Wanna Upgrade my video card

Hi everyone.

I bought M15X an year back with GT 240 512MB card. Can I upgrade for GTX 460M or 470M cards? I see for GTX 460M and 470M its mentioned like DDR5. Does those cards fit in place of my GT 240?

 

Well you need to get the right type of MXM model card for it to work/fit. I am assuming you have a M15x-R2.

But the GTX460m should be no problem keeping that in mind, i'm not sure of the 470m.
A HD5850 would also be a nice upgrade over the 240m, i think they are cheaper then a GTX460m, and easier to get.

 

EDIT: I was assuming R1

It should fit, but you might have a problem with bios support.

And the vram chips on the back of the card might not be cooled so you would have to put a heatspreader or something on them.

285m/4870 should work fine I think and are almost as good as the 460m.

If you try the 460m/470m please post the results.

 

Where can I find weather it is M15x-R2 or not?

 

do you have a core i CPU or core 2?

 

Give us some specs and we can tell. But i'm pretty sure it is if you have a 240m card in it.

 

BTW you might want to see this:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/538265-m15x-nvidia-470m-mod.html

 

1 224-6812 BASE,NBK,ANW,BLK,M15X
1 317-2396 Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
1 317-2404 4GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 2GB DDR3)
1 320-0934 15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600x900 (900p) WLED
1 320-0937 512MB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M
1 341-9753 320GB SATAII 7,200RPM

1 313-8791 AlienFX Color, Mars Red
1 421-1590 Alienware Command Center Software
1 421-1400 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp
1 420-6436 PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 421-1573 Alienhead 3D
1 313-8565 Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

mine is Core i

 

Jup m15x-R2 with a nice setup for the coming years i might add, if you upgrade the video card

 

Well I guess jiggymf is right, 460m should work.

For the 470m I would think that you need to get an updated bios to support the card fully. Or you might be stuck with low clocks.

 

Maybe it works, i don't know, i never tried ^^

Most people are like me though, they don't want to try and see if it works or not, they just want a card they know will work and not to much hastle to get it to work ^^

 

That's the current M15x.

The following cards will work:

-ATI HD5850
-ATI HD5870
-Nvidia GTX 460m
(-Nvidia GTX 260m, weakest of these 4 cards)

Everything else is not guaranteed to work... the 470m from eurocom won't work. For best compatibility I'd recommend Dell cards, for example when you get a non-Dell 460m you will probably have some minor issues (e.g. no audio through DisplayPort)

The best performance/cost ratio has probably the 5850.

 

thankx evry one guys..
I prefer to go with 460m

 

Same here, I want Physx support (I know it's gimmicky and all, I just want to be able to play my games with ALL the bells and whistles on ), and I'm used to nvidia anyway

 

Well if you have an ATI GPU you can still have Physx can't you?

Though the CPU would be doing the work I think (instead of the GPU).

 

Really? I thought Physx was an NVIDIA only thing. Hmm, I could be wrong though, I haven't really looked into it.

 

Nvidia GTX 285m works too ^_^

 

^that's right.... and 280m

 

Yeah actually now that I think about it, I must be confusing it with something else, just can't put my finger on it

 

Okay - noob question from a non-M15x owner...but I WILL own one, at some point.

Does changing out the GPU void the warranty? I'm familiar with Magnuson Moss Warranty Act but sometimes asking actual owners helps me more.

 

I wouldn't worry about the warranty to be honest. Just keep the original card it came with and if there's a warranty call, drop that card in. Nobody will ever know

 

Catchy idea...

I'm still on the fence about ordering...can't get'em to budge on price. I shall be patient! The mega sales pitch expires in March, I'm sure there will be another.

 

hey guys im new here and ive been reading this thread cuz i really wanna upgrade my 240m(go ahead and laugh) to a gtx 460m. i chatted with dells sales and i was told either that they dont have them online or that they cant upgrade me. is there another number i should call to order a gtx 460m? or should i just get 1 from ebay. i found this 1 but u can never really trust it.

NEW 1.5GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M Video card - eBay (item 110634949961 end time Mar-12-11 07:04:14 PST)

 

upgradeyourlaptop is the ebay user name for these guys I think:
Eurocom Corporation - Number 1 in Desktop Replacement Notebook Technology

 

Call Dell, maybe you have to talk to more than one rep but in the end they you should get a rep which sells it.

Dell is the best place to get GPUs imo... with other cards chances are you have issues with the DP connection for example.

 

ok ill keep givin them a call. also if i buy a new card will i need to get a thermal pad?

 

You will need thermal paste and some stuff to remove the old paste. You can use some thermal pads on the GDDR modules if there aren't any on the heatsink already.

