Alienware 17 R1 "Ranger" MSI GTX 1060 6GB Upgrade

Nothing really fancy or unprecedented, but just going to share the steps I took to get this thing working in the Ranger.

Prerequisites:

1. eDP and LVDS capable GPU, in this instance I have the 860m. This is to ensure that you have access to the sBIOS so you can make changes if needed. I havent confirmed this but its said that you lose access to the sBIOS once the 1060 is installed.

2. eDP panel required. The 120hz panel that most use for the Ranger will work fine but regardless an eDP panel is required.

How to install for functionality:

1. With the 860m installed, change your settings in the sBIOS to disable Secure Boot and disable Legacy Rom option to enable pure UEFI environment. Also set PEG mode. You can use the Fn key + F5 if you dont have the unlocked sBIOS, if unlocked then you can set manually in the video options.

2. If Windows 10 isnt installed then go ahead and do that. Any OS with that works with Pure UEFI environment should suffice though.

3. Install the GTX 1060. With the traditional heatsink you may have an issue with the original bracket. I havent replaced mine yet but the issue is that the bracket isnt threaded as much as its needed like the original GPU. I installed a copper shim just to get things rolling and test the GPU, however I believe if you keep the bracket from your old GPU (In my case it was the 780m) then it will likely remedy this as a permanent solution. The shim I used is I believe a 1mm copper shim.

4. You will need to mod the .inf of the nvidia driver. I used @j95 's pre-edited files. Grab the nvdmi file and replace your own, along with the other appropriate files (config and one other I think)

5. Restart Windows 10 w/ Shift key pressed. This will allow the system to reboot into advanced startup scenarios. Click on more options and then select I think advanced startup or something I cant remember (sorry). The point of this is to reboot, then select 7. Disable Signed Driver enforcement. Upon boot then you will be able to install the "modded" driver. Windows will cry that the driver isnt signed, ignore and continue install.

Presto, 1060 should be working at this point. Ill add some screenshots of some benchmarks over time in the OP.

 

Reserved

 

Nice, any benchs or is the 4700MQ holding you back atm?

 

Im still tuning the card over time. Gaming seems fine at .900v 1900c/+350m but firestrike is much harsher so more tuning is needed to keep it under 88w TDP limit. Never thought I'd say this but I might go ahead and pick up one of those programmers as I think this card should be able to handle 100w and the Ranger can deliver I think up to 130w or so.

2ghz core should be entirely possible with this card.

Will have to wait though as payday is Thursday lol

In gaming it doesnt seem like the 4700mq is holding me back but that depends on the game, When I tried the Division 2 beta the HDD and CPU were the weakest links, holding back even the m6100

 

Where might i ask, are you monitoring your gpu wattage and where did you get the modded infs?

as a sidenote for driver testing, you can also open a command prompt as admin and type BCDEDIT -Set TESTSIGNING ON and reboot.
then when you are done testing and pleased with the driver you can just do:
BCDEDIT -Set TESTSIGNING OFF in another prompt and reboot

edit 2. the link for the inf mods are at the prema mod blogspot website

 

Does anyone have a link to the 1060 modded inf for the dell alienware r1 ? i have done the EDP cable upgrade and the upgrade to the 120hz 3d panel but cannot get the drivers to work, i get through all the steps including starting windows in driver signature enforcement disabled and the driver just keeps on saying its incompatible

 

The post above mentions prema mod blogspot web site, a member here releases drivers many platforms, the Ranger included.

Also its worth noting I sold the 1060 in favor of the 1070 that I have now, still in the process of modding the chassis for installation.

 

Hi many thanks for your reply. i did try googling the prema mod blogspot website but cant seem to find it, i can find an old twitter page but that's not been updated since last year, am i looking in the wrong place ?

 

https://premamod.wordpress.com/category/j95/

On mobile so I can't really give detail but that should be your starting point

 

Did you have to muck around with the thermal pads at all?

 

One should always muck about with the thermal pads. Bad contact will kill the card over the time

 

Can I reuse the ones from the 780m repositioned? I was hoping to do the swap this weekend (it’s a long weekend where I live). No shops in my home town (Melbourne) appears to sell thermal pads, so any I buy I’d have to wait on delivery.

 

You might be able to but keep in mind that 3.0b died with 9XX. So Z height can also be affected. Its why I sold the card and moved on to the 1070. The die was lower and had to use a shim to make good contact.