[Guide] Installing AMD Radeon Mobility 6970 / 6990 in your M17x R2 (Single GPU and CrossfireX)

I'm no overclocking. My CPU has stock frequency and my GPUs are @715/900 , no overclocking too

What are your frequencies and voltage DR650SE ?

Thanks for your tips
I will try to find a good undervoltage. Currently the 6990s are @ 1.02 V , I will try 1V and if doesn't work, I will try 1.01V...

 

Good luck Gloops! Sounds like you are getting closer to a resolution.

 

Yes ! Thanks you at all for your help

I've tested my voltage, and 1.02V is the most stable. Thus I keep 1.02V for my 6990s.

It's good and I've no issue with any game ! Great ! =D

 

Awesome news!! We really are just running on the edge of what the PSU's can provide.

 

Yes it's a limit...

It should a new bios A10 with 330W power supply compatibility

 

Glad to hear it Gloops

I think a lot of people are hoping for a BIOS mod to include the 330 watt adapter

 

Hey Douse,

Glad you took a week end off haha
I schematised what you explained, is it right?
Cheers

 

did i lose something here? are we close to that?

 

Sorry Aristotel, I thought you knew.

TheWiz is aware of what we require, but there is no eta as no one knows how easy or difficult it will be to do.

@thenzfarmer, yeah that is exactly right. Do it right and you will not even have to cut the positive and negative and only have to connect the ID cable. This way, if a BIOS update does come out to address this issue, you will only have to reconnect the ID cable and you will basically have an unmodified 330 watt adapter again.

 

Who can create this Modded Bios ?

In http://www.bios-mods.com/ , nobody answer about this subject...

It should take a M18x Bios and extract the information of PSU and put this information in M17x R2 Bios Modded... No ? ^^

 

Well yes, but it is very VERY complicated.

TheWiz was involved in the Last A10 BIOS mod. All we know is that he is aware of what we need and I know they are working on another mod, but there is no eta.

 

Ok, so we can still expect a release soon

 

Don't expect it. They have plenty on thier plates, and it's all done in thier free times.

 

Ok...

We must build a PSU with two 240W PSU to have a powerfull M17x R2 ???

 

Lately i have been getting this while playing metro 2033 the image just freeze and then i go to windows and then i got and after 5 seconds i can go back in the game untill it happens again...

Anyone idea's ?

 

Yep, that is your driver crashing. How are you temps? Are you running undervolted at the moment? Overclocked?

At the moment....pretty much yes. Or use a 330 watt one as thenzfarmer is doing. I would recommend this way as it is more futureproof if they do actually upgrade the BIOS.

 

Yes, but I don't understand the modification about the 330W PSU as thenzfarmer...

And where buy the 330 PSU ?? ^^

 

You can buy one from Dell or from eBay. Just don't buy a fake.

The 330 watt method is much easier then combining two 240 watt adapters. Maybe have another look at my previous explanation as well as the pic that thenzfarmer posted, as it is pretty clear.

 

thenzfarmer can make a guide to do this PSU ???

 

Sure i can see its driver crashing.. but it has nothing to do with Temps or overclocking... Probably Sumthing to do with the drivers i guess

ffs i dont want to uninstall them again ! Always these damn problems Soon im going to make "Smashing My Alienware M17X R2 Laptop" video pretty sure

 

Ok, fair enough.

Just to confirm the cards are completely stock? Stock voltages? Stock clocks?

Gloops, I will try and explain it again. Let me know where you are not sure.

The power cable running from the 330 watt power supply will have 3 cables in it. A positive (typically white), negative (typically black) and an ID cable (very thin and typically blue). Now the positive and the negative are fine as you want your laptop to be powered by the 330 watt power supply. But the ID cable is going to be giving the ID of the 330 watt power supply.

So you need to trick the laptop in to thinking that you have the 240 watt power supply connected. To do this you would cut the ID cable of the 330 watt power supply. Also cut the ID cable of the 240 watt power supply. Connect the ID cable from the 240 watt power supply to the ID cable of the 330 watt power supply running too the laptop. This way it thinks you have the 240 watt power supply but in fact you have the 330 watt plugged in.

