M15x + ATI 5870 (MOD)

Hey guys, new to the forum. I followed Inap's guide to the T and 2 days in my idle temp is 55-63C depending on how long the computer is on. During the 3dMark test I got GPU temp as high as 75C and just need a game to play to really test it Lastly I want to say that this is gpu is not running as hot as the old 260m I had, and the thermal paste from Dell was horrendous. Following Inap's guide is the way to go. First time ever opening up a laptop or pc tbh, although I will admit that I do have a EE(Electrical Engineering) background

 

Which video card are you using? The idle temps are a little high, but there's nothing wrong with a max temp of 75C in 3dMark11, so it sounds like the GPU fan may not be adjusting adequately to increasing temps at idle/low levels. HWINFO64 provides a wealth of info on CPU and GPU temps (current, min, max) fan speeds and related data. Click on Sensors tab. HWiNFO64 Download.

It also provides an applet for individual fan control with customized temp/rpm profiles where native fan control or regulation is inadequate. Very useful feature.

 

Using the ATI Mobility 5870, just swapped out the GTX 260M. I read between 59-63C was normal idle? Is this wrong? Also I consider idle when I have firefox and utorrent running. Those are usually on all the time, I don't really count idle as doing nothing FWIW.

Also, when I am completely idle, it is at 53C for the most part. 45C or there about when I start up.

 

You're fine then. Does your 5870M happen to be a Clevo card?

 

Actually no, I guess I should give you some rep too In another thread there was a discussion about the Alienware M17x 5870s being at vbios A01, i followed your directions on ATIFlash(except I used ATIWinFlash, don't like writing down dos commands and lazy) to get it back to A00 version. Was a bit scared of the psychadelic(sp) colors at first but about an hour later this was addressed and I am happy as can be.

Also wanted to add that I want to try the 6990 or whatever mod at some point, but my next rig will be PC for sure. I am a bit low on funds at the moment. Got the 5870m off of ebay for $185.

 

Glad it worked. The Dell 5870M's are the best.

 

Hey guys i'm new here and hate to bump an old post but i'm stumped, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

First off i'm not far off computer illiterate but we all have to start somewhere.

I purchased the 5870 for my M15x and it came yesterday, installed it hoping it would work straight away but no luck, i get a blank screen, keyboard, alien head and stuff all lights up and the fans kick in just like people who have managed to get it working have reported. My bios is version a03 and i'll be honest i don't really want to mess with that stuff. Not too confident just yet.

I've tried the older vbios links that was posted but they appear to have been deleted. Pestering you guys was a last resort for me but i'm about ready to give up.

Feel free to call me names if i've posted in the wrong place!

Thank you.

 

You need at least BIOS A05 to make the 5870m working in the M15x, and the GPU needs to have VBIOS A00.

 

Thanks for the quick reply, I have a 460m coming soon hopefully. Got this though because i want to be able to play Skyrim with half decent settings (burnt out my 260m playing Oblivion?) Now i'm stuck with the 240m which is not going to be up for that task.

I don't think i'll be messing with the bios so i guess this was a waste of money haha. Hopefully the 460m will be plug and play.

Thanks again friend, appreciated.

 

For the 460m you need at least BIOS A07. There's no reason to not update the BIOS. It improves stability, system performance and solves quite a lot of bugs.
I assume you update your drivers and operating system as well, why not the BIOS?

 

Looks like i have to update the bios! I'm just not overly confident with something that can totally destroy my computer if it goes wrong.

I have ordered a backup bios chip off ebay so if push comes to shove i suppose there is always that. I'll try updating the bios i guess, not even overly sure how to do that. I'll check some more Google and youtube videos. I did see one video on youtube where the guy seemed to have updated his M11x bios with something called Insyde? That looked simple enough but i never got that option.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XXwt2ZZhAg

Wish me luck! And thank you.

 

My reply up there wasn't showing so i typed it all out again and now it is, sorry.

 

There's no need for a replacement chip. Unless you are very skilled when it comes to soldering you can't exchange the BIOS eeprom chip.

Just download the BIOS update from the Dell site and follow the instructions, it's easy.

 

Okay let me just start by saying i could kiss you for talking me into doing the BIOS and you're right it was easy. Now a09.

Still have the same problem on start up though, i assume this is Vbios related? Any idea where i can download the relevant version? I'll google search if not but if someone happens to know a place that'd be awesome.

Thanks a lot svl7 you're my hero.

 

What kind of 5870m do you have? Is it a Dell card? Can you upload a GPU-Z screenshot?

 

I can't get the screen to work at all with the card so i can't screenshot , it came out of an M17X apparently so i assume it would be compatible? Also it's green with no crossfire if that's any help.

 

Ok, green means it's a Clevo card, even if it came from a M17x r2... the M17x was probably upgraded with this card. The Dell 5870m is red.

So you can't just flash the Dell VBIOS. First of all go to the BIOS and load the default settings. Make sure the latest EC is installed. If you still don't get a picture try to reseat the card, clean the contacts with rubbing alcohol or similar.

 

Darn it. I don't have time to try that tonight but i'll post back when i do. If i set my BIOS to default i'll have to install it again for the 460m right? And when this is all said and done link me your paypal because i'm totally buying you a beer.

Thanks again, i'll post back when i've attempted it.

 

No, there's no need to reinstall the BIOS. Setting it to defaults is only needed once after updating it, it will reinitialize all hardware to make sure every ID is correctly memorized by the system.

And thanks for offering the beer , first of all we should get your card working

 

Yeah i've tried all of the suggested but to no avail sadly. It's looking like a no goer huh. If it's too much hassle don't worry about it.

