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

Shroomy08
I'd say X bracket any day!
I'm stuck to using the one from the ole gtx-260m and it means the card is under a bit of torsion because it sticks out the back too far to fit properly in the slot...
May I ask where you managed to get ahold of the X bracket? I'd really want a fitting one for the hd6970m... I bet others would too.

On a different note... I ran Skyrim (1080p, Ultra, AA&MSAA off, FXAA on) and it was running quite well, for about 20-30min, then bang the m15x powered itself off....
Huh?! I checked temps running Skyrim, and they do not go above 80C... I also checked that thermalpaste and contact to GPU with the heatsink was as close to perfect as you can without lapping.
Powersupply light ring stayed on, and the laptop turned back on from the powerbutton...
Specs of the m15x are i7 720QM, 8Gb ram, SSD, and now hd6970m, bios A09.

Anyone have ideas?

*EDIT* found a thread about this nevermind

 

^ welcome to the clan hahahaha. thanks anyways for your specs info. people who have 720 and a 6970 ALL experience shutdowns with Skyrim. You're lucky to have 30 minutes of gameplay till shutdown. mine won't last 10.

also thanks for proving that SSD is out of the solution since it also shuts down with that build up.

Checklist to stop shutdowns:
1)SSD- busted
2)M17x 180w adapter- busted
3)change of ram- busted
4)lower voltage- plausible, seems to slows down the time before shutdown
5)bios- busted, old and new still cause shutdown
6)higher CPU- confirmed. seems like people with 920/940 are not experiencing shutdowns
7)thermal padding the whole card using Mexic00ls's method- yet to be confirmed. (Those with 720 and 6970)

 

Also, how many of the people getting shutdowns have the correct backplate?

 

I have installed a 6990M dell OEM into the M15x and so far it works great! One thing though gpuz 5.8 displays 0.00V lol...

 

It's a catalyst problem, I get that with my current card as well.

 

upgradeyourlaptop on ebay sold me both the brackets and the matching screws for around 40 dollars including shipping.

 

correct backplate seems to have to effect, in fact those who use backplates from the older card (260m,5850m) last longer than 6970m backplates in terms of gaming before shutdown.

 

Which means it could be a fit issue with the standard plate. It's always a good idea to do a test mount first and check how good the contact is.

 

So getting the 6970m x plate could be a solution? Or are you saying the non6970m is better o.o strange wording

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk

 

meaning the non-6970m is better. well it seems that with 6970 plate, unless you use some e-clip(not sure if it's the correct name) to tighten the the screws for more contact, it works. it's just applying extra steps for the same result.

 

Hi guys!

I confirm: correct backplate has no effect! I had shutdowns with both backplates.
A friend lend me his heatsink. My computer worked flawlessly with it, no shutdowns.....
So i did Widezu's hammer mod (on my heatsink, not my friend's!), although the GPU seemed on proper contact with my heatsink.
Since then, no more shutdowns. The gap between memIO's temp and GPU's temp was about 10 degrees on max load, now it's only 2 degrees!!! I hope my M15X won't shut down anymore, I keep my fingers crossed!

 

Hi Guys,
Oh rats! So Skyrim + 720QM + 6970 = shutdown?
Hmmh...
When I mounted my card I did a test fitting to check complete contact between heatsink and GPU core... The only bits that seemed like they might not have perfect contact were the ram modules, more specifically the ones opposite the mxm connector edge.

flo6813: Widezus hammer mod? link? I did a search but didn't find anything...

 

Nice! I ordered a copper shim, so if the contact isn't great, that should fix it.

 

Is it sure that noone with 920XM has had shutdowns?
I have been playing with the idea of upgrading to that, maybe I should pull the trigger on it then...
Could it be that the 55W TDP of the 920XM makes the bios allow the machine to draw more juice in general before shutting down?
I have the feeling it's due to power limiting in the bios, or that it tries to "throttle" the GPU and this doesn't work..

Somehow I doubt it is thermal contact related since my temps were never higher when it shut down, I have had it running no problem @84C, and most shutdowns the last measured temp was 80C...
Also I did a test fit and the contact between GPU die and copper plate on my setup is proper... I took pics of how the paste spread to verify .

 

@ Noth666: http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/alienware-m15x/68163d1311777679-6990-img_0185.jpg
My computer had shutdowns with i7 920. I too thought the contact was good because no overheating. What's the difference between your memIO temp and GPU temp? (using hwinfo)

 

flo6813: Thanks for the link, will check if anything is touching there...

