M17x R2 Parts replacement

Hello, my m17x R2 "died" 2 weeks ago, liquid over it... So here is my question. Only graphic card is damaged, motherboard has some sings of life... but i'd prefer to change it if possible...

I will paste my laptop specs, i would be glad if someone could tell me if i can take advantage from my problem and upgrade something (gpu, mb, ram, etc...) with a bit more of money, and what should/could i buy. I preffer to spend no more than 600-700€ total so i probably need something economic

Thank you for your time

RNRK1 __ N08W7X01
0G1YY __PROCESOR INTEL CORE I5 54
62XRJ __DISPLAY : 17IN WIDEXGA+ 1440 X 900 - BEY
3F70Y __MEMORY : 4096MB (2X2048) 1333MHZ DDR3 DU
21DGN __POWER CORD : EURO 250V
G868T __POWER SUPPLY : ALIENWARE 240W AC ADAPTER
66MVV __ GRAPHIC CARD 1GB ATI 5870 GDDR5 MOBI

 

How do you know the gpu is fried!
Did you check it in different PC?

 

as nbr said, how do you know it's a GPU?

Screen i'd say RGBLED is a must have with this laptop. (Havent seen any on ebay lately, there were some in germany selling for 240€
RAM 2x4GB atleast, 2x8GB causes issues sometimes. (60€
CPU to i7, if budget allows 920XM, otherwise (720QM,740QM,820QM,840QM) (40€-150€
GPU, 7970M seems to work best with R2 and has better bang for a buck ratio than 680M (250€ - 400€

All together abound 500-600€ seems pretty much in your range

 

Thanks for the answers

Its a long story but i will try to resume it.
When i noticed, my pc was still "running", only the screen was working, but it was just a grey color, no mouse, no deskop, nothing.

My power button didnt work, so i must unplug the adapter directly to turn off the pc. After a day drying all parts, i turned on the pc, the lights from keyboard, control pannel and speaker were on, fans (i dont know if it was only one or both of them) were working too, but the screen doesnt turn on.

Light codes from control pannel meant that there was a problem with the graphic card/motherboard, so i unpluged the graphic card and the light code changed to a "graphic card/control pannel" problem.
After that, i swaped my gpu to the other side pci connector that is totally ok, and still the same problem.

Cleaned all i could, motherboard has little oxid marks, some "fried" marks too, but i thought it was still alive and working because i plugged an external monitor and i've got image, bios screen, windows screen, and "repairing tool" screen + all my hardware devices working. But i dont know why my pc was turning on and off repeteadly, so i just disconnected it. and didnt check again untill a few days ago.

After that, i've got another problem, cleanned all flex ribbon cables from devices, the control pannel's one has some pins "black?", but i checked continuity between all pins and at first look it should be ok... but now the power button doesnt turn on/off the pc... Weird thing is that my pc turns on instantly when i connect my AC adapter, but only 1 fan is working, the gpu's one... no lights on devices, and now i cant get image from external monitor

 

If you have something on external screen that meen your gpu is alive. I would go for the mobo or the screen. Mobo is dead or dieing in my own opinion. Go for an 920xm after swapping the mobo, you can find some for 120 € in USA, much better cpu than yours.

Edit: double check you have correctly plug the screen cable, they can be a bit loose sometime.

 

It does sound more like a motherboard to me than it does as a GPU fault.

Does the PC instantly turn on eve when the GPU is removed?... if so i'd suggest looking for a new motherboard... I have one currently, fully working except the AlienFX, i'm still waiting to recieve the tools to repair that and i'll be selling it afterwards.

I've seen people ask 200€ for the mobo wich is overpriced IMHO... you can get them from china for about 150€ last i checked.

But it'd be great if we could diagnose your PC before doing any repairs.

 

Gmorning, thanks for your responses.

Yes, my pc turns on even without GPU. As i can see then mb is the problem here, damm

I've took a look on ebay for the parts you said. Would be the first time i buy there to be honest, but i'd like to ask you guys some things before so i can do all rightly.

1. Is there another better way than ebay?
2. As i can see, prices for an used part are pretty pretty much cheaper than a new one. Is it really worth? and most important, can i trust that those used ones will work as good as mine were doing? :cry:
3. Will i need to trick something on bios, os, etc... to make those upgrades work? Or will they be recongnised and work with no problems just plugging them and turning on the pc?

To be honest, i've never upgraded anything on my pcs, just cleaned them and other basic things. I will have no problem changing them, but i am a bit noob about checking compatibilities and buying on internet, that is why i ask you that.
If you want i can post item links before i buy them, so i cant get scammed.

 

Yeah, i'd bet my money on dead mobo...

1. You can try NBR marketplace, but otherwise ebay is the go-to website from there.
2. Used ones are ok as long as theey don't have some flaws, be sure to buy one that is tested and 100% working... if it happens that you still get partially or fully faulty one, just return it and ask for a new one or refund.
3. Upgrade your BIOS to A10 unlocked one and that is pretty much it, 7970M should be plug and play for R2 from what i've heard.

Sure, we can check the links for you

 

Gmorning!

I've been searching for a while, atm this is the cheapest that i've found.

Mobo113€

GPU 300$

CPU 240$

Still looking for the ram

 

You have to count in that if you purchase from Chine you will most likely have to pay import duties and wait about a month for the item... (So it's around 135€, depending on where you live).
But it's still much better deal than what i see on ebay...

The GPU is sold already, you have to get one that's still selling.

I think you can get the CPU much cheaper... the USD -> EUR ratio isn't that favorable anymore...

I got 2x4GB 1333MHz ram for R2 if you'd like (Samsung or Kingston) and is tested to work with R2 with no problems.

 

isnt better a ram with 1600mhz? or is it unsupported?
Otherwise i would be interested if you sell them cheap, you can pm me hehe

 

I don't think 1600MHz RAM works in the R2... 1333MHz was the limit.. Correct me if I am wrong though..

 

Well the max supported RAM speed varies depending on what CPU is used... for all dual-cores it's maximally 1066MHz, when you use QM or XM CPU's it's limited to 1333MHz, so using anything faster won't do you any good as it downclocks it.

Sure, PM me your offer and where you would like to have it shipped to