MSI's HD4670 is running in my Acer 5920G

@darkcella & TATapiH - Sorry guys, I missed this topic completely If you still need assistance, let me know

@hobby-schrauber - Pulled from EX625/GX623, that's what I can tell you.

 

Hi Triturbo,

I've upgraded my son's Acer 5920g from a T5750 to a T9300 without a hitch. Temperatures hover around the 38-42 degrees C. mark, and 75 degrees C. under high load. All very acceptable...

I also purchased a Mobility Radeon HD4670 with 1GB RAM from eBay to replace his HD3450 graphics card, but unfortunately it gives nothing but a black screen, even though the computer boots fine.

To me, two things may be the cause:

a) the replacement GPU is faulty, or
b) the replacement GPU has the wrong vBios, and is therefore unrecognisable to the computer.

Would you (or anyone else, if possible) be able to assist me with any answers that may help?

I'm swaying towards b), actually. So, with that in mind, an option may be to blind flash the vbios by booting up using a USB stick (although as a Mac specialist, I am not that comfortable with PCs and would need plenty of advice and reassurance in doing this...!).

Would a copy of your vBios help, by any chance?

My Acer Bios is currently on 3813.

Cheers!


- kiwitheiwik

 

I can give you a copy of my vBIOS, no problem, but I doubt that it would help you and there is great chance to brick your GPU, since mine is 512MB GDDR3 and yours is 1GB DDR2. First I need to know what thermal interface you have put between the core and heatsink?

 

The vRAM size does not make a difference, but the ddr2 vs ddr3 definitely does.

I've been wanting to post a thread about modding a ddr2 vbios to ddr3 (or vice versa). For all we know it could be as easy as copying the timings.

 

Thanks for the quick reply!

I put Arctic MX-4 non-conductive thermal paste on the CPU and the GPU, which is very good. I'm pleasantly surprised by the T9300 temperatures under load.

The HD3450 is back in the 5920G, but I'm desperate to see how to get the HD4670 installed. The card cost me £90 from eBay, and was specified as being able to be fit into a 5920G (along with a few other models, such as a Toshiba). Obviously, I knew that it may need to be flashed anyway, so I thought there was a generic vbios that I could use.

ATI Catalyst 1.11 has a generic HD4670 driver, but the problem is that I'd need to see what I was doing on-screen in order to install.

People have had success with flashing their graphics card bios by booting up via a USB stick, so I was hoping to do the same. Before I do that, I'll contact the seller to find what computer the card came from and take it from there...

Let me know what you think.

 

MX-4 is definitely nice choice - easy application (as MX-2) and better temps (than MX-3, MX-2 and a handful of other brands).

£90 is pretty cheap for this GPU. Are you sure that it's not broken or something? Have you tried to plug it in external monitor either HDMI or VGA?

Edit: Just came in my mind - have you put something else between the core and heatsink, like copper shim, or it's just MX-4? The gap is pretty big, so you'll have to put a lot of paste in there, but that's only to test if it works. I recommend to make Copper Mod, you'll need 16x16x0.9mm shim.

 

Yes, agreed about the MX-4 - it was such an easy process...

I've just heard back from the eBay seller, and the card was pulled from a working Advent 8555GX (which is basically a rebadged MSI GT725 laptop). This is good news, considering MSI is a compatible card.

As far as the space between the heatsink and the GPU is concerned, it's the same as the HD3450. In saying that, I think a heatsink mod or shim would still be a wise decision, so I'll crack on with that as well. According to everyone's perspective, 0.9mm seems the best depth. Would it be wise to put MX-4 between the heatsink mod and the GPU?

So, now I've found that the card is a pseudo-MSI variety, do you think that I could get away with using a MSI vBios?

 

Hello, Can you give a copy of your vbios too? I bought a HD4670 1Gb DDR3 from ebay and i have black screen too.

 

Yes, 0,9mm is perfect. Yes again, that's what I do.

Is it DDR2 or GDDR3?

