G73JH running a MSI 5870m

[@tilla]

Hey guys,

I've just done it.
I replaced the ASUS (JH) 5870m with a MSI 5870m.
The GPU is from my Medion X7811 (a GX740 barebone).

There are some places on the internet, where you can read, that a stock MXM 3.0 B card wouldn't work in a G73, because of proprietary design by ASUS.
Today I just wanted to find out the truth.

We already know the different layout of the 5870m in the G73JH. It is wider as the standard size. Maybe less PCB layer.

OK, here we go.
After disassembling i had 2 5870 GPUs.


After reassemble all the stuff I was thrilled a little bit.
But I got a picture. Wow.

I checked the temps a while, all was OK.
Next was a Furmark run.
The vBIOS was modded to 700/1000@0.98V before.

Load:


Idle (after load):



Conclusion:
A stock MXM 3.0b 5870m is working in a G73JH with little afford.
The Asus 5870 won't fit in the X7811.


Only (big) problem:
The fans (GPU + CPU) are running fullspeed all the time.
This is weird, because all temps are good.
BIOS issue?


Update:

No success in fan problem:
I tried:
- BIOS 211
- Flashing several ASUS-vBIOS's to MSI card

I've put back the Asus card. Fans are working normally again.

Pics:

Gallery (all pics)

MSI 5870m in X7811


ASUS 5870m


MSI 5870m


MSI vs ASUS


Mounted

[svl7]

Very nice, thanks for sharing!! What would be interesting is to see whether a card different than a 5870m works... I never thought it would be possible, but now there's some hope for G73JH owners who want to try an upgrade. (JW owners are out of luck... unless they can somehow build their own heatsinks).

The problem with the fans is probably because of vBIOS issues...

BTW, 700/1000@0.98V ... isn't that underclocked? I thought standard 3d clocks are 700/1100 (at least for the Dell cards... may be different for clevo cards)

[tijo]

Nice, quick question: are you using the MSI bios or the Asus bios on the MSI card?

Std clocks recommended by AMD are 700/1000, the stock one on the Asus card as well.

[jmhdj]

Nice one @tilla finally someone to confirm this thing. I had strong believe from before in that mxm slot in g73jh is indeed true 3.0b and now only problem is that heatsink is not fitting 100%.
About fans running at full what vbios you have on msi card?
When I bricked my gpu on my g73jh and while waiting for programing unit to reflash vbios chip I decided to try and asembly laptop without vga card inside and it started and loaded windows as I heard login sound but both fans were running in full. Which means that bios is programed to run fans at full in case of vbios not detected properly.?
Again nice work man +10 char.

Did you try and flash msi card with asus vbios? I am sure it will fix fans problem. Next we want to see someone change it with 6970m. Im sure it would work nice with slight temperature increases.

[DCx]

Did you try and flash msi card with asus vbios? I am sure it will fix fans problem. Next we want to see someone change it with 6970m. Im sure it would work nice with slight temperature increases.

lol not likely, with 2x the TDW.

[@tilla]

Thx.

The vBIOS is a modified one for MSI GX740 (v023).
This allows to undervolt (overvolt?) in a small range. I guess 0.8-1.15V(+)
The Asus one is hard wired to 0.95 and 1.15V!

This MSI card also works with 700/1000@0.95.

I think, BIOS gone wild because the brand in vBIOS isn't like the Asus one.
vBIOS label in BIOS screen ends with ".NOT" -> Not compatible?

Maybe flashing the Asus vBIOS on the MSI is an option to accept it. But will card still undervoltable?

[jmhdj]

I am pretty sure that asus 5870m vga card in ours g73jh`s draw 75 watts, so 6970m with 100 watt will probably work without problems.
Just look vcore voltage differencies between our and standard 5870m`s from other manufacturers. And vram chips draw more power to on asus 5870m thus why our cards run much hotter then other 5870m cards.

Thx.

The vBIOS is a modified one for MSI GX740 (v023).
This allows to undervolt (overvolt?) in a small range. I guess 0.8-1.15V(+)
The Asus one is hard wired to 0.95 and 1.15V!

This MSI card also works with 700/1000@0.95.

I think, BIOS gone wild because the brand in vBIOS isn't like the Asus one.
vBIOS label in BIOS screen ends with ".NOT" -> Not compatible?

Maybe flashing the Asus vBIOS on the MSI is an option to accept it. But will card still undervoltable?

Yes becouse hardware components in asus 5870m are different thus not accepting so low voltages as on msi. But you wont be able to go over 1.15 volts with asus vbios on msi 5870.

[DCx]

I am pretty sure that asus 5870m vga card in ours g73jh`s draw 75 watts, so 6970m with 100 watt will probably work without problems.
Just look vcore voltage differencies between our and standard 5870m`s from other manufacturers. And vram chips draw more power to on asus 5870m thus why our cards run much hotter then other 5870m cards.

Yeah, I've seen that. But I've also noticed that the system is pretty much at TDW load when under full graphics load. So yeah, you *might* be okay adding another 25w, but that's like overloading your desktop power supply. It generally works. But not always, and the price of failure ... well, no thanks.

[svl7]

Maybe flashing the Asus vBIOS on the MSI is an option to accept it.

And maybe flashing the Asus vBIOS will brick the card...

I am pretty sure that asus 5870m vga card in ours g73jh`s draw 75 watts, so 6970m with 100 watt will probably work without problems.

The G73JH tends already pretty hot As far as I know, and the heatsink doesn't seem to apply a lot of pressure on the die as far as I heard, so heat might be an issue.

However, there's not only the TDP to worry about, also the BIOS compatibility. Some examples... some guys put the 6970m in the Alienware M17x r2 and the card did work, but the fans didn't (good thing you can control the fans manually on this machine thanks to mumak). Inap tried to put a 470m in a M15x... but the card only stayed at 2d clocks and never got to 3d clocks... you see what I mean.

Only way to know it is to put the card in and try... you can't just say you're sure it will work.

[@tilla]

Just flashed the Asus vBIOS.
No problems.
But fans still running full speed.
Damn loud
CPU @25°C GPU@31°C

Is this the ASUS-"Forget-about-upgrade-mechanism"?
Could this be affected by a wrong or forgotten reassemble part?