Few quick questions on an issue that just cropped up.
Whenever I am displaying a solid black background on my laptop I am seeing many little red dots jumping around. After some research I've pined down that its probably my graphics card going bad. I've cleaned the laptop, shutdown, restart, etc and after about 5 minutes of anything I get red dots.
I wanted to get an idea if I am correct in thinking that my graphics card is going bad.
If so I wanted to get an idea of if I could upgrade it and what I could upgrade to. Currently I am running a GeForce 9500M GS and it does OK I suppose though I would like to upgrade if possible. I've dug around mxm-upgrade.com for a few ideas but want to see if this is even possible before I get ahead of myself.
Thanks much everyone.
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Yes it's video card is dying and more likely it's the bad VRAM.
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Best bet is to crack it open and look. Then find a videocard that was sold as an option in the exact same laptop, because asus doesn't do standard vbios on the mxm card in several of their laptops - they offload it to the bios, and their GPUs aren't really upgradeable outside of the standard options. The g73 GPU seems to be an exception (This is as I understand it. I may be seriously wrong).
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No problem. I was just thinking I could use this as an excuse to upgrade but if you all do not feel it will be an option I'll just grab another 9500M and plug that in. I've already popped the laptop open and gave it a good cleaning but that didn't help much, if at all.
I'll dig around and find another card to plug in.
Thanks all! -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
Could you open your laptop and take a pic of the graphics card with its heatsink removed. I am interested to see whether it is standard mxm II 2.1. I believe there are Nvdia 9650 1GB GDDR2 mxm II cards specifically made for the M50 series for sale however if it can accept standard unlocked mxm II 2.1 cards then the ATI 4670 1GB GDDR2 mxm II 2.1 is the best available and for sale at mxm-upgrade.com
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Sure thing - give me some time to get things apart and some pics taken. I've already had it out before and read somewhere that the 9650 might be able to work with the M50 - just wanted to have an idea I wasn't throwing away my cash on that card as its cheaper than a replacement 9500 for some reason.
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M50Sv's video card is a modular video card not a real MXM, the vBIOS is embed with system BIOS, therefore, try to put a different video card will not work.
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The short story : It is upgradeable!
(I say so, because I am currently using an M50Vn 9650M GT (1GB) in my old ASUS A8JS - I upgraded from the GeForce 7700 Go that came with the laptop!
The long story : Asus use a strange 'reversed MXM' mirror image card, so MXM cards *won't* work. Also, the video BIOS is included in the system BIOS, and the system BIOS only contains 1 or 2 video cards.
What I did - was to make a custom BIOS with my original Go7700 BIOS, but replaced the spare Go7600 BIOS with the 9650M GT Bios (From the N50 laptop). The 9650M GT Bios needed a slight tweak to get it to display on the LCD panel. The upgrade works fine and the performance boost is very nice
I can help you upgrade in a number of ways:
(1) Tell me which BIOS version you are using, I can then check inside that BIOS (from the ASUS website), and tell you the supported cards for your laptop
(2) If you decide to get an upgrade (eg 9650M GT 1GB), then I can make you a custom BIOS (which supports your current card as well as the new card). Flashing BIOS is always risky, but this would be pretty low risk. It is not something you would do to a computer in warranty, though!. It may even be that your computer supports this upgrade anyway!
(3) To get new cards, one place is ebay - just search for 'ASUS MXM'. You will see many cards listed for C90 (and sometimes for M50V), but check the photos - they need to be the reversed ASUS MXM ones to work, only about 25% of them are (the more expensive ones)
If you want any help / advice, just post back, or put a post on bios-mods.com -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
Yeah as I thought the Nvidia 9650 1GB GDDR2 (M50 series mxm based card) is your best and perhaps only worthwhile option. Shame Asus reverted to their rubbish reversed mxm nonsense after making the C90 series.
Thanks for offering to help jommoner!! Tis what this forum is all aboutWelcome to NBR!
