[NW] Upgrade the C90S to a 9600M GT 512MB DDR3 [FIXED!]

Good luck there mate, currently there is no such thing as MXM HD4650 DDR3, but who knows, maybe someone would make it

Look what I found regarding C90S, while I was checking the refreshed MXM-Upgrade site:

"Empowering upgradeable future graphics"

From here.

False advertising anyone, considering the answer that Atvaark got.

 

Angel Marinov,

Hey, I didn't mean to sound like a jerk by any means. If I am incorrect about something please feel free to correct me, or anyone else for that matter. I do not have the ability to program/change the system bios so if you are able to help with that later on I am quite sure the community would be grateful!

MXM cards in general are a real pain in the butt due to so many differences and so many vendors choosing to code them differently. I'm going to get to work on a brief FAQ right now.

Even though I no longer have a C90 it really is great to see everyone come together and continue to work on this laptop. Between the Bios tweaks for newer CPUs, GPU upgrades, and case mods this laptop really is becoming what Asus promised isn't it

 

Okay,

I added a basic MXM F.A.Q. to the guide on the first page. Hopefully that will help with some basic questions. If anyone has any confirmed information they would like to add let me know and I'll add it.

PS: Atvaark,

Hang in there buddy, as soon as I hear anything about the GT 130m I'll let you know. It's starting to look like you might have to wait for the next NibiTor release to add support for it. The good thing is that Mavke releases updates frequently though.

PSS: Does anyone have a copy of the bios from a 9650M GT from Zepto? I'd like to update the performance tables and add it to the first post for someone to test it if they'd like. Although, if someone wants to try an unlocked 9650 card from another manufacturer it should also work as well after the changes.

 

There is no HD mobility 4650 DDR3 mxm card !!? I thought there was 2 variations of it. Oh well the GT130M will have to suffice then as it will be faster than the DDR2 4650.

Can't wait till mavke releases new nibitor that supports the card! Who knows triturbo we C90 owners might be hot on the tail of your 4670 upgrade scores soon!

 

i won't lose hope. just as information, since right now my card under load can reach a max of 70 degrees, how hot do you think it will get once it's full power is available?

 

The voltage will increase a decent amount under full clocks so probably a good 10* Celsius.

 

Guess what I just found.... A GTS 160M 1GB DDR3 MXM-II card! Check it out: http://www.msiwhitebook.com/product_spec.asp?model=MS-1651-ID2_new

Pay very close attention to the picture showing the MXM module, that is the exact same form factor as MXM-II and is too small to be MXM-III.

This link also lists the graphics card as "MXM graphics module". http://www.rkcomputer.net/rkcnotebooks/index.php?l=product_detail&p=152

I think it's time to start calling around to these resellers and confirming the card is MXM-II and then put it into the C90!

 

Holy moly! Surely the 160M must consume more than 23W being equivalent to the 8800M GTX!? A very interesting find though!
Notebookcheck states it is mxm 3 and consumes 60W although they can't be trusted...

edit nvidia states it is also mxm 3 type B also


Just thinking the GT130M is identical to the 9650M GT DDR3 card (55nm) The GT 130M just has slightly faster core 600mhz vs 550mhz and shader clocks 1500 vs 1325. Surely as they both are 55nm they will OC about the same and give same performance. The 9650M GT I know works with the C90 and nibitor and now that nightwalker has returned (bang the drums in celebration ) we could get that part at a lower price and get it working...just a thought

 

Yup, I have read the same things. But if that card pictured is in fact a GTS 160M, it most certainly is an MXM-II card by its form factor. There are no other GPU choices for that notebook either so I don't think it can be anything but a GTS 160M!

Time to get in touch with the resellers who are selling them and find out. If it is in fact an MXM-II card, and it isn't vendor locked, it will be a hell of an upgrade!

PS: MXM-A and MXM-B are Version 3.0 forms. MXM-I, MXM-II, and MXM-III are Version 2.1 forms. So if this card is in fact MXM-II there shouldn't be an issue concerning the new specifications when upgrading

 

I see what you mean but surely it is impossible for it to be mxm2 with its 25W limitation even if it is a die shrunk 8800/9800M GTS card it must consume more power than that ?

