G73 DC Jack Relocation Mod. Pics

[Muratus]

Hey All!

I posted this over at Notebook Review, but figured I'd share here also. This is my first post. So thought I would say hey first.

Anyway I know I'm a bit late to the G73 party, but their used price vs performance I just couldn't resist getting one to play with. My first impressions of them is very good, with a few minor annoyances, but nothing that I can't handle with a few mods.

This one drives me nuts on all laptops with the DC Jack on the side, WHY? They take way more abuse when on the side of the machine, and it seems the G73's are prone to DC Jack issues. So during my normal rebuild, repaste, and clean up of any used laptop that I get, I went ahead with this mod. So here is a few pictures kinda to lead you through what I did. We'll start with the money shot first.

Completed:






So here is how I did it. First I took a replacement DC Jack that is for a Toshiba which uses the same plug type at the G73.




I soldered it to the existing DC Jack on the motherboard




Next I routed the wire under the heatsink and wedged the new jack into place. It was a nice tight fit using the standoffs that were already there. I then put a dab of hot glue in to make sure it didn't shift.



Now with the fan installed. The plug you see in the picture is just a tip from a universal AC Adapter set, which was great for holding the plug in the correct position.



And a couple more completed shots. I also re-used the rubber plug that was in the antenna hole to plug the original DC jack hole. The antenna hold did require a bit of enlarging, nothing a drill and bit couldn't handle.




The original DC Jack on the motherboard is still there and usable the way I did this, I'd just have to take off the rubber cap and plug right in.

Well that's it for now. This is the first of many planned mods to my G73SW-BST6. If you have any questions post-a-way or just let me know what you think.

[billyray520]

Great job! 😄 I have two G73's to worry about, and believe me, it is the power plug that worries me most. IMHO, the problem isn't so much the location of the plug, it's the type of plug. IOW, I would have preferred a plug that sat securely in the receptacle. If the molded outer case of the PLUG was made so that it was flush up against the case when plugged in, so that there was no "wiggle room" then I think it would be fine. All they would have to do is make the right kind of plug. :cool: But your solution is definitely an improvement!

[Muratus]

billyray520 wrote:
Great job! 😄 I have two G73's to worry about, and believe me, it is the power plug that worries me most. IMHO, the problem isn't so much the location of the plug, it's the type of plug. IOW, I would have preferred a plug that sat securely in the receptacle. If the molded outer case of the PLUG was made so that it was flush up against the case when plugged in, so that there was no "wiggle room" then I think it would be fine. All they would have to do is make the right kind of plug. :cool: But your solution is definitely an improvement!

Thanks, that's part of the beauty of this mod. The new plug is in there very tightly not allowing any wiggle room. My next time in I'm going to make a more secure mounting bracket that screws in to those unused standoffs that it's wedged against now. Should make it even stronger.

Jporter396 wrote:
wesome man, the power of the G73jh and the low cost of it was just too unbeatable to pass up. Loving my G73jh, best price to performance ratio of any laptop i can think of to be honest. Bought my for 600

I had a JH for about 2 weeks when one of my customers talked me out of it. I managed to grab this SW for 350, it of course is a fixer upper. Keyboard backlights don't work still, which I believe the ribbon cable is damaged. Of course some touch pad troubles as expected from my experience with the JH along with a few other odds and ends. I do miss the light that is along the bottom of the monitor of the JH.

[Jporter396]

wesome man, the power of the G73jh and the low cost of it was just too unbeatable to pass up. Loving my G73jh, best price to performance ratio of any laptop i can think of to be honest. Bought my for 600