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    M15x and GTX 560M

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by dutchess63, Aug 11, 2011.

  1. jarvmeister

    jarvmeister Notebook Consultant

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    When people refer to the XM, they are referring to the CPU, which normally is the 920XM or the 940XM i7 core processor.

    X refers to the extreme Intel core processor, M refers to it's mobile status, ie it's a laptop processor.

    There were several different CPU options available to you if you purchased you m15x from new, ranging from the lowly i3 to the magnificent i7 extreme.
     
  2. mphoyne

    mphoyne Notebook Enthusiast

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    Can anyone direct me to a tool for easy vbios updates? I have the 560m
     
  3. CluckyTaco

    CluckyTaco Notebook Geek

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  4. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    i have a 740QM ha, i'm assuming that this is worse than the XM's...

    Ekmek, you are 100% right. I just put my 260M back in, and i got really good performance up until it got hot. if i paste it properly, then maybe it will perform better than the 560M...? D: It runs so much more smoothly, the 560M has FPS spikes. It has higher video quality, but the FPS just spikes so freakin much... it's getting slightly annoying. anybody have any solutions to that?
     
  5. Mexic00ls

    Mexic00ls Notebook Deity

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    You could down clock the gpu to more stable clocks or try overclock the p state that your throttling down to, this will reduce your fps drop or completely remove it if you overclock to 3d clocks. But i dont have a 560m so im not sure how well it would work
     
  6. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'll try to overclock the p-state. I've tried factory clock settings and overclocked settings and got the same results. I think i may just paste my 260m and OC til i burn it out. Then revert to the 560m
     
  7. Mexic00ls

    Mexic00ls Notebook Deity

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    what are your p-states and what are the clock?
    and what is your overclock p-states?
     
  8. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Well, the lowest is p-0, then p-1, then p-2.

    I had always set p-2 to 910/1700/1820 and never looked at the other two.
    I just now checked p-1 and it was set to 202/324/405 and p-0 was 50/135/101. bahahahha, that's my problem, isn't it?

    I'm gonna try setting those to the same clocks as my p-2. Temperature is not an issue, thusfar IC diamond works beautifully.

    UPDATE: i tried to set p-1 to my p-2 settings. Entire screen went black and nothing happened. I restarted and tried setting p-1 to my factory p-2 settings and once again, it blacked out. What should i set p-1 and p-0 to so that i can stop fps loss without causing my screen to go black. Why exactly does it go black in the first place? Not enough voltage?
     
  9. ekmek

    ekmek Notebook Geek

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    The only thing I could do was go to my power manager and have it max out at 85% instead of 100%. This made the 560M work closer to the smoothness of the 260M. I think the 260M has a little less FPS spikes until it gots. The 560M so far hasn't gotten hot at all at this setting so I think it can go for longer.

    Overall I'm bummed out that 560M didnt bring the better performance I wanted.

    I havent messed with clock settings or repasted yet. So please let me know your results!
     
  10. Mexic00ls

    Mexic00ls Notebook Deity

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    You dont have to touch p0, just p1 and p2. If your 560m is like my 580m than there is a limit to how much you can overclock p1 reguardless of the voltage. You are just going to have to tweak it up until it becomes unstable (driver chashes) this should reduce how bad the spikes get. And/or downclock your p2.....

    Your could try to overvolt p1 to see if that would work on your card, hit par1ow with a pm he can mod your vbois
     
  11. ekmek

    ekmek Notebook Geek

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    Someone with a 920XM and a 460M seems to have the same throttle issue I have:

    probably my problem too but I don't know how to keep it from downclocking.

    does anyone know how to keep a card from downclocking? or why it would do that?
     
  12. MrGraphicsCard

    MrGraphicsCard Newbie

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  13. ekmek

    ekmek Notebook Geek

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    I think there is an earlier post that it has to be a green card not a blue one
     
  14. CluckyTaco

    CluckyTaco Notebook Geek

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    The blue cards will not work only the green ones!
     
