GrimMachine

Yes I did and it works! However, the high TDP of this card means that it was shutting off my 240w power supply when running games that are both cpu and GPU intensive, I have had to buy a 330w power supply to sort that. My 2960xm is most likely contributing to the issue (higher TDP than the qm chips at 55w) but a 180w power supply is definitely not enough to cope with the 980m even with a qm cpu so anyone thinking about this upgrade needs to be aware. I'm delighted the upgrade works but I would advise the 970m as the better option for the gt780 as it has a lower TDP meaning it's a better balanced upgrade in terms of price, performance and plug and play results.

It's been reported that the Clevo version of the 970m works without vBios midification with modified INF drivers. You will need a 780m heatsink then modify it to fit, or find an MSI 970m heatsink from a GT60/GT70.

Some compatability issues are present with the GT780 and the high end Kepler cards (not sure if its optimus related or just something else), 680m, 780m and 880m(rebrand of 780m) do not work, however the 970m and 980m both work in this machine which are better than any of the previous generation so go for one of them instead.

Omega I never bought the cable with the plug on its own as I had a spare 180w Li Shin adaptor so I just used the cable off of that but searching ebay you can find results like this: New DC Power Plug Tip 5.5 x 2.5mm with cable for Laptop Jack Connector Socket | eBay That one states a 12mm shaft length but I'm sure if you search further you should be able to find the 1mm shaft length or alternatively contact one of the sellers and ask if they can supply exactly what you are after. SilentMarket I didn't experience as high a power draw when I had the 570M installed, make sure you don't have USB hard drives or other USB devices hooked up when gaming as they will take a couple of watts each. Also the reading from your kill-a-watt needs to be mlutiplied by 0.85 to allow for the approximate 85% efficiency of the power adaptor so when it reads 200w the laptop is actually only pulling around 170w. I'm still trying to find out if we need a modified EC to allow the laptop to pull more than 180w as from what I'm reading it will not even if you have a larger power unit or not, it will just throttle at 180w.

Yes mine is the same model original adaptor as yours see picture: Having searched for a replacement adaptor for your model GT60/70 I found the below adaptor lists both of our models as compatible which implies that our laptops use the same adaptor plug (along with loads of other GT series laptop): 180W Laptop AC Power Adapter for MSI GT60 0NC GT683DX GT683DXR GT685 GT685R GT70 0NC GT780 GT780D GT780DX GT780DXR GT783 GT783R Notebooks

No I do not know of a forum with instructions on how to mod it, I just picked up snippets of information spread accross another well known notebook forum similar to this one while doing a lot of searching. My laptop is a GT780, I don't know whether your adaptor plug is the same or not but once you confirm your plug type and voltage, my instructions above will be the same as its only 3 wires you need to desolder from the dell then solder in the 2 from your new wire. If you post a new question asking for advice on the GT60/70 power adaptor plug I'm sure some of the more knowledged guys here can help you out with it, or you could alternatively measure the plug end, they are measured like - O.D x I.D x Length, so mine being 5.5 x 2.5 x 11mm means that 5.5mm is the outside diameter of the plug, 2.5mm is the inside diameter and 11mm is the length. Mine is centre positive yours will probably be the same but again can't be sure as I have not worked with your type. If you don't have any experience soldering or working with electronic components you could get a laptop repair/service centre to carryout the solder job for you. If you take it on yourself make sure you have a nice clean work area with a ESD mat and take all the usual precautions when working with electricity and electrical equipment. You can practice soldering with some wire and a blank circuit board which are easy to pick of for a couple of pounds from an electrical component reseller.

You should find the specifications of your original power adaptor on the body, it will state voltage and amps. Volts x Amps = Watts. Make sure the adaptor you select is within 5% of the originals voltage and the amps will need to be higher if you are looking to provide more than 180W. I do not know if your model MSI uses the same original power adaptor as mine but mine was a Delta 19v, 9.5A 180W. I bought the 240w Dell Slim adaptor pictured direct from Dell UK (you can see the model number in the photo, they are quite easy to find on ebay and other resellers as well as Dell Direct). You can either purchase a cable with the same type of adaptor plug used on your laptop (mine was 5.5 x 2.5 x 11mm again it can be found on ebay and other laptop service centres), I am not sure yours is the same but it should be very similar as I think most G series laptops use the same connection but better check as I don't know this for sure or you can take the cable out of your original adaptor or from a direct replacement adaptor. (I had a spare 180w Li Shin altready so I took the cable from that). You remove the 4 torx screws from the adaptor brick and open it up, then carefully unsolder the wires from the board (the Dell has a third wire for the LED on the end of the cable), remove all 3 noting where the black and white wires go (ignore the LED cable once removed as you don't use it with your new cable), then resolder on your new cable (black and white to the noted positions). Test the cable by either buzzing it out with a meter and/or running a small dc device on it (case fan) and then close it back up and our good to go. Regarding the EC firmware, by the sounds of it you already have the modded EC firmware provided by MSI for your model which allows more than 180w power draw, is that correct?

I have a GT780DXR which I installed a 7970M into. I took a Dell 240w power adaptor 19.5w, 12.3A and changed the cable on it to the correct type of plug for my laptop (5.5 x 2.5 x 11mm). It is working fine. However, I have been reading up and I'm not entirely sure that my laptop can draw over 180w without an EC firmware upgrade (although information on this is sketchy). At least I am not stressing the 180w power supply that I previously had even if I am not able to draw anymore than 180w. I am currently researching the EC firmware requirement. Regarding the question about voltage, check your laptops voltage and amps, as long as you are within 5% of the voltage (mine is 19v but the new dell power brick is 19.5v) then that is fine and amps is ok as long as its the same or more just not less as amps is what the power supply CAN provide but will only provide it if it is drawn by the laptop. Just to be clear I followed other forummers on this mod, it is not my work but the work of others that I followed and am just passing the info on.

Hi, Just Introducing myself. I am GrimMachine and have owned an MSI GT780DXR-621UK for 10 months. I have just changed the graphics card to a 7970M, installed a backlit keyboard and carried out a few other small mods to it. I also flashed the bios to Xonar's unlocked bios (thanks goes to Xonar for that). I have a keen interest in laptops and lately modding them (moving on from heavily modding desktop pc's) as I am a keen pc gamer and working away from home has ignited my interest in laptops as I needed to game on the go. Hi to all!