NP8150 7970M upgrade guide.

Hi all, Currently using a NP8150 with a 6990m and would like to upgrade it to the 7970m. Already have the clevo 7970m card but i understand that i'll need a modified vbios in order to make it work. How can i go about doing this? Any assistance would be very much appreciated. Been searching around for threads on the process.

 

check out the HM with nextgen gpus thread for a way to blindflash ur 7970m with the modified vbios if ure still unsure send me a pm and ill give u detailed instructions.

cheers

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

ok, i figured i might just as well post the whole shabam right here so other users might benefit from that as well.

so here goes:

- download the HP USB Stick Format Tool and use it to prepare a thumb drive of ur choice in windows (choose FAT32 and install DOS files)
- use a DOS package for the usb stick (in the HP format tool, just point to the directory in which the folder lies)
- after uve prepared the USB drive, copy ATI Flash 3.95 and the 7970M modded vBIOS onto it
- now, this is a VERY IMPORTANT STEP: make sure to do a dry run first with ur old graphics card installed!!! for that, u do the following:
- go into ur system BIOS (press F2 repeatedly right after u switch on ur machine) and put the USB stick on the first priority in the BOOT list, so that ur machine boots from the stick, and not into windows
- connect ur usb stick and start ur laptop, u will see a typical DOS environment loading until theres just the command line (C:\ )
- now type the following to check and see if ur keyboard buttons match the input (DO NOT PRESS ENTER AFTER TYPING IT IN, THIS IS JUST A DRY RUN! otherwise u will RISK BRICKING ur old GPU):
atiflash.exe -p 0 -fs -fp -reboot 7970M.rom
- after uve checked and made sure that ur keyboard buttons align correctly with the actual input on the screen (for example, the "-" on my keyboard would result in a "/" cuz i have a german layout ), switch off the laptop and install the 7970M in it
- after installation, switch on the machine and wait for a minimum of two minutes (to make sure DOS has finished loading and the command line is ready for input. its probably overkill, but blind flashing is just something u dont wanna take easily!)
- input the bios flash command that ive mentioned above and wait till ur machine reboots by itself. until that time do not touch anything!
- hope for the best that when ur laptop reboots ure able to see the splash screen and windows booting

and here are the files that i used:

modded 7970M vBIOS
ATIFlash 3.95
DOS system files
HP USB Stick Format Tool

Hope that helps! If u have any further questions, just shoot

Cheers

 

You lucky HM owners and your 99% utilized 7970m's!

 

hahaha yep very true

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Hey guys little late in convo but i also am a sager NP8150 owner and want to upgrade. I have ati 6990m and i 7 2760qm. can anyone confirm that this method has worked, installing hardware is easy, but i know what can happen if bios is done wrong and i dont want to deal with that. just need little coaching thats all. thanks

 

That combo should work no problem. If you have a Sager branded computer you can contact them directly for a upgrade kit and details on what needs to be done.

 

hey buddy, go ahead and check the thread in my signature, ull find all necessary details and links there works like a charm, tons of HM, alienware and dell users have already used the blind flash method in order to enjoy their new 7970m beast cards

 

what would be epic is a instructional video how to do all this. i want to make the upgrade badly but I fear i would screw it up for lack of undertstanding terms......

 

just check youtube fpr exchanging mobile mxm gpus, the principle is pretty much the same for all machines u can also refer to the service manual for detailed instructions and pictures:

https://www.box.com/shared/28d884ee3ebf86b893e6

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I just contacted Sager tech and they sent me this reply.... and after an email to Xotic is was told you guys no longer provide the kits... am i SoL?

Sager Techsupport
<[email protected]> Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 11:12 AM
To: [email protected]
Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Delete | Show original

Thanks for your email.

Sorry, the AMD 7970M is not compatible with this model NP8150.



Daniel

Sager computer

 

um no, thats not correct and u can check my sig as proof (np8150 = p150hm)

just make sure to get ur hands on a clevo 7970m since dell/alienware cards dont work. next step would be to blindflash the card in order for it to work properly in ur machine. as mentioned above, u can find all necessary details in the thread linked to in my sig.
some cards already come preflashed, so ull have to check and see if a blindflash is even necessary
as for a complete kit, u can always check with rjtech.com, thats where i got mine from theyre a serious seller with a good reputation as far as ive seen from other nbr users and experienced myself.
another recommendable alternative would be mythlogic, their reputation here on nbr is undisputed

cheers

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

I bought the HD7970M for P150 EM from a reseller here in Sweden. I used Jaybee's excellent blindflash guide, and it's running smooth! So just go ahead and order the card from sager, it will work after the flash in the HM.

