Official MSI GX640 Owner's Thread

I wish i could but they wouldnt. They said nothibgs wrong with hardware but they still dont know the cause of the bsod. Lol and its already 7 working days. But i agree tat this laptop is good i love it. Just not the service.

 

I personally use ICD7. great paste for the price. The pasting operation is pretty much fool proof as long as one doesn't forget to remove the screws off the south bridge.

 

I was going to ask the same thing. are there any other tweaks to lower the temps besides drilling holes in the backplate? Is there some kind of guide for temperature tweaking anywhere in this forum?

 

Take off plastic meshes from the laptop's vents. You can always attach them back, if needed.

 

holy crap!
i need a big help here!
i just bought a mx-4 thermal paste
i just did a repaste on my gpu and cpu
and the temp increased from 74 to 96c !!!!!!
i believe i did a wrong repasting method.
i spread the thermal paste evenly with my hand glove to all over the gpu/cpu surface.
anyone could tell me how to repaste the gpu and cpu?
thanks

 

I just looked at videos on youtube.

 

Put a grain of rice sized drop on the die and put the heatsink back on, that will do the spreading for you.

On another note, does the gx640 support mini-pcie SSDs?

 

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i repasted the thermal paste for the 3rd time!
using 2 RISOTTO SIZED DROP on the gpu hahaha!



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with 870/1025 overclocked (NO cooler) i could get 66c when idle
and 74c max temp from 3dmark vantage !
about 5c decreased (before was about 78c with cooler) using artic cooling mx-4 thermal paste!
i just bought a driller and copper shin from ebay
looking forward to apply them both and hopefully i could decrease the gpu's temp and increase the gpu clock up to 900/1050 !

 

now try furmark because that program stresses a gpu the best.

 

that would be sweet if it did

 

oh no!
after playing battlefield bad company 2 at 880/1025
the temp went up to 95c!
i shouldn't change the stock thermal paste as it was maxed at 78c

 

Heh, as the saying goes: "If it's not broken, don't fix it"

 

ha wow, what paste did you put on?

 

now it goes up to 108c
seriously im f****d!

i pasted artic cooling mx-4
i thought it will be great
but seriously this is getting worst!
i repasted this like 6 times already, i have already tried alot of method, a grain rice size, thin spread, very thin spread, big rice size etc..
10 mins ago i repasted a really thick layer of mx-4 on the gpu+cpu
will try bench and see whats the temp will i get..

 

I have no freaking idea whats happening to my laptop right now
im getting freezed every 15-20mins when playin bff2.
tempt about 90-100c..
i need a serious help here!

 

first of all its probably that your clocks are too high for the cooling in this laptop. And you need to put a small strip at one end of your gpu or cpu die and use a flexible card of some sort (i used a tag from a shirt that i bought) and spread it evenly down to the other end of the die (make sure you cover the whole thing completely and evenly). Make sure you put a thin layer on and not a thick one. Also make sure that you clean the die before you attempt to repaste it again. I dont know how your temps are increasing, i had the exact opposite effect as what happened to you. My temps were around 100C when running furmark with the stock paste, then with the repaste with mx-4 my temps are around high 70's when i game.

 

Paste is probably fine.

SINGLE HEATPIPE + 850mhz AMD 5850 gddr5 = HEAT

I'm so sorry MSI does not feel the same entitlement about overclocking that you do. I guess you're 'f**ed' then. lol cause 625mhz isn't good enough

 

Hey jonathan!
Some said i just need to put a drop on the centre of the die and let the heatsink spread itself..
I have no idea why is this happening ..
I tried to use a thin spread using a flat card without no success.
oR maybe I pasted the green layer sticker wrongly, as it moves around when I removing the heatsink.
Can you please please post the mbo and heatsink so I could see the location of your green sticker(I think its called thermal pads yea)
Cheeers

 

I thought I'd all let you know I am designing a custom case for the gx640.
It will be made of aluminum, probably aircraft quality.

I need some recommendations. I'm thinking of using the old palmrest.
Should I make it look pretty similar? totally different? should I add lots of room in the chassis for cooling mods?

I want to know everyones opinions because you will all be able to buy them from me, and I'd like you to want to buy them and be totally satisfied
We all know the chassis and cooling is insufficient.
If there is enough interest I could look into scaling up this project to a custom heatsink, 100% copper and 4-5 heatpipes maybe a bigger fan.

