MSI GX660 Updated with 6990m!

Just got it up and running. I had to make the small heatsink mod as others did with the 6970m, but with a dremel it was a breeze. Temps show 47C as I type this, so I haven't noticed a huge increase in temps. Clocks show 715/900 in Trixx, I think this is correct. I already had Cata 11.10 preview 3 installed, and it worked after I searched the computer for the proper driver. The GX660 recognized the card without a problem, and it seems to be working great.

 

Great news! Keep us posted on your process

 

Awesome awesome awesome!

Post some pics asap

 

Congrats! Do some stress test to make sure everything is in order.

 

Talan, you jerkface, now I'm going to have severe e-peen envy because of you.

Sigh. Depending on how much work I want to do, I'll probably end up beefing this bad boy up before I consider selling it.


EDIT: Damn. Is it me, or are the censors even more strict nowadays?

 

Great thread! I want to perform the exact upgrade!

man I really need to save up money... depending on how you handle the temps, the OC should be great!

If you can guide us with the general steps, the pics would be very welcome!( hope this isn't too late haha) on how to do it, specially the modifying of the heatsink it would be great!

 

I know that looks ridiculous above, but I wasn't sure how else to post that. Hope it helps. I will do more testing later since I have to leave for a couple hours.

 

Damn, now im in dillema whether to get the 6990 or find cheaper used 6970 >.<

if you dont mind, could you furmark test it and see how high the temp gets?

Thanks

 

Sure I'll take a look at later this weekend, I don't have my laptop cooler with me. With or without turbo fan on?? Or both?

 

with turbofan is fine, furmark test is the worst case situation test, so you might wanna give it all you can, lol.

 

Ran Furmark for a little over 5min before I said enough lol.

 

considering its 6990 inside gx660 with one fan only, thats a really good temp for furmark test. But the again my limit is always 85c ^^ as long as it can stay under 85c as long as it can, or more than 20min on furmark, then you got a really stable card, but yeah, no game would ever come close to that temp ^^

 

will the HD 6990m also works on GX640 ???

 

you should check if the thermal pads fit or not broken or something. The temp #3 is suspiciously higher than the rest.

 

agree with him, in my case my 6970m never get higher than 75c with the turbo fan on, the pads over the transistors should fix that high temps

 

Well I just ran BF3 for about 20min, full server, 1080p/high settings, turbo fan on. These are the temps I achieved. I'm not too sure if I want to break this thing down again so soon, especially since the temps are definitely very good/safe for the setup I am running this card in. But that temp 3 sensor is def. higher. Anyone know what it monitors? Maybe it just gets hotter? I think I remember it was the same way with my old 5870m.

Also have you guys undervolted this card? Or can you point me in the direction of some undervolted Dell bios? I would rather undervolt via bios so I don't have to bother with it everyday.

I'll run some games later with OC and see what results I can get. The gf is over for the weekend and isn't thrilled with me toying around with my laptop.

 

Sorry forgot the picture, and couldn't edit it in.

 

That's Badess!

 

im fairly certain the temp#3 is the horizontal column of VRAM above the chip.

 

Thanks for that info Dragon, I'll have to take a look at it sometime, but for not I am not content with what I have. Also a user in the 6990 Undervolt Achieved post #16 also report a 6-7C degree difference on temp sensor #3. Maybe this is just the norm. Maybe my temps will improve over time as the paste has more time to cure. I am also going to reflash my card to a lower voltage since I don't see a need to OC just yet. Have you done this to your card?

 

i suppose thats possible. Just for reference but mine temp #3 and #2 are 3-4 degree higher than temp #1 underload. Yeah run it for a few days first before doing anything.

I tried to undervolt at first and while it works well the performance is not enough for me. At the stock clocks the card its just barely faster than my old GTX 570M overclocked so I oc'd it to 815/1150.

 

Where did you get the 6990m from?

 

Just finished upgrading my GX660R - now with a beast 6990M! Currently testing it out on BF3, will post more info in a bit!

