The Official MSI GT60/70 970m/980m Upgrade Thread

Just got my 980M GTX installed, nice fast seller from Ebay, they asked what Laptop it was for, I told them MSI GT70 and it came in a static bag with an MSI sticker on it. Svet got me setup with a custom bios, got that flashed. Windows sees the card and installed drivers just fine. I am seeing an issue to where I can't use the "Turbo" pad on the keyboard anymore and the graphics card is extremely slow, seeing ~24fps in Diablo 3 when I had >50fps with my 680M GTX. I also ran 3dMark Firestrike and got a low score of 5300, average appears to be >9000 from what I could see.

I pulled down a copy of GPU-Z and checked the card, it shows MSI for the brand and the revision of the bios is 84.04.22.00.12, saw a few posts saying MSI Vbios can be problematic, and to change it to a Clevo? I read somewhere that maybe the Optimus isn't switching over to the Nvidia card even though the power button is orange? Also my EC still shows the old version from before flashing so I'm not sure if thats normal. I'm waiting to hear back from Svet atm, but thought I'd post here to see if anyone dealt with something similar.

*Edit* Read that some cards that are G-Sync enabled won't work? Can anyone tell from this card if that's the case?

https://imgur.com/a/37mcRhS

 

1. Make sure that's 980m doing 24fps in Diablo3 (watch activity in GPU-z).
2. If it is - try running ThrottleStop, any version, just run, don't even change any settings. Everything lags for me until I run ThrottleStop.
3. I find that best vBios for me is Clevo Prema mod 84.04.88.00.C1 (not sure where to download it now, can't find it, but I can share if somebody wants it).

 

HI all.

This thread maybe dormant or closed but here goes

I have a MSI GT70 2PC i want to put a 970 or 980 in.... i am told that a 1060 will work but i am skeptical

seems for the 980m i need another Vbios which is unavailable it seems

may also need to update the RC firmware.

I hope you can be kind as this is my work machine and the video card died a few days sgo and i need a replacement very quickly. thanks you

 

Hi. If you read and follow all the instructions in this very helpful thread you should not have any problem updating to 980 or 1060m. I upgraded my 870m to 980m with no problem and no modded bios was needed. I have the GT70 2PC. I ordered my card from Ali Express.

 

Should work, on GT70 0NE and older a new BIOS is needed.

 

Hi. Sorry, missed quoting your question. See by answer above

 

hmm what EC firmware and what Vbios firmware did you have do you have

 

Hi. Here are some pics with the information about bios and firmware on my GT70 2PC with the original gtx870m, the upgraded 980m, bios and ec, and the (after upgrade) new computer model name.

 

I had a GTX980M in my GT60 2oc with vBIOS (84.04.22.00.09), but it never worked with any games, but one. I thought it would be plug and play as the person that sent it to me said that was pulled from an MSI laptop. But I also never updated the laptop BIOS/EC because of being afraid of bricking it.

 

Did you ever attempt it? sounds like it maybe easier now

I am not afraid but i'm getting great help/info from people here before i proceed

thanks guys i'm working on it i'm just dusting off my skills to get back into doing this

 

file:///C:/Users/ROM/Downloads/39442339_1663328103796211_8312945395097403392_n.jpg



how do you post an image here?

 

i used my profile picture where i am starting .... GT70 2PC - 1486US

My 870M NVIDA quit but the Intel is fine.

Do i need to update? bios and Vbios ? im assuming yes id like to make no mistakes as this is my work machine

and i'm debating on 970, 980, or 1060

stability is key, speed would be nice as i edit and shoot

 

Attempt the BIOS update? Nope, still too chicken for that.

Hope this helps with the Pic upload question ->

 

Install latest bios and EC before upgrading and you should be fine. I personally love this machine, and I have also upgraded my storage with some ssd:s so I have system (Windows) on one ssd and my games on 2 ssd:s in a raid0-config as I had this superraid option on my machine. Works great and I dont see and feel any need for a new laptop. Not bad for a computer that I bought 4 years ago and I mainly use it for gaming.

 

Upgrading to what? 1060?

 

I guess it's up to you how much you would like to spend on an upgrade. The cheaper 980m is a big upgrade in performance compared to the 870m, and the more expensive 1060m even more, so it’s up to you.

 

This the Positive results of the 2 little updates i did. GT70 2PC

with a 1060 will i need to access the VBIOS from techpowerup (75w ?) does this have a documented heat sink mod

the 980M has a 100w pull and has documented Heat-sink mods (will need thermal pads too)

What version of that card? some are a BIT bigger? in mm width

i would love to do it with out having MODDED drivers and detecting as the official card whatever the choice

 

Looks like you've updated your BIOS, can you tell me how you went about doing that please?

 

Sure its super simple ONE can be done in windows the other in the BIOS/CMOS the bios need to reset everything and you have to eliminate the power then switch back to legacy.

