Official MSI GX640 Owner's Thread

People have reported lower downclocks but yea, no switchable graphics even though the hardware supports it Why is that?

 

the chipset supports it but switchable graphics requires getting a controller in there that works and all sorts of driver stuff to worry about

 

So I'm assuming that MSI didn't bother implementing that controller and driver in there?

 

and that assumption would be correct

 

There are select ATI GPU's that support switchable graphics. 5600 & 5700 series do, but I am pretty sure the 5800 series does not support switchable even though the chipset has that feature.

 

Indeed they do, like my friend's Lenovo Y560. But I find it weird that the 5850 doesn't support it. Or as I said before, it's simply because MSI decided not to enable that feature. I'm assuming you can't force it to work...

Cus right now, I got the MSI for cheap, $899 + HST at NCIX's grand opening. The Lenovo Y560 costs $939 + HST if I remember correctly. I got no clue what I should do. Here's a post I made over at Hardware Canucks.

ATI Mobility 5850 Supports Switchable Graphics

 

can anybody explain me with this problem?

i get small artifacts when every game starts
as u can see on this video YouTube - MVI 1670 (top of the screen, watch till the end)
(it seems that powerplay doesn't change settings to 3d mode when the game just starts)
then when u start playing (for example in Galactic Civilizations , press Start new game , after loading everything seems to be ok (powerplay changes the settings to 3d mode after some time) but if u press Alt+tab poweplay quickly downcloks to 100/150 and then when u continue playing u also get small artefacts in the beginning for some time. is it ok that there is a delay in swithing the modes?
it is very annoying to get artefacts not while playing but while starting a game, changing the resolution (for example) or after switching to another window ( in this game there are just small artefacts but in some others i get much more artefacts that sometimes don't allow even to start playing)
is seems to me that powerplay has to change the mode to 3d exactly after running 3d application.

here is the screen of msi afterburner (while starting)
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
here is while playing and switching to the desktop
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
here is the screen of my clocksettings
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

3d mode is clockinfo00 and idle is clockinfo06
i had to change clockinfo06 manually to 100/150 (default was 400/1000 or smth like that, because default idle mode didn't work for me)
i read somewhere that clockinfo01 doesn't work when additional monitor is plugged in but i have no additional monitors or smth else so don't know why is doesn't work
sorry for my english and thanks to all who read this stuff

 

The flickering might be a result of the video ram changing frequencies. When I used to play around with the AMD GPU clock tool, I noticed that the flickering occurs when I change the RAM speed. It doesn't happen when you only change the core speed.

To test this, disable powerplay and try running your games. See if the flickering stops.

 

yes no flickering with power play off

strange thing - i just realised that everest shows me 2 videoadapters
http://tinypic.com/r/s144gi/4

 

100/1000 is also not good. Because these settings can cause the infamous issue with screen remaining black after hibernation/standby ir simply after closing the lid.

I also get this flickering (on the top and bottom of the screen) but I have no problems when gaming. Some flickering happens when in menus or while loading the game, but other than that it's all ok.

 

ok i will leave it as it was before.

and what is better voltage for 700/1000? (1.00 or perhaps 0.95?)

 

0.95v has worked for me at 700/1000.

 

If anyone cares, I did some mods to my GX640, namely upgraded the crap thermal paste to some Super Thermal Grease from Zalman.

I also "fixed" the annoying bright LED power buttons and indicator lights ( Caps, Num Lock). - I applied some painters tape over the LED and since the tape is green the LED's are now turquoise.

 

What did that do for your temps? Was it hard to do? I've built pretty much all the desktops that we own so I know how to apply thermal paste, but I've never fiddled with a laptop before.

Also, can anyone answer my question of how long the battery lasts. I've read AnandTech's review and they got just under 3 hours. I'm going to be using the laptop for university so battery life is crucial for me.

 

Well, the temps have dropped marginally, but they will drop over time as it takes a few weeks for the thermal paste to "break in" from what I have seen/understand.

Changing the thermal paste is simpler than changing it on a desktop, in my opinion, and it takes about 5 min with the removal and re-attachment of the heat-sink.

The battery for me lasts around 2 - 2 hours 30 min if I am not doing anything intensive. It lasts about 50 minutes while gaming.

I will post the pictures of how the mod looks and how I did it.

I would like to state that the touch sensitive strip is adhered by means of a double sided capacitive (?) touch film. It is easily removed if you jam a flat-headed screwdriver under it and pry it up. make sure to pry it up from the side that touches the plastic of the bezel and not the circuit board.

I put about two layers of tape and have no troubles of the touch sensitivity at all.

I have three layers of tape on the HDD, Num, Caps, Scrl indicators and seven on the power button as it has 4 LED's in a + configuration.

For the indicators I put the tape on the plastic bezel and for the power I put the 4 layers of tape on the LED's directly and 3 on the button's underside. Make sure that if you do this mod, you cut the tape and put it ONLY on the button and not on the mechanism as it can cause it to stick and not have the desired travel.

