Official MSI GX640 Owner's Thread

no idea..
alot of people doesn't use those thermal pads anymore.
its either using copper shim+thermal paste or nothing... lol
the most important thing is the result though..
so its all up to you..
my i5 540m running about 68-69c during gaming..
and gpu runs 72c max when playing bff2 for 2hours~

 

I don't think that leaving the gddr ram without contact to the heatsink would be a good idea. If this really lowers the temps, I'd say its because of the fact that the additional heat which comes from the gddr ram isn't transferred to the cooler anymore. therefore the gpu sensor might detect a lower temperature at the gpu core, but the gddr ram then just isn't cooled properly.

 

i agree with this. That could be potentially dangerous for the gpu.

 

YOU WILL KNOW. If your vRAM is overheating.

I don't know what the heck is wrong with GPUZ but the memIO 1&2 are the top and side 4 modules.
So YES, contrary to popular belief, at least on this laptop and card you get 3 thermal sensors, 1 for the core and 2 for each line of vRAM.
I really don't get why Nvidia still has only 1 thermal sensor. Maybe I should post this in the GPU section.

As far as why it works, I mean, lots of manufacturers use thicker material even on the GPU die. So if you use a thin paste on the die like tx-4, it will bring the vRAM closer than it was before, which is pretty close in the first place (.5mm or so).
Then if you use thick paste like as5 it will fill the gaps.

P. S., I just happen to kno this... ~.5mm = ~.025" = ~24GA (guage)

You will find different types of copper if you search in different increments
K&S has well priced 5x7" sheets of .025". If you have cutting and finishing tools (metal shears AKA aviation snips) this will be all the copper shims you need at 10% price.

P. P. S. .66mm seems a little thick to me.

 

I've been wondering if could I upgrade my intel and graphics? Could someone tell me it would be so much help if you could thank you. Also how can I decrease my high temps when I play games. when I'm on maximum performance I get temps like 80c to 96c can someone give me tips i'm a bit new to gaming laptops.

 

The temps you have are a little bit high, but not high enough to overheat. Just run Furmark stock settings and press burn in. look whats temps you get after 10 mins. Iff the temps not above the 100c your fine. Link below:
FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net

Iff the temps above 100c you may consider a cooling mod, like thermal paste replacement, or copper shim's,or iff you're realy wanna cool it, make holes in the backplate. but know what you do because it can void your warranty.

Yes you could upgrade your CPU and GPU but its not recommended to upgrade your graphics card. Because the cooling is made for this graphics card.

 

I agree.

 

Oh ok thx I appreciate your advice but how would I apply this thermal paste and copper shim's? would I have to go to the store apply these mods? Or is there a guide online that can help me out I'm not much of a computer tech so I don't wanna mess up my msi gx640 its just to aswsome.

 

This guide will lead you step by step how to apply thermal compound on your notebook. Its not hard to put thermal compound on it. But do it with care.

Step 1

Before you begin with Thermal compound. Read carefully this whole post and look at the video's in the links. And run FurMark for 10 mins. Like i say'd in a previous post.

Step 2

There are guides online. But you realy need to know what you're doing. iff you do it wrong your cpu can overheat. The thermal compound can you just buy at a computer shop. There are no specific turtorials for the msi gx640, but this is one msi gx630 looks like a msi gx640.

This video shows the inside of the msi notebook
‪MSI GX630 gaming laptop artic silver 5 application‬‏ - YouTube

The next video shows a better way to add thermal compound on your CPU this works the same for GPU:
‪How to Apply Thermal Compound to a CPU‬‏ - YouTube

Step 3

After applying the thermal compound and put it all to the originally place. You can put the power on. when the notebook is started you need to run hardware monitor see download link:
CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

When hardware monitor is started look at the temperature of all componends in your notebook. Iff they are just around the ~60c of the GPU and about ~55c your fine, nothing is wrong and you did it well. But iff any temp is around the 90c or highter. Press so fast as you can the power button for a few seconds to shut the norebook down. And go back to Step 2. Paste the CPU and GPU again and screw the screws tight. And try it all again.