On a side note I wonder if the reversed GT240M made in the same way for the M60J could work. Perhaps jommoner you should get on the case -
I'm all for fidgeting around and getting an upgrade if possible. This problem is slowly getting worse and my warranty voided a few months ago. (Didn't help when I took various bits and pieces out to clean it and take the pics, I void warranties, I have the shirt)
I'm not real familiar with updating/checking/modding the BIOS of my pc so I will need all the help there I can get. I've read on other forums that most people who DO upgrade their laptop usually have to fuss around with something to get it to work but I'm up for anything.
One problem though is this is my MAIN pc in the home,I don't want to put it out of commission for to long or do something I can't quickly undo should I mess up and need to come back for help.
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 207, 1/14/2008
Thanks all! -
Can you tell me exactly what your laptop model is (e.g. M50Vn Vc M50Sn M50Sv etc etc), what BIOS revision it is, and verify what your card is? (the BIOS revision and current card should let me identify the exact model). I could then give more advice on upgrades (it might be no BIOS update is needed, or just an official BIOS update straight from the ASUS website)
Will check back soon! -
srblan : as above (I replied to King Of Interns post from the previous page), if you tell me what BIOS revision you are using (you can get this by pressing F2, during bootup), I should be able to help you decide on what to upgrade to (you may well be able to get away without needing a modded BIOS depending on the upgrade you choose!)
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According to F2 on startup
SMBIOS - 2.4
VGA Bios - 60.84.6B.00.16.N17125.002
ECBIOS - 2000120001
Model # M50SV
let me know if i missed something -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
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http://forum.notebookreview.com/5516992-post27.html
I've checked Asus eStore but for some reason they don't list this model. -
jommoner you out there?
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Bump - still having my vid card issues, anyone out there know if I can upgrade my 9500m GS in an Asus M50sv
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King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
Be a little patient. It has only been a few days. Jomonner has said he is willing to help you out so have some faith in him
Patience is certainly rewarded in this forum where help from others is concerned. I have certainly experienced this. Good luck with your upgrade it will be a success.
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Thanks KoI - patience has never and probably will never be a virtue of mine. It helps to be reminded at times to sit and wait.
Again this forum has helped me more than any other place with PC questions weather I post in them or not - couldn't be more grateful for the help. -
anyone out there know if I could get a 9650M GT to work in my M50SV? Had a few thing it could be possible, wanted to know what I've got to do. Thanks
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Hi!
OK, I have gone to the ASUS site, and looked at the BIOS for the M50Sv....
It contains support for the 8600M GT, and the 9500M GS only.
This does not mean you can't upgrade to something else..... My A8JS supported the 7600 and 7700 series, but I modded it to 9650M GT
If you want to upgrade to 9650M GT, it is 99% possible you could (I'm sure going from M50Sv -> M50V 9650M card is easier than from 7700 -> 9650M (on an A8JS!)
You would need a custom BIOS, and I could make you one of these. The custom BIOS would support the 9500 and 9650 so you can go back to the 9500 for troubleshooting if needed.
Let me know if you are interested in doing this upgrade, I will be happy to help
This is my tutorial for updating an A8JS to 9650M GT :
ASUS A8JS VGA upgrade Go7700 -> GF9650M GT (1GB) (and other VGA cards)
You *DO NOT* want this card :
ASUS nVidia GeForce 9650M GT 1GB MXM II Graphics Card - eBay Graphics, Video Cards, Graphics, Video TV Cards, Computer Components, Computers Networking. (end time 31-Oct-10 00:45:48 AEDST)
as it is 'normal' MXM...... so won't fit.
You need a 'reversed' MXM card (see the picture in my tutorial!)
Like this:
Asus M50 M50V 9650M GT G96 650 C1 1GB MXM II VGA card - eBay Graphics, Video Cards, Graphics, Video TV Cards, Computer Components, Computers Networking. (end time 09-Oct-10 22:14:51 AEDST)
This auction expired a day or two ago, but he had two left! I bought one of these - it is now in my laptop. He will probably relist these in a few days.
Unfortunately, there are no 9650M GTs on ebay just now, but there probably will be in the next few days - check the link above, click on seller's other items, one should come up!
So, let me know if you want help with the upgrade, and I will be happy to help (and will make a tutorial for other M50Sv owners at the same time!)
