AMD 7970m available for buy

Precisely. I need some information that I don't know and don't have.

I need to know how the A/C to D/C power brick (what people, myself included, incorrectly refer to as the PSU) communicates with the actual PSU inside the laptop. I need to know how the laptop identifies a Dell brick versus some other brick, or wattage of brick.

What I would like to know is the Voltage output of the Dell 330W power brick.
And I want to know the Amperage output of the 330W power brick.

After speaking to an electrical engineer friend, what I really want to do is increase total available amperage above the present capabilities of the 240W power brick without damaging the PSU inside the laptop. And have the laptop "think" that it is connected to a standard 240W power brick.

One of the simple ways that any laptop could "know" what PSU is connected is "Does it have the correct voltage?" This is due to the fact that one of the ways to increase wattage is to increase the voltage output of the A/C to D/C transformer. This means that the laptop manufacturer has to modify less. It is much easier to deal with higher voltage than increased amperage. If you increase the amperage, you generally have to have beefier wires / connectors to handle it, and the cables can't be very long. This is expensive. So the alternative is to increase the voltage.

Wattage = Voltage * Amperage

This is where things could get tricky. If the 330W power brick / PSU combination accomplishes this with higher voltage than the 240W power brick / PSU, then simply trying to fool the laptop that it is connected to a 240W transformer would not really accomplish anything as the PSU inside the laptop may just try to rectify the higher voltage and in the process negating the added energy and instead turning it into heat or worse damaging the PSU inside the laptop.

That would be bad.

If, however, the power bricks have the same output voltage than the higher wattage power brick must increase the amperage. This would be ideal. Then all that would be required is to tackle how to BS the laptop into thinking that it had the correct power brick.

Anyway... That is my thinking. I'm probably wrong. Again.

 

Quick Google check reveals that the Dell 240W adapter (330-4342/Y044M) has rated output of 19.5V and 12.3A, while the 330W adapter (331-2429/F0K0N) has output of 19.5V and 16.9A. FWIW. There have been extensive prior efforts to adapt the 330W for use with the M17x-R2 or to fashion alternative power sources using two adapters wired together, but with limited success as I recall. A search of the forum should reveal discussions surrounding those efforts.

 

There is...and continues to be, a lot of discussion on making the 330W Dell adapter compatible with the R2. Some folks have been able to make this work with varying success.

Most of the discussion has (and is) being discussed here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...6990-your-m17x-r2-single-gpu-crossfirex.html#

I realize it's a lot to wade through, but the last few pages have the most recent discussion regarding this.

 

amazing what clever things laptop modders can come up with ^^

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

 

Found this link where this guy (maybe on NBR as well) links to the tests he did in his r4 with the 7970m (basically the same config I wanted if I got an r4). Some nice gaming benchmarks, and absolutely smashes my current config.

Here it is - 7970M benchmarks with the Alienware M17x R4 gaming laptop - PC Message Board for PC - GameFAQs

 

One other possible situation is like they had with the P270WM where in testing the failure rate was too high.....

But if it was this then telling us would be the smart thing to do.

 

I think everyone on here should write their buying experience in the 'Reseller Feedback Forum' all in one post. I contacted them a few days ago about a refund and have heard nothing. In a few days I will go via Paypal or my credit card if they continue to ignore my communication. Strangely enough, communication from them was prompt and smooth up until I paid for the pre order.

I was well aware of Eurocoms reputation but thought id give them the benefit of the doubt but never again. This is the first and last time I will be dealing with them regardless.

 

Call them and ask for a refund. I did that and had my money back in paypal that day

 

maybe it's time for me too to ask for a refund??

 

Jep these drivers did the job and audio via HDMI now works
Now if only the fan didn't have to be controlled via HWinfo these cards would be perfect.

 

I've just rechecked my inbox, I don't see any unprocessed refund requests. Where did you send the request? Refunds have been processed as soon as they've come in. If we can't deliver the cards on time, then the very least we can do is refund money promptly. Please resend your request to [email protected] with the subject 'NBR Refund'.