Well, if you did everything I mentioned in my previous post and it's still not running, sure. BUT flash at your own risk, I don't take any responsibility if something goes wrong.

 

Yes people, please keep in mind the dangers of flashing something to a vbios of the wrong vRAM type, even if its the same model. I posted a thread here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/551516-ddr2-ddr3-vbios-mod.html

kiwitheiwik can I see the ebay listing of the card you bought? What toshiba laptop did they say it would work with?

 

Thank you very much, I search for this vbios for days.

 

Thanks, Triturbo - you're a star! And don't worry - you're off the hook if I screw it all up...!

MondoJuan - it looks like you have the same card as I do (HD4670 1GB DDR3). Shall we do the vbios flash together on the count of three, then?!? Ha!

Do let me know how you're planning to flash your bios, because I'm curious as to how to go about it...

 

Do you guys really have ddr3 cards?? link to the ebay listing please?!?

 

Hi Niff - here's the listing on eBay:

1GB ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 4670 LAPTOP GRAPHIC CARD on eBay (end time 12-Jan-11 07:40:31 GMT)

The seller had another brand new card that was up for "Buy it Now" for £99, but it just went yesterday. Here's the listing for that item (virtually identical to mine):

1GB ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 4670 LAPTOP GRAPHIC CARD on eBay (end time 29-Jan-11 06:42:28 GMT)

If it's what you're after, PM them - they could have another available for sale...

Good luck!

 

I use my old (without screen) laptop, MSI L745; for flashing card off-screen and no working with new vbios. Continue with black screen.

The card is working, load ms-dos, open the directories and ejecute soft but no have image on screen.

Thanks a lot for your help.

EDIT: This is my card:

http://cgi.ebay.es/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110626226920

 

kiwitheiwik, I have a usb mem with MS-DOS boot and use command line for type atiflash commands; I don´t have screen, use my memory for remenber all sequence.

 

MondoJuan - are you saying that the vbios didn't work for you, and you've still got a black screen?

I'll do a little more research and assemble a USB stick with the correct software on it to boot with. Firstly, I need to get a copper shim for the GPU (and some thermal pads for the DDR3 chips as well). That will hopefully keep the heat down...

 

How have you determined it is ddr3?

 

Ahh - that's the big question...

The card was pulled from an Advent 8555GT, which is a rebadged MSI MS-1772 (or GT725), which uses an HD4670 1GB DDR3 GPU.

Admittedly, I've tried looking for markings on the card, and the chips themselves don't give the game away. Therefore, I'm at the mercy of the dreaded web search, and am therefore only surmising...

 

Interesting. Perhaps a connection with advent is triturbos secret.

You guys both got those cards at one hell of a price. If you don't already, consider yourself VERY lucky.
Maybe this will help with the vram:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...369470-how-find-your-real-gddr-frequency.html
Though at this point I think they are gddr3

 

I'd consider myself LUCKIER if I could get the darn thing to work!

 

Hey guys, from the pictures it looks a tad different than mine. Could it be proprietary, like in Compal? I know that their GPUs are 1:1 with a MXM one, but they can't be used on other brand laptop - I think that the vBIOS checks the on-board BIOS or something like that.

 

Well you should definitely try this to determine if its ddr3 http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...369470-how-find-your-real-gddr-frequency.html

Seriously its easy and you'll know for sure.

The difference between many locked and unlocked MXM cards is usually very simple. They don't have an EEPROM. I don't think MSI would do that.
You can tell by comparing them, there are many chips that look like the EEPROM, they have 8 legs, most of them are voltage regulators.
E. G. if anyone wants to discover this for themself, go search for a HP fx 1600m and clevo 8700m GT card close up pics, you will see what I mean.

 

Thanks, Niff - I've posted a request to help me decipher the memory code with images on the thread - http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/369470-how-find-your-real-gddr-frequency-9.html#post7127291

After reading the online guide, the card looks to have DDR2 memory @ 400MHz, instead of DDR3. Do let me know what you make of it...

