Alienware 17 GTX 970M upgraded / issues

Hey Guys,

i really need your advise!
I upgraded my GTX 860M to an GTX 970M. The assembly was no problem, because I already have a lot of experience concerning hardware.
Also managed it to mod and install the driver. The card is now detected as 970M and seems to be working, but if I start GPU-Z or a game like BF4 the driver doesnt work anymore and next I have a nice bluescreen which says that a problem was found and Windows will restart.

Maybe my power supply is causing this problems (180W), but I'm not sure, because the seller said that it should work with this configuration...

I hope you have some ideas which problem it could be..

Best regards

 

Hi,

I think there is some issues with the driver install.. Use Display Driver Uninstaller remove all NVIDIA crap.. Download the 344.75 driver from NVIDIA site.. Download modded inf from below and install driver.. I would personally get a 240W PSU as honestly, the 970M draws like 40W more then 860M and that might be the problem.. I would personally say it's a driver issue.. If you still have them, then the card is faulty..

[Alienware] Aftermarket Upgrades Driver Support - Modded INF - Page 11

 

Which alienware model did you install the card into? Are you seeing the same as tomjgx when it comes to throttling in Optimus mode?

 

It's the Alienware 17 with i7 4710mq and GTX 860M
I cant test the card because always when the card is activated by optimus the driver shuts down

Trying to fix it the way TomJGX said... I will report later!

@TOM cant download from the page you send...
Dont have enough posts there...

 

Okay Update

Installed everything as you said.. Now I have other issues... One minute after I'm in Windows the whole display freezes and I have to reset.. Do you think the card is faulty?

 

I think you should remove all drivers (Intel and NVIDIA by DDU, CC Cleaner Registry Cleaner and then reinstall Intel first, reboot, install NVIDIA, reboot.. Use 344.75... Don't use any other driver... modded inf is here..

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gzjhtwnca...18x_GTX_980M_970M_880M_780M_680M (1).zip?dl=0

 

i am interested in your results.

 

Made a complete clean install of Windows 8.1 and then installed first Intel driver and after that modded Nvidia 344.75 driver... Some minutes after restart my desktop froze again... Half black and half desktop but no reaction when I pressed a key... That really sucks :/

 

Do you have a SSD? Is it a Crucial one? Those seem to be having random hangs if write caching is enabled.. If you can, I'd get a 240W PSU from somewhere and see if this solves your'e problem.. Also are you running in Optimus mode (you have to be right?)... If all this doesn't work, honestly return it and ask for a exchange/refund..

 

I have an Intel SSD... I think Optimus is running never turned it off and integrated graphics is enabled in bios...
Try to fix this problem somehow I will post results here...
Dont think the 970M is faulty because I can install the driver and the card is recognized in device manager without issues...

 

I'm back guys! And I got the 970M working

Here the steps I made maybe its helpful for someone who has the same issues!

First I made a clean install of Win 8.1 on my Intel SSD.
(Bios is the latest Version A14)
After the clean install I started with installing the important drivers.
Intel Chipset, LAN, Intel MEI
and then Intel HD Graphics driver!

Everytime I restarted and now I started and went in Bios to disable secure boot!
After that I disabled driver singning test in windows and restarted again.

Then I used Nvidia 344.65 modified driver to install the 970M, (but I only installed the graphics driver nothing else!!!) restarted again and hoped it would work.
After some time in windows now issues where caused so I decided to install GPU-Z, HwInfo and 3DMark11...
And see there the 970M is working fine, but now there is one problem left I only score 7200 points what is a bit too less for 970M...

Some ideas what I could do?

Update: Windows 8.1 seems to be very instable! I got freezes while using Gpu Z and HwInfo also while benchmarking with 3DMark.
Can't do anything then just press power button and restart...

 

You should get around 7200 points in Firestrike and not 3D Mark 11.. Can you post your benchmark score? Also, install Hwinfo64 and use the sensors tab to see how 970M clocks are holding in benchmarks.. If you click on one of the data readings a graph is plotted.. Do that and post it here too.. Just for an example, here is my stock 970M firestrike score..

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M17xR4

I've also done a stock 3D Mark 11 bench which is here..

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M17xR4

(Only the graphics score matters.. My Physics score will own whatever CPU you have because I have a 3940XM).

 

I'm not able to bench anymore because windows is very instable!
3DMark11 froze after physics test and I had to push the power button to restart.
Same with gpu z und hwinfo both programes freeze after a while...
Dont know why because an hour ago it worked

Reinstalled it and it worked again...

Here is the score
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4710MQ,Alienware 04WT2G

View attachment log.zip The Log while benchmarking shows only a core clock von max. 600

 

Not found the problem yet but I'm investigating and hope it'll work soon...
I'm very thankful for every support and tip

 

I think I know your'e problem.. It's the damm PSU... Its throttling because the 180W PSU isn't enough.. Get a 240W PSU and it would work.. Rememeber stock clocks are 923 core and 1078 memory.. Boost is 1038 core and memory is 1252... Your'e just throttling because of the lack of power..

 

But I also have freezes while using gpu z and hwinfo...
Also in battery mode...
I dont think its only the psu but I ordered a new psu

 

If you were to upgrade to a 970M, a 240W PSU is definetly needed IMO... Especially with AW's as they're known for energy inefficiency

 

I will test it
The 240 Watt PSU is ordered

 

How long will it take to get it?

 

I think until weekend it'll be here...

 

Hey Guys..
Got the PSU this morning and direclty went for a benchmark in 3DMark11...
With success... Around 10.000 Points Graphic Score

BUT

the problems with Windows especially GPU Z, HwInfo and games like BF4 are not gone!
Very instable system also the benchmark wont work everytime...
The system freezes always while using gpu z, hwinfo or nvidia system control...

 

your score from 3dmark is shows that your card runs perfect, the other try to uninstall them ...

 

hi guys, I need your help.

I just received my 970m card today and I need to install it in my alienware m17x r4.

I made sure that the bios is set in UEFI mode however when I tried to disable legacy rom It says that no mxm card is detected and put it back to "enable"

Is there anything in the process that I missed?

Thank you for your help.

 

hi guys, I need your help.

I just received my 970m card today and I need to install it in my alienware m17x r4.

I made sure that the bios is set in UEFI mode however when I tried to disable legacy rom It says that no mxm card is detected and put it back to "enable"

Is there anything in the process that I missed?

Thank you for your help.

 

apologize for the double post! how to delete?

 

Are you sure you put the card in properly? if BIOS cannot detect your card, well it's either not properly inserted or card is dead. Also follow the steps I've done.. The card works best in Optimus mode so in essence, unless you don't mind, follow the steps in my upgrade thread...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-17-m17x/767872-alienware-17x-r4-970m-upgrade.html