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    Amd to NVIDIA for M18xr2

    Discussion in 'Alienware 18 and M18x' started by usmc1488, Feb 4, 2016.

  1. usmc1488

    usmc1488 Notebook Evangelist

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    Good Afternoon all I have a M18xr2 running AMD 7970s without issue. However they are three years old and they are beginning to not be able to max out new games now. What is the latest NVIDIA card that this beast can support and what accessories do I need to complete the swap? Thank you all!
     
    usmc1488, Feb 4, 2016
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  2. kenny27

    kenny27 Notebook Deity

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    The lastest is the GTX 980m, All you need is one or two 980m cards, if you get two you will need an SLI cable. Head over to the 980m/R2 upgrade thread to learn more as it is not just plug and play, at this stage there are a few compromises you will have to make if you want to run the lastest Nvidia cards.
     
    kenny27, Feb 4, 2016
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  3. tanzmeister

    tanzmeister Notebook Evangelist

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    as far as i learned from my experience with upgrades, 980m will work properly only with certain drivers in m18x r2 and not the recent ones, your best bet would be 970m sli slightly OC'ed
     
    tanzmeister, Feb 4, 2016
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  4. TBoneSan

    TBoneSan Laptop Fiend

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    Sorry but 970m SLI overclocked in the r2 isn't a good idea. Any Maxwell cards in the r2 are extremely finacy to overclock and often induce throttling unless extreme measures are taken. Maxwell and overclocking in an r2 isn't for the faint-hearted.
    Best be happy with the best stock performance one can get unless they are fully prepared to get their hands dirty. For that reason I'd recommend a 980m SLI.
     
    TBoneSan, Feb 5, 2016
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  5. usmc1488

    usmc1488 Notebook Evangelist

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    Gents I appreciate all your replies. My 7970s have been awesome, but its time to upgrade. As far as I know Im the only one who got GTX280ms to work in SLI on the good old Area 51 M17x. So im not apposed to some work but I don't have the time to dedicate hours making the rig work either. Which cards are better for just plugging in, updating drivers on occasions and just game? Im sure a 970 or 980 SLI stock will run circles around the 7970. Even though I can still max out games like Shadow of Mordor and Fall out 4 frame rates are now dropping below 60FPS.
     
    usmc1488, Feb 5, 2016
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  6. tanzmeister

    tanzmeister Notebook Evangelist

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    it can take some OC, unless you are getting close to 100watt consumption. been there, tried that myself.
     
    tanzmeister, Feb 5, 2016
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  7. tanzmeister

    tanzmeister Notebook Evangelist

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    i advise not to install 980m card there, something happens when maxwell cards reaches 105+ watt consumption in m18x r2 and the system throttles them down almost in half.
     
    tanzmeister, Feb 5, 2016
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  8. anarky321

    anarky321 Notebook Deity

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    i would strongly recommend single 980m...it's a huge pain to set up the drivers correctly but once they are set up there is no throttling....i upgraded from 780m SLI to single 980m and I am very glad I did because many games do not work with SLI, even today

    about $700 on ebay for the card
     
    anarky321, Feb 5, 2016
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