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    [M17x R4] How to upgrade gpu to GTX 870m or GTX 970m New bios A14

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by kunaka, Jul 7, 2018.

  1. kunaka

    kunaka Newbie

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    Hello everyone.
    Sorry, I'm not good at english.
    Amd 7970m It cannot be used anymore,
    I need a new video card like gtx 870m but i do not understand the BIOS setup and compatibility.
    (I have doubts)
    1. My bios a14 need to unlock?
    2. Do I have to replace the cooling tube?
    3. Gtx970m and Gtx870m Which model is right and easy to install?

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/m17x-r4-gtx980m-upgrade.766867/

    * Ok, I know there's a way to install and set up, but i do not understand setting up uefi.
    ** I'm not good at language
    Please help me step by step.

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    Alienware M17x R4, Win10pro
    Bios A14 (New)
    Cpu intel core i7-3740qm
    Gpu Intel HD 4000 and amd 7970m
    Ram 16gb
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2018
    kunaka, Jul 7, 2018
    #1
  2. mariussx

    mariussx Notebook Evangelist

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    First of all you will need to re-install Windows if your boot options at the moment are set to legacy.

    You need to download Windows image and put it on a USB drive:
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10ISO

    You will need to change the boot settings in bios to the following:
    bios.jpg


    1. Stock A14 BIOS is fine, new GPU does not require unlocked BIOS.
    2. I can not comment on the heatsink as my own upgrade was from GTX 680m, which was a straight swap. I don't know if your heatsink is compatible with nvidia card. I hope someone will answer this to you.
    3. I would go for 970m for a better performance. Installation should be pretty much the same. Nvidia finally added support for 9xx series GPU for R4, so you no longer need to modify the drivers like we had to for years. At the moment official nvidia drivers support 9xx GPUs.

    Windows installation has to be in GPT, not MBR for 9xx GPU to work. That is the only reason to re-install Windows. There are programs, which can convert MBR to GPT, but they are not free (at least I did not see one when I did my upgrade a while ago).

    The link with step by step guide, but the software is not free I believe:
    https://www.aomeitech.com/partition-resource/convert-mbr-gpt-1234.html
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2018
    mariussx, Jul 10, 2018
    #2
  3. 064852029

    064852029 Newbie

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    Is it able to run with other OS or only Windows with UEFI?
     
    064852029, Jul 30, 2018
    #3