 

I bought a Clevo 6990M from upgradeyourlaptop on eBay - ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 6990m GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay
At first I ordered the 6970M. But the next day he had 6990Ms in stock and I crapped myself. So I quickly sent him a message and he switched it for me just before dispatch - love this guy so much. So after a week or so, the item finally arrives to my house after I pay a customs fee and collect it from the post office because my mother did not open the door, worth all the hassle.

This Clevo 6990M comes with an X plate on the back but that was very easily removed with my fingers; I just pushed the metal bars down at the same time and since it was stuck on with some weak glue, it came off smoothly - nothing to worry about. Then I just installed it.

I researched this A LOT, like read every thread multiple times including this one, MXM-Upgrade, 6970M in a GX660R, the m15x forums, etc.

Unfortuantely I only have 2 heat pipes because I have the GX660R but that really isn't an issue, just followed what Thanatospy did here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/568347-ati-6970m-gx660r-13.html by putting extra Akasa thermal tape on top of the RAM thermal pads (which I carefully reused). ICD 7 was the best paste according to this forum so I slapped that on. Trimming the heatsink was a pain, and I made a bit of a mess with that but it was a laugh and I did what I had to do.

Oh yeah, Drivers just installed by themselves since I already have the latest catalyst installed - after 1 restart it was all working. I have not tested the HDMI and I won't bother becase I don't use it at all.

I haven't ran any gaming benchmarks and probably won't bother but the idle temps I get are in the 44-52C (all the 3 temp values are approx the same so I think I did a great job there [these are lower than my stock 5870M LOL]) and played battlefield for like an hour with turbo fan on and temps did not exceed 74C (about the same, maybe even lower than the stock 5870M Haha). Atm I am very happy with that and will probs keep it overclocked to 740/1000 whilst gaming - the max I can go from the default of 715/900 on this video card bios.

I am using a GENUINE 180w PSU from LI SHIN: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-L...Accessories_PowerSupplies&hash=item20ba1ceb6e I got it 2nd hand for cheap and it's the only real 180w I could find in the UK. It's pretty damn big but nonetheless required.

Anyways, all is good in the hood. Currently I am waiting for my 920XM to arrive tomorrow so I can install that and use throttlestop to run 3.0Ghz over 4 cores simultaneously.

Skyrim completely maxed out over 9000, here I come.

 

My only issue is that GPU-Z says I don't have OpenCL - I have noticed this on others too. How can I get it? D=

 

Sounds really like a good upgrade ! How much did you finally pay this card with all the fees and postage ? It looks like it was an expensive upgrade tho

 

Congrats GeoCake!! Those temps sound great. This laptop handles this card so well, I don't know why MSI hasn't just sold it with these cards. They could give Clevo a run for their money in the 15" sector. Great gfx and great sound FTW. Comparing my temps to that of a Clevo based system, we aren't far off with our single fan setups and ours don't sound like turbofan engines spooling up.

Can you tell me what your idle clocks are?

I got my card from Table21 in marketplace. It's a dell card. Paid $370 shipped.

I also just soldl my old 5870m for $180 so my upgrade just got a lot cheaper.

The 920xm will be a nice upgrade, but you can expect an increase in temps. Especially at that OC you plan. I would say it will be hitting 80c or more on all 4 cores. I didn't really see any increase in fps in BF3 with a CPU OC. I just leave it stock and it performs flawlessly.

 

Man you guys are killing me. I really wanna upgrade and now I dunno what to get! Maybe the GPU first, or maybe the HDDs... or CPU... damm!

 

wow, for that price itself is already dang cheap, and you manage to sell the 5870 that high as well, congrats man ^^

im amazed how close temp wise between 6970 and 6990. with the performance increase, i was expecting a more hotter card.

 

I have the 6790m in my GX660. Is it worth upgrading to the 6990m or wait for the 7000m?

Ryzeki:- I have massively upgraded my GX660 and the best upgrade to start with is a SSD and a super fast 500gb hdd. Stay away from the Corsair Force SSD as it has an issue on start up where the bios does not detect the ssd but it does after a few seconds. The CPU is not worth it as you have a good one already.

