Topic: MXM graphics card upgrade (heatsink)

[Polo]

ftp://
Here is the beast

[kat]

So I just got my Nvidia Quadro M2000M 4GB GDDR5 MXM 3.0 vga card and... well... the computer boots but neither the original driver works nor can I boot on the new VGA... can't even access the bios...
Did I make a mistake in ordering the VGA ... was something wrong in the specs of what I ordered?

TL:DR - guessing you've got a 'Dell' board and not one of the more generic Quadro's available (from China). If that's the case it looks like there's some onboard component, or something about the firmware, that's essentially 'bricking' the device if used in non Dell hardware. Upshot of this is it's not going to run on the HP.

Long answer: Recently got one of those Quadro M2000M (Quadro 2000M) MXM boards and had the same issue in the HP. With BIOS set to 'UEFI' instead of 'Legacy' - also reset the BOIS a couple of times and tried a batter pull but they didn't work either - initial boot gave 30 long beeps then Windows appears as normal. No monitor output on the display-port linked to the MXM though (top one iirc).

In Windows 10 the card is seen initially as a standard graphics device so its loaded with Microsoft's generic drivers. Updated these using Windows update, which briefly recognises the board correctly as a Quadro before reverting back to the generic drivers on reboot (still no dual output). Installing Nvidia's drivers also fails no matter the version; the process either can't find any compatible hardware or just fails - did manage to get installation to complete by 'hacking' the various *.inf files (nv[..].inf etc.) but that only allowed the process to complete to the point of the 'failed' message - this doesn't solve the fundamental problem of the system recognising the Quadro correctly so this is not a suggested course of action.

Installed GPU-Z to check the system and that does see the device but again lists it under a generic name, it did show the card as being branded for Dell though. With that in mind installed their drivers but that didn't work so there's a sneaky suspicion Dell includes something either on the boards or in firmware that 'fails' the cards when used in non-Dell devices - suspect that even a mysterious 'gpu firmware edit' won't fix this (and given how much these boards costs it's not worth doing). Ended up returning this board (replaced with a less powerful but working Radeon R9 M200X (mis-sold as an Firepro M5100 - these work as well)).

Not seeing the heatsink images

[Polo]

Yeah... I tried to upload them last week... didn't work... trying again now...
Heat sink ugly as heck but working like a charm... made 2 and installed in both computers...
I will buy the same card you recommended...
Cheers
Polo

[kat]

Oh that is quite a monster! Be careful not to screw the plate down too hard, especially if you're not using silicone heatsink pads to offer some compression resistance, it's way to easy to fix the plate unevenly which will cause the board to fail due to overheating.

If you replace the card the R9 M200X seems difficult to get hold of so the M5100 is the better option.

[Polo]

I got an AMD FirePro M5950 and an M5100... waiting for the heatsink... ordered the blue one... from what I read not all heatsink foams should be used for GPU's... any thoughts?
So far I must have screwed it in evenly... as I said it is working well. Nice thick 2mm 'armor plating'. lol   ;  )

[kat]

So long as the silicone is meant to be used for heatsinks, so basically 'high temperature resistant silicone pads' ('thermal pads'), they should be okay. There's debate about thickness to use but that's really going to depends on how much difference needs to be accommodated between surfaces (uneven surfaces and gaps) - between 0.5 mm and 1 mm seems to work for most applications (it'll get squashed to about half it's thickness under compression). Be a little generous with the size of the pad on the GPU die and make sure it's covered and then some, it's best to have too much than too little on those things.

The M5950 is a good card although slower than the M5100 but both should work without issue.

[Polo]

Hey Kat,
I got the M5100 yesterday, and it seems to work like a charm. I did check the specs of the 5950 and I thought that it was probably better than the 5100. I do realize that it is 1 GB instead of being 2. I do look forward to testing the benchmark with the user benchmark application. This application seems to give fairly accurate results. At the end of the day, the results the benchmark give still state that my computer sucks. Even though I have 16 GB of RAM, 4 gigabyte CPU and what seems to be a fairly decent GPU card. Oh well, in the end this computer will end up costing me as much is a brand-new one. No complaints here, I do enjoy playing with old computers.
Regards, Polo

[kat]

The 5950M (6700M in Windows) uses (G)DDR3 iirc whereas the M5100 uses GDDR5 so you should be getting at least twice the performance from the M5100 than the 5950M. And yep, this tech is getting a little long in the tooth but it will hold over for another year or two before a proper upgrade is necessary (ebay is your friend!).

[decklus]

I have loved your site! A wealth of information.. I too have done the mxm mod with an m5100 similarly as you did on my hp 8200 usff, but on the year previous model(i5 2400)... but after trial and error realised a Intel  1155 CPU cooler fit perfect and this is the end result... So glad this amazing little pc is finding life amongst others too

[decklus]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fP2YkxPBVepxRvwQ9

The setup.. can't get the image to insert properly... But once again happy to help anyone else with this setup

[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!