Deadsmiley's M15x GPU comparisions

My Firestrike scores for the M15x over the past couple of years. Note that these scores represent a maximum effort. This means I was pushing the machine as far as I could while still being able to finish the test. The machine *may* not be able to run games at this this level of overclocking the GPU.

The CPU was overclocked as well and was always kept at a reasonable level. Note too that some benchmarks are run with the 940XM instead of the 920XM. This is because these were run on three different machines over a period of time. The CPU clocks vary depending on the machine and the state of my knowledge of overclocking the first generation i7 mobile extreme processors. Your mileage may vary, etc...

At some point I got a 210w PSU and then later a 240w slim PSU. I really like the 240w slim PSU. I simply turn off A/C adapter warning in the BOIS and it works perfectly without pulling the center pin. Charges the battery too.

I will add more to this if/when I get more benchmarks available.

FirePro M6000
Overall score: 3,054
Graphics score: 3,323
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8359742

FirePro M6100
Overall score: 3,348
Graphics score 3,826
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8491013

AMD 8970M
Overall score: 5,701
Graphics score: 6,413
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8511123

GTX 970M (Prema VBIOS)
Overall score: 6,036
Graphics score: 7,690
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/7942992

Updated 4/12/2017: note, CPU overclocked, GPU running stock 1038MHz boost clock. (svl7 VBIOS)
GTX 970M
Overall score: 6,407
Graphics score: 7,675
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/12285890

Quadro M4000M (Unmodified VBIOS)
Overall score: 6,583
Graphics score: 8,334
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/10145895

 

Nice score on the M6000. Never was able to break 3000, but got close to it. BTW, just noticed the TDP rating for the 940xm . Not sure if it's accurate but dammnn.

EDIT: Oh my, that K4000M is getting tempting now.

 

K4000M I am not sure about for $180. At $200 you can snipe a 7970M that will spank the K4000M.


Edit:
As far at the TDP rating, I think that is an artifact from ThrottleStop. I set it high so it wouldn't... well, throttle. It's not like you can hurt these 1st gen chips. That are like anvils.

 

tdp 55w bs

I say around 90 or more

 

Got mine pretty cheap... With shipping was around $145-150.

Spoiler

 

oops, I meant to say M4000M. I always mix those up.

 

The M4000M is a great card, but expect to pay close to $400 for it. It is 4GB vs. 6GB of the 970M, but seems to run a little better than the 970M. @Prema was helping me with a VBIOS mod, but any modification led to a no boot situation with the M15x. So I put the modded one in my M17x R4 (works perfectly) and left the stock one in my M15x. If you have the cash and still want to run your M15x this is a nice choice. Still have to mod the INF file. No biggie.

M17x R4 with Quadro M4000M & i7-3720QM Firestrike: 8779
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/10205916

 

Thanks guys. So much new info here. I`ve since upgraded my CPU to the i7 920 XM, and RAM to 8GB of Corsair. But I still need to upgrade the GPU. Having around $200 max to spend, it`s pretty hard to find something. The 970M`s out ( even if I could find any), the AMD 8970M`s a little too expensive too. So that leaves either the Quadro K4000M, or the Firepro 6100?

 

Consider the 680M GTX as well as the AMD 7970M, they are both around your price range.

 

Thanks Kosti. I`m seeing the 680M at around $300 though. And the 7970M`s about the same quality as the Firepro M6100?Is the 5-10% performance boost worth the extra cost?

 

I`m seeing a Radeon 8970M at around $250. Kinda thinking it would be worth busting my budget a little to get that? Will it work though?

 

The 8970M is the same card as the R9 M290X. Just be aware that fan control does not work with those cards in the M15X. Instead the GPU fan will work at 100% all the time with that card. You can use software like HWinfo to control it, but it may get annoying.

 

That`s a great point. I assume the 7970M`s the same? Not sure I can afford the overheat. Ugh.

 

Yeah, it's basically the same core with some tweaks and a different name. However, the
7970M does work in the M15X with native fan control.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7970M.72675.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-8970M.90656.0.html

 

Nice. Given that and the lower PP, I think the 7970M`s the way I`ll go. One other thing, about the adapter? Is a 240W adapter the one to get? And if so what kind? I asked a guy selling one on Ebay, and he said it wouldn`t work with an M15x.

 

I would look around for a 680M GTX over a 7970M. They usually sell for around the same price. Check the marketplace here in the forums here as well.

With the 920xm, a 240W adapter will be good. The slim version according to Deadsmiley eliminates throttling without the need for a center pin mod. I personally went with a 210W adapter because it was cheaper. It's a huge brick but my M15X never leaves my desk anyway.

Post a link of the adapter you are looking for and someone will let you know if it will work.

 

The cheapest GTX 680M I can find on Ebay`s around $300. I can get a 7970M for around $200. Could you link me to the marketplace here?

Here`s the adapter: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-Power-...300917?hash=item3f61d52f75:g:RIQAAOSw1DtXHyRC

 

I found the marketplace. Can anyone tell me if the Radeon R9 M290X will work for the Alienware M15X? Appreciate the advice in advance.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/upgraded-gpu-to-r9-m290x.799416/page-2

 

Ty for the link. However I`d already seen this. Yeah, the fans being at 100% at all times, has put me off the M290X card. Looking at the GTX 880M now

 

I would expect an 880M to run extremely hot in the M15X, unless there's some kind of custom vbios with undervolting implemented. That card has a TDP of over 100W and the M15X was designed to handle 75W cards.

