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    M5500i-R3 graphics

    Discussion in 'Alienware Area-51/Aurora and Legacy Systems' started by SteveP02, Nov 25, 2011.

  1. SteveP02

    SteveP02 Newbie

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    I've just picked up my first alienware, a used M5500i-R3 with an nvidia 512mb 8600M GS card. Installed W7 fine, and the card runs with standard VGA drivers but shows minimal memory (14mb)

    I can't get nvidia drivers to load downloaded from nvidia site, just get "device not found" type message.

    Do you know if there are known good drivers (happy to switch OS to XP or Vista if needed) or is the card likely to be toast? As far a I can tell there is no other GPU in there and it's the 8600M that is being used to display at full res currently, so it's not all bad!

    tx
     
    SteveP02, Nov 25, 2011
    #1
  2. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    katalin_2003, Nov 25, 2011
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  3. SteveP02

    SteveP02 Newbie

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    Yeeeeeessssssssss! Thank you! Stumbled at first as I was running Win 7 x32, ended up borrowing a cpu to get x64 installed, fatally flawed nvidia prog still wouldn't do what it's built to do, but used your mods to install manually through device manager and....... many hours later...... have a fully functioning 512mb card. Thanks
     
    SteveP02, Nov 25, 2011
    #3
  4. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    That's awesome! Enjoy :D
     
    katalin_2003, Nov 25, 2011
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  5. bueller

    bueller Notebook Consultant

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    Whats the best GPU that you can get for this AW? My sons still works great but will only play WO.

    Or maybe the best CPU that will keep it working a little longer.
     
    bueller, Nov 28, 2011
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  6. SteveP02

    SteveP02 Newbie

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    SteveP02, Dec 10, 2011
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  7. protivakid

    protivakid Notebook Evangelist

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    I am pretty sure the m5500-R3 is the same as the m5750 motherboard wise, just with a smaller screen but others feel free to chime in if I am wrong.

    The BEST card that a user claimed to have working in their m5750 was an mxm Type-III ATI HD4870. I am not sure anyone has ever confirmed this, and I am not sure if your smaller laptop can take a Type-III card, but I do have an mxm Type-II ATI HD4650 1GB working in my m5750 just fine. I got my 4650 from mxmupgrade though they have now replaced that with a faster 4670. It should work the same as a 4650, just make sure your laptop can handle it heat wise.

    For this card to work though, I read you need the v2.06 bios which is what I currently run. The downside is this bios will limit your ram to a max of 2GB. I have not yet tried to run this card with a newer bios that supports 4gb but plan to in the next month.

    For processors, again not sure heat wise but in the m5750 you can run either a T7600 or a T7600G, just keep in mind the "G" version requires a newer bios ( v1.19w ) that may / may not support the HD46xx.

    Again, others feel free to correct me, and keep in mind the m5500 may not have as good as a cooler as the m5750/m5790.

    With my HD4650 / T7200 setup I am able to run games like Portal 2, Unreal Tournament 3, or Left 4 Dead 2 at med/high w/ 60fps.
     
    protivakid, Dec 12, 2011
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  8. Simskilledmyalien

    Simskilledmyalien Newbie

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    My m5500i-R3 has burned up two video cards and a heatsink so far, but we only play one game game on it (The Sims 3). We don't have a laptop cooler, but we do have a lap board with a hard surface that we use while we're watching TV. Sims 3 is at the top of what my computer is capable of, I know, but I'm tired of paying to fix this thing.
    It isn't the top of the line model, but it was the best we could afford for a gaming computer at the time. I've listed the specs below. I realize there may be a more suitable thread to post to, but I'd just like to know what the best and most powerful upgrades are I could do and a very rough guess of what it might cost. Any help is greatly greatly appreciated!

    Alienware m5500i-R3 Laptop
    Intel Core 2 CPU
    T5600 @ 1.83GHz
    1.32GHz, 1.00GB of RAM
    NVIDIA GeForce Go 6600
     
    Simskilledmyalien, Dec 14, 2011
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  9. contradude

    contradude Notebook Consultant

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    well, I doubt that you'll be back since you have one post but I'll leave it here for you anyway.

    undervolting your processor will help you to stop burning out gpus, there is a guide on the forum for the instructions
     
    contradude, Apr 18, 2012
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  10. stephends

    stephends Notebook Enthusiast

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    Best you laptop can have with a 8600GS is
    Bios Version 2.06W Free
    2GB RAM £20
    T7600 2.3GHZ £70
    Nvidia 9600GT MXM II (will need bios modding to fix 30 second boot error) (£50+)
     
    stephends, Apr 18, 2012
    #10