I drew another pic if that helps.

 

Oh yes OK !

But we need to connect the 2 PSU to the plug ? (on the wall)

 

hello everyone! sorry for being lazy not reading all 418 pages of this thread - but could someone confirm, taht there is no way to get DELLs R3 6990M (P/N: RDRGR) card working normally on R2?
I have opportunity to get one, but afaik there i no way it will work (fan problems, crashing on shutdown etc.) No need for CF yet.

 

Hi Deffo,

If you flash the Clevo bios to the Dell cards it should resolve the crashing issues, but there is no way to avoid the fan problems. If you install a Dell card you WILL have to control the fans using some other software method.

 

What he said.

 

what they said.

Btw DR650SE Ive been looking to join the Folding Team But i can also Use My GPU's for Bitmining Hmm Tuff decision there ..


Also Ive been getting these freezes In games Again... Only restart through alienhead is possible Ive alrdy dealt with this before already a THOUSAND Times !!!
this is getting frustrated Ive been thinking my cards may be screwed up !
A new Format for the Third Time now ?..

 

Thank you guys!

Is it possible to control fans like: if temp xx then fans xx rpm?
which soft is considered best?

 

hwinfo is the program to use

 

I'll try to get in touch with AW on by R&R to purchase a 330W brick.
I have never opened the 240W PSU, does anyone know if the ID identifier is an independent component that could be powered by an external battery and just mounted onto the 330W PSU?
I'm curious to find out...
I am not an electronics wiz and I was never good with a welder

 

Yes. And that being so, it makes more sense to go for the 480watt PSU as it will cost less, is convenient - you aren't forced to carry around 2 PSU's if you don't want to as you can just unplug one from the converter board, and potentially provide more headroom than the 330watt PSU (if we work out the throttling above ~320watts) - I've seen sustained draw of 350watts from the 480watt PSU for a few minutes before something on the MB started a throttle. I still don't think sustained draw above ~300-320watts is safe for the M17x R2 though taking into account component specifications and typical tolerances.

If you already have a 330watt PSU just lying around then that's probably your best bet, but if you're going to buy a 330watt PSU just for this mod then it's not cost effective as they cost ~$200+ and you can get a 240watt PSU for ~$60 (or even less) and build the board for $20 or less.

I haven't opened my psu's. I made a half hearted attempt to but gave up as I didn't really have a reason to open them and they are extremely hard to get open. My educated guess is that the ID generator most likely will be a separate board, but it will probably be more complicated than plug and play. Having said that, and to answer your other question, there's no reason why the board couldn't be powered by the 330 watt PSU instead of a battery.

If you undervolt your cards you won't have a problem. If your cards are at stock clocks then you will get throttling. I get throttling with a 820qm and a 6990+6970 combo when I only have one PSU plugged in.

My advice to you is to get the 920xm as the 820qm really isn't an upgrade from the 740qm or 720qm. What you want are unlocked multipliers. Anything but the 920xm or 940xm won't deliver the performance you're hoping to gain by upgrading your cpu. A jump to a 820qm will not be noticeable except in benchmarks. At the same time that you get the 920xm, get yourself a more robust PSU solution so that way you can keep everything at stock voltages and have ample room for overclocking your CPU and gpu's.

 

If I paid someone could they make me a 480 Watt psu. Like I send you 2 psu's and you piece them together?

 

It might just be easier to buy someone a return flight to avoid losing the PSUs in transfer?

 

Sure , but I don't know how to make a 480W PSU...

Someone can make an invantory of the material to make this 480W PSU and a guide ?

 

Hey Aarpcard, I can see where you are coming from, but connecting two 240 watt PSU is far more complicated then using a 330 watt power supply. Also, performing the mod so that you are able to disconnect one, introduces further complications as they will also need to source and fit a female DC jack.

Yes it is cheaper, but I don't think it relatively easy for those who have never built an electrical component before. Also, the 330 watt PSU remains practically unmodified, except for the ID cable.

I believe when taking in to account peoples experience, the 330 watt mod is more suitable.

