7970M just died

So yesterday I started to have my first problems with my 7970M that I have on the Alienware Mx17 R2. I put my old card on and everything works fine so it must be a problem with the 7970M (been running over a year without any problems). the screen is all whacky and lines all over the place (was trying to put a pic but for some reason having trouble uploading the image).

What I wanted to ask is, is it still worth buying a new 7970M for my old Mx17 R2?
If so where can I buy a new one?
is there any new card that is better and I can fit into the R2?
if so where can I buy a new one?

thank you all for the help.

 

I still consider the 7970m an awesome card because it is much better then Nvidia at other things that aren't Gaming (ex. CAD), while still performing really well in games. I still think you will get more bang for buck getting another 7970m then getting a new gaming laptop. Ebay is the best place to get them. I just bought one there for $304 shipped.

 

Ouch... bit complicated here.
See my signature thread for more info.

Of course a 7970m (or two) go great in the R2, but there's things to take into account, such as the need for a non-UEFI-limited vbios, PSU mods in case of crossfire, etc.

Regarding new cards, well, you can either contact one of the vendors such as Rjtech/Eurocom, or buy off ebay, or look into the marketplace here to see if there are any cards up for sale...

Alternatively, you can use an nvidia GTX-680m, or a pair of SLI'd 580m's or other variations.

 

I believe the op already has a 7970m in his R2. So simply getting another ought to be plug n' play for him.

 

yea I have a 7970m that I bought a MXM Upgrade and it was VBIOS ready and it was plug and play. Been running it for a year now and yesterday it went caput. Unfortunately MXM Upgrade has closed doors so I cant really buy another one from there and was wondering if getting another was the best idea.

If I buy a new one, this time it wont be a gamming laptop but a PC where I can get a very nice one for a much lesser price. So that's why I was asking if it's a good idea to buy a new one instead of a brand new PC.

 

Do you use the laptops portability? If yes I would recommend you to get a used 7970m.

 

Actually no...I rarely move around with my alienware so that's why I'm considering buying a PC this time

 

I don't know what for a cpu you can build for $310 but if you think it will be financially better, go ahead.

 

You could also try to sell it with the old GPU and get some more money for a newer one. If you don't have the budget then just get another one of those!

 

Before you go and buy a new card you should consider reflowing it in a oven. My one card was doing the same thing a month or so ago and after reflowing it's back to working. Sure it might be a temp. Fix but who knows there's reports of the working for years afterwards.