  15. ekmek

    ekmek Notebook Geek

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    FYI

    I found in the NVIDIA control panel that you can set power mgmt to max but default is adaptive. I think with the reduced power setting and setting to max I got a bit better performance
     
  16. evgasr2

    evgasr2 Notebook Deity

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    What is the higest GPU score in vantage with GTX 560?
     
  17. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    m15x/560m/940xm combo
     
  18. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    so I updated my vbios successfully, but Nvidia Inspector still only shows 3 p-stages. is this expected?
     
  19. evgasr2

    evgasr2 Notebook Deity

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    ya/ combo score >>>> ?
     
  20. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    ya/ in signature :p

    All scores are with m15x/560m/940xm/280.26 combo
     
  21. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    Yes it is. You need other sw to read it out.
     
  22. MrGraphicsCard

    MrGraphicsCard Newbie

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    Are you guys sure?? The blue card will not work? Cause the buyer said that one of his costumers tried it and it worked.
     
  23. evgasr2

    evgasr2 Notebook Deity

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    thanks.!!!!!!!!!
     
  24. CluckyTaco

    CluckyTaco Notebook Geek

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    I believe I speak for everyone when I say that the blue card does not work. If you read the whole thread you would come across a couple of guys who tried to do the same thing as you did but did not work.
     
  25. evgasr2

    evgasr2 Notebook Deity

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    Blue will not work on alienware or ASUS . only works in Clevo or Eurocom.
     
  26. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    Thats what I expect yes.

    p-1 or p-8 just how you look at it becomes unstable(operating at 0.820V) when you try to oc it. It would be nice to have p-1 state(at least) running at 1,000V as well, just like p-2 now, but cant be done from NI.
    That little vbios tuner software I posted earlier can do this I think. There is a user that offered to provide help with the vbios mod I believe, read a few posts up.

    btw the max for 560m is 1,000V - we cant go higher than that.. So there is only means by modding the other p stages voltage.
    I would not touch the lowest p-0 voltage&clocks much as otherwise the card can not cool down anymore.
     
  27. owvp702

    owvp702 Notebook Guru

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    I currently have an m15x with the 6970m installed however that damn card keeps making my laptop shut down on certain games so i'm wanting to sell this card and go with something more stable - like the 560m.

    Which card should i go with and can you explain the install process? There are tutorials everywhere for getting the 6970m installed and running but nothing else and i want to make sure i get everything installed correctly.

    Anyone know where i can get the 560m, i'm not seeing any on ebay (other than the blue ones)

    Thanks for any input/help
     
  28. Mexic00ls

    Mexic00ls Notebook Deity

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    i had shutdowns before and i fixed it, with the 560m(nvidia in general) you will get throttling, so pick your poison.....
     
  29. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Don't give up on the 6970m just yet. I got a couple questions

    1) what thermal paste are you using?
    2) are you using new thermal pads or old ones?
    3) are you overclocking at all?
    4) how hot is the card getting when you're using it?
     
  30. owvp702

    owvp702 Notebook Guru

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    1)Arctic MX-4
    2)old ones, however from everything i've read there's people placing new pads all over the damn place and the shutdowns will still occur so i doubt swapping them would make a difference.
    3)i've tried stock clocks as well as overclocking and shut downs occur regardless.
    4)temps range during shutdowns from mid 80's to mid 90's

    The only thing that's preventing the shutdowns most of the time is if i disconnect the external monitor I use. If i run the games straight off the built in monitor then 90% of the time i don't get a shutdown, however if i run it off the external monitor i'll get a shutdown 100% of the time (for certain games like Alan Wake, Witcher 2)
     
  31. monsterdog

    monsterdog Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just wanted to add something to the information base here about the green Eurocom GTX-560M

    Linux (ubuntu 11.04, 64bit) detects and uses this card just fine on the m15x on late-ish Nvidia drivers (295.x I believe).

    I still had to add the device and vendor ID for the latest Windows 7 64bit drivers.

    I bought the fujipoly thermal pads referenced earlier in this post and used EVGA silver thermal paste on the GPU. I had to reuse the really thick thermal pads for the smaller chips and didn't put heatspreaders on the backside memory chips. It seems to run just fine, furmark got up to around 86C after 15 minutes.
     
