Alienware m17x R4 GTX1070 mxm successful upgrade

So ive owned quite a few Alienware laptops but out of all of them my favorite has always been the great m17x R4. I love its aggressive looks, its lines and grills remind me of lamborgini design, the 1 glass sheet screen, the media keys looked futuristic and its laser etched name plate added a touch of personalization and attention to detail that they used to have.

So considering it still has powerful specs for modern standards, i7 processors, 32gb ram, 2ssd and 1msata slots, 120hz 3D display, mxm slot, sd card reader, I couldn't help but to sell my 2 current laptops (15 R1 980m, 4k, 15 R3 1060) and purchase a pristine example of this machine with all its original packaging to upgrade it up to todays specs.


The Original Specs of this particular system were:
* Intel i7 3820qm 2.7ghz / 3.7ghz
* Nvidia GTX680m 2gb
* 8gb DDR3 RAM 1600mhz CL11
* 250gb Samsung 840pro SSD
* 1tb Seagate Momentum HDD
* 17" 1080p 120hz 3D display
Desired Upgrades:
* Intel i7 3940mx 3.0ghz / 3.9ghz
* Nvidia GTX 1070 8gb
* 32gb DDR3 Ram 1600 CL10 Corsair
* 1tb Samsung 860 EVO SSD
* Liquid Metal and better thermal pads

2019 Specs:

* Intel i7 3940mx 3.0ghz / 3.9ghz
* Zotac GTX 1070mxm 8gb
* 32gb DDR3 Ram 1866 CL9 Corsair Vengeance
* 1tb Samsung 860 Evo SSD
* 256gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
* Liquid Metal and Fujipoly 17w/mk thermal pads
* 17.3" 1080p 120hz 3D display​

I already purchased the GTX 1070 mxm, 32gb RAM and the 1tb SSD.
The GTX1070 is installed and working at its full power. I applied Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut liquid metal thermal compound to both CPU and GPU and Fujipoly ultra extreme 17.0 W/mK thermal pads with my modified GPU heatsink and new X-bracket. CPU is overclocked from OEM BIOS to stage1 4.1ghz 3.9ghz 4cores. No chasis or board was cut or damaged during this process as I wanted to keep its integrity and no throttle issues what so ever. As I already had the 120hz edp screen, it was an easier job to do and thanks to @Striker1234 and to @D4ddy for their threads as they made me have the guts to go through the project and to Rick for selling me this perfect example of a computer.

Alienware m17x r4 1070 mxm
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...other-socket-victory-against-bga-crap.803637/
Alienware m17 Ranger 1070 mxm
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-17-r5-gtx-1070-mxm-3-1b.800137/

Here are some before and after benchmarks so you can see this baby flying
let me know what you think about these numbers...



I will be uploading more pictures soon as it only lets me upload 5. If you guys have any questions id be glad to help out.

current issues:
- the GPU fan does not automatically work so I have to use HWinfo to manually build the fan table but HWinfo sucks balls at this and doesn't start them automatically either, also with HWinfo I take control of both CPU and GPU fans at the same time and sometimes I just want my CPU fan to be spinning. so if someone has a fix for this man that would be great!

- for some weird reason during Battlefield 4 multiplayer gaming when I'm looking at graphically intensive places GPU usage is 99% and CPU 70% FPS:150 but when I stare at a wall GPU usage is 50% CPU 50% and FPS: 90... doesn't make any sense. Not sure of its a Battlefield problem but is weird because I played Rise of the Tomb Raider side by side vs a new Alienware 17 gtx 1070 and I had ~5fps better through out the first 20 mins of the game.

 

GTX 680m Heatsink modding in 4 spots to fit the GTX 1070.


These are the different sizes I had to use and the high temp electrical tape can be seen on the GPU as a secondary measure on top of the conformal coating

Liquid metal applied to CPU and heatsink. MG chemicals Silicone conformal Coating applied to CPU and GPU PCB boards to avoid short circuit.


2 out of 4 Corsair Ram installed, dual SSDs done.

 

Wonderful decision

 

Really well done. Its a great machine. I think about getting one every once and again.

