Alienware 17x R4 970M Upgrade

I think the vBIOS will snap off those UEFI crap on AWs, Plannin on a new machine then Clevo all the way brother, clevos !!
Can't believe this brand is dead....

 

Anyone having issues with the new cards being dedicated only?

 

The issues come when the cards are dedicated only .. Optimus works fine...

 

ok, so what are the issues that appear when running dedicated only?

 

The throttling problems people are reporting in benchmarks etc.... I've got zero issues with those in games or benchmarks in optimus mode...

 

some are saying the throttling is due to the 347.09 driver....did you try previous drivers with the card in dedicated mode?

 

I am using 344.75.. 347.09 locks out OCing in maxwell and 344.75 is working perfectly for me and is all I need

 

so you got throttled using the card in dedicated mode with the 344.75 drivers? just trying to make sure i understand the situation.

 

Not running in dedicated mode.. You supposedly need to stick in 1 mode... Otherwise, each time you switch, you need to install drivers etc..

 

as in manually switching? anyone else know how bad the throttling is? i am assuming it's not a hardware thing but a driver thing.

not being able to OC because of 347.09 is ok cos i think that'll be fixed though i want to know how bad the throttling is and at what temps the throttling occurs at.

 

Yes, you can't manually switch.. No loss for me.. Since AW replaced my mobo, manual switching causes beeps and crap and I have to reseat my RAM.. New mobo doesn't like the Crucial RAM stick I put in with my 4GB Hynix Dell stick..

 

Dear All,

I need help, I had gone thru all the threads but still dont understand how to get a working driver for my AW M17XR4.
I just replaced my GTX660M with a GTX970M. I have all the signs that I need a modded driver. I bought mine from HIDEvolution and had tried to install their driver. But I understand that its not a modded one.
My Bios A13, recognizes it as nVidia GFX. But windows only acknowledges it as a "Standard VGA Adapter" All the drivers from nVidia and Hide refuses to install indicating that "The graphics driver could not find compatible hardware.
I had reinstalled Windows 7 64-bit, installed all drivers EXCEPT Intel 4000 and the Nvidia one.

This is my first time upgrading my graphics card and I dont understand how to mod my own .inf file despite reading thru alot of diff threads.
Please help as its frustrating trying to get it to work.

 

Here's a guide on how to create/use a modified inf to install NVidia drivers on non-standard machines:
[Guide] Modding Nvidia OEM INF Files

 

Thanks Robbo, However, I cant create an account on that forum. So I cant download anything from there. Any alternatives?

 

You're welcome. You don't have to download anything from that forum I linked you, it's just describing how you mod the inf file yourself, so no downloading involved. (You just need to make 5 quality posts before you can download from that forum - just FYI).

 

Sent you PM.. Also why can't you create a account?

 

I had similar problems. It took more than 24 hours for the validation email etc. While I understand what they're doing with the 5 posts, these rules prevent me from even looking at the second page of thread search results, looking at screen shots that are too small to read, etc... As a user who tries to solve my own problems by thoroughly reading past content, it is really frustrating when you can't even view search results.

 

Ok modded unlocked vBIOS is out... Now I need to figure out how to flash it..

 

Explained on same page as where you download it from - hopefully that method will work! Interested to see what kind of overclocking results you can get with that 970M!

 

feel free to try it and report back...see if it removes the throttling!

 

Yes it should remove it since well you can look at John's benchmarks, they certainly have no throttle in them Clocks up to the 1450-1470mhz region.

 

Godfakr is claiming there is throttling.. I'm a bit worried about this but I've built up my courage and I'm going to try flashing the vBIOS..

 

Edit: Flashing Panic.. Problem Fixed)..

 

I think you flash it in Windows no (not DOS), using mnvflash, that's the difference to how it's done normally, that's my understanding.

 

Yes it was indeed that.. I forgot to update my own thread about this after I figured it out ..

Anyways, max stable OC I've done on 344.75 is +300 core and +600 memory (+300 on boost memory clock) with power target on 130% and 1.056V..

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

I've pretty much reached the limit however, I think there is a few MHz that can be inked out with a little tweaking and hopefully a better driver then 344.75..

