*Upgrade for Precision M6300 video card?

nVidia is correct - the card is proprietary to Dell.  There may be other sources of used ones (EBay, impactcomputers.com, parts-people.com) but there is nothing other than what Dell has shipped with these systems -- nothing else will fit.

Hi, forgive my ignorance, but  I havea similar problem (display goes off after 5 minutes, after some scrambled video signals) Do you change to VGA by accessing with F2 just after the boot up screen but before Windows starts? I am just not a IT person...DOnt know it will fix it but it is worth trying

thanks!

The VGA mode that I mentioned in my initial post is a kind of backup for when the primary gpu fails.  I'm not sure how to access it manually.

As a followup:  after working for a few days, my video card seems to have died for good now.  I can't even replicate the external monitor in VGA mode again.  I did notice during the diagnosis (Fn+PwrOn) that when it tested the fans, only the left side seemed to blow at full (right side fan could be why Quadro got fried?).

I have the exact same problem, it seems (after opening it and taking it apart) that the vents were clogged on the inside and the Nividia Quadro FX 3600m failed (some of the smaller pieces seem to have melted from excess heat.) Whats more, the video card is seemingly IMPOSSIBLE to find. IF you can find one, your computer can work again when its installed, so long as you clean the vents while its all opened up. If anyone finds one, can they let me know? We've only had this computer 3 years, same as you, and yeah, it was 3k to get so I really don't want to let it go and have to use my Toshiba dual core chip set.

Yeah, I too wish I could bring my m6300 back to life.  I look around for a card once in awhile,  sometimes I find a website that lists it but it's out of stock or else is insanely expensive.

What I've decided is to keep looking but instead of looking for the Quadro 3600M  (aka:  Dell FT903) which will definitely run hot, I look on eBay etc for other compatible video cards (saw an expired auction where one went for around $60)

Since I started this thread (and many others have had similar problems), I believe I read that Dell doesn't do proprietary cards anymore (?)... I don't know if there's an interface standard or whatever but I think they learned their lesson.

good luck.

Well, it seems that I FINALLY after a lot of effort (and a bit more cash than I would have liked to spend) found one on Ebay. It's due to ship tomorrow, and hopefully my computer will be working again. It cost me 200 bucks, but I figure 200 bucks is better than buying another entire computer, which would cost at least a grand to mimic the abilities of the Dell I have. Of course, I could always get an Asus, but they run really hot (my fiance has one, and its a mini heater for our room in winter in my eyes) since it has the i5 technology... and I wont touch an HP laptop or a Acer, since I've had really bad history with both brands. 

However, anyone who is still looking for a Quadro FX 3600m, they are OUT there, just you may want to find one refurbished, or you're going to pay at least $200, if not more.

(Also, HP has a Quadro FX 3600m, but it wont fit Dell. Make SURE you get the right one.)

Congrats on the find!  I had seen websites selling Dell FT903s for upwards of $700 so $200 is a decent price.

Please let me know how the swap out goes for you.  I have many years of IT experience but I've never cracked open a laptop before.  I've read the service manual on how to do the surgical procedure once before (hopefully I can find it again).  Seems straight forward enough.

best of luck.

Dell is selling this for $8xx at the moment.  So frustrating.  My 6300m is fine as is w/Win7x64 and 8GB ram.  1TB samsung drives fit nicely inside as well.  Just need the card upgrade from 1600m