Upgrade a G73-jh to 6970?

On another thread on this site, one i cannot recall, it was determined that other MXM-3.0B cards WILL work in the G73, (i believe it was this one, can't find exact post, though:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/492039-help-i-bricked-my-g73-vbios.html

Now, this has me wondering, since i can buy a mobility radeon 6970 for msi/clevo laptops, which offers some nice improvements in benchmarking, could i try upgrading to it in my G-73-jh? Any feedback is appreciated, and if I go through with it i'll make a documented post of the journey XD

Repasted by chastity's guide, it was awesomely helpful and temps dropped 15-20C.

 

I had running a MSI 5870m (stock MXM 3.0b) in my JH.
Look at my thread (sig) and you will see the possible issues with other cards.
svl7 tested a 6970m in a JW, which failed.
Link

 

Yes, but that's a JW. JW won't work with a 5870m. There's a chance the JH will work with a 6970m.

I was going to buy a 6970M to try it in my JH, but then I got my M17x R3 for less than a G73SW costs so I'm selling the JH, otherwise I'd have gone through with it for kicks.

 

If I had more confidence and experience in flashing and modding I would do it. Can get one off ebay for £300.

I think it will work personally but as @Tilla said expect problems.

 

I'm with Dallers and @tilla on this, i think it will work but expect the fans to be running at max.

Disgustipated, you could always try slapping the 6970m from your r3 inside the JH before you sell it .

 

Good call that peer pressure peer pressure peer pressure!

 

dooooo it!

 

Would be great to see, but he'll need to modify the heatsink...

 

I was thinking about that... do they come with a matching heatsink plate, or do you need to make one?

 

Is there really a small difference between 5870 and 6970 layout?

 

Bu looking at svl 7's post, seems like the aluminum part that is lower than the coper plate will need to be cut for the HS to fit. The best thing to do if you're planning on trying a 6970m would be to get a spare GPU heatsink so the one for your 5870m will still fit perfectly. The layout of the GPU die isn't the same either, same size (at least seems that way looking at pictures), the 6970m die is placed diagonally but it looks like the copper plate of the HS will fit right on top of it none the less.

 

You can use the JH heatsink, that's also what I used when I tried to put it in the JW, but you'll have to do some cutting and grinding to make it fit. The DC/DC converters have a different height, if you don't modify the heatsink the vrams and the die don't make proper contact.

Yes, the height profile is a bit different, the die is diagonally but it fits. First of all someone needs to try it, if it works you can still design your own heatsink if you really want to.
I don't think it matters whether the DC/DC converters are covered by the heatsink or not. They're not that easily to kill.

 

I say go for it if you can. You can get a 6970M for a bit over $400 and new VBIOSes seem to address a lot of fixes (like the problems plaguing the original M17x-R2 + 6970M mod).

 

Go for it I will. I see the other thread on the JW, and I think my using a JH increases my chances. I might be back in a bit requesting a blind-flash USB file for the 6970, though. XD

Thanks for the informative replies, expect a thread in the next couple weeks.

 

Just make sure you set your boot priority to USB before starting to make some vbios experiments

 

From online pictures, it appears they have near-identical VRAM / GPU layouts. If not, I'm handy with a dremel

So, I know i JUST posted, but I'll prbly have the $$ / card in about 2 weeks, I'll give info then. In the meantime, anyone want to buy an Asus 5870m? =D

 

Not only I will stay tuned and wish you success.
Which 6970m you will (have?) buyed?
Svl7 made a really good compare list of all versions.

 

Go for it!! I would and in fact am doing so myself at the same time.

A 6970 working in the G73JH is more likely to work than a 4850 working in a mxm 2.1 II laptop

so no excuses

ps: of course I am also happy to cut metal to get the card to fit so I don't expect you to go to quite such extremes lol

 

We're all awaiting the results eagerly. Don't sell your 5870 until you confirm that it works. In the mean time, what brand did you order, clevo or dell?

 

Here you can see the different heatsinks... left is the unmodified JH heatsink, in the middle the JH heatsink modified to fit on the 6970m (I had to cut it even a bit more the make it fit on the 470m, so it doesn't look like this anymore ) and on the right of course the heatsink of the JW.




The cards are the 470m and the Asus 460m (guess which, hahahaha).


@tudordewolf: Make sure you get a 6970m where with proper holes for mounting the backplate (I hope the 5870m has a standard backplate...) or in case you get a Clevo version with the screw holes soldered on make sure you also get screws that fit (afaik the Asus heatsink screws have a bigger diameter than the Clevo ones). Check out my 6970m thread in my sig for more details about the different cads... not that you end up with a card that you can't put a heatsink on.

 

Thanks to people like svl7 for actually being daring and attempting stuff like this.

I really wish anyone attempting these things the best of luck and 100% success. The minute a 6970m is confirmed to work on a g73jh, I will buy me a 6790m AND a 920/940xm.

 

@svl7
You only cut the upper left part?
I also wonder why on the Asus 5870 the coils or this other stuff except the die and vram is cooled at all.
Where did you get this spare JH heatsink?

The screws of my MSI heatsink were bigger than the Asus one. So I had to swap the x-bracket too. It's always good to have standards.

 

asusparts probably have some. There were also a few used ones on ebay last time i checked.

 

No, take a closer look... well it's hard to see but I don't know where I put the other pictures I had to cut a bit at the top left corner, grind a bit at the top right corner and cut a whole piece on the right side of the heatsink.

The heatsink came from asusparts.eu if I remember correctly, the owner of the G73JW ordered it. Got shipped really fast, I can't remember the part nr. atm, but I guess I could find it if you need to know it.

