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

[Daedalus]

Going on @Vladka76 view of using the Clevo Cable +HP DC + etc etc.  And please correct me if im wrong,  I assume standard 30pin layout, data pins etc.  So no "magic" happens at the display panel as e.g LG panel exists in Dell, Clevo, etc there should be standardised (except for mounting points) the only change would be the DC board doing the converting. could we not use a "other" brand solution? one thats more available than the "unobtainium" DC board? probably overthinking it here. 

I agree with the view of no need for 4K screen etc, but does that simplify it?

[Vladka76]

On 3/13/2026 at 3:22 PM, Daedalus said:

Going on @Vladka76 view of using the Clevo Cable +HP DC

Thanks, but that wasn't exactly my view. 🙂
 

 

On 3/13/2026 at 3:22 PM, Daedalus said:

the only change would be the DC board doing the converting. could we not use a "other" brand solution? one thats more available than the "unobtainium" DC board?

It seems you've misunderstood the idea.
She was to use only a modified cable between the motherboard and display, without a converter board at all. Re-read the latest replies from DevilAnGeL, the author of the "Ultimate 8770W yet?" thread. You even wrote there earlier.
I've read that DELL workstations also use a similar converter board (with a newer microprocessor). I can't say how compatible it is with HP.

[JadeRover]

Yes, dell m6600 and dell m6700 DC models have that DC conveter board that transforms the incoming eDP to 50 pin LVDS + 10 pin power cable used by the DC LCD.

 

The HP zbook 17 g1, g2 and 15 g1 that have the DC screen option also use such converter boards.

 

Keep in mind that for all the models stated the converter board looks something like this :

 

So if you get the DC cables for your model you see that it connects to your board in a non standard eDP format = can't use that cable to connect to a standard eDP panel conenctor.

 

Also the zbook 17 g1 and g2 all have this converted board as they all have LVDS displays and the motherboard outputs eDP. Not sure why HP chose this approach, probably because eDP lcds were rare in 2013-2014.

 

so zbook 17 g1/g2 with 900p to 1080p screes have this board if you want a sure way to get your hands on one.

[JadeRover]

And yes I get your idea, since the motherboard outputs eDP signals (4 lanes of eDP) but it terminates in an unusable connector. The only solution is to DIY / get made a custom cable that connects to the eDP connector on the motherboard and then directly to the eDP display, bypassing the DC board that would create an unusable signal.

 

4 lanes of eDP is on part with modern laptops, you can connect 4K dislays or 1080p >120Hz displays as well. Worth looking into as the only custom part needed is a custom eDP cable, the LCD can be an off the shelf 40 pin eDP display.

[Daedalus]

No problem @Vladka76 happy to be wrong 😉 just enquiring if that option had been investigated. 

 

Thanks @JadeRover that was kinda where my head was at with using standardized units for Display then we remove the intermediate board (which seems to be very difficult to obtain) 4K screen would be lovely but may overtax the HW in our 8570w's as previously called out. Would deffo buy the cable once we manage to get them built. 

 

Yeah never got a response from Devilangel on my query, he did an awesome build, TaoBao was a nightmare to navigate. 

 

[KbX]

I bought a cheap GTX 1070 to try with my 8570w, but it only works via DisplayPort to an external screen. From the posts, I think we have the same problem. The GPU emits an eDP signal. I could also buy screen Innolux N156HHE-GA1 Rev. C3 which has a 30-pin connector and receives an eDP signal, but I suppose a simple 40-pin converter from the motherboard to the 30-pin of this screen isn't enough because the pins that go through the motherboard aren't in the correct place for EDP communication, and the wires have to be externally adjusted to the way the screen receives them.

Am I correct in what I'm saying? Is this the adaptation I need, or i can buy the screen and it would work just with a 30 to 40 pin adapter? There are also DisplayPort to LVDS converters, but they are large pieces...

[Junom]

Hi,

 

thanks to everyone who have contributed with their personal upgrade experiences. I newly signed up here just to share mine. Your posts encouraged me to try a small upgrade over the K1000M card that was in my 8570w laptop. I bought a M1000M off eBay, mainly because it wasn't too pricey (20 USD). Not a huge loss if it didn't work, right! The card was pulled from a Dell laptop with vbios version 82.07.8F.00.1A. After turning the computer on, all the pixels on the screen turned white before slowly fading. The display is the 1920x1080 one with the LVDS connector.

