M15x r2 GPU upgrade help.

Hi im wanting to upgrade my gpu from stock to a 7970m that's from a m18x r2.

My current gpu is a GTX 240m.

CPU 820qm

My question is firstly would I be able to just pull out my old gpu and install the new one without having to flash the bios etc.

Secondly as I do not plan to overclock the CPU or gpu can I use my stock charger which is the 150w or would I be better off buying 180w or 240w.

Thirdly will I hit throttling issues at stock settings or is that when you try to overclock. Reason I ask is I've read loads of posts and recall reading something along those lines.

Well that's all folks look forward to all your guys help.

 

Yes the upgrade is very easy and plug and play. DO NOT however use the 240M backplate on the 7970M. Hopefully as you are moving the card across from the M18x it will already have a backplate attached? Once installed you will need to install the latest Crimson drivers.

The 840qm can't be OCed as it isn't an XM chip. You would be better off getting a better adaptor for sure as even without a 920xm or 940xm you will be pushing the 150W quite hard in games.

I would also recommend upgrading to a 920xm. The QM chips are really weak sauce especially in 2017!

The throttling issue can be fixed easily by buying this then you pull the pin out of the right angle adaptor tip and use it when you want to game. DO NOT pull the pin out of the tip of your PSU otherwise you won't be able to charge you battery.

To charge use PSU without right angle adapter
To game use PSU with

 

Hi and Thankyou king for your very informative and helpful reply. That's made my life a lot easier. So do you think the 180w psu would be sufficient? Also I'm trying to find that adaptor on eBay as the site you directed me to was in the US and I'm in the UK. Can't seem to find on eBay.

 

I would honestly go for a 210W supply (it will probably cost round the same or a few quid more). That way if you decide to upgrade to an XM CPU in the future, you'll have a power supply already capable of handling it.

Just search for "210W DELL" or "PA7E." You should find several UK based sellers.

The right angle adapters are hard to find in Europe and I've only seen US based sellers offering them and asking about double or triple for shipping to Europe than what the item actually costs.

 

The thing is so cheap that you won't get any customs charge for it if you buy it from the US.

Also agreed on the 210W PSU. I have 2 personally (needed for dual PSU mod

 

I prefer the slim 240w simple due to reduced bulk. They ARE more expensive in general though.

 

Guys I've got my 7970m this morning. Just installed it and computer starts up and operates normal until I try launching a game in steam or oracle and the laptop just shuts off. Is this because I'm using the 150w power supply? Not ordered a 210w yet. Was just wanting to see what difference in graphics from before.

 

Forgot to ask if I pull pin out of my exsisting 150w would that be any good?

 

That would serve no purpose.

Actually I have found that pulling the center pin isn't needed if the power supply warning is disabled. Tested on BIOS A09 with 3 different M15x with 210w & 240w power supplies.

 

Great info to know! I am getting a 240w PSU soon. I will try this

 

Follow up.... I tried the 240W PSU and disabled warning and had much better results, still some throttling that was fixed by turning stealth mode on and off. But some throttling would eventually come back. I got a L-shaped adapter and removed the center pin on it. 100% throttle free now.

 

RETRO!

I have few Questions. I understand the center pin of the supply for the detection
#1 I don't understand why removing the center PIN help cpu throttling.
#2 Did Alienware removed drivers on the website? I can't find much
#3 Do you run windows 7 or win 10
#4 My Samsung 850 PRO benchmark are pretty low 300write 300read. would expect 500 / 500.
#5 150W is enough for a 920XM OC and a stock 460 not OC?

here my setup.
Alienware M15X, waiting 920xm, 16 gig ddr3, 150w original supply ( planing to order bigger ), stock video card ATI ( i might upgrade to 460 or something ), samsung 850 PRO 250gigs

 

I don't know if M15X work differently than Alienware 14 but
I have one 150w supply with center pin broken and the cpu 4700MQ stay at 800MHZ since the supply is not recognize