[Guide] G73JW - upgrade with Nvidia GTX 660m

[svl7 5703]

Yes, it works. The popular Asus G73JW can be upgraded with a Kepler card

The G73JW isn't what I'd call "easy to disassemble", but it's doable. If you haven't disassembled this system before, follow the instructions very carefully. It's crucial not to rush anything, a lot of cables and plugs are really fragile. The upgrade is rather difficult, especially when you compare it with an Alienware / Clevo system, but it's really worth it.

I want to thank MXM-upgrade for providing the test card, and @Conker for providing his G73JW for another experiment (we already disassembled this system several times... ).

Check the end of the post to see some benchmarks.

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What you need for this upgrade:

• Nvidia GTX 660m, preferrably pre-flashed with the proper VBIOS. I assume MXM-upgrade.com will provide you the card ready for the upgrade, so you don't need to worry about the VBIOS and the involved procedures.
  In case you get your card somewhere else it's very likely you'll need to blind flash the card in order to get a picture on the screen. That's a relatively inconvenient procedure, especially since you can't be 100% sure whether it's your fault or possibly a defective card in case the blind flash doesn't work....I only tested the card from MXM-upgrade, other 660m may work as well, but I can't tell for sure.
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• Asus G73JH GPU heatsink - The 460m which Asus put in the JW is a complete abomination when you compare it to an MXM card... it uses the same physical pin layout, but that's it. You won't be able to mount the JW heatsink on a proper MXM module, but it works with a (slightly modified) JH heatsink. You can grab one at asusparts.eu, ebay, other online notebook parts shops, etc., whatever you prefer.
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• Screws which fit the backplate of the card you buy, or a Dell GPU backplate from a 6900m / 7900m series card (as those backplates have the proper thread size for the screws of the JH heatsink)
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• Screwdriver (make sure it really fits the screws)
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• Metal file or tool with similar effect to do some small modifications on the JH GPU heatsink
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• Thermal paste & some stuff to clean off the old paste (e.g. rubbing alcohol)
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• Some tape to keep the 660m in place
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• and I highly recommend: ESD-mat and wristband!! While it will also work without this equipment (you have to be really unlucky to damage your system by ESD), nevertheless, l won't recommend anyone to do so. Keep in mind that you're going to completely disassemble your system.
  

Modifying the heatsink:

No need for a lot of talk, it's pretty straight forward, look at the picture and you'll know what you need to do. When you're done with the modifications make sure it fits.

Preparing the backplate:

You need to slightly grind down the 'poles' of the backplate in order to get enough pressure on the die.

Take a look at the pics and you'll see what I'm talking about. Without this mod the 'poles' are too high and won't allow you to properly mount the heatsink.

Disassembling the system (step by step):

- Uninstall your current Nvidia drivers.

- In case your card doesn't already come with the required vbios: Set the first boot priority to USB (!!!) Else it will be rather difficult to blindly flash the card.

- Shutdown your system, remove the battery and the AC adapter.

- Press and hold down the power button for about 15 seconds.

- Remove the quick-access panel of your G73:

- Remove all the regular sized screws on the back (green), the two drives (red arrows), two small screws in the battery compartment (red) and unplug the WLan antennas (encircled red). Make sure you don't miss a screw.

- Remove the optical disc drive.

- Remove two small screws which previously have been hidden by the optical disc drive:

- Now the display assembly, six screws. Then carefully lift the display and place it as shown in the next pic.

- Once you have the display like this, remove the keyboard. You need a small flat tool for the five clips. Then lift it carefully. It gets hold in place with double sided tape, so you need to apply some force. Always use care, there are cables attached to it.

- Four more screws. Then remove the cables which are connecting the motherboard with the keyboard. Carefully pull on the black part of the connector (see arrows) to unlock the cable, then you can remove it.

- More cables:

- Three screws on the mobo, 2x3 screws for the fans and a lot of cables to unplug. Also pull out the WLan antennas through the hole. Again, be careful with the cables. Once everything is detached, remove the fans and then the mainboard.

- And finally... the heatsink(s). Remove the screws which are encircled with green first. Lift the heatsink and then you can unplug the card after removing the 'red' screws.

- Put in the 660m and keep in in place with some tape. Unfortunately you can't use the screws as the holes on the motherboard aren't conform with the MXM standard. Put a small amount of thermal paste on the die of the GPU and as well on the VRAM modules. Using thermal pads for the memory isn't a good idea in this case since it would increase the distance between the die and the heatsink. Then mount the modified heatsink and reassemble the system. Make sure the heatsink really fits well and doesn't touch any component it shouldn't.

After reassembling your G73, start it up.

When your card already comes with the proper vbios it should boot just fine, else you messed up something during the dis- and reassembly. In that case check all the cables etc.

