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    best drivers for 580m SLI on windows 10?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 18 and M18x' started by Azther, Aug 16, 2020.

  1. Azther

    Azther Notebook Consultant

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    hi there, i recently bought myself an m18x r1 off ebay since i always wanted one. However im having some strange SLI behavior (im getting fps drops at regular intervals, drops to 7-10 fps for a few seconds then returns to normal). the temps range from 66c to 76c depending on the game, hoping that isnt the issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, being used to my modern alienware with a gtx 1070, SLI is new to me
     
    Azther, Aug 16, 2020
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  2. Maxware79

    Maxware79 Alienware died in 2014

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    Nvidia driver 391.35 is the last officially supported driver for the 580M. It is possible to install a more recent driver but you have to mod the .inf but it probably won't do much since Nvidia stopped optimising the drivers for the card. It may even make things worse.
    Your temps seen ok but I would repaste the cards anyway since they probably have never been done. It also gives you a chance to blow out the fans and heatsinks (do the CPU at the same time). Getting to the GPU's is a huge pain in the M18x though as you have to remove the palmrest which includes removing the display assembly.
     
    Maxware79, Aug 17, 2020
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  3. Azther

    Azther Notebook Consultant

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    i did already repaste the machine, beforehand it was hitting 100c on both cpu and gpu, however ive been dumb and didnt make note of the cpu, for some reason it keeps randomly dropping to 797mhz, thats whats causing the performance problem (cpu tops out at 82c)
     
    Azther, Aug 17, 2020
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  4. Maxware79

    Maxware79 Alienware died in 2014

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    Could be it. Don't worry, you'll soon become an expert at disassembling the M18x. I can do it with my eyes closed these days...well almost
     
    Maxware79, Aug 17, 2020
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  5. Azther

    Azther Notebook Consultant

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    so any ideas why the cpu would randomly drop to 797mhz like that?
     
    Azther, Aug 17, 2020
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  6. Azther

    Azther Notebook Consultant

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    nvm think i found the culprit, BD Prochot.
     
    Azther, Aug 17, 2020
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  7. Azther

    Azther Notebook Consultant

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    Seemed to have solved the issues, BD prochot was randomly triggering the cpu to drop to 797mhz, causing the frame drops. Didnt notice this until playing gw2 since the temperatures of the cpu were only peaking at 82-85c, before the fans kicked in and brought the temps down which is why i overlooked the cpu being the cause. Reinstalled the 391.35 drivers and now all is working perfectly.
     
    Azther, Aug 18, 2020
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  8. maxslo

    maxslo undefined

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    @Azther I'm afraid you haven't solved the issue, on dell the BD prochot is triggered by the PSU not being recognized by the system.
    I think that your psu is loosing connection of the PSU-ID wire or crapping out altogether.
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2020
    maxslo, Aug 18, 2020
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  9. Azther

    Azther Notebook Consultant

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    hi there, sorry for the delayed reply. I tested this today with my known good 330w psu from my alienware 17 r4, it still exhibits same behavior. Perhaps whatever sensor is in charge of handling BD prochot is malfunctioning?
     
    Azther, Aug 19, 2020
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