Hmm I wonder if someone has been using the hd6970m entirely without having shutdowns...
Also which cards do you guys have? I know there are a few slightly different ones out there.
Mine is a blue one from MXM-upgrade, flashed to Dell vbios...
Also I am using the gtx-260 back bracket.
(the proper bracket has a $80 shipping so not going for that)

 

As slv stated in the past the heat pipe sits on the mosfet, the widezu69 mod creates separation, just compare ur old card to the new card and you will see the gap for the pipes to travel thru are offset. I did a slight widezu mod and used a "hard" thremal pad. On another note i am using the 6990m backplate, with the 5850m screws this doesnt create proper contact so i added e clips on the screws to create more pressure and this works fine.

 

Mexic00ls:
And with this setup, do you have shutdowns at all?
You said it works fine but just to be sure

 

No shutdowns at all.

 

thanks for all your feedback, really appreciate it.

e-clips, hard thermal pad, recheck mosfet are what i'm planning to look at.

less contact means better cooling right ? around the mosfet area.

 

Hmm, checked gpu and memIO temp diffs on my system
On shutdown in Skyrim I had this as a last entry in the log:
dispIO: 76.5C
memIO: 81.0C
Shader: 78C
so 4.5C difference dispIO vs memIO, the biggest I saw in the log was 5C.

The worst is that the time it takes before shutdown has been reduced, it used to last 30-45min, now only 7 - 9 min of gameplay and it reboots.

Hel20eS: I think E clips are only if you use the "proper" bracket for the hd6970m, I use the gtx260 bracket, and I had to bend the pegs a little to reach them with the crews, so tightness is not an issue in my setup...

The mosfet thing relates to the mosfet/coil components "pushing" up one side of the cooling plate so it only contacts the GPU fully on one side, tapping in the side of the heatpipe should work but has to be done carefully I think, as you don't want to rupture the pipe.

I think I will be tearing mine apart again right now... Sigh... Was hoping to have some skyrim relaxation but with it rebooting every 7min it's not playable.

Anyways, remember to enjoy your friday guys and gals, cheers!

 

Ok, I'm back.
It took me ~half hour to pull it apart, check where the heatpipe touches, mark it up, tap it in softly and put it all back together, so not a lot of work.
The heatpipe section is the thicker pipe on the outer side, right below the height where the heatpipes join to go to the GPU.
The heatpipe is very soft so tapping it in was easy.

 

Forgot to add, it's not a mosfet, it's a coil of some kind actually, and if you have the laptop open upside down with the front pointing away it's the component right above the "gap" in components on the right hand side of the gfxcard.
*off to test some Skyrim again - hope to finish the stupid dungeon without another shutdown*

 

And shutdown again, though this time it took much longer before it happened, and all temps were much lower than before, it never reached 80C.
So, this means it's not the GPU but another component that overheats/goes out of spec causing the shutdown.
Anyways this means we are on tracking down and eliminating it, it can't be power related since I changed nothing between shutdown @~7min and playing for 40+mins before shutdown.
I have a lot of weird gear lying around so if anyone has some ideas I'd be more than happy to try em out provided they seem plausible that is ;-).

 

shutdown after 1:01 this time. Skyrim ultra preset except for AA&AF both 2x and FXAA on.

 

widezu's heatsink mod

and another good post to read

@Noth666 and yes its the coils not the mosfets

 

Same here i'm having this problem also keeps shutting down within 5 to 10 minutes of game play.

 

Double post.

 

I'm running an M15x with the 260m and have outgrown that card. I'm ready to take the plunge and upgrade, but I wanted to make sure I understood which card I should buy.

AMD Radeon Mobility HD6970M (BlackcombXT); 2GB DDR5; MXM 3.0b; VGA Module | eBay

Does that one look good? Or is this the right one?

AMD Radeon HD6970M MXM 3.0b; 2GB DDR5; w/ Soldered Posts & Matching Screws

Also, can anyone recommend some thermal pads and paste? I'm not sure I need the pads, but I'm in Afghanistan and would rather play it safe.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated!

 

Regarding shutdowns, I've been able to play BF3 co-op with no problems (hopefully it stays this way), but have been getting random BSoD's...I don't know why though.

 

Reading through this thread, I found something I had forgotten about: MrValle solved his shutdowns by padding his system RAM. This falls right in line with the shutdowns I had when I first got my machine, and the symptom in general. System blink-offs are usually a RAM issue and the extra output from the card could be affecting them.

