[GUIDE] Installing and Overclocking the AMD Mobility 7970 in the M17x R3,an illustrated guide

yes i have it.
i want to play BF3

 

thx, 7970 and 680 are available on eBay now.

 

Can you play on stock clocks without any issue? Have you tried lowering your clocks?

I have an issue with Crysis 2. I can only OC to 900/1350 on that game. Although I play it on stock clocks on Ultra settings. Any other game I can OC to 950/1500+ without any issues.

 

For the installation do we need to have the A08 unlocked bios (as mentioned in this guide) or would the most recent one from dell be better (A10)? Just wondering because upgradeyourlaptop instructions for installing a 7970m (from ebay upgrade kit for alienware page) said to update bios to latest version from manufacturer before installing the card. Also has anyone tried installation from upgradeyourlaptop steps, is it reliable?

 

THe problem with A10 is that it isn't unlocked and it downgrades your SATA's to SATA2 instead of SATA3

Stick with the A08 unlocked...if it isn't unlocked, you can't disable the integrated graphics which will lead to problems for you.

i don't know what the instructions are from eurocom, but it can't be much different than mine..except for the part at the beginning to disable integrated graphics in the R3

 

So, whatever it is SlickDude80, nobody has tried the 7970m with the A10 bios and had it working successfully?!

I can put up with the switchable GPU (not really matters) but the brightness issue I cannot stand... I wish that we can have a fix shortly. I have tried everything possible including hdinfo, only what works is to keep the system on standby for few seconds and then will be ok.

 

Geocake tried to enable integrated graphics when he got his hands on the clevo driver (with enduro enabled) and it was black screen city.

Are you on 12.7? That has made my screen brighter...not perfect, but good enough as I usually turn it down anyways to relieve the stress on my gaming eyes

I don't know anyone who has the card running on A10...but if you have a saturday where you're not doing anything lol...

 

My screen is bright enough (just like it should be), only after I put the system on standby for few seconds and back on (and this is not always).

Switching between the integrated and dedicated is not an issue (you can always do that from bios if you really need that), only the bright issue if it is solved will be great.

Maybe we should put this sticky on this thread page so that we may be lucky to get some help in fixing it...

My screen now again has gone a bit darker (it is readable but not acceptable, maybe in the dark will do) after leaving it on standby for about an hour.

And yes SlickDude80, I am on 12.7 beta (desktop) driver and the matter is not solved.

 

i think the only way it will get solved is if you enable the igp...but it could be a headache if things go bad.

For now, 12.7 has made my screen brighter compared to 12.5...not perfect, but better

 

Actually, there is an unlocked A10 BIOS for the R3, thanks to svl7 and Bios-Mods. Not widely used, probably because of the SATA 3 downgrade issue, but it works fine, looks just like unlocked A08. I'm using it now to test. M17xR3_Unlocked_A10_Bios_Full.zip.

 

Rev, thanks for the info

i see that your R3 has gone through a transformation of sorts

 

Yep, my 580M died, now awaiting a 7970M. Had to return everything to stock in anticipation of having to replace the motherboard under warranty, but it turned out to be the 580M instead of the mobo, although it acted exactly the same. Fooled both Dell and me. Will go back to the 2920XM after I install the 7970M, but wanted to see how it did with the 2820 first. Be nice to forget about CPU heat issues for a while. I should be following in your footsteps very soon.

 

yikes...I'm guessing you overvolted to .92v?

Is dell replacing your 580 with the 7970m? Cause that seems like a good deal if they are

 

No, it was at .87v and under no stress when it died. Had been watching Netflix for 4 hours or so, then checking the forum, when I got the black screen shutdown -- no power, PSU light out, no life whatsoever. Tried all the usual steps to revive. Nothing. Looked like a dead mobo; talked to Dell, they agreed and scheduled an in-home replacement for two days later. I returned everything to stock (2820/6990M) to get ready for the visit, but once that was done I plugged it in, expecting nothing. Darn thing came to life and tried to boot! It reported that the power adapter was not approved and was less than 150W, but continued. I replaced the PSU with a spare 240W I had and that suited it. It was a long mess after that, but I eventually nursed it back to life after blind flashing the BIOS, replacing the CMOS battery, getting the proper drivers installed, etc. After all that was done, I ran the built-in diagnostics. Everything checked out. I had to try reinstalling the 580M. Absolutely dead again. I've never seen a dead video card have that result. Learn something new about these things every day. Put the 6990M back in and every thing returned to normal, and it has operated perfectly for about a week now. Have no idea what caused the 580M to die. It was a Dell card, but unfortunately was purchased from a third party, so no warranty on this one.