The MSI site has the instructions

https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GT70-2PC-Dominator.html#down-bios&Win7 64

read carefully.

 

Thanks @3dguy

 

the EC shuod be super easy with a In windows up date

the BIOS is in the EFI section of the bios and you have the .51D on a USB stick

 

https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GT60-2OC#down-firmware

EC should be winflash

BIOS is download the BIOS and update inside of the CMOS

 

If you go to aliexpress.com and search for gtx980m and gtx1060m you can see which card is MSI GT70 compatible. One thing I can add was that I went for the card for Clevo, without G-sync. Have not seen any documented heatsinkmod for the 1060 but think it must be a similar mod depending on placement of parts on the card. I have at least seen one user in this thread with the 1060 together with GT70 so it must be doable.

 

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1199&SUBSYS_11061462

is my ID's

 

any luck sir?

 

Thanks for following up, @3dguy, but no, I haven't attempted it yet.Terribly afraid of bricking it and my only fallback is an old Lenovo Thinkpad, which I don't want to use.

 

Any progress in the upgrade?

 

Waiting on @woodzstack i need his card we are both in canada

 

Updated the BIOS and super happy with it, thanks very much, @3dguy.

 

He must be hand delivering it to you if it's taking this long lol

 

Hey all,

Im using custom gaming laptop which uses MSI GT680 case and I do believe MSI bios too. I was using 970m and but it burnt and I want to replace it with 980m.My problem is I had no knowlegde about all of thoose bios/vbios compatibility and my mind is a big mess right now. I have ordered card from Aliexpress because there is saying its working with MSI GT60 and here is the link;

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...905.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3da24c4dEcPPg0

As you see card's vbios is 84.04.35.00.05.Shouldnt it be plug and play? I was thinking 970m and 980m cards has same stuff and it must work with nothing install or flash.

Laptop's Bios : E16F4IF8.517
Bios Date : 12/01/2014

Should I cancel my order or I really dont know what to do? Any help please?

 

If 970M was working 980M should work, too. But your old heat sink might not fit.

 

So you say should I buy it or not? whats the worst scenario?

 

Hello. Not working card is the worst scenario, but may be it won't happen. Did you have problems installing GTX 970M? Did Optimus worked?
Did you modify the heatsink? For GTX 980M you'll need a different one like this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-MSI-GT...505005?hash=item466d99c62d:g:7DQAAOSw0bhZ4II8

 

My laptop company installed my 970m so it was working very well with Optimus,they didnt modify heatsink,heatsink in the picture is my heatsink too but when I wanted to buy card cheaper,they said they couldnt help me because I didint buy from them. Lol. so I cancalled order.

 

Deleted

 

Hello!

Guys I need help from someone smarter than me. I can't install GTX 860M. Bios get freeze at MSI sign, whenever gpu is in the slot. Tried .30U and diff EC. System starts, dgpu shows up but everything is in 8 colors with low resolution. I know that 8xx and 9xx wont work without .51x and .71x. I already made an upgrade to 960M without problems thanks to the first post in the topic. Now I need to downgrade to 860M. I had financial problems and 960m went to ebay.
My spec:
MSI GT70-OND
BIOS - E1762IMS.51X by Svet
EC - 1762EMS1.T16
RAM - 16 GB DDR3
CPU - Intel Core i7-3630QM
GPU - Still fighting

GTX 675mx which died 2yrs ago just stop working. Didnt show any other signs of malfunction. Bios just forgot about it and boot properly. Is it possible that 860m is broken and fights with bios?

 

1. Check VBIOS on the card, sometimes there may be conflict if it's not the original BIOS from MSI.
2. Make sure the card itself is in working condition because if it's defective then you may have all kinds of issues.
3. Press the TAB key and see if the logo disappears so you can see some kind of diagnostic messages.

 

I apologize as I am sure this is a repeat of something said in here but after looking at several hundred posts I'm not sure I have the right answer.

Running a MSI GT60-2PE - 3k
Primary Drive - Samsung 860 EVO
Data Drive - 3x Samsung 850 in Raid 0
32GB Ram
Originally had a GTX 870m 3 GB- Did the heatsink mod and upgraded to 980m with 8GB
Applied fresh thermal tape and thermal grease to CPU and GPU
Fresh install of windows - updated drivers

Everything is detected properly and runs solid.....except when I play games. After 30 minutes or so the laptop just shuts off. The CPU and GPU get in the 85c temp range but from what I read that is normal. The laptop sits on a cooling pad and I even run a blower for extra cooling, neither of which is running on the laptop usb ports to reduce power.

I do see that the laptop is running hybrid power, even when I only run at 1080p. The shutting off behavior happens even if I take the battery our to reduce power.

Honestly, I know my way around hardware pretty well, but I'm stumped.

I see everything written about vBios and other things to consider but I'm not getting any error codes when it shuts off or when it boots, it just crashes to a black screen and turns off completely.

