Let's share upcoming upgrade plans for the M15x beast :)

What's a better upgrade? A i7 920/940XM or a 5850M?

 

If you don't game, 920xm. Then buy a graphics card down the road if you need it.

940xm is not worth it.

 

I flashed VBIOS on ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5850. My Alienware M15x doesn't post. Just keyboard, keypad & grills light up. Can also run on battery. Scroll, Caps flashing, Num lock solid, one long beep, two short beeps. Fans both work, it's almost as if the gpu won't let it start. I'm purchasing Nvidia GTX 460M @ ebay this Thursday, should get it by Friday. Then test it with new gpu! Do you guys have any ideas on this issue. I never updated the BIOS, only flashed the VBIOS only. It's on A8.

 

Does VBIOS affect the motherboard of an Alienware M15x? Or is this only affecting the video card - ATI Mobility 5850! Wish I never flashed the VBIOS. I wonder if the new Nvidia GTX 460M will fix this issue with posting. USB's work, I'm getting an eSatap usb converter hopefully in 2 weeks time. Do you think swapping out the dead 5850 will fix my posting issue!

 

The VBIOS only affects the video card in this case.

 

The error code you got indicates a problem with the video card so your 460m should fix that (provided it's a working card). You probably flashed your 5850 with an incompatible vbios or something failed during the flashing process. It can be fixed using a laptop with dual mxm slots, but not sure if it's worth it.

 

Thank you guys! Really appreciate all the advice & help!

Keep up the excellent work. You guys are great!

 

Gotta say that the M15x's keyboard is way better in terms of typing experience compared to my A18

wow :|

 

Ok, I got these this week and the photo did not match the description. They sent 5.5 cfm fans. Bleh...

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Claim a refund with that guy

 

I am.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Delta fan 7.7cfm = 4600rpm
AVC fan 5.5cfm = 4100rpm

I see is 2c difference using the same heatsink when running F@H, fans set max (manual) by hwinfo.

 

A have AVC heatsink from factory, and fan on it spins up to ~4400rpm:

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

fan manufacturer?

 

AVC 5.5CFM

Spoiler

 

I paid $6.20 for the fan and heatsink. I put in for a refund. They refunded and told me to keep the heatsink and fan. WTF???

 

You shipped it back already?

 

No. I asked for a refund and got it in less than 24 hours. When I went to print the shipping label, I was told that the seller did not want it returned. So... I can't ship it back.

Free heat sink and fan for me I guess.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

ggwp

 

very nice enjoy the free fan if you have it. the delta fans are stupid hard to find i am realizing.

 

Yes, it seems the eBay sellers at posting photos of the Delta fan and shipping the AVC fan.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

In talks with a guy that has a working 9 cell battery, I'll ask if I can buy it from him.

Also, always contact seller before buying. With parts being manufactured by multiple companies, it's easy mistake one brand with another (since they look the same) during the packing process.

 

$450.00 M15x with 8GB RAM, i7-940XM, 1080p & 9 cell battery (the screen is nearly perfect)
$120.00 SanDisk Plus 480GB SSD
$80.10 FirePro M6000
$6.37 30 pieces Laptop GPU CPU Heatsink Copper Shim 15mmx15mm
$24.90 New palmrest (it is the sexy)
$13.94 Express card 54 USB 3.0 w/ 3 ports
Free Win 7 for Alienware reinstalled (from original ISO)

$695.31 Total

Doh... M6000 at 1040/1300 died last night.

R.I.P. M6000. I barely knew you...

So now I am thinking I will throw the GTX 260M back in it and OC the crap out of it to see if it will run Mechwarrior Online at 1080p on low settings. If it will, I am done for a bit.

I looked at FirePro 6100M on ebay for $200. Not sure I want to spend that much just yet... pondering it...

 

Wow these M6000 cards don't last long!

 

I got the M6000 out last night and slapped in the GTX 260M.

I was able to play MWO at 1080p on low settings 40+ fps, WoW on ultra at 30+ and 50+ on Good settings. Gonna stick with this for a bit until I can decide on a clear path. Maybe wait until Pascal to scoop up a 970M that someone no longer wants?

On a side note the SanDisk Plus 480GB SSD was recognized by the M15x and works well. No benchmarks yet, but the machine acts like one with an SSD! Running off the 750GB HDD was painful...

