How to get a replacement 9800M GT

I have a 2.5 year old sager m860tu and the faulty graphics card is taking a turn for the worse (underclcoking it severely is the only way I can run games, but even that is now not working and im getting fragments/freezing on my desktop). i know the cores in all of those 98m / 88m cards were bugged to begin with so im not sure if its even worth the risk. but does anyone know where i can get one or has had similar issues?

 

have you thought about the baking method as 5 people have resurected their cards this year already. the 9800GT is a great card but very hard to find. there was a couple on ebay last week and also posted on here so try a search.

 

You can get a 3700m which is better for about 150$

 

Heya,

The 260M should be compatible and a very good card, normally equal to the 9800

Pman

 

...they are usually priced at about 3 times the more powerful 3700m. The dell/alienware mxm 3.0 cards are not compatible.

 

alot easier to get hold of in the UK though

 

the mxm 3.0 versions which are incompatible?

Why are you talking about them being easier to get?

And if you mean the 2.1 version which is compatible, what on earth are you talking about?
gtx 260m items - Get great deals on Computing items on eBay UK!
Lenovo Thinkpad Nvidia FX 3700M 1GB Video Graphic Card - eBay (item 150555417300 end time Mar-29-11 13:35:54 PDT)

Obvious choice is obvious?

 

Thanks for the replies guys!. I think i will buy a replacement card (either on ebay or from the private message i've received).

In terms of installing it, is it simply a matter unscrewing the heatsink , putting in the new one, applying thermal paste, and turn on the computer?

Also have people installed the 260M on the M860TU before? I thought the 260M was only offered on the M860ETU/M865ETU. Were there any internal cooling component changes between the two?

 

There are 2 different types of 260m, 280m, 4870m and a few others. The type you need of all of those is very rare (type 2.1) so you probably wont find one.

There is only 1 type of heatsink for the m860tu.

 

1. No, there were no GPU related changes, between the M860TU revisions. The M86 accepts all G92s, as well as the 9800M GTS.

2. Just take the FX 3700M. You will not find a better buy than that.

 

At least 3 versions of FX3700M---CLEVO/HP/LENOVO
I think you should choose the one that runs cooler or flash the vbios to get it undervolted.

 

Hmm, this is also good:
NVIDIA 512MB GeForce 8800M GTS MXM-III HE Video Card - eBay (item 120700057458 end time Apr-17-11 16:58:20 PDT)
Heat will not be a problem with this card, in fact its best overclocked to 9800m GTS clocks. The TDP is 50w with stock clocks.
I bought 2 of these and they did NOT work for me at all:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NVidia-G92-8800...157?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2561e22b6d

One more option, runs the coolest but worst performance:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NVIDIA-Quadro-F...920?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item230f03a2f0

 

Hi,niff.
The second link you provided seems to be an 8800MGTS pulled out from an HP HDX which may NOT be compatible with clevo machine due to its different layout.

 

final question (power requirements):

3700m / 260m: 75 watts
9800m gt: 65 watts

problem?

 

Not really. Use good cooling paste.
If it runs too hot you can do a simple cooling mod with these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Heat-Sink-SD-RA...737?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563de1d4e9
If you don't want to open up your laptop, you can downclock the card just like youd overclock it and it will reduce temps considerably while preserving a lot of performance.

Yep

I just didn't want to confuse people, because those are in fact 8800m GTS and the 8800m GTS is a great card but NOT that HP version of it, lol.

HP 8710w 3600m cards are great though, pretty much identical to those standard 8800m GTS. Sometimes I don't understand HP

 

The GTX 260M was added to the M860TU, with no modifications.

So, no.

 

So i took out my old GPU and just waiting for my new one in the mail

Another question. When I removed the heatsink I had to uncover both the GPU/CPU (as the heatsink is one big component). On the heatsink there is a note that says "if you intend to replace the CPU, you have to replace the thermal pad as well". The only "thermal pad" i see is the thermal paste on the CPU.

