HP ELITEBOOK 8760w, compatible with an RX 480 4GB Mobile?

Hello!
So I'm looking to buy a used HP ELITEBOOK 8760w (103C_5336AN) with a:
1) Intel core i7-2820QM (I'm also thinking of later on upgrading this to an i7 3630QM)
2) 12GB of DDR3 (Generic Samsung Ram)
3) Stock Power Supply and Battery
4) Nvidia Quadro 3000m
- Curious if an RX 480 4GB MXM Card would work?

- Would it work out of the box?

- Would I need to perform any modifications, if so which (custom vBIOS, custom drivers?

- If the RX 480m wouldn't work with this, what Laptops would?

- Would the Stock Power Supply and Battery be sufficient, while the battery is still sporting respectable battery life?

- Will the current heatsink be fine?

- Would I need to update to the latest BIOS?

-Would it work with a Dreamcolor Display?

-Any other advice is really appreciated
---
Also I'd be using this Laptop for programming microcontrollers, playing games and some CAD
P.S the RX 480m is apparently a "reference model" (what the seller claims)
Thanks in Advance

 

Hi,
You can’t use 3630QM on 8760W as this CPU is 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge while 8760W is 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge. The best option for you would be 2960XM which I wouldn’t recommend as it heats up like crazy (96-98C are norm without liquid metal TIM, and the TJmax of the CPU is 100C max...)
Better stay where you are or if you have a good deal - trade it for 2860QM.

As 8760W is not so much GPU upgrade friendly as 8770W, you really have to experiment with RX 480...it might, it might not work...I suggest you to look at direction 980M/Quadro M5000M which have better chance to work properly on 8760W (the first one works 100%, I’ve been using it myself while I had 8760W, you just need UEFI based Win 8.1/10 if you have DreamColor and any other OS if you don’t).

Your current heatsink should work without problems both with 980m/Quadro/RX 480

I would point my view on 8770W if I were you...better and cooler CPU, better RAM (up to 1866MHz), TRIM support for RAID 0 with SSDs, mSata SSD support are just few to mention...overall price is not much higher than 8760W...just saying..

 

..
Thanks a ton, but the primary reason for me considering the RX 480 Mobile is because I can get one of them for only 120 Euros (Honestly should have added this my bad).
Would you personally think that it's worth a shot at that price ^^?
---
Also is any bios modding required for that 980m/did you have to mod your vbios? Or Drivers?
---
HP 8770w huh, it may be a good idea to look into that direction instead, but in my case the cost difference is roughly 100 euros, I don't know if that's truly worth it, since I don't plan on using any of those features.
--
Also one more thing, I've been hearing about a Tesla M6, it's a compute card so I doubt it would work, you got any idea?

 

Yes, why not - if it doesn’t work, you can always resell it for even more than you spent on it...

As long as the vBios is Dell, Clevo, MSI or Prema - you are good to go. Driver .inf mod is a must though...you can’t avoid this one.

100€ more is worthy in my opinion - you get faster, cooler and more future proof system in general. I would...

About the new Tesla M6 - I really don’t know if it would work either on 8760W or on 8770W... most probably with some vBios (from M5000M for instance) it will (at least on 8770W)

 

--
Alright I'll take a closer look at this all, tmrw will report any findings or anymore questions.
Thanks a lot once again

 

@SMGJohn
Hi, so I'm looking to get an RX 480 4GB mobile (With Hynix RAM, specifically: H5GQ4H24AJA ) working in a HP 8760w (More info is in the main post above), I know this Laptop is completely different from what you've worked with.
But, by any chance do you have any tips or info you can give me regarding these cards? ( I found you in close to all threads regarding this card if you are wondering)
Edit: *perhaps what to do if it doesn't work aside from resell it. (i.eg if it doesnt show up in the bios, driver install fail)
Also did you have to modify your drivers in any way?
Cheers

 

Hi,
IIRC 8760w does not support graphics swtiching so RX480 may work but only on external display, as it only supports EDP screens. LVDS screens can output but only through INTEL GPU with help of OPTIMUS (nvidia) or ENDURO (AMD).
The easiest way if you want RX480 is to look for HP ZBook 17 G1/G2, Alienware M17XR4 or R5, or DELL M6800.