 

thanks so much for your help. oh and just 1 more question. cuz im really confused bout this. im pretty sure i have an r2 cuz i have an i7 but i read somewhere that R2s dont have vga ports and i have a vga port on the left side of my laptop.

 

There's actually no "R2"... Dell simply calls it the M15x... I guess this is what you have (specs may vary) and yes it has a VGA connector.

 

yup thats what i have. thanks

UPDATE: just called dell and they said they are currently out of stock and will let me know soon if there are any left in their warehouse

 

Where you inquiring about the 460m? Just wondering if you happen to ask about the ATI options as well.

 

naw didnt ask bout the ATI cuz even tho i keep hearin that the ati is better and cheaper i like nvidia more and i wanna be able to have physx. i guess tho if i really have to ill get the ATI

 

So even though 90 percent of the performance laptop world admits that the 5850 and 5870 are better, more or equally powerful, cheaper and readily available you choose to chase the card that costs more and can't be had all that easily? I am sorry I am just having a hard time understanding your reasoning. I guess I understand you liking the Nvidia card just because its Nvidia but I would at least explore all options if I were you. I think the only difference is the Cuda support. Pretty sure you would still be capable of physx support but it might be offloaded to the cpu which shouldn't be a problem since you won't hardly ever be using the 720 to its fullest.

 

You can buy the 460M From dell directly.

Call 1-800-915-3355 Extension 726-3805 for the parts department

Alienware M15X 460M 1.5 GB GDDR5 - PN 479NV - $400

Part Number 479NV Enjoy

 

thank you so much. ima try this

UPDATE: just called and the rep told me it was a refurbished version.. u guys think its worth it??

 

Any chance on those ATI part numbers?

 

479NV Nvidia GTX460m
WDXVH Nvidia GTX260m
KCTKH Nvidia GT240m
K6654 Radeon HD5850m
NTVGT Radeon HD5730m

there ya go

 

That's what I was told too. I was told some are system pulls from cancelled or returned systems. They should still have a warranty on them though so you should be fine.

 

ima double check bout the warranty but if so then ima go ahead and buy. not til the thursday after this 1 tho cuz im a lil short on money right now

 

Is calling Dell the only way to get pricing. (couldn't find anything on their site) If so, then does anyone already know the price points dell offers for M15x compatible GPUs?

 

Hello this is my 1st post, and I am hoping this is the right area, but I was wondering if I could get some info on upgrading my system.

Currently I am using an m15x with a 240m, and I was wondering what upgrade options I had, and where I could go about getting said upgrades. I have checked on dell's website, but I can't even finding any laptop video cards online.

Any help from a complete laptop noob would be much appreciated.

 

You won't find mobile cards on the Dell website...you have to call Dell and order it over the phone. Or you could go on ebay to the eurocom store and buy a card from there. Or you can go the the NBR marketplace and check if anyone is selling something on there.

There are alot of good cards to upgrade to...GTX 460m, 560m, ATI 5870m, 6970m, 6990m (Just make sure power supply can handle the increase in voltage).

Other things to keep in mind...
-Make sure you buy some thermal paste...you may also need to buy some thermal pads.
-Make sure your BIOS is upgraded to the latest version. (mine is at A09).

Currently, I'm in the same position as you...I'm also upgrading my 240m to something better....here is a useful guide I found that might shed some light on what it takes to actually replacce the card itself.

Alienware m15 R2 Upgrade

 

thanks a lot zlatko

PS:
Do you have any idea of what the prices are for those models?
How do I, or you, know I have an R2? Just because of the fact I have a 240m?

 

$400 for a 460m??? Im sorry but thats a ripoff. Your better off getting yourself a 6970m. If you really wanna stick with nvidia then get the 560m.


There is no such thing as an M15x r2. Its just pre dell or post. Either way that link applies to you judging by the title.

 

man that is a huge ripoff, Dell wanted to sell me a 560 for less than that

 

In talking to Dell tech support about upgrading my M15x with a 260m to a 460m, I was offered a promotion they are apparently having where if you purchase an additional year of warranty for $279, you got your choice of upgrades from a list and the 460m was among the options. The 460m is also covered by the same warranty and a tech is coming out tomorrow to perform the install. If I had chosen the 460m alone, I believe the price I was given was $389 so the warranty promotion was a pretty good deal. My warranty hadn't expired though, so I don't know if that factors into anything when it comes to extending your warranty.

In case it matters, the number I used for tech support was 800-624-9896.

Hopefully this helps. I report back the results of the tech visit tomorrow.

 

I necro'd this thread, so the prices that guy listed are from like feb.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ion-upgrades-gpu-troubleshooting-repairs.html