GX660R upgrade: GPU or CPU?

Hi guys been lurking for a few months, the time Ive had my GX660R.

Xmas is coming so time to treat me to an upgrade

So as I'm wasting my life away with Skyrim.. GF aint too happy about that!... Whats going to get me some more grunt out of my GX660R?

CPU 920xm or some 6790/6990 gpu thingy??

I like a bit of gaming here n there, and like smooth good lookin visuals...So GPU right?

If so, taking into account HEAT/POWER/PRICE/PERFORMANCE...Which GPU?

Or would a faster CPU actuallly help? Currently its a i7 740QM

Regards
Mick

 

Well, my brother(talonUIUC) and I both have GX600 no R. We both have 920XM he has a 6990 also.. but, if I was you I'd get the 920XM and use ThrottleStop and over clock it..U can over clock this processor like crazy and still runs perfect.. if you put in a new video card the 6990 you will need to look at how my brother did on his Thread shows pictures and explains in writing. From my view, I'd go with new CPU first!

 

So would you say that my CPU is more of a bottle neck than my GPU?

Mick

 

Personally i would say the GPU was the bottleneck and would look to do the 570M, 580M or stick with ATI and 6790 / 6990 upgrade

 

You can overclock your CPU till the cows come home but it's not going to get you more FPS with a 5870 mobility.

 

Here's the deal you can go put that video card in and pay someone way more than you should for max 25ish fps more could be less if you play BF3 the 5870 is still a decent card yeah you will see a big difference in graphics but video cards come out faster than people die.. or you can wait and get the best CPU you can put ever in your GX660.

 

But if your all about visuals go with the 6990 but from what you say you only game here and there it's not worth a new video card from my perspective..

*hint* why I did not upgrade, no time to hardcore game anymore just here and there..

 

for many of us that extra 25fps is all the difference in the world =)

 

Actually it's only maybe 20FPS more from a 5870m to a 6990m idk still up to you buddy!

 

So I have the GX660R and I'm reading this, trying to comprehend what you guys are talking about. Are you telling me I can actually swap out the video card in this machine for a new upgraded one? I'm currently all stock. If this is possible, is there a how to guide? Where am I able to purchase the 6990 card from? I figured the current 5870m was all one board integrated. Do I need to purchase an entire new board and swap out the cpu? Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

@Vanish Yes, you can change out your old 5870 to a 6990. Take a look at his thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/622217-msi-gx660-updated-6990m.html he explains everything on how in writing and has photos.

Also, your able to put in a 920XM processor too if your interested

 

I installed a 6990M in my GX660R and was unhappy with the noise and temp levels. The increase in gaming performance on the other hand, was phenomenal

GPU > SSD > CPU

A CPU upgrade is not really worthwhile if you're gaming. It's only good for video rendering really :/ (coming from a person who upgraded to a 920XM + 6990M from 740QM + 5870M)

You can buy a 6990M here: ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 6990m GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay It's a Clevo card and will work perfectly. Beware of customs fees if you're in the UK.

 

@geo, you had noise issues with your 6990M? weird never heard of anything like that..

 

Well yes, you have to game with the turbo fan on (unless CPU at highest then it's auto-on), otherwise the thing will get too hot. And we all know how loud the fan is at the highest

 

Haha, yeah, the turbo fan can get loud, but from what I remember with my brothers 6990 in he doesnt have noise issues and doesnt have to turn on turbo fan, his cooling pad and fan on low seemed to keep it cool enough where the fan didnt kick up speeds to highest gear. Could be the thermal paste he used also?

 

Well a cooling fan does help. I was pushing it a bit because I had the GPU overclocked to 820/1020 plus the 920XM at 3.2Ghz on 4 cores so a LOT of heat was being generated [I was expecting too much from this little laptop lol]; he had 3 heat pipes which helped also.

I'd say for gaming upgrade the GPU only and keep it at stock clocks, beast performance and the GX660 will cope just fine.

If you do video rendering, the XM is a better upgrade. The whole point of an XM is to overclock it, and I just don't think that's the best idea when you have a very hot 6990M to deal with already.

 

haha, yea.. its really up too what he does more or he said he only games here n there so I figured why waste the cash on something like a video card.. when the 5870 is still decent.. and haha yeah, the MSI GX660orR are beasts for a lil laptop when you tune them up and yea, I have the 3 heat pipe too, heard some peoples did not come with them which caused higher temps that'd suck for upgrading or wanting too..

 

Thanks for the responses guys, much appreciated. I also read on the thread that Tabor shared, something about Ryzeki getting a PSU along with the paste and card. Is a new PSU required to feed the beast?

 

Your welcome!

 

Yeah you need a 180W PSU for the higher cards.

You can also fit a GTX570M with the right heatsink. Good luck finding one though.

 

I'd gladly trade mine for your 5870M heatsink though :3

 

Thanks for the responses, so it looks like GPU is the way to go. I dont do too much in the way of video editing, just a bit here n there. But do like my games to look nice

So am I right in thinking the only way of getting my mits on a new GPU is thru ebay?

