Upgrading a dead 680m to 780m?

Hello all.

New to the forums but I figured this would be a good place to ask a few questions.

Very recently I believe I had my GTX680m die on me, and I am looking to replace or upgrade it. It seems easier to find a 780m these days than a 680m, which would suit me fine if it is compatible.

I have an MSI GT70 0NE purchased in 2012. Windows 7 install with the gtx680m 4gb.
While doing homework, the laptop suddenly shut off. If i pressed the power button, it would flash white for a split second, but remain off, nothing turning on. I took it apart and started removing pieces and attempting to boot. After removing the vga card, it successfully turned on, and booted off the internal HD4000 chip. This leads me to believe the vga card has died, or the interface between the card and the motherboard somehow went bad. I'm leaning toward the more common problem.

I am now in the market for another gtx680m, or the upgrade to a gtx 780m. I am fairly certain these two cards (MSI stock) would be compatible with this notebook, but I am just seeking confirmation. As well, I shouldn't have to flash the vbios if i upgrade to a stock MSI 780m since it will already have the msi vbios onboard correct?
Additionally, would I need to upgrade my bios as well? Will the stock 780m have issues with installing nvidia drivers? And will I be able to safely use the 680m heatsink? The card architecture looks identical as well as the power output.

If anyone has any information, or confirmation of any of these questions I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

MSI GT70 0NE 276US
GTX 680m 4gb
Bios: E1762IMS.30M
EC: 1762EMS1 Ver 4.10
IGFX Vbios: 2126
ME FW Version 8.0.0.1351
Windows 7 install with a RAID setup

 

Hello and welcome to the Notebook Review Forum,

You probably can upgrade your MSI GT70 ONE 276US to Nvidia GTX 780M, but 100% compatibility is difficult to be said. I think that BIOS update is necessary for every GPU upgrade. One very important thing to consider is the card itself. If it's MSI Nvidia GTX 780M-green card you shouldn't have problems but if it's Clevo card-blue, compatibility is not granted. Some other users have issues with upgrading their MSI laptops with Clevo Nvidia cards.

 

An upgrade to a 970m should be doable too. Check out the thread for upgrading the GT60/GT70. Ironically, you can pick up a 970m pretty cheap compared to some of the older cards.

 

A 780M is feasible, but you are least likely to run into any variables by using a likewise 680M. One of the biggest caveats is to make certain you opt for an MSI card, specifically, and not another OEMs card (as Zar mentioned).

 

Potential issues:
1. Compatibility issue with BIOS.
2. May need bigger AC adapter.
3. Compatibility issue with existing heatsink.
4. VBIOS may need to be flashed with a different one.

 

My recommendation is the 970M with the latest hestsink from the the GT70/GT60 series.

Updating to the latest bios for your system on the MSI website should make it a slot in upgrade.

 

Recommend the 970M as well with the latest GT60/70 heatsink (970/80m variant). If you cannot find that heatsink simply find a 780m or 880m GT60/70 version on eBay and mod it. In all honesty you might actually have much better compatibility with the 970m versus the 780m.

 

Not to mention 970m is better and runs cooler

 

Thank you for all the advice. I will begin looking into making an upgrade. An MSI gtx 680m is nigh impossible to find these days, but it seems easier to locate the upgrades. I did contact a seller on craigslist a few days ago, and popped in a blue 680m out of an alienware rig, and came across compatibility issues. I ended up not purchasing his card. I will certainly make every attempt to get a green MSI card to avoid any major compatibilty issues

Edit:
After doing a bit more research, I am certainly leaning to purchasing the 970m. It seems to be the best for the money these days, and isnt much more than an 880m.

 

I've been shopping around for a few days now trying to locate an MSI 970m but they are more difficult to come by than I had thought. Does anyone have any recommendations for searching? The only place I have found ANY 970m's is ebay and everyone of them is an alienware/clevo blue card.