Just let me know cause this is going to happen one way or another

One other question I ask for your opinion on, although I don't think anyone here has real knowledge; how should a laptop case be made for best strength/weight? Sheet metal & welding or casting and extrusion?

FYI I have never seen a laptop case made with sheet metal.

 

jesus man calm down...
Your OC isnt stable and to get those clocks i would think that uve tweaked the voltage. Tune it down a bit...
Back wen i had my gx640 i ran 830/1050 @ 1.1v and the max id ever reach on bc2 with the i5 430m was around 90oC averaging roughly 86-88 degrees. This was after a 4 hr session with my mates at a lan. Also dnt use too much paste

 

why did u overkill ur laptop so quickly after just buying it not so long ago?
im playing fine at 625mhz and not showing off to ppl cuz i enjoy playing smoothly at 1280x800 =)

 

Just trying to catch up my previous alienware m15x, was usin ati 5850 clocked at 9l00/1100 haha.
Could anyone take a shoot of the bottom part of the heatsink and mobo which the thermal pads sticking there?
Thanks a lot cheers

 

GUYS IM F****D!
my gpu's voltage was 1.10v, as im getting about 90-105c temp when benchmarking i was think to flash down the gpu voltage to 1.05
i restarted my laptop when it goes to loading windows 7, it goes into BSOD!
BLUESCREEN!
i can't really do anything right now.
i bought this laptop from US and now i'm staying in Singapore already.
I dont think my warranty is applicable in Singapore/Asia.
geez im posting this using my blackberry
can't boot my msi now. She's DEAD!
any advise or solution please?

edit: found out the solution already by reformating the whole os

 

I suppose you will now back off a bit on the overclocking will you?

 

Why don't you break the laptop down and repaste, and make sure you put the thermal pads back right, or replace the thermal pads. Why did you go messing with your laptop in the first place if it wasn't broken? You're pushing your 5850 beyond the clocks I have my 5870m clocked at and I don't think the cooling on the GX640 is as good. My suggestion is to repaste and or replace the thermal pads on your GPU, and reset the voltage back to stock, and then overclock as much as you can from there.

 

yea you're right.
the problem is when i was removing the heatsink, the thermal pads keeps moving
so i'm not so sure wether they are now placed at the correct position where they are used to be.
if anyone could help me take a picture of the bellow part of the heatsink, i believe i will be completely fixed the laptop.
i wish someone could help me

 

u can send it to ang mo kio ave 10 industrial area theres an msi service centre there or lets say the only one in singapore. but thats if u really gg ur laptop. u know greed kills?

 

lol says me. i wanted to try drilling holes on the back to drop the temps, i took off the back casing and voided my 2 year warranty even though its been only 3 months xD

 

Len, Im sure you laptop is fine, I'm willing to bet that you didn't place the thermal pads correctly. Usually they are going to go over all the ram sinks (the black squares) and possibly a few other smaller squares that are raised up on the card. Usually most heatsinks have the areas that need thermal pads marked out on the heatsink itself. Look at the bottom of the heatsink closely, I bet you'll see a sketching or imprint in the copper outlining where the pads need to lay.

If the thermal pads are messed up, just order some new ones. You can get a large sheet of 1mm thick thermal pads from plenty of places, try google search or try ebay. Then just cut the pads to shape and replace the old ones. Goodluck.

 

This sounds like a pretty sweet project, if you are being serious about it. I will probably buy one if it is legit, and if it included a custom heatsink and a bigger fan. I would suggest putting some exhaust vents in the back of the laptop for some good airflow. I don't really like the fire red outline on the gx640. I think you should make it more casual and sleek looking like a sager.
And i don't know how a laptop case should be made, but sheet metal would probably make the laptop too hot.

 

I just realized how to weld the corners closed and stuff.
I don't think it would be too hot, this is pretty thick stuff, .031"? maybe I should make it thinner come to think of it.

I have worked with this .025" copper and its really pretty solid.
NEW! K&S Copper Sheet Metal .025 Peggable (1) 5259 NIB | eBay
I think the aluminum will hold a lot of heat.
I could ask them to mix it with steel
Steel has the highest thermal diffusion rate, although the thermal conductivity is lower.

Yes I'll try to make it fit a bigger fan, although I'll also want it to be capable of fitting the old smaller fan. Installing a bigger fan would involve ripping the old fan shroud off the heatsink.
I think because of costs not everyone will want to buy a custom heatsink.

