M15x & 6970M / 6990M - What you need to know - upgrading, problems, solutions

No luck. Should I just place my GTX 260m back in my laptop and remove it that way, or do you know of any other methods?

Also, I took a picture of some computer info while playing BF3 up until the point it crashed. Does anything seem strange?
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1603/20111219110446.jpg

 

You cannot uninstall programs in safe mode if using windows 7.

 

on another issue (other than the shutdown) i've noticed that with this card i have screen tearing during any videos that i watch. Not really as much during gaming but definitely during videos. Doesn't matter if its a local video or a streaming video. Does anyone else have this problem?

Also, has anyone had a shutdown issue with MW3 online?

 

I don't have a tearing issue, and I don't have MW3 but I wanna try it :x I'm guessing that game has shutdowns too from your post haha..

 

recently i had shutdowns when i alt+tab out of the game (vindictus). i notice the drop in performance before i alt+tab just to see the problem then the shutdown/restart occur. i guess something is getting more fishy...

 

Shutdowns occur sometimes for me when i want to fast travel in skyrim, and i also noticed a drop in performance before computer shuts down.

 

seems like most of my shutdowns occur when the game is changing map, on now loading screen too. i think we might come to conclusions sooner that expected.

 

Ok guys I know this is off topic, but it's kinda important.
It seems I'm in quite a dilemma. I am stuck between purchasing a 6990m for my m15x, or I can save up for a desktop. The m15x upgrade will cost about 500 dollars total, (most of this payed by me, but some by my parents). The desktop build will total 1500, and the upgrade of the desktop later could easily reach another 2000. Heres the option again.

M15x upgrade-500 (will be done after xmas)
Desktop build-1500 (will be done mid summer)

Remember I am a kid, and I don't earn money other then walking the dog, and shoveling snow/ mowing lawns.

Of course making this decision is impossible unless you know what I am planning on doing with the builds.

The games I want to play are
(skyrim, bf3, mw3, bf2, crysis, metro 2033, and other various games)

Thats it guys! Thanks, and sorry for the long post.

 

Maybe it's just me, but that seems awfully expensive for a PC... don't take my word for it though, I'm just used to hearing that laptops are more expensive than PCs for gaming in general.

 

Well heres the specs.


-evga x79 classified $450
-intel 3930k $600
-CHEAP gtx 560 (upgrading when 6xx series comes) $200
-mountain mods extended u2ufo $550
-silverstone 1500w psu $350
-all of the cables $100
-watercooling $1000
-3 nice eyefinity moniters... $1000-1500

....OUCH

 

hi i might buy a area 51 m17x r1 barebone for 250 dollars that comes with 2 mxm 2.1 slots on motherboard 1200p screen and all of exterier body including keyboard too but the only problem is the best processor i can get for it is the core 2 extreme x9000 so can anyone tell me if it is worth it, considering i can get 2 gtx 280m's or 2 mobility radeon hd 4870's

 

@spidert622, I don't think you need to spend that much to get a PC, especially if you're a kid. Watercooling and 3 monitors sounds overboard haha, but that's my own opinion. I personally would upgrade the laptop, since if I wanted to get a PC I wouldn't want to spend that much money...haha.

 

someone please respond soon for my other post

 

This thread is for the M15x + 6970m/6990m, in the M15x forum. You need to ask that question in the M17x forum if you want an answer.

 

i really have this feeling that it's my hdd that's causing the shutdowns. when the shutdown occur i quickly run my hands through the back of the laptop. CPU temp is fine, GPU temp is fine, but hdd is extremely hot, a shutdown-able hot. it is 7200 rpm by the way. may be a change to ssd might be a new pointer.

on other note, are there any ways to reduce the rpm? slows the hdd down a bit.

 

shutdowns occured with my previous hdd and now with my new ssd. The hdd's not the culprit.

 

is 6970m from Clevo will support fan control in m15x, or it will be needed always to control manualy/automaticaly with hwinfo like cards from mxm-upgrade?

