DV9700 died. Need repair option info.

So My DV9700 has died. I've read MANY threads across the internet about this issue as well as there being a suit against nvidia for bad chips.
Of course my laptop is out of warranty which leaves me with an interesting option. Rather than paying HP to fix it and waiting weeks for the laptop to be returned I'm doing it myself. Not a problem except for needing the parts.

I spent most of the afternoon searching google with no luck but maybe someone here has a parts catalog with the answer.
Other than crossing my fingers that an oem replacement board will survive is there an aftermarket option or a company that sells a modified board with extra heat sinks or something?

 

In case you missed it, i posted here. By all means, this is not a joke. If you want to do it yourself, give that a shot before ordering a new board.

 

I read that but putting the board in the oven did seem like a joke. I mean. I had never heard of such a thing before.

 

I was always under the impression that there were 60-some pages, but now there only seem to be 27. Maybe all the spam has been deleted by some hard-working mod. Anyway: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1421792

If it sounds crazy to you, that's the way they are made at the factory! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_soldering

 

lol that is genius! I'm reading the thread now and might give this a shot.
Either it works and I have a working laptop again or it doesn't and I buy a new board anyway.

In the event it doesn't then I still need the info of if there's an aftermarket option or a company that modifies the boards to be more reliable.

 

Unfortunately i believe there is no such service. The flaw is in the soldering of the GPU, and that's the way it came from the factory, everybody has the same boards.

Please take your time to read that thread. Take out everything else: RAM, all cables, even the CPU if it's not soldered in. Be very careful that you don't bump the tray when you get it out of the oven, otherwise stuff will fall off the board or move about and you're definitely going to need a new one.

Edit: Confirmed working on DV2500 laptop mobo w/8400M graphics... http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1034410985&postcount=486 What else to say?

 

Hello,

if you want to buy a replacement board, you should first go to the HP website and look for the service manual (also called "Maintenance and service guide") for your notebook. It explains pretty well how to change every part of the notebook and also includes the spare part numbers. If you found the right number, you can do an online search with it. However be careful to pick the right board, as there are pretty much which are similar, but not the same.

Also note that the board can be pretty expensive and that replacing it is a lot of work, as you will need to take out more or less every single screw.
I had the same problem with my dv9294 and I found a store which selled the board for around 210€. I finally decided to let my notebook be repaired by HP (for around 390€) because of the amound of work needed to exchange the board.

 

I took apart my DV9700 fully when i got it (see "and it was $300" link in my sig for why i did it), and yes there are a lot of screws but it wasn't as hard as it first seemed.

 

I didn't say it is impossible. I read the thread about your 300$ laptop and it was really interesting But the thing is, that buying a new board will not save you that much compared to a repair by HP. In my case I would have saved maybe 150€. That's quite a lot but I didn't have to do the repair myself and I also got the blue LED-bar changed (the volume control didn't shine anymore) and a new battery. So for me, it was definitly worth not to do it myself. But that all depends on how much you need to spend for a new board and if you are willing to take the time to do it.

 

Well if you also got a new battery, then yes, it was worth it.

But i trust HP's repair service in Romania as much as i trust any Romanian that i do not know well - i don't trust them. Not for anything involving work at least.

 

Welp the board is toast forcing me to order a new board. Ordered one which should be here later this week.

In the mean time I'm considering what I can do for upgrades while I've got everything apart. Obviously the first upgrade on my list will be more RAM. But what I'm interested in now is the processor.
I'm currently running a T9300 2.5 GHz and after some reading found the X9000 is compatible with the 965 chipset which I think is whats in my dv9700.

Now before I go and pull the trigger on one of these processors I just need a little confirmation info...
I've downgraded (upgraded imo) from Vista to XP so I'm not sure if there will be any issues or conflicts with the Bios versions or the abilities to overclock the the CPU as it was intended.
Secondly I haven't really found any info of people upgrading to this processor. Most posts say they intend to with no follow up or people just buy the laptop with it already installed from the factory.
Lastly are there any other cheaper or more powerful processor that are compatible with the dv9700?

I do understand this kind of upgrade is not going to improve my gaming performance. However I will be needing the laptop to start doing some freelance video editing soon and the extra power would really come in handy.

 

Decided against the processor upgrade. Figured if the laptop had enough problems with heat killing them. Puting in a potentially 700Mhz+ faster processor would probably be a bad idea.

I used Arctic silver5 for my thermal paste and so far I'm liking what I see!
Interesting discovery. There was no thermal pad or paste of any kind between the GPU and the heat sink pad!?! Basically the copper piece just sits on it... No wonder these things die from heat!
I put a dab of the therm paste on it and so far temps have been much more stable. Still high at a so far seen 74c vs. 80ish while gaming but whats important is it's not spiking and the temps seem to come down quicker compared to before.

Now I'm trying to find a good quality cooling pad of some sort. Open to suggestions.

 

$305, 6 hours of work, Forgot how many hours of installing programs and copying in my music, pictures, etc.

Wake up today and turn on the laptop... Dead again!!!

I am PISSED as hell at this laptop and HP for making such a steaming pile. Never again will I buy from HP!!!

 

It's the same for any 8400M/8600M graphics chip, regardless of what brand is it (1/3 of all laptops are made in the same factory anyway). Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

Hmm. I think i'm the only one here who still has a working 8400M GS.