Dead Video Card on a Dell M1710 Gaming Notebook

[Apoptosis]

My buddy fried a video card on his Dell M1710 gaming notebook and Dell is out of stock on video cards for these notebooks. Just wondering if anyone here knows of where one could be found and/or what the cheapest way would be to getting it back working. I think the Dell M1710 can use Dell e1705 video cards and they make ATI RadeoN X300's for those. I know Jason wrote an article on changing the video card in the E1705 here - http://www.legitreviews.com/article/349/1/

I am pretty sure all these will fit:

UF814 256MB Graphics Card-7900GS
YF227 512MB Graphics Card-7900GTX
GU067 512MB Graphics Card-7950GTX

I also think some of the lower end cards will, but I don't know the Dell part number on those.

[dicecca112]

they've changed since then, and have probably changed again. Just because online dell doesn't list it, doesn't mean they don't have it. Call Dell and explain the situation, they more often than not will sell you card. Expect to pay 150 and up. The 8400gs for my Dell 1520 is 178$.

[Apoptosis]

There is a 7900GS on ebay for $150 that he is thinking about bidding on - http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-M1710 ... dZViewItem

[Apoptosis]

Ended up replacing his 7900 GTX video card with a used GeForce 7900 GS that we found on e-bay... the new card doesn't have a heat pipe that the old one does, but it fits in the M1710 just fine even though it came out of an e1705. Both had 256mb of memory.

Pros: Cheaper & Longer battery life
Cons: Lower gaming performance, but he doesn't game.

[martini161]

why did he have such a nice card in there in the first place if he doesnt game?

[Apoptosis]

think he wasn't worried about money a few years back, but since changed jobs and took a huge pay cut...

[martini161]

wow, i know how that feels

[vicaphit]

Could you un-solder the old heatpipe and put it on the new one?

[martini161]

blow torches and video cards normally dont mix well

[vicaphit]

Heat up the coper enough and it will release. I wouldn't suggest using a blowtorch, just a soldering iron. Plus, it is a dead card anyway!

[martini161]

a soldering iron wouldnt be able to get it hot enough, youd have to use a blow torch

[dgsweaponx]

Hello there.

I have a similar problem (it seems these dell notebooks have a lot of problems with its game cards)

My problem is kind of the opposite and I hope you guys can help me.

I have an e1705 notebook and my geforce go 7900gs has gone bad.

My card is the one that has only one heat pipe. I would like to know if I'll be able to install the one with 2 heat pipes in my notebook.
Mine is like this pic... the other cooler is for the cpu. It seems it won't fit.



Tx in advance...

[dicecca112]

No you can't install the 2 heatpipe version, the Cooling is designed to take only 1 heatpipe, two would cause overheating, not to mention, where would you put the 2nd pipe? The ones with two pipes are for the newer Dell Notebooks

[dgsweaponx]

No you can't install the 2 heatpipe version, the Cooling is designed to take only 1 heatpipe, two would cause overheating, not to mention, where would you put the 2nd pipe? The ones with two pipes are for the newer Dell Notebooks

Ok. That's what I though.
I saw a lot of people saying that this fit a E1705, thats why I hoped.. :D
There are 3 of that GTX card on ebay for $99, much less than the GS.

I wish these laptops didn`t have that many problems with it`s video cards. Mine and my brother's have gone bad. >_<

Well, thank you for the quick answer!!

[DMB2000uk]

No you can't install the 2 heatpipe version, the Cooling is designed to take only 1 heatpipe, two would cause overheating, not to mention, where would you put the 2nd pipe? The ones with two pipes are for the newer Dell Notebooks

Well officially it doesn't take the bigger card.

But unofficially it does fit, second heatpipe and all. If you look at the left heatsink, the heatsink only takes up half of the available space, and in the remaining space is where the second heatpipe will fit.

However to fit the card in, you do have to break off a piece inside the bottom housing in order to fit the card into it.

There are some photo guides guides at:
http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=151471
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Case-Study ... 187.0.html

However you will also need a 130W/150W power brick (instead of the standard 90W E1705 one) and preferably a 9cell battery if you plan to get any real mobility out of it.

Dan

[dgsweaponx]

Well officially it doesn't take the bigger card.

But unofficially it does fit...

Dan

That's cool... but I'm having enough problems trying to buy 2 cards to replace my 2 dead ones, since I live in Brazil. Getting also a power brick and breaking off a piece of the notebook... =((
I'm thinking about getting the radeon, since its cheaper and it seems all the video cards die on these notebooks. I only play World of Warcraft. I believe it will be enough.

[DMB2000uk]

It's not really a big break, from:

to:


But I can see that getting more parts to make it work is a big hassle.

Dan

[dgsweaponx]

Ok Dan.
I don't mean to waste your time, but I think I missed undertood you. I guess it's my bad English.

The powerbrick that you were talking about is the AC Adapter, right?!
This one would do?!?(http://cgi.ebay.com/AC-Adapter-for-Dell ... 0275137268)

I think I'll buy the GTX one tx to you... I just have no Idea how I am going to cut off those pieces of the case... lol

Thanx for your help. Very much apreciated.

Doug.

[DMB2000uk]

Yes, it is just a power brick like that.

Try to buy dell branded stuff rather than random third party ones (like the link you posted) as they aren't always the best quality and could damage your laptop.

Dan

[Apoptosis]

Just wanted to let you guys know the replacement 7900 GS has died... lasted less than two weeks...