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

The new BD drive has arrived and it has installed perfectly and been recognised by computer and windows . Now to test it...have no blu-rays lying about the house unfortunately. How fantastic we have a drive to upgrade to! Ironically the new drive was manufactured in 2007 while the old dvd drive was made in 2008 lol.

edit; it works! The laptop isn't HDCP compliant though so one has to download any dvd to strip that out to play the blu ray movies.

 

Hi Folks! Been a while since I was here last, I'm glad to see the the BIOS-mod for upgrading to Wolfdale CPUs has been put to good use.
I was wondering if anyone has used other Wolfies than the E7500? I'm thinking of the Intel Pentium E6300 or E6700 CPUs with 2 MB cache based on Wolfdale?

Any recommended source of MXMII-cards? Anyone tried any of these cards/vendors?
ATI HD 4650 4670 M96 DDR3 1GB MXM II Vedio VGA Card - eBay (item 250658377811 end time Jul-29-10 01:20:44 PDT)
ATI HD4570 HD 4570 M92 DDR3 256MB MXM II Vedio VGA Card - eBay (item 250657900924 end time Jul-28-10 01:42:17 PDT)
ATI HD4570 HD 4570 M92 DDR3 256MB MXM II Vedio VGA Card - eBay (item 350362308760 end time Aug-02-10 03:38:02 PDT)
nVIDIA 9600M GS NB9P GE2 G96 600 A1 512MB MXM VGA Card - eBay (item 150451672165 end time Aug-03-10 03:58:12 PDT)
ATI HD 4650 4670 M96 DDR3 1GB MXM II Vedio VGA Card - eBay (item 250658377811 end time Jul-29-10 01:20:44 PDT)

Any news on Radeon HD5xxx cards in MXM II form factor?

Regards!

 

Hi King, great to hear your Panasonic blu-ray drive is working! It’s a bit sad that the c90 doesn’t support HDCP encryption, but hey it works and you can even write blu-ray disks now! Can you tell how long it does take to rip a blu-ray disk?

9800xpv I’m very interested in how you heatsink is gonna look and ofcourse cool! Is it gonna be hard to make such a heatsink and you have any idea when we are gonna see it?

Colombodk i don’t think the ATI Mobility Radeon 5000 serie will come to the MXM II form factor. When you look at this page ( AMD Unveils World?s First Mobile Graphics with Microsoft® DirectX® 11 Gaming Support for Notebook Computers) at the amd website you see all the mobility 5000 serie cards are mxm 3.0.
About the ati 4650 and the 4670 cards. Like you probably know King uses a 4670 ddr3 in his c90 and Angel is gonna test a 4650 ddr2. I don’t know if Angel got his card already or when he is gonna test it. I know mxm-upgrade.com is selling the hd 4650 ddr2 for 200 euro including shipping and 1 year warranty. Angel also posted some links to other sellers of the 4650 card in his ‘c90s unleashed’ topic. I don’t have any experience with any of them, maybe someone else around here can tell you more of them?

 

I don't have to rip the blu ray. I just use a program called AnyDVD it runs in backround and simply strips the HDCP out so it can play. The hardware in the C90 is perfectly good enough to play HDCP it is just that the display isn't apparently. I guess if I used the HDMI port to a HD display I wouldn't need anydvd running in the backround. Kinda stupid though as the display is 1680x1050 which is only a touch below full HD at 1920x1080. In other words the screen can handle HD movies fine.

 

Ah ok, I did read it as 'any dvd' I didn’t notice you meant the software. But then the blu-ray drive stays a great upgrade! There is no problem in running that program in the back. Have fun watching your High Definition movies!!

 

New 3dmark 06 stock record! Just ran test for first time since installed new HDD and returned a score of 7670 points!! 50 more than my previous record stock score Oh yeah and I got myself a 230W power supply lol although it will need modding to get it to work on a C90!

Anybody got further news to divulge to the community

 

Ey king, nice progress on your 3dmark score! Where you need that 230W power supply for. You got big plans for your C90?

I haven't got many news. I posted few days ago in Angels topic about mxm upgrade was planning on selling the mxm II 4670 ddr2. Well they are now selling it. The card is replacing the 4650 ddr2 that they did sell before. Good news for C90 owners who want a good upgrade on their graphic card i think. Only this isn't that interesting for you, since you already got the fastest card for the C90. Well just letting you know.

 

Nah it just needs more power. Sometimes there isn't enough juice with just 180W especially when its charging the battery.

 

ooooh! please gimme a link for that power supply! i need to buy one!

