Upgrading my FL90

Greetings all

I have been lurking these forums for a couple of weeks to find ways to squeese more power out of my laptop.

I have a Novabook Terminator which is based on the Compal FL90.

It has a T7500 Merom C2D @ 2.2ghz
4gb DDR2 pc2-5300 with 5:5:5:15 timings
Geforce 8600GT 512mb.

I am currently using the laptop to play wow and everyday office use and i have found myself craving more power out of this badboy so it can serve me well for the next year or so.

Atm i can play wow with everything at very low settings and the laptop gets very hot. Thank you Nvidia for that frying pan of 8600gt.

I was looking at upgrading my graphic card as i found out that it has MXM II slot but the question is what are my options.

There isnt any warranty left on the laptop so i am open for suggestions that might be a bit invasive. My reason for this is, that if I can upgrade the graphic card and get more gaming power out of it then it saves me from buying a new laptop.

I have been reading alot about upgrading with a HD3650 but i am usure how much more gaming power that will yield.

Another option is the 9600 GT but i am unsure if it can work.

I have been reading about HD 4670 cards and hd 4850 and found this
4650 & 4850 MXM II card

What suggestions do you have about upgrading it?

 

Welcome to this forum. A lot of information can be found in this thread. But to cut it short:

9600M GT is no option, Nvidia cards will not work because the bios for the 8600M GT is part of the system bios and therefore you would need to edit the system bios first, which is not possible as the phoenix bios editor does not work for the version the FL90 is using.

HD3650 with GDDR3 is a pretty good update. The gaming power will increase noticeable. You can overclock that card quite well, too.

HD4650 with DDR2 is quite common throughout the internet and you will notice a big difference to the 8600M GT. It is also much better than the HD3650. The HD4650 with DDR2 is comparable to the 9600M GT.

HD 4650 with DDR3 that fits into the IFL90 is pracitcally non existent. The only option would be the HD4670 that came with MSI's EX625. However, it is nearly impossible to get such a card.

I don't trust the seller you linked to. I think it's the same guy that is discussed here. THe HD 4850 is not MXMII and even if, the cooling system in the IFL90 could never take that card. The HD 4650 is - if he is really offering it - most likely a DDR2 version. In any case, it can't hurt to ask him for pictures of the cards to make sure...

The best update would probably be the HD 4650 DDR2. Can be found here:
http://www.acer-ersatzteile.de/product_info.php?products_id=153869443626

And you could upgrade your CPU to T9500 or T9300.

 

Thank you for a reply Hahn.

How many steps is needed to upgrade to the acer module you linked?

Is there any need for bios flashing and such or is there a guide somewhere?

 

In order to be able to buy the card there, you have to tell them that you actually own one of those acer laptops. I have no experience with that, but it shouldn't pose a big problem.

Once you got the card, you have do disassemble your FL90. A guide can be found here: http://www.asimobile.com/notebook_files/fl90/IFL90_ch5-Disassembly Guide-intel.pdf This post is also quite useful.

Most likely you will have to dremel your heat sink a bit, because the ATI card have those big grey thing which otherwise hinders the heat shield from connecting with the gpu.

Re-Use the heat pads on the 8600M GT or use new once which you can buy on ebay or elsewhere. Apply some Arctic Cooling MX-2 or MX-3 or Arctic Silver 5 to the GPU and put the laptop back together.

The laptop should start up and windows should run with the standard vga driver. Then you just need to install the newest ATI driver. Depending on the temps you might also wanna undervolt the bios using ATIflash and RBE, but you can worry about that once you got the card.

 

Thanks for the replay.

It sounds easy enough so i will give it a go.

Hope everything will turn out well.

 

There where no hickups in ordering so now i only have to await the shipping of the card.

 

There are apparently some problems with my order of the VG.M9606.006 and they are charging a 55 euro more for the VG.M9606.005 card. I am inclined to cancel the order and get it elsewhere.

I found this reseller
http://www.laptop-ersatzteile.de/index.php?a=201346&ref=Elmar.com
As far as I can see it is the same card but at a lower price. Is there anything i should be aware off?

 

Now they list all those cards with 199 €. If possible you should cancel the order and try to get the one for 105 €, although that price seems to be to got to be true...