 

Cool I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on this

 

Hey, it's a very neat idea. As I imagine, the main issue is cooling. THis could be solved by separating heatpipes of CPU and GPU and mounting them on separate heatsinks and making 2 air exhaust holes (1 in the side, 1 in the back of the case). I believe, such cooling decision was made in GX660 and cooling on that thingy is really good.

 

First of all, why is there an issue of cooling?

I don't know where you're getting this idea. The cooling will be no worse than usual, if not better, since some it will be dissipated by the case.

Secondly, what you are talking about is completely impossible. Do you know what this laptop looks like at all? There is NOT any room for an exhaust hole on the back unless you're willing to relocate several plugs with a soldering iron.

Third, even if what you speak of was possible, this is not NOT why the gx660 has better cooling look at the gx740, dude
The main reason its better is because there are 3 heatpipes.
There is more room for heatfins in between the USB ports and the existing radiator. I believe an all copper heatsink with about 4 heatpipes will be more than enough of an improvement over stock cooling.
I'm not making any huge extensions to the case to give it cooling for 100w cards. That would really not be smart for the voltage circuitry on this laptop.

 

can someone tell me what the latest versions of the system, ec & 5850 bios's are?

all my drivers are now up to date but i'm not sure if i have the latest bios's on my system.

in aida64 under the video card it says:

BIOS Version 012.020.000.039.035701
BIOS Date 08/09/10,02:44:3
Part Number BR35701.031

under mobo:

BIOS Version E1656IMS.10E
System BIOS Date 09/23/09
Video BIOS Date 08/09/10

does that all look current?

 

yep, ur up to date.

 

Repasted the thermal paste.
Max temp abt 92-94 now (ran 3dmark vantage and play gta4 abt 1hr). Iddle abt 68-69 (this temp clocked at 850/1025)
Can't wait my copper shim and the drill.. Should decrease temp about 10-20c I guess

 

whats temps do you get with furmark at max settings with the mx 4

 

And jonathan, do you use copper heatsink mod and drill your case bellow the fan?
I saw people with these 2 mod will get abt 10-20c coller..

 

yep. and i use a cooler master notepal u2 laptop cooler

 

Cool..
How hot do you run furmark clocked at 820/1100 in 15mins?
Mine reaches 110c though

 

Hi everybody,
I've had a gx640 for a few months now and I love it. I read this thread loosely for a while now and I have learned a lot here thx. Now that school is over, i thought it would be a good idea to squeeze some gaming performance out of it, so i'm looking for some advice on over clocking. Is the amd auto tune useful at all?

I tried to manually adjusting the rate to around 700mhz and the the laptop has some problems restarting or freezes sometimes with a grey stripped screen or a black screen. Any ideas as to why this is happening?

Thanks
PS
I've repasted my laptop, so the cooling should be better than the default options.

 

Hi, quick question. Is there a reason to replace a thermal pads with more conductive ones. ( I found a few on ebay). I am asking because I am planning to do a copper shim mod and would like to have an idea of how effective it would be.

 

The shims would be more effective than the best thermal pads publicly available.

 

hmmm...........

 

700/1000 is perfectly normal for this notebook. Stripes and freezes are most probably driver issues.
For proper overclocking use AMD GPU Clock tool (google it, very easy).

However, I use default Catalyst profiles (now presets) to manage my clock speeds: 100/150 when idle, 700/1000 when gaming, changes automatically.
I had a guide somewhere in this forum, but it was for older drivers. The method still works for newer drivers, but most of the ppl have trouble configuring it.

 

What bridgeable gap do i need to use when i want to replace my thermalpads of my graphicscard and my cpu? does any one know it?

I was thinking about to buy this thermalpads for the msi gx640 notebook.
Thermalpad Ultra 5W/mk 100x100x1mm (1 Stuk)

 

How do you use GPU Clock tool effectively? I mean when I click apply, the clocks stay and never goes back to 2D clocks.

 

i decided to back away from 820/1100 because i was getting random crashes in my games, even though the temps weren't high. It was probably crashing because i needed to up the voltage a little bit to give it a little more power, but i didnt feel like doing that so i am now using 825/1075. These clocks are 100% stable for me. After running furmark for 15 minutes at fullscreen 1680x1050 resolution, 8x AA, and Xtreme burning mode, post fx, and displacement mapping checked, i was at 77C.

 

That's the thing with GPU Clock tool: you have to manually change between presets. You can create several shortcuts on the desktop with clock settings to switch between 2d and 3d clocks, but you'll still have to do this manually.