 

Looks like your CPU is only hitting 40w, on your OSD you dont have it displaying the current core clock unless my lack of sleep is getting to me.

If your CPU is running 3.0Ghz on 1600Mhz ram then I could see why your CPU usage is really high but GPU not being fully utilized.

What AC Adapter are you using? 240w? 330w? something else?

Also make sure to disable AC Adapter warnings in BIOS, previous user had troubles until disabling that option in the bios. Also make sure your CPU is running at least its turbo.

You can likely use Throttlestop to remedy a majority of your CPU issues without needing to tinker in the BIOS.

 

Congrats! Looks amazing! Enjoy your new beast!

 

JUST PERFECT!

 

Nice job! One of the best designs ever. I'm running my M18xR2 still.

Which 1070 is that?

 

Looks to be a MSI 1070 in standard form factor

 

I'll update the video with all core clocks present but What bothers me is that CPU and GPU usage and consumption rise when looking at the trees (normal) but so do the FPS to 150 and when I look at a simple wall my CPU nad GPU usage and consumption go down and so do my FPS drop to 90. And playing Tomb Raider I get to parts where both are 90% usage. So its as if the game is doing that

Ill check the battery warnings and remove them to see if it helps, my CPU usually runs between 3.9 and 4.1 ghz while gaming.

Im running a 240w adapter and have 3 of them so im sure im getting the 240w delivered.

But even though ive seen my cpu at 99% usage I dont think ive ever seen it pull much more than 45w... ill check that out and msg you back!

Oh one last thing, I dont get any throttling from power temp or anything else registered on hwinfo.

Thanks for stepping in and trying to help, Ill get right on it!!!

 

You should, wait for a nice one to appear and snatch it. I wasn't even thinking of upgrading, just wanted to have it as a vintage laptop but dayum I was gonna miss out.

 

+1 on your M18R2, have never seen one in physical must be a tank. The video card is a Zotac 1070 version and yes it has the standard form factor as opposed to the MSI but I am running an MSI Vbios to get it yo work nice with my laptop.

 

What is the wattage for the VBIOS? MSI cards are known to be the best built 1070's, and have a higher TDP than normal, the card might not handle it for long

 

True MSI being the standard. And the vbios increasing my oem TDP was precisely my biggest concern too. Now this one has a max TDP of 115w if I'm not mistaken and even with the MSI vbios it never goes past 120w I assume because its TDP is physically controlled by the card itself so I'm not worried at all. also @Striker1234 has been using it for a long time already and I checked with him before going with this option. Zotac works with nvidia since so long ago. Hopefully it last me the life of my m17x r4, or until a gtx 2070 mxm comes along

 

Id say your power throttling. Your combined score is only 600 above my m17xr4 and im using a 1060 with optimus. The 980m was pushing 240w so I think the 1070 will easily be over that. Get the upgraded CPU fan aswell, it will help a lot with keeping cpu temps down. http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/m17xr3-r4-ranger-plug-and-play-high-rpm-cpu-fan-mod.823325/

 

Are your score posted in that thread? I dont see any evidence that he is power throttling. The zotac card will on average score a 16.2k to 17.4k graphics score. His cpu might be pulling it down but id be curious to see your results. Here is a 1060 and 1070 run in an alienware 17r1 for reference.

 

This was one of my 1st runs. This is with optimus mode too. In my m15x lower combined score than what my system was meant to have always indicated power throttling (with the gtx 980m and 940xm) so I would assume it would be the same for these systems.

EDIT: My cpu was clocked at either 37/40/41/42 or 40/40/41/42 too

 

our physics scores are virtually the same, his graphics score is much higher, yet the combined score is shows 3fps difference and only 800ish point difference. Same with the 17r1 score, I don't know if that cpu is throttling but its performing much lower than it should. Judging by all these benchmarks I've seen the AW 17 power motherboard power throttles alot harder than the m17xr4. IIRC the case was the same for the AW18 compared to the m18xr2.

 

The combined score is a very taxing test. Even with a high end desktop gpu you are likely to only just break 30 fps. The 3 fps increase is massive by that standard. Power throttling for the gpu might be a consideration but only if the card is underperforming. It matches mine and other 1070s as well as exceeds the average performance of the msi 1070. I do agree that the 17r1 power throttles much more than the m17xr4. I've seen it first hand.

