6990m disappears and low brightness when reinstalled

my AMD 6990m GPU lately disappears from the device manager and sometimes even the bios and I find the intel graphic card to be the only card avaiable>>
I downgraded the bios to the unlocked A08 so I can disable the integrated intel graphics..

after I disabled the intel graphics via the modded A08 bios and installing the amd driver the screen brightness was reduced !!

I checked all the bars and the mobility center and so and they are on the maximum brightness but that's not how my screen used to shine

I would like to know the best driver I can install on my 6990m regardless of the switchable graphic option ..
how can I install it so the AMD card is working ( alone ) with the best performance and the least issues ??

 

when I switch back to the intel the brightness is back to normal .. but when back to the AMD the brightness is reduced ..

the cards don't run together ..
what is the mobility vs whql driver pack ??!! which is better for me ??

the 12.2 preview
12.4 mobility
12.4 whql ??
the dell page driver (which works ok with both cards but the 6990m disappears sometime !!)

is there a combination .. ??

those stuff are so complicated

 

my 7970m died right after I got the same symptoms, watch out bro...

 

what can I do ..
I am still in warranty but I bought it from the US .. and now I am in Egypt .. and no way I can go back to the US

 

FWIW there seems to be a trend of complaints about dimmer displays when using the 12.4 WHQL drivers, but I'm using them without any issues. I'd run driver sweeper and do a clean reinstall of those and see if that helps.

 

I have 12.4 mobility installed after the dell's after sweeping everything with the driver sweeper ..
but at benchmark3d there was two packages for my system one called mobility ??

I remember long time ago there were ATI display driver only packages without the catalyst and stuff I never use ??

 

Yeah it's confusing. Sometimes packages have mobile GPUs, sometimes they don't. Mobility is the one you want.

Personally I have been using: AMD Catalyst 8.97 18 April – 7900 MOD – BenchmarK3D

It has support for everything and works very well. Better than 12.4 WHQL

 

thank you for the link and I am going to download, uninstall, sweep and try this ..
but should just install this ..
or the Dell's driver first (regardless of the intel graphics, I just need the ATI in full power)??

one thing GeoCake because graz got me all worried >>
is my GPU endangered ??

I checked my temps and the are around 60 when idle ..

but after some extensive Rage playing I checked and it is 100 or 99 c

how can I make that any less .. ??
is it even normal ??

I am really worried because it will be disastrous if the card died ..

 

No that's not normal at all, that's way too high and could explain why you are having issues. Idle temps should be within 45-55C and full load temps should be no higher than 70C.

Prop your laptop at the back if you haven't already
Check your vents are clean from dust
Re-paste your GPU

I advise you install stock Dell drivers first, and then install the ones I linked in an earlier post on top of them.

 

I will clean the vents (the dust around the fans)
I live in Egypt so I understand that it is more dusty and much more HOTTER ..

it is around 100:110 F all summer long so maybe that's why it should be 60 idle when the weather is 40 something .. ??

I am afraid I won't find thermal paste here ..

 

sorry bud, didn't mean to scare you

just warning, hope you will be alrighty!

make sure you somehow reduce those temps to low 80s in gaming, prop the back, repaste, check the pads (most likely the pad positioning is the problem) and clean the vents! good luck!

 

thank you so much ..
you can't imagine the hassle to replace it over seas ..
I would stick to the intel graphics if that happened ..

it would be like getting a Ferrari to take kids to school ..Nightmare

 

100c? that's way too hot for a 6990m

Definitely clean the vents out first...and raise the back of your laptop up which will drop the temps 5-7c

 

if I am intending to open it and clean it today ..
is there a guide for what I am doing ?

I don't know what "vents" or "pads" means

 

You can find it in youtube how to tear down M17x completely...... Just follow that guide. You just need a screw driver and voila.....

 

Alienware M17x R3 R4 complete teardown / how to take apart / disassemble - Hidevolution.com - YouTube

is that it ??