 

Looks like I scored a 8970M off ebay for $185 shipped. w00t!

 

GTX 1070M in the M15x? That would be freaking cool!

 

If you have a spare $600 sure!

Sent from my m8 using Tapatalk

 

MRSP for desktop GTX 1080 IS $599. MSRP for GTX 1070M should be no more than the 970M.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Care to wager?

 

No. Just speculation on my part. Both of us should hope I am right!

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Told ya so! Just need to be patient. Wont be 970M performance though.

M6100 really interests me though. Arguably the most advanced readily available amd card on mxm!

Sent from my SM-A500FU using Tapatalk

 

Yes, I was really tempted by the M6100. I found the M6000 to be good enough for 1080p at medium to high settings in the games I play. (Mechwarrior Online, WoW)

EDIT:
@King of Interns @kosti I just bought an M6100 to test along with the 8970M. The M6100 should be here before the 8970M so we will see how it goes. I think I might have killed my M6000 by tightening the heatsink mounting screws all the way. Still haven't looked at it to see if it is cracked.

EDIT 2:
I posted in the M6000 thread with pictures the a corner is indeed broken on the M6000. I also removed and measured the X brackets for M6000 and 260M.

 

For any of you looking for a great upgrade, I've just posted my GTX 680M for sale in the marketplace.
Might be open to giving a discount to an M15x owner
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/fs-uk-eu-dell-gtx-680m-2gb-vram.791459/

 

I just got both the M6100 and 8970M today. Might be a couple of days before I will have time to mess with it though.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Replacing the motherboard in my daughter-in-law's M15x went without a hitch. Man, this thing runs great with 970M!

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Can't remember which thread it was that talks about replacement fans but does anyone have a spare GPU fan for M15x?
I appear to have broken mine. Preferably within Europe. Thanks

 

I have one you can have for free but shipping? Not sure...

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

what happened, did the mobo in her m15x burn out? or was that during refurbishment before u gave it to her?

Sent from my Huawei Mate 8 NXT-AL10

 

Nah, bad power jack. I ordered just the jack and had issues getting the old one off of a bad mobo. So I just ordered a new motherboard figured I would mess with the bad power jack later. But... my son called last night and told me Win 8.1 was no longer activated. OEM version and it didn't like the swap. Any ideas on that?

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

New from aliexpress? How much did they charge you for shipping?

Call microsoft and they'll reactivate windows for you.

 

Yes, Aliexpress. It was $86.50 + $14.00 shipping to Tennessee.

It was an OEM version so I didn't think MS would do it. He called and they reactivated it. w00t!

 

Thanks for the offer but US to UK might be too expensive. I also want it ASAP lol.
I can probably fix my fan, just need to appease the soldering gods

 

Installing drivers for the 8970M as I type this. The GPU die appears to be at the correct height, however I am not convinced this is the stock X bracket. It was loose from the back of the card. The standoffs are taller too and this did not allow the stock shoulder screws to tighten the heatsink to the die. I took off the stock screws and used regular screws. I was careful to not tighten them down all the way so I hope this works!


Edit:
3DMark 11: P6452
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/11253582

FireStrike: 4270
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8489377

 

That doesn't seem right. With my 7970M overclocked a bit I was getting P8000+ in 3DMark 11 and my best Firestrike was 4880. Are those scores totally at stock clocks? Any sign of throttling?

 

@deadsmiley or anyone else for that matter, please can you unplug the gpu fan and see if your system even attempts to power up?
The power button basically does nothing but I can see the gpu fan is visibly damaged. I just want to make sure the system won't power on without gpu fan before making any assumptions.
Thanks!

 

@fatboyslimerr I can't do it until maybe tomorrow night. Out of town on business.

 

It feels pretty sluggish in games. I was driving in to work this morning I remember that I using the PSU from my M17x R4 instead of my M15x. Perhaps that is the issue?

Edit: I forgot about the center pin. This needs to be gone or use a right angle adapter with the center pin pulled. Correct?

Also I tried the M6100. This one is pretty different than the M6000. I found this thread and flashed the vBIOS with this mod. But the flash failed which bricked the card. Doh...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...locking-vbios-mod-8-m-and-r9-m-series.777509/

 

Pretty please can someone test turning laptop on without GPU fan connected. Please!!!!!

Sent from my m8 using Tapatalk

 

Mine boots up fine with GPU fan disconnected.