 

https://www.3dmark.com/fs/11962936 compare it to a score like this. I think its only slightly power throttling but, If you want to fix it you need the 330w adapter

EDIT: Heres another with an i5 - https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13382718
Half the physics score but higher combined score

Your only going to see this throttling when both CPU + GPU are under load. Just running the GPU or physics test alone won't throttle as the CPU clocks down during the gpu test and GPU during the physics. You can reduce this by turning on vsync or using a frame limiter.

 

Hey guys, whats up? Thanks @EepoSaurus and @True Debreuil great data and info posted!! you know I sit down and tell my self those same two arguments... now here is the thing:
1) I was having masive performance drops during gameplay, staring at wall would make me drop 30fps and at the same time make my GPU usage go down while not maxing the CPU. now this made no sense because:
- If my CPU were bottlenecking because of lack of mhz or cores, it would be maxed out 99% usage.
- If my PSU would be bottlenecking... the FPS and USAGE wouldn't be able to go up when I look away towards a complex scene and also considering it at least manages to pull 115w from the 1070 and 51w from the 3820QM at the same time while in combine test on firestrike, so it wouldn't be holding me back while on 50% usage in the game. Also this laptop came with the 680m which was a 100w card, I dont think Alienware gave it a 0% margin for power that the 15W increase for the 1070 would matter that much.

- Thermals cant be bottlenecking because liquid metal that why and temps would at least need to go past 90c to even think of that. considering the 105c prochot from the i7 3820QM
- Ram amount... I have 32gb I know ok, dont know why, dumb bragging rights it just feels good. but it is 1600mhz cl10 so like @TheReciever said, if the CPU down clocks paird with 1600mhz maybe that has a little bit of influence. I use it for rapid rapid mode SSD.
- Now if PROCHOT would stop being a little b/%h and do its job well I wouldn't have lost so much time on this or other laptops ive had damn it!

2) I saw the small increase my combined score has over other less powerful machines like @True Debreuil says and I also noticed my decent scores on Graphic and physics tests, but agree with your point on the combined test being the only one that really would stress the PSU to the point it shows its lacking. so ill get a wattmeter to check soon if its bottlenecking me to a small extent though. because I also agree with @EepoSaurus on the combined test being very Taxing and any small FPS increase being a massive gain in score because ive also compared other Alienwares 17 r4 with the 1070 and their combined scores are almost the same as mine and 1080's with scores not so different on the combined one. Man there are alot of examples for both sides on benchmarks, its as if the high en laptops cant sustain a 100% load on both GPU and CPU at the same time maybe. (I remember Alienware shipping a 180w for my 980m they replaced it ofcourse)

So bottom line it would be super cool for you guys to check your systems behavior side by side with the same info monitored. so I've made a video for the Firestrike test with all data visible and all info displayed. Do a run side by side I personally think my laptop is performing up to spec and maybe maybe could do a little better with a 330w PSU allthough that was NOT the issue I was Having... check the next pictures out after watching the video!


Now thanks to @TheReciever!!!! he reminded me of Throttlestop. I had already used it before on my Alienware 15 980m, 4720hq, 4k, that would throttle like crazy down to 800mhz so I had to remove Prochot option, and it kept cool temps. PROBLEM FIXED!!. BF4 or BF1 doesn't hold 99% load in any machine with the 1070 ive seen online for some reason, Rise of the Tomb Raider keeps GPU 99% most of the time so it must be how it works. Im glad to see my Laptop is performing beautifully.

check out this oem GTX1070 i7 7700hq Gigabyte laptop performing on BF1 its the same thing so i can rest assured my System is working perfectly.



Check out the FPS numbers on orange

1st image PROCHOT ENABLED


2nd image PROCHOT DISABLED


And look at the CPU usage it actually went down when the FPS and GPU usage went up!

So remember if your CPU is strong enough, your GPU is fast enough, your heat is down low and your watts are up high. PROCHOT is probably your problem.