 

Hi,
Thanks for the info, I may walk away sad but informed.
I'll be on the lookout for HP Zbooks and the other Laptops you mentioned. (Can I take the G3s, and up as well?)
Also, from what I've heard at least, the LVDs method (using optimus/enduro or something)
results in roughly a 20% perfomance loss (from what I've gathered), it probably isn't worth the hassle either?
So from what I understand then, to use the RX 480 without any going to...decent lengths, it needs to have an EDP screen? And support AMD ENDURO?
And because the HP elitebook doesn't have either,so it's not possible...to use it with the HP Elitebook's main screen in any way.., and I'd be stuck with external screens?
@johnbb
EDIT: Nevermind I get it, with the AMD ENDURO part, makes sense, but what about the perfomance loss part? Or is that false? Also from what I understand then, would this make me technically able to use a Tesla M6 with NVidia Optimus

 

(the above is a reply, but I don't seem to be able to edit this, nor do I know if this is truly um neccessary, sorry I'm new to this website, just making sure you see this, thanks)

 

Optimus/Enduro are basically the same, as the dedicated GPU signal is routed through the INTERNAL GRAPHICS PROCESSOR of the CPU.
20% loss is a bit overstated I guess, but expect between 5 and 15% depending of the games or applications. Usually it's around 5-10% maximum.
If you're looking for a "cheap" gaming machine, go for a BGA notebook with Ryzen and 1660Ti, you can get one for 800 to 900€ brand new.
If you're super tight on a budget, go for a second hand laptop with 1060 or 1070 GTX, for 550€.
If you like tweaking and upgrading laptops, or if your budget is less than 500€, then go for 2nd hand HP Zbook 17 G1/G2 with i7 CPU, buy a RX480 and 1TB SSD and you're good to go! You can even try the haswell microcode hack to overclock your i7 CPU. I've seen i7 4700mq reaching 4.5Ghz, even better than some 4930mx...

I'd stay away from Tesla M6 as you will NEVER be able to output to an external screen... It only works with OPTIMUS on internal screen.

 

Wait I thought the G2 only supports Type A MXM GPUs?

 

--
Alright thanks, ill be on the lookout for those Laptops you named. (I'm a tad tight so)
Also didn't know the Haswell microcode hack works for Laptops, good to know..
So, in one word, Elitebook will not work without the addition of Optimus/Enduro, I assume Optimus/Enduro would just be included in the Driver Package I'd install from either website (or is it a hardware thing for specific laptops)? (no idea how to set either up nor are there many tutorials or explanations aside from what it is) +is it a hassle to set up/use?
---
+Assuming these work: HP ZBook 17 G1/G2, Alienware M17XR4 or R5, or DELL M6800, because they have EDP displays, and general EDP support? Also is it possible for me to use the Zbook G3 instead of a G1/G2?
Thank you in advance

 

After a bit of research that seems to only be the case for the 15 inch Model, dont take my word on it though requires more research and confirmation

 

Zbook 15 G1/G2 only support MXM A. Zbook 17 G1/G2 support MXM A & B. Difference between G1 & G2 is msata slot (former) and M2 slot (latter).

 

Elitebook will only work with Dreamcolor (EDP) screen, without OPTIMUS.
Zbook 17 G1/G2 will work with or without OPTIMUS/ENDURO as the screen is EDP.
Zbook 17 G3 will also work as it's EDP screen (but CPU is soldered on MB).
Dell M6800 (or Alienware m17x R4/R5) will work with OPTIMUS if screen is LVDS or without it if screen is EDP (usually 3D screen or IPS tech)

 

Exactly what I needed! Thanks.
I'll try to go with the options that do not require (i.eg I won't go with the elitebook I was aiming at) Optimus because it seems a hassle to set up with barely any tutorials.
Cheers

 

The RX 480M cards wont work on eDP displays sorry only on LVDS, you need to get the WX7100M in order to get it working on eDP display.
However you be severely bottlenecked with that CPU generation you are stuck with.
You also most likely loose out on Radeon gaming drivers, overclocking, automatic fan control, you probably wont be able to use output such as HDMI and DisplayPort with audio as was case with mine.
But you be able to do 120Hz and eDP and probably the Dreamcolour panels as well as WX7100 are 12bit colour cards.

You almost be better off getting those MSI laptops with Ryzen and Radeon 5500M GPU's if you really wanted AMD specific GPU, otherwise I rather recommend a GTX 780M Clevo card if you just want to upgrade to something more powerful as those are proven stable cards that work on eDP with the Dreamcolour panels.

