How to: Replace your broken (8600M GT) graphics card (in the [I]FL90)

Thank you Dr.Colossos for sharing your knowledge. Just replaced my old video card with a Radeon HD 4570 card and it works great!

 

Congrats - also, monitor temps with CoreTemp and GPU-Z, just to be safe.

 

Just did bios flash to ver 1.18 slic 2.1.... doing a full fresh reinstall due to some issues with ubuntu not seeing my ntfs partion... theres a bunch of flack about it but im going to try it and see what comes of it.... temps still seem the same so far... find out once installs finish... again,,,,

 

Dr. Colossus:
Many thanks - the instructions you have posted here have enabled me to replace my broken nVidia 8600MGT with a Mobility Radeon HD3650 with 256 Mb DDR3 RAM.
I have to report that the external monitor works with this card (fully up to date Arch Linux using r600g drivers). In fact everything has worked for the past year (yes, it's been that long since I did the switch), except for one thing. I cannot monitor the card's temperature. Neither ACPI nor i2c sensors report anything that can be read for the card.
Has anyone with linux been able to get the temps? And for those with windows, who are using GPUZ to monitor the temperatures - can you tell me, where the program is getting the reads from? (ACPI? i2c? which bus exactly?) I would like to mimic what GPUZ does under linux. But I have neither the HDD space to install windows (128Gb SSD) nor a valid license for the OS.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can share that information.

Cheers,

Stunts

 

I am just reporting that I have the temperature sensors working.
A big thanks to the devs of the radeon driver for linux who have shown me exactly what to do.
For anyone using linux and who might be interested, I have a github repository here where you can find a finely tuned kernel for use with the modified compal IFL90 (better performance and responsiveness) and the patch to make the temperature sensor work.
I hope it can be useful for more people than me.

Cheers,

Stunts

 

I changed my 8600gt broken card with a new one, an hd3650 256 mb ddr3 and everything works fine, monitor and external monitor.

Cheers

 

Hi everyone,
My ATI 4570 card just arrived for my Compal IFT00, I followed the Dr. Colossus' post on the proper part replacemen, but sad to say I was really disappointed since my 4570 didn't fix my issue. All I got is a blank display on the display monitor, and also no output video signal on my VGA out.
What seems to be the problem? Is it a defective video card or maybe I've done something wrong?

Please help.

Thanks,
Joseph

 

kolai, at this point, it is really hard to tell. I'd send the card back and sell the laptop as broken.

Of course you could try all sorts of options, but will it pay off? I doubt that.

Good luck

 

If that would be the case, I will be selecting to possible cases.
1. Buying a 3650 512MB DDR2 form mokkin at ebay and hope for the best again. If it doesn't work it would be a waste of money, since mokkin doesn't accept returns.
2. Selling my Laptop and earn money.

Another question:
If I'll try to remove the VGA card from the motherboard will it automatically switch to its mainboard graphics? For now, I really just wanna use an onboard graphics chip from intel, did anyone tried to use their onboard graphics?

Thanks,
Joseph

 

I guess you have a PM-board - unlike the GM-boards, yours has NO onboard graphics. I might be wrong, and you could try to boot without a graphics card, and hope for the best ...

Do you have a link, which ATI 4570 you got?

Good luck

 

Hi Dr. Colossos,
Sorry for the late post, I returned the video card from this store from ebay.
New ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 MXM II 512MB DDR2 Graphics VGA Card Acer 6530G | eBay : This is the ATI 4570 card that didn't work.

Now I am planning to invest again on this 2 cards:
1. http://www.ebay.com/itm/281114328693?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 - the ATI 3650
2. New ATI Mobility Radeon HD3470 HD 3400 3450 3470 MXM II 256MB DDR2 | eBay - the ATI 3470

For now I know that the 3650 were the ones used and tested on all FT00 and FL90, and they really worked. I also know that they are on a higher price than the 3470.