  32. ekmek

    ekmek Notebook Geek

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    what do you mean by this? do mean in the nvidia file?
     
  33. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    1) I used arctic silver 5, and it wasn't good enough for me. I recommend IC Diamond 7, it honestly saved my butt.
    2) I had my old sh*tty thermal pads, then i replaced them with brand new ones at the same time that i applied the IC Diamond 7, so I'm pretty sure they helped. At full load, I hit 63C now. I was getting over 90 degrees before just like you. TRUST ME BRO, get IC Diamond 7 and new thermal pads. I was skeptical too, but they fixed my overheating/shuttingdown issue. (I was in the same position as you before)
    3) the only way you're gonna keep from overheating is downclocking (I went through this as well)
    4) Those are the exact same temperatures I was getting when I was shutting down. The card's threshold temperature is 90 degrees, so it shuts itself down once it hits 90C.


    GET NEW THERMAL PADS AND IC DIAMOND 7. Other people on this thread did not seem to have this issue, but I did, and apparently you are too. Your symptoms are the exact same as mine. I honestly think brand new pads + IC Diamond 7 will fix you. (I got both from Eurocom. On ebay, Eurocom's username is Upgradeyourlaptop. The thermal pads weren't listed. Just send them a message, and they should make a deal with you. Make sure to ask for a lower shipping price, because the listed shipping price for the IC Diamond 7 was 65 f*cking dollars. Just tell him that you're not gonna pay that much for 2 small items, and you guys should be able to work something out ;D).

    I HOPE THIS HELPS :D

    HEYYYY DUTCHESS, CHECK THIS OUT ;D

    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-740QM Processor,Alienware score: P2610 3DMarks

    I'M THE NEW 3dMark11 KING :D
     
  34. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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  35. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    301.24 :p but it's not the most stable driver (i guess because it is a beta driver?). it crashes at relatively low clocks sometimes
     
  36. stevenhsiao

    stevenhsiao Notebook Enthusiast

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    You two are not alone, I got the same problem, mine shut itself down when the temp. reach 80 degree.

    Already have new thermal pad, and going to try IC Diamond 7 a try (I am currently using arctic mx-4).

    dkocak94, are you still running downclock GTX 560M? If so, what's the clock setting?
     
  37. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    NOOOOOO, IC Diamond + good quality pads worked amazingly. I rarely go over 65C and I OVERclock my card. I usually leave it at factory settings, but I can go as high as 910/1800/1820. If you apply the stuff right, then you'll be able to overclock until the card becomes unstable. Temperature won't be an issue ;D. Make sure you clean your heatsink and the card (the part where the heatsink and the card meet) with rubbing alcohol until they are shining like mirrors. Then let em dry, then apply the a small rice grain-sized bit of IC diamond in the center of the card, put the heatsink back, apply some pressure, and let the heatsink spread the IC Diamond on it's own. Then you should be done.

    And make sure your new thermal pads cover these areas:

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/56470267/560M.jpg
     
  38. stevenhsiao

    stevenhsiao Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have cleaned, repaste with arctic mx-4. Re-apply new fujipoly pads that people suggested in this forum to the areas.

    With standard setting, I did 1920x1080 burn-in test with FurMark. GPU tempature reach close to 80C around 8 minutes mark (and the temp. want to continue climb up)..... Any point more than 80C, it will shutdown itself.

    How do you guys manage to keep that tempature so low? :(((

    Usual surfing net is 44C. I use HWINFO to maximize my fan setting too..

    My driver is 296.10, i7 Q720

    Suggestion is very welcome by anyone...
     
  39. macdaddy8000

    macdaddy8000 Notebook Consultant

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    I have recently upgraded my GTX260M with a GTX560M, used new 1mm pads and reused the thick ones, i have applied mx-4 and i idle at 37-38 degrees celsius.


    3DMark Vantage score: 8852, Max GPU temp while testing: 68 degrees celsius.

    3DMark11 score: 2192, Max GPU temp while testing: 65 degrees celsius.

    M15X
    Cosmic Black
    8 Gb DELL DDR3
    Core i7 720QM
    GTX560M
    1920x1080
     
  40. ekmek

    ekmek Notebook Geek

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    what kind of m15x do you have?
     
