Absolute cheapest compatible card for the D901C?

Title asks it all. The reason I ask is my 8800m gtx has crapped out, and need a cheap alternative until I have saved up enough money for a 280m.

Thanks!!!

 

I think it can take an 8700m GT.

 

What about a 8600m would that work?

 

Should work.

I think the OP should go for an MXM type III card so that the heatsink will fit.

I have seen a type III 8700M, but never an 8600M.

Funny thing is, even the worst type III cards aren't cheap:
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?LH_Avai...ksid=p3286.c0.m14&_udhi=&_udlo=&_sop=15&_sc=1

Maybe someone here has an old weak type III card that they don't use, you should start a WTB thread in the marketplace.

 

You can get a used 7950GTX for cheap.

 

I take it you already tried baking the 8800M GTX?

 

Oven method Short Version:
Take your Graphic card out of the mobo, you must be takeout any thermal paste, cooler, heat sink... anything that doesn’t make part of the Graphic card. Pre-heat the oven to 180-200ºC, put the GC inside, don't let it touch the oven (you can make 4 foots with aluminum paper). Keep ‘it there for 8-10 minutes. After that turn the oven off and let the door open for 30 minutes. Take the card out connect to the mobo and "voilá" is working again (I can't guarantee that, but already tried several times and it always worked.

 

Yes I've checked them out, but they're a little too high for what I'm shooting for. Thanks, though

Shouldn't I only do this if my GPU is completely fried? Here's the thing: It does work, but not too well, and not enough for me to game or do anything substantial. Here's a thread I've started to describe the symptoms:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/507839-my-gpu-cpu.html

I can watch videos sometimes, but only when I'm in XP. I'm afraid if I try this method my GPU won't work at all and I need a GPU of some sort so I can use it (Fall semester's starting). I don't want to risk harming it, unless baking it won't harm it.

Well if it's under 100 dollars then that isn't too bad. I'm not destitute and can only afford a 10 dollar card, lol. Will any MXM III work with the D901C like one of the ones you searched for? This one for instance:

Gateway Go7600 N A2 128MB MXM III VGA Card 33PA6VB0045 - eBay (item 270601284263 end time Aug-30-10 01:06:51 PDT)

Will this one be compatible?

Thanks for all of your replies, btw! This forum is very helpful.

EDIT: Also, can someone answer me this since I didn't receive a reply before: the 280m isn't too difficult to install, is it? I mean, I won't have to jump through any complex hoops to get it running, will I? Thanks again.

 

Did you see this:
Clevo D901c

BTW, you might want to try this card:
HP COMPAQ 8710P-256MB LS-333AP FX 3600M VIDEO CARD - eBay (item 250675821443 end time Aug-31-10 04:41:13 PDT)

 

For the sake of saving a $100 or so, you could end up with much less enjoyment and in the long run it isn't worth it. I think it is better to get either an equivalent or better GPU. In a few months when you can't play your favourite game, will it be worth the money you saved.

 

That's the kind I'm looking for. Mediocre and very affordable. My only worry is that I'll order it and find out it won't work for my laptop. That's really the only point of this thread. Will it work for the D901C?

Well I just wanted something so I can have a functional laptop without having to worry about my screen going gray from just surfing the internet. I haven't been able to use Vista since it started acting up. With a cheapo, I can actually use Vista. I'm not looking to game as much as I am looking into knowing my laptop won't go screwy when I'm doing something important.

 

Greetings all,

Does the D901C support MXM III cards? I have a few GeForce 7950 GTX's on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180572747006&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT


Thanks,

Keith

 

A few things about that card on ebay:
-No it wont work right away, you will have to flash the VBIOS, then it should work
-As a matter of fact the 3600m is better than mediocre, equivalent to the 8800 gts BUT unfortunately:
- That IS NOT a 3600m that is a 1600m. Its an outright lie that ebay apparently doesn't care about enough, I have reported it several times.

