HP Elitebook 8570W - is it still good ? Hardware modifications

[Vladka76]

On 10/17/2025 at 3:51 PM, Daedalus said:

Well, after much work, i finally had time to put the 965M into the 8570w.  All seemed to go ok, However, No output on screen or from the VGA port on the side either. However i can hear the machine spinning up, fan goes full then slows down ( so not getting the fan full speed issue). Whilst i know it needs the driver to be present, im not getting any output. Beginning to suspect the GPU is bad, so will refit the K1000M back in.  

I verified it was in UEFI mode on Windoze before i went to dissasemble so could it have reverted in Bios?

edit: checked and it’s uefi-with CSM. tried once more with uefi-without CSM, no dice...... 

 

well much late night tinkering (this time with coffee) 😉 and k1000m back in and all works again. Ugh, so seems a 965m output/inf issue? I7-3940xm has Intelhd but it’s disabled I believe so no basic output to try and get machine to like the new card.

so next steps would be vbios update? But how when I get no GPU output to run NVinstall. I can’t run install with k1000m in surely as 965m isn’t connected to be “seen”

Should I return 965m and go 980M? But which card with what vbios that works should I order? i suspect the whitelist is kicking in as "officially" its only k2000M and FirePro4000M, therefore how did GuitarG or any of you guys get around it? Seller advised it had hp vbios (so it should "see" it) 

 

Could i send you guys my 965M to flash?? kinda loathe sending it back as seen no others since. 

 

another edit: 

sourced the 965M bios,

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/184954/nvidia-gtx965m-4096-160107

but not quite sure how to get it on card or verify card already has it on. (The 8570w doesn’t have two mxm slots so I can’t run one and flash the other) with no VGA i cant use IntelHD either. ugh......

 

further edit. I think without the ability to edit bios on 8570w I’m stuck on changing whitelist to allow 965m to work. I don’t think it’s a vbios issue. However I am intruiged how @GuitarG managed to get his 965m working before he went the 980m route.

May end up returning the 965m to seller and pausing the GPU upgrade path.

 

First of all, check your system BIOS version (the latest is F.71A). If yours is significantly older, you should update the system BIOS; this can really help recognize the new cards:
https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp96001-96500/sp96092.exe
WARNING: This operation is potentially dangerous, so please install a charged battery before proceeding. If the flasher asks you to create a "recovery disk" on a flash drive, do so. Be very careful, attentive, and read all the prompts, otherwise you'll brick your laptop!!!
I would do this operation on a clean, freshly installed Windows 7, 8, 8.1 (possibly on a temporary/test disk), because only these systems are listed as supported.

After a successful BIOS update and before removing the K1000M, I recommend to set the "Legacy" mode in BIOS. If the image doesn't appear, then after replacing K1000M again, I recommend to try the "UEFI with CSM" mode, and then - "UEFI without CSM". If after all this, no image appears on either the external ports or the screen, then this 965M won't work. Either she's faulty, or its vBIOS can't be read (GOP region issue, incompatible vBIOS, etc.).
In this situation, I would still try to flash compatible vBIOS using programmer and a solder iron. 😄

If the image appears on the external ports but not on the screen, then you need to try different video BIOS versions; this is not an easy task. This can be done:
1) by flashing the firmware on your 8570w (with output to an external monitor) using nvflash program (NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility) version 5.287.0 (modified by Joe Dirt) – I've read that this verison is best suited for Maxwell-based graphics cards, but I haven't used it;
2) on another workstation with an integrated graphics card and an MXM slot – for example, a Dell Precision M6700. If you can't find such a workstation, then
3) on any other computer or laptop with a programmer, and also with your soldering skills to desolder and re-solder the ROM BIOS chip. 🙂
Warning - If you use method 1) and flash an incompatible vBIOS and the card bricks after rebooting, you'll be forced to use methods 2) or 3). 🙂

I've read that Dell's vBIOS is very compatible with our HP models. The one you found seems to be from Dell.

Our workstations have encrypted BIOSes; I haven't seen any cracked ones (I tried searching). I haven't heard of a "whitelist" of video cards in our BIOS. HP's official website offers the same file for both the 8570w and 8770w, so there's no difference in video card support in the system BIOS.

If I'm not mistaken, the author of this thread never had a 965M, or any other Maxwell card; he wrote about that once. He installed P5200 (Pascal) and RTX5000 (Turing) cards, and both worked for him.

