Questions to people putting nVidia 280m's in the m860tu

Hey everyone, i have a few questions regarding puting the nVidia 280m in the m860tu.

First and foremost, is the card you guys bought the VGA-280M-M570TU nVidia GTX 280M 1GB Video Card for M570TU from RJtech.com?

I have been reading various 280m threads and i need to clarify:

can i put this card directly into my m860tu?

does it need the new mobo that supports quad core?

is the stock heatsink in the m860tu good enough to run this card?

i faintly remember reading that the new m860etu has a better/tighter fitting heatsink that you need?

If i need the newer heatsink, can it be bought on its own and installed in the older m860tu?

are the temperatures without a notebook cooler stable with the 280m inside?

Please and thank-you!

 

Bump, really.... no one knows if its alright to put the 280m in the m860tu as opposed to the m860etu?

 

GTX 280M will work in a M860TU, but you will need a bios update (so it can use GTX 260M (and GTX 280M)). There are som threads about this if you search.

 

yes it works... you just need to install it yourself and like said above, make sure it has the latest BIOS update.

 

How do you do a bios update if the card is already in the laptop?

I am planning to buy the barebones with no GPU then install the 280m manually. If it won't work without a bios update, how do I update the bios alternatively?

 

Ask your vendor to update the system BIOS before they ship it out to you.

 

this is a good suggestion.

 

What if I'm buying the barebones?

I plan to purchase the barebones without a CPU, RAM, HDD, GPU..

Is there any other way? Afraid they won't do it for me

 

if the system is selling with a GTX 260M .... then it should already have the latest BIOS.

 

Would it be possible to buy one with a GTX 260m, remove it and sell it? How much are they worth..? Anyone interested in even buying them? Afraid I'd lose a lot of money removing and selling the 260m for a GTX 280m.. Therefore trying to purchase the barebones without a GPU..

 

GTX 260M is worth around ~$450 USD.

 

ask yourself this before you go through with a 280m in a np8662, as the np8662 is really not that big a laptop.

1. Are you willing to tolerate the reduced battery life from the higher-performance card?
2. Are you willing to find a way to compensate for the heat resultant in putting a card in with 10 to 15% higher clock speeds AND 16 more shaders in
3. Are you willing to do your own service on a computer with a non--spec approved card?
4. Would they be willing to put the GTX 280m into a GTX 260m's heatsink so it's a direct drop-in (thus reducing the risk you make something go wrong)

The GTX 260m is not a slouch by any means. Non-Overclocked it reaches 10,500+ in 3Dmark06, and most games are completely playable at fairly high settings with the GPU. Its raw performance is on par with that of a desktop 9800GT, and the best part is is that it's warrantied as part of the system if you buy the 260m as part of a system from an authorized reseller. If RJTech is willing to put the 280m into a 260m heatsink and WARRANTY it in writing, then I would be less averse to it happening (at least then you have a leg to stand on if the card does dead or is DOA). For paying $600+ for a 280m GTX and then HOPING someone buys the GTX 260m, you stand to get what? praying for a $150 gtx 280m where the 280m is maybe 8 to 10% faster than the 260m?

Is it a nice idea, yes. Is the heat an issue... perhaps, but to spend $600+ and best-case scenario lose $150 to get an 8 or 10% speed boost, without a potential warranty that the machine will be stable just doesn't add up as "cost-effective" in my eyes. Ask RJTech if they'd be willing to do a 280m in a 260m heatsink and warranty it in writing... otherwise i'd say it's not really worth it.

 

Even if you are buying barebones, RJTech still performs a system wide stress test for a long period of time with their own parts. And while their parts are in your machine, they will update the BIOS for you upon request.

 

[To self]

Okay Dorothy, repeat after me:

I will not put in a 280 in my M860,
I will not put in a 280 in my M860,
I will not put in a 280 in my M860-

 

How about in the UK? Anything from the US is pretty much out of bounds for me duo to hefty tax bills over here in the UK and Ireland for buying from the US..

 

@ Mausimo, you'll need to buy a GTX 260M heatsink along with the 280M, because the 9800M GT's is not sufficient.

 

Why not stick the 280m in instead of the 260m? Its only a $40 difference to have the baddest video card in a laptop. And as for as I know, the heatsink was never changed from a m860tu to a m860etu. Nonetheless, the m860tu is more than efficient enough to run a GTX 280M....how do I know? because I got one running on mine smooth as butter barely breaking 80c in gaming overload. Also ask H-Emanuel about running his....never a temperature problem and I think he is running his overclocked. So if you ask me, go with the baddest mobile card on earth for such a minor price difference.

 

It's actually just a $10 difference. The 260M is $480 aftermarket. Going with the 280 should be a no-brainer for anyone upgrading from the 9800 series.

 

@ Kevin, I don't think it's compulsory to buy the gtx 260m heatsink just for the GTX 280m. I'm using the one that came with the 9800m GTS, works fine, no artifacts even with a decent O/C

 

For the record, i am upgrading from a 9800GT.
Less battery life is fine with me, im 99% of the time plugged in.
And yes i will do all my own service my warranty is almost up, if i could of had it that way to begin with i would have been happier. The Monkeys in the back of Eurocom are lacking there daily bananas!

So from what i gather is that i can drop the 280m into my 9800GT heatsink and/or order the 280m with a revised 260m heatsink? (assuming this heatsink drops into the m860tu) and that the gpu temperatures under load should be under 90?

Sounds like a done deal to me!

 

Pretty much, except don't know whether you need an 260m heatsink.. Pretty sure 260m heatsink and 9800m GTS heatsinks are the same? Although I may be wrong.

As for temps yeah that's about it, except if you see them start to go dangerously high too often, some undervolting may be required, but that's a quick and easy process.

 

Most of the people who have upgraded to a 280m used the headsink from their old 9800M card.

It shouldn't be a problem though as long as you take into account the other precautions about battery life.

One issue that hasn't been solved yet - where to get them in the UK/EU? I contacted Neil from Kobalt two days ago about this and he hasn't replied yet. There's also that Portuguese site - Inforlandia but their 280m is about 585 Euros compared to 380 for a 260m. That seems like such a rip in comparison to everywhere else!

 

I think you can Buy it from multicom.no in norway, but you have to ask for it. Expect crazy high prizes.

 

That's Europe for you.

 

It's not the price that puzzles me, more the huge price-gap between the 260M and the 280M. US retailers sell both cards in similar price ranges but here that add nearly an extra £200 to the 280M!

How did they work that one out I wonder...

 

A question to the folks on this thread: Where are you "getting" the 260M? I know that the 280M is available from RJTech but when I inquired about the 260M, I got no response. My Sager reseller (Powernotebooks) tells me that it is not yet available.
My logic is that the 260M is a reasonable upgrade from the 9800gts without the potential heat issues of the 280M.
Thanks!

 

I'm not sure if anyone has purchased a 260M seperately, rather than it coming with their M860ETU/NP8662 or them getting one through their vendor.

 

I would consider it if the risks of running one with an extreme processor aren't worth it. T9900's are too rare to get ahold of in the UK.

Hey 5482741, keep me PM'ed on the success (or otherwise) of the upgrade you're getting. H-Emmanuel switched back to a T9900 from a QX9300 due to the voltage levels required and the lack of power required on battery, when combined with a 280M.

Keep us posted if, for some bizzare reason you're upgrade works out A OK.

 

Alright, I'll probably make a thread about it.