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I would be SO GRATEFUL if you could make that custom BIOS for me. I'll also need a step-by-step on how to load it as again, I don't have alot of experience in loading and editing the BIOS of my PC.
I actually stumbled on your A8JS forum post last night just picking around the internet. VERY INTERESTING to say the least.
Let me know the next steps aside from buying a card. Thanks for clarifying what card I do need - you mentioned earlier that it was the more expensive card but thank you for clearing that up. -
Hi!
I would be happy to make the custom BIOS for you over the next few days (it will take at least that long to get a new card anyway).
One thing to consider is risk; there is probably a small risk that the card won't be compatible with your laptop (must be a tiny risk, since it is actually an M50 specific card!). The other risk is, whenever flashing a BIOS, there is a chance the flash will go wrong, bricking your laptop. The risks are there, but they are small, and the benefits could be huge!
Anyway, the BIOS I make will support both the 9500 and 9650MGT anyway, so you can always revert to your old card if needed.
One question - do you have a monitor you can connect to your laptop? It may be useful if you get a black screen initially, because that may just mean it isn't properly connecting to the LCD (this happened on my upgrade till I modded the vBIOS).
Could you take a photo of your laptop when you do open it, to show where the graphics card is? Then I can post a tutorial to help other M50 owners upgrade on the bios-mods site -
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Here are the pics - simple one of the back where you can show the screws that need removed. The second is the cover removed, video card is bottom right.
If you need any more pics please let me know and I will get them for you.
I can connect to my laptop to my TV so we can view that if the monitor doesn't work after the BIOS mods. I understand the risk, but from what I gather that the 9650 is an M50 card and seeing what you've done on other forums, etc I have faith.
Now I have to find the card on ebay and try to get it shipped here in the next week or so.
I'll keep checking back but will try not to bother you for a week or so. Anything you need post in here or PM me. -
I will make the BIOS next week (want to take my time); I am working all weekend unfortunately
At present, no suitable cards on ebay.com ebay.com.au ebay.co.uk; but I will keep looking!
I will let you know when one comes up(but keep checking on ebay too)
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No worries - I've got to work to and try to get some fundage for a card. Take your time and I'll wait patiently - adjusted some settings and the red splotches are not as bad but I have a feeling its going to burn here shortly.
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Hi!
I have made a modded BIOS for the M50SV. It features support for the original 9500M GS card that you have, and also has support for the 9650M GT.
The 9650M GT vBIOS is from the M50V BIOS, and has been modified for 'non-native display support'. Essentially, this means the bootup / BIOS screens will be 1:1 pixel resolution, and will therefore appear smaller, in the centre of the screen. Once an OS boots up though, then you will get proper scaling as you always do.
Please read my tutorial for the A8JS upgrade on bios-mods.com. In particular, this is the order you should do the modifications in:
(1) Wait for a card to come up on ebay (still none on ebay, but I will send a message to the guy I got my two 9650M GT cards from (!) today and get him to list some more if possible.
(2) Set Windows or Linux or your OS to do auto-login (so it automatically logs in without needing a passowrd) *before* flashing the vBIOS.
(3) Set your BIOS so that it makes a noise on bootup, in case you get a black screen; having the noise will help diagnose and fix the problem.
(4) Once you have ordered the correct card (MUST be reverse-MXM - see my tutorial), then you can flash the modded BIOS (wait till you get the card, as it might be you end up getting a different card, etc). Note that to flash the bios you should use DOS mode, but I used windows mode. *IF you use windows mode, and it tells you that flash fails, DO NOT reboot* as once you reboot, computer is bricked, but before you reboot, recovery is still possible. Please see my tutorial for more info here.
(5) Hope that the computer still works after the BIOS flash! It should do, but there are always risks (please see my tutorial on bios-mods for more info).
(6) Switch over the cards, using decent thermal paste, and cleaning the heatsinks first (I used medical alcohol wipes, which can be had from most pharmacies). You could also use methylated spirits. I used Arctic SIlver 5, but I think it is conductive, so be careful not to get any onto circuits (if it does, clean off carefully). I managed to spread it across the resistors on the GPU, but then took my time carefully cleaning it off).
