MSI GX660R-474UK - Can you upgrade GPU?
- Thread starter Sam
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Yup, same lappy as mine.
It will take a 7970M (so 2nd to best card and certainly best value the 680M has a massive premium on it at the moment) with a minor heatsink modification. 30 minutes with a dremel and you're golden. You'll need a 7970M from a dell machine rather than a clevo tho if possible. Clevo one's can be used but there's bios issues I'm not sure are resolved.
It will take a 7970M (so 2nd to best card and certainly best value the 680M has a massive premium on it at the moment) with a minor heatsink modification. 30 minutes with a dremel and you're golden. You'll need a 7970M from a dell machine rather than a clevo tho if possible. Clevo one's can be used but there's bios issues I'm not sure are resolved.
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Is it really as simple as that? What about the PSU...is the original MSI one man enough?
Cheers,
Yup. PSU is fine. I'd probably err on the safe side and check you have the 150w version (or the Targus 180w if you were lucky enough to source one) but otherwise, all's good. There's been a die shrink or 2 since the 5870 so the wattage of the GPU hasn't changed much. More power, smaller process so it's stayed about the same.
There's a couple of threads around here about it. Otherwise check around in the MSI owners lounge on notebook review forums, there's plenty of posts in there including some decent shots of the heatsink mods needed (about 1cm" in total needs to be taken off spread over a few bits of the heatsink. Definitely quick work with a dremel and vice.
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Soldato
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I've got a GX660r, modded up from base spec.
You can replace the GPU, as long as it has the correct bios, and you are prepared to dremel the GPU heatsink to give clearance round some of the components. And get new sticky thermal pads and goop etc..
If you get a HD7970 then you will need to replace the PSU for something stronger, 180W is a safe bet.
The current consumption for the 5870 is 50W, the 7970 is twice that at 100W.
I replaced the CPU from a i7-740QM to an i7-920XM, and just with the 10W increase and running the cores unlocked (920 extreme cpu) the PSU would shutdown and stop supplying the laptop. It had to be unplugged from the wall to reset the PSU. So there is no way the stock PSU is going to power an extra 50W of GPU.
On the up side of things, the 7970 GPU die is now smaller, and so the heat produced should be manageable by the stock cooling!
I have a 6970M overclocked and voltage tweaked in mine, but I have to run the fan on full to keep on top of the heat while gaming at 1080, as the die on the 6970M is bigger than the 7970M. Bare in mind tho, that the fan speed is controlled by the temp of the CPU, and NOT the GPU! So you need to monitor how things warm up and cool under intense load. Because if you have a game that cooks the GPU and not the CPU, then you may find the fan wont run quick enough to cool the 7970.
If I remember correctly I flashed my Clevo 6970M with a hacked Dell bios to enable the HDMI sound tru the port. Handy for plugging into the TV.
Mick
You can replace the GPU, as long as it has the correct bios, and you are prepared to dremel the GPU heatsink to give clearance round some of the components. And get new sticky thermal pads and goop etc..
If you get a HD7970 then you will need to replace the PSU for something stronger, 180W is a safe bet.
The current consumption for the 5870 is 50W, the 7970 is twice that at 100W.
I replaced the CPU from a i7-740QM to an i7-920XM, and just with the 10W increase and running the cores unlocked (920 extreme cpu) the PSU would shutdown and stop supplying the laptop. It had to be unplugged from the wall to reset the PSU. So there is no way the stock PSU is going to power an extra 50W of GPU.
On the up side of things, the 7970 GPU die is now smaller, and so the heat produced should be manageable by the stock cooling!
I have a 6970M overclocked and voltage tweaked in mine, but I have to run the fan on full to keep on top of the heat while gaming at 1080, as the die on the 6970M is bigger than the 7970M. Bare in mind tho, that the fan speed is controlled by the temp of the CPU, and NOT the GPU! So you need to monitor how things warm up and cool under intense load. Because if you have a game that cooks the GPU and not the CPU, then you may find the fan wont run quick enough to cool the 7970.
If I remember correctly I flashed my Clevo 6970M with a hacked Dell bios to enable the HDMI sound tru the port. Handy for plugging into the TV.
Mick
Soldato
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Meaker
Do have a link or name of a program that I can use to set fan speed profiles by gpu temps?
Mick
Do have a link or name of a program that I can use to set fan speed profiles by gpu temps?
Mick
100% credit goes to pherin from notebookreview.com
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yuwiimq04y4w80w
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yuwiimq04y4w80w
Pretty sure there's a bios flash that has overclocking.
