G73JH 6970M upgrade infomation

Ok, stay on topic if possible guys. Discussing 6970m cooling mods is of course on topic, but if you're looking for RAM, it would be better altogether to start a new thread for that to leave this thread for the 6970m info.

 

thanks for removing that picture.

 

@DH48
What are your IDLE temps for the GPU?
Shouldn't it be in range of high 30s low 40s? Because of the high rpm.

On cold boot my temps slowly raises till 51°C when the fan begins to start first time. This time can be almost 10 minutes while don't stress the GPU.
Then it begins to play ON (51°C) / OFF (47°C).
A constant 1500-1800 rpm (HWInfo readings) would be better. The noise level of the CPU fan in lowest state.

 

Idles at 38-41c (lid closed no extra cooling). With the coolingpad i can get it down to 32c.

With the clocks at 400(or 300) /900 it is almost as the 5870 idled 51-54c.

Load temps seem to be OK now furmark will yess go over 80 but games stay near the 70-74c mark.

Still no luck with the fans Can make the fan stick at 4500RPM but not make it slow down.

 

Seems like only the Clevo version is a way to go.

 

Installed ASUS NB probe and funny thing is that it show the CPU and gives its status. It is showing me that the fan is at 100% . Also fan status is green and working ok. Well CPU fan is at 100% so that is dead on the money.

So back to the fan speed values of the GPU. Need to get the GPU-s duty cycle and compare it to the 5870. Strange is that asus did add a fix in one of the mobo bios but I am still to find were or what did they change.

 

so hows your system running DH48?

 

Read the thread

"Asus did with the system... something is restricting it to only the 460m it seems."

 

I have a sad report. This weekend my 6970M has died. I was so happy I got the HDMI port to work with the Dell vbios. Then I proceeded to push the GPU with OCing. When I thought I had it at it's maximum, I started to enjoy Metro 2033. In the middle of a session, the video started to flicker and then goes blank (uh oh). Subsequent reboots still yielded video. However, when I try to run anything more intensive (i.e. youtube, heaven, games), the screen will either lockup with stripes or go black. I already tried rebooting a bunch of times, letting it cool off, and even tried putting the old 5870M back in. The 5870M is working fine, which indicates some sort of HW problem with the 6970M. I reflashed to stock Eurocard vbio, and same result.

Oh well, I guess it was a nice $350 experiment.

 

As I told you before that you have to use an 180W powerbrick to push your card a little more without it dont even think of ocing. thats why your card died without proper current flow. but sometimes if you replace the power adapter it may fix the problem. so worth a 40$ for power adapter.

 

Sad to hear and a bit odd. When i OC and play games and the card really does overheat i just get a thermal shutdown.... Have had a total of 4 in the middle of a World of tanks battle.

150w and OC will not kill the card. Most games will just freeze and it will jump to desktop with a driver fail error. The thermal paste on the other hand might. Did the paste cover some of the resistor next to the core as well? I know that it should not effect it but the more i look at dead GPU pics the more i am starting to think is the fault.

Did it start with green artifacts in the game before flicker ? If so then it could have been a mem. chip not being able to transfer the heat to the heatsink.

 

Thermal-wise my card never exceeded 80C even during OC. I don't think it was a thermal problem.

There were no artifacts before it went blank. Also I don't think it's a PSU issue. Insufficient current shouldn't "blow out" a card. I don't even see anything burned on the card. Maybe one of the regulators on the card was overstressed.

Would have been nice if the mod lasted longer. But I guess sometimes you win some and lose some when you go off the beaten path.

At this point, I'm done pouring money into this mod. The last thing I might try is the "bake" method to revive a down GPU. I don't have high hopes, but worth a shot since the card is dead anyways.

 

"bake" omg , its bad.

 

Code:

Used GPU or from a shop ?

 

Sad to read people are having problems with the mod, my machine are working fine so far playing games everyday

 

He bought it from a shop.

 

If from a shot then return it. Faulty GPU.

 

Good news codemonkey you GPU might not be dead at all. We just finished a friends G73JH 6970M swap and man was that the scearyest swap ever....first of all it was a JH moded heatsink and we did not get a boot at all...... OK so thought it was the ram took them out and then got boot for 2 sec and off......after removing all the HDD.s and putting back etc we got it to boot. Then no windows screen.....right after load screen black.....man that was like ....Dead GPU so we took it apart and he had put to much IC diamonf on the core that it was on the small resistors near the core....i cleaned it off and but the greas my self as i know how much is enough so it will just cover the core...well all parts back and no boot again......tried safemode and got in ....then i turned the notebook over and the some pressure of the core. Then the restart and we got in to windows....so far it work and no problems. It might be something small that is not letting it work OK.

Also odd thing was that he had the same scare on the GPU as i did with my last dead GPU but it works. So hang in there and to some more tests.