(7) Boot up. If you get SOUND but BLACK screen, then the vBIOS probably loaded, but it is not communicating with your screen for some reason. If this is the case, post here (with another computer). In the meantime, hopefully you can use an external monitor with the PC (make sure you know the keyboard shortcut *before* the switch.
(8) If you get NO SOUND on bootup, and BLACK screen, then vBIOS isn't recognised for some reason. Post here and I will help.
For option (7), it might be we need to re-flash with the N50 modded vBIOS (I used the m50 unmodded vBIOS for my computer - it only worked on external monitor. I then modded the n50 BIOS for non-native panel support - it worked on LCD and external monitor. I think it was the non-native panel support option that fixed it, but I cannot be sure.
For option (8) you would need to switch back to the original card, and I would ask for detailed photos of the graphics chip to see the exact model you have.
Please read my tutorial first, and be aware of the risks of doing a BIOS mod! Make sure you have a backup PC if things go wrong (even if you brick it, it should be possible to recover from the bad flash, but you would need an alternate means of internet access).
Please be careful when dealing with the heatsinks - it looks like, on your PC, you need to remove a lot to get to the card; my PC was much easier (as per my tutorial) as the heatsink was underneath the card, not on top like yours. You might need to redo the thermal paste on the CPU as will. Never use a metal object to clean CPU or GPU, as you can easily crack the chip! A fingernail, together with alcohol / meths, is enough. Use antistatic precautions too.
My tutorial is here:
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thre...ade-Go7700-GF9650M-GT-1GB-and-other-VGA-cards
** BE AWARE OF RISKS IF DOWNLOADING THE BIOS BELOW!!!!! I take no responsibility if it all goes wrong for anyone reading this, but would do my best to give advice if things do go wrong!!! **
P.S. As a side note...... If this upgrade works, I would be interested in buying your broken 9500M GS card - so I can experiment with trying to fix it! (I could then use it to upgrade something else). I have a laptop with VGA card as part of the mainboard, as well as a desktop GPU card, both with similiar symptoms, so would be keen to try to fix a simple / discrete card first, in case it all goes wrong. Let me know if you are interested in this at some point - no problem if you are notAttached Files:
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ASUS M50Sv Modded BIOS with 9500M GS and modded 9650M GT video bios.zip
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- 521.9 KB
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Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2015 -
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King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
Great work Jommoner!
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Still nothing up on eBay but I do thank you for getting this turned around so fast. I am reading your tutorial now just to get more familiar with the whole process. I'm a bit nervous but confident I can pull this off.
Just one questions - do you foresee any issues (other than those already stated) if I flash the BIOS/install drivers now before I order the card or would that not really help all that much? I understand we still won't actually be able to fully test things without a new card but I just wanted to get that tricky part out of the way so when the new card gets here its (hopefully) plug and go.
Name your price on the card that is dying - its yours if you want it and I'm willing to deal since you've helped so much/its dying/you are just going to tinker with it and possibly kill it. I don't see any real use for it if this goes well. -
Hi!
Before flashing the new BIOS, the only thing to ensure is that you definitely have the 9500M GS card in your PC!
I will post in a day or two how to guarantee this is your card. Otherwise you could end up with a temporarily dead PC (if your card was a 9400M or 9500M GT, for example), as the vBIOS wouldn't recognise the card.
In terms of risk management, the best thing is to order the card on ebay, and then flash the BIOS while waiting for it in the post (otherwise you risk a bad flash and maybe the card will never come up on ebay).
I'm sure the card will come up - I emailed the guy selling them, so will get back to you on this soon! -
Hi!
Mmm... Don't flash that BIOS just yet, until we can find a 9650m card for sale. I emailed the guy, he doesn't have any more, but says he will soon, hopefully, and will let me know when he gets them.
Another guy was selling these cards too, so I have emailed him (on ebay) as well, to see if he can put another one up.