 

GeoCake can you let me know what your idle clocks are? For some reason my card refuses to downclock now. The clocks permanently sit at 250/900 and this has caused my idle temps to rise and the fan to kick itself up to a higher setting. I can only get it back down to 100/150 by disabling ATI powerplay. Seems backwards to me. I've tried reinstalling the driver, used driver sweeper, reflashed bios, and for some reason, I can't get my card back to the way it was acting before. If you look at an earlier posted picture of mine, it seems it downclocked just fine. I can't remember if I've changed anything, or what could possibly be causing this issue. Load temps are fine, and scores are still normal, but it is just not wanting to downclock now. Any ideas?

 

Check if you have something running in the background via task manager that may use up the card?

 

Nothing I can see, I will have to mess around with it more tomorrow. I am off to bed. It's 4am.. Sick of messing with it.

 

Mine are 100/150. But they jump up to the higher 715/900 and then back down sometimes. Doesn't affect temperatures that much and fan doesn't kick in. My card was brand new when I received it (no old paste) and works really well, think it's OEM. It sounds like there's something up with your bios due to the irregular clocks - your laptop probs needs a rest, restart, power supply in/out, powerplay on/off etc.

The graphics card cost me about £380 (Card, postage, customs). Minus like £110 for old card.

I need a more powerful CPU because of Fraps and the occasional video rendering (I record 360 footage), montages etc. I need OpenCL for Sony Vegas - the card's specs say it supports it but GPU-Z says it doesn't have it????

Upgrade GPU before anything if you like playing games (obv you do if you bought this laptop). SSDs are not going to improve your gaming experience in the slightest (faster load speeds but pointless if it lags at 1080p). CPU is great if you're into your video work, etc.

As for the 7000M it'll be like a year before that's even available to buy (top of the range version), and we are not sure whether it will be MXM 3.0 Type B (most likely it won't).

 

Now for the ultimate test: 12 hours of non-stop Skyrim w/ Turbo Fan and volume at max. Here goes!!

 

It seems no matter what I try, I can't it to downclock unless I disable Powerplay. I went back to 11.9s with no luck. Could it be possible I have a bad bios flash, yet the card works perfectly otherwise? I guess I could try and see if an OS reinstall later this week fixes the issue, but I'd rather not do that... Looks like I'll be buying that external hard drive sooner than I wanted.

 

Mine was stuck on 400/900 for a bit but I just kept disabling Powerplay and enabling it, adjusting performance/battery life and then it seemed to go back to normal

 

Well maybe nothing is wrong then.. I just don't get why I can't get this card to downclock lower than 250/900. I just flashed again with the bios it came with and still nothing. I get nervous everytime I do reflash, and I don't want to end up bricking my card so I think I'm just going to leave it alone.

 

Hey GeoCake, are you from the UK?
What upgrades have you made other than the 6990m?

Those temps look nice, better than my stock 5870m!

 

Only upgraded the graphics to 6990M and processer to 920XM. Choose it over the 940XM because it's £70 cheaper and has the exact same power and overclock features.

Skyrim is running really well, have had it on since I last posted (about 4 hours lol). Temps do not exceed 75C on graphics level (turbo fan has to be running for obvious reasons as this card needs serious cooling), and I am alt-tabbing browsing around doing loads of things at the same time this machine is coping well

 

Only, hehe. They're the exact uppgrades (as well as replacing the one 2GB stick with 4GB) I'm looking at, but have been worried about temps. I only picked this up on Monday so I'll atleast give it a short while hehe .

 

You really won't need to worry about temps with a good paste and pad job. Also make sure you et a good cooler like a zalmon nc2000 and it will be fine. I can run this thing even without turbo fan and still keep it in safe operating temps. The turbo fan just makes it that much better. Also you will need an uPgraded psu because the stock may fail and take other stuff with it die to the increased power requirements. This is a must of you also upgrade to the xm quads.

