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how to *physically* differentiate the 766's geforce 5600/5700 and radeon 9600/9700?

post #1 of 4
9/30/09 at 2:16pm
Thread Starter 
Just in time for my fan to start going out on my 766's GPU (okay, it has been since October), I found a working "Alienware Area 51 766 Fan with Heatsink for Video Card" on eBay, which I promptly snapped up for only $39.98.

Now if you look at the picture the guy posted (the listing says the picture is the actual item),



it's obviously the entire video module. The question is, does anyone know how to physically differentiate the four possible cards? I took my 9600 out last night to try and figure out why the fan was giving up the ghost, and I don't remember seeing any labels. Having said that, maybe you guys know better. If it's a 9600, I can just swap the modules out and that's that. If it's a 9700, I don't have the right motherboard; and I won't install a geforce in place of my 9600. So there's a 25% chance I can just swap the modules out, a 75% chance I will have to disassemble the modules and swap the fans out.

Anyway, back to my question. Any thoughts?

Thanks.
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post #2 of 4
9/30/09 at 3:08pm
Thread Starter 
hmm. the plot thickens. he says he is selling the video card separately:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:X:RTQ:US:1123

I'm confused because I thought these were self-contained video modules, i.e. the Alienware knowledge base article on replacing the unit. A search online shows that what he is selling is, indeed, a mobility radeon 9600, and if you look at his picture of the back of the unit, it looks like what the module connects to in my laptop.

So does this mean there are actually two parts to the video module? Why isn't this illustrated in the knowledge base article? I know this can't be all that interesting - a question about a five year old computer - but it's the only one I have and, other than the fan problem on the video module, continues to serve me very well - I can even play Left 4 Dead on it in between using it for work.
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post #3 of 4
9/30/09 at 6:19pm
Alienware, as with many brands, offers the possibility of swapping out the GPU in certain models.

You can just swap/upgrade the GPU if the system permits.

cheers ...
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post #4 of 4
10/1/09 at 2:21pm
In most gaming laptops, you can replace the GPU with another one if it goes AWOL on you. The heatsink shouldn't be a problem though. Just keep your old one and it will work with the new video card. That is, unless it's a totally different model type. Make sure you clean off the old thermal grease before applying new pea-sized amount to the new one.
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