 

You need one? How come lol? The C90S can't run a quad other than the much cooler Q7xxx series. Also this power supply might not even work as the tip isn't compatible and I am worried about frying my machine if I wire a new tip to it

Anyways it is simply HP's 230W notebook adaptor.

 

Hello everyone i'm new here and I read a lot of your post that's sound really good the way to upgrade laptop.
I've got the ASUS C90S since 1 year now i know it's a "old" laptop by now but i'd like to keep it and upgrade it a bit like change cpu and gc but i've got a question for you :
I saw on eBay 2 different cards:
first one is the 9600M GT DDR3 512MB
and the other one the 9600M GT DDR2 1GO.
Wich one is the best for the ASUS C90S (I'd like to upgrade the cpu to the E7500 if it's change something whatever the card)
Please can you tell me the difference between these two, thanks a lot!!

(sorry for the english I'm french ^^)

 

I think you want GDDR3, more bandwidth makes a difference.

EDIT: Maybe since the one with DDR2 has 1gb of vram it might have twice as many ram chips and that might increase the bandwidth to match the GDDR3 bandwidth.

But the GDDR3 should overclock better putting it ahead.

 

Hi,

+1 for GDDR3.
Even with much more Mb of RAM , the DDR2 video card will be much slower.

@+

 

You certainly want to avoid the 1GB GDDR2 card. The GDDR3 card with 512 mb will have much higher memory bandwidth thus increasing performance hugely. Also the 1GB card will have memory modules on the back of the card which are not actively cooled by the heatsink meaning another retriction on any overclock you might try to achieve.

GDDR3 all the way even if it is 512mb vs 2GB lol

 

Hi King,

Nice score , congrats
Your C90P is definitely the best.

Please, I have a question : in the past, have you ever try a E6800 with your old C90S ?
Or what would you think of this CPU ?
Thanks alot.

@+

 

Thanks mate

Yeah I tried it. My experience was not good. I found it hot and unstable however the chip I bought was an ES. Perhaps a OEM or retail chip would be better. Still I can't imagine being able to OC the chip higher than what you can do already with your E7500 even with throttledstop as the X6800 will need alot more voltage.

I found my E6600 was maxed out at 3.15ghz @1.15V in my C90P (the highest voltage allowed) The X6800 might not fair much better in fact may not even be able to reach 3.25ghz!

Your best bet is the E7600 and force the multi to 11.5 when you need it to achieve 3.3ghz+

 

you have made your own mod? cuz i also want to control the speeds of those fans just like you
hopefully you tell me more about your mod with pics ofcourse

 

well, i added something new to my c90s...a brand new kingston V series SSD. 128GB. i lowered my memory back to it's 3GB instead of 4. it turns out that the c90s has problems and runs out of memory quite frequently under windows 7 64 bit with 4GB. the chipset reports the 4 gigs, but limits the use to 3. windows doesn't really know what to do in those cases, so it just crashes whatever program needs the excess memory. back with 3GB however, the memory problems are gone. and since it's the same brand as my 2gb stick, it reports the same performance. anyway, the SSD is quite fast compared to the old platter based disc i was using
it's not too expensive either, cost me 249$ US.
exact one i got is SNV425-S2BN/128GB at newegg

another thing; BIG NEWS! MXM-Upgrade is now selling HD4670 1GB DDR2 cards in MXM II format! their price is pretty good too! my next paycheck will go to this.

 

Nice should be a fairly sweet card. I reckon easily as good as a highly OCed 9600M GT GDDR3 card due to newer tech! Also congrats on the SSD buy. I wish you much better luck than myself on that front! I bought a little too early a couple of years back now the SSD market is a bit more mature. I am going to wait a good year though before I venture back into it

 

Hello Atvaark, nice upgrade! I expect that SSD will make your C90 feel much faster?

I was also looking at that hd4670 from mxm upgrade. It is a nice card and I think it is not a bad deal at all. A few weeks ago they did sell the hd 4650 for the same price at their website. I did buy the hd 3650 myself now since I am not sure yet if it is the motherboard or the video card that is broken. I don’t want to spend 200 euro and discover it is the motherboard that is broken. Well I am really curious about the performance of the hd 4670 ddr2. Hope this ddr2 card would perform somewhere nearby the ddr3 version of King.

 

you don't have to worry, they have a beta program.
you buy the card. you try it ( just handle it with care).
if it works, you write a small review so they can add it to the list of working cards with specific computers.
if it doesn't work, then you send it back for a full refund.

 

Well I would not expect that much performance...the DDR3 version its away from DDR2, as it is in any card. It would probably perform better than the 9600m GT DDR3, but probably closer than the king's 4670 DDR3.

