FX 3700M issues in D901C

I have a couple of HP Quadro FX 3700Ms lying around which i've been trying to get working in my old D901C. The cards boot into Windows just fine on the stock vBIOS, and the driver installs without issue - however when I try to run any 3D applications (games, 3DMark, even Aero effects in Vista) the driver will crash or the screen will start flashing with artifacts. I've tried both cards and they exhibit the same behavior, so I doubt both of them are dying cards. I tried a Clevo 9800M GTX vBIOS on one of them which will boot just fine as before, but still has the same problem. The 280M vBIOS i tried on the other card gave no display (didn't test an external monitor as I need to dig out an old VGA one).

From old threads, most people who tried the FX seemed to have no display at all when the vBIOS was incompatible, yet mine boot to the desktop just fine.

I did have an 8700M which I could do more tests with, but my overclocking efforts have ended its life.

If anyone has a vBIOS lying around which might work i'd be grateful if you could upload it, I will keep trying others as I think that is the problem. Otherwise i'd be grateful for any suggestions on what could be the issue.

I will also bump this thread as I would be open to buying another card for it, as long as its a Clevo branded card (and doesn't suck).

 

hmmm...proper heatsink fit and thermal pad placement? might be an overheating component on the gpu.

 

Pretty sure its not that. I've tried thicker pads, thinner pads and both give the same results. I've also never heard of Aero effects on Vista overheating GPU components since its such a tiny load, so i'm pretty sure its a driver/vBIOS issue. Thinking of getting a Clevo 260M for the time being and putting the 3700M in the other MXM slot to try and figure out what the issue is.

 

what kinda artifacts are we talking about here?

 

Maybe not, but that kind of behavior is awfully suggestive of a faulty card. Incompatibility issues usually look very different (e.g no display, like you mentioned).

 

it's not so much artifacts, but the screen going blank and flashing while throwing up "display driver has stopped working" messages. You are right that it does look like a hardware issue, either with the card or board, but im still not sure.

 

If that's the case, I'd say you're probably right about it being software or firmware. (I've had the same happen periodically with an otherwise functional GeForce 210 desktop card.) I'm less keen on compatible FW in this case, though.

 

agreed, screen flashing sounds more like a driver/firmware problem than hardware. what os? have u tried older drivers? vbios still original?

u could try and check techpowerup's vbios collection, see if u can find something compatible there.

Sent from my Xiaomi Mi Max 2 (Oxygen) using Tapatalk

 

Trying both XP and Vista. The original vBIOS didn't work and neither does the 9800M GTX vBIOS i tried. I'll try some more out later.

 

yeah its most likely software, i had a fx2700m & fx 3700m back in 2013 on windows 7 i played gta4/fc3/gta sa/nfs carbon so only old games make sure os not using incorrect direct x api (you need 9 & 10) make sure you have direct x installed, and some times the resolution affects stability. and try windows capability. but remember fx series was the qaudro of the time so there was some tinkering needed for some things, good luck, great card in its time.

 

Tried a few more vBIOSes but without luck, I bought a Clevo 260M for now until I can figure out what the problem is. Might try flashing that vBIOS to the FX as well when i get it.