Hi everyone,
I recently revived my old HP Elitebook 8560p with a Radeon 6470m GPU, Intel HD Graphics 3000, and need some advice on keeping it functional. Here’s the situation:
Background:
Six years ago, my GPU overheated from extensive gaming, causing several BSODs (which I gracefully ignored and went on gaming). It eventually gave up and stopped booting, with the fans spinning briefly before shutting off.
I assumed the GPU was fried after inspecting the motherboard and seeing a yellowish discoloration around it and declared the motherboard dead (shorted maybe?).
Revival effort:
A month ago, I found the laptop in pieces while randomly looking through my junk, and decided to try heating the GPU, a trick I had never dared to try. And, indeed, I did, using my mother’s hair dryer.
Surprise surprise, the fans are on! The backlight powered on and I stood there in awe witnessing the beautiful HP logo rise from the ashes!
I cleaned the discolored areas with alcohol, applied new thermal paste, slapped in a couple RAM sticks, reassembled everything, and replaced the dead HDD with one from another old laptop.
I installed Windows 10 (previously Windows 7), updated the drivers, and even ran FurMark. The GPU stayed at around 60°C under load (+97%).
Current Status:
The laptop has been running smoothly for 20 days with no overheating or any issue (apart from a 12% S.M.A.R.T health and a dead battery.)
Attempts to Reduce GPU Stress:
I tried disabling the AMD driver, but the screen flickers terribly at 1080p, leaving 720p as the only usable resolution. So, I kept the driver enabled.
I’m using it mainly for work, browsing, and office tasks with minimal GPU usage.
Questions:
-What additional precautions or steps should I take to keep the laptop running smoothly?
-How long can I expect it to stay alive?
-Is it worth an upgrade? (SSD, more RAM, Battery)
Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Notes:
- I’m fully aware that it’s an ancient laptop by now and could spare my mental health by buying a new one altogether, but I’m saving up for a new laptop and it will take at least 5 months (given the inflation where I live + I need it to MAKE the money).
I recently revived my old HP Elitebook 8560p with a Radeon 6470m GPU, Intel HD Graphics 3000, and need some advice on keeping it functional. Here’s the situation:
Background:
Six years ago, my GPU overheated from extensive gaming, causing several BSODs (which I gracefully ignored and went on gaming). It eventually gave up and stopped booting, with the fans spinning briefly before shutting off.
I assumed the GPU was fried after inspecting the motherboard and seeing a yellowish discoloration around it and declared the motherboard dead (shorted maybe?).
Revival effort:
A month ago, I found the laptop in pieces while randomly looking through my junk, and decided to try heating the GPU, a trick I had never dared to try. And, indeed, I did, using my mother’s hair dryer.
Surprise surprise, the fans are on! The backlight powered on and I stood there in awe witnessing the beautiful HP logo rise from the ashes!
I cleaned the discolored areas with alcohol, applied new thermal paste, slapped in a couple RAM sticks, reassembled everything, and replaced the dead HDD with one from another old laptop.
I installed Windows 10 (previously Windows 7), updated the drivers, and even ran FurMark. The GPU stayed at around 60°C under load (+97%).
Current Status:
The laptop has been running smoothly for 20 days with no overheating or any issue (apart from a 12% S.M.A.R.T health and a dead battery.)
Attempts to Reduce GPU Stress:
I tried disabling the AMD driver, but the screen flickers terribly at 1080p, leaving 720p as the only usable resolution. So, I kept the driver enabled.
I’m using it mainly for work, browsing, and office tasks with minimal GPU usage.
Questions:
-What additional precautions or steps should I take to keep the laptop running smoothly?
-How long can I expect it to stay alive?
-Is it worth an upgrade? (SSD, more RAM, Battery)
Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Notes:
- I’m fully aware that it’s an ancient laptop by now and could spare my mental health by buying a new one altogether, but I’m saving up for a new laptop and it will take at least 5 months (given the inflation where I live + I need it to MAKE the money).