As a side note, there is a tiny, tiny chance I would have a 9650M GT card for sale, but it would be in a few weeks time. I actually bought another one to upgrade my A8JR, but I just found a dirt cheap 260M GTX on ebay! It is the same ASUS reverse-MXM profile, but has got some projections from the board to stop it being used in any laptop except the one they want to use it in. I am going to see if I can mod the case (it seems the projections will only go onto non-essential plastic bracing inside the laptop, so.... will see what happens)
I will let you know what the second ebay seller says - hopefully he has some left -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
wo wo wo hang on.. a GTX260M !!!! I want it
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Yeah if you've got your 9650 for sale I would just take that one but I guess I can wait for the others to come up on eBay as well if we have to go that route.
Waiting waiting I s'pose. I've got some overtime on my next paycheck so maybe that will help - we'll see.
Keep me posted - super excited to get this upgraded/fixed so I can keep being terrible at SC2. -
The 260M should be winging its way to me as we speak!
There is also a 9800m GTX on ebay - reverse MXM, but the projections are on the other side (compared to the 260M) from the standard reverse MXM. Still a very nice card, it is not listed as 9800M GTX, but I think it is a G50 card. I will post a link later on. I think there are 10 for sale, 4 already sold? Very cheap too, $80 US
Depending on the clearance around the card it could be an option for some people, but case mods may be required (in my case, I would have had to remove one of the two RAM slots, which would have been annoying)
The GTX260M is Asus Reverse MXM so won't fit the C90, unfortunately -
69N0BBV10A03-A03 ASUS G50VT VGA BOARD VIDEO CARD - eBay Graphics, Video Cards, Graphics, Video TV Cards, Computer Components, Computers Networking. (end time 05-Nov-10 09:35:33 AEDST)
Note : this is reverse MXM but has extra projections. I think is is a 9800M but this would need to be verified. The extra projections are essentially to stop us doing easy upgrades of older laptops (up to 9650M GT they used standard reverse MXM, then started adding different shaped projections for each laptop, then switched to Reverse MXM 3 of different types between the G71 and G72 (I think) :/ -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
How can they fit so much power on a "mxm 2,1" sized pcb !?? Considering the 4670 is the most powerful mxm 2.1 II card to date and probably ever this is pretty amazing. I might just start envying you mxm reverse people
.... and get one to play with anyway haha if I stick it upside down it won't be reversed anymore... lol
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I will need to mod the case to make it fit - the upgrade-prevention extension to the card would otherwise occupy the same space as some plastic. I will also mod the vBIOS for a 50% underclock initially to ensure no power overload occurs. And then just hope it works
Regarding the M50 graphics card problem - I'm waiting for a 9650m GT to appear on ebay - will let you know as soon as one arrives!
If you decide to go for a 9600M etc let me know, but if you are happy to wait for a 9650M GT (and get 1GB of Ram), then it might take some time (hopefully not more than 2 weeks but we will need to wait and see)
If I can get the 260M working, then a fully tried and tested 9650M GT would become available -
OK sounds great . Definitely would rather just take your tried and test 9650 if it becomes available before one on eBay. Haven't really had the best of luck with eBay in the past but would be willing to try.
Definitely would want to upgrade to the 9650, from what I've seen a replacement 9500 would cost just as much for a reversed MXM card so might as well go big. -
ASUS G60VX MXM VGA CARD 69N0E0V10C03P-01 - eBay Graphics, Video Cards, Graphics, Video TV Cards, Computer Components, Computers Networking. (end time 21-Nov-10 08:42:04 AEDST)
This appears to be a GTX260m, featuring the same reverse MXM format but with extensions
Might be useful for someone... on my laptop, I would need to remove one of the SODIMM connectors to fit this....... but other laptops may have different layouts -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
That is crazy! Why did they do both reverse and normal mxm? What was wrong with making a standard mxm so we could all share in the fun lol.
Please post up results of your upgrade. Reverse mxm all the way.. -
All the 260m cards I found were Asus Reverse MXM
However, I have found a 9800 GTX and a 260M GTX (same card!) with reverse MXM, but projections off one side, and also a 260M GTX with projections off the other side :/
Basically, I guess ASUS decided to start varying the shape of the cards making it impossible to swap out cards between PCs, while keeping the reverse-MXM 2.1 format they were used to.
They now use a REVERSE MXM 3.0 format :O so they will be happy about that as us reverse-MXM 2.1 users can't use these to upgrade.
