-->*OFFICIAL: MSI GT725 Owner's Lounge*<--

You don't want to replace it with an nvidia card from that era.

You could try underclocking the card by 100mhz core/ 200mhz memory to see if that makes it more stable, if so the hardware itself is having issues.

The 4850 was one of the last cards made in the MXM type your machine uses, all later ones use MXM 3 (Type A and B), yours uses MXM III (not to be confused with 3) and is part of the 2.0 MXM spec.

 

Yup, looks like a bad GPU, and since the system is too outdated MSI doesn't even have parts to replace with.
The only place you can find a VGA card is either eBay or Member's marketplace on NBR.

 

The 7850 was the best best for your computer, there are others that people have experimented with, but never got quite working due to the power constraints of mxm III

Look for alienware models with the 1gb of ram, they'll work fine. That's what I swapped into mine.

 

I had to reflow my 4850 in my GT725 last years. After several attempts, I found the best combination was 5 minutes at 205°C in my oven. My GPU is now working fine for 6 months

 

Good, so I'm not crazy haha.

 

OK, Hey rupper, when you put your card in the oven, which way up did you put the card? BIG chip up facing or downfacing? And no need for tin foil right? 5 mins enough? I just saw a video on youtube, the guy set his oven at 385 f, for 10 mins.

I just got off the phone with a computer repair shop, who send the gpu away for a complete reballing, for 120 UKP. Is that ok?

 

That's the same temperature bud.

 

Ok, but the guy in the video I saw on the tube left it in the oven for 10 mins, not 5. Anyway, should the card be chips up or down, or wouldn't make any difference? Also, in the video, the guy put a screw into each of the 4 holes of the bard to keep it raised off the surface of the oven pan, chips up.

As for the reballing, worth doing or try source another card? The Alienware gpu you mentioned,which model laptop had the 4850?

 

Have just found a company that will do a reball for 45 UKP. Will pack the laptop up next week and post to them. Anyone heard of NEXO in Manchester? That is the company. They've got listings on Ebay for gpu/cpu reballs. Fingers crossed if the 725 gets some new balls, it'll fix the problem.

 

Yeah, I was just about to advise you finding a professional to perform a proper reflow. £45 sounds very appealing to me, especially in your country ! And it's your best option, since finding a new whole GPU card is very difficult. So jump on it!
Anyway, an homemade reflow is better done with a heatgun than a oven, because it limits the heat stress to the GPU chip. The other components don't like heavy temperature very much. I even lost some capacitors once because of overheating...

I actually have a spare one, but only because I found a cool guy with some heavy tools that play with electronics as a hobby. So he was able to make a proper reflow with pro new balls on my old 4850.

BTW, the best card for our old GT725 is actually the 4850. There is some others cards labelled as same MXM socket, but the BIOS is incompatible... Look on this very forum, some other guys already tried to swap for another VGA card without success.

 

OK, well, hopefully the company can sort my card out, if that IS the problem. Thanks.

 

Well, actually, even if the problem is somewhere else, it doesn't hurt to make your GPU refurbished, since it's by far the most frequent cause of failure. A refurbished 4850m can be sold up to 200€, so anyway, that's no wasted money.

 

Sometimes, the problem isn't associated with the VGA module but the motherboard itself (eg: circuit on the mainboard).

 

Yes, that's what I said in the first place.

But the GPU failure is the most frequent case, especially with the associated symptoms given by Hayes: freeze when GPU under heavy stress (gaming) but not CPU (video decoding).

By the way, I would be very interested in getting the details of this British company, just in case.

 

Hello

I personally wouldn't leave it 10 minutes. I know someone who did reflow his GPU and left it 10 minutes and he killed it (a condensator exploded).


I put the face with the writing on the GPU (ATI...) to the top and I indeed put an aluminium foil ball (about 6mm diameter) under each corner of the card in order to avoid anything from touching my dish...

 

That's why heatgun should be used instead of oven.