 

Yeah, it seems unlikely. But it is definitely worth further investigation. Who knows, it could turn out to be accurate and MSI managed to do it somehow. It's possible whoever made the card for them could have limited it's power to meet MXM-II specs.

We'll definitely need to check up on this and try to verify what version it is.

 

Believe me, I searched really, I mean REALLY hard. Called on quite a handful of retailers, even called Sager, but their NP2098 is made from Compal (not Clevo, like the rest) and it doesn't feature an MXM in there. So its HD4650 is not soldered, but it's not MXM either, means proprietary

Catch me if you can Just kidding, it was just to see what my 2-and-something year old hardware can do, but yeah, I'm proud of it. I would lie if I state otherwise

BTW HD4670 is 35w GPU, but GTS160M is 256-bit and 60w, so I seriously doubt that it would fit in MXM-II. It seems that it would be nVIDIA's entry level MXM-B, something like 9700M GT was for MXM-III, not-so-long ago.

 

Who knows this GTS 160 might be a downclocked one but still you are looking at at more than 50% reduction in power. It would take quite a downclock then undervolt. Meaning no possibility in OCing over whatever it comes clocked at...

Yeah Triturbo I can imagine you feel proud I had/have same feeling about having a Q9650 working in this 15" nearly 2 year old machine! Let the mods and upgrades continue..

 

If you ask me you better search for GT 230/240M. They are a little bit newer indeed, but it has greater chance to see one of those in MXM-II form factor, than GTS 160M. And to help you a little - Acer's GT 240M is MXM-A, so it's out of the list.

Yeah, cheers for the old, but still pretty capable machines

 

Yeah the 2xxM are defo out of the question. The GT130M should be able to push 7500 points though OCed to the max.

 

Angel Marinov,
What is the difference in the 1002 and 1002A BIOS?
Thanks for putting these here!

Here are those holes I drilled in the bottom (removed mesh as well):

 

The 1002A bios is the modified 1002 bios file that will allow you to upgrade to a E7500 and possibly the Q7xxx CPU's. Forget the normal 1002 bios as the modified one does all stuff the original has with that extra CPU compatibilty.

Good job on the mod looks nice and tidy unlike mine removing the mesh is good too make sure all of it is gone on the intake and outflow areas underneath and behind the fans for maximum cooling.

 

Got my viscous mod done and it really helped. Idling around 62-65 degrees now, over 10 degrees less. Finally can game on it, GTAIV here we go!

 

Good to hear! all you need now is a Q7xx processor to tackle GTA 4 with on the processor front.

 

Hate to burst your bubble, but they haven't updated the pictures. What you are looking at is a 9600m gt card. Darthbane can confirm that for you.

Edit: Actually here is the review of the gt628 with a gts 160m.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-MSI-GT628-Gaming-Notebook.20357.0.html

 

Lol knew it sounded and looked too good to be true!

 

i donated a bit to nibitor. felt like if he's the man that will save my card, i owe him at least that much. in the meantime i looked for different ways to edit the vbios...and oh boy. not gonna happen so easily it seems. really stuck waiting on nibitor...

 

Yeah it seems that way. I also got bad news today asus rang me today and told me they won't replace the DDR2 8600M GT that they downgraded me with anymore because they can't get hold of that part at all . I demanded they get me a 9650M GT DDR2 card becausse I think I saw some C90S owner on here get that as a replacement a couple of months back...really sucks. Asus are really messing us around. The women on the phone suggested that I even make a formal complaint if that card is also not "available". What a load of bull!

 

"welcome to Asus technical support, how can i make 18 bucks an hour screwing you over without a guilty conscience is beyond me, but i do it anyway. how can i not solve your problem today? after-sale problems? haha! those make me chuckle every time."

oh and king, do yourself a favor. just ask them to pay you back the amount the card is worth, find yourself a c90s heatsink and slap a gt 130m in it. i need company!

 

Thanks for the link. Good news is that the card is indeed MXM specification 2.1. Bad news is that it is an MXM-HE card, not even close to being MXM-II. It was a long shot, but I suppose you can't have victory without some sort of defeat.