Best of luck to you.

 

Good news and some ...well not that bad news

The bad part is I am on the 5870M for the moment. Had a bad cold solder point on the GPU:/ i got random blackouts and when fiddling with the GPU heatsink screws it worked until it got more heat. So I need to bake it a bit in the oven to get the soldered points to work OK again. I did not have any artifact just a black screen and after that was not able to boot for a few sec until it cooled down (Heat expansion i am guessing)

Will report back on the weekend when i am able to bake it.

Good news is I am able to get more data from the 5870 to understand how the fan control it works.

Hmm seems that the 5870 does not have fan control at all.

 

Yea, my 6970M appears to boot into Windows, but as soon as I stress it, the screen will turn light blue with stripes and everything freezes. All was fine initially after I got the card installed. It failed after using it for a week. I don't know if the OC did it in or if it's the Dell vBios. The thing is, everything seemed to work. Maybe the heat did it in over time.

I'll probably tinker with it some more this weekend, but I don't have high hopes. If Ivy Bridge and Kepler were out now, I would have given up already and bought a desktop. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait a few more months.

 

Codemonkey try repasting and clean the GPU die until all the thermal paste goes.

 

That sound like a cracked solder to me. Well at least we can say one thing asus did not cut costs on Proper soldering on the 5870M.

Gave the 6970M for testin to a AW M17x owner for a day. So far i got news that the GPU works (with the blackouts). Turns out he has had them on hes 6990M to and had to bake it.

Google oven baked GPU or laptop and you will find some similar GPU problems.


Update on the Fan speed to:
Do not believe HWinfo. Been testing the 5870m for a few hours and well at some point the CPU fan will speed up to 4200 like it was with the 6970m and well it does not sound like that at all.
Also 1 thing is clear the GPU does not even have a hint of fan control or a controller of that sort. Soo the EC on the MOBO just takes the average of all sensors and there is you data. Ill try to dig up some move info on he clevo cards.

 

owen trick works sometimes but you cant guranteee , I tried to recover my 9500 gt and failed.

 

That's an issue of reading the EC. Interrupt the EC while reading it's values needs CPU cycles. Look at the CPU load.
If the EC don't answer in a defined time, HWInfo will show strange things.
My EC-GPU fan sometimes has max 19000 rpm too!
The point is, HWInfo shows a value, if the fan begins to rotate and goes to 0 if the fan stops.

A mobile GPU can't have control over the fan, because the Notebook is the master and has to control the whole thing.
Remember, some notebooks have just 1 fan to control both CPU and GPU. Like most MSI notebooks.
-> Desktop-GPU is it's own master
-> Mobile-GPU is a just a slave

You may look in ACPI manipulation. But that's not easy to read.
And for the new gen notebooks, most of the work is done by the EC (means hardware controlled).
I had a look at it and there are several EC value calculations of some registers.
Other than with e.g. a HP 625, where you can change the fan table entries.

 

I am skipping the oven and going with the reflow as there are to many plastic components and also capasitors on the GPU that do not like 200C. The problem is just the main core chip that uses lead free solder. It seems to have cracked somewere under the GPU and a even pressure on the GPU is what keeps it working.

On a side note when my GPU blacked out the sound was still there as if nothing happoned.

Now the GPU seems to work on the AW and looking at my mount it might not have be as tall as it shouls so the GPU was in my notebook a bit flexed. Well as the 6970/6990m is still a learn as we go with the JH it no suprise but with the right pressure on the heatsink my GPU work in the AW ok.

My first GPU died with no mount at all. Just had a plastic part under the GPU but it did not help.

 

Why not desolder the original mount?
You can swap it later easily with the additional screw on the back.

 

Yes i was looking at that too but did not want to damage the mobo (Keep it factory fresh lol ).

But i might just solder it off / clean and just use it with the screw as that seems to hold it as good as with the solder.

OT to We need a "How fast can you disassemble a G73" thread. I was suprised to take the thing appart, install the old GPU and put it all back together in 40 min lol.

 

40 min thats bad , I can dis-assemble and re-assemble within 10 min , if you want I can upload a video after I reprogram my vbios chip and resolder it.
but my vga card is out now so both the fans are running at 100% one side cooled air other side hot air.So after I get it fixed il make a video when disassemlbling and re-assembling.

 

No wonder you notebook does notwork. But it was a joke i am not competing just have taken it appart so many times. 10 min...hmmm soo 5 min to take a g73 apart to the vga. Sounds unbelievable but nice to hear. If i tried to take it apart in 5min i would brake something or at least mess something up.

Will use the heatgun on the core and test it on my friends aw after work.

