6990M dead looking forward to buy 880m/780m in M18xR1

Hey,

I have M18xR1 with i7-2920XM so i don't need to buy whole new alienware for performance boost. 6 months ago my first 6990m failed and yesterday my second one is dead too. Im trying to figure out how to buy GTX 780m/880m in NORMAL price here in Poland. I see that here are available two used 880m with warranty. Are there any problems with 880m in M18xR1? I heard that it's highly unstable. I won't overlock it.

Regards

 

GTX880M will work in R1.. Even in SLI... I believe the M18x series have great cooling systems so they're able to keep the 880M cool.. Also latest vBIOS versions seem to be helping a bit with the problems.. I would go ahead and get the 880M if that's what you can find..

 

Thanks for the reply, so are they plug'n'play just modded inf like GTX 780M in R1?

 

Hey,

I Wonder if it's possible to Modify M18xR1 100W AMD heatsink to work with GTX 880M? They look practically same. Previous GPU was HD6990M.

Regards

 

If I am not mistaken their is a part missing that covers the vrm and the black shroud is cut to a different die size. You can cut the tape/shroud to make it bigger for the nvidia chip. But I think it is usually not recommended to use this older heatsink with the new nvidia stuff. Your better off buying a used 680m hetsink off ebay from $30 or try to get dell to sell you them. My dell rep was able to get me a main gnu heatsink but the secondary she said was not available anymore. So i had to grab one on ebay.

 

Thanks much. So there's just question from my another thread that is next to this.

 

Tear off all the black tape around the die on the heatsink. That way you get more copper and you are 100% certain you will cover the die of the 880M

 

Yup exactly.. I would get some quality thermal pads like Phobya XT ones and you'll be fine.. Also get some IC Diamond/Gelid GC Extreme thermal paste...

 

I have Zalman-STG2, its similiar do diamond, just slightly worse. Big THX for you.

 

I have seen several examples of problems using 880M in the M18xR1/R2. Having the 8GB of vRAM would be nice, but for the best result I would recommend 780M SLI instead. I have 780M SLI in my M18xR1 and it works flawlessly, without any of the thermal management and throttling issues that 880M is famous for. If you have the option of going with 780M, I think you will be much happier with the outcome.

 

I can't buy 780M, its not available here. Only 880M. I won't overclock this card so will the problems still affect me? Or if I decrease 880M clock to 780M one?

 

Heat problems, yes... because that is inherent to 880M. This will be especially bad if you try using anything other than the proper heat sink.

As far as performance goes, I have not seen an example of 880M working correct in an M18xR1. I have seen a couple of examples of it malfunctioning. There are several threads from 6 to 12 months ago where the drama was unfolding for people trying to upgrade to 880M. I know a couple of M18xR1/R2 owners that ended up buying a Clevo P570WM so they could use the 880M cards they paid an arm and a leg for. They used 780M SLI from the Clevo to fix the Alienware and the 880M cards went into the Clevo.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but I would hate to see you spend a small fortune on GPUs that do not work right and cannot be returned. Maybe you can source 780M through an alternative international channel instead of buying locally. You will need an SLI bridge cable in addition to GTX 680M 100W heat sinks.

I just went through this same kind of thing with a 980M SLI upgrade. It does not work at all with the R1 and does not work correctly with the R2. My $1500 awesome 980M SLI upgrade turned into a poor experience and I just spent about $2,100 more (over and above the $1500) on a Clevo P570WM bare bones that will allow me to get the most from my GTX 980M video cards.

 

What kind of problems it is? Heat mainly? I can lower clocks to 780M if it will help?

 

Read these threads and spare yourself the heartache if you can. The first link started out as one man's quest for an awesome GPU upgrade, but others have shared their problems in the same thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-18-m18x/750830-just-got-my-880m-twins.html

This thread is still an active one, too: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...xperiencing-problems-880m-list-them-here.html

 

Read the thread and I see many poeple with heat problems because of 880m standard clock or problems with no ability to overlock them. Still I won't overlock these cards and I can lower clocks to my 780M so i won't get heat problems. Can I just lower the clocks and avoid heat problems?

I've bought two new 880m cards for 630$ so, you know there was no big choice between 630$ two 880m/530$ plus 23%tax one 780M. Still need to modify AMD heatsinks, buy phobya thermal pads and SLI cable. SLI cable is not available here in Poland, can you point me where can I buy it for not big price?

 

You'll have to try it and hope for the best. There is no way to know for sure.

 

Big thanks for support, I hope it will work good.