I'll process it right away.

With regards to the everything else going on with this launch, I really do not have any additional information available. I can't in good conscience provide an ETA given that we've missed many dates already. As soon as I get data from management or the R&D/testing team I will keep you posted.

To those of you who think this sounds familiar to my last post, unfortunately it is. The only information I have is that the cards are testing and they're working with AMD on driver adjustments. Again, we're not here to scam anyone or cause frustrations, despite the fact that the latter has definitely happened. To reiterate from my last post a few pages back, we will promptly process all refund requests. Please address the requests to [email protected] with the subject 'NBR Refund' if you decide this is what you would like to do.

 

Probably a stupid question, but the search option failed me for today.

Does automatic fan control work correctly with a Dell OEM 7970m in a m17x-r3? I know the QS ones seemed to work fine (from the guide and other posts), but haven't seen anyone explicitly say the OEM ones are good to go.

 

There's no reason the OEM version won't work 100%.

 

Well... I have a slight disappoint. I thought that I might have an opportunity to score two 7970's for around $450 apiece. But that kinda fell through. So now I am scratching sticking two 7970M into my M17xr2. I will go with a single card. I really can't justify plopping $1,200 into it when I don't NEED to have them.

I would have done it if I could have gotten them for up to $500/card. But no. Denied.

Which brings me to my next question:

Anybody attempt crossfire with 7970 and 6990 (or 6970)?

I know it generally isn't the best plan on crossing generational cards as that you can take a performance hit over just the single card of the latest generation. Just wondered what people thought.

 

No, the chips are so different (in design and power) that it would be impossible.

 

So Is the 7970m from dell a plug and play upgrade into the m18xr1 ?? I assume it will come with the 17xr4 bios on it. Do I need to flash a custom bios on the cards when I install them into my m18. Stock drivers working??

 

VGA bios is separate from the system bios and will be identical regardless of model (within the same company) especially at this early stage.

 

So will stock 7970m(dell) vbios work in the m18xr1 with out mods?

 

That depends on the system bios, not the VGA bios. There should be a good chance though.

 

Rename the topic to - AMD 7970M NOT available for buy

 

the 7970m will suport DirectX 11.1? on the 2013?

 

Dell just called and said the gpu's I wanted are ready to ship. Then they put me on hold and said that the 7970's were not available.they then said only 6970's are approved in the m18xr1. I told him mine shipped with 6990's and I don't care what his engineer said. Call me when the 7970's are available. Dell service is a joke. They wanted me to down grade my cards!!

 

Hello NBR,

I've been given more information today on the status of the testing of 7970M. During testing we've found the cards to be generally compatible with Alienware systems (M15x, M17xR3 and M18x R1), with the common issue being similar to what has been seen in past with the 6xxx series of AMD cards regarding occasional wake-from sleep issues and manual fan control (remedied by HWInfo64). We're waiting on a few more details from the M17xR2 but they should work as well, at least with single card setups. At this time, it appears that the HM series will likely not be compatible with the 7970M at this time. Our team of techs has been unable to get the system to POST with 7970M installed. The BIOS is the culprit at this point, we're exploring options and tweaks to get things ticking along smoothly.

For those interested, the mass production cards use Hynix memory modules from which we've been seeing positive OC results, up to 25% in some cases, with proper cooling.



UPDATE: There's been some new information and clarification of the chronology of events. This post has been edited to help keep everything clear and prevent any more confusion.

The post can be found here







Regards,

Dan

 

Thanks for keeping us in the know. Sorry to hear about the setback, but I guess its a good thing they held off shipping them. Hope they ship out soon.

 

Thanks for providing an update with some actual news about what is happening on your end. It helps deal with the anxiousness of getting me hands on one of these.

 

Thanks for the statement Dan, thats really good spirit =)

Sometimes its not fun giving bad news, but it still has to be given...

