Alienware 17 (newest model 2014) Video Card Upgrade

Hey all! I was pointed in this direction from the Alienware Arena forums. Hope you are able to help out.

I just received my Alienware 17 base last week. So far it's great but certain games need a little more oomph. Here's my current configuration:

Core i7 4700mq

8gb ram

Gefore GTX765m

I recently ordered an AMD 7970m Dell genuine part to upgrade the laptop. Videos on youtube (for example one guy upgraded from an old AMD 3870 to an Nvidia GTX 580 on youtube) as well as Eurocom who I ordered the part from advised it should be compatible with my system, but Alienware tech support is telling me that the motherboard is not compatible and would require a more AMD specific MOBO. Is this true? Is there any kind of bios modification I could do to make this compatible? I'm hoping I didn't just blow 400$ on something that won't work with my system. I know that it will fit in the MXM slot and that the heatsink is compatible though according to Alienware support. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

If your display is 120hz it won't work, you will also need to do some work on the thermal pads.

 

I think only the 4800 came with the 120hz 3d

 

Resellers could customise to exact specs so not always.

 

No 3d display. I guess what I'm wondering is how plug and play this will be vs. The R3 which seems a little finicky.

Will I need an unlocked bios? What about modified drivers? It almost seems as new revisions come out they're easier to upgrade.

 

Any thoughts guys? There isn't an unlocked BIOS for the new Alienware 17, so I am worried there will be compatibility issues. :/

I have read on multiple threads that integrated graphics need to be turned off in the BIOS and I don't have that option.

 

I haven't seen any 7970m on the Alienware 17 previously. It could have issues with the iGPU. I guess the only way to get it working would be with an unlocked BIOS.

 

I doubt it will work. The 680M will work, though.

 

[QUOTE680mre;9655446]I doubt it will work. The 680M will work, though.[/QUOTE]

Awesome! I actually ended up buying a used 780m And a new 680m in case that card doesn't work. Do you think I will be fine with the stock heat sink? Or is there a different one for the 680/780m. I know it will fit but my concern is the level of cooling.

Also with the 780m, do you think I'll still have to use modified drivers? It's offered on the alienware 17 r5 product family.

I appreciate the feedback everyone

 

Awesome! I actually ended up buying a used 780m And a new 680m in case that card doesn't work. Do you think I will be fine with the stock heat sink? Or is there a different one for the 680/780m. I know it will fit but my concern is the level of cooling.

Also with the 780m, do you think I'll still have to use modified drivers? It's offered on the alienware 17 r5 product family.

I appreciate the feedback everyone [/QUOTE]

Yeah you can use back your old heatsink and do not worry abou temps, I live in a hot country and my temps on m17xr4 with overclocked gtx680m is like 67-71 degrees.

 

Yeah you can use back your old heatsink and do not worry abou temps, I live in a hot country and my temps on m17xr4 with overclocked gtx680m is like 67-71 degrees.[/QUOTE]

Nice, ok. And was your 680m an upgrade from another card? Do you happen to know if I'll need modified drivers even though they currently offer the 780m for alienware 17 r5?

 

Nice, ok. And was your 680m an upgrade from another card? Do you happen to know if I'll need modified drivers even though they currently offer the 780m for alienware 17 r5?[/QUOTE]

Yup on alienware m17xr4 I think I was using clevo bios but the machine bios is only limited to 600 series NVidia cards. I upgraded the gtx660m to 680m. You do not need to modify drivers to get it to work or install. Msi you do need to flash the vga card to msi bios then it will work or install without modded drivers. If not you have to mod the drivers to install. For gtx780m on m17xr4 I think you need to mod the video drivers as the machine cannot recognize the 700 series vga cards unless dell update the bios to accept 700 series cards which I don't think it will happen on the m17xr4. On top of that I think most likely you will lose optimus.

 

Thank you for the information! Does Optimus have any impact on gaming or just power saving capabilities? If it's the power saving portion, I don't really care about that