ATI 6970M in a GX660R

I have managed to do this and it works perfectly.

Things to remember and tips:
1) Get a ultra performance thermal paste. I use Shin Estu X23
2) Get ultra performance thermal pads. I have brought a sheet of Fujipoly 1mm 6w/mk.
3) Get a 180 PSU. When I was playing Batman Arkham Asylum I was using 130w to 150w
3) Get a dremel tool to cut the heatsink
4) Remove the black plastic border on the heatsink
5) Don't bother with ram heat sinks
6) Use the modded ATI 11.5a drivers as the standard drivers do not detect the card.
7) Use the turbo fan when playing games or doing benchmarks

Heat is a massive problem but I have managed to get them down to about 69c when playing games and 83c when using Furmark (1900 x 1080p for 20 minutes)

My next thing to do it to install the new thermal pads and drill holes under the fan.

Here are some figures from other benchmarks:
3dmark06 15350
3dmark11 3050
3dmark vantage GPU 10725
Crysis GPU 23fps CPU 24fps
WEI 7.6 & 7.6

I did some mains power tests to see if the 180w PSU is enough.

Power tests:
41w on idle
46w to open Firefox to this page.
Prime95 116w to 123w. Went to 127w for less than a second.
Furmark 167w average but 175w for a very short period.

Batman Arkham 130w to 150w

Received my Fujipoly and they were too thick! 0.5mm would be better. I installed them anyway but the heat max heat went to 98c but dropped back down to 81c while running Furmark. I think its because the Fujipoly need to warm up before they pass the heat to the heatsink.

 

good news, but were we can get the card

 

mxm-upgrade

 

Eurocom sells the 6970M for $575. What makes me wonder is that they list the card with "TDP 75-100W". It's very weird, as AMD's specification states that 6970M has TDP of 100W.

GX740 + 6970M anyone?

 

MXM-upgrade offered me a buy and try type of thing, where if I could not get it to work, and documented what I tried and made a report, they would fully refund my money. I decided that I didn't want to drop the $600US to try, and then possibly be out a 5870 heatsink as well. Now I'm thinking with that small modification I might just go ahead and buy it. Anyone think the 660 can handle it with my 920xm as well? I'm just worried now that with my 920xm the heat may be too much for this laptop to handle. But a 920xm and a 6970m would be a great combo that would last me for a long time.

 

Is there a European seller?

I have a 920xm and I am also worried about the heat. But I have noticed that whilst I play games the CPU temps don't go over 65c.

 

Wow 65C, mine goes up to in the mid/high 70s C. I think I'm going to repaste it today. Did you use the pea method? I'm thinking I'm going to repaste it, and try that, and make sure I push down on the heatsink really hard.

 

I would be worried with how the notebook handles the power, my guess is that its not going to be pretty if the mobo gets fried

 

I used the line method. I was going to the use the cross method but the Arctic MX4 was so thick that this was not possible. I screwed the heatsink back on very tight. I am currently getting 44 to 49c on idle.

 

I just repasted, and it I got the idle temps down to 47C. I used a much smaller amount, the pea method, and pressed a large amount of pressure down on the heatsink after application. I thought I broke the motherboard after I heard a small cracking noise haha. With a youtube video and typing this the CPU is at 50C so thats much better than before when I was over 60C.

Would the motherboard really fry?

 

Run prime95 and see what figures you get.

What paste are you using?

What temp program are you using?

 

How would you go about ordering a 6970. If I can secure a spare 6970m heatsink (in case it doesn't work out, I have a spare) I'll give it a shot.

 

Forge, MXM upgrade has them. I don't think the emailed offer is still on the table for me though. If I had a spare 5870m heatsink for our 660s I would have tried it. But from the looks of those pictures, it looks like some very minor alterations. Also, MXM upgrade told me that it does work. I'm just trying to justify spending $600 on a new GPU when it seems like the 5870 with a good overclock and decent CPU handles all games I want at 1080p.

 

It's an e-peen kind of thing. "Look at me, I have the bestest GX660R!"

But I do have to think about it, definitely, since, as you said, the 5870 can handle most games just fine.

If I can get a good deal, I'll take it. I could sell my 5870, anyway.

 

I read some reviews saying that the 6970m is upto 50% more powerful than the 5870m. Some games like Crysis 2 would not run well on the highest settings. So it maybe an idea to get the 6970 providing you get it for a good price. The best price is from Eurocom at $582 delivered to the UK.

