Clevo w860CU HD 7970M/7950M upgrade?! am I crazy?

and can u give me/us here where we can buy this HD7970M from?

can I use this HD7970M? since it said ENDURO has been disabled

thanx

 

id say yes, since ur machine doesnt have switchable graphics, same as the HM series

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Yes that's the best one to avoid issues, you would likely run into the same ones the HM did.

You also need to stick with a clevo card to avoid EC issues.

 

Quick question.. where the hell do you find a 180W PSU for the W860CU?

 

Is it a standard 5.5mmx2.5mm jack? If so then any 180W 19V supply should work.

 

Yeah I though so, thanks for the clarification

 

but HDMI output will not work, am i correct if upgraded to the hd7970m?

 

Yes
10char

 

The way I got my 6970M to fit into my W860CU was by slightly modifying my gtx 280m heatsink. Makes me wonder what lengths I'll have to go to in order to modify it again to have it sit flushed with the 7970m.
I might just have to get a 5870 heatsink like the one shown in the pictures to modify

 

Probably a good idea, that way too you can keep the 6970M and backup heatsink in case something happens.

 

Does anyone know if any other W860CU heatsink would sit flush with the 7970M right off the bat?

 

The main inductors are in a very similar location to the 6970M, so the same heatsinks would apply, the only other thing to worry about is putting in pads to cool all the VRM circuitry.

 

Alright awesome, time to draw some diagrams up to cut me a heatsink for my W860CU. I have a pre-flashed 7970m on its way so I can throw that bad boy in my rig without blind flashing. I'm assuming you can't use the stock PSU with this card can you? I got away with using my stock PSU with the 6970m.

 

i dont see a problem psu-wise as long as u stay on stock clocks and voltage

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Adwiens, could you tell if HDMI will work?
I read from jaug woudnt work but I just want to hear you say it works or doesnt.
Aint there a possibility to mod the vbios?
Because I can get one 7970m dirt cheap

 

HDMI actually does work. I had it hooked up to my TV last night and it worked great, complete with audio and everything.

Also some people were asking about the VBIOS. The one I used was the one for the HM laptops. That is, the one with ENDURO disabled. There was a link in my original post, I suggest going back and reading that if you are attempting to mod your VBIOS yourself like I did.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

And you are using the clevo w860cu bios or w870cu or w880cu bios?

 

Also are you using a pre usb 3.0 motherboard or does it not matter? From what you said im taking you can still use the w860cu bios but flash the vbios on the 7970m with the p150hm model

 

Good questions.

I am not sure what version of the system BIOS I have. I have never flashed the system BIOS. I bought this chassis from Eurocom in July this year with a 6970M in it.

My motherboard does have USB 3.0. I don't think it matters, but who knows.

The last part is true, all I did was flash the VBIOS on the 7970m with the one for the P150HM model.

 

Just wondering if anybody else has tried to do this upgrade on their w860cu? I'm real interested in this. Seems like adwiens was the only one who got this working and the thread died while sidneyam was in the process. How is the 7970m+w860cu working out for you guys now?

 

I am also very curious about that.

I am currently on the lookout for a a new graphic card, because I have problems with the graphic card crashing .

 

Hey sorry for being so late to getting back at you guys. I just installed my 7970m in my W860CU and......it works flawlessly. The heatsink, however did require complex modifications using a dremel. My personal method was cutting out parts of the heatsink and resoldering other thin pieces of copper over the holes. But yes it definitely works! I'm running a 7970m in a W860CU built in OCT of 2009! I have no issues whatsoever. My idle temp is 47 degrees. I have no heat issue otherwise the laptop would've beeped 3 times and turned off.

 

damn i hope my machine will get this kinda compatibility with future gpus!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

I just want to let you guys know, I've had my 7970m in my W860CU since January.. It's worked flawlessly. Check my Sig for benchmarks and such!

 

very nice, I am on the fence for this as well. A few questions:
- is your laptop equipped with USB 3 or USB 2?
- what bios are you running?
- where did you got your card and for how much?

In a few months I will check if mine can do it as well (my laptop is in storage :-(

Thanks,
Michael

 

My laptop is USB 2.0 since it was built back in OCT of 2009. I'm running the latest BIOS offered atm. Can't remember what revision it was but i flashed it to the latest. I got my card off ebay for around 450 bucks. If you buy the listing off ebay for the P150HM you don't even have to blind flash the BIOS, though i was prepared to do so.

*****Also, does anyone know if I have to use the catalyst control center to undervolt /over volt my GPU. I've been accustomed to using ATI tray tools. Does anybody know it's compatibility for OV'ing this bad boy?

 

:thumbsup: Great, thanks for the reply. I'll go hunting on ebay. Any chance you have the sellers name?

