Geforce 8800M GTX died...

My Geforce 8800M GTX 512mb died. I had been having heating issues of the graphics card getting to hot for awhile and remedied it by using a usb cooling pad. In the middle of gaming one night the screen just shut off and the computer wouldn't boot. When i pulled the video card out it will boot using the integrated graphics just fine. My laptop's warranty has expired and I was wondering what my options are. Is there some where I can get a new graphics card? What graphics cards will fit in my machine? What's the cheapest I can get a new high end card for?

 

the best bet is the 3870 how ever it require several changes to the machine cooling system


this should be moved to the legacy

 

You probably want to post this in the legacy section, your m15x is pre dell made. This section is the "All Powerful" Dell M15x. This link will show the options you have and you can buy new cards from them or ebay would be my best guess on purchasing options.

 

thread moved.

 

You should PM this guy: http://forum.notebookreview.com/wan...eck-9800m-gt-ddr3-512mb-mxm-2-1-type-iii.html

See if he wants to sell his 9800m at $300, that would be a steal!

 

Bake your card! It works, I performed the same thing on my 9800m gt. The card works great now. Yes the 3870 will work, but the 9800m gt is plug and play, uses the same cooling set up as your 8800 and uses the same drivers.

 

If you bake your video card, it will only work for a month or two before the problems come back. Baking is a temporary fix.

 

Get the 3870. It runs a lot cooler. But, you'll need a different heatsink (ebay). You won't ever have to worry about a defective nVidia chip again.

 

MXM Upgrade has a few options. Not sure I would personally go with a GTX 280m, but the 260 is a good card and runs cooler. I have seen some people running the 280 on here, so you might want to read up in the forums to see what you think. Then there's always eBay.

 

True, maybe, but then you will have to worry about what drivers work with what games

 

false

ati driver never performed worst in a specific game after a new version

how ever you will have to worie about when the next driver is comming so that your new game is suported

 

i don't know...the opposite seems true for me. I was using the 10.6 ati driver for a lot of the "new" games and they run fine. I used to have the 8800 too, so I know how it feels to have an Nvidia card. Nvidia drivers was a pain too.

 

They both are a pain . As far as baking not lasting any longer than 2 moths maybe that is dependent on the card. I have a bake card running just fine for the past 6 months and one that needed consistent baking. Give it a shot it cant hurt.

 

any gmaing gpu is a pain no mather what it all comes down to what you prefer but in that system no nvidia will last more then a year or so without needing to be backed

 

It's good for a temporary solution, baking that is. But, go for the ati for a card that will def last you a long time.

 

Whats the performance difference between the 8800/9800 and the ati 3870. My card went out on me a few mons back.baked twice but temp fix and tired of opening the case up. Also any links to heatsinks needed?thanks

 

heat sink can likely only be found from alienware unless i make a mass command for them

 

Any idea on performance difference between cards.

 

negligeable

 

...now cram the 4870 ini there, and you will see a nce jump.

 

good luck they where never released in a mxm 2.1 standar format the closer where 4850

 

oooooooooh oops, sorry, still a newb.

 

The ati is little bit weaker than the 8800M GTX. Runs a lot cooler.

 

So i baked it at 400 degrees for 8 minutes and it works again, altho while gaming i cant get temps under 90degrees even with a dual fan cooling mat. any suggestions keeping my temps down?

 

Don't game Really you have anywhere from a day to 2 months and then its kaput.

But if you must game, there's a few thing you should do.

If you haven't already replaced the thermal paste, do it now. Clean out the fan/heatsink, underclock it slightly, keep the bottom panel off, and keep your cool under it.

 

Anyone know where to get an ati hd 3870? dont see any on ebay at the moment

 

You can try MXM upgrade. I used new thermal paste on my GPU that my friend gave me after I baked my card. I haven’t had an issue in over 6 months and Id say that I use the computer quite often. However I have the M17x which has significantly better cooling.

 

If possible would you elaborate on what kind of heatsink please?

My Geforce 8700M in my Alienware M15X recently died. I wanted to replace it w/ ATI's 3870 (so I won't run the risk of getting defective Nvidia chip) Is there a problem w/ old heatsink not working on it?

*edit* Oops should have searched deeper in the forum since it's answered. I had called Ztronics & apparently they have both the 3870 GPU ($329) & heatsink ($25) for sale. *finger crossed* hopefully that will work.

On their website ztronics.com it showed the ATI 3870 card under Alienware M17-R1 & the heatsink is not on the website so one will have to call them. Just posting this info in case more people are in the same situation.