Hopefully will have the 460m at some point (I got the 5870 because after purchasing the 460m i noticed the 5870 was better and cheaper)

But it will be a month tomorrow and the 460m still hasn't arrived and is starting to look like it's not going to (ebay). Just my luck.

Thanks for all your help my friend. Going to work now i'll check back later.

 

Who'd you buy it from I've never had problems getting stuff from ebay knock on wood

 

Well i don't want to tarnish any ones reputation just yet but if my item doesn't turn up and the case has to go further into ebay then i'll be straight here posting details so nobody who bothers to read this delas with him.

90% sure he's a fraudster now though, been as his only other item as a seller had a negative feedback in which, the buyer claimed the item had never been shipped to him and the case escalated to ebay to be resolved. (A fool for trusting him yes, but only place i could find a 460m after a long time searching so i took my chances)

Another thing is he claimed he had a whole bunch of the cards on "Back order" and after i opened my case with ebay he took that listing down and somehow they seem to have gone to a different account, so i email this account asking where my item is (not 100% sure this account is the person i got mine from) Then this account takes down his listing about 30 minutes after my email, don't think he sold 7 graphics cards (estimate) in 30 minutes at $300 each, seller claims he's lost the delivery details too / package tracking details.

I am not crazy for thinking something is up right?

The person doesn't have any items up so don't worry too much.

Sorry for babbling on but i needed to share that with someone. I'll keep you people updated.

 

guys,

if i upgrade my GPU to 5870, am i need to use special driver? or just the normal ATI Driver?

as VBIOS, i need to flash it to A00 and i should have A09 BIOS, am i correct?

 

Go here http://www.amd.com/us/Pages/AMDHomePage.aspx and in the upper right area find the "find drivers" dropdown box and put in your information and that would be the driver you use for 5870. I think you need higher than A06. I don't know why you need to flash the vbios, depending on what card you have: clevo or dell.

 

Thx!

so maybe it was not necessary to flash the vbios if it work straightaway right?

 

Ok experts... I'm taking the plung from the 5730m to the 5870m. Here's what I've ordered....

1 5780m (Alienware) ebay $150
1 thermal paste (Artic Silver) unless someone has a better recommendation

I've planned on re using the thermal pads but I see some recommending using different ones.. (over 200 pages of this thread to comb through)

Does any one know if the backplate from the 5730 is the same for the 5870?

 

Drivers for the 5870M/5850M are included in every ATI/AMD reference driver release.

 

it's funny that we got exactly same price for the card... also from ebay.. haha, u still remember the seller name? don't tell me it's same seller.. =D

as for thermal paste Shin-etsu can be consideration also... but AS should be good enough

 

lol,.. user name is techdealz... I saw one ebay about a week ago for a buy it now price of $150 kicked myself for not buying it but this guy posted one shortly after..

Thanks for the advice on the thermal paste.. which card did you have originally?

 

oh, it's different seller then, ahaha

i also buy the 5870m for $150, still wait for it though

 

yup, me too. I live in the US but working in africa for a few months so I've got to wait for it to come to a friend there, then he's going to send it to me.... nuts right?

 

I just pulled the trigger on a 5870m and it should be here soon. I have a few questions after reading through most of this thread.

I'm using the A09 bios...will it be compatible with my new clevo card or will I have to revert to an earlier version?

What is the best driver for this card and where might I find it? (is this what the ATI catalyst software is for?)

Will I need to download fan control software? (HWinFo64)

 

Will it worth that upgrade gtx 260m to hd 5870m? Any far different in perfomance?

 

^^
Yes, look up benchmarks of the two cards.
Plus you gain DirectX 11 support with the mobility 5870 too.

 

You might wanna upgrade to HD 6 series by now

 

Whats the performance gain coming from a 5850 to a 6970? I looked up some benchmarks a while ago and it looks to be around 20ish fps in games on average that sound about right?

 

I'm about ready to give up. I've been trying for a couple days now to get this card to work. It's a Clevo card. All I get is a black screen on start up and the 2 far left touchpad lights flash on and off while num remains on. I'm using the A09 bios. I'm seriously at a loss on what to do so I've reinstalled my old 240m for now. Any ideas?

[EDIT] So I found on Dell's website that when scroll and caps are flashing and Num reamins on, it means the video card is preventing the system from completing POST. [\EDIT]

I've reseated this thing three times now and get the same result every time. I followed inap's guide to replacing the gpu to the letter so I don't think I missed anything.

Does this mean the card is no good???

 

i've replaced 5870 from m17x r2, original vbios A01 and i flashed A00 to it and main bios A09, now my M15x fans running at maximum all the time, , I installed HWInfo64 can control the rpms, but I'm not exactly happy with the solution, It has to run in the background at all times, please help me solved it

 

I think the only way to fix the fan issue is to buy a dell OEM card. There are both 6970 and 6990M cards by dell and they work native fan control in the M15x.

 

@King of Interns: You mixed up something... this is about the 5870m.

@OP: No idea what's causing your issues, the 5870m should work perfectly fine in your system. What are your temps?
Also the M15x sometimes has this bug that causes the fans to spin up to 100% at boot, so try a power drain and if it happens again just wait for a couple of mins to see whether it disappears after a while.

 

hello,

Im having trouble with my "new" 5870m (bought it here in the marketplace)
the alienware doesnt start and i get the scroll and caps flashing which means that the video card is not working properly...as soon as i install the gt 240m everythings works...whats wrong??
i also downgraded the bios to the A08 version but nothing changed...the card is the red one from dell
could be the Vbios version??



thanks

 

Need upgrade BIOS to A05 from M15x or i must use A05 from M17x?

 

Maybe the card is a dud....Have you tried contacting the person or company that sold your card to you?

 

Can i use Nvidia Gtx 765m on m15x?