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M90 GPU Options

post #1 of 44
5/11/09 at 5:51pm
Thread Starter 
My Boss's Precision M90 has a dead graphics card and I was hoping someone could help me determin which graphics cards are available and will work on the M90. Preformance is not an issue at all. Price is the major concern. So basically i'm asking what is the cheapest available GPU for the Precision M90?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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post #2 of 44
5/11/09 at 10:57pm
I don't think you can replace the GPU on the M90, without replacing the entire motherboard.
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post #3 of 44
5/12/09 at 1:40am
Its replaceable.

ATI X1400
FX1500M
7900 Go GS
FX2500M
7900 Go GTX
FX3500M
7950 Go GTX

The X1400 is the cheapest but its the weakest as well. Also, due to limited availability, its price may be almost the same as the more powerful nvidia GPU's.
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post #4 of 44
5/16/09 at 12:38pm

Replacing the M90 GPU

Hey Stile5240, Regarding the defective M90 GPU, l’ve had several M90s and the GPU is very much replaceable. You seem pretty certain about the GPU, thus l hope you take no offense, However if you can provide some more info perhaps someone here can help you definitively identify that the problem is a defective GPU.

M90 GPU options*
  • nVIDIA Quadro FX 3500M
  • nVIDIA Quadro FX 2500M
  • nVIDIA Quadro FX 1500M
*The M90 shares the same form factor and/or power requirements with several Dell notebooks (XPS 1710 Inspiron 9400/E1705) some of their GPU may work in an M90

M90 Video Card/Thermal-Cooling Assembly



M90 Mobile Workstation Service Manual
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1006368

Tips
  • If you should decide to replace the GPU the keyboard should be removed followed by separating the base from the palm rest. There is no need to remove the display, only the Wi-Fi antennas. The good news is the motherboard won’t even need to be touched in order to get the GPU replaced
  • While you’re in the system replacing the GPU it would be a good time to also clean out the fans. Just blow a little compressed air over them. Don’t go too rough with this, you just want to get the lose particles off. it should help system temps


hope this helps
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post #5 of 44
8/5/09 at 6:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zero-hour View Post
  • While you’re in the system replacing the GPU it would be a good time to also clean out the fans. Just blow a little compressed air over them. Don’t go too rough with this, you just want to get the lose particles off. it should help system temps
:
I was wondering about doing that on my M90, the fans are noisy and the machine runs real hot. I suspect the fans/heatsink are clogged with dust.

I recall though that when the technician was out here to replace the original GPU (it failed in the first month or two after purchase) there was a lot of disassembly to get at the GPU and the fans are underneath it?
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post #6 of 44
8/5/09 at 9:59am
it's not too bad, just take your time, and keep track of the screws lol.

You do have to remove the hard drive, battery, and display assembly then seperate the bottom chassis to expose the main board, and of course the fan s.

Removal of the fan is best to ensure a proper cleaning.

if you still find the fans noisy i would suggest replacing them

usually can pick them up for under $ 10.00 on Ebay.
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post #7 of 44
8/5/09 at 8:45pm
Peronsal experience it took about 25 minutes to carefull dismantle and clean the system then about 10 minutes to slap it back together.
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post #8 of 44
7/24/10 at 7:41am
So I found this thread via google and decided to post up...

My M90 has just fried its third GPU, a 7950 GTX...

What should I do to stop it frying them apart from keeping the damn thing on a cooling pad and cleaning it very often?

Are M90's really that bad?

Also, is there a better alternative than the 7950 GTX? I'm giving this laptop one more chance, and I'm thinking about letting it fry the best graphics card out there.
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post #9 of 44
7/24/10 at 5:03pm
see the post in this thread the various GPU options have been noted.
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post #10 of 44
7/24/10 at 7:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lycante View Post
So I found this thread via google and decided to post up...

My M90 has just fried its third GPU, a 7950 GTX...

What should I do to stop it frying them apart from keeping the damn thing on a cooling pad and cleaning it very often?
Make sure the fans are not full of dust, put it on a cooling pad and you should be fine. Unless you are overclocking the GPU to silly levels in which case, well, back off.
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post #11 of 44
7/25/10 at 5:26am
The problem is that my M90 has been on a cooling pad since it came out of the box, specially when running graphic applications, and it's been cleaned regularly as well...

And I guess I'm going to get another 7950 GTX... although at this point getting a new laptop sounds cheaper.
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post #12 of 44
7/25/10 at 8:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lycante View Post
The problem is that my M90 has been on a cooling pad since it came out of the box, specially when running graphic applications, and it's been cleaned regularly as well...

And I guess I'm going to get another 7950 GTX... although at this point getting a new laptop sounds cheaper.
True, unless you can find a good deal on the replacement part. Giving the years on notebooks, once something is going bad, the other parts might be following.

cheers ...
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post #13 of 44
7/25/10 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lycante View Post
The problem is that my M90 has been on a cooling pad since it came out of the box, specially when running graphic applications, and it's been cleaned regularly as well...

And I guess I'm going to get another 7950 GTX... although at this point getting a new laptop sounds cheaper.

Stick the cheaper FX1500 card in it and sell it.
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post #14 of 44
7/25/10 at 12:11pm
Also should point out most if not all these cards are refurbs, and more likely a "baked" card

so they will not last that long if they were baked as the heat build up in these cards will cause another failure in due time
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post #15 of 44
7/25/10 at 4:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave-p View Post
Stick the cheaper FX1500 card in it and sell it.
That's what I was thinking, actually. Kind of sad if you think about it, because I've got nothing else to complain about on the M90.

Thanks for the help, guys.

And if anyone has other advice...
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post #16 of 44
8/13/10 at 12:07pm
My M90 turned out to have 5 year warranty, not 3 as I had thought. (Its now 4 years old). Which is good as it was starting to get really flaky.

Dell came out and replaced the fans, the GPU, and indeed the motherboard so its all working fine now.
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post #17 of 44
8/13/10 at 12:53pm
Did you extend the warranty?

cheers ...
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post #18 of 44
8/13/10 at 1:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
Did you extend the warranty?
No, apparently my company bought a five year warranty when it was purchased.
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post #19 of 44
8/13/10 at 1:25pm
I meant did you extend the current warranty, now that you only have one left.

cheers ...
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post #20 of 44
8/13/10 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
I meant did you extend the current warranty, now that you only have one left.
Oh. No, in one year I hope to get a new machine
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