/long wall of post,

\que pictures

"The Tool"


"The Strip"


"The Power Button"


"The Actual Power Button"


"Completed Product"


Now the lights and indicators are no longer like staring straight into some jack-[other word for donkey]'s high beams at night. Its more of a nice subtle light. Bearable.

Next mod will be on the indicators on the front of the notebook...but that will wait till tomorrow, when I open this sucker up.

* Forgot to add *

The touch buttons now have a slight lime-green tint instead of the plain old boring white from before .

 

Ok I swear this rig is working against me: I've added a 0.5mm shim to my gpu and it practically made NO DIFFERENCE. My GPU still idles at 60 and when gaming it's STILL running at around 90. Should I resort to the removal of those sticky thermal pads next? But I'm pretty sure that will void my warranty. Here's my plan for the future: After around 2 years of use, I will call MSI and tell them that my GX640 is broken, whether it's broken or not. And since my warranty will still be active then they will have no choice but to replace my laptop. I'm willing to bet that by then the i5s and i3s will be obsolete and this rig will no longer be produced. So they'll have to replace it with another $1300 rig that will be alot better than this one. Is this similar to committing fraud? If yes, don't report me to the friggin authorities, because I haven't done it yet.

 

Wont work man, I tried that with the motherboard in my PC, went obsolete like 3 years ago and they still had 4 replacements .

I would make nice use of that 1 year accidental damage warranty. Just make sure it covers "water damage" and drop it in the tub a few weeks before its up. - Guess what I am doing! - Then resell as new laptop.

I am wondering about a CPU, NB and GPU Shim and replacing those thermal pads with Shims as well. Where can I get these shims? I have no access to anyone (friends/family) who use metal working tools and I my self do not either.

 

Ebay! these shims are everywhere on Ebay and they are dirt cheap. if you live in the states you can literally find them for $1 a piece. and how do you check your notebooks warranty to see if it covers water damage? I would REALLY like this plan to work...however mischievous it might be

 

hello everyone,
sorry for my english i'm from belgium ( french language)
i's my review of gx640: http://portables4gamers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7899

changelog of my notebook gx640:
-remove thermal paste and thermal pads (gddr5 , cpu , gpu) for artic silver 5

in the review video of my good temp for this notebook

YouTube - MSI GX640 (I5 430m+Radeon 5850@5870) Mod (cooling modded)

 

Ok, I think I've officially screwed my mod up.
After thinking back on when I had first completed my mod, I remembered seeing a 6C improvement (57 when idle, 84 after an hour of bc2). But after I removed it the second time(to check if the thermal paste have spread properly) and a repaste, the temperatures shot right back up to 60 idle, 87 under load. Can anyone postulate on what could of happened in the mere 5 minute removal of the heatsink? I'm using MX-2 thermal paste, which is a compound that have been rigorously tested and proven to reduce temperatures.

Edit: which one is more demanding
Running Furmark Xtreme burning for 3 1/2 minutes at 1280x900 (Or something along the lines of that rez)
or
Running BC2 for 1 hour on high settings at 1600x1200

 

Furmark is the most demanding, nothing got my laptop to 95*C like furmarrk . But that was on stock thermalpaste.

Here are my temps now with this godly mix of goop from Zalman. Note that I do not have a copper shim in my laptop, anywhere. This is after about an hour of use on my lap. Just web browsing/trying to destroy my HTC Desire .

 

With clocks set to 200/400@0,9V my 640 idles at around 48-50C when browsing/typing/watching movies etc.
After 3 to 4 hours of Mafia 2 gameplay max temp was 88C.

I still don't understand what does PowerPlay do, because I keep it turned off and have only set up a profile with 2D/3D clocks/voltages in CCC and it switches between those clocks automatically.

No shims/pastes/mods whatsoever.

 

good molius , i have vbios modded (100/100 @0.7volts) and i have good temp same you
and powerplay is on

 

it's hot for gpu for just surfing ^^

with mod of gddr5 ( remove pads and use as5) + vbios (100/100mhz @0.7v in idle) i have 45-50 in idle the notebook is very silence

view my review

P4G / [REVIEW] MSI Gaming Séries GX640 (i5 430m)

in french because i'm from belgium ( french language ^^ )

 

I guess I should read before I post next time....but is there a step-by-step guide for undervolting the 5850? last I overvolted/ superclocked a card with Radeon Bios Editor, it was my 4850 in my pc and that wsa 2 years ago...

I hate the fan being at 80% all the time .

 

You still have to use the same Radeon Bios Editor to edit bios for undervolting/under(over)clocking.

However, I use a safer approach (without flashing bios) since after my last attempt to mod bios, I bricked my card (DOH!). Since that I promised myself not to mess with a bios if it is not REALLY necessary.

I explained method I used to undervolt to 0,9V and underclock card in the 207-th page of this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/473766-official-msi-gx640-owners-thread-207.html#post6628760

Maybe it will be useful.

I noticed that using profiles I cannot put the memory below 400MHz in 2D mode or I get a pile of artifacts or crashing driver. However, when experimenting with AMD GPU clock tool I noticed that even lower underclocks (as low as 50/75) do not provide much cooler video card - still just below 50C. And everything below 53C is good because this is a step when cooler gets really quiet.