 

Alright, My thanks goes out to all of the great info on this thread. Received my 6990m yesterday, installed as described on the front page. Took a total of an hour including driver removal of 260m, booted her straight up, installed 11.5 and worked like a champ!

I am so thoroughly excited, M15x is truly BACK FROM THE DEAD!

Thanks a ton!

 

Damn, that was my guess too. Flo didn't you order a 920? Have you got it/installed it yet? If that's not the issue then i don't know what the hell it could be. SVL's situation is the only one confusing me and that's because he put the 720 back in and didn't run into any shutdown issues. Not sure why the hell his system isn't having any issues.

 

he played only bf3, i'm waiting for his skyrim results as that game is a killer. someone has to gift him the game haha

 

I've installed 920xm. Runs fine! I've played might and magic heroes 6 for two hours, no shutdown. I will try skyrim tomorrow, if i have time (christmas' gifts...)

 

That's good to know flo svl7's situation is still a mystery though..

 

Flo.....thanks man, that's great to know. i'm sure we're all awaiting your skyrim results though, how dare you fire anything but that up...haha

 

Now that people have the 6970/6990, and even if they have other cards, especially Nvidia GPUs, they should join the NBR Folding team!

 

Ok guys I have decided to go with the 6990m upgrade.
What I was wondering is whether or not I should upgrade my 6 cell battery to a 9 cell battery. This would give me more power to run the 6990m. I'm pretty sure that the power brick delivers more wattage. Therefore I think that this upgrade may help me keep the system from going over the recommended power consumption.

I am not sure if the 9 cell helps at all. I just had a thought that it might. Please reply as my parents want to know what to get me for christmas, and so far I said get the 9 cell.

Thanks guys!

 

I don't think 6-9 cell is really necessary since your laptop will be plugged in when you game anyways. I have a 6 cell and am perfectly fine with it haha.

 

Thats not really what I was asking. What I wanted to know is wether or not the 9 cell will be safer. The 6990m is power hungry, therefore it needs a good powerbrick. The one the 6 cell has is puny, whereas the 9 cell has more wattage. Thanks anyways though.

 

no the 9 cell will not provide more wattage, it will only prolong the battery life

 

^ Exactly.

You simply have three additional cells in it, which will allow you to run the system for a slightly longer period without having to use the AC adpater.
The six cell has 2x3 cells parallel, the 9 cell has 3+3 cellls. Results in the same 11.1V, but with a higher capacity.

Imo it's not worth it... the GPU kills the battery life anyway, and you won't be able to use the GPU to it's full extent when on battery.

 

Thanks that what I wanted to know! For some reason I remember saying that the 9 cell battery would help if you have a radeon 6970m. Well anyways thanks for your help.

 

nope it's just make your battery cooler if you're using 9cell, still doesn't make a difference in performance.

EDITED* to Mexic00ls and anyone's interested, this is what it shows in my sensor tab of HWinfo64. Notice the 15mx EC temp 0. it's been like that all the time, even first boot. also for gpu-z in sensor tab, the voltage disappear with Dell vbios but reappear when i flash sapphire vbios back.

 

I've played stalker clear sky, HOMM 6, no shutdowns. I've played skyrim two times :first time 1 hour no problem, second time 20 minutes computer sadly shut down before fast travelling!!
I think skyrim is CPU limited: with the 920xm it runs better, more fluent.

 

^ so you already added 920 into the system and still had shutdowns with skyrim ?

 

I'll test it when I find time, got my hands on a copy Might take a couple of days until I come around to do so.



@Hel20es: That's normal, the 90°C... that's what the sensor actually reports, , so nothing that can be changed, I asked Mumak, the author of HWiNFO.

 

ah i see, thanks for the clear up svl7

 

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but how do I overclock my cpu and gpu. I've tried so many different things. The bios locks me out of any overclocking besides ram. And when I use atitool it says kernel mode driver not found. Any other overclocking tools seem locked too. This is seriously getting on my nerves. Until I get my 6990m I want a performance boost.

Thanks guys!