For now this would be the purpose of my laptop(if its going to work):
-Office Work - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.
-Movies - VLC
-Web browsing
-Programming
-Less Gaming - it will be like angry birds and web games(Flash games).

I know if the 3650 won't work, I can sell it with my laptop, and also the 3470.

But I just want to make this laptop work, with the purpose.

Thanks,
Joseph

 

Both cards works in a FL90 - no idea about the FT00. No heat issues with the 3470, maybe a bit with the 3650, but most likely not.

As the price difference is really only 10€, I'd go for the 3650 - the 3470 can do all what you want, but maybe you find another 3D game you'd like to play (somewhat decently), and the 3650 would be capable to do that, too - the 3470 maybe not.

Good luck

 

Thanks for the Tip Dr. Colossos,
I will buy the ATI 3650, and hope for the best again. I will buy the card from here: New ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 MXM II Vgacard 512MB HD3650 | eBay

If all else fails I will be selling the laptop with the card, for a reasonable price.

Thanks,
Joseph

 

I bought from this seller at least twice - still have an FL90 with his card running on a daily basis - should be good.

Good luck!

 

Good day Dr. Colossos,
Since we have the same seller, may I ask if we have the same specifications as shown in the link?

Sorry just making sure.

Thanks,
Joseph

 

You mean of the card? That's over 2 years ago, sorry, no clue - but I'd think so, yes.

 

By the way - has anyone noticed that the computer has started to make some buzzing/hissing noise after the video card change?
It's not coming from the ventilator and speaker tend to amplify it a bit.

 

Yes, in fact, I have. Blacklisting the Radeon HDMI audio module (under linux) solved the problem for me.

 

I'd like to say that MSI ATI 4670 Mobility GDDR3 (taken from MSI EX625 model of laptop) works with Compal FL90 with no PCI-E throttling issues, no problems whatsoever (I've flashed back to bios 1.18. The 1.19 has caused some stability problems - random restarts, BSOD, etc)

It has replaced 8600M GS 256MB card that I've had previously.

I've overclocked the 4670 up to - core: 675@800 , memory: 800@900.

Spoiler

 

Good to All,
I have good news on my system its finally working again. Its the Compal FT00 with replacement card ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 MXMII. I have also bad news, when it was time for me to give up I went to a friend of mine which is a tech, we found out that the board specifically on the north bridge, had a flux stains, we tried to bake the mobo, and really it did work, it wasn't all specifically as vcard problem, but on the mobo as well. For my case I wouldn't be expecting this machine to run for so long but I'll be sure to keep this machine cool as possible to extend its life.

Anyways thanks Dr. Colossos for this forum, It really brought the dead to life.

 

great news - well, if it goes down next time (hopefully not that soon!), you better get something new. So start saving money, now.

Good luck!

 

Good day,

I am having a 52 - 54 degrees Celsius on standby for my GPU temp. Is this okay? and has anyone used a 2GB 800MHz RAM? Is it compatible?

Thanks,

 

Yep, sounds good, tempwise - for the RAM, yep, should work, but might be downclocked by the Motherboard, but works.

 

I have replaced the 8600m GT twice on my lenovo ideapad Y510 - D2 but my display stopped working few days back again. Is there any way I can throw away the entire motherboard along with the nvidia card and downgrade to a simpler motherboard with intel graphics? All i need to run in that lp is microsoft office, mozilla firefox, an antivirus and the 5 speakers. The processor, LCD display, hard disk, keyboard, speakers, fan etc are in good condition. Any suggestions what motherboard+chipset should I go for? Will the motherboards/chipsets of cheaper Lenovo ideapad Y510 models with intel GMA graphics fit/work? ebay or amazon links will be really helpful.

Thank You

 

This is the Compal forum, so better ask in the Lenovo forum. I have no clue about the Y510, sorry.