[Vladka76]

On 10/17/2025 at 3:51 PM, Daedalus said:

May end up returning the 965m to seller and pausing the GPU upgrade path.

Perhaps it would be better to contact a service center or a competent specialist... 😉

[Vladka76]

On 10/24/2025 at 8:11 PM, Daedalus said:

Just been scrolling through the old NBR archives and noticed a few familiar renegades 😉

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/8770w-compatible-video-cards.795753/page-2
question with my 965m headache is why 8770w had a lot more “working” cards. It seems  bios / vbios options weren’t as bad on the bigger brother 8770?

can anyone shed any light why the 965m wouldn’t/ work on the 8570w? Or even a 950m which is type A, at this point I’m happy to try wedging the 970/980m in, but would like to know what bios/vbios mods are needed. 965m was a proper rare beast to track down, whereas 970/980 are a lot more plentiful

In my humble opinion (IMHO), as an 8770w owner who carefully studied technical forums before purchasing:
- 8770w (17.3-inch model) can use both MXM-A and MXM-B graphics cards, you just need to replace the GPU cooling system (I have both). Therefore, it's possible that the supported cards list is wider than the 15.6-inch 8570w, where any MXM-B cards can only be installed after serious modding (which is what the author of this thread, @GuitarG, started with).
- I believe the GPU's compatibility limit of the both models is the same. For cheap workstations without a DreamColor display (and its color depth converter board) these are cards with the Maxwell-2 architecture (MXM-A: Quadro M2200/GeForce 965m, MXM-B: Quadro M5000M/GeForce 980m). Of course, when @GuitarG publishes the datasheet for his final version of the eDP-->eDP cable, which will allow 8570w-8770w owners to install graphics cards of newer architectures (I hope, up to Turing), with the mandatory requirement of replacing display from LVDS to eDP, then this limit will be significantly higher.

Compatible with your 8570w (without modding!) MXM-A cards: Quadro M1000M and M2000M (both Maxwell), M1200 and M2200 (both Maxwell-2). If you can't get the 965M to work, I'd try the M2000M; I've read that it's easier to "tame" than the newest of them (M2200), and that there are more different vBIOSes for M2000, than for M2200. But vBIOS flashing is not an easy task...
---
I (personally) was lucky – I bought a new MXM-B Quadro M3000M with vBIOS for the Dell 7710, and it worked on my 8770w without any effort. I wrote about this here earlier.
But sure, I still dream of the Quadro RTX3000 from Getec in my 8770w, it's true... 😇 😀

[Daedalus]

On 10/25/2025 at 12:38 AM, Vladka76 said:

First of all, check your system BIOS version (the latest is F.71A). If yours is significantly older, you should update the system BIOS; this can really help recognize the new cards:
https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp96001-96500/sp96092.exe
WARNING: This operation is potentially dangerous, so please install a charged battery before proceeding. If the flasher asks you to create a "recovery disk" on a flash drive, do so. Be very careful, attentive, and read all the prompts, otherwise you'll brick your laptop!!!
I would do this operation on a clean, freshly installed Windows 7, 8, 8.1 (possibly on a temporary/test disk), because only these systems are listed as supported.

After a successful BIOS update and before removing the K1000M, I recommend to set the "Legacy" mode in BIOS. If the image doesn't appear, then after replacing K1000M again, I recommend to try the "UEFI with CSM" mode, and then - "UEFI without CSM". If after all this, no image appears on either the external ports or the screen, then this 965M won't work. Either she's faulty, or its vBIOS can't be read (GOP region issue, incompatible vBIOS, etc.).
In this situation, I would still try to flash compatible vBIOS using programmer and a solder iron. 😄

If the image appears on the external ports but not on the screen, then you need to try different video BIOS versions; this is not an easy task. This can be done:
1) by flashing the firmware on your 8570w (with output to an external monitor) using nvflash program (NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility) version 5.287.0 (modified by Joe Dirt) – I've read that this verison is best suited for Maxwell-based graphics cards, but I haven't used it;
2) on another workstation with an integrated graphics card and an MXM slot – for example, a Dell Precision M6700. If you can't find such a workstation, then
3) on any other computer or laptop with a programmer, and also with your soldering skills to desolder and re-solder the ROM BIOS chip. 🙂
Warning - If you use method 1) and flash an incompatible vBIOS and the card bricks after rebooting, you'll be forced to use methods 2) or 3). 🙂

I've read that Dell's vBIOS is very compatible with our HP models. The one you found seems to be from Dell.

