M15x GPU Thread: General Discussion on Upgrades, GPU Troubleshooting & Repairs

Hey Guys. I purchased a M15X from Ebay recently for my GF. I reloaded it and installed all of the latest drivers from support.dell.com.

The system specs for the M15X are:
I7-740
6GB RAM
AMD 5850
A09 BIOS (Just Updated)
A02 vBIOS (Just Updated)
AW/Dell Video Driver 8.763 A01
1930 score on 3DMark11 (not sure if that is normal for this system)

A couple of problems. When I play flash videos online, it often crashes the video driver which goes to full black screen then recovers after a few seconds with message that video driver has shutdown and recovered. If I refresh, I can often play the video. But it does it pretty consistently.

I am also unable to install AMD drivers either after uninstalling Dell drivers or installing overtop of them. Is this normal? Is there a workaround or vbios update to allow AMD driver installation?

So based on these problems, is there something wrong with my 5850? I seem to remember people having problems playing flash videos with AMD cards and it was a driver issue, but since I can't install any other drivers I'm not sure what to do.

Any insight into this video problem would be appreciated. Only have about 6 months of warranty left so if I need to use it, now is the time. Thanks!

 

For the video, try disabling hardware acceleration. Start a YouTube video, right click on the video screen, click on Settings and uncheck Enable hardware acceleration. Shouldn't be necessary here, but that's the primary fix for your issue.

Try a clean install of the Catalyst 11.7 drivers, which are fast and solid with the 5850M. http://www2.ati.com/DriVeRs/mobile/11-7_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc_ocl.exe. Once you get these working, you can experiment with later drivers, but the emphasis of late has been the 6000 series cards.

 

Thanks. It looked like unchecking hardware acceleration has improved the performance of online videos. I'll try the video drivers when I can pry the laptop outta my GF's hands. +1.

 

Hello everyone, I need some expert advice.

I installed a Clevo 5870m in my m15x but when I start it up it fails the POST and the LED error lights indicate that the graphics card is preventing the system from completing the POST. I've tried reseating the card 3 times and get the same result. I put my 240m back in the machine and loaded up my drivers and everything works great, I just cannot get the new card to work. I updated my bios to A09 and ran driver sweeper and followed the gpu replacement guide to the letter.

Any ideas what might be causing this? Is the card a dud? I would like to hear thoughts before I contact the seller.

 

Zlako, sorry to say, but it sounds like that 5870M is DOA. The failure to POST, together with the LED code, is clear evidence of a defective card. You might try one more time to thoroughly clean the contacts (eraser and soft cloth is ideal) and reseat the card carefully, but it is likely a lost cause. Good luck.

 

I was afraid of that...I'll give it another shot. Thanks for your response.

 

Hola is this a new card?
I am not all that good with amd but some nvidia guys trying to install 1st time 560m forgot to remove little parts of the "transport" plastics that came with the card, causing it to beep and not boot..

Just checking it might help you.. make sure everything is clean shining like a mirror.. there should be nothing between the gpu-die and heatsink except a little cooling paste you put there

 

Yes it's a new card. There is no plastic or stickers on it. Needless to say I'm very disappointed. The card didn't leave the package until it was ready to go in and I even went so far as to buy myself an esd bracelet, rubber work mat and a bottle of compressed air to clean out my fans. The bracket came off easy enough and the process was very straighforward (except getting the touchpad panel back in place!).

Totally gutted but I'm going to give it one more try anyways.

 

Bios A09 ?

 

Yes, I updated to A09 about a month ago.

 

mmm not nice at all, sounds like DOA indeed.
No more ideas, except if there would be a way to flash the vbios?
I think not since its not booting post and also this would void ur warranty.
Best is to rma it with ur dealer.. and if you rma it.. try to find out what the cause was and post here.. all the best cheers partner

 

Thank you for your help!

 

Looks like its dead.

I tried cleaning the connectors and reseating it but this time when I turned it on all three LED error lights remained on and I couldn't even power down my machine...I had to detach the power cable to get it to shut off. Scared the crap outta me, I thought my machine was well and truly screwed!

Looks like my sturdy 240m will have to last another year since the seller won't accept rma's.

Thanks to everyone here who helped me out.