If you finaly test it, post your results, perhaps we all get surprised...good luck!
Cheers.

 

Just thought I would bring this to the table. Was doing some research today into Xeon's. Was considering for 1 second upgrading my Q9650 to a 3.16ghz X3380 lol but then price frightened me off completely lol.

On the other hand I discovered an interesting processor that might be interesting to C90S users.

Xeon X3230 SLACS (G0)
2667 MHz 2 × 4 MB 1066 MT/s 10× 1.1–1.372 V 95 W LGA 775 July 27, 2007 HH80562QH0678M

G0 stepping to look for:

Intel Xeon X3230 ( http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLACS) 2.66Ghz - SLACS - G0 - 95W / TDP 85C - 1.100-1.372V

As we can see it is a quad E6700 it is G0 stepping and only has 95W TDP same a Q9650 and we know 95W tdp quad processors are fine in the C90. In comparison the G0 Q6600 is 105W tdp and slower. Also 85C temp threshold is great for us considering it would be for laptop use. That is 5C higher than my Q9650 which is much newer! Anyways a bit of undervolting and it should be more like a 65-75W tdp chip.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Intel-Xeon-X3230-2-66-GHz-8MB-1066Mhz-FSB-Q6700-/400133591678?pt=CPUs

Someone had better join me in the quad C90 camp

 

Hey @King,
good job man, that CPU look great. I wonder how high will perform. You probably found the best CPU for all c90S owners.

Anyway at this point, I'm not pretty sure if it is worth it. For all E7500+9600m GT users spending over 200$ (€ and even 200 more in a 4670 DDR3, is a bit to much, I got my m1730 for 800€ (under warranty until september) the C90+400 bucks would be enought, and almost any m1730 would perform better. I'm still in love with my C90, but I would not spend that amount at this point...

Perhaps if all that stuff get a price cut would really worth it, (finding those 4670 512 DDR3 would be great also)...
Thats my opinion.

Cheers

 

yeah, i've looked onto a few auction sites and a few local retailers for a used Xeon, but the cheapest i could find was 250$ US... i guess it will have to wait, Kings. at least until i can find one in the ranges of 150-200$ instead.

 

i have some problems with my ATI gpu
it is installed but the screen stays black, i can see it powering up
can someone help me with this

 

Need more info man. Such as what card you are using. Some pics might also help. My 4670 was simply plug and play.

 

I've been out of the c90s loop for a long while. Anybody have the latest links to vendors who sell the latest GPU's that are proven compatible with the c90s ? Where did everyone buy their GPU's? Thanks !

 

Post deleted and written is more detail

 

Hey there pogitz. The best card now available to C90 users is the 4670 1GB GDDR2 card. Considering mine works although is a GDDR3 version it is 99% guaranteed to work perfectly..plug and play with no need to play around with heatsinks as with the 9600M GT but should return performance at least equal to it. Probably better is some newer titles due to newer architeture.

 

thanks king ! so its on par with the 9600m gt even though its only gddr2? Where did u buy the ddr3 version ? Is it available in ebay ?

 

Yeah it will definitely on par with the 9600M GT 512 mb GDDR3 card. My card isn't for sale on ebay. It is an msi part which is pretty much impossible to get hold of.

 

Hola King of Interns

I need to buy a new Graphic card for my C90s finally , 'cause my 8600gt died :-(
I wanted to know if a 4650 will plug and play like your 4670. If yes, I won't hessitate to buy it. Thanks in advance for any answer.

Haru

 

@Haruspex187
any MXM 2.0 type II will fit. And the 4650 probably work flawless. You can look also for a 9600m GT since it would be cheaper.
Cheers

 

Ah, good to know,

I saw a 9650gt for 100 Euro, but saw also the Benchmarks for a 8600,9600,4650 and 4670 and must say that I will spend the 190 for the Ati then for the 9600. Yes, it is still expensive but I don't wanna be angry 'cause of still less power for newer games.

Thx Phoenon for your answer, and I hope that nothing else will die in my laptop

Haru

 

Get the 4670 1GB GDDR2 card over the 9600M/9650M GT. It is better and probably worth the money. If you can find a cheap 4650 1GB GDDR2 mxm II 2.1 card then go for it. It will be a tad slower due to 550mhz core clock vs 675mhz core clock on the 4670 but it can always be OCed

 

Hey King of Interns,
I did the 9600M GT upgrade a year ago and now I’ve started to have heat problems, rather than trouble shoot the card I’ve decided to buy the 4650 1GB GDDR2 card. You said that there is "no need to play around with heatsinks as with the 9600M GT ", does that mean I can use the original heat sink I had with the 8600M GT?

