6800 Go or 6800 Ultra Go?

Hi all, I am thinking of upgrading my video card from a x300 128mb to a 6800 Go. The thing is, I see a lot of 6800 Go Ultras and I was wondering, how much harder is it to add a Ultra to my 9300? I read that I might have to add a bigger power supply and better fans. Where do I get the bigger PS and fans and is there anything else I need? Is the Ultra that much better then the normal 6800?

Thanks for your time,
WMD

 

If you go with the 6800 go, then you just have to install it and update your bios. Your warranty will still be good with the exception that it doesn't cover the new card.

If you go with the ultra or 7800, then you have to find a hacked version of the BIOS, 9 cell battery and 130watt power adapter, and plus a XPS heatsink. I might be missing something, but i think that covers most of it. This will void your warranty.

 

Yes, as Southerngirl said, the 6800ultra will void your warranty. However, if you still choose to do it, it isn't a very difficult upgrade. Depending on where you get the card, it may already come with the heatsink (it will have TWO copper pipes). If you have that on the card already, just go on ebay to snag the battery and power adapter.

As long as you know what you're doing with ISOs, here is a link to the hacked BIOS: http://rapidshare.de/files/7554202/FDBOOTCDXPS.iso.html

The nice thing is, this will work if you decide you want the 7800GTX too

 

Thanks for your help

Now, what about performance? Would there be a big performance difference between the normal 6800 and the Ultra? Is it worth the cost difference?

 

Nothing?

 

( http://nvidia.com/page/go_6800.html) That is the specs of the 6800 and 6800 ultra. However, if I was going to void my warranty, I would go all out and get the 7800gtx. They are only $350 on ebay. Then you have to get the ac adapter and battery too.

 

I thought I have to get the battery and AC adapter anyways for the 6800 Ultra?

 

Then go for the 7800gtx.

 

Ok, one last question. I have seen the 6800 Go without it's cooling heatsink. If I bought one like it, I can put my x300 heatsink on there?

 

The regular 6800go uses the same heatsink as the x300. You just need to apply thermal paste to the gpu for bonding it to the heatsink. The 6800ultra/7800gtx use the dual copper pipe.

 

Well, I have AS-4, so I should be fine. Anyway, I just bought a 6800 Go off of ebay for $174 and $9 shipping. Hopefully I can sell my x300 128mb card for about $50-$60. Then I'll only have $123-$133 invested in this upgrade.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

That should be good then. Does the 6800go have the heatsink on it? Most of what I saw on ebay have the heatsink.

 

Well, I don't know. The pic in the auction did not have the heatsink. The guy said it wasn't a pic of the actual card or "Picture for reference only". So it might or might not. I e-mailed him 2 times today, but no reply. So, we'll see. I am 99% sure it does but I am not positive. I wasn't too worried, from all the pics I looked at, the x300 and the 6800 looked like they had the same heatsinks.

 

It should. I just want to save you some time lol! But if the card has the heatsink, I would take it off the gpu and put the arctic silver on it anyway. I idle at 46C (stock clocks), but with the arctic silver, it should be around 35-40 idle. I would fall over for those idle temps.

 

Yea, I figure, if I am already in there, I might as well add the good stuff. I've used AS many times before. I might even get the newer AS-5 from a friend just incase it is alot better.

BTW, this is a little off topic but I can't find the answer anywhere. Do you know if there is a software or hardware change I need to make to keep my multimedia botton's light on?

Thanks again for everything!

 

I don't think the user has control over the lights.

 

Like ccbr said, we don't have control over the lights. Only XPS users have control and I think they only have control on the external lights -- not the media keys.

 

Thanks for everything guys. I have 2 last questions. I should be getting my 6800 in the next day or 2.

All I have to do is uninstall my ATI drivers, turn off my 9300, rip it apart, put the 6800 in there, put it back together, turn the 9300 on and install the latest 6800 drivers, right?

Question 2, who has the best 6800 Go drivers? Dell, Nivdia, Omega?

 

Uninstall ati drivers, put new card in, boot, and install the Mobileforce Drivers from Tweaksrus.com.

 

ok just popped in here and thought I would put in my 2 cents.

the Ultra won't void your warantee nor will the 7800 gtx.

truth be told if you have a problem dell sends out a service rep, the last one that saw my I9300 with the 7800 GTX thought it was a sweet mod. Dell allows you to work inside your notebook and if you wanted to get technical flashing the bios over doesn't even void the hardware warantee.

<shrug> I am a dell authorized reseller and I sell the 6800 Ultra and the 7800 GTX and have been down this conversational road a few times in a few forums

 

So are you saying that it doesn't void our warranty? I have seen numerous times about changing the bios to xps gen2 would void it.

Edit:

Am I hearing this correctly?????? Basically because the i9300 and XPS m170 use the same motherboard, warranty wouldn't be voided. Can I have this confirmed with other people?

 

I really hope this is true.