Our workstations have encrypted BIOSes; I haven't seen any cracked ones (I tried searching). I haven't heard of a "whitelist" of video cards in our BIOS. HP's official website offers the same file for both the 8570w and 8770w, so there's no difference in video card support in the system BIOS.

If I'm not mistaken, the author of this thread never had a 965M, or any other Maxwell card; he wrote about that once. He installed P5200 (Pascal) and RTX5000 (Turing) cards, and both worked for him.

Thanks for the update. Bios was .71 (final release from Hp) tried in both uefi with and without csm modes in bios. No joy no output (no bios boot display or win loading, just black)

Previous post elsewhere on Reddit mentions legacy mode results in non boot So with that in mind maybe card has wrong vbios. As you mentioned dell vbios seems to work with our machines but no way of verifying what vbios this 965m has. So maybe this doesn’t have HP or Dell vbios.
so if bios versions are same on 8570/8770 it has to be card.

i don’t possess a ch314a bios programmer to redo the vbios so im stuck.

 

  On 10/25/2025 at 12:41 AM, Vladka76 said:

Perhaps it would be better to contact a service center or a competent specialist... 😉

I’ve triggered a return to seller, will continue to hunt a suitable card. A shame as it was only Type A seller I found in a while.
Also seen an 8770w heatsink I will continue to build a type B card option for the 8570.

id be happy to send a card to you guys to flash the right vbios.

That said i'm not quite sure a service centre would entertain such work 😉  I'd happily pay you guys for the work

 

 

[Daedalus]

On 10/25/2025 at 1:41 AM, Vladka76 said:

In my humble opinion (IMHO), as an 8770w owner who carefully studied technical forums before purchasing:
- 8770w (17.3-inch model) can use both MXM-A and MXM-B graphics cards, you just need to replace the GPU cooling system (I have both). Therefore, it's possible that the supported cards list is wider than the 15.6-inch 8570w, where any MXM-B cards can only be installed after serious modding (which is what the author of this thread, @GuitarG, started with).
- I believe the GPU's compatibility limit of the both models is the same. For cheap workstations without a DreamColor display (and its color depth converter board) these are cards with the Maxwell-2 architecture (MXM-A: Quadro M2200/GeForce 965m, MXM-B: Quadro M5000M/GeForce 980m). Of course, when @GuitarG publishes the datasheet for his final version of the eDP-->eDP cable, which will allow 8570w-8770w owners to install graphics cards of newer architectures (I hope, up to Turing), with the mandatory requirement of replacing display from LVDS to eDP, then this limit will be significantly higher.

Compatible with your 8570w (without modding!) MXM-A cards: Quadro M1000M and M2000M (both Maxwell), M1200 and M2200 (both Maxwell-2). If you can't get the 965M to work, I'd try the M2000M; I've read that it's easier to "tame" than the newest of them (M2200), and that there are more different vBIOSes for M2000, than for M2200. But vBIOS flashing is not an easy task...
---
I (personally) was lucky – I bought a new MXM-B Quadro M3000M with vBIOS for the Dell 7710, and it worked on my 8770w without any effort. I wrote about this here earlier.
But sure, I still dream of the RTX3000 from Getec in my 8770w, it's true... 😇 😀

Thanks for the detail. Yup without vbios programmer I’m kinda limited. M2000m seems to be a sensible path for out the box-ish
that said, which vbios are viable if I can track a 965m with dell or hp vbios? I’d like to still try the 965m path to max the “A” path. Working on a double pipe “A” heatsink at moment. 
im still a bit confused as if bios .71 on 8570&8770 is the same (currently updated bios to .71), therefore what restricts POsT/boot display in a 8570. If say an 980m in a 8770w works then by same logic it should be fine in 8570? That said we can rule out bios as being factor for boot hiccup. So vbios is the challenge, what brand and what version?

I can buy a ch314a programmer but still stuck if I don’t have vbios images unique to dell/hp. Only version I do have is from nvidia site so a vanilla version unless it asks target machine upon install?

 

I may have stumbled on a Clevo 965M on ebay, so im on the fence whether i go for that.  are Clevo Vbios viable to work on the 8570W's? 