 

But so does the HD 7970M Kosti. And your rig has that, doesn`t it?

 

It died on me, but ran pretty cool when I had it. Then again mine had an undervolt applied to the vbios.

 

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/4791-my-nvidia-gtx-880m-test-run-review/

Check out the total power draw at the end of the review. High power draw will equal high heat. If you are using an XM processor, I'd expect around the same power draw (maybe a bit less) in the M15X. I would also expect throttling without a powerful enough PSU and maybe a center pin mod.

 

So theoretically I could undervolt the GTX 880M with something like Afterburner, and it`ll be okay? Was going on the assumption my 210w adapter would be enough.

 

You are going to need a vbios mod to undervolt it. I think svl7 made a custom vbios for that card to make it work right inside an M15X. Afterburner works for overclocking, but on most cards, the vbios needs to modded to unlock the max clocks in order for software overclocking to work.

Search around on techinferno for svl7's vbios if you are interested in that card.

 

I was. And then I read the review you linked. The crashing / throttling`s probably enough to put me off. The more I look, the more I come back to the same two cards: the Firepro m6100, and the GeForce GTX 965M. And I can`t find the latter anywhere.

 

Here's an m6100 at a really good price if you are in Europe (kind of high shipping rate though). Seller has good feedback too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATI-Firepro...182409?hash=item3adb598d89:g:~vgAAOSwdGFYsu2-

 

lol trust me, I`m watching the heck out of that Was just trying to see if there were alternatives. And honestly ( I realize I may be alone), I`ve always been an Nvidia guy. If I can`t find a GeForce GTX965m soon, I think I`ll buy that FirePro m6100.

I do appreciate the responses and info though, Kosti. You`re the best.

 

Late back to the party. 880M is a VERY hot card. I had trouble keeping in cool in my P170SM-A. I could not get my 880M to post in my M15x. I spent some time on it and gave up on it before too long.

 

Late but still very much valued. I thin kI`ve made my mind up though. I`ll try and grab one of the GeForce GTX965M`s listed on Ebay from China. I`ve seen a few M15x benchmarks with that card. It runs at around 70w and is a pretty strong card performance-wise. Any experiences with that cards, guys?

 

I have no experience with that one. Better than a GTX 770M by a good bit according to userbenchmark. I think those are all overclocked for the most part. Should run right with a 7970M or there abouts.

 

I would add that if I had a choice I would go with the GTX 965M over the M6100. The M6100 did not over clock easily or well. You will have to mod the INF file for the GTX 965M, but that is a given for nvidia cards.

 

Okay, I`m okay with it running at around the same performance as the 7970M if it has a better heat output. Modding the .INF`s not a big deal

 

Should be cooler and more durable.

 

Guys, would this adapter work with the M15x? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272220055139?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Yes, that's the 210W adapter.

Incidentally, I purchased one of these myself (or I thought I did), but mine is a bit different. Mine shows up as a 230W adapter in the BIOS meanwhile the main label on my adapter says it is a 210W (19.5V X 10.8A) model. Above that main label there's another label with a Dell part number that I looked up and it points to a 230W adapter model. Wanting to investigate further, I opened the adapter, and on the pcb, it has a model number of ADP-230CP BA which a quick search says that it is indeed a 230W model. So basically mine has a label that says it is 210W meanwhile it is actually a 230W adapter. Not sure how this mistake was made but I'm not complaining.

One thing to note is that my 230W adapter charges my battery without issues. I remember a while back someone stating that their 210W adapter did not charge their battery and they had to switch back to the 150W adapter in order to charge. When I told them that my 210W adapter (not knowing it was actually 230W because of the label) charged my battery, they were surprised. So basically I am not sure if the 210W models actually charge the battery in the M15X or not. You may want to research this just to be sure.

 

Well that muddies the water some, although I do appreciate the warning. Do you know if the 240w adapter charges my battery? I`m using a 130w adapter right, now because a puppy I own bit through the cord of my original supply. Wouldn`t want to buy an adapter that doesn`t charge.

 

Not sure about the 240W adapter but lots of people are using those. There are a couple of different ones: one is a huge brick that's the same size as the 210/230W models and there's also a slim version which according to deadsmiley eliminates throttling without doing any center pin mods.

I honestly don't understand why some adapters won't charge the battery. It must have something to do with the BIOS and some kind of white list as to what adapters are accepted. The BIOS gets this information about the adapter via the center pin, so perhaps if it does not like the model that is identified, it will refuse to charge.

If I recall correctly, mine would also not charge until I disabled adapter warnings in the BIOS but I can't confirm this now because my mobo died and I am waiting for a replacement. I'll let you know when I have it up and running. I also have a 130W adapter, and a couple of 90W adapters. I'll hook those up and see if the battery charges with those just for fun .

 

How do I know, If my 240W Modell charges the battery correctly?
Maybe my charger won't charge my battery, so it only lasts for 2 Minutes?!
adapter warnings are dissabled in bios...

 

The 240w slim adapter sounds perfect, as long as it can charge. And Katzenfutter, look at the little plug symbol at the bottom right of your screen. If you highlight that it should say charging or not charging.

 

Updated the list with new GTX 970M data.

 

I think "Graphics Score" will be more useful info rather "Overall Score".

 

Added graphics score, retained overall score.