 

I hope so also. It is a lot of money if it does not.

Please let us know what happens. Good luck, bud.

 

I've seen 880M's work properly in R1/R2... There are a few examples of this. Artioshed was a bit unlucky but his R2 was a bit flaky IMO and that didn't help at all.. Good luck OP and I'm quite sure it will work out great for you

Also for SLI cable, try eBay or call up Dell and ask them for one.

 

Ok i've compared high resolution NV heatsink photos to my current heatsink and they're identical just x-bracket is a little different because it covers the vrams from below too. However I see on the ebay that poeple sells normal x-bracket without additional plate as 100% compatbile with 880M so I should not have any problems with it. Just need to tear off some black tape, big thanks. You've saved me a lot of cash because none of heatsinks is available in Poland.

I see x-brackets are included.

That's the photo of gpu I bought:


Regards

 

Yes this is the exact same case for the Alienware M17x R4.. when I upgraded, all I did was reuse the AMD heatsink I had, tore off the black tape on it and stuck new thermal pads on GPU and screwed the heatsink down.. Works perfectly here..

 

Hey,

Thanks for reply. Are the screws same for AMD and NV cards on x-bracket?

Regards

 

No the screws are different... That is the only problem.. Did you get the screws when you bought the card? I have a few screws left over from my upgrade and wouldn't mind selling to you but won't be enough.. Best bet is to message Clevo Extreme Gaming and those guys will sell them to you.. They're germany based so shipping won't be as much as it is for buying from me..

 

Correct crews are M1,6 x 3,5mm. I can buy 1,6 x 3mm here in Poland, they should fit. Thx

Ah and my cards are from Alienware, i believe they have differents screws that clevo one.

 

The Dell GPU Support Plate screws are the same size as those used for WiFi, mSATA and the M18xR1/R2 keyboard, power button switch, etc. The Clevo screws are definitely smaller.

 

Yes the clevo thread sizes are different, I have had cards with alienware backplates and it wont work without swapping.

 

That's very interesting and useful information, big thanks!

 

Looking at the photo of the GPU you purchased, that is a Dell Support Plate (x-bracket) and the screws on your AMD heat sinks should be the correct size. However, I think you should look for heat sinks for 680M or 7970M because the 580M and 6990M heat sinks will leave some components on the outer edges of the GPU uncovered that need to be cooled. The 680M and 7970M heat sinks extend to the edge of the GPU so there is metal to make contact with the thermal pads place on those components.

In this image, the components along the top edge and those on the right edge, above the memory chips, will lack proper coverage.

 

Hmmm, could the card overheat or even die if I will use mine heatsinks for 2 weeks on 780M clocks? What do you think? I'll avoid extreme gaming for this period.

And what do you think if I will solder copper plates to existing heatsinks so it will have much larger covered gpu space, even larger than the heatsink you are referring to? I mean normal copper plate or something like that:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8PCS-Pure-C...019?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item51a7a9c8bb
or that:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminium-H...438?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e73cf60be


You know im really trying to minimize the costs. Also I think that this kind of modification could perform even better than stock cooler and could give my gpus long life.

Regards

 

I've managed to buy used SLI cable in my country for 20$. I think it's not bad deal.

Thanks for all the answers. If anyone is still willing to help then there's last question from me in this thread - http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/modify-m18xr1-100w-amd-heatsink-to-work-with-880m.770150/

Have a great day poeple!

 

The 880m sli works with the r2. I am running a combination of the mod Mr Fox provided in another thread (don't know how to hyperlink here using my phone si can't provide link) and afterburner. Detach the monitoring portion of the afterburner and set your settings to maintain a desired temperature. If I can find something to have the cards run at full potential, I'll keep you posted. I'm really new to pc gaming so I'm experimenting and learning as I go doing a lot of homework. If you find a way to keep it cool let me know as well. I'm reaching 90C when I hear it should be staying in the low 80C mark

 

Full potential of these cards is total overkill for current games

 

Yea in my experimenting, I realized these things are beasts but I can't seem to use their full potential without them over heating on my laptop and that's the thing. To me anything over 85 is over heating though and I've heard you don't do any real damage until after 95C. I just like to play it safe

Being honest I tried a mood similar to that on an Xbox before and it didn't really help. The material is a weak aluminum and would bend much too easily when I tried to soldier them down on the heatsink itself. You can get away with basic gaming I'm sure but for that you might as well use your integrated graphics. I did however find that using a copper penny worked decently. If you can find a soldier that's pretty good in thermal conductivity, you can maybe try that. I did it on an Xbox 360 though so for pc GPU it may be different. Saying that, I'm not responsible for damages but if you do try it, I hope it works well for you and please let me know how it goes

 

I've bought these heatsinks -> http://img02.allegroimg.pl/photos/oryginal/48/64/23/49/4864234900

They have ideal size to fit them in places where M18xR1 heatsink is empty. I will solder them to the existing heatsink so it won't move separately and use a Phobya XT thermopad underneath. Wish me luck.