 

WOW that suck man, i fell bad for you man

 

It seems I don't have any freezes

Thanks

 

Hi everybody, my first post here! I recently upgraded my M15x GPU from GTX 260m to GTX 460m and now the problem is heat. GPU temps are 63 - 65 celsius when idle (dual monitor) and 90+ celsius when gaming, I suppose these are not normal temps for other GTX 460m users. When I changed the card I used Nexus Silver Thermal Compound for main chip and I used 0.3mm thermal tape for video memory chips and I had to put pads in three layers because original pads are considerably thicker than single 0,3 mm, could this be explanation for excess heat? Naturally I cleaned the damn thing from dust and old paste before installation and computer should be clean now. Should I order new heat pads for card or what do you suggest?

 

MX-4 thermal compound is the way to go, works best with no curring time.

 

I wouldn't recommend stacking 3 thermal pads. You can get the fujipoly 1mm pads from frozen cpu. I believe thermal tape is ok, not exactly the best.

 

I ordered new thermal pads, i really hope that is gonna help me out, I report later whats happening with my temps...

 

Yup. Phobya XT 0.5mm Thermal pads and MX4 paste did the trick, now my idle temps with dual monitor is 55 celsius, 15 minutes of Metro 2033 65 celsius and FurMark thingie i got 78 celsius after 5 minutes so I suppose im good here now. Thanks for the tips

 

Hello everyone,

I built my alienware m15x about two years ago. At the time, I was only playing some mild MMOs ( and was a high school student) so I only put in a Gt240m graphics card. However, now that I've switched to mostly pc gaming, I am looking at upgrading to a new graphics card. Awhile back, I did a little research on these forums and found out that the two most popular upgrades were the ATI 5850 and GT460m. I contacted Alienware and they had these in stock and could even install them.

However, I contacted Alienware again today about buying a new graphics card and they told me that they do not carry them for the M15x anymore. Does anyone know if this is true? If it is, do you have any recommendations on how I could make the upgrade?

Thanks

 

I say get a hold of a 6990/6970 and go that route. The thread is stickied at the top of this forum. It will be leaps and bounds above the 240M

 

Agreed the 6990M runs like it was made for this machine. Even at 100% load I have yet to see 70C and this is in ambient temps of 22C!

 

Yeah it awesome, just wish i had your temps

 

If one were to buy a 6990, what size power adapter would one would need to run this card with an i5 processor?

 

Your 150w should be enough to handle it.

 

I only have a 125W adapter.

I wonder if that's the reason why the 5870m I bought didn't work...

 

125W? where did you get a 125W? is it aftermarket? your m15x should of had a 150W.

 

You're right, I do have a 150W adapter.

 

Sigh, co-op didn't crash but MP did. Is there a major difference between the two that could cause crashing?

 

After installing 920xm GPU is start trottle to 300/400 when pushung prime and furmark.
CPU is on stock and TDP/TDC 62/62.
GPU is 900/1150/1.15V

GPU still trottling even when settingall at stock.

 

Hi, i updated my bios to A09 today to prevent throttling issues. Also decided to update the gfx drivers. Downloaded the latest one from AMD, which identifies for me what drivers to use. Installed v12.4 and it BSODs at the end of installation. Does anyone else experience this?

Thanks

 

you AW guys you know if its possible to run a 480m in a m15x
thanks for all your help

 

Easy answer NO. The power draw for the card is more than 2/3 of what is supplied.

 

Should work with a modified VBIOS, but the power draw is huge and the mobo will limit you. Besides, the GPU die is too big and won't be properly covered by the heatsink.

A 470m performs better when overclocked, and is much cooler.
Best option atm is the 7970m.
Any reason why you're specifically interested in the 480m?

 

it was a girl that wanted to buy my extra 480m i hadde laying around and she asked me to find out if it would work since she isent tech savy and i asked you guy's since i dont have a qlue about AW notebooks
after the responses her and on other threads i recomended her not to buy my 480m
i could prob gotten it to work if i hade the m15 here infront of me but over email or skype with some one that actualy dont know what im talking about
when i say undervolt or down clock or throttling or even flash vbios and dont have any hardware knolige its impossible
thanks for all your help guys

 

guys i need help, my m15x got this graphic throttle during playing dota with LAN connection, i dont know why, this is very annoying, but if i play dota with the ai there is no throttle or lag, and also i try to play the old Company of Heroes game with medium setting and it lag like &*#@ and really me off, shouldnt my m15x power enough to play in high setting ? i didnt expect to play in ultra setting, if i try to play with LAN connection with my friends for this game, using lowest setting still lag like &^@$, and im really2 sad with that, by the way my m15x using gtx 460m n i7 740qm, i already update the latest bios, i already turn off the stealth mode, already update to the latest nvidia graphic driver, the fan already clean up last month, i dont know what wrong, i check the temperature during running the game the temp only around 63 - 65 celcius, but when playing high graphic games such as crysis2 or bf3 no problem at all can play at high setting without lag, anyone can help with my problem?