 

You'll need an at least 160W AC adapter, especially with the i7-920XM.

 

Mine is running fine with the standard PSU.

 

I'm talking about running the 920XM + 6970M combo.

 

your psu is 180w?

 

The NP8170 comes with a 220W adapter.

The 6970M is about 85W, and the 920XM is what, 55W?

That's 140W right there.

 

I'm running a 180w PSU. As far as the heat goes, I think the 660 with turbo fan could manage the 6970m. Since I installed my 920xm, I've noticed that the GPU even when being overclocked hasn't seemed to get any hotter than it was when I had my 740qm? I expected that to increase in temp as well.

 

Isn't there a 6990m coming out soon?

 

Depends on who you believe. Eurocom says they have the engineering samples.

 

On CPUID Hardware Monitor it says that the CPU is running at 65 watts!
Therefore 65+85=150 watts

But what software runs the CPU and the GPU at 100%???

I managed to get the stock 120 watt PSU to shut off when I ran Prime95 and Furmark together.

 

you can buy the card from Aikimox his on the forum you can pm him if you want
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7367347-post24.html

 

ill get the card and then let you guys know if it works or not

 

Me too if I can get a good price!

 

RJTech is selling them.

$550, but probably less for you guys, since you don't need the heatsink

 

Might be something to spend my tax return on.

Or maybe not. So conflicted.

 

Well someone has to try this... Combined with my 920xm and if I order a 6970m I've pretty much ordered an R3... I'm wondering if I should just dump this 660 and sell the 920xm and order an R3.

 

ATI HD5870 graphics card, the GTX 485M graphics card I have successfully upgraded. Very few heatsinks need modification. But I did not do. I did not just assembly. Everything is normal computer is starting up, the screen image is coming, everything is normal. But unfortunately the computer does not recognize the video card driver and setup happening. In other words, can be installed on a standard display driver. I think an appropriate BIOS update is necessary. Accordingly, the GTX485M graphics card is not fully compatible with the model of the MSI GX660R I can say.

 

Well that sucks... I wonder though how the 6970m upgrade would work out. Liberty are you going to try that?

 

HD6970M definitely want to try but do not have the graphics card in my hand. However, God willing, will close after a time.

On the other hand the work done to upgrade GTX485M. You can find this link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi...g-gt680r-gpu-graphics-card-2.html#post7406392 detailed explanation.

 

Would a 180w PSU be enough for a 920xm and a 6970m?

 

It should be find with 180W PSU. For me, I got 2920XM(O.C.3.8G)+6970M+3HDD(one in opt caddy), and it works great. GX660R's power consumption should be less than this.

 

I have ordered a 6970m and it should be here in about 2 weeks.

 

How often do you gentlemen replace your paste? Which is the best brand in your opinion?

 

I haven't repasted in at least five months. Should do it next month.

I use Gelid GC-Extreme. Good performance, and extremely easy to spread.

 

I awaiting news also i was going to buy an R3 or the G74 if you can simply upgrade the GPU might be alright however is it worth it ?

You could get a G74 for 1500 Bucks i7 quad gtx560 12gb ram 1tb hdd 17 incher ?

 

Asus G73 series MXM upgrade failed because of structural incompatibilities. Asus generally does not use standard MXM 3.0b cards. Probably the G74 series will be the same. Here's proof http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/3779/5870.jpg

 

Actually, the G73JH successfuly ran a custom MXM3.0b card with no problems, except that the fan speed didn't regulate automatically.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/567898-g73jh-running-msi-5870m.html

G73JW and SW have much weirder cards with different screw positions, so you can't replace those with others.

 

Dam ok cheers so would you say just go with the G74 i guess i have to.

 

My suggestion would be to go with a G73sw. No point in waiting for G74 as it brings nothing new.

 

Can you people stick to the original topic?

 

Cheers.

+ Rep

 

Anyone tried this yet?

 

Don't think so... I recommend you contact MXM-upgrade and test the card. They have a nice beta agreement which should allow you to return the card in case it doesn't work. But you need to contact them.

 

I was offered this beta test agreement, but now my money is heading towards an iPad2, so no 6970m for me. I feel like the 5870 does a fine job for me anyways, and by the time this card ages I'll probably upgrade to a new laptop anyways.

 

Should I get a 220w PSU or should I stick with the 180w one?

 

180w should be just enough even with 940xm i think, no need to buy 220w, don't throw more money away