THis is my recommendation HP xw2x220c Blade NVIDIA Quadro FX770M VideoCard MXM-II - eBay (item 280560062066 end time Nov-08-10 09:37:36 PST)
its better than the 1600m which is a 8700m
You can flash the fx 770m to a 9700m. HP cards (which need bios flashing) are usually the cheapest option. This one should also work http://cgi.ebay.com/455077-001-Refu...ltDomain_0&hash=item27b4f21e73#ht_4386wt_1139

Also you'll have that weird bladeserver board to mess around with or sell

 

That card is not MXM 2.1 . I know that the 9600M works in my laptop model, I've tested it some time ago. Therefore I can only suggest that you try a 9600M as the cheapest solution.

 

a) That card is MXM 2.1, its attached to a separate server board. You can look at others to see.
b) 9600m are not cheap at all AFAIK

the server models may have a different BIOS as well. the ones from the 8530p are very likely to work however they all can have vbios not made for normal laptop displays. This is fixed pretty easily with a different consumer equivalent bios such as the 9600m or 9700m for the fx 770m, I had experience having to do this only with an earlier 8710p model card and an external monitor.

Considering the 3700m pretty much works without a bios flash, i think other cards from the 8530 and 8730 will too.

 

Ah yes, you are right. It does seem attached to something, I didn't pay enough attention.

So HP uses MXM cards in their laptops? I thought they were using some property slot. Or is this only for server type computers?

 

The photo of the NVIDIA Quadro FX770M that you recommended doesn't look like it would fit into the d901c, the latter one does, however, and I may go with that one if I don't win the auction I just bid on (a 7950gtx).

Btw, I'm saying the photo doesn't LOOK like it'll fit, not that it will or won't. I'm no IT specialist, lol, please no flame.

I feel like a fish out of water

 

No, you're totally right, it looks very odd. Not many fish in the water here know about these things I think...
HP has one board that is an adapter for using laptop graphics cards in their servers, the MXM card is mounted on that. It comes off just like taking one out of a laptop I'm pretty sure.

They are called mezzanine boards. what a fun word That listing just has a picture of the wrong side... here, check it out:

You can see the back of the card which looks like your MXM card and the mezzanine board underneath.

Here are some other boards where you can clearly see the MXM slot (they dont have cards installed)
HP 394929-001 Nvidia HT-PCI-Express x16 Mezzanine Card - eBay (item 360302586884 end time Oct-20-10 08:50:40 PDT)
HP 443497-001 SPS-BD PCI-E MEZZANINE Board - eBay (item 370444241126 end time Nov-10-10 11:13:29 PST)

yep HP has some pretty weird stuff.

 

Thanks, you've been very helpful! I will be getting one of these if the 7950 doesn't fall through.

Btw, flashing the VBIOS seems very tedious and persnickety (all the tutorials I looked up, anyway). If I mess up, will I be able to fix my mistake (considering I don't accidentally put a hammer through my laptop or something similar, lol)? Offtopic, I know, but would rather ask it here than start a new thread.

Thanks!

dp

 

Flashing the vBIOS really isn't that bad, if you have at least a functional knowledge of the command line you should be able to do it without screwing up too badly.

 

I've had some experience with a command line, but only so much that I've read tutorials that TELL me what to type, lol. I'm sure I'll be able to work through it. Where do I find a vbios to download? More than that, which vbios do I use for, say, one of the cards that have been recommended in this thread? I don't really KNOW what I'm looking for, lol. Do I use a bootloader to load it or something similar?

Thanks, and thanks for bearing with me.

 

You can probably find a vBIOS somewhere on here. If not, I'm sure someone with that model of card will upload their vBIOS. There are also sites where you can download them. You'd want to use a vBIOS preferably from another D901C card if at all possible since you'd know for sure that it's 100% compatible with your system, but a vBIOS from any system that is reasonably close from a hardware perspective should also work. You'd want to use nvflash from either a floppy or a USB stick that you prepare for the task in order to flash the new vBIOS to the card.