460m GPU question

I had got my m15x back in 2010, with the standard 260m. But looks like I have to upgrade now, since some of the newer games support dx11 only

Anyways, of course, this being an old card, I just wanted to do a gpu upgrade for now, as I thought I'd save up and get a desktop later. I was looking for a cheap gpu, something around the $150 mark, and I found this one -

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1 5g DDR5 MXM 3 0B VGA Module | eBay

That should work out fine, right ? Or are there any other suggestions ? Again, I don't want to go big now, I'm looking for a simple gpu upgrade around the 150 mark.

*Edit*

Forgot to add - I've been a long time lurker, and this forum has helped me fix way too many issues to count. So I just wanna say thank you so much!

 

You should be able to get a GTX 460M for around $50, seeing as how I sold mine for around that amount. $150 is daylight robbery for 3 year old mid-range mobile card.

 

Good God, $50 ? The lowest I could find was for $99, but that was to be shipped from China. The one I listed was the next best thing. And the next level of gpus started from the $280 range, so I thought I was stuck with this one only.

 

People sell used graphics cards here on the forum in the marketplace but you'll need a few more posts in order to buy there. Also look at used cards on eBay.

Might need to be patient but don't get ripped off!

 

I did look at the NBR Marketplace, but I suppose 460m are quite rare, since most of you lot are using the newer ones. And btw, all the cards on ebay that I see are used, I'm just on the lookout for a good seller. I don't want to wait too long before Nvidia releases another bazillion cards

 

If you're game for for a bit of driver .inf tweaking (which you can learn about by googling it) then the GTX 660m is a fine option. You may need to get some longer screws for the heatsink however.

 

Yeah, I saw 660m and 560m, both were $250+. The only thing I could find was 460m for like $120, and that was plug and play, no hassle at all, so I leaned more towards that.

*Edit*

I see that the $30-50 price range is for the desktop 460 and not 460m. The 460m I see everywhere is 120-ish. Dunno if I'm looking at the right places or not ...

 

Hello Aanjan,
You might want to consider a Radeon ATI 5730 or 5850 (This one I am 100% sure it is compatible with Direct X) - those are fully compatible (and Alienware tested) Video cards you could use for your M15X.
Of course other video cards could work, I have seen them running on them.

 

Hey Wasserman, I might sound like a snob, but I want to stick with Nvidia. No specific reason - it's just that I've been using Nvidia for the past 10-15 odd years or so, and still want to stick with them :thumbsup:

But I did check those cards out, and couple comparisons show that 460 performs a tad better than them. So, I'm still torn on what to get. I definitely do need to get it before Watch Dogs is out.

 

I can't see GTX 460m running watch dogs on anything but the lowest settings. Why not buy a fairly decent desktop now instead of upgrading your laptop?
I built you a hypothetical PC just for fun:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($72.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card ($234.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $887.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-20 17:50 EDT-0400)

 

AWESOME.

Actually, that makes more sense. Instead of spending it on a 4-5 year old card for temp usage, I might as well get a proper desktop. Thank you so much, fatboyslimerr.

 

Lol fatboy!! Subtle hint my 5 eggs the 5850m is much more powerful than the 460m AND it over clocks very well!

If a new cards were out I would sell my 7970m to you for $200. Unfortunately nothing out yet


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That was more than a subtle hint

Anyways, is the 5850 that much better than 460m ? As I said earlier, I wanted to stick with Nvidia for old times sake, but now...

 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Absolutely. The 5850M is simply a slightly downclocked 5870M. At the time they were the highest end mobile chips from AMD. 460M is midrange.

The 5850M is simply the better card. Look up the 5870M on notebookcheck (slightly faster) and compare.

 

Wonderful, I'll be sure to check that one out. Do you have an idea what the ideal price range is for that card ? I'm able to find 1 or 2 for $140-ish on ebay, the rest being $160-180.

 

The 5850 can clock usually as well as the 5870. Both cards have very good shading power for their age and price with 800 shaders. If you OC it hard which I am sure you would as the M15x cooling can handle it no problem you won't be far behind a stock 6970M.

For $140 you get far more performance for your money than with the 460M. My 7970M at stock clocks is like 4x 460M. An OCed 5850M can reach nearly twice the performance of a 460M.

Anyways avoid getting second hand or refurbished cards unless from somebody on this forum for example that you know and trust. Otherwise aim for lowest price.

edit: I checked the marketplace. Pretty sweet deal here on a 660M. You like Nvidia so perhaps not a bad purchase. Better than 5870M. One of the fastest midrange class cards. Overclocks well too.

$175. Hmm then again not SO special as the pound is so strong. 104 pounds looked much more attractive!!

Choice is yours.

 

He might need a few more posts in order to buy from marketplace?

Similarly, I hear the GTX 660m overclocks very well as well.

 

Oh wow, for $175 ? I looked at the computer components section at NBR Marketplace, but I couldn't find.

I thought I could get a second hand or refurbished one at ebay from like a reputed poster. That is not a good choice ? Since obviously the cards are at 150-ish since they are used. I called up dell to check the price of 460m and they have a refurbished one for $385+ tax.

*edit*

Is the 660m from RanCorX2 posted on apr 23rd? He's posted it for 104GBP. I've sent him a pm anyways.

 

What about quadro 4000m i have for sale? Same chip as 570m and 670m but only downclocked - nothing msi afterburner cant fix

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Correct me if I'm wrong (I most probably am), but isn't this card mainly used for 3D development/applications and stuff ?

*edit*

And of course, I'm trying to fit it in my Alienware m15x. And to be used mainly for gaming. I already lied once to get this Alienware saying I'd need it for college to run heavy duty applications and stuff

 

Any MXM 3.0 A/B GPU will work in the M15x. It is pretty much the most unlocked modern mxm (as in MXM 3.0 not 2.1) laptop to date.

As for quadro cards. Yes they are used mainly for 3D development however it is mainly the drivers that make them this way. You can simply install 670M drivers onto it and it would perform (once overclocked slightly) the same.

 

Ah okay. I checked one of the sites which has a comparison between cards, and looks like the quadro 4000m performs a tad better in certain areas when compared to the 460m.

Were you talking about the 660m posted by RanCorX2 ? I've sent him a pm asking about the status.

 

I've used that quadro for games mainly and my gf used it for some photoshop work, she then got a beefy company pc and dosent bring her work home anymore and this is up for grabs.

on stock quadro has around 2200 3dmark 11 points and when brought to 670m levels - has the performance of 670m, around 3200 3dmark 11 points. In my machine temperature difference was 2 degrees on max load and since the layout is the same as 670m and 570m and almost all electrical components are the same (designed for higher clocks) i had no fear with overclocking

 

Yeah it is twice as fast as the 460m once put back to 670m speeds. At that point you can probably still push it a fair bit more and crunch 4000 points. Good choice for the price.

If you only have 900p that gpu should do well at high settings in most games.

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