Do all notebook motherboards have an onboard gfx chip?

Hello forum, as the title says I'm wondering if a motherboard with a dedicated gfx chip (I'm assuming its an MXM slot) also has an onboard gfx chip.

A friends 8600GT M recently died. The laptop has seen better days so he's not too thrilled on dishing the extra $$$ for a replacement gfx chip, especially since the only thing we know for sure to be compatible is the 8600GT which, as many people have found out, is inherently defective.

TBH I don't want to waste my time disassembling it only to find that it has no onboard chip so any info beforehand would be greatly appreciated.

The laptop is a Packard Bell MB89-P-021 if that helps, though I couldn't get any info on its motherboard.

 

If the unit has a 8600GT it does have a dedicated GFX chip, but most of the time this is built into the motherboard. Depending on the make and model, he might be able to get a new one on nvidia's dime, or get them to pay for repairs. Check The NVIDIA GPU Litigation - Home Page for details. Also, If it is not one of the covered models, using a heat gun to re-solder the chip often works, albeit temporary. Can you please provide the make and model to confirm?

 

No, not all of them have one.

 

Well "City Pig", not every notebook has one, but a 8600GT M is a discrete card, therefore I think his specific one does.

 

@rstoplabe14

Make and model already provided.
So you're saying that the motherboard may indeed have an additional onboard chip?

Also, I've checked through the nvidia litigation but doesn't help much since the make isn't included in the model list and I don't reside in the US.

 

my acer had dedicated graphics, but it was built into the motherboard, so to replace the video card... you need to replace the motherboard.

 

He's asking if they all have an IGP. Some do, and some don't.


... And it seems that I'm the only one who noticed this. You guys need to read posts more carefully. Just look at the first sentence.

 

Well, I did a Google search, but the only information that I could find is that the notebook has a Core 2 Duo and it was sold in either Germany or France. Unfortunately, after Acer purchased Packard Bell information on pre-merger systems is a little hard to come by. The good news is that since now that I know what is the CPU, we can assume the following. Most systems that shipped with a Intel CPU and Nvidia GFX were configured with a separate chip. The only question that lingers is if the chip is on a daughter board or built into the board (the latter is more than likely it though). From experience this is not something worth fixing, since the replacement chip (as you mentioned on your first post) is inherently defective.

But all hope is not lost, as a temporary solution you can try a fix called a "Reflow" (see: fix nvidia gpu heat gun - Google Search) there are plenty of videos on YouTube describing the procedure. Keep in mind the following though, the plastics on the board will melt from the heat, so remove carefully and replace after the fix. Also, do not over do it with the heat, around 30 seconds on a low setting (for a 1500w gun) is plenty. Finally, do not forget to cover the neighboring components from the heat, since most were not designed to tolerate this kind of heat (or you can de-solder others making matters worse)

 

Thanks for the info guys.

Unfortunately I don't have the time to waste baking the board or the individual chip. I was looking for a quick fix just to make it work again as a basic office solution. I'll scourge around the intrawebz a bit more to see if I can find the specifics on the motherboard and see if it has an onboard chip or not.

 

Unless there's a version of the laptop with only an IGP, it probably doesn't. Even if it does, there's probably no easy way of getting it to work, not to mention the fact that the dedicated GPU is soldiered to the motherboard and can't be removed.

 

City Pig, I read on another forum that a user experiencing problems with his motherboard took out all components and baked it. So I'm assuming that its an MXM slot or at least easily removable.

I haven't found any info on other laptops from this series. As someone mentioned info about products before the merger is hard to find.

 

No the baking method is to reflow the solder joints that become loose due to faulty bump material. When the GPU gets hot it would expand and contract. Overtime this will cause the GPU package to get disconnected from the motherboard resulting in loss of video/artifacts. Rebaking it reflows the solder joints, however the results can be as low as a few days to years.

MXM is the standard for gaming laptops, most GPU if not all were soldered onto the motherboard that were affected by the defective Nvidia chips. My Dell Vostro 1500 has a proprietary MXM connector connecting my GPU which is on it's own PCB and connects to the motherboard I believe unaffected by the recall.

 

Tsunade_Hime, yeah, I didn't mean that baking it would fix said problem rather assumed that removing all components in order to bake the mobo would mean that the GPU was easily removable.

BTW happy new year everyone, dont know if its hit your timezone yet but here its officially 2011 so let it be a jolly one. xD

 

Well...., I have seen plenty of Dells with defective Nvidia Chips and a MXM connector. A good example is the Dell XPS M1710. Also, the pre-merger Alienware Area 51 15" notebooks have this kind of graphics card.

 

Even desktop cards were effected but not on the same order as the cooling solutions were usually better.

nVidia solution to the general manufacturers was a bios mod to alow the GPU to run hotter at idle to the point the fan would kick in. This way the GPU cooled slowly and durring opperation there was less fluctuation in ntemperatures.

With my old bios I would idle 40c and stress overclocked to 83c with my GTS 9800m. With the new bios I idle about 70c and load up to 83c again. This lower variance would alow longer life of the video cards but a card slated for doom supposedly would stilll eventually fail, just take longer to do so.

I should also state with powermizer on my GPU will lower to 40-45c but the fan kicks off at 70c so it cools off way slower.................