 

Hy everyone,

I've been reading this topic for months and now its the time to use the fantastic info that everyone gave here, specially the Dr. in charge

Well, Ive got a Compal IFL 90 and guess what, my card has broke down 6 months ago.

Baked once, worked for 2 months and failed again
Baked twice, worked for more 1 and an half month, failed again
Baked again, worked for more 1 and an half month. failed
Baked yesterday night and now im using the pc to make the buy, im tired of baking it over and over again

So, went to make some shopping and i find this info about the cards that should work here:

...
Radeon HD 3650 512MB DDR2 (M86)
...
(and the list goes all the way down...)

My questions are simple, the (M86) info at the end of the card description what does it mean? It's something to do with these info: VG.86M06.003 or VG.86M06.002 or VG.86M06.006? i found this in several cards for sale on ebay and elsewhere and really dont know if this is some how related with that M86 thing. It's important?

Other question, i've found the card for a "low" price at MXM II Graphic Card VG.86M06.003 ATI HD3650 DDR2 512MB [VG.86M06.003] - $71.99- laptop-ac-adapter.org but unfortunaly i dont know if its reliable or not. This website was someone here that gave it, somewhere on these hundreds of posts.

I think that this card is the best choice for don't having troubles with heat, the 4670 is better forget it besides the heating up and the 4570 can be found but is more expensive and the heating thing is not a good thing.

Thanks for your help

Tom

 

Hi there, nice that you found the information provided helpful.

I never bought from Laptop AC Adapter | Notebook AC Adapter | Notebook Power Adapters | Buy Laptop Accessories, but this should not mean I would not trust them. I guess I'd trust them as any other seller on ebay - which boils down to "no trust", hehe.

Give it a try, price looks good, three month warranty. Of course it could be crap, but you never know.

The 003 after VG.86M06 does mean something, but I forgot - could be the amount of (dedicated) RAM, maybe clock speeds - don't remember. Go with 003 and you'll be fine. Also had 004 and 006 working if I remember correctly - but just go for 003.

If you are not into gaming (other than 2D browser stuff), you also could get the 3400/3450/3470 - cheapest replacement you can get, no heat issues at all.

What I also found to be a good way is to get a banged-up laptop of ebay - like broken LCD. Several Acers come with MXM 3(4/6)50 cards (see the first post here -> http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/396320-acer-mxm-models-cards.html). Rip out the card, sell the rest, you should get your card for free than (if you don't count the working hours). Even works with working ones, as the spares sell higher than the complete machine.

Anyway, good luck. If you have more questions, just ask.

 

I want to play a bit with the PC like i usually did, play some games like WoW, Americas Army, the PC stands with good performances with the 8600 Ultra Backed V4. I think, for what ive seen around here that the 3650 512MB DDR2 is the best direct replacement and more reliable than the one that is still in letting me write this down . If im wrong please tell me before i buy it lool

i will give a shot one that seller then, payment vua Paypal gives me some safety, ill post feedback about them.

What about the M86 between brackets on that description (on the Acer list) , do you know what it is? Or is better to forget about it?

thanks

 

M86 is just the code for the 3650 - M92 I think would be the 4570. 4650 has MIdontKnow

God luck!

 

Ok, here it is the source of the webstore, but i'm relutant about it's reliability, they have answered me from an Gmail account..weird..im trying to contact master_r but there isn't a clear way to send him at least a private message or something to try to know if its ok to buy here or not.. Am i missing something? there is a way to contact a member and im not finding it? thanks

 

Hmm, PM should work. When I click on *my* user name next to a post, I see a button "private message" - I do not have this option when clicking your name for example. But I could as you as contact - maybe after that, I could PM you. Maybe try that with master_r.

About getting mails from gmail accounts - I would not always assume that's bad. Well could be that the guy runs a one-person-repair-shop, but that might be even better than a "company" - e.g., MXM-upgrade.com is run by one guy, only, I think.

You never know until you have tried out ...

