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    CPU and GPU upgrade on Alienware m15x

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by lai_tsz_ho, Mar 29, 2011.

  1. lai_tsz_ho

    lai_tsz_ho Notebook Guru

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    Hi everyone,

    I have an Alienware m15x with i3-330M and GT240M. I browse on eBay and find some cheap mobile CPU listing. For example, a brand new i7-640M is just selling for £188 comparing with official upgrade to i7-620M costing £290. Is it a great deal if a desperately need some extra CPU power?

    On the other hand, finding GPU upgrade seems to be much more harder. I can barely find a few high-end MXM modules on eBay. Is there any other way to find great GPU upgrades other than on MXM Upgrade Home Page? I'm very interested on the new GTX460M! Thanks!
     
    lai_tsz_ho, Mar 29, 2011
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  2. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Here you can find a 460m which works for your system. Also the eurocom parts site sells them... but if you're in the UK this is probably not the best solution.
    If you still have warranty the best thing is calling Dell and get the card from them imo.


    Regarding the CPU I'd recommend a 920xm (ES version) from ebay... they're about £240 atm. Spoken for myself I wouldn't bother buying an i7-640m for £190.
    Check out the M15x section of this forum, there you'll find tons of good info about upgrading and similar.
     
    svl7, Mar 29, 2011
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  3. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    For the official price of the 640M you can get a 720QM. Alienware is MXM so you can upgrade it, but the 240M won't really sell for much. You might be able to use a Clevo card.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Mar 29, 2011
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  4. lai_tsz_ho

    lai_tsz_ho Notebook Guru

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    I don't think I would be investing too much on my laptop. Hopefully 620M would be sufficient enough to pair with the upgraded GPU.
     
    lai_tsz_ho, Mar 29, 2011
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  5. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    FYI, the 5850 is an option as well, it costs less than the 460m and performs similar or even better than the 460m.
     
    svl7, Mar 29, 2011
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  6. lai_tsz_ho

    lai_tsz_ho Notebook Guru

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    I'm really interested in the 5850 upgrade as well. I have contacted Dell and it seems that they are not going to offer official upgrade. How can I get 5850 then?
     
    lai_tsz_ho, Mar 29, 2011
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  7. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Call Dell support, they should offer the upgrade, but usually you will have to pay the technician as well (because of the warranty). If a rep on the phone says it's not possible just again.

    The 5850 isn't as easily available as other cards afaik. I got mine from the marketplace here on the forum. I recommend trying to get it from Dell, if they're asking too much for it you can still look around here.

    Otherwise the 5870 is an option as well. (The 5850 is basically a downclocked 5870) You could get one from mxm-upgrade, rjtech, ebay or of course the marketplace here. You may even get it from Dell, but sometimes they don't want to sell you parts that aren't officially available for your system.
     
    svl7, Mar 29, 2011
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  8. lai_tsz_ho

    lai_tsz_ho Notebook Guru

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    Thanks for all the info. I'll contact Dell rep again. Hopefully I can get the official support at a reasonable price ;)
     
    lai_tsz_ho, Mar 29, 2011
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  9. upgrademonkey

    upgrademonkey Company Representative

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    hello there, we have 5850 DDR5 version for £200, if interested let us know.

    Regards Lee
     
    upgrademonkey, Mar 31, 2011
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  10. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    You got PM.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Mar 31, 2011
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  11. lai_tsz_ho

    lai_tsz_ho Notebook Guru

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    Wow, I've got an i7-640M from laptopmonkey bu coincidence. However, when I try to stress it with ORTHOS, only 2 threads are being stressed.
    It makes no difference even if I uses 2 ORTHOS. How can I solve it?
     
    lai_tsz_ho, Apr 2, 2011
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  12. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Make sure you have hyperthreading enabled. I don't know orthos, try wPrime 1.55 and set it to 4 threads (advanced settings). Monitor the test with Throttlestop to see whether all threads are stressed.
     
    svl7, Apr 2, 2011
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  13. Syberia

    Syberia Notebook Deity

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    Use Prime95. Orthos has issues with Hyperthreading.
     
    Syberia, Apr 3, 2011
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  14. lai_tsz_ho

    lai_tsz_ho Notebook Guru

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    Thanks all, it finally worked.
    One big applause to m15x, I once forgot to hook up the CPU fan and start playing games with it. Surprisingly, CPU was throttling perfectly (down to low as few hundreds MHz) to keep it running without having to shut down. Core temperature never rise above 85 degree Celsius and I'm even able to play PES2011 smoothly in the first 5 minutes!
     
    lai_tsz_ho, Apr 3, 2011
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