If your card didn't come with the required vbios, then you need to blind flash your card now. That's why I stated earlier to set the first boot priority to USB in case the 660m doesn't already come with the proper vbios on it. The required vbios is attached to this post.

Once your system is running and booted the OS it's time to install the GPU drivers.

Download the desired drivers from Nvidia and unpack it, then put the modified .inf file (see post attachment) in the 'Display.Driver' folder, delete the old one with the same name in there. Then start the installation.

That's it! Have fun with your upgraded machine!!

And some benchmarks...

3dMark11 run at stock and overclocked... Gotta love the 660m, it's so much fun to overclock it, just look at the core clock

Just ask if you have any question!

As already mentioned, this upgrade procedure isn't easy for a beginner, but it's totally possible as long as you take your time, no need to hurry.

660m_G73JW.zip

modified inf 660m G73JW.zip

[svl7 5703]

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- reserved - (just in case)

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By the way... the guide is complete now (hopefully), let me know in case I missed something important.

[victorman7 10]

Thank you Very much svl7 I have been your fan since 2010, and I have been waiting for this long time ago... do you have any idea where I can buy this video card? and how much it would be in US Dlls? I have the mexican version of the G73jw-A1MX , I use it for CAD design, I'm planning to put some bucks in this machine since I love it... do you think this video card would work with the 3D screen version of the g73jw since I think now this definitaly would worth. With the core i7 940xm 16gigs and this card this is gonna be a truthly beast!! Do you think I can play BBF3 on high settings or ultra @1080P?

Victorman7

[svl7 5703]

Cool, glad you like it

Yeah, as mentioned above, just contact mxm-upgrade.com, they should have the card in stock and they should be able to send it to you with the proper vbios on it.

I don't know whether it works with the 3d version, but chances are that it does, but you might need to flash a different vbios in that case.

BF3 on high - I guess that's totally possible, maybe @ConkersGrillforce1337 can share his findings once he's back. The card is a great overclocker, 1GHz is no problem at all, I pushed it up to 1.33 GHz on the core for benching, though that wasn't stable for gaming anymore

[victorman7 10]

wow very nice clocks there, I heard also the 670m gtx and the 680m gtx have the same mxm version socket size.... obviously the prices go high, do you think it is worth the extra money? 670m gtx its almost the same price,(280 usd) the 675m gtx goes to 450 usd and the 680m gtx 740usd , do you think any of those cards would work also? or the vbios wouldn't allow it....? I have now the stock intel core i7 740qm do you think it will cause a bottleneck with the 660m gtx from some powerful games? I'm plannnig I could have a chance to play crysis 3 on this machine.. what would you recommend? or just sell it a get a new one? I just love this laptop don't want to get rid of it too soon.

Victorman7

[svl7 5703]

It's unlikely that you'll manage to get anything else to work properly. The i7 740QM won't bottleneck the 660m.

[mw86 1362]

Wow great job SvL7 and Conkers. Wow thats a epic core clock nice work guys. Thats unbelievably awesome. Kepler brings some competition to the table. Nice upgrade.

[Conker 403]

Gaming benchmarks:

G73Jw CPU/GPU configuration:

Benchmarks:

Do you think I can play BBF3 on high settings or ultra @1080P?

It's no problem to run BF3 at ultra settings with 1080p resolution, see first benchmark picture

Wow great job SvL7 and Conkers. Wow thats a epic core clock nice work guys. Thats unbelievably awesome. Kepler brings some competition to the table. Nice upgrade.

Thanks:DIt's definitely a major update. In addition to more performance, I have half an hour more battery lifetime:highly_amused:

[mw86 1362]

Gaming benchmarks:

G73Jw CPU/GPU configuration:

Benchmarks:

It's no problem to run BF3 at ultra settings with 1080p resolution, see first benchmark picture

Thanks:DIt's definitely a major update. In addition to more performance, I have half an hour more battery lifetime:highly_amused:

That has to go under the list of epic upgrades! Ck grats thats so awesome.

[victorman7 10]

Gaming benchmarks:

G73Jw CPU/GPU configuration:

Benchmarks:

It's no problem to run BF3 at ultra settings with 1080p resolution, see first benchmark picture

Thanks:DIt's definitely a major update. In addition to more performance, I have half an hour more battery lifetime:highly_amused:

Wow really nice conker!! It's any possibility that you can upload some 3D mark 11 benchmarks so i can have an idea for my future upgrade agaist the 460m gtx and my i7 740qm? what about temps with you OC at 1000 mhz? I will really appreciatte.

[bbb18 10]

Hello

I noticed that the gtx 660m you have, has 1g ram.

Is there any way to get more memory?

Sorry if it's a noob question

[svl7 5703]

No, and 1GB is also totally sufficient for this card. More bandwith would be more important.