Good luck

 

I cannot find the icon to PM...well, i tried to add him as a contact and im waiting for him to answer.

about the shop, ive notices one more thing, the logo is misspelled.. for a company with so many years its strange that its misspelled and they ( or him) didnt noticed that and put it back like it should be. its too strange for me so i went for a even more strange thing...Aliexpress, items from China (like all otehr stuff we have....). The website offers feedback like ebay and lets you communicate online with some sellers that is available, plus they have a protection scheme for the stuff we buy, apparently the sellers are sensitive with the negative feedbacks and try to solve the issues if it come up. i decided to give a try to them. i caught one seller online and ive made a deal for $100 including shipping.

The card is a 3650 with 512RAM, 60 days warranty, version VG.bla bla.004. Its not the 003 but i think it will be ok.

The delivery time is slow but lets see what is coming. i will post the feedback about the item and the time that actually toke to receive the card.

Thanks

 

Haha, nice find! Maybe you could have used that piece of information to heckle over the price, hehe.

Would be nice to post back once you have news. Not much FL90s are left, I guess, but once in a while, a new "victim" stumbles by.

Good luck!

 

I replaced my 8600m GT with the ATI 3650 bios v004 which I got on E-bay. Had a shop install it for me. It quit after 1 week so I took the whole machine apart modified the heat sink- new artic silver and it now works just fine. I did have windows 8 on the machine and went back to 7 which solved some resolution issues. A word of warning about the ribbon cable from the keyboard to the MB it is very easily damaged. I broke mine but fixed it by wedging it in with of all things a business card! The contacts between the ribbon and socket are down facing not up facing. Wasted time before realizing that.

 

Hi! I'm sorry for my late answer. In fact, on April I had the problem with my 8600GT and I've spent a lot of time searching on the web for the best solution. I've found that link in this topic, also, in the some pages back, as far as I remember. I also had doubts about the website, because I cannot find so much impressions about the company and their services.

Nearly in June I tried to bake my graphic card and, fortunately, it worked! I decided not to order from that website, as the it was working and I didn't have so much confidence about the reliability of the website. But, it worked until today. I will try to bake it again, but if it doesn't work, I don't know if I will try the link that I've posted and, again, I will study the possibilities.

 

I also need new modified bios for a Geforce 9300M GS working on an Acer Aspire 5520 .... that message with MXM on start-up makes me crazy , thanks in advance. I will attach my bios files too on here. It had Geforce 8600 too .

http://www.filedropper.com/ic50133

http://www.filedropper.com/biosorig9300

I think it should be better to put somewhere on a fixed server and to put a link from there, so anyone could take the files.

Thank you.

 

Hi,

you got that in the wrong forum, try Acer sub-forum instead, this is Compal.

Good luck

 

well, ive just received the made in China ATI V.004, in fact just 2h hours ago arrived to my had. i will install it during the weekend so lets cross fingers

ill post again with news

 

Good luck!

 

Hi tomalamix!
Did the ATI HD 3650 you bought be of good quality? So do you recommend that seller?

 

Hi,

i got an ATI Radeon HD 4650 Mobility 1GB DDR2. ( Grafikkarte ATI Radeon HD 4650 1GB. fur ACER ASPIRE 6930 | eBay)

After installing the Card my Notebook runs in the following Problem:

I got a black Screen, no Backlight, nothing. If i wait a little bit i can hear the Windows 7 Startup Sound. So it seams like the Card is defekt, but the Notebook is still booting fine. I also tested the DVI-Port, but it dont work.

If i Plug in my old Nvidia 8600M GT 512 MB the Notebooks runs normaly.

Is there any solution for my Problem, maybe flashing VGA-BIOS?

 

Looks like the card is faulty. I would say it would compatible, so I guess it has a fault. Maybe ask the seller to return it. If he refuses, come back, and we can discuss how to proceed.

If he is willing to return it, DO NOT FLASH or do anything else "mad" with it.