 

Hello, new to the site and was wondering if you would have to replace the gpu cooler or any other hardware?(mine has the gtx 560m)
Much appreciated for any replies.

 

You need to properly organise pads for the voltage circuitry above the GPU and VRAM.

 

yep in some cases rearranging the thermal pads to properly cover the vRAM and voltage regulators on the gpu is enough. in other cases ud need to take more drastic measures, such as dremeling off a piece of the heatsink that sticks out too much. best scenario in any case is to get urself a complete 7970m upgrade kit including heatsink, screws, x-bracket and thermal pads

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As far as I knew all the sager HM and EM 150 and 170 heatsinks were the same with different pads...

 

thanks for all the replies, A complete 7970m kit it is I'll head over to rjtech to order one. I got a hands on OEM Core i7-2920XM Processor Extreme SR02E (NON-ES) cant wait for it to come in. Any thoughts about this cpu setup?

 

other than OCing the crap out of it by following the guide in my signature, for example? not really

btw, rjtech is also where i got my kit from

 

Ok so far ordered the 2920xm,7970M,16gb ram 1600, 240w psu. Should get all of them by next week Man Im excited. The tech from rjtech said that they dont flash there anymore, voids the 90 day warranty he said.

 

You are aware that the 240W has to be modified to work right?

 

no problem, u can just blind-flash the HM vbios via the guide in my signature

and yep, meaker is right, ull need to modify the psu first in order for it to be compatible with the DC jack on ur machine

 

ohh, would there be a guide for the psu modification?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...orrect-connector-around-lets-do-properly.html

I do the dell one later, I know it's not the best guide but it gives you the basics.

Be aware that some of these adapters appear to have differences in the internal wiring which means it's not quite this simple.

 

Thanks Meaker, and one other thing I got from that is that I will have to get this right? ACER 5.5 x 2.5mm 19v 7.1A DC TIP PLUG CABLE CORD for DC JACK SOCKET CONNECTOR? to fit the dell slim.

 

Its best to harvest your original to get a high quality cable but obviously that has certain risks. Maybe get that and if it works then do a swap.

 

Guys, blind flash works, system bios VGA is empty, i get a code 43 in device manager, I have tried different drivers, and did a fresh install of windows 7. No hope... any input would be appreciated.

 

answered ur pm on this

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Hey, guys. I'm hoping to upgrade to the 7970m as well, but my situation is a little different. I currently have nVidia 560m on a Sager NP8150. Is the switch to the 7970m possible?

I contacted a local reseller and he says the only card available to me is the 580m, but he's asking for $795. Whereas the 7970m outperforms it AND is only around $550~ (on Ebay).

If the upgrade is possible (Please say it is ) what steps do I need to take to properly switch over? I'll make sure to order the card with the heatsink kit. As, for the bios flashing. Can I follow the same guide posted in this thread?

Let me know. Thanks!

 

yup, definitely possible follow the thread in my signature to flash the modded vbios (please read the entirety of the first post before starting!). as for hardware installation, u can consult the service manual:

https://www.box.com/s/28d884ee3ebf86b893e6

remember to get a high performing thermal paste and apply a new batch of it onto the gpu core when installing it! since thats not specifically mentioned in the service manual

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@jaybee thanks for the info.

This is the one I'm thinking of buying specifically. CLEVO P150HM/P151HM VGA UPGRADE KIT; HD7970M 2GB; MXM 3.0b; with ENDURO DISABLED | eBay

It says enduro is already disabled, and has "correct VBIOS for HM models." Is this good? or will it conflict with the steps you posted?

 

thats fine, itll spare u the flashing process altogether, so its basically ready to install right out of the box

 

By the way what sort of refresh rate overclocking are you getting on your HM series machines? My little acer with it's new panel and 6770M is managing 90hz

 

haha, nice one the refresh rates are all over the place and vary from like 70 to 95 hz as far as ive seen. i found my sweet spot at 90hz as well

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I tried 100hz but it gave me nothing and 90hz seemed to make more sense than 95 to make it a nice ratio of 60.

 

exactly my thinking, since i could potentially go up to 93hz without glitches.

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