 

your a bit wrong 4min to take it apart , 6 min to fix all because removing is easier than connecting, so if I rush to connect the connectors it would break for sure. I have learned a lot from my g73 and about notebooks after buyin this beast, other wise il be a newb. hehehe

 

Well i did the reflow method and the GPU works in the AW. Will swap it back to my JH tomorrow





Was reading a old threads about the 6970M in the AW M17x R2 and well it sounds just like the fault i had a few days back:

" Different types of Radeon 6970M/VBIOSes and their effects on the M17x-R2:

• 6970M Engineering Sample from MXM-upgrade.com (please note: MXM-upgrade.com now sells OEM 6970Ms at this point): Originally had display issues with the original VBIOS. This was rectified by reflashing the card to the VBIOS used in the M17x-R3 6970M. Also found out that this specific ES chip had 1120 shaders vs. the 960 shaders the original 6970M is supposed to have. Nonetheless, functionality was no different than the 960 shader (except for increased performance). While flashed, the system fans did NOT respond to temperature and was stuck on one speed. Also, the system would crash when shutting down, in sleep mode, in hibernation mode, or when unplugged from the PSU.

• The card Dell uses in the M17x R3: Originally tested by Brian K. Same issues I experienced with the 1120 shader 6970M ES sample when reflashed to Dell VBIOS.

• The card Dell uses in the M18x R1/VBIOS from M18x R1: Fixes the fan issue, but does not allow the system to shut down, sleep, hibernate, or remain unplugged without crashing. However, it does support audio over HDMI and DisplayPort."

Really odd as this started a few days back and before that the system was OK.

 

Baked the 6970M. Warmed over 395 deg F. Put card on all 4 corners on 4 upside down cupcake paper on a baking pan. Placed card in oven. Set timer for 8 mins. When done, turned off oven, open door. A little bit of smoke came out (from solder?). Let cool for about 45 minutes. Popped card back in JH, said a couple prayers, turn on...blank screen =(.

I'm going to put the 5870M back in and see if something else might be wrong. But I think the 6970M is dead.

 

heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh
codemonkey didnt I tell you not to bake it, because they are made solder free, so that method wont work., so finally you got your card dead wel done.
hd 5870m will work on your Jh without problems.

 

Well the oven method is not the best as it might damage other components. A heatgun would have been better.


Well my 5870 seems to have given up Yes the 5870m. I got a GSOD with black lines yesterday and does not boot anymore...the CPU side gets hot but nothing happens. So my last hope is now the 6970. At least it booted in the AW M17.

Edit: Well the 6970m started up but goes black when it get to windows...... Swaped back to friends AW m17 it works

Im lost now. Seems that the Dell GPU is playing games with the G73 as is does not want to work as it should. Starting to get annoyed about this.
Bad news is i think im going to jump ship and gone go look at a AW M17xR3 myself. Prices have gone down and 2 gen CPU + 6970m is only 1699 euro. Just need to get the crossfire wire and can go dual.

Ill do some more tests with the G73 but i think i need to order a new 5870m for it as there is no boot at all. GPU looks ok.

 

Hey its very sad to hear that both of you guys have failed, did you install the heatsink when powering on with hd 5870m? or just you did witout those ??
if gpu not functional the cpu reaches high temps , I have noticed it ,but
I guess the custom modded heatsink didnt fit the jh card and couldnt transwer any heat . did you try clear cmos button?? and can you do manual restart ctrl + alt + del? I saw an hd 5870m vga card for 110$ on ebay last week i dunno if its sold.

 

No i have two heatsinks one is stock 5870m and other is moded for the 6970m.

I sent a email to a local ASUS shop that sold me the extra heatsink for 26 euro and see what a new GPU will cost.

The 5870 core has a the same mark on the core as the first 6970M did so somehow it fried the core

About the 6970m the Dell card seems to use more pins then the clevo and asus GPU and the GPU is damaged. My friend said that on the M17 he has had two drier crashes with the GPU so the GPU seems to be damaged still.
Well im going to the Dell shop to replace it again aga hopefuly if they ask to test the new GPU in the new rig ill had them my new M17x.

Ill keep the G73 for a few tests and when the new part arrives might sell it.

The 6970 and 6990M work in the G73 but it is recommended to use clevo and keep away from Dell. Ill update the first post later and just add a warning to the dell GPU that it might die. I did manage to find some info on the bios but bad part is that the pins on the 5870 that are as a single pin actualy are the pins that Dell uses as fan control so that why i only got temp. and no signal to the EC about fan. I have no idea what the EC got but it must have been some other signal that just made the fan speed up. We changed the temp specs in the bios but it did not have effect with the 6970m ...but worked with the 5870 so in conclusion the Dell card uses most standard MXM pins but has different pins for its fan control and thats why most Dell GPUS seems to keep the fans at max. It might me only my theory but so far there is no other explanation.