Cheers!

 

Your H5PS1G63EFR-20L is 500Mhz
H5PS1G63EFR-25C is 400Mhz

 

I'm modding triturbo's vBIOS for the HD4670's (G)DDR2 RAM!
Hard work!! I have to understand how to change Memory timings...
In RBE is recognized as a (G)DDR2 card, and clocks are 675MHz for core and 500MHz for RAM....

 

I don't know how long this card is out there with MXM II slot...
This topic is almost 3 years old...
I'm trolling the Internet for 3-4 months now...

I still cannot find it.
There is a lot of fakes out there, there is a lot with wrong descriptions also...

Running out of ideas and unexplored areas.
Is anyone there any fresh ideas how to get one for my 6920G?

 

Sorry. I guess it was rare when it was released and remained the same ever since. Even MSI GX623 and EX625 weren't exactly best-sellers (the only two known to feature MXM 2.1 Type II HD4670), which is sad

 

Hi to all!
triturbo you are a genious, i have to admit of [ P.S. my english is poor :-( ]
i need some help about cpu upgrade on my acer5920g.
the default is a t7300. I see tha fsb is 800 Mhz.
so: Can I switch to t9300? On the intel site i found a difference that i'm not able to understand:
this is for T9300: Sockets Supported BGA479, PGA478
this is for t7300: Sockets Supported PBGA479, PPGA478

It seems that the first P stand for plastic but i'm not sure, maybe you can help me!

Goodbye!

 

Sorry for the late input. T9300 is OK upgrade, as far as it's not a crappy ES version. Though if you want to get an ES one, there are good samples with thermal sensors and all, just like the OEM ones, so choose wisely, or make a sure bet on SLAYY.

 

thanks triturbo!
i acquired a t9300 is a SLAYY.

i have a question for you:
can i replace thermal pad with thermal paste on the cpu? because the thermal pad was completely damaged during disassembly.
Do you think that i need to replace thermal pad?

Thanks and happy new year

 

Are you talking about the CPU itself or about the North Bridge? You must definitely put a fresh thermal paste on the CPU. For the North Bridge use the thermal pad if it's still one piece, or buy a new one, as thermal paste isn't "thick" enough to do the job. There are couple of "thick" pastes though, but I didn't saw a huge temp. difference to justify the cost (because you'll have to put pretty good amount of it to fill the gap). In short - paste for the CPU and pad for the NB.

 

hi triturbo! i'm a little scaried to reuse old pad, because they are sticky so were contaminated with dust.
So.. i acquired new pad and also new paste. what do you think about?
Phobya thermal pad 100x100x 1mm thermic conducibility 5 W/(mK)
and Prolimatech PK-1 paste.
Originally in my nb there was thin pad also on cpu and gpu, now i want to use pad for nb and video ram and paste for cpu and gpu.

 

Sounds good, but for the GPU's core you'll have to do copper mod, because the gap is too big for thermal paste.

 

hmm, copper mod! how much tickness did you use?

 

Yeah, I was going to suggest copper too, depending on the thickness of the pad. If you can get a copper shim similar to thickness of the pad, then smack paste on the CPU, you'll get even better heat dissipation.

 

I'm using 0,9mm one, some users have 0,5mm and say that it performs better than 0,9mm. If I put 0,5mm one it doesn't make good contact I'm still scratching my head about grinding the heatsink's "restrictioners" (the ones that hold the GPU in the air). This way I'll be able to place the GPU directly, but the disadvantages are quite a lot. Unequal grinding, grinding too much and so on, and most of them mean cracked core/entire board, which isn't inspiring at all I already have a small crack, from the numerous disassembly-assembly procedures, that's why I'm not very enthusiastic about this one.