Also, the 4650 is a MXM II 2.1 card; I thought the C90S only supported MXM II 2.0, what is the difference between 2.0 and 2.1?

Thanks,
Wally

 

Nope the C90S supports MXM II 2.1 cards. It would also support MXM III 2.1 cards however there isn't the space to install them.

As for your other query yes the ATI card's don't require a modded heatsink so the original heatsink will fit fine. I do recommend popping to MXM Upgrade Home Page and see how much their 4670 1GB GDDR2 card costs. If it costs the same as the 4650 you want to buy I would say get the faster card. You get 125mhz faster core clock which will make it a much better upgrade over your 9600M GT.

 

Thanks for the help! By your advice, I bought the 4670 1 GB GDDR2 from MXM-Upgrade. Now I need to find my old 8600M GT heat sink, lol.

 

I am selling my HD3650 with C90S heatsink (full copper) if anyone wants it. I can take pics if you want. In fact i'm selling everything from my C90s, since i fried the mobo.

All else works: RAM (2gB 667), beautiful screen 1680x1050 (why can't they make these panels anymore?), Intel ABGN 4965. And a broken 8600M GT if you wanna take your hand at resoldering it.

I know this isn't a marketplace, but it's a C90s forum and I know some people are more dedicated at replacing parts. Make offers or PM me etc. I'll probably make a formal marketplace post elsewhere.

 

We are waiting for some benchmarks!!
Cheers!

 

That is great news Wallace. Please let us know how your 4670 installation goes! Great to have anothe ati 46xx series C90 owner alongside me at last

Also it is sad you are leaving us Bredhidan. I hope even though you C90 will no long be a part of your life you will still come visit

 

Nice little update peeps. Just upgraded to 8GB of ram on my C90. Works like a charm even at 10% OC! And with lower memory timings as it is pc5300 so cannot slow its memory timings unlike pc6400

I think I have finally achieved what I set out to do orginally to have the ideal C90 and demonstrate what this beautiful laptop is capable of.

Now....which SDD and perhaps a X3380 hahaha.....

Anybody have further news about their C90's? Been pretty quiet around here recently! Guy at mxm upgrade has said he has upgraded a few C90S laptops to the 4670 GDDR2 card successfully so peeps get on that train before it departs!

 

Hello King,

What a nice C90P you have now.
My C90S is still the same, but the cooling I'm currently modifying.
I stay with my 9600, as I hope to get another notebook in few months.

@+

 

My C90S finally died (some of you should remember the heat issues I had on the GPU). I don't know what happened, I rebooted after some Windows 7 updates and then black screen on reboot. The fans don't even start when I power it on. The only thing that seems to work in the DVD drive. Basically, the power indicator lits up and the CPU builds heat.

 

This is great ! Is this possible for the c90s ? Any instruction how to do it ?

 

Hi,

Bad news, sorry JCMS.
Will you try another GPU ? Like 9600M _GT, or HD4670 or other ?

It seems to be like a friend of mine. His C90S suddenly, at startup, looked to be dead.
Nothing was working, except the HDD's led . The screen staied black, nothing was displaied.
We have pulled out the 8600M GT, replaced it by a 9600m gt.
So the C90S boot up like a charm, everything is working well now.

@+

 

i also made the move to a HD 4670 1gb DDR2
i ordered it last week after hearing that it works on the c90s. i'm currently gathering everything i need that won't be included.

so far...my c90s is using the E7500 cpu (if you remember, the Q7500 is very rare and really is horribly bad.), a kingston 128GB SSD, soon the hd4670, i got a new wireless card, the same model that angel was telling us to get in his guide, i got 4GB of ram, even if i can only use 3 of the 4 ( using 3 is more advised since windows 7 64 will try and fail to use the extra gb.) the loss in speed between 3 and 4 gb is barely noticeable to me at least, but 4GB is able to overclock better. next step is a xeon processor. by the way, MXM upgrade were nice enough to send a switch with the video card so i can manually control the fans. they really want to make their customers happy.

 

Nice Atvaark. Glad you are considering the upgrade to the 2.66ghz quad xeon! should be lovely! Let us know the results with your new HD4670 too!. That along with the xeon should be the most powerful C90S yet!

I am also looking into going the xeon route too with the very rare X3380 3.16ghz quad lol !! Would of course be shooting for 3.5ghz once I have got a 200W+ compatible power supply

 

Hello,

Are you sure that a Xeon will run on a C90S without a bios update ?

@+