Step 4

Oke so iff you'r fine with your temps. Run FurMark for 10 mins and look iff you have a lower temp than before you opened your notebook, so the temps before you began with Step 1. Iff the temps are the same as before paste the notebook, or a little highter. Just try it again . But know that some thermal compounds will need to heal a few days.
Sorry for my english but its not my main language.

No problem for the turtorial.
I hope i helped you.
Please iff you like. Post me a reply how it did go. And what temps you have after.

Cheers,
Robert

 

Thank you Robert you helped me alot your the best I will take these steps in mind and do as you said you cleared alot of mix ups for me thank you so much.

 

Glad i could help you Docks619

 

robert, did you do any changes to your gpu-ram or did you just leave the thermal pads there? I'm wondering if i should do any tweaks there. my i7-840qm arrived today, but I'll have to wait with switching and repasting until the copper plate for the gpu arrives. I'm gonna use ic diamond 7 thermal compound.

if anyone replaced his thermal pads: how thick should they be?

 

I have replaced it for thermal pads ultra 100x100x1mm, but i dont think it is needed. Iff you put i7-840qm in it. You need to copper shim the GPU for lower the temps. Anyway i have a link below to the thermal pads, that i have buyed and placed on the GPU Ram modules and on the CPU for the other chips:

Thermalpad Ultra 5W/mk 100x100x1mm (1 Stuk)

The copper shim that i have used is 0.66mm thick and 2x2 cm wide.

Cheers,
Robert

 

Do you increase the GPU voltages through the vbios or the ccc profiles?

 

Anyone know if a 6950m would work in this laptop?

 

I did it through the vBIOS. The program you need for this is ATIWinFlash.

 

Would anyone be interested in a tutorial for changing the GX640's fanspeed?
I've been messing around with RW-Everything for the last few days and I've worked out what EC values need to be changed for the fanspeed to be modified at different temperatures. Currently I can set my fan speed anywhere between 31% and 100%, if I set it below 31% there's some strange bugs... From what I can tell the default lowest fanspeed is 45% so my laptop is now a bit quieter, and I can set the fan to ramp up a bit more at lower temperatures which seems to be helping with my heat while gaming

Thanks,
Pherein

 

Hi guys,

I've bought The Witcher II and tried to run it on the GX640.
It works but I have to put the settings at medium-low otherwise it lags like hell.

My clocks are at 700/1000 (using AMD GPU clock tool). I've tried to put them at 800/1100 but that makes the game to superbly lag... :/

I have the latest CCC drivers.

Should I make any hardware upgrade? If so, what should I do? I could easily add some ram but I think it wouldn't change a thing... I suppose the GPU would be very expensive/impossible to change? What about the CPU? or the harddrive? ... :/

EDIT : I've ran a FurMark test : in 1920x1080, fullscreen, AA off, I've stayed for 15 minutes under 85 celcius with a 14 average fps. I tried 750/1000.

 

Sure thing! That sounds very promising!

 

I'd guess its mainly the CPU that is keeping you from a smooth gaming experience. The i5 is the "weakest" part in the gx640, more and more upcoming games can profit from 4 cores. I'm about to switch my i5-430m for an i7-840qm and will write about the changes I've noticed as soon as that damn copper shim arrives

 

because at 800/1100 clocks u need to increase the voltage but i dont know how though i dont overclock that high. i lag at witcher 2 too so i deleted it cuz im the kind that likes 60fps. witcher 2 is a no go for me even though at all lowest and 1280x800 still below 40fps

 

**DISCLAIMER - I do not claim any responsibility for any damage you may do to your laptop following instructions or information given in this post ***

For anyone that wants to mess around with your fan speed I've put together a little package to help make it easier. Here's a link to it, otherwise just download the file attached to this post.
MSI GX640 Fanspeed Changing.zip

The main tool I use to edit the fanspeed is RW-Everything and to make it easier I use batch scripts to apply different profiles. In the package I included a macro-enabled Excel chart which can create batch scripts which can be used with RW-Everything to change the fan speed, the file also contains my research concerning the Embedded Controller. I've also included a tool which I created to automate applying scripts.
Just in-case someone doesn't have Excel installed I included the scripts generated on my computer, however the .bat files won't work without editing the profile file path.

