Graphic card upgradability. All models which can be upgraded r listed here

Three compatibility types

Three different types of compatibility can be distinguished. Firstly, there is obviously the mechanical leg. Closely related is the thermal leg, and finally there's the software part. Information is very hard to get by, but what we have, you get!

However, please keep in mind that as long as manufacturers do not explicitly advertise that their laptop GPU's are MXM parts, they are in no way obliged to adhere to the rules Nvidia has drafted in their specifications. Furthermore, even if MXM is explicitly mentioned, there is no way to enforce full compatibility. In short, we once again stress the information contained in this page is for your viewing pleasure but does not guarantee anything.

Update (24 august 2007): Guess what: even if manufacturers advertise their notebook as MXM, that still doesn't give any guarantee it will work with other MXM hardware!

Mechanical and thermal

MXM System Type	Module Compatibility	Maximum GPU Size	Thermal Compatibility
I	I	35mm x 35mm	I
II	I,II	35mm x 35mm	II
III	I,II III	35mm x 35mm 40mm x 40mm	II III
IV	?	?	?
HE	I,II, III,HE	35mm x 35mm 40mm x 40mm	II HE

This is the table as it is provided by Nvidia. The 'Module Compatibility' is fairly straight forward: all modules of a 'lower' type can be mounted on a given MXM type motherboard. Practically, this means that the mounting holes that fit on the standoffs on the motherboard are always on the same spot.

The 'Thermal Compatibility' column seems less straightforward. First off all, this could mean a number of things. Is this about thermal capacity? Or rather about the mounting of the thermal solution. MXM Upgrade believes this it's the last .Unfortunately, , the table as it is provided by Nvidia seems not to match the mechanical dimensions they provide in the mechanical specifications document that can be found on this page. Apart from memory thermal pads that may require an increase in size, which is a rather minor issue, the determining factor to know whether the thermal solution will fit would seem to be the positioning of the mounting holes provided for the heatsink.

There are always four of these holes positioned around the GPU, but for Type I and II the upper left hole is positioned at 55,3mm from the bottom left corner, while Type III and HE feature the same hole at 60,5mm. We assume there are two possible explanations. One would be that there are more mechanical types than there are listed in the Nvidia document, namely a subtype of both Type III and HE. This 'subtype' would feature the overall dimensions of the 'mothertype', but it would provide the same mounting holes of Type II and it would feature the same GPU size.

Another possibility would be that the Nvidia made a mistake. Type I thermal solutions can be only mounted on Type II cards, and Type III is only compatible with Type HE. Keep in mind that this only takes the mounting holes into account. There' s still component height, thermal keep outs to consider after that.

We believe that there the first explanation is the right one. The overall Type III dimensions will have thermal provisions for either a Type /III thermal interface or for a Type III thermal interface.

That means that before you ever order an upgrade card Type III for your laptop, you must check your thermal interface's mounting provisions!

Update (24 august 2007): We included Type IV for good measure, but we have no idea about compatibility.

Software

Video Bios

The Video Bios is in the only place it can be, namely in a ROM on the MXM card itself. Indeed, as the MXM card can be removed/upgraded, this is the only way to ensure a matching Video Bios is loaded in the system. The Video Bios is a function of the actual card, and therefore it is logical that it is a part of it.

MXM information

All relevant information regarding the laptop must be communicated to the MXM. This information includes

• Notebook output configuration.
• Video out configuration.
• MXM heatsink thermal rating.
• Notebook power supply capabilities.

The output configuration is used to 'tell' the MXM what kind of panel is attached, if a DVI out is present, if there's TV out, what type it is etc.

The heatsink rating tells the MXM how much power the heatsink can evacuate, the power supply capability parameters tell the MXM how much electrical power the notebook can supply. The MXM may throttle it's speed if these numbers are not sufficient. We have no information whether notebook manufactureres actually use this information. This could be a source of incompatibility.

At least some of the Thermal Throttling for the MXM is currently only supported through Windows.

The above described information can be store in two places: either on a separate ROM on the motherboard, directly connected to the MXM, or as a space in the systembios. The latter offers easier tweaking, you might try the bios of a comparable laptop, but it is also the more dangerous option.

Caution!

As pointed out before, laptop manufacturers are not forthcoming about their laptop's MXM properties. The list you will find below is a compilation of information that can be found all over the internet. MXM-Upgrade has put great effort in verifying all the information as much as possible, but please understand that there might still be errors in the list.

So, before you go out and buy a laptop based on the information below, please understand that MXM-Upgrade does not guarantee this information to be correct, and neither do we accept any responsibility for any damage to your computer or any data and equipment damaged or lost in the process.

We are always looking to improve our database, so if you have more information about MXM laptops or if you wish to correct an error, do not hesitate to contact us!

