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    Replacement M15x Video Card

    Discussion in 'Alienware Area-51/Aurora and Legacy Systems' started by B.Wagner, Sep 28, 2013.

  1. B.Wagner

    B.Wagner Notebook Enthusiast

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    Well the video card in my old 2008 M15x finally died and I was wondering if there was a low cost card to replace it with. This computer is really only used for the kids to play Minecraft and some older games like Morrowind and stuff, so it does not need to be a cutting edge card. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!
     
    B.Wagner, Sep 28, 2013
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  2. WhapAChow

    WhapAChow Notebook Geek

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    Your old m15x probably has the same MXM HE slot that I have in my m17x from the same year. I was fortunate enough to find an 8800M GTX MXM HE on eBay for $60 USD and have been putting it through it's paces and seems stable enough. I was going to reball my original 8800M GTXs and if they work, I will have a 8800M GTX for sale (figure about 2 to 3 weeks from now).
     
    WhapAChow, Sep 29, 2013
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  3. protivakid

    protivakid Notebook Evangelist

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    With a laptop this old you will not get a cutting edge card anyways. I would suggest a 3870 as they are easy to find and MUCH more reliable than the 8800M. Plus you can use newer drivers with them. If you did want the best card possible for your socket look for a 280M or 4870/4850
     
    protivakid, Sep 30, 2013
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  4. B.Wagner

    B.Wagner Notebook Enthusiast

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    B.Wagner, Oct 2, 2013
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  5. WhapAChow

    WhapAChow Notebook Geek

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    Wrong slot type. You need an MXM 2.1 (or MXM HE - both essentially the same) card. For the most part they are just plug and play. There may be the occasion to flash a vBIOS to get it to work, but with these older cards, it should be a matter of undoing your old card and heat sink, cleaning both, new thermal paste, reapply heat sink and install card. Turn it on and breathe a sigh of relief when your BIOS screen flashes...
     
    WhapAChow, Oct 3, 2013
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  6. protivakid

    protivakid Notebook Evangelist

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    My experience has been very inconsistent when testing cards. It really all comes down to the VBIOS. Though the card may fit, the VBIOS may not work properly with your motherboard. When testing a new card you may find that the DVI port won't work, or your built in screen might display nothing yet the laptop seems to boot in the background, or the laptop will not boot at all.

    Example: I have tested a green pcb 4850 running an Alienware VBIOS and it did not work, yet when I found a red pcb 4850 on ebay and tested it the VBIOS was compatible with my unit. Its really all trial and error. I have tested many cards in my laptop and have found more that didn't work than work.
     
    protivakid, Oct 3, 2013
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  7. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    You may find some available at Ztronics.com
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Oct 9, 2013
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  8. WhiteAlien

    WhiteAlien Notebook Guru

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    eBay is full of cards, you should look there. I've not tried ATI cards, but Nvidia's are very compatible. One thing is true, hdmi may not work out of the box. The problem with high end cards is that they run very hot, this is the major issue, since cooling system in m15x is damn crap. At full load cards heat up to 80-90C and that stresses a lot mainboard, even so they were designed to work at those temperatures. All high end cards I tried lasted for about 6-9 month before gone dead so I just gave up.

    High end cards:
    1) Geforce GTX 280M
    2) Geforce Quadro 3700M
    3) Geforce 9800M GTX or GT
    4) Geforce GTX 260M
    5) ATI HD4870 and 4850
    6) Geforce 8800M GTX

    Mid range cards
    1) Geforce Quadro 3600M
    2) Geforce 8800M GTS
    3) Geforce 9700M GTS or GT
    4) Geforce Quadro 2700M
    5) Geforce GT 240M

    Quadro 3700M can be flashed as 9800M GTX. It will be more compatible with games and will have a working hdmi output. 2xx series cards are the best since they are build using 55nm technology, means less power drawn and less heat. 230M and 240M are interesting choices for low end since they use only 23W, are build on 40nm and performs as 9700GT, but these series cards are very hard to find.
     
    WhiteAlien, Oct 14, 2013
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    aaronmjr likes this.
  9. aaronmjr

    aaronmjr Notebook Enthusiast

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    Great info in this thread. I'm still a bit miffed on how to spot an appropriate MXM card for an m15x but I will do some reading. Thanks.
     
    aaronmjr, Nov 22, 2013
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  10. rc3ilynt

    rc3ilynt Notebook Enthusiast

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    I haven't had as much luck with a 3870 as others have and they are increasingly hard to find. I'm not sure which card you had in the m15x but you may need a new heatsink as well. There's a fx3700m on ebay last I checked with a .10 vbios which can be flashed to a gtx280m granted you'll lose HDMI support. It's 179.99 but you can probably get it for cheaper. Performance wise it's definitely one of the top cards but the one I had fried in a year of use. Here's the link if interested: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M HP 488125 001 1GB | eBay
     
    rc3ilynt, Nov 23, 2013
    #10