Question:
MXM Xperiment
So, Ice-Tea (owner of www.mxm-upgrade.com) was kind enough to send me a 7900GS Arima Special MXM video card, to experiment with the C90S.
Turns out that the only VGAs you will be able to use are proprietary C90 cards, since the heat spreader on the card is not transferable to another card (since you can't remove it from the card that it is on.)
Therefore the fate of the upgradibility of this notebook is based entirely on Asus making C90 cards, since any card from anywhere just won't do.
My problems may have been due to the fact that the 7900GS is an arima special card, so encourage people to still try different MXM-II cards as well, to be sure, but don't expect to use any old card you want in this computer, it is up to Asus to make the new cards.
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
Why exactly do you have to use the Asus heat spreader?
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
To be fair, MXM ain't made so the consumers can upgrade easily, it's for the manufacturers. And also, the Arima Special card is just that, special. A regular MXM II might, MIGHT, work better. Fujitsu-Siemens notebooks tend to use mxm, so if you have one of those or have a friend who does, try it out.
I have a question though: Is there room for a full MXM III card there, or just the Arima special?
Oh, and where have you hid Ted the Penguin?
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
Well I still like the C90 but....
You can upgrade the memory!! (as long as you use these unknown memory modules)
You can upgrade the processor!! (as long as you use the conroe processor)
You can upgrade the video card!! (as long as you use ours and only ours)
[Homer's voice] Mmmmm.... Corporate Manipulation [/Homer's voice] :D :rolleyes:
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
i was never gonna upgrade the video card anyway, but nice job for testing it.
looks like this laptop may not be different than any other laptop :) but then again, personally i dnt care, cuz its much faster than any other mobile laptop and will be for a while
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
That's the problem with most manufacturers. They sell kinda-MXM-but-not-quite cards all the time. But if the heatspreader doesn't fit I would try to modify it to make it work. Only if it's a really nice card, though :)
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
It isn't that it doesn't fit, it is that it can't be removed from the card that comes with the C90. Basically, Asus produces the cards with a built-in heat spreader, not one that is part of the C90 or separate altogether. The Arima special fits perfectly, such that anything bigger won't fit, so no MXM-III. You have to use the heat spreader because that is how the heat sink is connected. (The heat spreader attached to the MXM screw holes and the heat sink attaches to the the heat spreader screw holes, both of which are completely different.)
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
different heat spreader should be all you need :P
what cant be removed from the card btw?? I had mine taken apart completly and took pictures of the gpu in my review.
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
Are you saying this doesnt come off???
??
thats mine,... off
and here is the bare gpu
So you have me confused on what cant be done.
For a different card you will proably need a different heat spreader, but all the other stuff should be fine and fit.
Answer:
Re: MXM Xperiment
I don't see how you did that, since I took a screwdriver to mine and practically tried to pry it off...the card looked like it was ready to crack so I stopped. mine wasn't about to budge.