 

Talon, if you ever get the chance, mind running a 10+ minute Furmark test, with regular fan control, no (active) notebook cooler, and the bottom panel removed?

If it gets uncomfortably hot, by all means abort, but I'd like to see how it works.

 

Forge sure NP, but you mean use a laptop cooler underneath yes? I will be able to do that in the next couple days, again I'm not at home and don't have a laptop cooler or screwdriver with me.

 

I mean you can use the cooler for spacing or angles, or whatever, but keep the fans off.

If you have something like an XPad, that would be what I'm getting at.

 

Thanks, I am actually going to buy the Crucial M4 128GB SSD. Gonna go full on SSD with a raid setup! haha it might not be necesary but I want to try it since I dont need that much space on my laptop. With all my games and software installed I am using less than 180GB so a dual 128GB SSD should be enough. I can use my external storage for all those other small things.

Yeah I think I will leave my CPU as the last upgrade.

So then I should upgrade my GPU first because this is my main gaming rig, then my HDDs and finally my CPU? I don't do any other cpu intensive task beside gaming for now.

man I wish I could upgrade all at the same time. I technically can but I am not sure I wanna spend so much money so quickly.

 

I'd upgrade the GPU first since you like to game. You're going to see the biggest performance boost from that. This card is a beast. Then the SSD, and finally an XM series. Though I can't even say how much my 920xm has helped with gaming.. I guess it will become more useful when higher clocked quads are required for games, but right now at stock, it handles everything fine and is not a bottleneck. Maybe if I was doing other CPU intensive tasks I would OC it. I had a 450m then a 740qm and finally this, and I saw the biggest difference in gaming performance moving from the 450m to the 740qm compared to the upgrade to the 920xm --- at least in BC2.

Also in the process of backing up files and created my boot disc for a fresh OS install. My hard drive is either failing or getting corrupt. Missing icons, files are getting corrupted, and windows looks all messed up. Hopefully this fresh install fixes the idle clocks for me as well.

 

SSD on raid should give about 400MB/s+ write speed (according to HDTune).

I have upgraded my laptop to the 6970m back in May and its been awesome.

Points to note:
1) You need to run Furmark for 20 minutes to see how bad the heat gets. Without turbo fan it can get to 98c+. I stopped it at 98c as I didn’t want to go any further. With turbofan it stopped at 87c. Unfortunately the fan is controlled by the CPU temp NOT GPU temp!

2) Get new 0.5mm pads as the 1mm pads I got are too thick.
3) Definitely get a 180w PSU.
4) Modify the casing by drilling holes. I got some small squared graph paper to plot the holes.
4) Clevo based cards may not have sound from HDMI. I had to flash my Clevo card with Dell firmware to get sound.

 

Does the 180W PSU work without modding it, i.e. changing the plug/socket on the laptop?

 

Very true! Gotta be careful. I did not bother drilling holes, just trimmed the heatsink with a dremel.

If you buy the one with the right tip - 5.5mm x 2.5mm then no need to mod. You have to be careful and buy a legitimate PSU that is rated 180w, which might cost a bit in the UK. I was lucky to get mine 2nd hand for cheap.

Anyways been gaming on Skyrim/BF3 for a few hours with the 920XM @ 3.0Ghz across all cores as well as the 6990M overclocked and it's been really stable. WEI shows 7.5 for both CPU and RAM and 7.7 for both graphics - this is the most benchmarking I'll do [lol], alongside playing games for long periods.
Getting a 240w PSU for 3.65Ghz across all 4 cores and an OCed 6990M is possible, but complete overkill and prone to a meltdown. =P

So yeah, GPU, SSD then CPU. I needed CPU more than SSDs so I got the 920XM, but it didn't make a massive difference to gaming than the 740QM (maybe a few frames, nothing substantial), however the extra CPU power helped with video work and FRAPs in the background recording.

I'd love to have an SSD, but for now, a CPU and GPU upgrade is more than enough for me; I must find a way to fix these holes in my pockets.