Upgrading Graphics and 'R'

Hi there, first of all, I was wondering if it's possible to upgrade the graphics card on an Alienware M15x from an Nvidia GTX 260M (1GB) to an Nvidia GTX 460M (1.5GB)

I have seen a few people try to do it but i'm not sure how to go about it. First of all, is it even possible? I saw on the Dell website that the M15x's were getting the an Nvidia GTX 460M's as standard, and then they discontinued the laptop altogether. Would I have to call Dell and if so which number would I use? (UK) Also, is there a specific part number for this graphics card. My laptop isn't in warranty, i'm not sure if this affects upgrading it.

The second thing I was wondering about is the 'R' (I think it stands for 'Revision') of the laptop. On eBay and this site, people are talking about the M15x 'R1', 'R2' and 'R3'. If it has anything to do with what specs you had it built at, mine is:

Alienware M15x, Intel i7 720QM, 4Gigs of RAM, 1GB Nvidia GTX 260M, Full HD screen, standard optical drive.

Cheers,
John

 

That's a common misconception. There's only one "M15x", and that's the one you have. There's also the older m15x, but it has nothing to do with your M15x. There's never been a revision of the M15x, it's been the same since September 2009... same ports, same chipset, the only thing that changed over time are the GPU and CPU options, the rest is the same.

Upgrading the GPU isn't too hard, you can check out my guide to see how it's done.

The other option is to call Dell and let them do it, but they will probably charge a fee for the upgrading service.

You can call Dell for the card, they should sell you one. Other options are the marketplace on this forum, ebay or Clevo resellers (e.g. Cobalt in the UK). You can also PM one of the Clevo resellers on this forum, they should be able to help you.

Anyway, there are also other options than the 460m... the 5850m,5870m or even the 6970m, all more powerful than the 460m.
Another option is the Nvidia GTX 470m, but there are some issues with it.

 

Hello John,

the m15x is only discontinued in the us not in europe and anyways there is still support for the m15x, so you can call Dell and ask them to sell you an gtx 460m.

 

Good question John. I was wondering the same thing myself Now the question is which graphics card is the best to get...

 

Thanks for enlightening me!
So the people who place the 'R' after their M15x are just making it up? Or maybe that's just the way they identify the generation it is based on it's processor and GPU.

@svl7
Thanks for the help! I presumed that the 460M was the best that I could get for my laptop. Out of specs and value for money, which card would you recommend?


@Esco
Thanks! I will call Dell and see what they can do after I find out which card's best for me

@zaitsev72
That's very true, I've been with nVidia with all the PC's I've gone through so i'd probably stick with them. I thought the GB rating of a graphics card was the measure of it's power but i'm guessing that's not the case, I'll go with whatever's the best, will fit and works with the M15

 

I just had mine upgraded from a 260M to a 460M and im v pleased. Everything is appreciably faster and smoother even at higher settings. Also the card seems to run much cooler than the old one which is good on the noise front.

Im sure you can put better cards in (loads of experts here) but for a total IT-bimbo like myself I just went with what Dell recommended.

A

 

out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the card? In us dollars please

 

Coming from the 260m, you'll be pleased with any of the cards I mentioned... best price/performance is probably a 5870m or 5850m, there have been some very good offers on the marketplace recently.

The best card performance-wise is definitely the 6970m, and of this card decreased as well during the last couple of months. But with a 6970m you're system will run a lot warmer and you need software for the fan control (except for the Dell 6970m).

 

Right! Reading from the other replies it seems as if people are quite satisfied with the 460M. Seeing as like the other guy I have no experience with this sort of thing, I think I may lean towards the 460, however, the other models you mentioned ("5870m or 5850m"), are they nVidia cards or ATi or another make? And seeing as you said you need extra software for the fan control and the fact that it runs much warmer sort of puts me off :/

Seeing as I can't find it on their website, what's the number you ring to get hold of the Dell Upgrades or the Part Sales guys? (UK Number) I'd rather the part sales line as I would rather buy the card direct from Dell and just fit it myself, so If you could get either of those numbers it would be great!

 

The 5850m, 5870m and 6970m are AMD cards (=ATI). The fan control issue only applies to the 6970m, and only if the card isn't from Dell.

The 5870m and 5850m work flawlessly and perform really good. They're great overclockers

You should be able to get a 460m or 5850m directly from Dell, but it's possible that it will cost you a lot more than when you get the card online.
The 5870m can be ordered from Dell as well, but they may refuse to sell you one since it's not officially available for the M15x.

 

Im in the UK so cant help

 

ati makes the 5870 and 5850 cards.

the extra software for the fan he was talking about is for the 6790.

Edit: He beat me too it, nevermind. haha

 

I went via tech support (0844 338 1888) and eventually got through to Alienware tech support. They are offering the GTX460M, ATI5850 and ATI5730 as standard upgrades for the M15x. They insisted that the card had to be installed by an engineer so that pushed the price up a lot. I think the price for the 460M was about GBP187 + the on-site service cost. Im afraid there is no part number for that card on my documents.

Hope this helps

Arabella

 

I would say pick up a 5850. Officially suppoted, great price/performance, and a good OC'ing card. The 5870 is good too, just requires some software tuning.

 

The Dell 5870m doesn't need software tuning afaik, only the Clevo.

5850m is a lot of fun if you like overclocking

 

Hmmm, maybe I can flash the Dell 5870 BIOS on my card. The 5850 is probobly the best option for cost to performance.

 

Don't think that's a good idea... and it's definitely not necessary, if you need more power just edit the vbios of the 5850m.

 

It's a Clevo 5870...

 

Sorry, thought you were talking about flashing the 5870m vbios to a 5850m

 

No big deal. I think that would work.

 

Thanks! That really helps! I don't really mind if it has to be installed by an engineer, at least that way I have something to fall back on if it all screws up I just couldn't get the number because my laptop's out of warranty and so the Dell website wouldn't let me see the support numbers