Any thoughts before I spend more cash?

Thanks,
Two

 

Hi,since the GTX970m in my X7820/GT70 died. I could get this one for cheap with cooler:

http://www8.hp.com/ie/en/products/oas/product-detail.html?oid=11605066

Will it work (with modified Vbios)?

 

opps wrong threada

 

Sounds like your issue could be power related, if its using Hybrid power and its shutting off without warning that's saying its shutting down because its not able to safely get the power it needs.
Which would mean either the PSU or Battery is no longer able to deliver the required power for that card.

 

Hi. I have a GT70 2PE upgraded with a GTX 980M. I was playing a game when suddenly it froze down. Then I rebooted and the computer was extremely laggy and every light graphic load made the computer to freeze and a blue screen to appear. I suspected that my graphics card passed away. To double-check it I opened Ubuntu and it freezed again under any light graphical load. I then forced PRIME to render only with the integrated Intel card and, as I guessed, the computer was perfectly stable. So the issue was clearly on the NVIDIA dedicated card.

I pulled the 980m off from my computer (thankfully it is a MXM card). It looks like at least a capacitor has melted down. I upload here some photos from the card as well as a video where you can check the damage and the model and layout of the card.

In the front view you can see what it seems like a capacitor melted down and a scorched small pcb area in the top left:


Also, in the rear part of the graphics card there are two slightly scorched capacitors and some kind of port (PAD 4) slightly melted down. It is in the bottom left of the image:


Concerning this issue, I have several questions:
1) Is there any way to fix the card without replacing it by a new one?
2) If not, what replacement do you recommend me?
3) I know a 1060 is the most powerful replacement (not sure if anybody managed to get a 1070 working in a GT60/70...), but can I use the same heatsink I have for the 980m with a 1060?

Thanks a lot guys.

 

Hi everyone.

Bumping cause I have the same question than Txordi.

 

Hi. I recently bought a 980m on ebay.
61 dollars in an auction! I want to update my GT60 2QD Dominator equipped with a 970m.

My BIOS is E16F4IMS.116. I do not know which one to choose because mine does not appear in the instructions.


In addition, the date of the BIOS coincides with the date of the launch of the 9XXM series. Probably my BIOS was launched to support these graphics cards, but im not sure.

Does anyone know what bios should I download? I dont want to brick my laptop!

Thanks for this awesome thread.

 

If you already have a 970m its just plug and play/swap the cards.

 

Does anyone have link to latest modded drivers for 980M?

 

ok, found them here
https://premamod.wordpress.com/2017/08/15/j95-nvidia-inf/

 

Thanks everyone for the great info. I'm stuck:

I have a MSI GT60-16F3 white book that I built years ago, trying to upgrade to a Chinese 980m 8GB I got on eBay. My old card was a 680m 4GB

My specs:
MSI GT60-16F3
CPU: i7-3610QM
Bios: E16F3IMS.30U
BUILD DATE & TIME: 01/21/2013 15:26:51
EC VERSION: 16F3EG62 VER4.00
ME FIRMWARE VERSION: 8.0.0.1351
EC BUILD: 7/04/2012
OS: Windows 10 pro x64

-I installed the card physically, windows froze at the blue windows logo boot screen.

-I flashed the 980m 8GB MSI vbios using safe mode, reboot, same issue.

-read more, updated my laptop Bios from MSI website, reboot, same freeze on boot.

-I flashed one of the pre modified vbios DMTwo linked (provided by Mr.Fox) in the "mod for plug and play drivers" thread. GTX 980M VBIOS (84.04.2F.00.79) CLEVO (ID 1131).ZIP

-Reinstalled windows, install completed, as I was about to download the video drivers from Nvidia I hear the removed-hardware sound (diddleydoo) and the screen blacked. Waited 20 minutes, nothing. Now when I reboot I get the same freeze at the windows loading logo screen.

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

Ok update: I
-flashed the CLEVO 980m 8GB vbios (the seller verified that was the original card anyways)

-used a dos boot USB to flash the GT60 .51x bios linked in the first post:
https://mega.co.nz/#!K14DiTjC!83XkYs3SbgxrIe8za8yxoBLz_pb3I_SNr2ycwWFh1d8

(For my system I used the .51x one in the AHCI folder)

A couple reboots and the Intel video drivers worked, installed the latest unmodified Nvidia drivers, after a reboot I had to do a rescan in device manager on the 980m and after another reboot ITS WORKING! I was able to do 3dmark tests.

HOWEVER the fan won't slow down ever. Right at boot it's loud spinning at 100%. I flashed the EC from the .51x download 16F3EMS1 VERT.18 and it's still at 100%. I've tried installing silent option, dragon center, dragon gaming center, speedfan, etc and nothing slows it down.

My gpu is at 35c and cpu at 40c idle

Any help would be amazing thank you!