M6800 Owners' Thread

So, as far as Pascal-based cards, they work OOTB under Linux right? I'm primarily a Linux user, so I don't really care much about whether Windows will boot or not.
The question is, my screen is the FHD non-touch one, I think its a TN-panel(not IPS since it's not glossy, it's matte), does that mean I have eDP or LVDS?

Lastly, what about power consumption/heat generation? I have a K3100M right now, I'm considering either a K5100M, 880M, or a 970M, depending on a combination of, what works best(probably the K5100M since it shipped with the computer) VS best performance(970M) VS power consumption(880M, good compromise between better performance and less heat).

 

Pascal cards will work OOTB under Linux on the M6800 (not on M6700 though).

Early M6800 had LVDS panels and later ones had eDP panels. You need to determine which model display you have specifically and check it. (When I booted Linux on a M6800 to flash a Quadro P5000, I noticed that it specifically said in the Gnome resolution options display panel that the panel was eDP.)

Best performing pre-Pascal card you can get that supports LVDS is the GeForce 980M or Quadro M5000M. I'm happily using the latter in my M6700, no particular issues with it other than having to do the INF mod every time I update the NVIDIA graphics driver (also shouldn't be an issue with Linux, I believe). You only have to worry about what panel type you have if you are looking at Pascal cards.

 

I'm not sure I'd say they work OOTB necessarily. It's just that Linux is a bit more forgiving about loading things with questionable firmware support, and works around it.

Fwiw, the M6800 also supports hardware pass through for a virtual machine. I was able to run Windows in a VM and pass the 1070 through just fine.

 

What's the top gpu that the m6800 will take? I'm looking to stick with the m6xxx series after my m6700 burned out but there's more 6800 inventory on ebay for barebones since I have all the stuff not worth selling from the m6700 that will just carry over. Over $300 base I'm better off just getting a used newer laptop since the odd 980m up there would cost around $200 to add on anyways. I'd be using win10.

Edit: a compromise would be the tesla m6 which is really cheap on eb in a couple of auctions if it's not too bad to get working ie inf mods only no flashing etc

 

See this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/graphics-card-upgrade-for-m6800.806352/
You can install GeForce 980M or Quadro M5000M in this system with no hassle. These cards work with both LVDS and eDP displays.

If your M6800 is eDP or if you are content running with graphics switching / Optimus enabled...
You can install Quadro P5000, but it requires a vBIOS flash before Windows will work (you must boot Linux to flash it).
Quadro RTX 5000 is also likely to work (it works in M6700) but it would require a pretty serious heatsink mod.

 

Yeah I'm not looking to do anything other than inf modding, I actually prefer Optimus on it's handy for non-gaming use. Had it with my 980m on the m6700 and worked fine. So 980m, m5000m and Tesla M6. I don't have any problem with the Tesla's limitation as I'd really only use the native screen, maybe plug in to a larger screen, but the audio would more than likely be through headphones anyways. A VGA to dp/hdmi adapter shouldn't be too hard to find. One big concern with the M6 is the structure of the inf modding, I can't remember if nvidia driver had an m6 listed in the inf file or not for switching.

 

Actually I am remembering one other thing about the M6800. There are two variants of the NVIDIA heatsink and you need to either find the LESS common one which is flat on the bottom, or you will have to dremel off a bit that hits a VRM which is at the top of the card on Maxwell GPUs (Kepler GPUs do not have a VRM in this position).

 

if you don't buy the Maxwell heatsink for the M6800 then modify the other nvidia or AMD (they are both the same except a bit of copper that need to be cut anyways)

 

It is easier than you think to have the inf modified to make it work on the M6800.
If you need some help , let me know.

 

Yes I did plenty of inf modding with a 970m and 980m on the m6700 while it was still alive. Moved on from the m6700 since it's hard to find them used for decent prices, for the same or a little more you can get new, or used equipment that's years newer. The Tesla M6's that were such a good deal are now gone anyways and current 980m card prices are just not worth it. The m6700/6800 were full desktop replacements, really great machines. Grabbed one of those gateway walmart rtx 2060 laptops for 699.