Manufacturer	Model	MXM?	Type?	Notes
ABS	Mayhem G4 Revolution	yes	II	Actually Uniwill 259. Upgraded to 7600!
Acer	Aspire 5920G	Yes	II	Santa Rosa
	Aspire 4520G	Yes	I
Ahtec	Signal 259M	Yes	II	Actually Uniwill 259. Upgraded to 7600!
	Signal 810M	Yes	III	Actually Arima W810-DCX
	Storm 830 SLI	Yes	III	Actually Arima W830
Anynote	W740T	Yes	II	Quanta?
Apple	iMac 24"	No	II	Correct formfactor, no compatibility. Read here.
Arima	W810-DCX	Yes	III
	W820-Di	Yes	?
	W830	Yes	?	SLI !
ASI	Amata 1559	Yes	I and II (?)	Actually Aopen 1559
Addict	HyperAddict	Yes	II	Actually Uniwill 259. Upgraded to 7600!
	Z81SP	Yes	III	Actually Asus Z81sp
Alienware	Area-51 m5500	Yes	II	Actually Uniwill 259. Upgraded to 7600!
	Area-51 m5700	Yes	III	Actually Uniwill P71EN0 Upgraded to x1800. Upgraded to 7900GS 512MB
	Aurora m9700	Yes	III	Actually Arima W830
	Aurora m9750	Yes	III	SLI
	Area-51 m5550	Yes	III
	Area-51 m5750	Yes	III
Aopen	1559-JL	Yes	I(?) or II(?)
Asus	Z81s	Yes	III	Upgraded to X1800
	A4S	Yes	III	Upgraded to X1800
	Z84	Yes	III	Upgraded to 7900GS 512MB
	C90	Yes	II
	Lamborghini VX2S	?	?	To be confirmed
Averatec	6671	Yes	III	Actually Uniwill
	6500	Yes	?
BenQ	Joybook R55	Yes	?
Cebop	Hel 750	Yes	I/II	Actually Uniwill 259. Upgraded to 7600!
Clevo	D900C	Yes	IV	SLI
	D901C	Yes	IV
	M570RU	Yes	IV
Compal	IFL90	Yes	II	Santa Rosa. DX10. Compatibility to be confirmed.
CompAmerica	Orca 9000	Probably	?
	COBRA/MIB 2550	Yes	III
CyberPower	X5-6700	Yes	II
	X5-7000	Yes	?
ECS	910	Yes	III
	G610	Yes	II
Evesham	Voyager C520	Yes	?
	Quest Nemesis	Yes	?	Actually Arima W830
Fujitsu-Siemens	Amilo M3438G	Yes	III	Upgraded to x1800! Upgraded to 7900GS 512MB
	Amilo M4438G	Yes	III	Upgraded to x1800! Upgraded to 7900GS 512MB.
	Amilo M1437	Yes	III	Upgraded to 6800! Same as 3434
	Amilo M1439	Yes	III
	Amilo M 1450	?	I
	Amilo M 1451	?	I
	Amilo M6453	Yes	I
	Amilo A1667	Yes	I(II?)	We verified that there's enough room to fit a Type III card.
	Amilo A3667	Yes	I or II(?)
	Amilo Pi 1536	Yes	III	Upgraded to 7900GS 512MB.X1800
	Amilo Xi 1546	Yes	III
	Amilo X 2428	Yes	II	DX10
Gateway	MX-8525	Yes	III	We have been telling our costumers upgrades are not possible for some time. But now we have a user upgrading his 8550 to a x1900 and so we don't know anymore. Users who want to give the x1900 a go in their notebook, drop us a line!
	MX-8523	Yes	III
	NX-850XL	Yes	III
	NX-860XL	Yes	III
	NX- 8510gz	Yes	III(?)
	8550GB	Yes	III	Upgraded to x1900
Gigabyte	W551N	maybe	?
	W756N	maybe	?
Hi-Grade	Notino C7000s-2000	Yes	I
HP	nx9420/nw9440	Yes	III	Check out the
	xw460c	?	?	Server blade with MXM
	8510	Yes	II
	8710	Yes	III
iBuyPower	Battalion 101 ML-Turbo	Yes	?
	Z81-SP	Yes	III	Actually Asus Z81-sp
ITC	Millenia 8000 series	Yes	?	Actually Arima W810
Jewel	Diamond 2600	Yes	?	Actually Uniwill 259.
Medion	95257	Yes	?	Actually Arima W810.
Mitac	MiNote 8050QD	Yes	II
	MiNote 8000dx	Yes	?
MSI	L745	Yes	II
	L735	Yes	II
	M677	Yes	II
	GX7x0	Yes	?	DX10
Packard Bell	Easynote W7	?	II	Correct formfactor, questions regarding
	Easynote MX66	?	?	?
Pioneer Computers	DreamVision LV190 VIIV 19"	Yes	II	LCD PC
PC Club	ENP611	Yes	II
Polaris	XP.701M	Yesy	?	Uniwill?
Polywell	PolyNote MXM915AS	Yes	?
	PolyNote 915P4-MXM	Yes	?
	PolyNote T714NS-MXM	Yes	?
	PolyNote T512NS-MXM	Yes	?
PowerPro	G 3:11	Yes	?	Actually Quanta MW1A
	G 3:8	Yes	?
	J 10:15	Yes	II	Actually Compal IFL90. Compatibility to be confrimed.
Quanta	KN1-PM	Yes	II	No Compatibility
	MW1A	Yes	?
Rock	Pegassus 650	Yes	I or II	Actually Uniwill 259. \
Santech	V2480	?	II	According to manufacturer
Shuttle	XPC x100	Yes	II	Upgraded to X1800
Targa	Hornet-72	Yes	III	Uniwill chasis
Tarox	Lightpad 1030	Yes	?
	Lightpad 1080	Yes	II	With a 6200. Should handle a 6600 without problems. Visit the store.
Toshiba	Satellite A105 series	Yes	Uh..	Kinda.
Uniwill	259EA1	Yes	I or II
	P71EN0	Yes	III
Vega	x72	Yes	III	Uniwill notebook
Vestel	?	?	?
Vigor	Ares	Yes	I or II	Actually Uniwill 259
Zepto	6615WD	?	?	Check out the page
	3415W	Yes	II	Actually Compal IFL90. Compatibility to be confirmed

Last update oktober 2th 2007