Dell Precision M6600 GPU replacement

Hello!

I have Dell Precision M6600 and now I'm facing some issues with GPU (NVidia Quadro 3000M) - some artifacts appear on the screen, displayport works unstable and so on. I investigated the problem and it seems the GPU has to be replaced.

So here is the question - what GPUs are compatible with this laptop?
Since I don't use any engineering software or play videogames I don't want to spend $350+ on device I don't really need.

Is there any low-end GPU that can be installed to M6600 and work without compability issues?

 

Without some sort of heatsink mod, you will have trouble getting a much cheaper card in there.

If you don't mind taking a risk and getting something that may not fit well with your stock heatsink, then cheap options would be a 280m, 260m,5850m, 4870m.

Or FX 2800m for less than $150:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nvidia-Quad...561?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3376a15899

 

ermm... I'm thinking of upgrade to 5010M

 

why don't you get it replaced under-warranty? M6600/4600 workstations carries standard 3 yr warranty on-site.

 

This - I'm pretty sure Dell Support would help you out on this issue. They may even give you a new replacement system if it's really that troublesome.

 

Yes, Dell warranty is the way to go to get a $0 fix. If yours doesn't have warranty, doesn't have the IPS LCD (requires a dGPU) then suggest set the BIOS "NVidia Optimus" option to disabled. That allows the Intel HD3000 iGPU to provide primary GPU functionality. Then can add a $200 GTX460 x1.2Opt DIY eGPU via the expresscard slot for an inexpensive accelerated graphics/CUDA option.

 

This option actually allows the discrete GPU to be the primary GPU and bypasses the Intel card altogether. There's no way to run with only the Intel IGP on the Precision M6600.

 

My bad. Ensure the NVidia Optimus option is enabled. That boots non IPS-equipped M6600 to use the iGPU as the primary display. The NVidia dGPU then only engages when the Optimus driver enables it from within Windows. In that configuration, the iGPU is still used to display the final image.

The Optimus enabled option also makes it feasible to completely remove the MXM card from the system and run only using the iGPU. I know some of the FirePro users are interested in having someone confirm this since they don't otherwise have an option to engage just the iGPU.

 

Any updates on removing the dedicated gpu leaving only the iGPU?
For users who only care about CPU performance not having a dedicated GPU, will save a lot of battery life not to mention some heat and weight as well.
Apparently the you can swap between Nvidia cards and ATI, so my assumption is that the Optimus BIOS option will become available as soon as you remove the ATI card (hopefully even if you don't replace it with anything). I'm waiting on a Nvidia GPU to arrive in the mail to replace an ATI card, but wouldn't even bother if I could just run off the iGPU. I've found this question asked a bunch of times but never answered anywhere.

 

While you're performing the swap, try and boot up the system without a card installed and let us know what happens.