Old M15x needs some attention!!

Hi people, I have an old M15x which I bought when they very first came out all those years ago back in 2009. I haven't really used it much over the past few years as Ive been too busy with work and various other things. Unfortunately though I have recently broken both my legs so I am currently left with an awful lot of spare time on my hands so this leads me to my question. My current configuration is:

8gb RAM
I7 Q820
GTX 260M

As the title implies I would like to upgrade my laptop and get some more up to date games running on it, I have immediately thrown in an extra bit of RAM to get it up to 8GB (before I realized I could go to 16GB!). I have spent many hours reading through the threads on this forum and have come to the obvious conclusion I now need a 920XM and the AMD7970. Now although there's loads of info in these forums I find myself getting tied up in knots as I read them with different threads from different times seeming to contradict each other. The new processor seems straightforward but I'm still unsure about the GPU, I apologize if these questions have been asked before as I'm sure they have but I'm still unsure how to proceed.

1. I will need a new X-plate as my GTX 260M is very old, but will a new X-plate fit into my laptop and how difficult is it to install?
2. If I get a dell card is it really plug and play? Or will the card begin to overheat without making changes to BIOS such as lowering voltages?
3. Does buying a power lead L-shaped adapter and removing the centre pin resolve any throttling issues?
4.I am planning to get the GPU upgraded and then the CPU is this the best way round to do it?

I am not bothered about super overclocking and running all new games on super high detail, I just want the upgrades to run reliably and stable. I really appreciate any help and ask that you go nice and easy on me as this is my first post on here!

Regards, Steve.

 

Might be worth looking into a SSD if you want a nice speedy system. The 7970m is probably best value for money upgrade for gaming. The processor after if its bottlenecking your games. There should be a few threads out there to help.

 

As the above poster has said, get the GPU replaced first, you'll see huge improvements straight away. You'll need the X plate, and it is just plug n play from what I have heard with a Dell card.

Next change the CPU or a get an SSD. Personally I'd go for the SSD before the CPU, others may say the other way round.

With a 920xm and 7970m the original 150w PSU will be fine if you are not overclocking both CPU and GPU. If you plan to overclock, then you'll need to look at getting a new, bigger PSU.

I am running every game I can throw at my m15x. Admittantly not all at ultra / high resolution, but good enough for my liking. I still have no need to buy a new laptop (and the wife would kill me!). There will be plenty of life left in these old beasts!

 

You will want to get the 920xm and oc to around 3ghz on all cores minimum. Stock is pretty similar to 820qm.

7970m is wonderfully stable and easy to use in the m15x. I can attest to that!

 

All suggestions above are great. It depends on the budget that you have, but any of them will definitely change the way you feel about your m15x now.

 

Selling my 7970M now if you want to get your hands on that head to the NBR marketplace. Card comes with everything you need to get installed except thermal paste.

 

And with a choice of vBIOSes? How you getting on with 680M king?

 

Yup with vbios patcher, atiflash , win 98 boot files everything to make usb stick bootable. Only stock vbios and stock clocks with 0.975V vbios files. People can make their own varieties right

Not bad although my 210W is giving me trouble. It shuts down in wolfenstein regularly when I reach around 250W power draw. Quite annoying to be limited like this. I might attempt one of those crazy PSU mods soon. No choice anymore!

 

So you must be running a pretty high OC where power draw is exceeding that of an OC'ed 7970M? Or is Wolfenstein seriously taxing your CPU? Maybe drop CPU OC a bit?

Sent from my One S using Tapatalk

 

It is the CPU pushed hard. Gpu stock

 

Thanks for all the advice! Looks like it will be GPU, then SSD, then CPU.

 

Yes, I would prioritise in that order unless you find a 920xm for a good price as they can be a bit tricky to find.

Sent from my TouchPad using Tapatalk

 

To the OP, as others have stated already I would suggest getting the 7970M/8970M. They are great cards and they perform well with 0.975V. You will need the bracket and it's a simple install so long as you make sure the heatsink and gpu die make proper contact. As for the PSU, I would get something 210W or greater. (Don't get the 230W version, does not work with the M15x....I learned the hard way.) As for an SSD, it will decrease load times, but if your goal is to have faster framerates and higher speed in games, I would set priority on GPU+CPU+RAM.

If you end up getting a 7970M, it would be a waste to get a 920XM and not overclock both. I would clock the 920XM at 3.2Ghz+. Whichever clocks are stable for you. 3.2Ghz on CPU and 900/1250 - GPU on my setup seems very stable and cool. (you may need 850ish/1200 on GPU to be stable on the 7970M) As far as ram is concerned, with the 920XM you can go up to 16GB 1333Mhz ram. I would suggest the ram I have on my build. It is the Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB 1600Mhz set. It uses Micron ram (known for their reliability) and will downclock properly with faster timings. With my current config, I play practically anything on high/ultra settings with no hiccups. Hope this helps.