BTW, I have another question. If I am using the 6800 Ultra in my 9300, what exact power adapter do I need? I ask because I see all kinds of PA-13 on ebay. How can I tell which ones are older and which ones are newer? I heard only the new ones will work.

 

This is my insight on it...

I don't think flashing the BIOS is the problem. It is the fact that you are upgrading to a card that isn't specifically offered for the 9300. Plus this requires heavy modification including a new heatsink.

Dell does say that you can upgrade your video card and it won't void the warranty, but heavy modifications do void it including things like overclocking and changing out the motherboard.

This card isn't even supported on the 9300, so why wouldn't your warranty be voided if you upgraded to it?

It doesn't make sense that your warranty would still be intact. None of the documents on dell or for that matter on any forum say that this modification doesn't void your warranty. They are all opposite and say that the warranty is voided.

Now if you are lucky, dell might not notice or you might get a tech that doesn't care.

Unicorn: here is more information on what you need: http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=113866

SG

 

hey i just ordered a 6800 go off ebay as well had that crappy x300 in my machine should come tomorrow am going to install does anyone play cod2 on their 6800 go can it handle dx9 1920x1200 resolution with graphics to the max cos x300 sure as hell dont, also the x300 i have is hypermemory i didnt realise this until i had recieved my machine warning do nut buy the hypermemory verssion useless isnt the word.....

 

ok seriously I have sold over 20 of these and my dell reps know they are going in the 9300 its kinda like gays in the military don't ask don't tell

I have a Pin Modded processor in my lappy
I have the 7800 GTX in my lappy

I have had a tech out here (they are all 3rd party and they though it was cool as hell) heck my dell rep asked me how to do it because his friend was going to buy an M170 but is getting a I9300 instead because its so much cheaper.

think about this for a sec guys and its how it was put to me

dell sells tens of millions of systems a year they do not care about the .01% of us who make some changes

when they swap stuff out they bin the bad part not spend man hours looking for why its bad and what could have been your fault. The bois for example if you MB does crap out on you is unreadable even if they did care and if your HD goes what does that have to do with what vid card you have installed all you do is mail the bad HD to dell and get a new one.

there was a lot of hype and myth about laptops for years because everything including the processors were soldered in, Now with the modular design of your laptops upgrades are sold for them and you are allowed to make internal changes.

I hope this sheds a bit of light on the subject and for the record I have been working on Computers/PC's since the early 80's (OK so I am old ) and am an authorized reseller for dell and a number of other companies but most of all I am a complete computer geek.

Bobby

 

You are correct and that is the misnomer that people have the XPS Gen 2 and the I9300 share almost the exact same MB with the exception of the LED connectors and caps/IC's

if you call any big company you have a lot of uninformed people working there who want to hit you with scare tactics to not do anything and pay them for any upgrades. especially in sales or "Custom Support" fact is if you order spare parts from dell you will get Panama and they are a 3rd party contractor and have not a clue but will tell you all sorts of stuff

 

Its truly not even about noticing they just flat out don't care SG I have been dealing with them forever and they really don't see my above posts

 

I understand your side, and i'm not questioning that you don't know what you are talking about. I understand you are an authorize dealer for dell, but you have to look at this from my point of view. I've talked with dell several times, not to mention that i've researched their site on warranty information for hours on end, so it is really hard for me to believe 1 person that tells me it isn't voided -- when everything else is saying it is. Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean that I don't know anything about computers.

Dell even admits that the warranty doesn't cover most major modifications. I can see what you are saying that they won't care about the video card if the HD is broken. BUT if dell determines that the video card caused damaged to your motherboard -- you'll be screwed.

It is like overclocking. If the problem isn't related to it, chances are that Dell won't even notice it and will fix the problem. But if Dell thinks that the problem is related to overclocking and finds evidence of that -- your warranty is gone.

Here is the other way I look at: You are modifiying a 9300 into a M170, and those are completely two different systems. Your warranty only covers your orginial system, not modifications. Now, if you modify your system so its not like the orginial system, then it is only common sense to realize that your warranty is voided. I'm not talking about small modifications, I'm talking about things like upgrading CPU or in this case, going to the 7800 card.

This is my take on it. If you want to do the modification, then do it. Realize you are taking responsibility for your modifications.

 

All very valid points and it all boils down to what each indivual is comfortable with.

 

I should be getting my 6800 Ultra mid this week and my 2 130watt PA-13 power adapters. I have heard that they might or might not work So my question is, if I get them before the video card, can I plug it up to my laptop before I install the video card?

Also, my 2 90w PAs are rev-03 and the 2 130w PAs are rev-02. That should be fine, right?

BTW, please let me know if anyone is looking for 2 90w power adapters $35 each w/free shipping and 1 6 cell battery $40 w/free shipping.

Thanks,
WMD

 

If you find you have a problem with your power adapters let me know I have about a dozen of the Rev A04 here in my ship also have the 9 cell batteries too