Unfortunately the MXM 2.1 specification, and the cards associated with it, are on the way out. Looks like this will be the last set of cards released that will be compatible with the C90S. Still, the GT 130M is a decent little card.

 

Ha ha mate. For now I shall keep you company on the forums only I canny afford the GT130M at the moment and have my SSD to sort out/RMA and want to get win 7 64 bit first. I will eventually however definitely join you in upgrading. The C90S heatsink is inferior the C90P so I will simply cut a bit of the heatplate away so that annoying chip that stands off the new card in a different location won't be obstucted.

 

It is a HE card, but as you can see the he tab is not required for it to properly function. The MSI laptops are rather odd as they use a mxm 2 slot that puts out 60w.

 

would there be a way to force more power into a mxm 2 slot?

 

I wouldn't point to notebookcheck for any reviews, lol.

Anyways, here's the 160m in the gt628


good luck fitting that in your laptop, plus it uses 60watts.

 

I'm not quite on topic with the current discussion in this thread, but if anyone is interested, I had purchased one of these 9600m GT cards from this seller on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Nvidia-MXM-...o_TV_Cards?hash=item3ef96b4ca6#ht_7059wt_1033

It works fine and you can use the same nightwalker bios modifying approach to get the full performance. For anyone interested in buying this same card though, there are something you should be aware of if you are going to use it in a c90. This card comes with no backplate and the holes for the backplate are smaller than the holes that were on the original 8600m's from ASUS.

To make it work, I just modified the back plate by grinding off the threaded raised tabs so the back plate would sit flush on the back of the card. I had to get longer screws and make a custom heatsink like most people but also had to put small spacers in between the heatsink and the mounting holes so that the heatsink wouldn't tighten down uneven on the gpu and possibly crack it.

Anyways, if anyone is thinking about getting this card because it's cheap (like 130 shipped if you make an offer) it will work if you are willing to modify a few things. I can post pictures if you need help or have questions.

 

Hmm interesting it looks like similar size but the mxm connector looks a little different I think. There is no way to force more than 25 watts through the port I don't think I will be either hardwired that amount or fixed in the bios?

Unxconfomed, please do show us your mods, every little helps and congrats on your upgrade!

 

ah Dang! i got a 5.3 version of nibitor for donating, but unfortunatly it still doesnt take the gt 130M. and please don't ask for the program from me. i cannot share it. if you want it, just donate a buck or 2.

 

This is very interesting! Can you confirm that the big chip on the card is located in the same place as with the 8600M GT found in the C90? As it looks like it is that way unlike all the other 9600M GT's that I have seen where that chip is closer in nearer the die.

Yeah please post picture of the card without the heatsink front and back if you can. Would it be possible to simply use the 8600M GT mounting plate and screws and not worry about it being flat on the back of the card?

 

We will have to wait for version 5.4 now

 

Hey Atvaark,
you're not alone any more... my card is finally on the way... was shipped today and should arrive soon

Edit: Should arrive on 2nd november... they send tracking number and everything without even asking for it. i regret not calling the danish office in the first place... they handled it so quick and effective

 

I am not 100% sure if the ebay seller I linked ( http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Nvidia-MXM-...o_TV_Cards?hash=item3ef96b4ca6#ht_7059wt_1033) sells all identical 9600m GT boards or not. Mine does not look exactly the same as his photo... if you look at his link and then look at this photo of mine below, you can see it is different. (the 9600m GT is on the right, on the left is my old 8600m)


Anyways, if you end up ordering one and get one that looks like mine, these are the steps you will need to do to make it work. It is very similar to nikewalker's original guide so I'll skip the part on how to make your copper heatsink.