Now disabling PROCHOT on firestrike makes no difference what so ever! it always performs well or so I think. so for those who want to see this issue in action I also left a video below.
hope all of this helps.






On a happy note, quick update on the system. well the 32gb of ram are now installed, and I decided to go ahead and replace the LCD back cover for a brand new one. Because of time and exposure to sunlight this soft touch material sometimes start to become a bit more sticky than normal and cleaning it requires a damp cloth mine wasn't so bad but I went ahead and ordered from PartsPeople.com a new back cover which of course when it arrived was actually as sticky as a lint remover even new so the person from partspeople was kind enough to go down to the warehouse herself and source the newest production date and perfect one and send it. totally worth it and easy to replace with no risk of damage to the screen, it just slides off. Also got a new battery from them, I totally recommend these guys! beware of ebay knockoff batteries, I got sent a counterfeit one for trying to get a better price.


Cheers People!!!!!!

 

Here is a firestrike run. Geforce experience lowers my score but it does show relative performance.

 

Damn thanks for the quick response! you da man. well so in the combined test CPU does not go to 99% usage on your benchmark either so i guess its normal then... uff thats good to know and I can now have peace of mind. Thanks for your info! Great performance mod btw, nice to see the Ranger all beefed up too!

 

hey man, Im thinking about going for the fan mod but had a couple of questions for you.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laptop-Fan...=item3adbe3dbdb:g:L0AAAOSwKwpa9QT4:rk:20:pf:0
is this the same fan you purchased? because when I follow the link you posted it takes me to Aliexpress and the description there says you can get different fans not necessarily the one in the picture.

how loud is this fan under normal load?
is it still working properly after long?

thanks again for your valued info! btw, I'm looking into the power throttle to make sure because I just learned that the new Aw 17 r4 1070 with the 240w adapter still has the hybrid bios where it uses watts from its battery also, and my GPU is now sometimes trying to pull 120 ~ 130 watts for some reason... ill make a post after I gather all the info needed. thanks again.

 

@Grant B Gibson
@Striker1234
What do you guys think about this... I think after removing PROCHOT my system just unleashed its watts and during game session I see consumption ranging from 120w to 140w. Grant you were concerned about MSI wattage and now so am I. should I just re enable prochot or get the 330w adapter and see what the R4 can really do?

Stiker has this happened to you on your Zotac 1070?

 

Its the exact same in terms of loudness when its spinning at the same speed, It is just able to spin twice as fast (5700 rpm vs 3100 rpm) as the stock fan so when it spins faster it is going to be louder. It sounds kind of like the gpu fan when it is turned to max.

That prochot info is quite interesting. Maybe @Rengsey R. H. Jr. could use this on his zotac 1080 and it solve the power throttle issue. Does it stay at 142 watts during the entire time or is it just a high spike?

 

He has already sold that 1080 iirc

Besides he's likely very well versed with TS.

 

Ok, will pull the trigger on the fan and let you know how it goes, thanks! Ive tested with and wothout prochot and always without it I get power spikes immediately going from 120w to 140w on my gpu and cpu watt consumption also goes up about 6w, they both on avarage consume more watts. I get a lot less micro stuttering on Battlefield 1 multiplayer. so thats why I already bought the 330w adapter and will test it out as soon as I get because I guess the 240w wont be able to power the gpu if iits pulling 140w, ill update you guys even further soon. I had used Prochot before, but had never seen it cap or unleash the cpu and gpu wattage non heat related so I do find it interesting.

 

Removed

 

Cant really solicit ads on a regular post.

You will have better luck posting a wanted ad in the marketplace and adding a link to your signature for maximum exposure.

 

Hey guys, did I also need to apply thermal pads on these chips? Just wondering because I saw various cards with pads there and others without so not sure. Thanks!!

 

Yes.
Me always cover all components, to have good overall contact and be sure to avoid any heat related issues. Even that ones on the far bottom left have a pad applied, although not covered by the heatsink totally.

 

Thanks @M18x-oldie , well don't know if its worth repasting to add those pads immediately though... ughrr!