 

I am not sure heatgun is a good idea, since you will have a non uniform temperature across the card and a hot point at the center, which can be quite hot on some heatgun which are not adjustable.. and the temperature rise will be very fast.

Further, with a heatgun, you don't control the temperature, you are maybe too close, maybe too far..

 

I just wish there was an easy option like for the 360s. Just wrap it in a towel and let it run for a bit.

 

You can check several guides on the internet. The process is quite well known and defined.
The point is that the GPU chip need to be reflowed and only this chip. The less the whole card is exposed to heat, the better. That's why the heatgun is way better than the oven, because the heat is directed toward the GPU chip only, so it doesn't damage the other components. Of course, a thermometer has to be used for optimal temperature control (constant temperature rise AND fall), as well as some way to shield the rest of the card from the heat.

That's why professionals use tools that let them heat up a precise component at a precise temperature, to not have to change or resolder every component of a printed circuit each time they work on it...

 

It's taken a minute for it to resurface, but neocray brings up a good point, typically with soldering youd have something to block the transfer of heat. I don't remember the name I want to say heatsink, but I don't think thatd be correct for soldering/resoldering of such fine components, but the idea should translate over. The more I think about it, the more I think you should have a pro do it if possible for 45£. It's a bit pricey, but if they warranty their work or damage it more, it's on them.

 

Well, I think £45 is a very fair price, since it takes about 2 hours of work to perform the complete operation, so...

In France, it's hard to find a company able to perform a reflow and the cost is around ~100€ or even higher.

 

OK guys, whoever wants the details of the company in the UK that does reballing, here is the ebay page they have.

Khurram Siddiqui
21 Ashton Road
Denton
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M34 3LF, United Kingdom.

Tel. 07788 992 578

E:mail; [email protected]


HP DV9000 DV6000 DV2000 TX1000 TX2000 DV6 Mother Board GPU Reballing Repair | eBay

 

Right, just got a call from NEXO, who I sent the 725 for reballing the graphics card. They said they have done the reballing of the graphics card, and unfortunately it has made no difference, and that it is the graphics chip itself that is faulty. They can get a new chip for 35 UKP, and I said to go ahead and order and install. They said the can get a chip from a UK based seller which would take 4-5 days to get there, but had never used them before, or if I am not in a hurry, they can use a regular supplier in China which would take about 2 weeks for the chip to arrive.

I said if the supplier in China is a current supplier to them, and they always send NEW chips, then use them, at least they themselves know the supplier is reliable.

 

Interesting, best of luck with it. A new chip is worth the wait IMO.

 

Agreed. Besides, 35 UKP seems a quite fair price for a new chip.

 

UKP... Is that the same as £/GBP? In any case, that seems very reasonable compared to the alternative.

 

Yep, UKP stands for United Kingdom Pound, even if the standard ISO code is GBP (£ being the usual symbol).

 

Chip prices are usually not too bad.

 

So, what's up ?

 

Not much, think my roommate dropped my laptop, the brushed metal is coming off the back and thr hinge feels like its not connected to anything.

 

I'd check the hinges are on, the sooner that gets fixed the less damage there is to fix.

 

Im wondering if hinges or any of those parts are even still available.

 

Have you looked on ebay?

 

Not yet, it sits stationary for now as a backup. Though imagine ebay will be pricey.

 

OK, finally got a call from the laptop repair place, he fitted the new Radeon chip onto the gpu board, but now there isn't even a display!!! So basically, the gpu board is goosed. I do not have to pay for anything, so he is sending the laptop back to me now minus the gpu card.

Ebay, here we come.

 

You should ask for parts to majster msi.

I may stock back a 4850 card in late October, if you're interested. I do know that those cards are now very rare, and I had some trouble finding one for myself.

 

That would be the way to go, the msi 4850s are only 512mb iirc, so you might want to try for an alienware card which has double the ram.

Sidenote: youe nvidia plate won't work with the 4850s, you will need to source the ati heatsink plate.