Hope this helps someone and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask

Thanks,
Pherein

 

Hi guys, I've had this GX640 for about a year now, and it was working fine (had to flash my vBIOS though and install latest drivers with help from you guys... what a nightmare yet learning experience for such a hardware/software newbie as I) untill slowdowns started happening in the more demanding games (Mafia 2, Dead Rising 2, emulating Wind Waker etc), games I usually can play on high-veryhigh graphics. I've nailed the problem down to heat, which is honestly no surprise with this baby, hot piece of
The heat prevents my CPU from performing ideally, and it's easily seen when I play fx Wind Waker, where after 5-10 minutes on playing it silkysmooth on 30 fps it drops to about half. I even monitored my CPUs output while doing it, and it seems to be the problem at hand.

So now I've discfragmented, cleaned up unnecessary things on C:] & D:] (didn't know where to start, and I figured it couldn't hurt... really needed to do it too!), I got rid of this kind of plastic sheet under my laptop and put it on just my wooden desktop table, got some dictionaries and placed it on them (without blocking any ventings exits.. well, atleast I think so). So now it's roughly 2 inches from the table, which I figured gave it more space to breathe... And it helped a little bit (extended the period in which it plays perfectly, but alas, the seemingly permanent slowdown came once again).

I'm pretty newbish when it comes to cooling though, and all these primitive methods prolly isn't helping. I've poked around the net, and most likely there's alot of dust on my fan or in other places inside the belly of the beast.
But what do I do from here? Not to keen on poking around the computer on my own (but if you know a noob-friendly guide, do say! I'll atleast look over it)... What kind of business do I go to, to get this fixed?

(I've also considered drivers being outdated, the one I had before was 8.732, but now I've downloaded 8.831.2.0 (which there's something weird about though... my catalyst control center doesn't recognize it (it leaves Driver Packaging Version blank, whereas before it said 8.732 (or something like that)). Is that the newest version, do you know?

EDIT: Blimey, thought that driver was weird, haven't been able to find any official download links (AMD, ATI, MSI), yet I've seen topics about it, and DriverMax (driver recon&download programme recognized as a 5850 driver... guess it wasn't though, got a blue screen (rebooted on its own though, no big worries) when I started up a game. But I restored system with a restore point (thought it was shady, took me safety measures ) and now I'm officially back to 8.732, it even says in my catalyst.
But the question still stands, is that the latest one? Can it really be, dl'ed nearly a year ago!
With best regards, Mikkelmayn!

 

Hey, I believe you have problem with dust blocking your air vent. To solve this try to blow out the dust from outside the exhaust grill while notebook is off. You can use a can of compressed air or just your mouth if you don't have compressed air at hand. You can place a finger on a fan to stop it from spinning as it works like a generator when spinned externally and theoretically could cause damage to motherboard.
That is probably the most simple solution that can help.

 

Ahhh thanks! Can someone tell me how to increase the voltage?

EDIT : I've tried to use MSI afterburner but it doesn't work. There's still RBE... but it says it'll void the warranty O_O

 

@Molius:

Thanks for the advice man!
For that to work, don't I have to open up the computer at some point?
Where exactly do I put my finger on the fan, with there being no fan opening?

(I apologize in advance for any stupid questions!)

 

Is it possible to remove the cpu/gpu heatsink seperately or is this heatpipe-thing one unit? I'm asking because I just want that i7 in my gx640 right now but dont have the copper shim for the gpu yet...