[bbb18 10]

Well, didnt hurt to ask

I'm actually thinking of doing this upgrade but i'm not really sure if it's worth it nor if it's going to work :/

[svl7 5703]

Of course it works, or do you think I'm posting bullshit?

[bbb18 10]

Hope not since i'm thinking of trying it myself

My concern right now is getting a gtx 660m, since there is not a "regular sale" where i live

[victorman7 10]

You can get one at ebay.com or mxm upgrade, for 240 us dlls ..... they will ship worldwide.

[maykon_helver 11]

Hello, Very good your post! I wonder if I can purchase any model of GTX 660m, has some on Ebay even with 3GB VRAM, I can update with your VBIOS?

[svl7 5703]

There's a 3GB version??? Anyway, the vbios won't work on a card with a different memory size, I only tested it on the Clevo card, it might work on the Dell card, but I can't guarantee you this.

[maykon_helver 11]

yes, I had seen a model of the venda 3GB

plus ad is no longer on the air.

you believe that 1GB will be enough to run all games 2012?

[svl7 5703]

I highly doubt that there's a 3GB version since it would require a different bandwith. Also, more vram won't help the 660m, only more bandwith.

[maykon_helver 11]

Suddenly the announcement was false, so it went off the air!

see below my scores with GTX460m

She's with the same punctuation gtx 660m in stock about.

my overclock is stable.

will be worth Spending more than 300 USD, and install the GTX 660m? you answer me

I would ask a screenshot showing its index score of windows 7 experience

Thank you!

When will the GTX 660m G73JW Videos on youtube?

[svl7 5703]

You have to ask @ConkersGrillforce1337 for pics, its his G73 which I modified. However I can tell you that the 660m blows away the 460m when it comes to gaming. Besides it is cooler and leaves you with more battery life. Totally worth it if you ask me.

[Conker 403]

Wow really nice conker!! It's any possibility that you can upload some 3D mark 11 benchmarks so i can have an idea for my future upgrade agaist the 460m gtx and my i7 740qm? what about temps with you OC at 1000 mhz? I will really appreciatte.

Here you go First two measurements are made with normal fan control, the third with 100% fan speed on both fans. (room temperature: 20°C)

Benchmarks:

All benchmarks have been made on my normal windows operating system with antivirus,..., no specific benchmark partition is used.

3Dmark Vantage full run:

P11528 CPU10244/GPU18480

3Dmark Vantage w/o combined tests:

P11565 CPU10259/GPU18716

3Dmark11:

P2717 CPU7022/GPU2496

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5101[/ATTACH]

She's with the same punctuation gtx 660m in stock about.

will be worth Spending more than 300 USD, and install the GTX 660m? you answer me

I would ask a screenshot showing its index score of windows 7 experience

Thank you!

When will the GTX 660m G73JW Videos on youtube?

Windows 7 index score:

GTX660m benchmarks above;)

What kind of videos you want to see? Offscreen gameplay? Ingame recording? Benchmarks?,...

Edit: More benchmark scores:

3dMark Vantage full run:

P13794 CPU19368/GPU12587

3dMark Vantage w/o combined tests:

P13902 CPU19353/GPU12709

3dMark11:

P3307 CPU7033/GPU3086

[Conker 403]

Hello

I noticed that the gtx 660m you have, has 1g ram.

Is there any way to get more memory?

Sorry if it's a noob question

No, and 1GB is also totally sufficient for this card. More bandwith would be more important.

you believe that 1GB will be enough to run all games 2012?

GTX660m 1Gb GDDR5 Memory Usage:

The picture says it all, I think any further comment is unnecessary.

[maykon_helver 11]

Here you go First two measurements are made with normal fan control, the third with 100% fan speed on both fans. (room temperature: 20°C)

Benchmarks:

All benchmarks have been made on my normal windows operating system with antivirus,..., no specific benchmark partition is used.

3Dmark Vantage full run:

P11528 CPU10244/GPU18480

3Dmark Vantage w/o combined tests:

P11565 CPU10259/GPU18716

3Dmark11:

P2717 CPU7022/GPU2496

Windows 7 index score:

GTX660m benchmarks above;)

What kind of videos you want to see? Offscreen gameplay? Ingame recording? Benchmarks?,...

Edit: More benchmark scores:

3dMark Vantage full run:

P13794 CPU19368/GPU12587

3dMark Vantage w/o combined tests:

P13902 CPU19353/GPU12709

3dMark11:

P3307 CPU7033/GPU3086

Very good! you are very interested in helping the Friends of the forum! your post was excellent! parabens!

if possible, could you post a video showing the frame rate in a game such as DIRT 3. showing the configuration of the game and such! (use a camera to film to not change the measurement)

anyway thanks!