GPU Upgrade options, for HP EliteBook 8730w

[rohin_0x07B6]

Hi all,

I have a 1st gen EliteBook 8730w from 2008. It is the best machine I have ever owned. It’s still going strong after 8 years. However, have started doing work that would greatly benefit from a CUDA enabled GPU. Neither the FX2700M nor the FX3700M which came with the original 8730w’s, are CUDA enabled.

So before I finally throw in the towel and spend a whole bunch of money on a new machine, I’m keen to know if there are any CUDA enabled GPU’s, that would work in an 8730w. Maybe I can squeeze a few more years out of the 8730w.

While the Quadro FX2700M and FX3700M are not CUDA enabled, I’ve noticed there are a whole bunch of more recent NVIDIA Quadro mobile GPU’s that are CUDA enabled. For the sake of reference, the list of CUDA enabled Quadro mobile GPU’s may be found here.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro-for-mobile-workstations.html

My Questions:

1. Are the Quadro FX2700M and Quadro FX3700M, the only GPU’s that can be installed in an 8730w ?
2. Which, if any, of the more recent CUDA enabled Quadro mobile GPU’s, ‘can’ be successfully installed in an 8730w ?
3. Are there perhaps any other CUDA enabled GPU’s, aside from the Quadro range, that might work in an 8730w ?

For the sake of reference, my 8730w’s current spec is as follows.

CPU:     Intel Core Duo, P8600.

RAM:     8.00 GB
GPU:     NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M
Display: 17” 1920x1200

OS:      64-bit Windows 10.

Regards,

R

[tiannah]

Hello rohin_0x07B6,

Great and very detailed questions! Seriously, thanks for providing all the info needed to adequately answer.

Here is the HP Quickspecs for the 8730w, which has the possible HP configurations for the 8730w:

http://isvpatch.external.hp.com/AdvisorDebug/drvlib/docs/8730w.pdf

On page 5, it discusses the graphics options. Here is the excerpt:

Graphics

Models with NVIDIA graphics:

NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M with 1 GB of dedicated video memory, or NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M with 512 MB of dedicated video memory Microsoft DirectX 10 (Shader 4.0) and OpenGL 2.1 capable

Models with ATI graphics:

ATI Mobility FireGL V5725 with 256 MB of dedicated video memory

Hope this helps!

-Tiannah

[rohin_0x07B6]

Hi Tiannah,

It's a pleasure. Thanks for the response.

The only problem is that, all those GPU's in the original specs, referenced on page 5, are not CUDA enabled. I'm trying to determine if there are any more modern GPU's, maybe more modern GPU's in the Quadro family, not specified in the original specs on page 5, that can be installed.

Let me ask the question this way.

1. Are there any CUDA enabled GPU's that can be installed in an 8730w?

2. Can any other GPU's be installed in an 8730w, aside from the ones listed in the original specs on page 5?

Kind regards,

Rohin 

[KristianJ]

Hello, probably a too late reply, but wanted to say that you are wrong about 2700m and 3700m. They in fact do have cuda cores. 2700m has 48 and 3700m has 128 cuda cores. Click on the specifications tab here on Nvidia site to confirm: http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_quadro_fx_2700_m_us.html so if you still own the laptop, try upgrading it to 3700m. It is still a great laptop and there are few with better build quality. Might as well use it as long as you can 😉