 

I managed to see if the DP output worked by using a Linux Mint LiveCD. I have Linux (Gentoo) installed on that machine, so I was able to get to the console on the external display. I then decided to download and try flashing vbios version 82.07.8D.00.15 (https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/239513/239513) onto the card with the linux version of nvflash... and it worked!!!

I am happy! Thanks everyone! 😁 Hope this helps others who want to try this little upgrade over the original card.

[JadeRover]

18 hours ago, Junom said:

Hi,

 

thanks to everyone who have contributed with their personal upgrade experiences. I newly signed up here just to share mine. Your posts encouraged me to try a small upgrade over the K1000M card that was in my 8570w laptop. I bought a M1000M off eBay, mainly because it wasn't too pricey (20 USD). Not a huge loss if it didn't work, right! The card was pulled from a Dell laptop with vbios version 82.07.8F.00.1A. After turning the computer on, all the pixels on the screen turned white before slowly fading. The display is the 1920x1080 one with the LVDS connector.

 

I managed to see if the DP output worked by using a Linux Mint LiveCD. I have Linux (Gentoo) installed on that machine, so I was able to get to the console on the external display. I then decided to download and try flashing vbios version 82.07.8D.00.15 (https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/239513/239513) onto the card with the linux version of nvflash... and it worked!!!

I am happy! Thanks everyone! 😁 Hope this helps others who want to try this little upgrade over the original card.

 

Welcome to the forums ! Nice modding adventure you've started there, 20 bucks GPU upgrade on a laptop is always nice =D

 

Anyway, I was interested in you saying that this first vbios didn't work for you. I checked the 8570W boardview and indeed the internal display connector connects the eDP to DP_C of the dGPU (see screenshot).

 

 

This arrangement is non standard, most MXM GPU vbios have eDP connected on DP_D. HP has a few MXM laptops that have eDP on DP_C -> zbook 15 g1/g2/g3 + zbook 17 g3.

 

Meaning if you want to do a GPU upgrade you need to use a GPU that has eDP on DP_C (if not you'll get a black screen). The safest way to do so is to get an MXM gpu that originally shipped on the models I mentionned + flash the appropriate HP bios. Moreover, iMACs also use DP_C to drive the eDP display, vbios found on post #1 of this page for the mentionned GPUs should work for your laptop as well if you want to upgrade further down the line :  https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/imac-2011-maxwell-and-pascal-gpu-upgrade.2300989/ = more GPU upgrades possible.

You can also use a backlight cable mod if your GPU has standard DP on DP_C (not eDP). 

[KbX]

Ok, so good news for me i guess, thanks!

It's not BIOS, it came with HP one and I've tried others, not even a backlight or a Pixel....

The GPU has to send the display sinal trough the right way of HP laptops, cause it also sends the sgnal to DisplayPort that requires a diferent "language" than the embedded screen. That's convertible outside, in the cable. 

It has to be a cable to convert from the LVDS 40 pin port to the 30 pin eDP for who's at least want to upgrade the laptop screen. Then, GPU is responsible for sending the eDP signal, but is scrambled inside MBoard wiring that is ready for LVDS and that wiring has to be converted again, outside, to the eDP that the screen is waiting.

There are zbook's with LVDS screen, what do they use?

[JadeRover]

On 4/6/2026 at 12:42 AM, KbX said:

Ok, so good news for me i guess, thanks!

It's not BIOS, it came with HP one and I've tried others, not even a backlight or a Pixel....

The GPU has to send the display sinal trough the right way of HP laptops, cause it also sends the sgnal to DisplayPort that requires a diferent "language" than the embedded screen. That's convertible outside, in the cable. 

It has to be a cable to convert from the LVDS 40 pin port to the 30 pin eDP for who's at least want to upgrade the laptop screen. Then, GPU is responsible for sending the eDP signal, but is scrambled inside MBoard wiring that is ready for LVDS and that wiring has to be converted again, outside, to the eDP that the screen is waiting.

There are zbook's with LVDS screen, what do they use?

 

I double checked again on the boardview of the 8570w motherboard and this is not the case

 

The motherboard never converts LVDS to eDP, not possible, same for the cable or interposer board, the technology to convert LVDS to eDP came after these laptops were built. Famously the thinkpad T430 'IPS' mod uses a third party LVDS -> eDP converter.