 

it's upgradeyourlaptop on ebay. That's eurocom's ebay seller account

 

hey buddy, congratz to ur new beastly card atm theres no possibility to overvolt this gpu via software, thus a vbios flash is necessary. u can find all details in the thread linked in my sig, including modded vbios versions with 1.075v and 1.1v on vcore (stock: 1.05v).

enjoy!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Thank you thank you! Your guide was of amazing help. I am currently at 1050/1400 on 1.10 volts. Your guide was invaluable!

 

We might be pushing our hopes since it seems that there won't be any proper releases this year. (as in AMD is sticking to 7970Ghz edition for the whole year as their top of the line card on desktop side and probably Nvidia will feel that they have no need to push out another card aside from Titan).

 

fine with me, thats another year for my machine being a top of the line performer

@sydneyam: ure welcome, enjoy ur pimped machine

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

i cant wait for the 780m, ill have enough money this time around, and if it turns out to be the same as a 680m ill just get one of those.

 

780M is going to be quite similar to the 680M as far as I can see, though AMD is apparently releasing a chip specifically targeted at the notebook high end...

 

I can also confirm that this works on the older usb2 models of the w860cu. Dropped a 7970m in mine last night and it works great! My bios/ec is 1.00.18/1.00.11 and motherboard version is 4.1. You will need a modified heatsink since some of the components are too tall and a 180W adapter (the $30 targus one off ebay works great). Got the card and extra heatsink from eurocom (upgradeyourlaptop on ebay). I'd highly recommend them since they sell it pre-flashed and were great with handling any questions I had.

I have it paired with a 940xm, but I dropped that back to stock since the w860cu is known for weak vregs and I don't feel like frying one. It draws ~160W during load with undervolted 7970m at stock clocks 850/1200. I've had success at changing the 7970m voltage with just software using republicofsam's method here. For me, this method doesn't let me go below 0.95v, which is plenty low, but i'm sure the card could do .925 easily (let me know if someone figures out how w/out vbios mod). It's only drawing ~25W more than the 5870m I had previously. I'm sure 160w is way below the vregs limits but I have no clue what they can handle so I'll be keeping everything at stock. Card performs like a beast anyways so I don't feel the need to oc yet.

HDMI out works flawlessly. Here is a 3dmark11 run all stock. Idle/load temps are 34C/66C in a 23C room. Cheers to prolonging the life of a 3 year old laptop!

 

kudos for finding a software method to changing gpu voltage on the 7970m!

edit: ooih wait, its that profiles.xml mod, right...tried it multiple times already,doesnt seem to work on my hm machine. but doesnt matter, the modded vbios does work

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Just a caveat to all our experiences here, I was playing with the modded vBios' and noticed that if at any point you flash to 1.1 then 1.075, The settings seem to stick no matter if you flash back to stock. For example, I flashed to 1.1v then to 1.075 and now when i overclcok with CCC it just automatically volts to 1.1 and skips 1.075.

Oh and what is this electrical tape tin foil method i've been hearing of? I've been hitting temps above 90 degrees with an over volted setting. A stock card hits 75 degrees stable. I want to over volt it, so im looking at best cooling methods and a safe operating temperature.

 

Maybe it updates the overclocking profile with the new higher voltage. A re-install of the drivers should fix it if you can't get it back.

The foil mod is for models with gaps between the duct of the fan and the heatsinks.

 

Just want to keep you all updated, I installed a second 500Gb Seagate Momentus HDD in the CD drive.. Works great, Im not going to use RAID or anything, but i just wanted something to split up the startup programs accross different disks!

It seems like the W860CU is a VERY compatible machine, I mean supports Extreme edition CPU's, Latest GPU's, Multiple Hard drives (Over 1.25Tb).. This thing is magic

So far, My favorite Machine i've ever owned!

 

amen to that brother! i pretty much have the same feelings towards my beloved HM

 

...you now may kiss the bri...... laptop.
I now pronounce you man and machine.

 

makes me feel like robocop :laugh:

 

Did anyone attach the 7970m to a bracket? Or did everyone keep those 4 little pads on the back of the X-bracket of the gpu. This is the only thing I can think of when my gpu hits 91C when playing Sleeping Dogs on max. Maybe it's not getting enough airflow.... Though I doubt that would make much difference.

 

That's not abnormal of a 7970M.

The pads help keep the core in perfect contact with the heat sink so I would not take them off the x-bracket.

 

sounds like a repaste/heatsinkfin clean is in order. also make sure ur laptop is standing on a flat hard surface when u game and it helps immensely to prop up the back of the machine (im using two plastic bottle caps for example )

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

I have 2 heatsinks stacked on each other with tape holding them in place to match the feet on my cooling stand.

I'm bad with clutter and it helps mark an area where it simply cannot go

 

picture please lol

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Not very exciting and a bit dusty

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Meaks/20130312_005918_zps0807b158.jpg

 

Hmm would a Dell OEM 7970m work in this laptop?

 

Typically dell cards have issues with the EC.