 

[GuitarG]

On 10/25/2025 at 2:41 AM, Vladka76 said:

 

 

On 10/8/2025 at 5:36 PM, AstroMan said:

Only one way to find out.
Do some fitments, a lot of insulation so you don't short components on metal chassis (yes, that's a problem from now on), desolder ports that are too high or go brrrr with the file on the chassis. Some ports like usb can be extended with extension instead of desoldering. You have to then mount or plug ports. Somehow also figure out how keyboard will be plugged in (and how it will communicate, same with trackpad), and the trackpad with lower buttons, and then to top trackpad buttons, and keyboard joystick too, and backlight if you want that, also media buttons and power button.

Then plumbing, how will you deliver power to the board (plug + battery) and who will make the custom heatsink?

I mean you can go completely freestyle and make a piece of art with enough time, or a junk-top.

Do keep in mind, the more you solder to the board then harder it will be to replace board once it fails, cause you know, the cpu is soldered and all that.

That sounds like a lot of work, for alder lake at least

As for cable, one could already make one using my post's info. Unfortunately I don't have energy or health lately to check different vbioses with eDP screen on 8560w (but I'm 90% sure it's vbios that makes LCD compatible with laptop). 

About chassis and modding another board in, I though about that. What makes this laptop good for me ? It is quality of build, sturdiness. But instead of making "impossible" (making case from scratch or making new motherboard with same dimensions), I would rather make some fusion between clevo P751 cooling system, 3 speaker audio, CPU socket and 8570w magnesium shell, keyboard and touchpad. 

[Daedalus]

5 hours ago, GuitarG said:

 

As for cable, one could already make one using my post's info. Unfortunately I don't have energy or health lately to check different vbioses with eDP screen on 8560w (but I'm 90% sure it's vbios that makes LCD compatible with laptop). 

About chassis and modding another board in, I though about that. What makes this laptop good for me ? It is quality of build, sturdiness. But instead of making "impossible" (making case from scratch or making new motherboard with same dimensions), I would rather make some fusion between clevo P751 cooling system, 3 speaker audio, CPU socket and 8570w magnesium shell, keyboard and touchpad. 

Yeah that was where my head was going with newer tech but keeping elitebook shell. I was trying to keep within elitebook family hence looking at g9/g10 or newer. 
 

that’s understandable with your health challenges, save your energy good sir.

I was merely looking to pick your brains on what GPU vbios worked with what, been scouring the NBF archives which show a lot of 8770 work but not as much 8570w but do seem to call out the 8570 is more restrictive (but not sure why if it runs same SBios)

I seem to recall you tried the 965/980m early on in this saga, did they work with standard HP vbios or dell? I can order either, however recent adventure resulted in no output on 8570w with a 956m (assumed hp vbios) on vga or display, however I saw a post where some card output to display port but not others until correct drivers / inf mod done. So maybe that’s what I was experiencing as I didn’t have the DP cable to output to. 

[GuitarG]

13 hours ago, Daedalus said:

 

DP port output checking is essential to find compatible vbios and flashing another (I only bricked my GPU once, so external programmer may be needed). For drivers use NVClean with manually downloaded drivers from nvidia + adding hardware ID in program to check if there would be any code 43 in driver section. No output on internal LCD or code 43 means another vbios to flash.

Look for vbios on techpowerup site on unverified uploads, techinferno, etc. As for vendor, HP's firmware for GPUs are least compatible with hp laptops, haha. 
There is no difference between 8570w and 8770w, electrically and firmware side it is really same thing.

And sometimes, it is just damaged GPU

[Vladka76]

On 10/26/2025 at 12:12 AM, Daedalus said:

but no way of verifying what vbios this 965m has.

Why? There's always a way to check this: desoldering the ROM chip, downloading its contents using a programmer, and examining the resulting dump. The firmware's internal version number can be used to determine which OEM manufacturer it was developed for.
Generally, you can do a lot with a soldering iron. 😉

 

On 10/26/2025 at 1:13 AM, Daedalus said:

Yup without vbios programmer I’m kinda limited.

Moreover, attempting such an upgrade without proper soldering skills and a programmer is risky.
I've seen MXM videocard's sellers offer the option to flash the card with the buyer's vBIOS for free upon purchase. Or they might flash the version that, based on their experience, is most compatible with the buyer's workstation.
I would definitely take advantage of this opportunity when purchasing. 😉

 

On 10/26/2025 at 1:13 AM, Daedalus said:

M2000m seems to be a sensible path for out the box-ish

You can also start by looking for a Quadro M2200, as long as the seller agrees to flash it with Dell's vBIOS before purchasing and gives you some time to test it. 🙂
 

On 10/26/2025 at 1:13 AM, Daedalus said:

If say an 980m in a 8770w works then by same logic it should be fine in 8570? So vbios is the challenge, what brand and what version?