 

Sorry for your loss...

i guess this has forced your hand into getting a next gen card...seems like there will be a happy ending here

 

You're exactly right. It was planned anyway. I've been waiting to see how the 680M worked with the R3, but both the uncertain compatibility and the price premium makes it hard to justify for an older notebook. I'll have to put off the 680M until I feel the need to upgrade to a R4 or M18x-R2. Until then, the 7970M should give this one new life and be fun to play with.

 

looking into my crystal ball, I see many days of tweaking ahead of you lol...

the 7970m should be more than adequate...from what i see, 680m scores 300-400 more points but is quite even in games

 

That's how I see it too, but I'm going to miss that Nvidia driver support.

 

Hey slick, maybe you can help me. I know this must have been asked countles times but somehow i cant overclock my 7970 in my clevo machine. when i navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
there are no 0000, 0001, 0003... etc subfolders, only a subfolder called "properties" which doesnt help me at all...

does anyone know what the issue is here?

 

Hey mate, where did you ordered 7970m card? Directly from Dell, eBay, or somewhere else?

 

hey slickdude and ayone else who can help me. I installed my 7970m but it running not so good. Its performing less than what my 6990m did. I changed the vid config in the bios and the 7970m driver installed and its running like crap. Help please!

 

wow that sounds bad, hopefully just some configuration. is the card recognized by software like GPUZ as 7970? can you post a screen? what experience index and 3dmark results have you achieved? also, what mobo bios settings do you use and what bios version do you have? a8, a10? and what version of card is that?

 

I ran Heaven 3.0 and ran the same settings i used for the 6990m and and was getting 10fps less. Tried Batman Arkyam City and was 10fps less. running on A08 unlocked version. Subvender is dell for card. I'm using the 8.934 driver version from the cd Eurocom gave me. I waited 3 months for this....

 

I would recommend to try different drivers. Then try that GPUZ please and post screen here.

 

Update the driver and see if you can get msi afterburner working. See if you can perform a mild overclock. In some cases the m7970 seems to keep the low clocks, and over clocking breaks the lock. Just a guess from what I have read from other members.

 

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oh yea and now my screen is dim too.

So a dim screen and bad performance.......

 

i did everything in slickdudes install guide and im getting poor performance. As soon as i launch Heaven 3.0 it starts at 19-20fps when my 6990m was starting at 29-30fps. I know the 7970m should be in the upper 50's or 60's if not higher.

 

alright i found the problem. My clocks are locked at 300/150. dont know how. tried alittle overclock to 900/1400 and it didnt do much. By this i mean i see 850/1200 but hwinfo and msi afterburner both show 300/150.

How do i get those clocks back to default???????

 

I ordered the 7970M directly from Dell through email to [email protected], as recommended by AW support reps in the forum. Got a telephone response late the next business day and placed the order without any hassle about the 7970M not being supported in the R3 that you (or at least I) tend to get from the general Dell parts regime. Supposed to ship Friday.

 

Just to let you guys know about the 'dim' issue. It is nothing to do with the GPU.

It's the compatibility of R3 and the driver. Why am I saying this? I have tried 3 7970m GPU's. All 3 had the same vbios but manufactured in different timings (different dates). And yes, those are Dell cards.

Other than that, I do not see any other problem. When I say 'dim' issue:

1. It is readable;

2. At about 70%-80% brightness;

3. After computer turns on, you have to keep it in sleep mode for about 5 seconds and your brightness is up to 100%.

 

joey, are you still on the clevo drivers?

Download these:

AMD Catalyst 8.981.2 12.7 Beta – 7900 MOD – BenchmarK3D

Within CCC software manager, do a complete uninstall of amd software
Download driver sweeper and select "AMD Display", run, reboot

now install the 12.7's...choose custom install and make sure everything is checked

Install.

 

No expert on the 7970M, but the video drivers you are using are telling your R3 that it has a 6800 card with a 128bit bus width.

Try installing either the 12.5 Mod drivers ( AMD Catalyst 8.97 18 April – 7900 MOD – BenchmarK3D) or the 12.7 beta Mods ( AMD Catalyst 8.981.2.0 12.7 BETA June 26 – 7900 MOD – BenchmarK3D. These have worked for others.

Also check PowerPlay in CCC to assure that it is enabled and set to Maximize Performance when plugged in. And plug it in.

 

Joey, another thing...what vbios did Eurocom put on their 7970's?

If reinstalling a new driver doesn't work, you may want to try a modded vbios from our friends at techinferno

This is a dell vbios...I don't know what vbios eurocom put on these cards...i've heard that its is also the dell vbios, but not sure.

Downloads | Tech|Inferno

 

Did you fix the screen dim problem, i have this issue and have found no fix at all, apart from that closing and opening my lid brings the brightness back...