 

Cool, isn't it just a question of upping the voltage a little more to get a stable higher clock, or are you running into some temperature limitations? What's the stock voltage for your card at boost clocks? (You might need a higher Power Target to avoid throttling, if I had your card I think I'd just max out the slider on that variable if temperatures were good, no point in being limited on Power - 130% is pretty miniscule for the already low power consumption of the 970M at stock.).

 

Yeah, I will try uping the voltage and increase the power target tomorrow.. It's enough for today.. I don't want to hurry and kill my card .. It seems HT had to increase the voltage to 1.1875V to get his OC and Ssj92 increased it to 1.2V so I have the headroom.. Just not sure if it's safe to go over 1.1V for too long

 

I should think 1.1V is safe, that's probably less than 100mv over stock right? 1.2V doesn't sound particularly safe to me, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go above 1.15V. I'm talking about 24/7 gaming overclocks though, not short benchmark runs.

 

Ok my sentiments exactly.. will be doing more testing tomorrow...

 

can you get a wattage meter and see what your PSU is pulling?

 

If you donate some monies to me lol.. I'm currently quite broke.. However I'd say a good estimate would be around 200W due to my 3940XM

P.S: I'm joking, I know your'e more broke then me.. I will buy one but give me some time

 

i want to get a wattage meter too so i can see what i am pulling from the mains!

 

It will be soon

 

Ok, done a 3D Mark 11 benchmark with 3940XM at 4.2GHz and 970M on stock clocks (i.e on full boost)..

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

Also OP1 has been updated with my method of installing the GPU... Will updated OP2 with some bechmarks etc etc later on..

 

Is there something up with your CPU, that Physics score is only 32% higher than my 2630QM at 2.6GHz? I'm thinking you should be getting somewhere in the region of 10000 Physics points if you're maintaining 4.2GHz on all cores.

 

Are you overclocking in Optimus mode?

 

YES.. I've been saying this from the begining...

 

I haven't been following the 17 forums. Is the 970 or 980 working with 120hz screens on the r4? It is win8.1 only admission like on the 18r2?

 

It will be Windows 8.1 whichever way.. I believe it should work.. Only thing is forget vBIOS flashing.. That probably won't be possible...

 

the first thing i should do is get the damn 330W PSU so i can cover my butt if i want to OC!

$180 for a 330W PSU is reasonable?

 

Yes if you intend to start adding some voltage the power usage will skyrocket.

 

i want to cover my bases and give me head room if i go the full 980m upgrade.

 

For 970M, 330W PSU will be overkill.. Also check amazon or ebay for cheaper options for PSU.. $180 sounds quite steep..

 

doesn't matter where i get it from i'm always gonna get taxed 13% on top of the price anyway.

 

13% is nothing.. Here we pay 20%.. Damm rip off Britain...

 

is that inclusive or on top of? if the tax was included in the price (like Australia is 10% but it's part of the retail price) so the price tag is what you pay and no more, but if it's on top of then i am kinda annoyed cos you have to pay more than you expected. hence why a 980m to Ontario is expensive cos you have to pay for the (card + shipping) x 1.13 tax = final price....at least in australia the current limit for stuff bought online before getting taxed is $1000 AUD not including shipping but canada is $20 (W T F ?) including shipping so

i prefer prices that are tax included rather than before tax.

anyway i'll wait till the 980M prices go down a bit before considering.

 

I'm guessing no one knows but are we going to eventually see 3D support on the 9x0M series or is Nvidia dropping it? Is it possible to flash the vBIOS (for 120Hz people) by disconnecting the internal display and hooking up to an external monitor? I was trying to think of some way I could flash if I got a new GPU that wasn't "buy another screen assembly".

So you'd have to pay 113% for yours? Why not get someone in the States to order one and ship it to you as a "gift"?

 

If I knew someone in a tax free state like Oregon...but I don't.

 

finally i get word about a job offer so i might be able to grab a 980m in feburary maybe.

 

HiDevolution has a storefront in Ottawa, well 5 minutes out of Ottawa. Just drive there. 800$ CAD and you have a 980M with install and everything included.

Problem solved.

address: 148 Colonnade Road, ON