ATI 5870 on m15x issues

I just bought a 5870 on ebay that would only boot in safe mode with the intent to fix it. I first test it and it loads to windows with problems. The color was messed up, I can not adjust the resolution more then vga, installing the driver makes it crash and it will not run for more then 15 minutes since the gpu gets too hot. I did the repair and was able to install the driver, get full resolution but the color is still messed up and can not run for more then 15 minutes before the gpu shuts off the laptop from overheating.
Everyone else is saying it is working for them, not sure why it isn't with this card. I am sure it is fine since the driver will install now. This is the c8245 card with red colored circuit board. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

picture of the bare card and also the "problem" this will help us alot in finding a solution for ya~

 

5870 is supported since BIOS A05 afaik, if you're still on something lower update to the latest version (A09).

You need to properly repaste the card and clean off all the old paste on the heatsink, otherwise it will overheat like you described it.
Make sure the card is plugged in properly and also make sure you plugged in the fan cable!!!

 

Regarding about the high temperature. Did you apply new thermal paste? Maybe try resitting the card.

 

Is your 5870m from Dell or Clevo. What is the current vbios number (read from GPU-Z -- "BIOS Version")? What drivers are currently installed (GPU-Z -- "Driver Version")?

What "repair" did you perform on the card to get it working to this point?

 

I took a few pictures. It stopped overheating after updating the motherboard bios. The screen is still distorted. The card is pictured with the shim I used to fix the gap that was keeping the thermal paste from sitting flush. I have more shims if anyone would like one. It is idling at 50-55c now. Not sure if it is the m17x r2 or r3 card since dell has a hd5870 for the r3 and a hd 5870m for the r2 drivers. I am about to install both now.

I talked with a guy on ebay who sells these for the m15x and told me to flash the motherboard bios(done) and the video card bios to a00. I can't find the video card bios. Could you help me out? Cant wait to play crysis 2 at a playable frame rate.



5870 pictures by chips2482 - Photobucket

 

Please answer the questions we ask... what is your motherboard bios revision at the moment and what is your vBios version?

You can go to the BIOS menu to check the mobo BIOS or use HWinfo32 or CPU-Z.

For the vBios GPU-Z will do it.

 

I do not think the card is defective. It is most likely a Dell card and has the A02 VBIOS on it, which is not supported in the M15x, and will cause this issue.

I have no clue if you can flash back to the old VBIOS. I was reading in the R2 forums and they had it posted in the 5870M BIOS thread.

 

You're going to have to use ATIFLASH to flash back to an earlier bios.

 

Can I do that on the m15x while it has the distortion?

PICTURE

 

I am not sure on that.....

You might be able to with a DOS flash on a USB memory stick. I am not completely sure though. I have come across some posts that said it should be flashed in the R2.

You may want to ask someone who has the Dell 5870 in the M15x.

 

I am having the same issue and also bought a card from ebay. The seller told me to flash to A00 bios. I have A09 running on the motherboard.

 

I will refer you to my earlier post about the issue:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/541380-need-some-help-here-asap-flashing-hd-5870-a.html#post6979511

 

Your motherboard BIOS and VBIOS are 2 different things. The motherboard should be on A09.

Your video card needs to be flashed to A00.