First you need to modify the back plate from your old 8600m. You need to grind the tabs down almost flat on the plate. The tabs I speak of are the threaded inserts that normally poke through the old 8600m board that you screw your heatsink down to. On the 9600m board I have, the holes in the board were too small in diameter for those threaded inserts so I had to cut them down. It will look like this when you are done (do it to all four tabs)



this should still work on your 8600m afterwards if for some reason you need to revert back to it, but be careful tightening your original heatsink back on because it can tighten down further than it did before and possibly crack your gpu. Don't forget to peel the black plastic backing off your old 8600m card that kept that stainless backplate from shorting out the components on your board and place it on your new card. It should look like this when you are done and sit fairly flush on the back of your card



The next thing I did was make a copper heatsink using nightwalker's steps. It looked like this on the board when I was done:



Don't forget to cut out the top right corner to avoid hitting those components up there. Also, I used some similar thermal sticky pads like nightwalker did for the memory chips.

You'll need to get some longer screws to make this thing work because the gap between the heatsink and the backplate is too large for the original screws. I just used some random ones I had and grinded the heads flat so they didn't protrude from the heatsink where I counter bored it.

The one last thing I added for safety to keep my gpu from possibly cracking from over tightening or uneven tightening was to add some small bass shims under the heatsink in the locations of the mounting screws. The look like this:



There is one for each of the four screws. You have to make sure you get a thickness that still allows for there to be good strong contact with the gpu but not so much slack that it allows you to over tighten. I don't have a set of calipers here at the moment to measure them, but if someone needs the thickness I used, I can measure it sometime in the future for them.

Also, it's a good idea to use a little super glue to stick those shims in place so that they don't slide and possibly short something on the board.

That's about all I did though. Basically just modify the backplate, make a copper heatsink, get new screws and add the shims.

To answer King of Interns question, I tried what you suggested about just using the 8600m backplate unmodified at first, but since those threaded inserts don't fit the holes on the new card, it creates this gap that makes the backplate sit pretty far off the back of the card. With that extra gap, the backplate hits the heat pipe assembly located below the card in the c90s and you won't be able to screw the video card down into your laptop. Also, the stock screws won't be long enough regardless.

But anyways, for $130 bucks and a little work I think this is a pretty cheap alternative to upgrade the video card. It's cheaper than buying another 8600m from ASUS and a bit cheaper than buying a 9600m from other retailers. It would however be easier to get the same card nightwalker got so you don't have to worry about modifying the back plate if you don't mind the slightly higher price.

Oh also, don't forget to modify the bios to unlock the full power of the card when you are all done.

 

hey guys
i've got an ASUS V1S and know it also uses MXM-II and i heared that it's similar to the C90.
does anyone know if it's also possible to upgrade my V1S by this tutorial?

reason of this request is, that my 8600gt crashed without any reason - 2 months after guaranty time.

 

Hi !

I'm french so i'll 1st appologise for my very middle range english

I've just bougth a 9600mGT for my amilo 3438G which i assume has the same upgrading possibility as the C90S

My card comes from a chinese seller and has QUIMONDA chips on it (never had the idea to read any forum like this one before...)

I managed to understand the fact that these cards only have 2 different "power mods"

So i made changes as the author of this thread did

Everything is fine for the core and the shadders (500 and 1250) but the memory can't get further than 400mhz (crashes à 500, 600 800... didnt test beetwen 400 and 500 yet)

Can anybody tell me if these quimonda chips are DD3 or not ?
I assume they should

Also i'd like to know if the bootup clocks that are on the modded BIOS you propose have been modified to make everything works or if it hasn't been modified !


Thanks for any answer !

 

Guys,

Please don't take this the wrong way but, start a new thread for questions regarding upgrading other laptops. This thread is primarily for upgrading the C90S, and while some of the steps can be used on other laptops, it may cause harm to a different laptop. With that said...

herbert01,

The V1S uses a "reversed MXM" module. In other words, it is not a true MXM notebook and does not use true MXM cards. I'm sorry, but this notebook can not be upgraded to use MXM cards.

fibroblaster,

From what I have read your laptop has an MXM-III slot and therefore should work fine with a 9600M GT MXM-II card. As far as your memory clocks not running higher than 400mhz I am willing to bet your VBIOS is not modified correctly.

There is no easy way for us to know what kind of ram your card uses. This should have been listed by the person you bought the card from. You can use a program called "GPU-Z" to see the ram type. If it uses DDR2 ram then the memory clocks might only run at 400mhz.

