Reciever's Ongoing build/mod log AW17 Ranger

Good Evening ladies and gents,

This will be an ongoing build log of what ever the heck I do to my Ranger.

To make sure that people can search it up later I will post other threads and add all the links to this thread. I think that will be best as I cant edit the title to the best of my knowledge and there may only be interest in certain mods/upgrades.

1/31/19: Internal powered USB Hub completed. Link
This mod was to add an internal USB 3.0 port. After that, do anything you want, its universal for a reason.

2/17/19: MSI GTX 1060 6GB Install Link

2/19/19: N173HHE-G32 Installed (Destroyed)

11/23/2019 N173HHE-G32 Installation (In Progress)

11/23/2019 Taming the 4930mx (In Progress) Link
https://imgur.com/a/t2W0h4B
https://imgur.com/a/KcKt4fh

11/23/2019 Taming the 1070's VRM (In Progress)

Planned upgrades in the near future.

32GB 2133Mhz Ram ( completed)
1TB msata SSD ( completed)
GTX 1060 6GB ( sold)
GTX 1070 8GB ( completed)

Planned mods at some point.

PWM fan switch (Received)
Hybrid heatsink (In progress)
Re-purpose DMC to USB modification for 1 5TB HDD (Failed, port dead)
N173HHE-G32 panel (restarted)
Mod XMP to 2133Mhz for OCing (who knows)

 

Keep up the good work! Interested to see what else you do.

 

That all sounds very interesting!

 

Wait, does the N173HHE-G32 panel actually work in the r1? Thought it was only the LTN173... D01 -> T02 panels. I just got mine in today and it looks like the seller sent a C01 DESPITE THE FACT I TOLD THEM IT IS INCOMPATIBLE. It says "engineering sample" on it so i might give it a shot anyways.

Also out of curiosity why the 980m over the 1060 or 1070? Not saying you're wrong, just wondering because i'd like to upgrade my GPU at some point(tax returns probably ) and i'd love to know the pros of the 980m since i havent looked into it.

Also also i just read through your whole making your own USB port thing and it was pretty fascinating. Great idea about using liquid to clean out the chassis if you are cutting metal off of the frame, i was actually afraid if i ever had to cut the chassis that i'd get metal shavings in the fans/shorting the boards, definitely gonna steal that idea.

 

Yes the g32 panel works in the Ranger, couple of people tested here and both had success.

980m because I am broke lol, plus it will make a good back up card.

I thought I was going to pick one up soon but it didn't work out and also hours were cut at work so I'll be refraining from any expenditures for a while except the hdd interposer cable.

 

I found a 970M listing for $163 off taobao

 

I don't trust taobao, if it won't post I have no repercussion or a long painful process.

Appreciate you lookin out though

When I have expendible income I'll give it a try at some point.

 

Can always go through a agent and get that sweet paypal "insurance", but its a lot of effort and I can relate.

 

Yeah just looking for a bit more simple process if things go awry.

Though if I do pick up a 970m I'll likely get the g32 as it isn't too expensive, like 70-120 iirc. But we'll see. Income was slashed in half and I have other things to prioritize.

 

Ouch
I'm likely just going to say "screw it" and go full 980M or so, tired of having laptops fail on me and waiting for parts to come in/working to rebuild them. Sure you can relate

 

Yep, it's going to be a pain when I order the interposer cable which means I'll have to trim the cables further.

I may actually just trim the supplement power cables instead in preparation. It's very rare but sometimes one of the drives falls off the hub. The supplement cables will resolve this permanently.

I may just solder straight to the USB port for power instead, seems it might be simpler.

 

Im purchasing the G32 panel now, so if you want my panel let me know via PM if you end up returning yours. It is used, very light scratches that can only be seen in direct reflection of light while the screen is off.

Also updating OP

 

Awesome!

 

UPDATE:

Received the barrel switches I ordered. When everything else arrives and tearing down the laptop I will start test fitting best locations for the 2 switches (1 for GPU and 1 for CPU).

Ordered the N173HHE-G32 C.1 Revision panel for 50 USD and also bought an MSI 1060n from a member here who thus far has been stellar in keeping his word with logistics. Both should be here around Friday or so.

Also another member was kind enough to donate his 860m/GPU heatsink and eDP cable. This should enable me to run PEG until the other parts arrive.

Lastly, I am determining a method to maximize the internal hubs use, I will post there when it is done.

 

I wish I would have been lucky enough to get essentially a free 860M, perhaps we could work things out if you no longer need it when the 1060 comes?

 

I'd need it as a backup for getting back into the sbios. Also, it would be in poor taste to sell something donated.

 

Fair

As for piggying for more power, could you try something with the internal USB hub/ethernet port?

 

I plan to use the two right usb ports for supplement power. Just been waiting for all the parts to come together so I only have to take it apart once in a while instead of every week or so lol

 

If you are using a eDP 120hz display, the 1060 shouldn't need anything but PEG to fully work. No need to do anything to go to BIOS.

Even if you are using the LVDS display, I believe it defaults to Optimus so it shouldn't have any issue.

 

All I know is that we've got members who can't boot into bios with pascal and I'll need to be able to do that later for when I oc the 4930mx

 

Will be interesting to see. I think the issue is others not using pure UEFI mode.

