In search of an NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M (NB9E-GLM3) for the HP 8730w | Spare Part No. 493984-001 or 488125-001

Hi everyone,

I am looking for an NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M (NB9E-GLM3) graphics card for the HP EliteBook 8730w Mobile Workstation. According to the manufacturer, the spare part no. of this item is 493984-001.
Since buying a new one costs a fortune, I looked for a refurbished one but still havent bought one since I found out that the same card with a different part no. (488125-001) is quite cheaper than the 493984-001.
Does any of you know whether the 488125-001 is actually replacing, as many websites have stated, the 493984-001? Can anyone tell for sure whether it will work ok or not on the HP EliteBook 8730w Mobile Workstation?
And one more thing, does anyone know a shop online that covers the european market? Either U.S. ones shipping to Europe or any shops in european countries that sell these items?

Thanks in advance...

 

No direct experience to offer, but I do know that the HP desktop workstations are extremely limited (in not even booting) with anything other than HP approved RAM.

If this is a 'need' for work - simply buy the right/original part and write it off - if this is a 'want'...


Good luck.

 

tilleroftheearth, HP desktop systems do not apply here. They are very likely manufactured by a different company than HP laptops.

I would say, having dealt with somewhere around a dozen HP fx 3700m cards from different sources, there is no significant difference between those 2 part numbers.

These cards unlike the 3600m, are ONLY for the HP 8730w. ALL FX 3700m with an HP part number were pulled out of a 8730w. You really don't have anything to worry about at all.

I would go so far as to suggest that you buy this one for less than half the price of the other one you were looking at. It is a Lenovo/IBM card. The HP FX 3700m vBIOS is fully compatible with this card, I have fully tested it myself. And, the listing guarantees it compatible with HP machines.
Lastly, I should add, the HP cards are made with voltage limits and cannot be overclocked much at all. The lenovo cards can be overclocked to pretty frickin extreme levels. If you're interested in that sort of thing.

NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M Mobile GPU for HP Dell IBM Laptops | eBay

Here is another option. This is likely an ES card, the HP card is still not worth the extra money.
NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M G92 985 A2 1GB DDR3 VGA Video Card for Laptop | eBay

Yet another one:
NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M MXM He IBM W700 | eBay

I believe this is a 100% genuine HP card, since its listed with .05 vBIOS. I think that is a vBIOS only the HP cards have.

The one you're looking at is definitely overpriced. Its not any more reliable, and not more likely to have issues than most of the other options.

 

niff, thanks for your expertise. I learn something new every day.

 

Thank you all for the reply and especially niff for your input.
Niff, pardon my lack of knowledge, but what does exactly 'DDR3' stand for at the title of 'NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M G92 985 A2 1GB DDR3 VGA Video Card for Laptop'.
I assume it has nothing to do with some sort of 'communication requirement' (I shall call it so) with the type of memory RAM, not the gfx RAm.
I mean is there a compatibility issue, knowing that the HP8730w takes only DDR2 RAM?
Not knowing what it stands for makes me cautious...
And how about the interface, being MXMII instaed of MXM? Is it something to worry about?

As for the links, unfortunately they all refer to cards that cannot be shipped to Europe. But I will note down the related info and try to find, if possible, a card that can be either sold from or shipped to Europe.
Once again, thanks for your input.. Mostly appreciated...

 

Hi niff...

Thanks again for your valuable info....
I did buy an FX2700 after all because the FX3700 was too expensive for me to replace. I would like your advice once again on something related to the heat sink. Do you know if I can still use the heat sink of the FX3700 for the graphics card FX2700 or is it a must to buy another one, since the FX2700 chip is rotated and not positioned as the one of FX3700?

Thanks again

 

DDR = double data rate. This is the industry standard which overtook Rambus type memory. Each subsequent revision of DDR has higher latency but faster clock frequencies, thus each revision has improved performance. There would be no problem with using a DDR3 card, as the memory on the card is unrelated (and these days, considerably better) than system memory.

As for the MXM interface, MXM and MXM II both use the same pin count and will fit into the same slot, but the physical dimensions of the MXM II are slightly bigger than MXM, and thus requires a different heatsink if I'm not mistaken (and MXM II has a higher max power draw). I think only the Alienware m5700 platform supports MXM I, II, and III without heatsink modification.

 

Thanks for clarifying this...

 

I'm actually interested in putting one of these cads in an area-51 m15x. I know of the heating issues and am willing to invest to make it work but am not sure which cards will or won't work. I've looked at a couple of cards on ebay but am not sure of the price these things go for on the market these days. My main search market has been ebay and I've picked these cards out? Any insight on what would be the best card? I will most likely want to undervolt to 1.0v.

I've messaged this person but have gotten no response as to any info.
IBM Lenovo NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M MXM W700 42W8204 | eBay

This is apparently an ES card with vbios 62.92.33.00.00. Looks like a Lenovo card from the caps but not sure.
NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M G92 985 A2 1GB DDR3 MXM 2 0 VGA Module | eBay

This one is an HP card vbios 62.92.51.00.05
HP NVIDIA P N 488125 001 Quadro FX 3700M 1GB MXM He Video Card | eBay

Hope someone can help me out with some info.

 

I'm not sure whether any of those cards would work in a M15x or not. Dell is fairly finicky in matters of compatibility. If nobody here knows, perhaps you can ask the respective communities or contact Support directly.

 

Hmmm... Nice FX 3700M is based on 9800M GTX, very high failure rates thanks no NVIDIA...

 

No, the FX3700 is based off the 280m... IRRC(it's been a year/2)

The FX3700 was not effected by the BGA issues the 7/8/9xxx series had

 

Hello all, sorry for clinging into the thread but I have the same problem.
I own a Sager NP5793 and is looking for a replacement alike the mentioned VGA card in this thread.
My Clevo revision board is M570RU-U and is FX3700M on this eBay will compatible just fine with my laptop? I'm asking because there has been some thread involve in flashing BIOS and some FX3700M just won't work..

Thanks!