Very nice and informing statement, its good to know what happens out there... well done!

 

Sucks

Hopefully in the least there is a pin compatible alternative controller

Don't want a time bomb in your system.

I'm glad you guys took my suggestions on board.

 

I just hope that they can fix the BIOS problems on the Clevo P170HM, i really want to put a Radeon 7970M card in mine!

=)

 

same goes for the p150hm fraction! heres to hoping

otherwise ill have to wait and see if the 680m is compatible...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

 

those are bad news....so sad..now i must ask for refund....

 

Please email dross(at)eurocom.com with the subject 'NBR Refund' and we'll process the refund. It is end of business day here and our billing team has closed for the day. I will have it done the absolute first thing tomorrow morning once we reopen.

 

thx man!!one more question.any chance that the card will work in the future on HM laptops?thx again!

 

i must ask refund too,then.
And propably buy alienware....

 

Very bad news for me too.

 

*Pats his MSI* It's sad that Niffcreature was right on the clevo's and the bios.

 

That's bad news from eurocom but at least they were up front about it. Now I have no option but Alienware card, And there nowhere in site for now.

Anyone get inside info on the cards from dell on delivery, I know a few of you guy out there have some good sources!

 

Excellent information, this thread has led me to contacting Alienware to order two 7970m's to replace my 560m's in my m18x (lots of abbreviation .. )

To clarify, the m18x can handle the power draw/cooling needs of such beastly cards yes?

 

That´s bad news for us Clevo owners So im going to sell
my system late june to a friend without my two ssd and buy
the new P170EM with i7-3610qm(cheaper and faster than i7-2820qm)
and HD7970m or GTX680m We will see in begin of june how fast the
GTX680m really is

Maybe in the period of the P170EM a GTX685m or HD7990m
will be released and so upgrade will be possibel

 

The 680M might not work either.....

 

i think that 680m will not work too like u said.thats a very bad move for clevo not to support HM series with the news cards and if the same happens with EM series next year they ll lose many customers.the laptop in only one and a half year old.....what can i say...my next laptop it ll be alieware for sure!

 

I just wanted to quickly pop into this thread to clear up some stuff - the recent post by upgradeyourlaptop caused a bit of a stir and a panic over in the Sager/Clevo subforum, primarily because of the following portion of his post, I think:

I just wanted to clear this up because it flies directly in the face of what several reps from xoticpc.com, including Justin who has been communicating with us daily over in the Sager/Clevo subforum, has said about the quality of the "first shipment" of AMD 7970Ms that went out to Sager.

In truth, that "first shipment" of cards has absolutely nothing wrong with them. They have gone through extensive testing and quality control by both Clevo and Sager, and are absolutely working fine. I've got my P170EM/NP9170 (specs in sig) that I received on Monday, which contains a 7970M from this shipment, and have had no problems whatsoever; no BSODs, no BIOS issues, no problems at all beyond some annoyances about currently being unable to switch Enduro off, but even that's not a huge deal.

And additionally I've run some benchmarks and compared results with some of the benchmarks posted by people who own the M17x R4 w/ 7970M, and all my Clevo's results match perfectly the results from the M17x - they actually tend to exceed the GPU performance of the M17x slightly on the ones I've done, but not so much that it doesn't fall within the margin of error/variance.

So, there are functional AMD 7970s out there which haven't been produced by Dell/Alienware. I've got one of them. My impression was that all of the working ones from the "first shipment" went entirely to Sager before anybody else, and what Dan here received and is referring to as HIS "first shipment" would actually fall within the "second shipment" that Sager was working with.

Now, it doesn't really change much, but word from the Clevo resellers is that this delay will be over in mid-June, and the rest of the pre-order crowd will be getting their laptops around mid-June. So far, *only* people who ordered Sager laptops have actually received working Clevo machines with the 7970m - everyone else who ordered from places like Malibal/Mythologic/etc are unfortunately stuck waiting until the mid-June ETA, which hopefully does not change.