 

So your going to buy an Alienware m17x right??
I also though of buying it because , I can do sli or crossfire ,
if your going to sell yours let me know , I can also sell mine at that time,
but yesterday I bought an DELL HD 5870m in nbr will that also have the same pin problem ?? I bought it for my g73 will it work without a problem?
also bought a spi programmer to reprogram my hd 5870m vbios chip.
one more thing with hd 5870m in and when you turn on does both the fans run 100% ??
and when the vga card is been removed and powered on does the fans run 100%?
if its totally deaD even with the vga card inside the fans run at 100%.

 

You need to google it if the 5870 will have problems. The 6970 was tested and seems to have some problems. At the moment just looking at the GPUs it seems that the Dell uses some pins that the ASUS does not and the pins seem to go to a controller of some sort. Id google it but the GPU is at the shop now. The Dell 5870 should work but do not know about the fan. It seems the MXM is only standard for the 3d/2d part and fan control is custom job for different brands ....at leat the new GPUs

Yes i ordered the AW from a local shop and if all goes well ill get it on monday.
Bad part is the last 6970m was sold and they only had the 6870m one left. 200Euro cheaper but still will be able to upgrade. I gave the 6970m to the repair shop as well. They sent it to a lab (dell) to get examined. Might be able to persuade them to swap it for a 6990m as i have had to swap the 6970 2 times now

 

dont buy 6870m cards they perform as your old 5870m because both are same card but diffrent vbios. the one your buying , is it R3 and are you buying 6870m crossfire or single? can you post the spects , how much did it cost to buy the whole thing, waste a 300++ to get a 6990m they are realy great ,compared to 6870m or 6970m .
but whats going to happen to your Asus G73Jh?

 

I paid 1400euro for the the AW with 6870m but back to the topic. I will try to swap the 6970m for a 6990m and then look at how the pins are on that card. I should get a answer in the end of next week. Im not out of the game yet as now i have a second notebook so no problems when taking the G73 apart

 

1300$ is a nice price for an alienware m17x R3.
btw , try swapping 6970m for 6990m in g73 and I think it shouldnt have any diffrence, but you can use the 6990m on alienware and 6870m on the G73.
6870m is same as the hd 5870m but diffrent bios , so if dell 5870m works fine in g73 , the 6870m will also work fine , but im leaving Asus and going to another brand , and I want to sell this before I move on.

 

Well, I tried baking the 6970m a second time. No harm trying if the card is already dead. Popped the card in the oven, prayed to the electron gods for 8 minutes. Popped card back in G73...

Dead. Blank screen. Same as before.

Oh well. 300+ bucks down the drain. Luckily, with the 5870m back in, the laptop is running again. Although the GPU temperatures seem a little higher, idling at ~60C. I think it might be from the modded heatsink not covering all the regulators properly. I'm using the stick on heatsinks on the regulators since I had to chop off the metal struts for the 6970m.

At this point, it looks like it might be game over for me and the G73. I might spend a few bucks to get a replacement heatsink off ebay, but currently going for like 50 bucks, so no way.

I've been looking at those 7970 and might build me a desktop.

 

Codemonkey take it back to the shop and say it did not boot. If it does not have any physical damage to it they have no option but to swap it for a new one.
If that does not help then.....you did not hear this from me ... Just say you pluged it in your R3 and no image....but the intel GPU boots and system cannot detect ati GPU.

worked for me lol

 

lol the second one is great idea.

 

Do you think it's possible to perform the 6990m modification without using soldering tools?

 

no you cant, you have to have some tools to cut heatsink and do some modifications/

 

@tilla-s method (the first mod method on the first page) is a non soldering way to get it working. Only thing i would do is order a new heatsink ......just in case as you never know what might happon.

 

"Me thinks i found ze problem" with dell GPU.s just kicking the bucket.
Picture of the GPU underside .

It has a thermalpad on it. So the damage to my Dell card was from bad cooling on the other side of the GPU. Well learned something new.


Did the Clevo GPU have cooling on the other side to ? or maybe a MXM GPU case ?

 

I dont think an hd 6970m needs that because there is no ram chips in the otherside ,it will be useless for it, but about the upper thermal pad , there should be somthing about it, this card on the picture is an gtx 470 or 480 , I think only nvidia has ram chips on other side.

 

Is this really a 6970/6990?
Don't think it's a must to cool the backside. I guess it's to protect against contact with the case.
IMO some AW cards have this pads on the backside.
Maybe svl7 can say stg. about it.

@soldering free method
I desoldered the second mountpoint on the mainboard. Wasn't that easy and you have to be carefull! I removed the screw on backside. Then I hold down the pin of the soldering iron in the hole of the mount and heat it up. Little later the mount pops off.
Then you can easily change the place of the mount and fasten it with the screw. It's the best way to protect the card against flexing.
So my tools were the soldering iron and a dremel.