Also the 6970m seems to come in two versions, looking on ebay...One with soldered on posts and one without....I take its the one without the posts I need?

Anywhere I can get these in Europe so I dont get stung on the import tax?

Mick

 

I'd say wait for HD7000 series cards. They are around the corner. Heat won't be an issue with them(28nm). And they should be faster than current generation. 5870 is still decent card for modern games.

 

To the persons who think I should wait to make that upgrade until the 7000 cards are released, I will take that advice. So is upgrading video cards in laptops a relatively new thing? I have never heard of it until i came across this post.

 

Yeah, I hope you have 3 Heat Pipes too.. will help keep your laptop cooler, only some peoples came with em n most didn't... Might wanna look into that.. I'd just go get an OEM 920XM since its the best n last upgrade u can do and wait on a video card since like said above 7000 cards are right around the corner, new cards come out fast..

 

Yeah but you are not there to trade

 

it was meant to direct at both you and the person you suggested the idea to

But i dont think i will need it any longer though since I just ordered an outlet alienware

 

Why? What's wrong with your machine?

 

nah it run perfectly fine, I just get off a BF3 match in fact. I was on the fence since a few days ago that i found out the AW has HDMI input and all the ridiculous deals contrary to the common belief.

Then today saw one on the outlet with 2670QM and 6870M for $1149.00. Thats like a middle finger to the fence I'm holding and the planned wait for the eventual HD7xxx series. Even with no discount how am i supposed to pass it up? When it come I will swap out components and maybe sell the frankenstein of a machine GT683DX up on eBay .

Also its interesting at MSI side too since we will soon get a GT780 with a GTX 580M so that would mean the most significant change would be the heatsink (or not) and a higher PSU. I will keep lurking around and drop in occasionally .

 

funny ive been contemplating the exact same thing.

and as i have an i5 i was leaning towards the 920xm but mabe i should lean towards the 6970/6990 hmmmm ideas?

 

Due to economic related issues I decided to wait two months before getting a new GPU. So I am thinking about waiting for the HD7000 series instead, and get the CPU first because its the cheapest upgrade.

with a 920xm and SSDs, i can save up enough to properly get the new gpu. The problem with the GPU upgrade is that I require a new PSU+GPU+tools to remove a bit of heatsink, so that ends up being the most expensive upgrade.

If by the time HD7000 launches, or if they take too long, in two months I will upgrade toHD6990m.

 

Remember with the upgraded CPU you will also need to upgrade the Power Supply Unit, you will need more power to run the 920XM.. You will wanna get a 180W here is a link to one, just a link might not be the cheapest out their but yeah. Think I paid 35$ shipped for mine.. TARGUS UNIVERSAL AC POWER NOTEBOOK ADAPTER APA05US PA-1181-08 - 3 CONNECTING TIP | eBay

 

@FlyingMonkey99 I'd wait on a new video card and get the best CPU you can get the 920XM and wait on the HD7*** series to come out, they are going to be smaller and run cooler.. also remember to pick up a new AC adapter 180W

 

Nah, 180W is only for the HD6990m. 150w is enough for the 920xm even OC as the stock works with 120w too.

Specially since im changing on monday my HDDs for SSDs essentially liberating some 8 or so watts.

And I think I will use the 180w MSI GT780 PSU.

EDIT: Forgot to say I already use a 150w PSU since my GPU is overvolted and OCd. The 920xm should work no problems

 

Idk, I use a 180W.. but thats because you can burn up those smaller power supplies by over heating em.. Or comp might not wanna work correctly since it could be low on power.. idk, I just changed mine just incase so I wouldn't have any issues..

 

Don't worry. When you exceed the PSU it kills itself and you need to disconnect it back to enable it. It doesn't explode etc, and it would overheat only if you constantly use your machine at 100% on the limit of the PSU.

The machine, on stock as MSI gives it to you, works with a 120w PSU and that PSU alone can use the 920xm by itself on stock no throttlestop. the 920xm consumtion is not that much greater than the 740qm for example, which is about 54w on peak for stock 920xm.

The CPU does not require as much power as the GPU which is why if you overvolt the GPU it kills the PSU.

with a 150w it works with the 920xm even OC CPU and GPU. 180w is only necessary if you change GPU as the HD6990m consumes much more than HD5870m.

Keep in mind that the HDDs consume some watts of power (like 6 or more per HDD), and that SSDs consume less than 1 watt so that extra watts you save helps keep things in line.

 

Just to give You guys something to talk about:
my GX740 with i7-820QM, 8GB RAM, X-25M G2 + 500GB Samsung Spinpoint M7 and 5870M@800/1000 consumes 184Watts at peak load, using Linpack and Furmark simultaneously, plus playing some MP3s in the background and using WiFi, and having ZM-NC3000U connected through 2 USB ports.

 

not even an XM and you already consumed 184W? hmmm

 

184W from the wall, no idea how efficient your supply is though.

 

It is the Targus APA05US 180W PSU. I have no idea, how efficient it is though.