 

Yes Douse, but with the 330W PSU , we need to connect the two PSU to the wall plug too...

The 2 solutions are pros and cons....

The best solution is to have a new modded bios to connect a 330W PSU ^^

 

yes if someone manages to create this modded bios then he will deserve much of rep.

the best solution to me is to do this 480 watt adapter as i already have two 240 watt psus (flextronics and Delta) but i really dont feel brave to do it. Thus carrying this thing with the M17X would need an extra bag for itself I never bought any of them anyway. One charger is just replacement of the other but both work. Flextronics is just doing a low sound when charging thats why Dell sent me the delta one but they didnt want the other one back!

 

Gloops, even with the 480 watt setup you need to connect two PSU's to the wall if you intend on gaming. What Aarpcard was referring to was the way in which he connected his two power supplies. He acquired a female DC socket so he could connect the two power supplies by only modifying one of the 240 watt adapters. This means he has a completely unmodified power supply which is can disconnect and take with him places if he does not intend to game as he only needs 240 watts.

I did not set mine up like this, as I did not have access to one of these sockets. Aarpcards design is better, because mine is a little more permanent....

If you want to do it, I am sure Aarpcard and I will by happy to step you through it. But you will need to solder and be happy with cutting cables etc

 

This is my psu adapter if any one is looking for ideas... same idea as every one elses but this way I have 2 unmodified 240w psus

 

Oh yeah, forgot about your one! That is a good idea, where did you get the DC plugs from?

 

Just plug the 2 PSU and it works ???

No voltage ajustment ?...

 

it looks like there is something that needs to be cooled - that heatsink looks funy

 

It is the same set up as the other 480 watt PSU's just implemented differently. There is a rectifier diode which connects the two power supplies and stops voltage from flowing back. Like what is in my pic screwed on to the heatsink. That is what his heatsink is attached to, you just can't see it because it is underneath.

I quite like Kenny's design as you don't need to chop your power supplies.

 

How did you your PSU Kenny ? I'd like to do the same mounting

 

Newsflash Everytime i play a game With crossfire i got Freez and i can't do anything anymore

When playing without i can just play the game fine apparently...

Pff Any tips what i could do?

Even Using that little benchmark feature in GPU-Z Makes my computer freeze...!
And this after already a Third Windows 7 Install
Really dont know what to do anymore !

 

Switched the gpu' cards Went back in windows after 5 seconds BAM display falls out.. cuts of the power reboot Caps & Numlock Lights are flashing no display....

Game over

(Typing from another laptop)

 

i bought some adapter plugs like this and this
I carefully cut the plastic of the plugs and un-soldered the light weight wire from the plugs
next i got some heavy duty extention cable and using the wire from that joined the id wire and the earth/neutral wire from two of the female 7.4mm sockets, the active/positive wire is joined using the power rectifier diode which is bolted to the heat sink, i gave my self about a 1m of extention cable and soldered the male plug on and taped it all up.
only down sides to this setup is its good looks and you need to be gentle with it because the soldering on the plugs are no longer encased in plastic you could break or fatigue the soldering by bending it to much or rough handling

sorry to hear that trulyfatal sounds like what happened with my laptop when one of the gpus died
try each gpu individually so see if you still have a good one i would say it was your primary that is no good as it failed in windows not a game
your flash code is strange though according to this your have ram or mobo problems

 

Sorry it was the 2 left lights...Wich means graphics card
in meanwhile also i broke off my
Center Control Power Button Cover So i need to order a new one
W779M | Alienware M17x Center Control Covers Grade A

Nothing but problems for me !

 

I know exactly how you feel, ya just want it to work!!

 

LOL!

Yeah but that could be easily corrected using a different cable and maybe getting some plug and sockets with jackets on them Or even easier, just buy some black heat shrink! This will also provide a little rigidity, especially if you used a couple of layers. I am sure you could easily apply it to your current set up without taking off the ends.

One thing I am confused about, when you cut these adapters were there 3 wires inside? one for the ID cable as well?

 

Kenny, can you make diagram with components and references to buy the same ?

Thank you