Edit: Another one - due to VERY inappropriate placement of the GPU, even if I manage to grind those fellas properly, lets not forget the MXM slot itself, which would hold one of the ends a little higher. Quite of a nightmare

 

0,9 hmm not possible for me!
Maybe you have another gpu with another core that is thinner.
When i dissamble graphic card there was a thermal pad but really thinner than 0.9 mm maybe 0.1 or 0.2 mm similar to a film..

 

Are you sure we're talking about the same dimensions? I'm saying 0,9mm and not 0,9cm (=9mm). If you really have a gap that small, you better put thermal paste instead, it'll be much better.

 

hello! i'm writing for my acer5920G i have reassembled it today. all seems working good!
i have used 1 mm pad for nb and vga ram, and paste for gpu and cpu!
All seems ok. furmark gives a max temperature of 78°,
But i have 8 degrees of difference in two cpu cores using coretemp.
However the max temperature is on core 2 and is 68°

 

Hi triturbo. A would like to ask you what is the second best graphic card for 5920G. As you cannot say where did you get 4670 GDDR3. I dont know how but I got an idea to max the 5920G and plan to get x9000, Intel wifi 6300. And in your description you say you have 8GB of ram on 5920G how it is possible I ordered Kingstone HyperX 800MHz CL4 2x2 GB. Currently I am running T9300 and Geforce 8600M GS with AC MX-4 still cant get ridd of the tempreature . I got an Idea to cut the cooling system in a half. That the processor wouldnt heat the graphic and in reverse. Would it be the worst thing to do or? Is the wifi 6300 in full size or only half? and please tell me where didi you get that graphic card..

 

Congrats for the upgrade

Second best is Toshiba sourced HD4650, but you'll need to solder EEPROM and flash a BIOS in order to work. X9000 is awesome, but it runs hot, and 5920G's stock cooling wont be up for the task, but you're free to give it a try Intel 6300 is half-size, so I got an adapter (half to full) as well. Yes I have 8GB RAM, and I don't know how it's possible, but I'm GLAD that it is Cutting the heatsink in half wont bring anything good, maybe if you connect the copper lines of CPU and GPU sides would be better.

 

Double post

 

i wonder if this is still alive..

i currently have my 5920g completely stock..and was thinking any upgrade options..
mainly to ram and graphics card..

have you managed to use 8gb without any modification? i would be happy with around 6gb..
and about the 8600gs would it be a good idea to upgrade to 4670? not for the gains, but mainly for the stability of it?

 

RAM is Plug'n'Play, as long as it's low density one (8 chips of each side, total of 16 per module), I'm not sure if the other (4 chips of each side, total of 8 per module) is going to work.

HD4670 is HARD to find, at least the GDDR3 one. I have couple of ASUS GT 240Ms 1GB DDR3, but I'm yet to test them, I hope I'll be able by the end of the week. From what I read, they run cooler and perform close to HD4670 GDDR3. Which probably means that, copper mod aside, you don't need to modify anything else. If they run correctly, both would be for sale

 

that sounds quite interesting..i ll be looking forward to hearing news..
also, regarding the ram, do you have any recommendation? can i keep for instance the one 2gb that i currently have, and add one 4gb of another brand? and if so which one?

 

Sure, you can keep one and plug in another of different size and brand, but it would run in asynchronous mode, means 5~10% drop in performance. As for a brand, mine are hynix, but as I said, others should do the trick as well, as long as they are low density ones.

 

Hi!

My Acer 5920g graphics died a few days ago and since im willing to keep it, im wondering which card should i buy. Im deciding between ati radeon hd 4670 1gb ddr2 (from mxm-upgrade) and nvidia gt 240m 1gb ddr3 (im still looking for the store).

Could someone tell me of a good place where i can buy a nvidia GT 240M 1GB DDR3?

P.s. i live in EU so it would be nice if i would be able to buy it from this area.

 

Here's one place (probably the only):

Asus C90S C90P nVidia GT 240M 1GB DDR3 MXM II VGA Card

 

Thanks for the link.

Have you tested the card yet? Is it fully compatible with the acer 5920g?