 

Hi!
Thanks a ton for that response.
But now I'm a bit confused ( @johnbb ) claimed that the RX 480m won't work on LVDs display.., natively.
So the way I interpret what you just said, +a few questions : (attempting to structure this in a readable way)
1) I can use the RX480m on an internal display, if it's an LVDs panel, (i.eg none Dreamcolor HP Elitebooks for example)? But I'd suffer major performance losses?
2) Would flashing a WX7100m Driver,,...let me use EDP panels on a RX 480m? (for example, a HP Zbook 17 G1/G2, which are haswell,,and according to johnbb might let me use the haswell microcode hack to overclock them) and cause me to lose out on AMD GAME Drivers? (Or would I still be able to use AMD game drivers with the wx7100m vbios?)
--
Using Info from one of your threads http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ning-on-120hz-edp-3d-display-it-works.828697/ )
--
3) So I wouldn't be able to use 120hz external panels with AMD GAME Drivers, and I may lose the ability to use audio for both on hdmi..., (No matter what laptop?)
4) Is this "VDA" (Virtual Display Adapter) 100% required no matter what panel and what vbios?
--
To summarize it...
I can only use the bare RX480m on an LVDs 60hz Panel (And a VDA is not required?)..., and I'd have the ability to overclock etc, but suffer performance losses compared to using an EDP Panel?
On an EDP Panel (maybe flashing a wx7100m vbios?) I need the VDA, no matter what HZ, and I'd lose HDMI audio...?
-- All these questions are assuming that things like optimus/enduro aren't required
Gathering all this information, really seems to lead me back to @mirage_bg original response, which more or less told me it may be more worth it to straight up go for an NVidia card., instead of the 120 Euros RX480m.
Looking further it also seems like quite the hassle, and isn't particularly worth it for a noob like me?
Thank you in advance, and sorry if these questions are annoying

 

Actually the easiest way to proceed is with OPTIMUS/ENDURO. And it usually is the cheapest as well, as

To answer thouroughly your questions, don't mix up LVDS/EDP (display type) and OPTIMUS/ENDURO (dgpu to igpu passthrough). These are 2 very different things that are commonly mistaken here on the threads you may read.
1) you will be able to use RX480 on internal display only if:
- you have ENDURO enabled (=Switchable Graphics = AMD optimus = AMD Powerexpress) whether it's LVDS / EDP display
- you have an EDP panel on the laptop whether ENDURO is enabled or not
2) WX7100 will work the same way as RX480: on LVDS panel ONLY WITH ENDURO enabled. On EDP panel with or without ENDURO.
If your laptop has EDP panel, rx480 may work with ENDURO or without it (only on dgpu)
Alienware / DELL M6800 can use both LVDS or EDP display. RX480 will work with ENDURO on LVDS panel. On EDP, ENDURO is automatically disabled and RX480 will work that way.
On HP Zbook 17 G1/G2, it's LVDS panel and ENDURO can be switched ON or OFF. RX480 will work using ENDURO (usually performance loss is around 5%, but on some specific games/apps, it can go up to 15-20%)
3) don't mix up laptop brands and display type. You can use 120Hz panel if they are available on the laptop. ie on Alienware/Dell M6700/6800 if you have 120Hz panel, ENDURO cannot be enabled
4) ask @SMGJohn as he did all the experiment on Alienware with RX480 / WX7100

 

No RX480 works exactly the same way as WX7100. RX480 will NOT WORK on LVDS panel UNLESS you have ENDURO (= AMD Optimus) ON. It's hardware limitation. Just as pascal cards, Pascal/Polaris do not output via LVDS as it's obsolete. To do so it needs passthrough via INTEL IGP thanks to OPTIMUS or ENDURO = official AMD Name (or AMD Graphics Switching = HP or AMD Power Express = DELL)

 

To answer these questions, you cannot flash WX7100 onto a RX480 its blocked by AMD, but you can flash RX480 vBIOS to a WX7100 but you will be limited to LVDS as none of the RX480 vBIOS support eDP at least none that I could find.

120Hz only works on WX7100, with RX480 cards you only get 60Hz through LVDS as johnbb said it goes through Enduro basically the Intel iGPU, its a pass through technique, the Intel iGPU translates all the video signals from the AMD GPU to the display hence why there is a performance loss.

VDA is only necessary if you screw up something you can force the display to 60Hz potentially fix the problem if its driver related or not, only necessary if you have a 120Hz or 4k display as most of the time those are heavily driver dependant.