Would love to have this tested by you since you have everything needed to use PEG (860m) in case it doesn't work out.

 

Yeah if the 1080 project never pans out then Ill just grab the 1070. But thats a while down the road.

 

What 1080 will you get to test in the unit?

 

The one I have in mind is the MSI 1080 from the G65vr vortex. If the Ranger/R4 cant supply enough power via MXM then it needs to get it externally. That was essentially the only real problem if I recall correctly from others' experiences shared here on the forum.

 

Nice. When are you planning to get the card and test it?

 

I might actually test the Clevo instead, since I can get the supplement power cable at least, and its fed through the north end of the card instead of the East side of it. This wont be for a while though, Maybe August.

Lots of moving parts going on in my life as of current, Once those priorities are resolved then I will start looking at that with more conviction. For now its just observations and absorbing the attempts so far.

I also plan to mod the heatsinks first, since I know I will need it and even if the upgrade fails, I can still benefit from that particular mod.

Just a side note. This 860m is pretty great at overclocking. +135 core and +1000Mhz memory and no crashing yet. Max temp of 55c on AS5 paste and vanilla vBIOS. Also booting PEG now as well, got tired of messing with my laptop today and havent tested the eDP panel yet. On my next day off I will though.

Also got the 5TB drive back in, I WILL have to trim cables if I plan to get 2 more drives in there some how lol

 

Clevo card is very big. At that point just use the RTX 2080 lol.

https://rjtech.com/shop/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=30682

MSI cards are smaller but have weird layouts.

Who knows? Maybe in 6 months from now we'll have RTX 2060 or 2070 in proper mxm 3.0b format or close enough.

 

Might do that, already going to be spending like 1100, whats 300 more? lol

Do they have the same layout as the clevo 1080's?

 

Seems to be close enough, if you were planning on a DM3 heatplate

 

The core and such is in the same spot. The heatsink will need to be modified since the inductors and in different spots I believe. I actually don't know if anyone has posted a real pic of the rtx 2080 clevo card yet.

Actually I just realized something...if you look at the P870DM thread @Mr. Fox did , it required modifying the MXM 3.0 slot in the P870DM to accept the GTX 1080 due to Clevo cards using extra pins.

So you would have to do the same mod in order to get any 10 or 20 series Clevo card working.

MSI 1080 or 2080 might be an easier job.

 

Nothing is ever simple eh? lol

Yeah Ill keep looking around, not in any huge rush after all.

 

Also, the card looks physically too big to fit, as it might not leave enough room for the CPU socket/heatsink.

Maybe the MSI Vortex/Aetina 1080?

 

Msi vortex might be best, but lately I've been concerned with the gpu conflicting with the 2 capacitors on the motherboard.

I need to make a mock up and confirm it.

 

How are you planning to fit the N173HHE-G32 panel in? Got mine in today, panel seems like it'll work but i cant actually get the EDP cable and bottom board to fit. Maybe drop the lights for the bezel logo for a bit of headroom, might have to cut the right hinge too? I saw one guy did it where he cut one or both of the hinges, id imagine i'd only need to cut the right one but i'd prefer not to if you or anyone else knows a workaround?

Also wasn't everyone saying no hope of 2060/70 cards and now i see talks of them(Or was that just standard form factor ones). Hyped, i really want a 2060 for this thing eventually.

 

Only 2xxx card released so far are the MSI/Clevo cards, which aren't even close to PnP, need heavy chassis/heatsink mods

 

The guy lost the panel or something and I got refunded, ill be reordering from another source soon.

You have to cut the hinges a bit to feed the cable through to the chassis.

Yeah I am waiting to see how it works for others before I try it. Im a little too ignorant to try it first hand.

 

If they're anything like the 1080, it'll need a MXM slot mod, referenced in the 8700K/1080 P870DM mod

 

I can probably do that with enough study of how @Mr. Fox did it on his P870DM

Im fairly certainly I have figured out a way to cool everything well enough too. Its not going to be vanilla but should suffice.

Ill try it out on the CPU heatsink first if I can get it developed.

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/fs-usa-micron-1100-3d-nand-2tb-ssd-185-shipped.251540/
I know you've been looking for a 2TB SSD, here's the Micro 1100 for $185 USD shipped

 

Thanks going to pass though, I have no presence there and no protections so I stick to ebay in case a part is bad.

 

i have an extra aw 17 r1 mobo you can have if you want for mockups and what not. from the last time i tested it, it didnt work and it might be a bios issue. if you want it you can dm me. my system is working awesome now.

 

I have a dead board already lol and I guess I'll be getting another one soon.

 

OP updated

 

OP Updated

GTX 1060 and N173HHE-G32 installed

 

That panel have 94% NTSC color gamut? Must be nice

 

Assuming you would know, but have people gotten the 1440P 120HZ or 4K displays working?

 

Not yet, the 1440p panel doesnt work and still waiting on others to try the 4k panel.

But yes, The N173HHE-G32 panel is dope. I still need to work out the details though before I call it "done".

 

Mate thanks for being a pioneer. If you ever get to writing a guide on how to make that panel fit that would help others a lot.

 

I think next week I get a couple days off and I'll try to do something then. I'm now working two jobs to kick start my life again so I'm very busy lol.

 

N173HHE-G32 what version is it now? c1 c2 c3? 30 pin right?

I might just join your modding journey