General Category > FAQ on games, gaming & IT
MXM graphics card upgrade (heatsink)
kat:
Nice! And yes, so long as there's clearance, and the cooling block can be securely attached, it's possible to use off-the-shelf CPU or GFX systems - it's okay for the block stick up above the height of the case so long as it can be properly secured (use heat-resistant sticky pads if screws aren't an option), just then means running the PC open. It's a shame HP pulled MXM support from their newer USDT PC's :(
P.S. you should be able to attach images to your post. Let me know if you can't.
decklus:
It's almost like the cooler was designed for it... Had to cut off the PSU plug plastic guide rails as they didn't line up with the motherboard ones... I have been unable to locate the correct screws for the mxm card but the weight of the cooler(it has a copper slug ) holds the card down awesomely, and it doesn't move laterally thanks to it being the exact size to fit between the CMOS battery, the case wall and the drive cage... Was a snug fit but results are are amazing, the last few days have been 40c degrees here in Australia and in the hot room it's in, its running about 45c under full load, the CPU is running at 55c, so it's working super well..
As cooler is about 1mm too tall and I had to remove the rear exhaust fan anyway, I bent the now unused fan retaining metal tab up, so it extends 2mm above the rest of the chassis, this gives enough clearance for the cooler and while not exactly shut, the 1mm lift at the rear is unnoticeable and looks like it's actually shut...
Thanks so much for the inspiration!
It's astounding how good these things are and for the price, dang
I got the PC free and barely used, spent 30au on GPU, 40au on a 512gb SSD, 30au on 8gb ram and 10 on the cooler... So for like 60 bucks US built a badass light gun emulation setup that can handle any thing I've thrown at it!!
topher:
Hey Kat, thanks for the really informative posts on this subject, its definitely been a great source of information.
I have the same machine, Elitedesk USDT, that I wanted to use for a Kodi media player, streaming and playing local files - 4k UHD movies, flac files etc, no gaming, but found the configuration I had - i5 4570 with 16gb RAM - just didn't cut it with 4k UHD movies - stuttering, lag etc - so figured a graphics upgrade was needed.
I tried -
HP Nvidia Quadro K1100M - no dice, wouldn't boot. No error codes or beeps, just sat there, possibly hanging on the POST screen but no display to try and troubleshoot
Nvidia Quadro 1000M - lots of beeping, not booting. Possibly mismatched Dell board - ?
Finally got an AMD Radeon 7650A to boot and run.
This played 4k UHD movies smoothly but boy did it overheat.
The card didn't come with a heatsink so had to get creative. Used a cut down heatsink and small fan from an old Radeon PCIe GPU hooked up to the SATA power connector next to the MXM slot, some thermal pads and zip ties (no mounting bracket with the 7650A) and that solved the overheating issues. Pic attached to show the installation. Wouldn't have done this without the inspiration and ideas from this thread so thakns again!
Peace, Topher
kat:
Thanks for the info updated the list of compatible cards as a result. Based on your experience, and how common it seems when modding these systems, it's highly likely a lot of the compatibility issues encountered getting these MXM boards to work in these machines is to do with Dell vs HP manufacturing, a few peeps seem able to mod Dell board BIOS's but that risks bricking the board if it's not done correctly. Nicely done!
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