 

Gentleman,

This is the second slot load drive that has malfunctioned for me since I got the m15x. It recognizes only certain types of CD's (Not DVD-type). So installing newer games is not possible. As a workaround I just digitally install, but it's a pain. I sent the pc in last time to replace the drive and it took a long time. My warranty is over now, so is there an easy way to get this slot load replaced? Is an external dvd/cd reader an option? I'd rather take the easier way out this time around.

 

Upgrade question: I currently have an M15x with the i7 720QM. I recently upgraded from the GTX260M to a GTX560M. The weakest link of the system now is the CPU. What are the recommended CPU upgrades for this?

I'm trying to avoid throttling during game play, and I've read that the 720QM doesn't throttle, but newer CPU's such as the 740QM do. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

@mstrmold - there is no point upgrading from a 720qm to a 740qm, you'd be wasting your money. If you plan on upgrading the cpu, then look into the 920xm from ebay from laptopmonkey. It'll be about a $250-ish upgrade.

@maverick what amd gpu do you have? If you have the 5850m then try the 11.7 drivers for that. If it's a 6970/90m or 7970m try a different driver. Some drivers are better for some cards.

 

Are you aware of any throttling when gaming with the 920xm? The only reason I was trying avoid the 9x series was the TDP of 55 vs 45 watts with the 7x series.

 

Hey guys need some help...

I'm thinking of upgrading my 260m that came with my Alienware about 2 years ago, with the gtx560m.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M 1.5 GB MXM3.0B Laptop Graphics Card | eBay


It's on that eBay link for $125? Would this upgrade be beneficial for now? Or should I save for a $300 plus gpu.

 

According to the link:

I think you want the green card for Alienware, not the blue card.

 

Go for the HD6970M

 

hello guys good day..I have bought a 2nd hand M15x and when we reformat it the lights turns off and some of the drivers are not working any help please anyone?Im living in the here in the Philippines so shipping the machine is not a good option...please i need your help

 

Did you by any chance install the command center from the resource disk or install an older version command center to the one that was already installed previously? If so, then the lights won't work anymore unless you do a mobo replacement. Won't effect performance though.

 

Hi,

I'm just about to have a go at repasting my cpu and gpu this weekend and wondered if anyone has any advice? Never done it before.

I've got some Arctic Silver 5 with the two cleaning solutions to remove the old paste.
The Arctic Silver website instructions only talk about applying it on CPU's rather than GPU's. Will I be ok using this on both my Intel Core i7 720QM and Nvidia GTX 260M? The site also suggests using the spread method for laptops. What you guys do? Also will I have to worry about 'thermal pads' as i have no replacements. I'm not even sure if these are used in my laptop I'm not very experienced with this sort of thing as you can tell

Any advice would be good thanks..

 

hello,
at present i have a nvidia GTX260m that i've been very happy with in my alienware m15x. i dont do alot of gaming so dont require a ati 7970m or anything as powerful as that, and due to finances i dont have to much money spare as i've just purchased a 920xm and new mboard.
i've noticed a couple of cards on ebay and on there is a dell 6870m (ati/amd) does anybody know if this card will work in the m15x.
thankyou

 

If they are Dell cards they should work great but i dont know if anyone on here has tested them. Display port and HDMI issues would also be posible. There is another thread on here in the stickies that goes over what cards are good/bad/ugly for the M15x. check that for sure.
I will have my 5850 out of my m15x for sale soon here if that interests you. bang for buck right now I'd go with a 6970m especially for around 200-250. check the for sale pages http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/689219-fs-4x-7970m-qs-1x-6970m-2x-6990m-mxm-cards.html make an offer on his 6970m and follow the guides on the stickies. Otherwise if you wanna keep it cheap my 5850 outdoes the 460m for 100$ish...

 

What about this GPU upgrade. You guys think I should go for this i7-940XM

Sorry I mistakenly put this on the GPU upgrade thread.