  41. Fersknen

    Fersknen Notebook Consultant

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    Looks like a good install - about the same temperatures as mine. Grats!
     
  42. macdaddy8000

    macdaddy8000 Notebook Consultant

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    Dell Alienware R2
    Core i7 720QM


    Thx, used this thread as inspiration. :)
     
  43. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm telling you dude, IC diamond is the best. Try it, only about 10 bucks. As i said, other leading pastes did NOT work for me. Specifically the Arctic Silver 5 paste that OCer's seem to love. What RPM do you have your fans set to?
     
  44. ryguy12290

    ryguy12290 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi guys!

    I created an account just for a little advice.

    I researched the heck out of this and decided it was time my m15x got a video upgrade.

    So I bought a GTX 560m from eBay (the green card, NOT the blue) for $175 and it's on its way.

    I did also purchase some thermal paste, I went with the Arctic silver 5, I honestly am hoping this works for me seeing as how some people are having problems with it.

    What thermal pads should I go for? and where in the heck do i get them? Newegg doesn't have them.

    Just a couple of quick questions though.

    What exactly do I need to do to get this card working?
    I see that you have to modify some drivers, which I'm probably not very good at. Not sure what the VBios is either.

    Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks
     
  45. stevenhsiao

    stevenhsiao Notebook Enthusiast

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    Try to answer as much as I can...

    1. Thermal Pad
    This is the one I got, but there are different ones which was suggested by others. You just need to search it.

    Steps before install the card:
    1. Download different version modded drivers from previous posts. They have provided the modded driver links, all you need is to find them and download it. (In case one driver is not stable for your AW, you can try the other driver)

    2. Teardown your AW, take out your old card and put your new card in. Make sure you clean the old paste and replace with new ones. Put new pads on Vram, there are pictures indicates what areas you need to put pads onto.

    Install driver:
    3. Power up your AW and install modded driver. Go customize install then make sure you tick something about clean install.

    4. If you have throttle problem, go to dell website and download vBios driver (to install you need to burn the driver onto CD and boot it from CD).

    5. If you have overheating problem (like myself), download fan control application to monitor/control it. dkocak94 provided me with permanent solution, but I don't have the time to try it out yet.
     
  46. dkocak94

    dkocak94 Notebook Enthusiast

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    PM UpgradeYourLaptop on Ebay, he had the thermal pads that I ordered. They are not listed on Ebay, but you can make a deal with him. If your paste does not work, then he also has IC Diamond 7 which has a thermal conductivity almost 5 times that of Arctic Silver 5 (Diamond vs. Silver). His Thermal pads are really high quality. Worked for me perfectly.

    Use thermal pads to cover ALL the spots on this picture: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/56470267/560M.jpg

    For the drivers, you can use ANY Nvidia driver, just add the two red modded lines that Dutchess specified all the way back on PAGE THREE of this thread.

    Go to Computer > C: > Nvidia > DisplayDriver

    Pick the one that you want to use, click on it, then find the Display.Driver folder (Different from DisplayDriver). Go to the NVDM file (that's the one I use). Edit it, adding the two lines that Dutchess specified on, again, PAGE THREE of this thread, save, and you're done! Start the setup for the driver again and it will work.

    When you add the two lines, just find the code in NVDM that looks similar to each line. Then paste each line that Dutchess created at the bottom of those lists. You should see what I mean once you get into the file
     
  47. macdaddy8000

    macdaddy8000 Notebook Consultant

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    Damit, i paid 250 usd for it and 65 usd in shipping.... Btw i have just ordered an I7-920XM cpu, so thats my next project. :D
     
  48. ekmek

    ekmek Notebook Geek

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    Did you guys use the pasting guide or is there a quick picture shot of where to paste?
     
  49. macdaddy8000

    macdaddy8000 Notebook Consultant

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  50. CluckyTaco

    CluckyTaco Notebook Geek

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    Hey mine was 3DMark Vantage score: 8874 & 3DMark11 score: 2200,

    but my temps are like in the 75s and idles at 50s

    I guess it's time for another repaste
     
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