 

On the screenshot I showed just above, the motherboard LCD connector has both eDP and LVDS on the same connector, both coming from the GPU in the MXM slot, in a direct line, no conversion going on in the motherboard. 

 

The eDP cable you are talking about doesn't convert any signal, it just connects the eDP found on the motherboard screen connector to the eDP display.

 

A LVDS cable that frequently came with these models connects the LVDS found in the motherboard screen connector to the LVDS of the screen.

 

I talked about how zbooks do this. All zbooks, (starting g1, 15/17 models) have only eDP on the motherboard screen connector. After that, the cable carries the eDP signal to an interposer board -> see my post at the top of the page showing pictures of such interposer that converts eDP to LVDS.

 

The problem is that the 8570w never shipped with a standard eDP cable that could connect into a modern eDP display. It was made to connect to the 40 pin eDP interposer board used to communicate to the Dream Color LVDS LCD. On the pictures of such interposer board, the connector that get's data from the motherboard is non standard to eDP display.

 

Good news is that, unlike thinkpad T430 that needs an added converter board to get modern eDP displays working, 8570w just needs a modded cable that has it's end modified so that it can connect to a standard eDP display connector.

 

 

[panda_zzz]

40 minutes ago, JadeRover said:

Good news is that, unlike thinkpad T430 that needs an added converter board to get modern eDP displays working, 8570w just needs a modded cable that has it's end modified so that it can connect to a standard eDP display connector.

The only problem is that there isn't a correct pinout for this cable yet. If you really want to use the new EDP display, I think it's perfectly possible to use an adapter board from the T430.

[Vladka76]

8 hours ago, JadeRover said:

8570w just needs a modded cable that has it's end modified so that it can connect to a standard eDP display connector.

Absolutely right! And my 8770w also needs the same cable. 🙂 I looked at the schematics – he uses the DP_D port to output the image to the internal screen, which is standard. But if you have a boardview file for 8770w, please email it to me. I would be very grateful!
My understanding is that on the motherboard connector side, I need to swap the wires in the cable connector from the LVDS interface (16 pcs: pins 19-26 and 29-36) to the DP interface (10-12 pcs: pins 39-50, possibly excluding 43 and 44). The question is - what's the best way to handle the unused wires? Pull them out?
And on the display connector side, I need to completely replace the existing LVDS connector with a standard eDP 40-pin connector for displays and solder the wires according to the standard eDP 40-pin pinout. And theoretically, 😁 everything should work...

[JadeRover]

@Vladka76 Yes, this should work, nice that 8770w has DP_D -> eDP, this will make GPU compatibility greater.

 

I noticed a trend that up to zbook 15 g3. All 15 inch HP worstations with MXM3 connector have DP_C -> eDP which is a shame = special HP vbios needed or mac rumors vbios needs to be used (best card is the P5200). If not, there will be no picture on LCD.

Unless you have a vbios that has standard DP_C -> DP (standard display port), then a backligh mod can be performed but screen is stuck at 100% brigthness.

 

Couldn't find boardview, schematic is preffered tbh so good that you have it.

 

I think you will need to mod the specific "Dream Color" cable that came with these laptops, the standard LVDS cable won't have cables connected to the pins associated with eDP, they will be unpopulated as why would your LVDS cable need to carry eDP wires ? Alternatevely you could repin a LVDS cable to connect to the eDP lines.

 

What I think is easier is : getting DC cable, cut off the end that connects to the interposer board and solder a standard 40 pin ipex connector used by eDP displays (if cable length is enough to connect to display, it should be).

 

Only problem is that eDP cables used or high bandwidth, which is the case here, need special coaxial cables that are HELL to solder (experienced this the hard way when trying to mod a zbook cable). These are usually soldered with lasers in factories D= 

 

Might be worth it to find a manufacturer who can build you the cable, on tabao or even aliexpress, sellers you make custom cables should offer it as it isn't much work for them.

 

PS : Your pinout is correct, but you do need pin 44 that is eDP HPD (hot plug detect), required for eDP, not sure what the MARS signal pin is, you can trace it back on the schematic, probably a GPIO pin to tell the PCH or EC chip that a DC display is present in the system.