I've had my Inspy 9300 for eight years, never a GPU problem until recently--diags say it's in need of replacement, it may have recently overheated because one of the fans died without my knowledge. (I think it lasted this long because I have I8Kfangui and NHC both set up to keep the fans on high at all times.)
I don't have budget available to do replacement right with another $3k+ powerhouse, and even once I do I'll want to keep this thing running as a "spare system", so here's what I'm thinking, and need advice on implementation.
Phase one, directly replace one W5373 card with another. Will I need to remove and reinstall drivers? If so, do I need my Windows CD? (Which is problematic, I can't find it after years of trying.)
Phase two is the 7800GTX upgrade... I've been finding HF594 cards for like $80 on eBay (same card as in XPSG2GU) and F8451 heatsinks for $10 or less. I know I need a PA-13 brick, and I've only ever bought the bigger 9-cell batteries.
Questions:
1. I heard somewhere that the I9300 A04 and A05 BIOSes do support the 7800GTX without needing the "XPS Brainwash"--is this true? If not, does anybody still have the hacked BIOS out there?
2. When I rip out and reinstall drivers for the HF594, will I need the Windows CD?
3. Once it's back up, if I can find a good price on an HC186 CPU, am I gonna have to fight with any thermal compound or is it just a pop-and-drop?
And, unrelated... my Windows realtime clock only seems to work in Safe Mode, which may be some of the falllout from running hot and throttled-back with the dead fan. If I remove and redetect, do I need the CD here too?
Yes, I know I need to replace it... but I'm trying to get the old beast patched up so I can limp by until I can afford another big 17" with decent GPU to get back in the game, so if you're gonna give me a canned "part out and buy new" please don't waste your time or mine.
TIA!
I don't have budget available to do replacement right with another $3k+ powerhouse, and even once I do I'll want to keep this thing running as a "spare system", so here's what I'm thinking, and need advice on implementation.
Phase one, directly replace one W5373 card with another. Will I need to remove and reinstall drivers? If so, do I need my Windows CD? (Which is problematic, I can't find it after years of trying.)
Phase two is the 7800GTX upgrade... I've been finding HF594 cards for like $80 on eBay (same card as in XPSG2GU) and F8451 heatsinks for $10 or less. I know I need a PA-13 brick, and I've only ever bought the bigger 9-cell batteries.
Questions:
1. I heard somewhere that the I9300 A04 and A05 BIOSes do support the 7800GTX without needing the "XPS Brainwash"--is this true? If not, does anybody still have the hacked BIOS out there?
2. When I rip out and reinstall drivers for the HF594, will I need the Windows CD?
3. Once it's back up, if I can find a good price on an HC186 CPU, am I gonna have to fight with any thermal compound or is it just a pop-and-drop?
And, unrelated... my Windows realtime clock only seems to work in Safe Mode, which may be some of the falllout from running hot and throttled-back with the dead fan. If I remove and redetect, do I need the CD here too?
Yes, I know I need to replace it... but I'm trying to get the old beast patched up so I can limp by until I can afford another big 17" with decent GPU to get back in the game, so if you're gonna give me a canned "part out and buy new" please don't waste your time or mine.
TIA!
Good to be in the game on both options, so all I have to do is decide--I've read the how-to thread from Back When, and done BIOS reflash from 9300 A02 to 9300 A05 before.
Good luck!