As for loss of HDMI and DP audio output, I only know I lost it on the Alienware.

RX 480 will not work with eDP regardless 60Hz or not, I tried both 60Hz panels and 120Hz panels no go in the Alienware at least.
WX7100 however did work but if you flashed the RX480 vBIOS you still could only use the LVDS at 60Hz, no eDP at 60Hz regardless what I tried.

You have to remember that Intel iGPU for 2nd and 3rd gen i7's are not eDP compatible, so most laptops with those integrated one have LVDS not eDP.
But I read that if your Intel iGPU supports eDP basically anything newer than HD 4000, you can indeed do passthrough as you could with LVDS.

 

I tried RX480 and it worked on Zbook 15 motherboard with edp screen and AMD Graphics Switching (=ENDURO) ON, and with ENDURO OFF as well. I got picture on onboard screen. Same goes for wx4150m (=rx460).
On DELL Precision M4700/M6700, Rx480 works also nicely but only on external screen via HDMI/DP, as I have LVDS screen. AMD Power Express (=ENDURO) is disabled and cannot be forced on unfortunately.
On M6800 though, it works on internal screen as well, as AMD Power express can be enabled (LVDS screen).
I don't have the edp cable for DELL Precision so I cannot try EDP screen.

Your right, 2nd or 3rd gen IGP are always disabled when using EDP cable. IDK if it's hardware limitation but from what I've seen, it's always dgpu with EDP screen on these old laptops.

 

So taking both of those replies into account...,
My absolute best bet, would be taking a Laptop with an EDP screen BUT with at least an Intel 4th gen cpu, to bypass thru if the RX 480 does TURN out to only support LVDs. (Like @SMGJohn is suggesting?)
And if it's only EDP like @johnbb stated, (this also seems to be very accurate reading other threads on here), I'll have no need for AMD Enduro/AMD Power Express.
In one word, I should aim for Laptops similar to the HP Zbook 17 G1/G2/G3, which sport Haswell, and an MXM slot, AND should have an EDP Panel..
My last two questions(probably, before I go and try it out for myself);
1) AMD Enduro/AMD optimus? Are they found in the BIOS or are they found within windows/(Driver Software like can I find AMD ENDURO/(AMD POWER EXPRESS in Radeon Settings?) And can if it is found within windows can I set that up, BEFORE even putting the clean Windows HDD/SSD in the Laptop?
2) Can I just install the Driver from the AMD Website like I'd do with Desktop GPUs? ( https://www.amd.com/en/support/graphics/radeon-400-series/radeon-rx-400-series/radeon-rx-480 )
----
It's quite obviously far cheaper to go with an LVDs Laptop like the Elitebooks and then have the iGPU translate with AMD Enduro..or something like that,
All seems like Trial and Error here, well then I hope my heart for modding will last thru this one as well.
Cheers

 

If you want no hassle, go for an easy laptop to setup, with graphics switching. My advice is go for MSI GT60 / GT70. It has LVDS panel & OPTIMUS/ENDURO always enabled. It works with almost every single MXM card on the market. And it's usually cheap (~200-300€)
HP Zbook 17 G1/G2 is also an option to consider, or DELL M6800.
HP Zbook 17 G3 is EDP but is not cheap ATM.

1) Can be found in the BIOS. Can be deactivated on some laptops (Zbook, Dell M6800) or always ON (MSI GT60/70, Clevo P150/170 EM/SM)...
2) Yes you can install AMD drivers from website directly

 

Like johnbb said, you be better off getting some of those laptops he recommends as older 2nd and 3rd gen Intel GPU's wont work properly with RX 480 on eDP only LVDS, I go with one of the HP Zbook or the Dell ones as both of them are known to work well with AMD and a lot of WX 7100 out there are HP cards.

But if you want to use an AMD on your current laptop, WX 7100 is your safest bet, the card will work with anything LVDS or eDP while you cannot overclock it and your HDMI/DP audio output might not work either, you will have much better support out of it, but honestly a GTX 980M which is about same performance as a RX 480 will also get the job done and those cards are much cheaper they are also 8GB versions of them readily available.
The only downside they output a fair amount more heat than the RX 480 / WX7100.

The Radeon cards are fairly easy to resell though if you change your mind.

