 9920g and also found a guy selling the new cards on ebay for £79 so i'm wondering if the laptop repair guy is just going to put a new card in it for me.

i'm thinking of giving it a go as i too bought mine as a punt thinking i could repair it myself and get a cheap laptop into the bargain.

my one is in absolutely mint condition, no scratches or damage anywhere, it would be such a shame to bin it.

cheers

roger

 

Hi Roger,

welcome to the club

When I exchanged email with the MXM guys they seemed to be saying that a stock 8600M GT would not work either but that they could supply one ready to rock for 180 euro.

Can you boot up your machine but just cant see the screen or is it totally dead?

I just sorted remote access on mine and will be using it as a media server and torrent hub, so no need for the screen anymore.... Speaking of which, during the course of your investigations have you discovered how to remove the screen?

Good luck anyway

 

hi lockhart,

i checked out the MXM upgrade site too when sourcing a gpu for this , it does seem steep (180 euros) for a new card, from reading their site i couldn't understand if they customise them or were just a reseller?

with regards my laptop, when i press the power button the blue lights that light the buttons down the left hand side light up , the bluetooth light is permanantly on along with a green light to its left.

when i installed a new drive the drive light came on along with the fan, i hadn't heard this as it was sold to me without a drive so there is definately power there.

i'm still weighing up sending it away to be repaired, what i can't find on any forum regarding this problem is whether its software or hardware related as many say its the vbios and others saying its related to the way the card is packaged (ventilation, heating etc) inside the machine.

gonna see if the ebay card seller has replied to my request.

cheers mate

roger

 

yep, got the same response from ebay card seller as everyone else " its vbios won't work with 9920g" which makes me wonder then if MXM upgrade have re-written the bios for this card, any ideas?

cheers

roger

 

Hi Roger,

Have you tried booting your laptop without the GPU in? I believe the duff card stops booting as when I took mine out the laptop booted into windows (you can hear the music start up).

Mine wouldn't work on either the main screen or a separate monitor until I replaced the existing card for an ATI 3650. Mine cost £50 from Hong Kong via eBay. The description actually says the GPU is Acer compatible. You may get one cheaper as the exchange rate has changed.

My main screen still doesn't work I believe the screen itself has gone, these are around £120 to replace so I'm making do with an external monitor.

Best of luck

Barry.

 

cheers barry

rightly of wrongly i'm going to chance my arm with the repair guy, took my graphics card apart today (22nd) and had a look for obvious signs or wear and tear, i.e scorch marks irregular soldering.

tbh the card looks pretty good physically so i'm clean out of ideas as previously stated i've reseated everything that can be, bought a new inverter card and fitted that.

that had no effect at all so i'm gonna cover the laptop in protective film and post it off this week.

i did think myself that it could be that the screen is dead, however the fact that i can't get it to work on an external monitor makes me think its not that

funnily enough i googled the graphics card details and found countless forums telling me there were defective before they were even fitted to any laptop as apparently a flaw in the manufacturing process meant they would overheat and fail almost immediately.

Google 'nvidia G84 G86' and you'll get a load more information.

cheers roger

 

I'm typing this using my laptop screen!

I was going to throw my old GPU out but had read on the net that you could fix the 8600 GT cards by cooking them in the oven.

So I thought I have nothing to lose and baked my card at gas mark 6 for 5 1/2 minutes. I then put the card back into my laptop and it booted and the screen worked straight away.

I'll give more detail in another post as I read that Roger was going to try a repair shop and I may save him the trip.

Barry.

 

I spent a lot of time trying to prove that the vbios on the HD3650 was preventing my screen working. Although it works well with an external monitor.

The graphics in windows are perfect with my cooked card but there are some lines in DOS. Obviously this may be a temprary repair and I will report back to confirm the screen is working or not. I've only used the laptop a couple of times so far.

But if you have a duff 8600 card I think it's well worth trying the baking method.

I'm off to try Starcraft 2 as a soak test for my "new old card"

 

Screen still working but graphics accellerator not.

I'm using Windows 7 64 bit and although the card is recognized Windows closes it down with a code 43 error. I know I had problems before with the drivers.

I'm operating at 1650 x 1050 resolution OK.

Not sure if this is just a software driver problem or a hardware one.

Any ideas?

 

Wow nice work on the baking the chip fix! Unfortunately my old chip has long since hit land fill Not too worried since it is just a download/media server workhorse now.

Have you tried getting drivers from this site?

NVIDIA & Laptop News | Latest NVIDIA drivers and related news | laptopvideo2go.com