 

No its 1 unit. 9 screws total +1 if you have something in the mPCI-E slot by the CPU.

 

try lowering the resolution. if it seems blurry to u u can plug it into external monitor/tv and its clear and more fps =)

 

Thanks for the Great tool Pherein!
Its nice to be able to tweek the fan setting as I like.

 

It really seems nice... but don't you fear to void the warranty?

 

If it breaks down and I have to send it to MSI, I'll just flash it back to the original EC firmware.

Its just one more thing I need to do besides flashing back to the original video bios, taking off the additional heatsinks and shims, putting back the thermal pads and etc

 

No problem

I'll need to double check but I'm 99% sure that if you perform an EC reset (turning off the computer and taking out the battery and AC cable and leaving it off for about 15 minutes) then the fan will return to default settings.

Edit: Just checked and after the EC reset the fan had returned to normal, so you should be fine for warranty claims as long as you don't do anything like having the fan run at 50% permanently while gaming.

 

thanks for the tool perein, it works for me aswell!

I've just read in your signature that you OC'd your i5-430m. how did you do that? I thought that this generation of cpus isn't overclockable in general..?

 

No problem, glad to help Here's some information about what I do to overclock:

***DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU MAY DO TO YOUR LAPTOP FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS POST ***

I use SetFSB with the clock generator ICS9LPRS113AKLF to increase the BCLK to 160 (110 on the slider), and then Throttlestop to increase the Turbo Rate Limits to allow the CPU to turbo boost itself for longer.
For a mini tutorial:

1. Download SetFSB. (Link is below)
I just realised that the free version of SetFSB doesn't actually list the clock generator (ICS9LPRS113AKLF), it only does in the paid shareware version. This leaves you with 2 options, either get the shareware version or use shortcuts to overclock. I personally use the shortcut method so that's what I will explain here.
2. Extract SetFSB to somewhere where you won't delete it, I have mine in 'C:\Program Files (x86)\SetFSB'.
3. Go to where you extracted SetFSB, right click setfsb.exe and click create shortcut.
4. Right click your newly created shortcut and then click properties. Go to the shortcut tab and in the target box it should say the path to your SetFSB, for example mine says "C:\Program Files (x86)\SetFSB\setfsb.exe". After this text, copy and paste the following (without the quotation marks):
'-w0 -s140 -cg[ICS9LPRS113AKLF] -b1 -q'

-w0 - Means that it will not wait
-s140 - Means it will attempt to set the BCLK to 140
-cg[ICS9LPRS113AKLF] - Means it will use the clock generator applicable to the GX640
-b1 - I can't remember what this does
-q - Means SetFSB starts in quiet mode

In the end the target box should read something like this:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\SetFSB\setfsb.exe" -w0 -s140 -cg[ICS9LPRS113AKLF] -b1 -q

I suggest you make a number of shortcuts, attempting to go straight to a BCLK of 160 usually results in a freeze for me so I go up in increments of 10.

I use these shortcuts on my desktop to overclock before I game, BFBC2 is really the only game it really makes a difference in for me.


5. Now take a look at this link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...must-read-setfsb-o-c-game-problems-fixed.html

You need to make the changes listed or you will run into issues with your games.

6. For an added boost run Throttlestop (Link below). This guide (written by the author of the program): http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...arket-upgrades/531329-throttlestop-guide.html
explains how to use the program well.
However just in case you can't be bothered reading a wall of text, basically the only change I use is to click on the TPL button and increase the turbo power limit to 50/50 (although it will never get anywhere near that)

6. Be careful as overclocking the CPU will cause it to get hotter than before, and heat can damage components.

Links:
SetFSB: SetFSB_HomePage
Throttlestop:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...arket-upgrades/531329-throttlestop-guide.html
and
Downloads | Tech|Inferno

 

It's being CPU bottlenecked. Get a 720qm, they can be found for dirt cheap and your life will be better . I received mine yesterday, and my laptop is definitely working better than before.

