M6600 Owners Thread

I bought this M6600 in July of 2011. I have the AMD m8900 gpu. I had some display and graphics issues fairly frequently soon thereafter and Dell sent a tech that replaced the gpu and other stuff like the motherboard, I believe. Warranty ended last year and I let it lapse thinking I would be due for an upgrade and hadn't had many issues since my initial melt-down.

Last night I am working and the screen goes black. It was very warm (even on a cooling mat), so I figured it just overheated and I shut it down and went to bed. This morning, same issue. Goes to black screen after Windows logo on start-up (I upgraded from 7 to 10 recently). I booted into safe mode and disabled the Radeon device driver so now I can at least work on it with the limited graphics, but can't use an external monitor.

I see the solution is to upgrade to the m6100 gpu, but the cheapest I find that is for about $360 on ebay. At that price point, I am thinking it may be time to just upgrade my machine overall.

However, I don't use this as a workstation for CAD (I thought I might a little to scratch an itch but that never happens). Is there a cheaper consumer gpu compatible with the M6600 that would be better for video and general business usage that might get me by while I look for a replacement machine? I am currently mostly working on a Lenovo Yoga that I use as a mobile back-up to get by.

I have loved the docking system, the multiple hard drives, the sturdy construction, the 17" screen (when mobile), but I seem to always be on the limit of melting down during ordinary business use and don't get that great of performance for consumer use (video streaming).

 

So your display is good. While you figure out what you're going to do, here's an option that might work a little better than running the Radeon without the driver.

If you physically remove the AMD GPU from the system, it will run using the built-in Intel GPU. You can use the Intel GPU drivers from Intel's site or Dell's site. It will perform fine if you aren't doing much 3D.

In this setup, you will be able to use an external monitor, but with VGA only.

 

Thanks! I will try pulling the AMD GPU and finding the Intel drivers. Also, if there are any suggestions for a cheap but snappy GPU that could substitute for the AMD GPU, I would also be open to that. The built-in Intel may work just fine though.

 

any nvidia 6xxm , quadro x000M , Kx000M should work.

M6100 price is inflated a bit~ if you are patient, should be able to find one sub-200.

 

Thanks for the GPU suggestions. I will keep my eye out for one of those.

Also, I removed the AMD M8900 GPU and Aaron was right. When I booted up, the display was better and the Intel driver was showing up in the device manager. I didn't even need to install it. My computer also seems snappier.

Currently I use a 47" Samsung HDTV as a moniter. I prefer a large workspace over multiple moniters, so I use an HDTV. The Samsung only has HDMI and component inputs. Since the Intel card only will work with VGA, I need to get a VGA to component adapter cable and try that...while I figure out what to do for an upgrade.

I may also have some screencast options. All temporary solutions though.

Thanks for your input and help.

 

Note further that I believe there is a difference between the AMD and NVIDIA card heatsinks. If you get an NVIDIA card, you may need a new heatsink as well.

 

I understood that I could use the same heatsink for NVIDIA GPU's, but would need this adapter X thingy and some thicker heat shims. If I go Nvidia, it will be for a GTX. I found the instructions to install that.

However, I think I am looking at the M6100 to just get back up to speed. I see an M6100 GPU for $199 that popped up on eBay, but it is shipped from China.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precis...-Card-MG0X9-/231648396731?hash=item35ef5205bb

And frankly, it doesn't look exactly genuine. And if genuine, certainly used. Should I even consider buying a GPU from China? Baii indicated that sub $200 is not that unusual. Still, my spidey sense is tingling.

 

On ebay, I'd look at the feedback as an indicator of whether it's worth a risk (the seller at hand seems legit). I wouldn't concern myself too much with the card being used if it's a model not known to be prone to dying (like e.g. some older Nvidia cards of the GTX 8XXX series or your M6000/M8900). Just ask them to confirm if it's pulled from a Dell laptop (and thus has a Dell vBIOS on it) so it'll be recognized by the laptop's BIOS.

On a side note, I thought the heatsinks were the same on M6600, while on the M6700 they differed in height in the part which touches the GPU core? I must remember incorrectly then.

 

Just as likely that I remember incorrectly... Hard to keep them all straight.

 

Personally, I would avoid buying from china unless it is a real good price. I don't think they sell fakes, just annoying in the event something go wrong.
I toke a look a ebay, the card that have more reasonable price is probably k4000m.
Check notebookreview marketplace also. 7970m works but need manual fan control (extra work, I havent try it myself so unsure if manual fan control works100% ~)

You can use the same heatsink, but the thermal pad needed to be moved around.