 

1st make sure u have latest drivers (ati) ,use msi afterburner or TRIXX, for gpu overclocking, I wouldnt overclock ram and cpu if its for gaming. Concentrate on gpu.Read a few threads for overclocking gpu ,plenty info available. I wish I could get a 6970/6990.good luck

 

Besides giving you a little extra juice on battery life, I know with my M15x, it made a great rear elevation device for improved air flow and typing/gaming.

 

Just want to make sure before I buy this, will this 6990m fit in the m15x?
ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 6990m GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6970M (BLACKCOMB XT) GDDR5 2Gb MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay

Also is it really worth it to get the 6990m for $450? Or should I just buy the 6970m for $300? I've got plenty of mulla atm! If I do buy the 6970m ill upgrade my ram to 8gb, and i'll purchase a 9-cell battery. If I get the 6990m I wont be getting anything, but it!

Thanks guys I know I am going to be happy either way, I just want to get the best one I possibly can!

 

Maybe get the 6970m and battery, atleast you will have a spare battery then.M15x is discontinued so its good to have spare battery now than when its hard to find one in future.And 6970 vs 6990,probably 20% difference at most,and 6990 temps on M15x will be higher than 6970,as far I know.

 

Has anyone tried the new 11.12 drivers for 6970M?

ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

 

Also suggest the best driver sweeper and the best drivers for 6970M

 

Those who tried 11.12 had issues, im on 11.11 no issues nothing 100% stable on all my games,11.11 works great for me

 

Ok so, I think I've been having driver issues with my 6970M in my M15x. I just ran a benchmark test, and 3D Mark Vantage told me "Graphics driver is not approved" so can someone link me to proper drivers for my card? While running games, I still believe I am not getting the performance that I should be getting, I run skyrim maxed at 1080p getting 30-40FPS outside. Can someone help please? I have CCC 12.1 and I bumped up GPU clocks to 700 mhz. My driver version came with the new 12.1 preview back. Can someone help me out?

 

I installed the 6970M card and I tried 11.10 and 11.11c. Both of them brought driver failures. After a min or screen would refresh and an icon would pop up stating that AMD drivers failed but were recovered... Also HWinfo64 and GPUZ show a temp of ~100 on idle whereas the fans are running cool I mean the temp of air is below normal. What should I do?

 

If your have skyrim maxed at 1080p and getting 30-40fps i would say thats good(but i dont own skyrim?), 12.1 is a preview driver so vantage will read it as an unapproved driver. and this thread might help out too http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-pavilion-notebooks/624428-skyrim-performance-tweaks.html

is this a dell card? did u look thru the info on page 1 of this thread? also did you uninstall the nividia driver properly, if your getting the same reading from to different programs chances are that the reading is correct.

 

Yeah I did run the driver sweeper and tried to do everything but still the screen would keep refreshing and the pop up kept coming. I am gonna go for a complete window reinstall. Lets see..

Which driver is best for 6970M? Can anyone provide me with a link.


Also tell me should I go for latest 11.12 (from AMD website) after complete reinstall of windows?

 

Hey guys PLEASE RESPOND to the message. Last time I posted this, only one person commented. I need lot's of opinions. Today was Christmas (YAY) now I have enough money to purchase the graphics card for my m15x! So what I need to decide is whether to buy the 6970m or the 6990m!

These are my options!
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6970M (BLACKCOMB XT) GDDR5 2Gb MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay
ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 6990m GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay

Ok, so that's pretty much what I am going to do! Thank you! I want to order it tonight... so PLEASE RESPOND!

Also don't take offense from the capitol letters! I just want to get the most support I can!

 

the 6990m is a better card than 6970m .

the 6990m in the nbr marketplace is cheaper and is an actual dell card so i would recommend you buy from table21, i have, he is a good guy.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/com...-video-cards-mxm-3-0-6990s-mxm-2-1-4870s.html

 

WOW thanks! You just saved me some cash! I'll have enough money to upgrade my ram! Or buy a nice headset! Going to ask my dad right now! THANK YOU SO MUCH!