HP Z1 MXM cards for laptops?

Hi everyone, so I'm upgrading GPUs and I found these HP Z1 workstation MXM cards that according to every source are just regular TYPE A and TYPE B cards. Even users buying laptop MXM cards and putting them in the Z1, so if that's the case, instead of paying 450$ for a 4GB GTX 680m, I can buy locally a HP Z1 4GB GTX 680m for 280$ and I think I only need to remove the heatsinks, then put an x bracket on, and use my clevo heatsink right?

Just checking, thanks everyone

 

Be careful however on that purchase. I have had a horrible time but in the end found I didn't have that model. Let me give you a short story.

The HP-Z1 is as you said, nothing more than an MXM card with the appearance of a normal desktop heatsink/fan attached. The maker of the card is PNY. However they WILL NOT PROVIDE tech. support at all, no drivers, no bios, nothing, and then again they might give some help. Some will deny they ever made any mxm type card, some will say it is a fake and they won't even look on their own site to see their own PDF that talks about the HP-Z1.

Make sure it has the PNY on the card. If it doesn't, it isn't supposedly a PNY then. One tech rep says they always have their stamp on the card even if made for someone else. Since they make the memory flash drives for HP branded Flash drives, they still mark PNY somewhere on the device or inside. I have not located any drivers for it from HP or PNY. PNY will not supply either. Be careful of the sellers.

According to PNY anyone selling that product without the heat sink/fan is not doing what they should. However then I ask what they will do about a company doing it that way as a PNY Authorized Reseller, they can't go to the web site in the tech dept because I don't why. They won't go to amazon, ebay or even a company site (compeve.com - they say the cards they are selling are PNY, yet in actuallity they are MSI cards, that is where I got my 680m I am still trying to get to work.

The x bracket must be the correct not only for Nvidia but also the correct type for your laptop model and heatsink. For example it appears they sent me the MSI or PNY x bracket, but the Alienware M17x R4 heatsink requires a totally different x bracket. It has to rise up and out from the PCB once you put the X bracket on. So you will need to find out if you can get an X bracket for a Nvidia 680m for I assume your Clevo laptop.

 

My X-bracket should work that I have, If fits so many GPU's, so I can likely reuse it. I don't need any support, end of the day it's an Nvidia GPU. So all I need is to locate the hardware ID and patch the inf files so it will load the nvidia drivers. It's the same thing moving any Laptop GPU around at whim.

 

Okay, just wanted to share what I have had to learn over 3 plus weeks. I would send you drivers that I have but I don't know if they are Clevo compat as they were sent to me by NBR member with my Alienware M17xR4 in mind and a PNY designed card (but also will work for the MSI as well 680m).

I assume you know how to get the Hardware ID, from Device Manager in Windows and also doing a bios backup via Dos NVflash and then loading Kepler Bios Tweaker to confirm for sure who the model is made for/or by. Double check of course with GPU-Z for a confirmation.

I am also sure you know about VGA Bios Database at www.techpowerup.com, where you can make sure the specs for the card match some of the clevo models they list. There is no model listing for the HP and I couldn't get an answer or find one for what the Hardware ID was (since it ended up not being a PNY card) for the HP-Z1 detached 680m MXM card. PNY will not help in locating that ID. I did a search and didn't have much luck finding the information.

 

If you dump me your cards bios, I could tell you your hardware ID's

I made a beautiful batch file for doing all my work in DOS with NV flash, and so many other lil tools. I know my way around it. Usually theres NO NEED to reflash the BIOS on the card, just need to modify the driver INF files to match the hardware ID's showing up in windows. Windows CAN SEE DIFFERENT HARDWARE ID'S THAN THE BIOS. Learned that the fun way, hence custom flashing for hardware ID's is a big NO NO in my book.

I don't have the card yet but if it's just an MXM card, I might as well, ALOT CHEAPER than paying for the MXM card everyone else uses, I can't afford it right now, not when I gotta order a new MB

 

Well it was finally determined to by actually MSI. GPUZ said Dell but its saved bios file in Tweaker showed 1462 or MSI. Then once the heat sink was removed by me I could get more details about the card to determine it is MSI.

Ouch a mobo as well. I was going to suggest are enough of the other parts working that you can sell off the parts and get a new one? Of course I know most people say the older laptops are actually preferred over the newer less modifiable laptops.

Looking at your tag, you have that many dead laptops? Is there a reason to keep that many (I am trying to figure out a legal and environmentally friendly way to get rid of nearly 2+ decades of desktop parts going all the way back to 80286 cpu's.)

 

I'm intrested in old computer equipment that you have, i have some uses for it

Out of my laptops yeah, they are all dead, the D900F is very rare so i don't want to sell any of it, My CPI-R just needs a new LCD ribbon and a New Keyboard, my MSI is one of my favorite laptops because of who gave it to me, my faimly broke it so I'm stuck fixing it, I'm almost there.

So if you wanna make the Videocard work, use the windows Hardware ID listed, add it to the driver inf using the available guides, it should work