I will tell you how the mod will perform.

 

That's great I hope it does work I also solved the temperature problems I was having and I feel so dumb for not noticing before. The msi afterburner program I talked about in the other thread has a temperature regulator. You set the temperature you want them to operate at and it will control your fan to maintain that temperature! I recommend you try that when you complete your mod. If it fails to maintain 80C (that's what I found to be perfect in my set up i.e. 60 fps at 1080p with shades high ssao blurring and everything else available in the two games I have tested it with and kept at 80C) then you know they are not working as well as the heat sink. I still recommend you get those over mods but I can respect trying to save as much as possible let me know how it goes

 

Hey, thanks for MSI afterburner thoughts.

One question. Do you want me to tear all of the black tape so it'll stick copper not only to ther core and also to the aluminium border around the gpu core? Im asking because radeon looks a little different.

 

Yes make sure that the copper is making full contact with the heatsink and yes for something like this do take off the black tape. The black tape can act as an insulator if it gets in the way of the GPU. NVidia will have a bigger contact point and the AMD heatsink will have a diamond shaped tape on it that will not work for the NVidia GPU. I had to do this for my 880m on my right side of the laptop and it actually cools a little better than the one meant for the NVidia cards believe it or not. I hope I was able to help you with it and let me know how it works

 

My 880M reached 87c on the left side playing FC4 today. They are with GC-Extreme paste. The only other option above is CLU.

 

@up
Don't know what's CLU?

@Up2
But did you took off all the black tape or just resize it to the 880M core? Won't tearing all the black tape on copper heatsink do a short circuit?

 

You have to remove all the black tape.. No questions asked...

CLU is Liquid Ultra thermal paste.. liquid based and not for newbies when it comes to repasting..

 

I am interested, because I have to perform a job similar to yours.

How do you weld mini heatsink Copper with aluminum?

 

1. OK
2. What the hell? Do you think I am a newbie? I've repasted a lot mid-range laptops before. Im just asking so I'll be 100% sure that im doing right thing. Never had an Alienware before. Zalman-STG2 is just slightly worse than CLU.

I will try to use uh, high quality flux? Sorry i don't know how to call this in English, it's used to cleaning surface before soldering so after using it the Tin will stick to the heatsink and radiator. If this idea won't work im going to use thermal-through glue. That's just pre-delivery thoughts. I will think about welding it when it 'll be delivered.

 

If you can post your temperature with games with M18x r1 and 880m gtx.

Thank You

Great Forum!

 

Yo take a chill pill dude.. I wasn't implying you were a newbie at repasting but CLU is not your typical thermal paste. You have to be really careful with it or it can cause some serious damage to your laptop...

 

Hey,
Sorry maybe im little too nervous but it really sounded like you think that im an idiot. Especially with those dots at the end. I know CLU is conductive and I think it's not that better than zalman stg-2 to buy it and watch for the leaks. I will use Zalman STG-2 which I used in Toshiba Qosmio and Asus G60JX before and it worked good. 2-3C worse than CLU but with much better price and its not conductive. It's a little hard to put the STG-2 right but I think I'll made it.

Regards

 

Never heard of the Zalman paste.. Also thermal conductivity doesn't seem to be even close to Gelid GC extreme.. get some of the GC or IC Diamond if you can.. I don't think the Zalman paste will be goo enough..

 

IC Diamond - 4,5W
Zalman STG-2 - 4,1W

It's European product.

20 minutes stress

 

Here is a really good review of thermal paste. I recommend Gelid Extreme btw.
http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware/7460-tested-all-thermal-paste-range-best-them.html

 

Cards are delivered. It's two 880M from dell with same part numbers. One has SKHynix VRAM, other has Elpida. Im doing modifications to the heatsink right now. I will do new thread after that.

 

Heatsinks are modified but 0,5mm thermal pads are too thin. Sorry Mr.fox but your guide is wrong. 0,5mm does not stick to both plate and VRAMS. I've ordered 1mm phobya XT.