One of you guys still having issues want to try that and let us know?

 

Thanks for bringing that up JohnnyFlash, forget about that one. It's a plausible solution, but doesn't fully solve the issue; meaning it extends the time before shutdown by a bit, about 5-10 minutes at most.

The spaces between the ram are quite tight, so 0.5mm or less are recommended.

 

One more shutdown, hammer mod didn't help!
Thank you JohnnyFlash, i will try to pad the ram sticks

 

You're saying you've tried it?

Goodluck!

I'm wondering about leaving the ram cover off as well... it doesn't really do anything except absorb heat from the CPU HS.

 

^ yup, tried it quite a while ago, padding on both sides too.

As for the ram cover, yeah that might be a good idea too since it's too hot to touch after i open my laptop up right after the shutdown.

Other places that is extremely hot is the harddisk, though every other forumers says hdd has no effect on shutdown no matter how hot it is.

 

I keep getting shutdowns while playing crysis. I am using the stock pads on the GPU. My temps get to 85C max. Anyone know why it's shutting down. Should I buy better pads and start doing some heat-pipe mods?

btw using 6990m i7 740qm 4gb ram

 

85 is a fine temp, could be lower though. A good part of this thread has been discussing shutdowns, no one seems to know why.


Also, I didn't crash during BF3 co-op, but did encounter shutdowns in multiplayer. Does this mean anything?

 

well in MP you have to render more players and explosions.

 

That makes sense...does that much rendering have the ability to cause shutdowns? How much of a role does CPU play, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't make too big of a difference I'm on i7 620m.

 

ah, so 620 causes shutdowns too? taking note...

i guess a sudden increase in rendering like sudden explosions in your face while there's a lot of people around might cause instability as the graphics have to render each individuals when exposed to the light. Overloaded render is the word i think.

may be the shutdown is triggered to prevent the card from going 'insane' with too much things to do. Well that's just my opinion.

 

Yup. Then again svl7 ran the 720/740 (don't remember which) and his computer was perfectly fine :/

 

haven't seen his test on skyrim yet, so can't confirm on that.

 

Hmm, I did notice somewhat highish temps on the RAM post shutdown, when it came back up the RAM temps were close to 60C... not sure at what temp they get flaky.

Another weird/bizarre thing is that now the shutdown/reboot almost always happens when I try to save a game in skyrim... it'll work fine up until that point, and clicking [New Save] triggers reboot/shutdown?!
So it could well be something to do with the system RAM, I am going to try taking the cover off to allow some more air movement, but it looks too tight to me to be able to use heatsinks on them...? Does anyone know of heatsinks that might fit?

 

When I play crysis my fps is about 30fps then I blow up up a house with a rocket launcher and my fps permanitly drops to 15fps. Very annoying but this goes away if you change the graphics settings and then turn them back up...

Weird

 

For the first part I would go with the first card as I believe the second card was one I looked at purchasing, but those soldered posts have smaller screw openings which means you can't use the bracket from your old card. This card would require a separate fan control program also. The first page of this post explains all this in more detail.

For the second question, this user: inap has a thermal paste guide.

 

Weird, I just played a couple of hours of Metro 2033 and no shutdown at all, so it seems in my case to be more directly related to skyrim.
I also found that people seemed to be having the same kind of issue more or less with skyrim with wildly different hardware .
Metro 2033 is much more heavily taxing than Skyrim which I saw in the temp logs etc, GPU peaked at 90+C where skyrim would only bring it up to around 78-80C max.
Metro 2033 is playable in 1080p Dx11 everything Very High with the hd6970m, lowest dips are just under 24FPS but the range is 60-22FPS roughly. The dips are scenery related, and since most battles etc are in confined spaces it works fine. the FPS are a bit of a guess, even though I tried to pay attention to the FRAPS numbers I got sucked into the game again and forgot to check it much, but if the FPS would have been low I would have noticed and checked. Quite impressive imo.

 

Did the widezu's heatsink mod and no shut down's atm. Gonna run Swtor a little longer to see if it shuts down/

 

^ ran skyrim, other games doesn't show much effect than that killer game, may be a shutdown or two but not so effective as skyrim.

 

I've received everything except the backplate, I'll start working on it tomorrow. I have ideas I want to try.

Edit: Turns out he sent it to me with the backplate already there... didn't need to order one after all.

 

i can run 3dmark11 with stock clock, but when i overclock it shuts down while running 3dmark11. I might just leave it at stock clock.