 

Hello everyone!
I'm new on this forum and i joined because i see a lot of activity. I come from Croatia where getting parts for upgrades is a nightmare.
I am an owner of 2 year old IFL90. As it is a great laptop I have no desire to get a new on and instead I'd like to upgrade it. I'm interested in the 4650 upgrade or maybe 5650 if it will work?
I have been browsing this forum a lot but couldn't find any general graphics card upgrade guide. So what i ask is what steps would be required to do a graphics card upgrade?

1. Buy new card
2. Take laptop apart
3. Remove old card
4. Dremel cooling block if needed
5. Insert new card
6. Flash any (system or vbios) bios

Am I thinking right? In a case of exchanging my 8600m gt with an 4650 would i need to flash bios and which one should i use? Are there any more dependencies other than MXM type and power envelope?

Also I m wondering if anyone had success with upgrading to 4650?
Thank you

 

Hey mate.

You should be looking for a MXM type II card and should as far as I understood it not have to flash a new bios on the machine. Just make sure that the card has it own Vbios or something like that.

I have ordered this http://www.acer-ersatzteile.de/product_info.php?products_id=153869443626

But they suddenly decided to up the price to 199 euro. I have ordered a www.laptop-ersatzteile.de
which im currently awaiting to be shipped. When i have it i will make a post about the succes of the upgrade.

Alot others have upgraded to 4650 so it shouldnt be a big problem.

 

The price sounds unrealistic compared to what they price here and here they sell a 8600m gt for 250 euros. If it works for you i m ordering it as well. Thanks a lot.

 

I'd be half-tempted to try this as well, for that price, if everyone else gets them from that seller without issue. I'm also curious how difficult/problematic the upgrade would be - in terms of cooling and the like and exactly what is necessary to make it work. I do hope everyone who is doing this will keep us posted!

Also, the link for the disassembly guide seems to be dead - does someone have a mirror? I'd be curious to see it whether or not I decide to go for the card.

 

I am also very interested in this upgrade... Please keep us posted on the upgrade and that shop.

Here is the link to the disassembly guide:
http://service.marasst.com/Compal/IFL90_91/Service Manual/IFL90 030/IFL90_ch5-Disassembly Guide.pdf

 

I would also like to know if 5650 could be a candidate? is it mxm II?

 

The new ATI and Nvidia generation of cards is (as far as I know) MXM 3.0 ... so it won't be compatible in any of the older laptops.

 

They have charged my credit card so it seems like they have accepted my order. They give very little information and isnt very fast to reply to emails . So far my orders say that they havent sent it but delivering times can be 1 - 3 weeks. Its only been 10 days since my order so i will wait a few days before start bugging them for delivering date.

 

This warning is on their website. Anyone who can translate?

!!! ACHTUNG !!!:
SEHR GEEHRTE KUNDEN AUFGRUND UNSERES FIRMENUMZUGES VON WÜRZBURG NACH AUGSBURG, WELCHER IN EINEM ZEITRAHMEN VON 4 WOCHEN GEPLANT WAR UND SICH AUF INSGESAMT 8 WOCHEN AUSGEDEHNT HAT, KONNTEN EINIGE AUFTRÄGE NICHT BEARBEITET WERDEN. WIR BITTEN HIERFÜR UM VERSTÄNDNISS UND VERSICHERN DASS KEIN KUNDE VERGESSEN WORDEN IST.

WIR MÖCHTEN HIER NICHT AUF EINZELHEITEN EINGEHEN. NUN SIND WIR IN UNSEREM NEUEN FIRMENGEBÄUDE ANGEKOMMEN UND DAS GANZE TEAM ARBEITET MIT HOCHDRUCK UND VIELEN ÜBERSTUNDEN. WIR VERSICHERN IHNEN IN DEN NÄCHSTEN TAGEN ALLE OFFENEN AUFTRÄGE BEARBEITET ZU HABEN!

FÜR ALLE NOTFÄLLE HABEN WIR FOLGENDE HOTLINE EINGERICHTET: 08271-2002 oder per emial an: [email protected]

 

rough translation:

So if nothing happens in the next couple of days, I think you should e-mail them and aks about the status of your order.

 

Thanks for the translation.

