[troubleshooting] Should I upgrade my GPU?

I own the M17x R3 with i7-2630QM/Nvidia 460m 3D/120Hz screen with a primary SSD for windows 8 bootup.

For a few months now, I've been experiencing random drops in FPS whenever I play games such as Dota 2, Saints Row 3, GTA IV, and more recently, Civilization 5 on 1080p max Settings. This has happened to me before around the same time last year, and I posted on this forum( http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/678239-unexpected-lag.html), and that led to my heatsink getting replaced by a technician since I was in warranty. The FPS drops I experienced after the swap were very minimal that I ignored them since I assumed slight FPS drops would be common when my laptop starts to get hot. But recently they have gotten really bad to the point where my FPS drops to 10 fps every couple minutes or so for about 20-30 seconds at a time. I've had to resort to having a (roughly) 15" diameter fan solely to cool my laptop (which is what I assume is causing the FPS lag), and this temporary solution does work 100% so far.

But in the past day or two, Ive been searching on this forum, and it seems that the 460m gpu offers very basic FPS to start off with, and cards such as the 580m and 680m offer more than double the FPS, so even with a ~30 FPS drop in-game, my games would still be running at 50 FPS so it wouldnt be noticible at all. However, Im not sure whether this will solve my fps problem(might still get 10 fps even with those cards), and don't have money to waste to experiment. Unfortunately, my warranty expired right before this problem arose (~2 months ago) so I am not sure how much help dell support will be, which is why i turn to you guys.

When I dont have my gigantic fan on and faced towards my laptop, I believe my laptop temperatures have reached around 83 Celcius, and maybe even towards the high 80s (these temperatures are from ~2 months ago). Since then, i've moved my laptop station to the basement, got a laptop cooler and a 15" fan solely to keep my temperatures down. While browsing the forums in the past day, I came across the fan control application HWiNFO64 and this app is telling me my current max temp for my GPU is 78 C and current temp is 64 C (while I am writing this with chrome, itunes,utorrent, skype and adobe reader open). I regularly clean out my fans and the inside of my laptop for dust.

Anyways, im getting sidetracked. Do you guys think swapping out my GPU for a 580m would fix my fps drop problem? I think the 680m might be too expensive for me. It seems like dell no longer sells them or offers them as an upgrade option for my laptop, and while I could most likely install it by myself with the help of some guides, there are still some questions left unanswered by this forums search tool.

• Where would I go to buy the GPU?
• How much would such a card cost?
• Can I reuse my existing heatsink? (This question is asked in every single thread I searched, and has had the same "I dunno search forums" or "probably, but search forums to make sure" answer in every thread. I would like a definite answer since I am sure there are plenty of you who have switched from 460->580m and know for sure)
• Would I need to have to mess with repasting? (This is the only part of the upgrade process I do not feel confident doing)
• Or would it be worth renewing my warranty(around $300) to get dell to swap out some parts/exchange my laptop entirely for an R3 with the upgraded card?

I am not entirely sure if I will hop the fence and pay to upgrade my GPU in the end, but being informative about this may be able to change my mind.
If anyone else has experienced this FPS issue or can guide me in the right direction, please help me by sharing your knowledge!

If you guys require anything at all to help diagnose my problem or specifications to determine compatibility or anything, let me know and I will try my best to provide you with the information you require.

 

Avoid the 580m. There is an issue where it throttles once it reaches 77 degrees and makes the games you play unbearable.

 

very interesting. what GPU would you suggest I look at then?

 

You're kinda stuck with a 580m as the only approved upgrade for your machine. You could go for a 680 but the 3D will not work and you'll need modified drivers to get them to install.

Generally I have seen people re-use heatsinks but it can be some messing around and if you do not know what you are doing I suggest you buy the correct heatsink from dell. It is not that expensive (Iwas quoted £19.00) and comes with all the pads and paste pre-applied. It's important not to reuse the x-bracket but use one that should come with the card.

As to the throttling on the 580, yes it does happen, I had one in my R3 previous to this machine BUT it should never get that hot if it is pasted correctly. Mine never went over 72C even with a +100 overclock (after dell replaced the heatsink). This 675, which is a rebadged 580 runs around 62c - 68c max while gaming.

 

I wouldn't mind really if I lost my 3D capability. I dont use it enough, and even if I wanted to, the frame rate drop makes the games uplayable so its not even entertaining.

My laptop has had a history of overheating quite a bit, so even with a neatly placed heatsink, I worry that it will overheat and throttle the 580m.

Nevertheless, although prices are arbitrary, can you give me a rough estimate at what price I would find the 580m, the 675m? I think I saw the 680m at around like 500-600 dollars if im not mistaken, and I don't want to drop half a grand on just a GPU.

Final question, would it be easier to find and build a PC that outperforms my m17x (since mobile graphics cards usually have less power, id imagine this wouldnt be difficult) for around or less than 600 dollars (without the cost of case/moniter)? Then i'd be using my m17x for light gaming/portability and my PC for more demanding games.