 

Can your procedure be applied on a i5 450m?

 

It should work fine; as far as I know the clock generator is based off the motherboard (although I could be wrong).

 

Thanks very much, Pherein! I followed your tutorial and managed to raise my fsb aswell (running on 160 right now). I did a quick test with the Win7 system analysis, the rating of the cpu didn't improve though. I'll check later if I see any improvements while gaming.

 

The shortcut way doesn't seem to work (it tells me I run a freeware version and that I should pay if I want to change my clocks).

EDIT : I can't see the message again, but it's probably that I used the SHAREWARE version. Damn, I'll try again.

EDIT II : Works! + 1 rep thanks!

 

Np =), I've only really noticed a difference in Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Starcraft 2, as well as benchmarks like Super Pi. In most other things the difference seems to be negligible.

No problem, glad you got it sorted!

 

sob =( my set fsb once it reaches 150 i get bsod

 

hmm, did you increase your fsb in increments of 10? I had the same issues like Pherein. When I kicked the fsb from 133 to 160, the system freezed. However, going from 133 to 140, 150 and then 160 worked for me.

 

yea i did and it bsod. ohh well doesnt matter dont wana overclock anymore. i give up. previous laptop alienware overclock even by 1mhz also freeze, changed to this now also cant do anything.
the fan thing doesnt work for me either

 

Do you think that replacing the thermal pads (for the gddr ram) with copper shims is possible in general? I'm thinking about ordering more shims like those for the gpu. Maybe its possible to replace the thermal pads with copper shims and thermal adhesive tape... how thick should the shims be then?

 

Dammmnn. The overclocking seems ok, but eversince I've tried it, my computer crashes a lot when it starts :/ (even though the clocks are put back to normal). It could also be a drivers problem (I've installed the latest CCC a couple of days ago).

 

Since you tried the CPU overclocking? What happens when it crashes; BSOD, black screen or something else? Try checking the event log it might tell you what is causing the crash. (Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Event Viewer)

 

well guys, I've switched my cpu today for an i7-840qm! I also tried to do the copper shim-mod, but the results weren't that great. My GPU now reaches 105°C in furmark after THREE minutes on stock clocks. when idling (right now) I get 60°C both on CPU and GPU.
Any suggestions what went wrong? I used a 0.8mm copper shim (prepared with 1600 sand paper) and ic diamond7 thermal compound. Because it's suggested on the homepage of the paste, I did the "drop" method putting a little drop on the center of the GPU/CPU/copper shim and let it spread by applying pressure. Maybe I should try it again using more compound..?

 

Hello! Anybody had the same problem?
I can't install the latest drivers (11.7, previously 11.6 and 11.5). (11.4 ok) While choosing the components to install I see only SDR runtime..., visual c++.., CCC and NO "ati display drivier". Looks like it can not detect the card.
I tried to clean with driver sweeper and at last reinstalled the OS. But with no result.
And I always get "Ati Catalyst Mobity has stopped working" if I try to download from the official website. The problem really annoys..


solved :/

 

now thats strange.. I've just tried furmark for a second time and am reaching 105°C in six minutes now. CPU temps were maxing at 89°C. I didn't change anything so far, so the compound might need some time until it gets to it's full potential. I also noticed that the fanspeed was reduced during the test, although I didn't modify anything there.

edit: After one round of 3dmark06 I can say that the performance has not improved since a few hours ago. Should I try using more paste next time? The "drops" I used were about 2mm in diameter.

edit2: I repasted both cpu and gpu. The compound seemed to have spread quite nicely on the cpu, on the gpu there was a little too less. I did it again with more paste on the gpu, but no improvements so far.. I've noticed that after putting the shim on the gpu, my copper heatsinks on the gpu now have contact with the backplate cover of the laptop. Should I be worried about that?