Btw i got a offer on a defunc laptop with a T9600 cpu. Will it fit my fl90 or can i only use 800Mhz bus CPU as T9300 and T9500?

 

To my knowledge you should not use processors with higher bus speed because they will clock down (and not change multi). So you will end up with a processor at a very low clock speed. That is if they work at all.

 

Can you put a Quad core in it instead like the X9000 which is 800Mhz and Socket P?

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=34443&processor=X9000&spec-codes=SLAQJ,SLAZ3

 

Quad core is very unlikely to work. Bios will not support it, chipset will not support it, cooling system is not adapted to the quad core design.

As for the T9600 -> Try it out. It will not fry your laptop or the CPU, although like jurian89 said, if it works, it will most likely run at a lower clock rate due 200 instead of 266 FSB. You could overcome that by modding the PLL generator, if the CPU works that is. Few have tried it out so if you have the opportunity without spending money, give it a try and let us in on what you found out...

 

is the Ati HD4570 with 512 DDR3 faster or slower than the Ati hd4650 1gb ddr2?

http://global.ebay.com/ATI_HD4570_HD_4570_M92_DDR3_512MB_MXM_II_Vedio_VGA_Card/250563828346/item

 

Only 80 shaders as opposed to 320 on the HD 4650 and you won't get much out of the DDR3 due to the 64 bit memory bus as opposed to the 128 bit bus on the HD 4650. The HD 4570 is more like a HD3650 while even a HD3650 with GDDR3 should be faster. Therefore, a HD4650 with 1GB DDR2 is much faster.

 

I have been emailing laptop-ersatzteile.de for a few weeks now and i cant seem to get a respond from them.

I found this site which says that they never deliver the goods.

http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/laptop-ersatzteile-de

I just hope i can get my money back.

 

I just got through to them on the phone and they said that the parts where out of stock and they have a shipment coming which hopefully should arrive next week.

I just hope he aint taking a on me but i can give it a few more weeks.

 

Heya,

Firstly, I would like to mention that I have seen the HD4650 DDR2 just become available from mxm-upgrade.com, for anyone who is having trouble getting hold of one.

Second, I asked this in a similar post but thought I would also ask here: Basically the 8600Min my IFL90 stopped working, and I want to upgrade to the 3650 or 4650.

1) Would I need to file away at the heatsink or anything to fit either of these cards? (I gather yes.)
2) Would I need to do anything with the vbios? (I gather no.)
3) Will overheating be a problem (specifically with the faster 4650)?

I have very little experience with this side of computers (never really needed to do any of the above before!), so any help would be very much appreciated!

Forum posts on the topic have filled me with a mixed bag of responses, sometimes vbios updates seem necessary, sometimes thee heatsink dosnt need filing, sometimes overheating is an issue and others it is not. Any clarification would br really useful, as I am left feeling a bit daunted by things given my current knowledge of things!

That said, I've been without a decent machine for too long so its about time I do something about it!

Thanks in advance for any help anyone could offer, I only hope I can return the favour!

James

 

You shouldn't overdo the whole cross posting thing... there is not that much going on in this forum so you would have gotten your answer with just one post:

 

is there some shop with ddr3 version of this card? which i can use in my FL90

 

If your referring to the HD4650 then no. Only MSI notebooks carry the HD4670 with DDR3 and MXM II and they are not selling them to you unless you have a MSI laptop. However, compared to the original 8600M GT with DDR2 the HD4650 DDR2 is a great upgrade.

There should be some DDR3 versions of the HD3650 on ebay but the HD4650 is faster then the HD3650 even with DDR2.

 

Hi Guys,

first of all I'm really happy to found you here, a comtetente group of members with knowledge of the FL90.
In the other way I'm really sorry that I found you to late, because I JUST bought a GT9600M, it really fits with the size and everything, but now I am really unsure if it is worth to make all the effort and timewaste, if it won't run in the end.
My question: Has anyone ever tried to exchange the 8600M with the 9600M? I read, one need to change the V-Bios, is there any possibility?
I would be very thankful if anyone can give me a hint - it would be very annoying buying the card for nothing... and what is the great advantage of the ATI-cards, are they that way faster than the 9600?
Thank you very much for your work and have a good day,
multi

 

The HD4650 even the DDR2 version is indeed faster than the stock clocked 9600M GT with GDDR3. The HD4650 with (G)DDR3 is a lot faster.

