M15x + ATI 5870 (MOD)

Hey ethan or tantang what are you guy WEI score now?

 

does it matter?

 

Good question,lol. IMO, WEI is just another useless bloatware created by microsoft to scare kids, hehe.
I assume that was rhetorical question, Scook

 

Just curious

 

with 260 I was getting 6.8 and with 5870 7.2

 

same here

 

So what are the best drivers that are out now that works well with the M15x?

 

8.712.0.0

The above is my thought.

 

Where did you get em?

 

there are 10.6 alpha drivers out that are 8.740.0.0.

 

Linky?

Please

 

yes plz link

 

Check this site out.

 

thanks
it says it supports switchable graphics does that mean you can switch between ATI 5870 and Intel's igp and if it does do you have to restart m15x

 

What does any owner of the 5870 have to say about these drivers? Anyone yet?

 

I'm very very interested to know too.

 

Just to sum up. You would need

1. The M15x with 260M
2. The 5870 ( of course )
3. The cooler and pads from 260M
4. and some pads enclosed with the 5870

It that correct?

 

and ati mobile drivers
not desktop

screwdrivers one for each sized screw
manual how to take m15x apart
camcorder? record taking apart just incase you forget which screw goes where
patience and care when taking it apart
plenty of time
patience and care when putting it back together

 

...and a little bit of love...

 

you know i was reading my list back and it almost sounds like a guide

 

you need all that?

 

well no but it seems every article I read on the subject suggest it

 

You read those articles??


You do need a very small screw driver for some of the screws but there's not that many screws anyway so if you can't figure out where the screws go back you've got bigger problems! Install really shouldn't take too long because the GPU is very easy to get to. (I think I'll cut all install related info I have posted throughout this thread in the original post so it's condensed to one spot)

I don't know that I want to try drivers that are in Alpha stage..

 

Well I do think it would help to put all the info you learned in the original post so that n00bs can find it easily and have most questions answered. Would be a nice guide. However, as far as drivers go, you can always roll back. I generally just create a system restore point prior to the installation and then just restore afterward. Have you had a chance to do any benchmarks to compare the GPU scores to your old card? Be interesting to see what the improvement was. Especially since it's the exact same system, just differant GPU's.

 

Any new numbers yet?

 

is it better just to ditch the pads and go wiith thermal compound?

 

No. Thermal compound across a wide space will give more thermal impedance than pads. That is why they are used. There is also less heat generated off memory and voltage regulators than the GPU core making it less necessary.

Just to clarify, heat is a measure of energy and is NOT temperature. Just because the ram shows a higher temp than the core does not mean it generates more heat.

 

Alot of us ordered just the card from babyhemi without heatpads, so I hope the 260M's alone will be enough.

 

I have a whole sheet of 2mm thermal material I bought off ebay.

It was going to be for my W870 which I no longer have, now I guess it is going to come in handy for the M15x.

 

thanks, need to get me some pads, i think my wife has some.

 

Lol at your comment

Ebay or frozencpu should be able to accomodate your thermal pad needs

 

sweet will look into, thanks

also can i use both at same time? pads and compound

 

not on the same component, but pads on mem and mosfets, paste on GPU

 

ok got it just got confused for a second. just had one of those homer simpson moments,lol d'oh

 

The ati 5870 is now back in stock in ebay. Ati 5870

 

Soooooooo tempting! Where's our M17X BIOS update!?? C'mon, Dell. Me needs big guns! Whoa!

 

So we suppose to put extra padding like ethan where he mix both from the gtx 260m and the ati 5870?

 

I thought these didn't have the plug for crossfire. Is this not correct anymore?

 

Well the picture in the ebay posting shows a CF connector, but that is also a stock image and not the actual card you would receive

ambiguous if you ask me, especially since it says crossfireX in the details (generic from ATI website)

I would assume no connector. It is for the eurocom model of the W860/W870 notebooks which are single card models. This means it is just the clevo card same as babyhemi is selling

 

Hmmm, I was certain they all had CF connectors. :confused2:

 

Nope, those cards lack a CF connector. Just like the GTX 280m cards off their single gpu models lacked an SLI connector although they offered SLI variants for the D901c model.

I agree, stupid to make 2 different cards, but that is what is happening

 

I wonder if the PCB is the same, but only lacking the physical connector which could be soldered on.

 

Doubtful. They must have just engineered 2 different cards so that they could optimize the cooling for each in their given case designs. These boards are made by Clevo themselves (or someone like foxconn). This would be unlike the 4870s in our M17x's that are actually manufactured by ATI and sent to Flextronics/Dell.

 

If that's so, I c y AW is so late with 5870CF. Interesting...

 

Wish they would get started on the M17x variants, I can't wait to upgrade.

 

ooh well, Im getting this card for my M15x anyway, Ill see. I dont need the CF connector anyway ^^

 

No M17x bios update needed, it should work with the M17xR2 already. The M15x needed the bios upgrade because it didn't have any support for the ATI cards.

 

Just went and pick mine up at the post office . Super fast shipping Thank Hemi!!! Going to install it later today after work.

 

Interesting to see people getting a pretty high GPU score out of the M15x. It will be interesting to see what people with the 920xm can do as well