Meaker's the best man for it
Or have a dig around in the big msi 660r thread on notebookreview
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And apologies for my mistake with the psu, don't like giving bad advice so cheers to meaker and flyingfish for putting me right there
Mine will likely get the upgrade at some point at least being SB chipset you can go most of the way to "top end" still with this one. I can't think of THAT much you forfeit from the lack of 7 series chipset apart from the raid 0 option with onboard raid. The fix for that currently only officially works with IB chipset (but I think this one will be "sorted" by the community if intel don't. My hunch at least).
Meaker's the best man for it
Or have a dig around in the big msi 660r thread on notebookreview
edit:
And apologies for my mistake with the psu, don't like giving bad advice so cheers to meaker and flyingfish for putting me right there
Mine will likely get the upgrade at some point
at least being SB chipset you can go most of the way to "top end" still with this one. I can't think of THAT much you forfeit from the lack of 7 series chipset apart from the raid 0 option with onboard raid. The fix for that currently only officially works with IB chipset (but I think this one will be "sorted" by the community if intel don't. My hunch at least).
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Soldato
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The GX660r is quite upgradeable for its age. Seems odd saying that, but hey things move on soo quick 
For all round performance, go and buy a 920xm CPU, its an extreme CPU which means all four cores are unlocked, so you can use a program called throttle stop to overclock all four core simultaneously, for the extra cost per clock the 940xm isnt worth the extra cash when the 920xm will overclock fine.
My cpu has all four cores overclocked to 22x133 (2.926Ghz) for its gaming profile, and stock speeds for other stuff.
Cpu came from ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTEL-i7-...0?pt=UK_Motherboards_CPUs&hash=item1e71e9b4e0
I got a Dell Alienware PSU from the bay, its an extact fit, 180W, and from France there are no import costs:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-O...C_Portables_Cartes_PCMCIA&hash=item4abb143c2d
Other than that, performance wise, just stick an SSD in one of the drive bays, or increase the memory. There is a bios available to run xmp memory, but the ram I bought (2nd hand) must have been faulty, cos it broke the stability. So memory wise I'm running with the stock 6GB
And as mentioned above the GPU can be upgraded and overclocked, I have my 6970m underclocked and undervolted at 100x150 @ 0.8v for desktop stuff, and overclocked and overvolted to 800x900 @ 1.1v
Its all a balance to keep a reign on the temps while getting the performance, and not sacrificing any stability
Mick
For all round performance, go and buy a 920xm CPU, its an extreme CPU which means all four cores are unlocked, so you can use a program called throttle stop to overclock all four core simultaneously, for the extra cost per clock the 940xm isnt worth the extra cash when the 920xm will overclock fine.
My cpu has all four cores overclocked to 22x133 (2.926Ghz) for its gaming profile, and stock speeds for other stuff.
Cpu came from ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTEL-i7-...0?pt=UK_Motherboards_CPUs&hash=item1e71e9b4e0
I got a Dell Alienware PSU from the bay, its an extact fit, 180W, and from France there are no import costs:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-O...C_Portables_Cartes_PCMCIA&hash=item4abb143c2d
Other than that, performance wise, just stick an SSD in one of the drive bays, or increase the memory. There is a bios available to run xmp memory, but the ram I bought (2nd hand) must have been faulty, cos it broke the stability. So memory wise I'm running with the stock 6GB
And as mentioned above the GPU can be upgraded and overclocked, I have my 6970m underclocked and undervolted at 100x150 @ 0.8v for desktop stuff, and overclocked and overvolted to 800x900 @ 1.1v
Its all a balance to keep a reign on the temps while getting the performance, and not sacrificing any stability
Mick
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The stock card is certainly overclockable.
You should be able to use basic programs to go at it as normal.
The other option is to dump the bios using GPU-Z and seeing if MSI is one of the ones that can have a higher core voltage to reach higher clocks using Radeon Bios Editor (RBE).
There is only one brand of PSU I can recommend to overclockers, that is delta electronics. Their 150W PSU behaves like a 180W for instance. They do 180W versions with the right connector, though they are a bit tricky to get hold of.
My 230W is a delta too, but you need to replace the connector with the correct one.
Once you start properly overclocking the 7970M the motherboard can't handle it................. though the machines that shipped with the 580M might have more luck as they beefed up the power circuitry.
You should be able to use basic programs to go at it as normal.
The other option is to dump the bios using GPU-Z and seeing if MSI is one of the ones that can have a higher core voltage to reach higher clocks using Radeon Bios Editor (RBE).
There is only one brand of PSU I can recommend to overclockers, that is delta electronics. Their 150W PSU behaves like a 180W for instance. They do 180W versions with the right connector, though they are a bit tricky to get hold of.
My 230W is a delta too, but you need to replace the connector with the correct one.
Once you start properly overclocking the 7970M the motherboard can't handle it................. though the machines that shipped with the 580M might have more luck as they beefed up the power circuitry.
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