Did you buy the card already? People tried to get the 9600M GT to work and failed. You will at least need two laptops were you can see the screen with the 9600M GT to be able to at least try around with the VBIOS issue (or a lot of blindflashing). Maybe, if you can somehow modify the VBIOS on the 9600M GT in such a way that it represents itself like a ATI VBIOS then it could work, but how you would do such a thing - if at all possible - is not known. So basically any Nvidia card other than the original 8600M GT that came with the FL90 is no option.

 

Hi and thx for your fast answer!! Do you know someone personally (or have me any links or contacts) to someone who just tried it? Would be great
Unfortunately I bought yet it relying on some (like it now seems unsure) informations and the fact that an direct following "sister" graficcard in the same socket should work like the foreman...
Hm, would you advise me to sell the card (couldn't return it, unfortunately) an buy an 4650/4670? And is it necessary to flash the Bios for the ATI card, too? I have the 1.16.
And I'm sorry, but I have no glue: What ist the SLIC table, do I have to pay attention to that? o-O
Many thx to you and good night, good fight

 

Sorry for the delay, I'm a bit busy with some Moot Competition in Vienna right now.

So far I've only know of one polish guy who tried to install the 4670 in his FL90 ( link).

Yeah, it sucks that the 9600M GT does not work in the slot... it would be a great upgrade. As far as I know, nobody tried to flash the card... you would have to try it out yourself, but the risk of bricking the card is quite high. There will be some line that states the name of the card the manufacturer and the model number in the bios. However, if you alter this information it may change nothing or may brick the card, I don't know if your willing to try it out. You should be able to retrieve the card, but only if you blindflash.

For the ATI cards not bios update is needed. Don't worry about the SLIC table.

 

Kind of necroposting here, but I think my 8600M GT in my Sager NP2090 (Compal IFL-90) is running its course. Other than the crappy, hot graphics card, the NP 2090 is a great laptop with a great high-resolution screen, so I'd like to be able to breathe some more life into this notebook for the next few years as it's still an asset to me.

The 8600M GT's been running pretty hot on idle, not to mention occasional screen artifacting in the form of pink lines all over white pixels, so I'm starting to suspect the 8600M GTs which have been shown to be somewhat faulty is starting to give way. I thought about upgrading the graphics card, but I couldn't stomach the prices of the MXM-II graphics chips at the time, but with 3650s seeming to go for $65 for the 512MB DDR2 version and $85 for the 256MB DDR3 version, I might bite this time around and upgrade my laptop.

Any pointers? I know I have to dremel the heat sink in the IFL-90 in order to physically mount the graphics card, but are there any BIOS flashing required for this procedure?

 

If you pic the GDDR3 version of the Mobility Radeon HD 3650 you just have to install the card. Some people had problems with the DDR2 version.

 

I managed to install my HD 3650 into the IFL-90, and I didn't have to do any BIOS flash or anything. I did give my laptop a reformat though since it's been long overdue, so thanks for all the help!

 

Hi all!
I have Compal FL90 with 8600M GT witch has been broken 2nd time now - first time i 'baked' her with the industrial heater and it worked for a 3 months. Now is dead again and i wanna go for something else. Here in Croatia mxm cards are impossible to get, and from ebay is always too risky to shop. And one day i've got an offer on my email, it's about 9600M GT, and man even said that the card is built for Compal, price is 120 Euros.
Can i put that card in my FL90, will he work with it?
I'm little short with money and it wouldn't be nice to spend my last money on a card that shouldn't work.
So please help with your advices.
Thanks in advance!

 

Don't do it. The only NVidia card that works with the fl90 is the 8600m GT that came with it. If you want a safe upgrade stick with ATI cards.

 

Ok, i won't buy it than, thank you.
It was suspicious to me from the start, that this seller claim's that this 9600m is built just for compal.
Now my only salvation is ebay, long deliveries and 3650 or 4650....
Thanks again!!

 

your best bet would be the 3650 with ddr3. there is 2 guys on ebay selling 1 for $79 with shipping. there is a 4650 with DDR3 but they are going for $299 plus 12 shipping, too much for me. i am trying to find a 4650 ddr2 under 200 then i will buy it.