Theoretically - yes, BUT - for such a hot and big card as 980m, you need to mod 8570w, as the author of the topic did. Re-read first pages of this topic. 🙂
I would start with the Dell vBIOS.

 

On 10/26/2025 at 1:13 AM, Daedalus said:

I don’t have vbios images unique to dell/hp

It's better to search on the right by the name of your GPU and then select vBIOS from Dell:
https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/
 

On 10/26/2025 at 1:13 AM, Daedalus said:

are Clevo Vbios viable to work on the 8570W's?

The thread's author would have been better off answering this question. I haven't used Clevo. I think they're less compatible than Dell.

[Vladka76]

On 11/1/2025 at 1:44 PM, GuitarG said:

As for cable, one could already make one using my post's info.

??? But those are just rough notes, so it's hard to figure out which pin on one connector should be connected to which pin on another. I could just try to guess, but doing that on a new eDP screen and my only working laptop is scary.
I'd be very grateful for a complete pinout diagram when you get better.
I'm probably not the only one.

[GuitarG]

3 hours ago, Vladka76 said:

??? But those are just rough notes, so it's hard to figure out which pin on one connector should be connected to which pin on another. I could just try to guess, but doing that on a new eDP screen and my only working laptop is scary.
I'd be very grateful for a complete pinout diagram when you get better.
I'm probably not the only one.

Haha, sorry, I didn't remember how rough that draft was. My plan is to :

 

1) make hi res photo of both connectors to show what is connected, show starting orientation and enumerate pins we need 
2) make some simple schematic in KiCAD to better show what connect to what (instead of printed sketched paper ^_^)

Would that be better to make mod yourselves ?

 

[Vladka76]

2 hours ago, GuitarG said:

Haha, sorry, I didn't remember how rough that draft was. My plan is to :

 

1) make hi res photo of both connectors to show what is connected, show starting orientation and enumerate pins we need 
2) make some simple schematic in KiCAD to better show what connect to what (instead of printed sketched paper ^_^)

Would that be better to make mod yourselves ?

 

The plan is good, thank you! 🤩
I believe that, using its data, anyone (familiar with a soldering iron) can create their own cable-mod.
I don't have a test 8570/8770 or a test e-DP 30-pin screen, so I don't want to risk it without your help.
Please, improve your health first, and then you can work on it. I'll wait; it's not urgent.

[Daedalus]

22 hours ago, Vladka76 said:

Why? There's always a way to check this: desoldering the ROM chip, downloading its contents using a programmer, and examining the resulting dump. The firmware's internal version number can be used to determine which OEM manufacturer it was developed for.
Generally, you can do a lot with a soldering iron. 😉

 

Moreover, attempting such an upgrade without proper soldering skills and a programmer is risky.
I've seen MXM videocard's sellers offer the option to flash the card with the buyer's vBIOS for free upon purchase. Or they might flash the version that, based on their experience, is most compatible with the buyer's workstation.
I would definitely take advantage of this opportunity when purchasing. 😉

 

You can also start by looking for a Quadro M2200, as long as the seller agrees to flash it with Dell's vBIOS before purchasing and gives you some time to test it. 🙂
 

Theoretically - yes, BUT - for such a hot and big card as 980m, you need to mod 8570w, as the author of the topic did. Re-read first pages of this topic. 🙂
I would start with the Dell vBIOS.

 

It's better to search on the right by the name of your GPU and then select vBIOS from Dell:
https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/
 

The thread's author would have been better off answering this question. I haven't used Clevo. I think they're less compatible than Dell.

Thanks for the response. 

I was kinda hoping to resolve without programmer hence looking at what Vbios were viable.As you advise Dell Vbios seems to be a logical choice. 

I do have decent soldering skills (triple USB/heatsink & linux mod to O2 Joggler (Intel Atom core)).

I managed to contact the chap who made the reddit post that started this misadventure (anthonyBF2) he also advised no vbios was changed when he installed. Just the INF mod, so this seems to align with your path of using Dell VBios so thats reassuring.

no issue buying a selection of cards (m2200/965M/980M) to play with as this is the long slog on this machine. 🙂 TBH even having 3 GPU card selection, getting display output is priority then comes the mad scientist Heatsink mods (ex-engineer 😉 so have mill & lathe access 🙂