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    Graphics card upgrade

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Allawi, Sep 12, 2011.

  1. Allawi

    Allawi Notebook Guru

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    Well, i had my eyes layed on this 5850 for a while on ebay for $250, the day i decided to buy it, it was already sold.

    Is it worth it to wait until someone else sells it or just buy myself a 5870?

    the 5870 is from:
    ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 5870 GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay

    Or should i throw in $150 and get a

    ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 6970m GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay

    Also, is there any problems wit hthe m15x with the 5870? i heard the 5850 could be overclocked to exceed the 5870, couldnt the 5870 be overclocked to exceed even more?

    Thanks
     
    Allawi, Sep 12, 2011
    #1
  2. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    I think you should just get the 6970m
    I'm getting one but from dell
    the one on ebay should work because i think some users here are using that but i'm not so sure, because when I emailed them they said that they didn't know anything about alienware
     
    gunner1905, Sep 12, 2011
    #2
  3. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    That is a Clevo 5870M. It will work in the M15x, but there are limitations. Neither PowerPlay nor Overdrive are operable. In addition, the Clevo 5870M's typically cannot o/c as well as the Dell 5870/5850M cards.

    The 6970M you identify is a Eurocomm card. There are a number of users of the Eurocomm 6970M in the forum, and I will defer to them regarding the quality and features of the card. I use and recommend a Dell 6970M, but they are more expensive and difficult to find.

    A decent 6970M will always be worth at least $150 more than a comparable 5870M.
     
    The Revelator, Sep 13, 2011
    #3
  4. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Dav0415, Sep 14, 2011
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  5. IKAS V

    IKAS V Notebook Prophet

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    What type of screw holes does the m15x GPU have?
    Standard size or the tiny ones?
     
    IKAS V, Sep 14, 2011
    #5
  6. xeroxide

    xeroxide Notebook Deity

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    standard, i bought the 6970m linked in the first post from ebay (same seller)
    and it had those buttons mounted on. in the end i had to drill them out using a table top drill so that my x-plate could fit.
     
    xeroxide, Sep 14, 2011
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  7. Fancysauce

    Fancysauce Notebook Consultant

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    is that a dell card? because it says in the additional information that its a dell. also would you have to do any drilling or anything like that with this card?
     
    Fancysauce, Sep 17, 2011
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  8. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    Hey dav, I also want to know is it a dell card or do I need to do anything to it?
    I've actually ordered a 6970m from dell but they've cancelled my order once and delayed my second order twice, so I'm kinda getting sick of them.
     
    gunner1905, Sep 17, 2011
    #8
  9. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey guys its not a dell card, but it requires zero modifications to install, just put it straight in and it works. It even comes with new thermal padding. I've been doing some benchmarking with it and its not too bad for o/cing. Combined with the 920xm i put in with it i got a 3dmark 11 score of 3800 with all 4 cores at 24 and 875/900 clocks on the card. The only restriction with it is that if i try to up the memory clock even slightly the pc just shuts down. But during gaming i am running 24 all cores on the cpu with 75 tdp and the core clock of the gpu at 850 with no throttling. So basically it cant get up as high as the guys with the dell cards but is still a very strong card for the price and i highly recommend. If you get one and you need any help with the installation and setup just hit me up. Oh and the temps are quite good, i used arctic cooling mx-4 paste and the idle temps are 43-50 and under full load o/c'd it reached a maximum of 83.
     
    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  10. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    svl7, Sep 17, 2011
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  11. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  12. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Well, Blackcomb is simply the codename for the 6970m, this doesn't say anything about the manufacturer. It's weird that they say it's a Dell card and apparently some people really received a Dell card... so I'd expect yours to be the same.
     
    svl7, Sep 17, 2011
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  13. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just looked at the gpu-z and it says the subvendor is dell, but that doesnt make sense as the fan control didnt work without hwinfo
     

    Attached Files:

    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  14. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    Oh apparently dav it is a Dell card just not from the alienware family (part number v9xkh) its from the Dell Precision M6600 Mobile Workstation

    Here's the email they sent me when I asked them:


    Thanks for contacting us.

    The product AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6970M GPU 2G GDDR5 MXM 3.0 (DP/N: 6W46K) is official original part for Dell Precision M6600 Mobile Workstation. But it’s DP/N is 6W46K, not V9XKH. This product is confirmed to compatible with Dell Alienware M15X R2/R3. However we don’t know it’s compatibility with the Dell Alienware M15X R1 for now.

    Hope this information could help and wish you have a good day.

    Sincerely,
    Your WareSphere Sales Team
     
    gunner1905, Sep 17, 2011
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  15. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Cool, this means Hynix VRAM modules. As far as I seen there are some slight hardware differences, e.g. no CF connector.
    I recommend you update your VBIOS, maybe fan control works when you use the M17x r3 VBIOS. Can be found in the 6970m thread, along with instructions to flash it.
     
    svl7, Sep 17, 2011
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  16. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok ill give it a try and see what happens. Do you know why it is that when i try to up the memory clock the pc just shuts down as soon as the gpu receives any load?
     
    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  17. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Driver crash probably, how high did you set it?
     
    svl7, Sep 17, 2011
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  18. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I only tried to increase it by 20, nothing extreme, and while running 3dmark 11 the pc just shuts down, using the 11.5 drivers from the 6970 thread. I've just tried flashing the vbios and when i boot from the usb i try using the atiflash commands it just says bad command or filename, how do i fix this?
     
    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  19. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    OK got the vbios flashed, but when i restarted windows it was as if no drivers were installed like when i first installed the card. Downloading new drivers now, hopefully this works
     
    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  20. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Yes, that's possible if there are some differences in the hardware IDs, just reinstall the driver and you'll be fine.
     
    svl7, Sep 17, 2011
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  21. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    The dell vbios flash was a complete success. I can tell you that the fan control works great once flashed with the m17x r3 vbios, no need for hwinfo.
     
    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  22. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Still no difference with increasing the memory clock though, even with the 11.9 drivers, the pc just restarts. Overall though, im absolutely overjoyed with the fact i dont have to use hwinfo now
     
    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  23. Fancysauce

    Fancysauce Notebook Consultant

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    i might get this card then considering its only $380 at the moment, which is pretty cheap right? also, isnt there some x plate problem and you have to use the 5850's x plate on the 6970, and you need to drill stuff too? when you say no modifications does that mean that there's no need to do any of that?
     
    Fancysauce, Sep 17, 2011
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  24. tauzins

    tauzins Notebook Guru

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    does the hdmi and dp work?
     
    tauzins, Sep 17, 2011
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  25. Dav0415

    Dav0415 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi mate, the xplate is only stuck on with some thin double sided tape, you just peel it off and put your current one on, no drilling required.

    I will try the hdmi later on today and report back for you, but with the dell vbios flashed i imagine it should work.
     
    Dav0415, Sep 17, 2011
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  26. Fancysauce

    Fancysauce Notebook Consultant

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    k thanks dav ima try and get this. i hope it stays as $380!
     
    Fancysauce, Sep 17, 2011
    #26