 

Thanks for your quick answer.

I allready contacted my seller, hopefully he will answer me soon. I will let you know, as soon as i know more.

 

Hey - I need some help.

FL92, the 8600M GT went bad, it had red squiggles all over the screen then would BSOD.
Replace the 8600GT with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 MXM II Video Card 6920G.
Did the heatsink mod, fit with no problem.
Reassembled the laptop.

Here is where the problem lies: When I hit the power button, the LED light comes on briefly, then shuts back off. Have you experienced this before?
I have not tried putting back the old 8600M GT yet.

I am wondering if I didn't re-assemble it correctly or something...

 

@Dr.Colossos

My Seller answered me today and i will send the fault card back. So now i am looking for an other ati hd4650. Probably somone of you can me sell one?

@scud830

Maybe you lost a screw in your notebook while reassembling that cause a short circuit.

Have you tried trun on your notebook without the ram module(s)?

Is your CPU correctly connected with the heatpipe?

 

@Apfel: Great that you can return it!. I still have an ATI 4650 for sell. But not within the next couple of weeks, as I am away from home.

Also, why do you need a 4650? Newer games wont work on that anymore with decent FPS/details.

@scud: Does the laptop stay on, only backlight goes off? Hmm, strange to see that. I would try to disassemble and reassemble everything, and retry.

Cheers

 

I don´t need it for new games, but for my old ones (like WC3)

The Problem is, if i do gaming for an hour the Card seams to be get trotteled course of high temps. I guese its a sign that my card will die soon. I also do this fixing for fun and learning

I dont need the card right now, so if you interested in selling me the card, just let me know.

Thanks for your help so far

 

The laptop power button led turns on for a brief few seconds and then turns off again. It does not stay on. The backlight never turns on, nor do I hear the fan spinning.

I tried to turn it on without RAM installed and it had the same behavior.

I never removed the CPU. I just renewed all of the thermal pads and thermal paste for the CPU and the module located below it. I also made sure I saved the soft rear mounting plate of the graphics card.

I guess I will tear it down and reassemble it unless you have anything else to offer. Should I try turning it on before completely reassembling?

 

You can. BUT ALWAYS LEAVE THE BATTERY OUT. Starting the laptop with battery in a semi-assembled state might destroy the mainboard!

You can do it WITHOUT battery and the power cord.
See here:



I think disassembly and reassembly is the only option for you right now. You can also try your 8600 again - if you at least get some video output with that. If so, but not with the 3650, than mybe the ATI card is bad, too.

Good luck!

 

Hi, I have been trying to revive a friend's IFL90 (iBuyPower branded) for some time now. After researching this thread, I have concluded that the 8600M was faulty - the laptop would boot and the backlight illuminates but no video on screen. Once or twice the video would appear with corruption and artifacts, but I was able to see the BIOS POST so I know the motherboard, ram, cpu, etc are all working.

First I ordered a "NEW" Radeon Mobility 4570 with 256MB DDR3, here is the one I ordered: Acer HD 4570 256MB MXM Vedio VGA Card as 4520 4710 4730 4920 5720 5920 7520 8530 | eBay

Upon receiving this card, I install it and turn on the laptop. Nothing. No backlight illumination, no video, nothing. Thinking it may be a bad card, I go ahead and find a "USED" HD3650, 512MB DDR2: Alienware ATI VG 86M06 005 ATI HD3650 400MHz 512MB M86 DDR3 MXM II Video Card | eBay

Again, nothing. No backlight, no video. What gives? The second seller states he purchased it used and was unable to test it himself. Did I just get really unlucky and buy 2 bad cards? Or is there some other compatibility issue at play here? I was under the impression that both of these cards should have worked out of the box based on the information given in the OP. Should I try a 3rd one? Again, I'm 100% confident the motherboard is booted, as I can hear the linux disc loading and was able to confirm BIOS POST during the one or two times the 8600M was able to show video.

Thanks