 

Do you think this will be fixed in a driver sooner or later?

 

Replacement 7970M installed (don't ask)... AMD Radeon HD 7970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2920XM Processor,Alienware M17xR3 score: P5747 3DMarks

Back in business.

So, any way to fix the brightness issue without sleep?

 

What should GPUZ be showing? That's exactly what my GPUZ screen tells me. I'm on the official 12.7 beta drivers currently.

 

Not any results so far. Some people do not complain about the brightness issue but I am sure everyone with an R3 has it.

Does anybody have a link for creating a dos bootable USB drive to flash the vbios. I tried to create a membership on Tech | Inferno but did not allow me to create one and I cannot download anything from there. I followed Slick's link...

 

Under the graphics chipset if it shows '7900 MOD - AMD Radeon HD 7970M' than you are under this one AMD Catalyst 8.981.2.0 12.7 BETA June 26 – 7900 MOD – BenchmarK3D. You can check this with Catalyst Control Center / Information / Hardware / Graphics Chipset - 7900 MOD - AMD Radeon HD 7970M

 

wow thx, will give it a try. rep+

 

Sorry bro...i must ask... what happened? lol

Without sleep or running some app like 3dmark for a few seconds, install 12.7 beta as that has made it brighter on my laptop...not fixed, but better

 

The Radeon Mobility 7970M reference design has a 256bit Bus Width, not the 128bit bus reflected on these GPU-Z reports. I would also expect the GPU ID to be Wimbleton XT, not 6800, but a number of other cards are returning the same data. I'm guessing that comes from a odd vbios or these AMD drivers, but have no idea why. Maybe it's just a false read.

@GeoCake -- Welcome back. Is there a tale that needs telling?

 

i think its just GPUZ that is making the false reading. It was suppose to be updated to support 7970m, but it doesn't work for me yet.

I just read that the radeons have an auto-dimming feature. I wonder if this is somehow being triggered accidently and running an app like 3dmark11 or waking from sleep, sets the brightness on again because it thinks it is awakening from a slumber

 

GPU-Z has been like that since forever, nothing new there really.

Is your new card OEM or another QS Geo?

 

Yeah, GPU-Z has had poor 7970M support from the beginning. I asked the author for some changes, but nothing has happened since then.. just as bad as AMD's drivers lol.

Anyhow, my card passed away not long ago with the dreaded post beeps, did so many things to try and get it back, and I somehow managed to bring it back once.. but as soon as the gaming clocks kicked it, my screen went black. Shortly after that I declared it dead.

I got myself a brand new heatsink in the meantime with the Dell thermal paste/pads pre-applied and installed it today, all great. The new card is an OEM I think, but not 101% sure, any way to tell?

 

That sounds bad. I'm sorry for your lost man. Did you try overvolt or keep a specific clocks or both? Depends on where you get the card but I think it would be hard to get a sample card now so yeah, yours is most likely an OEM. Any idea how well it can overclock? Anyway I'm sure you will keep a better care on this new card . Any plan on getting GTX 680M?

 

Nope, never overvolted or flashed any different vbios, never stressed it out much either. But I did try and get Enduro working... massive fail.

Since Diablo is the only game I've been playing recently, don't need to overclock just yet (only a matter of time). As for the 680M, lolno - going from a 6990M to a 580M was the biggest mistake I made, so I am not even considering a 680M.

 

Haha yeah couldn't agree more man. And I do actually prefer Catalyst's interface to verde's. now unless there is a substantial difference of at least 25%, otherwise I will stick with the red.

 

How about the brightness issue guys? Does anybody tried any new tricks?!

I have tried everything possible, even opened my m18xr2 in pieces to remove those cards and test them in the r3, no difference whatsoever. Played a bit with the registry, bios, still nothing works to help on this issue. The only thing I have not done is to flash a new vbios (overclocked/underclocked) and I do not think I want to do that especially when the card works just perfect so far.

I guess is not such a big deal and we should be happy having those masive cards in our systems, but if possible why not have it 100% functionable (which I doubt, since even with my m18xr2 I have driver issue - system freezes sometimes)

 

Thanks for this great guide! However, so far I've had no luck with MSI Afterburner...no matter what I do, the sliders either read stock clocks (850/1200) with the sliders maxed out all the way to the right or 0 after I change the MSIafterburner.cfg as directed. I'm using the June 26th release of the mod drivers and have changed the ENABLEULPS value to 0
One thing that struck me as odd is that I only had 0000 and 0001 sub registry keys. Only the 0001 had the ENABLEULPS to change...so I did. FYI... I have a m17x r4 with a single 7970m. BIG thanks in advance for any help!