Anyway, I think that covers it. Just wanted to clear some things up, because there's a real excess of rumor and innuendo going around this topic at the moment, and it's helpful for people to at least know what the actual status is. Plus, there is honest-to-goodness cause for optimism - I'm currently writing this post on the proof!

 

If I find this to be the case then my next laptop will also be Alienware and I will never buy a Clevo / Sager again period.

 

Count me in, too. I can't trust Clevo any more, i can't even buy one of their new models cause i don't know if i will be able to upgrade it or not. I will have to save some more money and buy an alienware. If that's what they want...

 

+1000
This is big from CLEVO that do not suport bios anymore and the ATI 7970M for the P150HM series,and is only 1 year old and a half,and the 5 YEAR old ALIENWARE M15 is compatible with the ATI 7970M!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im so mad right now!!!!!!!!!that was my last CLEVO experience,and im not gona trust them again!!!!!!!Im gona sell the P150HM and............ALIENWARE M17 R4 HERE I COME!!!!!!

 

if it only were that easy.... id sure go for an alienware too next time, so i compared the m17x R4 with the P150EM in identical configs just for funsies. result: id have to pay 700€ MORE for the dell machine, thats just freaking insane!

 

is it that much more for an alienware in the EU? That's crazy! I should start an export Alienware to Europe business lol

 

Order a 16F3 from the US and you are sorted.

 

Before I purchased my M17x R3 earlier in the year, I was really researching on all brands, including Clevos. I was actually leaning towards Malibal. Spoke with some reps and got some prices. I eventually went with the Alienware because it actually cost less than Clevo. I didn't want anything smaller then 17 in, so the P150EM was out of the picture (since it is 2 in smaller, of course it's going to be a lot cheaper). I ended up paying less than $1700 for my build (granted I purchased through AAFES and saved 10% by using my Military Star Card). Not everyone is going to be able get deals like that, but if you're going to purchase a custom built laptop, never purchase a build from their website. Always create your build online, save it, then call a rep and haggle your price down. I guarantee you will save hundreds of dollars. Once you get a good price, tell them you need to think about it and you'll call them back the next day. Now do that for all the other companies you are looking at, then at the end of the day you should have an idea on what your best bang for you buck is.

Also, don't forget about the warranty. Dell has a great warranty that no company can compete with. Sure their customer support may be difficult at times, but just keep a cool head and keep pressing the issue. I mean who else will send out a completely new laptop and ship back their old one free of charge?

 

There is no intention to set the world on fire with our last message. We felt the best thing to do at this point after these delays was to come forward as the community has asked of us for and explain the situation.

After some digging, it seems that we weren't 'first' afterall like we thought to get the 7970Ms and that small batch of cards were released, proven by the fact that other companies have had the chance to fully test and release cards and systems before us and have them all running stable.

We are very sorry if an alarm was caused, this second shipment that was delayed was well known about ahead of time and shared by other vendors, this is why later orders had been quoted towards the middle of June ETA.

We believe that other companies in this industry have capable and intelligent staff with a thorough QA process, just as we do and that if they have determined the cards from their first shipment (the 'real' first shipment) to be ok, then you should have no reason to doubt them. The issue here is over miscommunication and a misunderstanding as to who got what first, thereby causing our definition of 'first' to be inaccurate.

At Eurocom we've been in business for over 20 years. We strive to deliver the highest quality products and are VERY selective in choosing our business partners. We trust Clevo as one of our major business partner for over 20 years and we strongly feel that together we provide the best platforms that allow us to deliver the best high performance mobile solutions across many different industries and applications.

As a token of goodwill and apology for the confusion and most of all to show that we strongly believe in the quality of the product we will be shipping, we'd like to offer anyone who has an existing order for a 7970M upgrade kit a warranty extension to 90 days.

 

Can you sent me one???