@EepoSaurus and @True Debreuil
On a side note, the 330w adapter is here!!!!!! I tried both, the 240w and 330w, ran 3 firestrike test and also Battlefield 1 gaming performance Annnnnnnd… scores on 3Dmark didn't change a thing what so ever. I was pretty disappointed I purchased the adapter for nothing, money to the waste.


But then I tried them both during gaming and the performance did change. take a look at the video I made for you guys to see real world performance difference running the same intro video with both the 240w and 330w adapter. Remember Alienware includes a Hybrid power BIOS on their laptop that have the GTX 1070 with the 240w adapter so this makes up for those extra watts needed sometimes. I am so glad I found this improvement and I thank you guys for the input, so well this answers the question about power starving and how Firestrike doesn't really stress the system enough in its combined test.

Focus on the CPU power consumption and how it relates to the core speed when it goes down and also monitor the fps.
Hope this helps the community and is of value to some. Cheers guys!

 

Hello guys!!! I’m really need your assistance!!! I have Alienware m17x r4 with gtx660m 2GB, 16GB RAM, Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40 GHz, Display 60 GHz, BIOS A14 - UEFI, Windows 10 x 64, and of course I want to install gtx1070 I was read a lot of forums, and I don’t understand about display. Is it possible to install gtx1070 without changing my 60 GHz display? Can I just only modify my heatsink? What about laptop battery? I can keep present? Or also need to by new? I understand I need to by new adapter with 330 DAP power. Present is 180 DPA. I hope on yours cooperation. Sorry for my English

 

60HZ screen should be fine with an unlocked BIOS, as that would allow you to run the HD 4000 with the 1070 to translate the 1070's native output into the the 60hz screen. I don't believe heatsink mods are needed if you choose to buy a AMD heatsink. As well, you need a atleast a 240W adapter, 330W ac adapters are cheap enough

 

Thank you Grant B G. I don’t want by new radiator, I want modifying my, just clearing some problem area for installation. That’s why I asked about radiator. My PC master, who will do all that job tell me all possible withou new radiator and he was installed before, but I’m not fully trust him))) and I’m afraid my alien can KAPUT)

 

Has anyone tested that, though?

 

Its been done on the Alienware 18.

 

I will do that in Friday, after installation I will post it) anyway thank for all.

 

I have a very similar setup. Are you running Win7 or Win10? I believe HWInfo only controls the GPU fan in Win10

 

I am running on windows 10 but as far as ive been told its because of the Zotac gpu that I cant control the separate, hwinfo does contro both GPU and CPU but both at the same time which sucks.

 

I guess my HWInfo was setup for me when bought it. But thought the CPU fan still worked from BIOS/EC

 

Yes, cpu fan does work normally but gpu fan is off untill you activate hwinfo and at that moment it takes control of both CPU and GPU at the same time.

 

So the newer one has combined Fan1 & Fan2. Older ver has them broken out (I think it was HWiNFO64 Version 5.80)

I like the newer HWinfo better since I can adjust the fan RPM in more steps. Much quieter now than 50% or 100%

Edit: Ok now I'm finding the newest HWInfo keep hanging. I read to disable "wake disabled GPU cores"

 

Any plans to try and run Oculus Rift? Trying to debug a USB issue with like same setup.

Update: Solved with custom signed, original Intel native 3.0 drivers

 

Really??? Hmm Ill try, if it works boy will I be so glad!!! Hey has anyone got their HDMI in to work after the upgraded gpu and windows 10??? Mine displays a black screen

 

I haven't tried it but was glad the HDMI out (only tested Oculus) works. I can try input tonight. Is there a "input" program you need to launch to view?

BTW put pics of my card and heatsink in another thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/m17x-r4-with-gtx1070.814826/page-3#post-10826670

 

Make sure the Alienware OSD driver is installed for HDMI IN.

 

I do have them installed, still i dont get any image with the HDMI in, only a black screen. Already tried cleaning all the pinouts andd no success, i dont even get the audio from it nor the option to activate the HDMI in audio :/ has anyone solved this puzzle?

 

Yes the new HWinfo also hanged on mine randomly but after disabling various options it runs perfectly now. Run it as shown below and you should have no issues.

Hope this helps.