Do I need to replace the thermal paste on the CPU?
Do I need to apply thermal paste to the new GPU? (if so can it be the same as the one I apply to the CPU? Which type should I use? How much should I use?)
How would I go about removing the thermal paste that is already on the CPU?

 

1. yes
2a. yes, GPU as well
2b. yes, it can be the same
2c. IC Diamond 7
2d, a smal drop, just enough so than it can spread evenly
3. easy. wipe it off with rubbing alcohol

So you never reapplied paste, during the entire life of the machine? Did you have high temperatures?

 

I received some interesting pieces of paper with a used m860tu I got. It had a 9800m GT.

I don't mean to hate on AVA direct, but they had a long checklist which included temps with stress testing.
GPU maxed out at 93c. And they wrote that there and put a checkmark next to it....?
Shows what some peoples machines were running like, I guess... its a real shame they considered that to be safe when obviously it wasn't.

 

my GPU never has gone past 78 celsius in almost 3 years. CPU temps barely went over 55 celsius (mainly because i have it undervolted). the 860tu has some excellent cooling.

Kevin: Yes its my first time reapplying paste. thanks for the answers. just to confirm #3 , i can use rubbing alcohol and wipe it right off the CPU/GPU core? even on the part where the thermal paste has gone off the CPU core and onto the chip part? (im afraid of damaging anything )

 

Yes, the 99% alcohol is strong enough to clean without damaging anything. Just make sure you remove the battery, then hold down the power button, to disacharge it. Be sure o not apply too much pressure.

Do you know whether the replacement GPU is coming with its own backplate? If not, you'll need to remove the one from your dead GPU, to apply it to the new piece.

 

The HP kind do generally come with the correct type of backplate.
The Lenovo kind do not.

 

i have a backplate from the old one its all good. the next problem ill come back with is probably; "omg i have the wrong video bios how do i fix it?!!???!"

 

No, it works fine. We know these things I have 2 Lenovo and a few HP 3700m cards sitting on my table here and I've tested all of them.
There are several vBIOS, all which are functionally identical.

 

gtx 260 arrived, installed and have applied arctic silver 5 to both the cpu/gpu...

...now afraid to turn it on , will let you guys know the results after i work up the courage after class

 

You went for the GTX 260M?

How much was it?

 

yea i didn't want to run into potential heat issues with the 3700M , picked up the 260M gtx for $150 + $30 shipping from a fellow NBR member.

also, success , seems to be up and running fine, thanks for all your help guys!

 

Have to keep a look out then if 260Ms are being sold - rare stuff. I have an 3700M in an M860TU and even with a new fan it required methods to keep it cool enough while under heavy load. A less demanding 260M shouldn't and will be handy if I ever hope to sell it.

 

my 9800GT died last friday just as i was starting to play crysis 2
luckily i took out the extra warranty for 3 years and it was replaced with a 260 within 4 hours.
so after the many many posts ive replied to over the last 2 years asking if the extra warranty is worth it, its a resounding YES from me.

 

After 2 rebakes my 9800mGT gave up, if anyone is selling a card I can use in a 860TU feel free to PM me.

 

for some reason the gpu keeps crashing on me although it doesnt get over 60 degrees celsius, like i get a random freeze in game, restart and then everything works again. cause for concern. maybe need more thermal paste?

 

what driver are you using?
i always found the best one i ever used was 186.81
that has been the only very stable driver that i had not one problem with. yes ive updated quite a few times since and get the odd crash or bsod but the newer ones are ok if you can live with the odd hiccup now and again.

 

i was using the newest one,

it makes like an "errrrrrrrr" sound, then the screen goes blank, then it pops up again....really disheartening since i just bought it.

ill try updating the drivers and severly underclocking it to see if that fixes it.
cause its not a heat issue

 

Is it a Clevo 260M?

You may need to flash the vBIOS.