 

Alright
@SMGJohn @johnbb
Thanks a whole heck lot, I feel like I have enough knowledge now to try and tackle the project, wish me luck.
If I do tackle it I'll make sure to make a new thread explaining how I did it/if it was a success or failure, or who knows might see me asking for RX 480 vBIOS here.
If I don't do it I'll also state it.
Cheers.

 

Good luck, if I remember right I did upload all the RX 480 / WX 7100 vBIOS that I had collected to those forum threads you ran into, they should still be there, if not just message me and I can fix them for you.

 

Good luck mate!
If you need help, just ask!
Remember the basics: as long as you have optimus, you're safe with almost every mxm card, even if you loose a bit of performance.

 

3rd gen intel is certainly eDP compatible, eDP is just a different form of DP lol. The reason the iGPU "can't" drive eDP screens in Alienwares is that it just isn't wired up, the eDP port is straight to the MXM port not the CPU/PCH

 

~Update~
I found a zbook 17 g2 for roughly 150, with an i7 4710mq.
It's from a store and apparently has a bios password which they said they didn't document/it came like this.
It's also missing, the bottom cover ~30 Euros coming from china, also a battery and apparently the wifi isn't working (I have spare wifi cards from other laptops of all slot types so)
However it's indeed fully functional aside from those. (+no ssd, 1tb hdd)
Should I go for it? +To add, if I go for it any ways to reset the Bios Password without going brute mode and taking out my soldering iron? (I'm not particularly good at soldering/I've never soldered anything on a laptop/computer that isn't a microcontroller) (I also heard HP isn't gonna help me with BIOS passwords anymore)
@johnbb @SMGJohn opinions?

 

My only gripe with passworded units that while they're cheap, it sounds like a great deal, yet it's risky. I wouldn't go for it, and they're usually really hard to get rid of the password. I wouldn't trust it.

 

Be aware that on HP Zbook there's no way to unlock the BIOS without reflashing it directly with CH341A... It tried many ways to unlock it via software and there's absolutely no way...
HP Zbook can enable/disable optimus/enduro via BIOS, and some options could be useful. So unless you know how to deal with BIOS flashing with USB CH341A, stay away from that Zbook.

 

Alright thanks @johnbb @Vaardu

 

Hello !
So @ThatDamnFrog could you use your rx 480 mobile ? I'm quite interested because I just got one for my gt60 laptop and i'm facing some issues, that you might have already fixed
Cheers !

 

GT60 is unable to control the fan with rx480 inserted, always max
GT60 may experience the overheating problem with the GPU power supply, which means when you play any game with heavy GPU load the machine may shut down.
And this week I will finish trying RX480, P106m and Tesla M6 in my 8760w, guess what will happen

 

UPDATE:
All these ****s failed with black screen.
8760 output through lvds cable, rx480 only support edp, so direct output is impossible.
On the other hand, HP disabled iGPU, thus Optimus or Encore are not available either.

 

The 8760w is a great machine, but it has problems displaying images. In order not to spend much money on replacing the machine - buy a motherboard from 8770w and a board that connects to the main motherboard (if you look at the laptop, it is on the left), the processor does not need to be changed (the 8770w motherboard also understands Sandy Bridge processors (on the official website 8770w supports i7 2860qm) And then you can upgrade to RX 480 / GTX1060 (or even 1070), provided you have DC2 screen.
By the way, the RX 480 (and also the WX 7100) taken from the Dell 7710 is workable with the 8770w, did anyone check it? I'm interested!

 

8760W is the worst upgrader ever...
Way too much failed attempts with different GPUs...

 

you do not understand what I am talking about. take a motherboard from 8770w and put it in 8760w, and many video cards will normally display the image from the video card on the laptop monitor. The problem wasn't Sandy Bridge, but the QM67 motherboard.
Happy New year!

 

the Chinese put the GTX 1070 in an 8770w laptop with a Sandy Bridge processor, that is, the QM77 motherboard can take on board not only an ivy bridge, but also a sandy bridge.

 

Happy New Year!

I did understand what you are saying.
I said that 8760W without upgraded motherboard has very limited upgrade capabilities for different GPUs.
I remember how many incompatibilities GTX 980m had in my previous 8760W DC. Black screen after waking up from sleep mode, black screen on cold start etc...
Up to GTX 780m was ok though...

 

Yes, Ivy Bridge can work with Sandy Bridge CPUs, but there is no point of doing it as Sandy Bridge‘s CPUs are way hotter than Ivy Bridge‘s ones.