M18X R2 - 980M - Single GPU - Latest Info - Worth it ?

Hi guys,

I have followed the m18x r2 980M right at the start when the legendary Mr Fox was nailing it.

I know there have been many problems over the years drivers/bios etc, have these issues been resolved?

I know there is a custom unlocked bios, is it simply a case on W10 of sourcing the 980M + Heatsink ( not sure which I have over 15 m18x r2 heatsinks sitting in a draw, does it require a tweak also) and off you go plug and play?

Does it throttle ? does the fan tables work or need hwinfo?

Appreciate this has been asked 10x over probably somewhere deep within another topic, but i have had a look and can't find any quick info.

@Raidriar - are you still the man in the know for the m18 r2 and the 980s

 

1. Flash my BIOS: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/release-improved-m18x-r2-maxwell-legacy-bios.800447/
2. You can reuse M18x R2 heatsink, doesn't matter if AMD or nvidia, but it is important to be 100W aka triple pipe heatsink. If it is amd, make sure you peel off the black tape on the copper contact area that mates to the GPU die.
3. Throttle can happen occasionally, you can use hibernation or iGPU switch to remedy the throttle
4. Native fan control is offered by 980M, at least with clevo and dell cards. Not sure about MSI.
5. Do not use dell vBIOS for 980M, use clevo vBIOS as dell vbios gives strange clockstate behavior
6. avoid gsync cards, safe to get a dell branded 980M since none of those were gsync
7. do not ask for a prema vbios, nobody will give it to you
8. do not use windows 10, it is cancer. windows 7 is faster, more stable, less intrusive.

 

Cheers for the info buddy appreciate it !