 

Alright. See it. The left is the already "grinded". It's like a "Search the failure"-Pic.
If asusparts.eu, I know this. They have ugly shipment prices.
I wanted buy a fan for 10EUR and would have to pay almost 25EUR shipping costs.
My spare fan should arrive from US next days (~19EUR incl., but used). I wish this one is little bit more silent than my current GPU fan.

 

Good you pointed out the mounting issues, sig noted. I'd be getting mine from upgradeyourlaptop on ebay ($420 - its a sign ) and I'm asking about getting one with a backplate (worth a try). Otherwise, I'm willing to make ends meet between my dremel and some JB-weld. (though not gluing it in )

Just waiting on a few checks to clear (yay grad money) and then ordering =D

 

You can also ask him whether he can give you the screws, just make sure you don't crack the die in case they don't have retention clips.

 

The 6970m you are about to order is a Clevo card, i'm eagerly awaiting your results since they ship from Ottawa which is like 2 to 2:30 hours away from where i live so getting one shipped if it works will take no time at all.

 

I'll do exactly the same thing.

 

The last time I saw this much anticipation was when I was about to lose my virginity.

Im jumping on the band wagon though this will make or break all of our G73JH hearts in one fatal swipe if it does not work!

 

I'll be watching this thread. While the 5870 has been pretty good for my needs, the 6970 would be an absolutely awesome upgrade path to have in the future.

 

Just got a Asus G73JH myself, and the fact that I may be able to go above the 5870 which is already massively better than my old 9800m GTS is just excellent news.

Will be subscribing to this, and good luck!!!

 

D=
The pressure!

Ok, so, I estimate I'll have the card by next next weekend (the 18th) And you'll see results up by the following monday.

 

good luck from all of us!

 

Put it this way. The moment you update this post to say it works.

I click buy on Ebay 30 seconds later.

 

Good Luck man, hope to see the glory!

 

In response to my question about soldered posts vs backplate on ebay:

Simplifies things

 

Bump. 10 char.

 

Just noticed the newly uploaded vids on your sig. Niiiiice!
Keep it up!

+rep

 

Good luck with the mod, ill be checking back for your results.
Though i have my doubts it will work;
Besides having to mod the heatsink,
1) TDP is higher (100W on 6970M vs 75W on 5870M) so it might not even boot with the card or might at least have problems at high load when the power drain will get high
2) Bios will probably not support (its not meant to as its not built as barebones or upgradable laptop, its one thing to put in the same GPU from another manufacturer (like the thread where a clevo 5870 was put in), but a world different to put in an entirely different one in as youre trying with the 6970) or at least not properly support it (even with D900F which was built to be upgradable the auto fan control didnt work when i swapped it for a 5870M - the fans stayed at lowest setting unless forced to go to max, though the massive copper heatsink in that lappy kept the card cool doing any gaming enough even with fans always on low, also there was a FN combo to make fans go to full blow on it so you could control it)

But thats just IMO, id be happy to be proven wrong.

 

Thanks - I've considered some of these. In order:
1) I'm taking a cue from the 6970m working in an M15, and hoping this can handle it - Where specifically are you getting your TDP specs? Because while I agree that the 6970 is likely high than the 5870, online data varies, and (pure speculation here) the Asus-specific 5870 seems to run on more power than other cards (having VRAM cooling unlike MSI / clevo models, etc) which may mean it'll handle a high-power card more easily. I'm not worried about heat, I've repasted, gotten good results, and heatpipes get more efficient (up to a point) the more heat they have to dissipate.

2) Mostly going to cross my fingers on this one. The failure of an nvidia card in a -JH is slightly disheartening (as is the failure of a 6970 in a -JW),
since if it were a barebones as you say, it likely would have worked, but similarly, the success of a non-asus card is slightly spirit-lifting, even if it's only been the same GPU so far.
I can at best hope for enough consistency between AMD / ASUS BIOS's for it to work, and if not, I can do my best to cut my losses / sell the 6970. (or the G73 and buy a laptop to match the card XD )

 

Yeah, someone has to try it, it's so simple. I don't regret having tried the 6970m and 470m in the JW, but it's disappointing that it didn't work and thus was a waste of time... after all the whole process and testing was pretty time consuming.
All I have to do now is selling the 470m... any takers? Hahahaha, jk.

 

Hey, for your efforts, you did discover the 6970m in an M15, and that's a pretty sweet amount of power in a 15" package.

 

No, it was Inap and RogueOP who tried it for the first time, they took the 6970m form the M17x r3 and put it in the M15x. They only did it for a very short time, but they were the first. Props to them.
I was the first one who had it in the system permanently and the first who tried a non-Dell 6970m.

 

Ah, ok. Well. They tried and found new things which worked.
and you still did some trailblazing.

 

@svl7
Do you need this modded JH-heatsink anymore?

 

I guess no. It belongs to the owner of the G73JW, I can ask him if he'll sell it to you.

 

Any news on the delivery of your 6970M yet tudordewolf?

 

Still waiting on a deposit to clear =/ By my estimate, it'll show up in a few hours, otherwise almost definitely tomorrow. Unless someone wants to order it for me

So yeah, depending on shipping time, (I order late today or tomorrow) assume I'll be posting roughly 3 hours after I have it in my hands. From a laptop rendered by a 6790m, hopefully.

EDIT: Update: not today I guess. crossing my fingers my money shows up tomorrow

 

good luck :X

If you can do it I am sending you mine for similar work, upon enjoyable payment xD
paypal and credit card ready for the action! lol lol lol lol