N80Vn-X1 v. F8Va-B1. GPU Swap?

So I have been kicking this around on this site for a few days now. I will just put it out there.

I understand just about any GPU swap can be made with enough time and labor. But I’m looking for a painless, quick, easy swap. Other, quite frankly, it wont be worth doing.

I want to swap the GPU in an N80VN (GeForce 9650M GT) for the one in my F8VA, (Radeon 3650).

I’ve read some of the threads on other GPU swaps but I think this one would be particularly painless for the following reasons:

1) From the pictures that I have seen the N80VN and the F8VA share the same form factor. Other then the LED screen and the 9650 they are the same exact laptop. It’s the same hardware in the same case. This would indicate to me the cooling architecture in place in the F8VA is the same as the one in the N80VN. Simply put, the 9650 won’t overheat.

2) Same motherboard. I base this off several conclusions. Same chipset. Same CPU family used. Same memory (DDR2). Same size. Overall, they share an identical architecture. This would lead me to believe there would be no hardware compatibility issues.

3)Simple to swap. This is the most important! The N80VN appear to share the same case as the F8VA. This would mean the removal of the inspection plate would reveal the GPU. This also would lead me to believe the 9650 and the 3650 share the same fundamental size restraints. For example. If the heat spreaders where different, or the heat pipes, or the manufacturing design and installation style was different, they wouldn’t be able to use the same case design.

Basically, the N80VN just seams to be an upgraded F8VA. NOT a redesign.

With that said I think a swap could be done and you could be running in less then an hr.

Reason it WOULD NOT work (without significant labor).

1) They, in fact, do not share the same case.

2) The bios in the 9650 would have specific recognition of the N80Vn and not function properly in the F8VA.

 

No mobile GPU upgrade will be quick and easy.

 

Well, I'm pretty sure the thing I circled in red is the GPU. My phone died before I could take another pic, but if you remove those 4 screws, it pops right out.

The questions are:
Is the N80VN built the same way as the F8VA as I suspect it is.
Is there unforeseen compatibility issues I may run into that go beyond the simply physically installing the hardware correctly. If the two comps are built in the same case as I suspect they are this will be painless and simple.

 

It might look easy but Asus pre-built laptops are not designed for GPU switching. Only certain models allow this, such as the DIY C90S. This isn't a desktop you're working with. From reading the specs, the cases do seem slightly different. The logic flaw is that just because laptops use the same architecture (say the Intel P45 chipset, using a motherboard made by Asus or whatnot), and even if the GPU looks similar, it doesn't mean it will work. Many people have tried to upgrade Asus consumer laptops and if it was able to be done, it would take a lot more work. Usually the most complicated part would be software/BIOS and recognition. I don't mean to deter you from persuing this idea, I just don't think you should assume that it will be quick and easy, even if you think the signs are there to make you think it would. More details can be found in Chaz's thread about GPU upgrades for notebooks and about MXM and how different companies utilize different GPU types, even within their own product lines.

 

The real question is why?

Isn't the Geforce 9650GT a better GPU? Why bother going through all of this fuss at all?

 

/offtopic/ tell me what you think about the native resolution of the N80 vs the F8va? thanks as I'm considering the N80

 

To be honest, I would just buy an N80 if it had the 1440x900 res. It is HUGE thing for me. The N80Vn-X1, besides the lesser CPU, looks every bit the same as my F8Va-B1. The $950 price tag on it makes me want to put my F8Va-B1 on eBay and just buy the N80Vn-X1. But the 1280x800 resolution of the N80 is such a huge thing for me, I wont do it. At all. Wont even consider it for a second.

I would love to punch these focal groups and think tanks that come up with this **** in their collective heads!

/rantoff

I will not buy a 14" with anything less then 1440x900. That is how I feel about it.

Asus! I hope your listening! You lost a sale because your cheap!

Just to clarify I want to swap out the Radeon 3650 out of my F8Va-B1 for the GeForce 9650M GT in an N80Vn.

Why not buy an N80Vn-X1 and sell the F8Va-B1? No 1440x900 res. (see previous rant)

I would like to see detailed pics of the N80. If it is set up like the F8Va-B1 and looks mechanically identical I will take the leap and see what happens. If what lays under the inspection cover (if it even has one) looks different in any way I wont.

 

(Please don't post consecutive messages, use the MultiQuote feature instead. Clutters up the thread Thanks)

 

According to this, there should be a model of the N80 that is WXGA+ but lacks LED backlight.

I have to agree with pico1180 about the resolution. I'm still using my A8Js at 1440 x 900 and it would be very difficult for me to go back to 1280 x 800 on a 14.1" screen. If the N80 had a backlit WXGA+, I'd totally jump on one!

 

I understand the LED is suppose to be far superior to LCD. I don’t know. I've just heard. Maybe I will go to Best Buy tomorrow (today) and see if they have comparable models I can look at. But anyways. As appealing as the LED seems on paper, I wont go there do to the lack of 1440x900.

On top of that, I wouldn't expect there to be any significant price difference (with in $20) of a WXGA+ LCD and a WXGA LED backlight.

I will take the higher res over the LED any day. Even if the LED is suppose to have a truer color pallet and not wash out in direct light.

More screen real-estate for me please!

 

I'm the opposite. I can handle 1440x900 on a 15.4" LCD but that same resolution on a 14" is way too small. The Thinkpad T400 has a WXGA+ on a 14" with an LED backlight if you didn't consider that yet.

 

I'm a freak that way. I will admit.

14"=1440x900
15"=1680x1050
17"=1920x1200

You can always go down, but you can go up...

 

From what I've read/heard, LED backlighting is only supposed to be a "greener" and more efficient backlighting system than the standard CCFL (some sort of fluorescent) that other displays have had. Any other traits of LED are ancillary, from my understanding.

I've had a 15.4" 1680x1050 for over 3 years now, and it's great for having too many things open on the screen at once when I'm getting down to work. However, I don't think that running at a lower resolution with high quality graphics will make you miss the extra screen real-estate in-game. Besides, it sounds like you really want the N80vn for gaming/graphics performance. Do you have a major reason for not driving an external monitor via DVI?

 

Like I stated in another post, LEDs are like SSDs. They have the potential to be all around better than their replacements (CCFLs and HDs). LEDs are greener as they don't use mercury and possible arsenic and their benefits are a larger color gamut, more efficient (lower power consumption, temperature, last longer, more durable), brighter, no warm up time... so the benefits of LEDs can be quite substantial.

 

I dont have a desk to work on. I am mobile all the time. Probably 1 or 2 days out of 15 I could doc up. Otherwise, I would be ALL over that...

 

Hey pico1180 - My ASUS N80Vn-GP011C just arrived. Check out this post for details/etc. Not sure how I can tell if it's the same chassis/mobo/etc as the F8Va-B1 that you have, so let me know what I should look for to help you out (though I'm not willing to open up the case - it's too new for that).

 

Did you ever go through with the GPU swap? Did it work?

 

It won't work. The 9650m GT is a chip built onto the motherboard. At least, that's how it is on the N50. I'm assuming that the N80 is made the same way though.

 

Even if it could, it's not the 9650's fault that it's WXGA and not WXGA+, it's the screen. If you put a WXGA+ screen in the N80, it should work fine at the correct resolution. Of course, I have no idea if a WXGA+ screen would -fit-.