 

hi .

I've buy an IFL 90 2,5 years ago and today my laptop seems to be dead...

one month ago, the sound die with no one reason.. the sound card realtek HD audio controler is detected in linux and in winXP.

today, the PC start, but a black screen, and nothing going on.

So ... i completely disassembly the laptop, change thermal paw on cpu and gpu. Nothing seems burned (resistance...)Before, the GF 8600M GT warmed a lot (> 100°c when playing SC2...)

so i really don't know what is dead ? the mother board maybe, the CMOS battery maybe, the graphic card i hope, because it's possible to change it. Otherwise, is it possible to change just the motherboard, and where we can find it ? at Compal ?

a last thing, can i do a test under the graphic card ? I skeep the CG and turn on the computer ? Is the IFL 90 have a standard VGA settings ?

Thanks a lot for your answer ..

ps (sorry my bad english,i'm french)

 

Good coincidence, mine ifl90 died today too Same symptoms - black screen,nothing going on. Mine had various random graphical issues like artifacts/screen tearing/dead screen backlit for a while now(about 6-8months). Most likely same bad batch of 8600gt,just little late to the dead card party

 

i think so it's a huge problem of the 8600M GT.. nvidia have some justice problem with constructor....so . I have sometimes many artifacts too when i lauching ubuntu .

Do know if is it possible to keep the CG and so the mother-board use the standart vga settings ? I'm looking for in the forum, thx for all helps

 

CG = card grafique? Right on, I do not (really) speak french.

Check this thread, I think it is rather complete.

You can either get a 5470 from MXM Upgrade Home Page, which works good and you are getting mail support, or try your chances on ebay and get a HD 3650 (DDR2 or DDR3, later being better!), or invest for an upgrade and get a 4650/4670 for +200€.

Btw, yes, I bet your gfx went dead. Very common for the 8600M GT.

Good luck.

 

yes, CG = GC, graphic card = carte graphique ^^

so you mean my 8600M GT is dead? I have some doubts cause i have absolutely nothing at the screen (total black), and nothing appends (no OS loading .. ). So i'm afraid if it's the motherboard.. or maybe the processor (intel core duo 2 T7700, 2,4ghz)..when i keep the memory, no beep come. really i don't know, and before buy a new graphic card, i want to be 100% sure that it is dead. how i could be sure ? any instrument or test possible ?

In an other way, is it possible to start the IFL90 without the graphic card ? is the motherboard have a vga chipset ?

thx for rapid helps !!!!

 

I wouldn't know about ant "test" you could run.

I am very sure it is either the gfx-card or the motherboard, as you don't get anything on the screen. You may also remove memory, if you have more than one piece, and try with only one at a time. Maybe one of your memory chips is dead - as I said, this is also only an option if you have more than one memory chips.

Anyway, as said above, it is VERY likely that your 8600M GT is dead. It is the most common cause with the FL90s, as the 8600M GT has a production fault. NVidia said so themselves!

The only "test" that comes to my mind is, get a cheap card from ebay, maybe even used, and try that. ATI 3650 works, you can get it for 50-70€.

I also sell my 8600M GT that I "repaired" on ebay in a few days, which would be an option for you maybe (I live in Germany, btw).

And of course, baking your card would be an option. But I also had one 8600M GT that gave me a total black screen. Even baking did not work there. On the other "repaired" card, baking it in th eoven for 10 minutes @ 180* C worked!

 

ok merci for this help, i try to run witthout one memory (but i don't know if i've already make the test ^^), then i tried to run without the gc... then .. i test baking , lol, and then itdon't work maybe by an ati card this time, hope this warm less... but ... thanks nvidia..

 

It's just amazing !!!!! i've baking the card and it re-works !! I'm using linux and i can see thermal is normal on this !!

So i'm very impressive ! just a miracle !!

So it's surely a temporaly solution, but it is wonderful !!

Now, i don't know why the sound doesn't work, cause the realtek ALC is detected ...

thx for help !! ^^

 

Nice to hear you were successful!

However, I have noidea how long it will work. Some had problems pretty soon again, others did survive for month.

Good luck!