 

I just thought I would throw this out there because in many peoples reviews they say they got DDR3 1066, I got 1333 in mine... is this a building screw up on their end (not that I mind in the slightest )

 

If those people opened their notebooks, they would see the same 1333 RAM there.
Anyway, the RAM in GX640 with i5 processor still works at 1066 MHz only, so theres no difference whatsoever.

 

Okay, thanks for that!

So I just flashed my vbios to the latest one and then used radeon bios editor to change the clocks, while I did gain about 75mhz on the core at full speed, it still idles at around stock clocks.

I have the exact same card clock settings as frankletank has in his review.

Help!!

 

Spoke with MSI's fail tech support today. There's no workaround to enable the integrated graphics. Guess it's time to return this laptop.

 

That's weird, because a 4 min Xtreme burn only got my gpu up to 85C, where as running BC2 for an hour got it up to 87C. Could it be that BC2 is even more demanding than FurMark?

 

FurMark probably doesn't involve the CPU that much hence the lower temperatures. With BC2, the CPU has physics or whatever to process, which can contribute to the higher GPU temps, especially in a laptop.

 

if you want to stress the cpu you can run wprime or another cpu stresser with furmark although you're likely just asking for an overheat shut down

 

I was also doing furmark on my lap... ontop of a blanket...

 

thanks to everyone that replied, I guess I won't be playing BC2 on it anymore. What a shame...

 

How come? Sorry, I didnt read the whole thread (as usual )

 

it just gets too damn hot. And I kinda want this lappy to last more than 3 years

 

87C is not that bad.

I played with GPUs that got over 99C for hours and never had issues.

Hell, my friend's desktop has a radeon 4850 with a semi functional almost broken fan, and he has been playing games at 115C for the last 2 years.

 

Just bought a MSI GX640 and waiting for it to deliver.

Anyone have advice on accessories for it? I want to get a cooling mat for it, any suggestions for good cooling mats under $50?

Thanks!

 

That's not a smart thing to do...

@AppleCubed. I suggest that you get a cooling pad, or open the laptop and reapply the thermal paste and stuff like that. Or you can also try putting something beneath the laptop like a binder so it's raised from the table, thus more air can enter from the bottom.

 

Still waiting for a response about the people using the rk computers upgrade keyboard compared to the standard msi gx640 keyboard.

 

I too am curious as I would like to do this upgrade as well.

I have used chiclet keyboards before (Asus UL80VT) and I much prefer them to the stock keyboard that this laptop ships with.

 

That should have been apparent before you bought it... Alienware and HP also dont have switchable graphics on some of their models, even though the motherboard might have integrated graphics as well.

 

Yep. thinking you could just pick up and decide you want switchable graphics is kinda naive. If it was possible, it would've been marketed to have switchable graphics. These are notebooks not desktops, aren't as flexible just because the hardware could theoretically support it.

 

I've opened up my Gx640 like 13 times already
I've tried the Copper shim mod, cooling pads, removal of thermals, and using MX2 cooling paste. All of which yielded the same results.

 

I don't really see what you're so worried about. 87C is a very good temperature. Since doing the copper shim mod, I have hit 85-86 on occasion. I used to hit 97C on a hot day (~38C). My previous Asus laptop had a 3650 and regularly hit the mid 90s when gaming and would sometimes peak at 103C. It's still going strong after more than 2 years, although, I haven't done any gaming on it since I got my GX640. These chips are made to withstand really high temps.

Besides, these GPUs have built-in safety mechanisms. They throttle down when they get too hot. As long as your GPU isn't throttling down when you game, then you're within its prescribed operating temps.

 

hmm, maybe i am a little paranoid. Thanks for the help.

 

I just got my bios information onto the "Radeon BIOS Editor".

In the tutorial:
Tutorial on how to use RBE (Radeon BIOS Editor) | techPowerUp

#4 - Flashing the BIOS onto the card

I have never done something like this before, but want to learn.
-How do you do it?
-Is there a way to go back if something goes wrong?
-What would you guys recomend me doing first off?

 

From my rough experience:
1. Don't use Winflash. Ever.
2. If you use winflash and get an error, DON'T restart the pc.

I was stupid enough to do both things and for about a month I had a nice shining bricked notebook. Happily enough I got my video card replaced in warranty service, so from now - playing with video bios is a NO NO for me

As for ways of going back after failed bios flash. If bios is "lightly" corrupted thus allows the computer to pass the POST (even without showing anything on screen), there is a chance to reflash bios blindly: to make a bootable cd/usb drive and blindly type in the commands to flash the original vbios.

 

Is there another way besides winflash with RBE v1.25?
Will anyone here tell me who has sucsesfuly done this with the GX640 and what did they do(pictures would be nice)?

Here's a video I found for my backup plan:
YouTube - How to Recover ATI Radeon VGA BIOS
Except i'll have to blindly type in the commands.

For my second back up plan:
I would like to use my warranty to replace/fix it.
I only had my GX640 for 4 months now and would the warranty cover this?

Thanks for all the help guys!