Acer MXM Models and Cards

[Dr.Colossos]

Hi there,

so, I got this Acer Aspire 7520G here, with a failing 8400M GS - yeah, I am one of the other 3 Millions.

Anyway, I wanted to go for a cheap fix, and I did not have any upgrade in mind, nor did I ever intend to get another nvidia 8400/8600.

So I went on ebay, took a gamble and order a ATI HD 2600

Got it, installed it, but getting black screen only.

I actually was expecting incompatibilities, as it does not have the same "mounting bracket" as the old 8400M GS, the "mounting bracket" is fixed/soldered to it, and the space between the chip and the heat sink is quite a bit wider than before.

Apart from that, I hear the fan going, the DVD spinning, but no back light or anything else on the display comming on.

Anybody got a clue what to do now? Do I have any options?

I also could get an ATI HD 2400 XT but I do not know if that would work in the Aspire 7520G - I know its the stock card for the TravelMate 7520G

I am looking forward to any help or pointers
Cheers

[TehSuigi]

Normally I would say that cross-posting isn't allowed under NBR rules, but since this is probably where you should have posted in the first place, I'll allow it ().

I'm not sure what's going wrong here, but it's just more proof that MXM upgrades are always finicky things, even when it makes sense that it would work.
I would give the Radeon HD 3650 a try - MXM-Upgrade.com themselves did the upgrade and found it worked. Plus, the Radeon HD 3650 is one of the more common GPUs on the market, and a bit of a step up from the HD 2600.

[Dr.Colossos]

Hi TehSuigi,

thanks for the reply and sorry for the "sort of cross-posting".

I did miss this thread, and got some more info in-between so I thought I continue here. Thanks for letting me get away with it.

Anyway, the 3650 is an option - but I look for "cheap", not for power.

Forget about the ATI HD 2600, it's either gone or incompatible (it looks more like a MXM III card, too).

But I would be interested in the ATI HD 2400 XT - the 7520G TravelMate comes with that, and I could get it from Germany (where I live, as a matter of fact), but I do not know if it will work in the 7520G Aspire ...

Do you, or anyone else have a clue ... idea ... guess ... wild guess

Cheers

EDIT: I just noticed that you edited the first post with what I said about my HD 2600. I could make some fotos and gather more information which I could put into a post here, so you could link to it - if you think that's worth it ... I won't have time before next week, though ...

[niffcreature]

The vbios is located on left upper corner?
If so then mine board doesn't have one.

Neither does mine, but there are 2 chips missing in that corner. The BIOS eeprom chip usually has a sticker or something like a brand. The other chips that look just like it (which almost all cards have) usually start with APL and have random numbers.

Hi TehSuigi,

thanks for the reply and sorry for the "sort of cross-posting".

I did miss this thread, and got some more info in-between so I thought I continue here. Thanks for letting me get away with it.

Anyway, the 3650 is an option - but I look for "cheap", not for power.

Forget about the ATI HD 2600, it's either gone or incompatible (it looks more like a MXM III card, too).

But I would be interested in the ATI HD 2400 XT - the 7520G TravelMate comes with that, and I could get it from Germany (where I live, as a matter of fact), but I do not know if it will work in the 7520G Aspire ...

Do you, or anyone else have a clue ... idea ... guess ... wild guess

Cheers

EDIT: I just noticed that you edited the first post with what I said about my HD 2600. I could make some fotos and gather more information which I could put into a post here, so you could link to it - if you think that's worth it ... I won't have time before next week, though ...

The travelmate series is completely different from aspire, at least the motherboard is a totally different board so don't expect compatibility.

Always try an external VGA or DVI monitor when you get black screen. Maybe you got a locked HP card.
Try this perhaps ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 (M82) MXM II VideoCard - eBay (item 320650664991 end time Mar-01-11 21:37:47 PST)

Or these HP GRAPHIC CARDS ATI M86M V700 8530P 502337-001 - eBay (item 180499533236 end time Feb-20-11 12:02:39 PST)
which have some limited functionality until someone tries a vbios flash to 3650 ddr3

[Re5tepa]

Neither does mine, but there are 2 chips missing in that corner. The BIOS eeprom chip usually has a sticker or something like a brand. The other chips that look just like it (which almost all cards have) usually start with APL and have random numbers.




Always try an external VGA or DVI monitor when you get black screen. Maybe you got a locked HP card.

Does your cards work in any other notebook than HP?

[Dr.Colossos]

[...]
The travelmate series is completely different from aspire, at least the motherboard is a totally different board so don't expect compatibility.
[...]

Okay, thanks for the info!

[...]
Try this perhaps ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 (M82) MXM II VideoCard - eBay (item 320650664991 end time Mar-01-11 21:37:47 PST)
[...]

He says they come from a 5730G ... TravelMate yet again ... so I think it again might or might not work in 7520G ... any (wild) guesses from you guys?

[...]
which have some limited functionality until someone tries a vbios flash to 3650 ddr3
[...]

Limited in which way? I get back-light but no display?

Seriously, any clue what would work, and what not?

Thanks again everyone for helping out here!

[niffcreature]

Hmm I guess I will pay for the 3 I bought lol

I will probably try to flash them with the 3650 ddr3 vbios posted here http://forum.notebookreview.com/gami...-database.html
Some things only work on external monitors or drivers wont install correctly, I don't remember i should find th thread.

[FragZero]

After seeing Meaker's attempt at upgrading his MXM card to a higher rated one i'm tempted to have my own.

Current Laptop => 6930G MXM II

inside of my laptop looks like this : http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2421/blah2e.jpg

I've been comparing the size of an MXM 2 <=> 3 card

Width 73mm <> 82mm Not a problem at all, more room available.

Height 78mm <> 100mm

The card would hit the cpu heat sink screws. After examining the cpuheatsinks (i've upgraded my cpu last week) I noticed it uses a complicated setup with a screw – a spring and a lockingmechanise so the screws can't fall out when disassembled.

My idea is to sand-down the screw attachment and if possible use only screws to attach the heat sink to the motherboard/cpu (M2 screws fit through the motherboard). If I can do this successfully a mxm III would fit without a problem, at least mechanically!

Now ofcourse have more problems to worry about then just mechanically:

> Heat.

Probably my biggest concern at this moment. I run a 9600M GS at 625/1550/500 and I the highest temperature i've seen sofar is 72°c. This is with additional air intake and removed exhaust-grills, cover still on since I need this machine to be portable. Off course this is still only an 25 watt card and any mxm III card would be a lot hotter.

Seems the card with the lowests TDP I can find is a 3870 at 55 watts. Does anyone have experience with these cards? Can they be undervolted? My guess is that it will be needed, my cooling is great but not that great

> Bios support.

Since my acer supports nearly all MXM II cards I think it's quite safe to assume that any MXM II card with an acer compatible bios will boot. I don't see any problems here.

Since users have upgraded their 8930g with a 3870 it might just work in my laptop.

Any remarks anyone? Or anyone willing to lend/give me their 3870 for science

Won't buy a 500 euro 3870 for nothing, i'll wait until I can grab one cheap and then i'll try this! Unless anyone has some serious concerns?

[Meaker]

Double check your width, some cards are wider to the right, and it looks like you dont have any room in that direction.

[FragZero]

true, some rare cards are. But i can just not buy a card like that

Any progress on your project? I saw you swapped your 460 for an ati-card. Recieved it yet?