I can either cut part of the laptop case to install a 260M GTX, or if I get the 260M GTX with projections facing the other way, I have to lose one of the RAM connectors.
I will go for the laptop case mod, as I like having 3GB of ram rather then 2GB!
On the 9650M front, I do keep looking each day to see if more appear, but currently none are available. My spare one might come up for sale if I can get the 260M fitted; but otherwise will keep looking and post here immediately if I find one for sale!
PS on the M50, how much clearance do you get around the reverse-MXM card? It might be easier to fit a 260M to that (as, on my laptop, with 14.1" screen, space is quite tight!) -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
You will have to ask him to post a pic up of his GPU slot.
Jommoner how much of the laptop case do you have to cut out? will the card be visible from outside? If not and if the mod won't damage the structural integrity of the laptop I would go for that rather than lose out on one of your memory slots. Dual ram is pretty beneficial for performance and also gives you possibility of upgrading to 8GB. Ram is afterall getting pretty cheap again. I spent just 100 pounds to get my 8GB! -
The card wouldn't be visible from the outside after the mod; very tempted to go for that option.
Worryingly, the 260M I am getting, from the G71/ G72, might be a different type of card...... The BIOS for those machines doesn't have any vBIOS present, so I assume the card has it's own vBIOS :S will be interesting working around that!
I have made a custom BIOS with support for the card (using the G60 vBIOS for the 260M GTX), so will try that first. I will test the setup with the lower case removed first (will be interesting getting cooling setup without it), before I start cutting away at the case.
P.S. 8GB would be a dream for the laptop - with the 945 chipset (667MHz DDR Ram), I have a max of 3GB (officially my laptop only supports 2GB in 2x 1GB SODIMMs, but I managed to get it up to 3GB with a high quality 2GB SODIMM in one of the slots (the cheaper ones didn't work). 2x 2GB sticks still just gave 3GB due to memory mapping issues (32-bit address space, and the system needs to map the VGA card and other things into the main memory map, so you can't use the full 4GB). -
King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast
Hmm interesting. I think if it were the other way round ie your machine only took cards with vbios on the card itself you might have had problems. However you should be fine. Hopefully your custom BIOS will work however the card might ignore it if he has its own BIOS on board.
About the ram yeah 945 does have 3GB limitation however at least you can still benefit from dual bandwitch with 2 modules. I recommend 2x2GB so you get Syncronous bandwidth. -
Sorry for the delay in posting - busy weekend, etc.
I don't have alot of space around the card in my laptop case and hardware mods do seem to be a bit above me. Tried it before on my wife's PC and lets just say the results were not impressive. -
Asus M50 M50V 9650M GT G96 650 C1 1GB MXM II VGA card - eBay (item 250722220394 end time Dec-05-10 03:18:04 PST)
Jommoner -is this something that would work? i'm thinking not since its the cheaper version of those i've been looking for - just wanted to check before I bid on it. -
This is just like the one I used to upgrade my A8JS. Also, the BIOS I posted will be fine for this card.
The two risks would be (1) The card you receive is broken (should be a low risk, the two I bought from that seller were fine.... wasn't too happy about the second one, had very slight chips at the edge of the 9650M chip silicon, but works fine, so it is OK :O the other risk would be (2) For some bizarre reason, it wont work in your M50. I highly doubt this if it works in my A8JS, however!
Good luck with the biddinglet me know when you get the card (that seller gives fast shipping!)
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Card should be on the way shortly - I just went "Buy Now" as that is all I could find and I'm not a very patient individual. Should be here in a few weeks and then we can get started on flashing the BIOS. I'm still not 100% sure on what to do there - will read your tutorial on the other website again a few times just to be sure I'm up to speed on what is up.
The hardware part I'm OK on, I've taken the card out a few times for pics, etc and have done a few small things on other PC's - its the flashing etc I'm a bit hung up on. I trust I'm in good hands though and I've got another PC I can come on here and raise my hand if I have any other questions.
Thanks all!
Asus M50S Graphics Card problem?
Discussion in 'Asus' started by srblan, Sep 29, 2010.