Good luck.

 

Also,

unxconformed, evala, and phoenon

You guys have done some great mods and I really appreciate you all taking the time to take pictures and posting the information to this thread. Thanks again.

Atvaark,

The wait for the newest version of Nibitor must be killing you. I really hope it comes out soon because I'm dying to see what that GT 130M can do.

 

Yes it would work very fine if i didnt have that memory problem...

The seller said DDR3
I've checked with GPU-Z and it says DDR3
What's trange is that it also says that my card is running full speed, which is not really the case...

I maybe need another bios but i'm a little scarred of losing the card definitly

The only difference with the bios you attached to your first post are the bootup clocks
Can you tell if you modified them ?

 

The bootup clocks were not changed and they should not cause your problem. Try changing them and see what happens. If that doesn't work, post your original unmodified bios and I'll take a look at it.

 

Here is my original bios

Thank you again for your help

 

the wait is pretty nerve wracking, but it's not like i can't do what i did before without it. the card is powerful, whether 3dmarks06 says the contrary or not, i STILL noticed an amelioration in graphic power compared to my 9600, which was unlocked and working full speed.

 

That's exactly the same i bought for my amilo 3438G (same seller, almost same price, 1 month ago)

Mine comes with quimonda vram chips, is it the same for yours ?

As you may have read i have troubles with the vram speed wich cannot go further than 400mhz :/

You said yours is working perfectly à full speed ?
500mhz for the core, 1250 for the shadders and 800 for the memory ?

could you please upload your modified bios ?

thank you

 

fibroblaster,

The bios file you uploaded seems to be corrupted. Can you try again? Also, do not flash your card with any other bios file unless you are 100% sure it is from the exact same card. Even differences in memory chip batches can cause your card to become a brick. Be careful.

 

Fibroblaster,

I am not sure if our cards are identical or not. Mine does have the qimonda chips and they are DDR3 but like nightwalker said, our cards might not have compatible bios files if they are from different batches. Mine does run at full speed on the memory. I just followed Nightwalker's original steps on how to modify the bios to fix the power mode issues.

Also, are you sure your laptop cannot utilize all 4 of the different power modes for you video card? I was under the impression that the reason the 9600m's had to be modified for the c90s was because the c90s could only utilize 2 different power modes. Anyone, correct me if I am wrong, that was just what I assumed.

If we could somehow verify that we did have identical video cards from the same batch, I would be happy to send you the bios. But until we could be sure, I wouldn't risk flashing mine onto your card.

 

Yes it seems that the amilo 3438 has the same probleme and only uses 2 power mods

With the original bios the card was running with the frequences of the Thrtl mod (275-550-300) or lowest mod while iddle

And now it folllows the same mod modified like this : 500-1250-450
(my memory can handdle 450mhz but not 500 neither 800 :/ )

Here is what's written on my memory chips if somebody has one day the courage to look on his

qimonda 0750 A
hyb818h1G321af-11
fvv48140

Could the probleme come with the motherboard bios ?
If yes i won't solve this has my laptop is 5 years old !
4000 points in 3dmark won't be a shame on it

 

well, my 8600m gt finaly died... I'm stil able to start system but I'm strugling with lines and stripes. So I ordered the 9600 gt from e-bay.... we will see..
Sory for yours strugle Atvark to force yours 130m to run in full speed. It was my atention to do the same upgrade but I'm not very much the gambler...
It's almost certant that you will work it out and we are all waiting you to refer us the good news.

Can someone help me with my new 9600...
Is it plug and play (but with lower speeds)?
Do I have to adapt something before it arives?

I alredy done all the modes to reduce heat for present 8600.. maybe more.. (pics are at 43. page and on...)

Does there some advice for easy start that I meased?

Thank you all for help!

 

Other than needing a new custom made/modified copper heatspreader you should be fine. Simply download Nightwalkers modified bios and flash your 9600M GT with it to run at full speeds. It is a shame your 8600M GT died now maybe if it lasted a couple more months you could have got the GT130M once we had it working. I intend to get one at some point