Alienware M17x R3 LCD Upgrade? non 3D to 3D?

Has anyone tried upgrading the normal 1080p HD 60Hz LCD to a 3D 120Hz one?

I bought this laptop few months back and I was advised by many to go for powerful ATI 6970M rather than 460 nVidia with a 3D LCD. So I selected ATI 6970M.

In box I also got nVdia 3D glasses even though the LCD I opted for is a non 3D.

So this made me think if there is a possibility for an upgrade. I did some home work and I found a complete assembly of the Alienware 3D LCD from a website for M17x R3:

Dell Alienware M17x R3 LCD 17.3" FHD 1080

Seems that it will also need the IR module which will be linked to the LCD:

Dell Alienware M17x R3 Sub & Various Board

The cable used to connect the IR module:

Dell Alienware M17x R3 Various Item


I was advised that the existing LCD non-3D is LGD02DA LTN173WF1. The 3D LCD is LP173WF2 (TP) (A1) and these displays have different connectors so they won't work.

I am asuming that this cable connects to the mother board, then goes to IR module. Finally, a cable from monitor connects to IR module. Am I right?

I was also wondering if I even need to buy a complete display assembly or I can just replace the LCD with this:

3D 120Hz LCD SCREEN LP173WF2-(TP)(B1) WUXGA FHD for ASUS new display 17.3" LED | eBay

Thus using the existing enclosure and inverter... Do I need a special inverter for a 3D LCD?

 

you can't do 3D with the ATI 6970. 3D is a nvidia option only. So unless you change your video card to nvidia 460/560/580, 3d won't work.

PS...whoever advised you to go 6970 instead of 460m was right. The 6970 is much more powerful and will play games much smoother compared to the 460m

 

You need a new GPU as the 3D screen won't work with AMD cards. I have a spare IR module and cable. Why did you get galsses? Wanna sell them? Hint Hint...

 

SlickDude80:
What about iZ3D? It has the option for ATI 3D DLP?
The tech advised me about the 6970M saying people get headaches after 30 minutes. He said he would opt for a non-3D and go for the muscle. Thing is, it didn't occur to me that one can upgrade the graphics card at a later stage.

widezu69:
If I can't make my laptop be a 3D, I have no use for the glasses but to sell them and buy a goodie for M17x. It doesn't come with the module. But if I can make it 3D, I will ask you to sell me that IR module and cable

 

First of all, lemme just help you get something straight:

The M17x Mobo has 2 connectors: LVDS and eDP. LVDS is for the 60Hz screen. The signal is passed from the GPU, through the iGPU, then outputted to the screen. Therefore using 60Hz, GPU switich and optimus is availabe.

The AMD cards must have their signal passed through the iGPU. No exception. Yes you can turn off the iGPU but the signal is still processed the same way. the iGPU does not support the 120Hz screen. It simply won't work. Therefore, that is why the AMD cards can't use the 120Hz 3D screen.

For nvidia, because the 120Hz screen is plugged into the eDP which bypasses the iGPU, it works. The AMD card simply does not allow this.

Plus the 3D controller on the mobo is a nvidia one, the glasses are nvidia and the 3D IR Emitter only emits nvidia compatible signal. Therefore, AMD + 120Hz = fail, AMD + 3D = Epic Fail.

 

widezu69:
Thanks!

Ok... So I need to get the 6990M.

What else?

 

if you want 3d you need all the parts you mentioned and a nvidia gpu such as the 560m or 580m. 6900m is a great card but not 3d capable

 

?? The 6990m is an AMD card. That won't support 3D either mate.

 

Not to make this any worse, but I have the 560m and the 3D effect is incredible, especially in Black Ops and Skyrim.

 

Haha oh dear. I'm gonna play some Arkham City in 3D tonight. DX11 is laggy even with the new patch but turning it off and running DX9 frames run like a dream on my 580m so 3D...

 

Aw snap, widezu69 beat me to the punch. If he doesn't wanna buy them could you let me know? And thanks widezu for explaing why the 3d doesn't work for AMD cards. [:

 

if you want go 3D, the only option is 560M and 580M, am i right ?

 

And the 460m.

 

oh, 460m does support 3D too?, i didn't know about that,
okay, and what about the 570M?

 

Bios support might prevent it from working but then again I don't know that much on how the 3D actually works so it just might. Only way to really know would be to test it.

 

I would think the 570m does support it. That isn't to say that the 570m doesn't have 3D support but prior to bios A05, the 580m was not supported. The 3D approval lies in the bios.

 

If you like 3D, then you should've gotten a 3d LCD Display/Nvidia graphics card. Don't listen to the Nvidia and AMD fanboys here. They'll convince you one is always better than the other. Just buy the one with the features you want.

Btw, Battlefield 3 in 3D is unbelievable. I'm playing the entire campaign again just for the effect.

 

I must say the 3D effect has got me playing over some of my older games, like the Tomb Raider series Laura looks pretty good in 3D flying around.. For the OP the Nvidia 560 dose a pretty good job Skyrim plays at 30+ FPS on High settings.

 

Arkham City in 3D. That is all.

 

pretty much,.. yeah.. Test is above everything, but then again... does the 570m Fits with the 17x r3?

 

Does not supported what? 3D? sorry, i'm kinda Confused with that

 

I think its an MxM card if its the MSI so it should physically fit. Again I could be wrong since I have never seen or played with the card before.

from what I understand, prior to A05 bios, the 580m was not supported in the m17x r-3. It fully supports 3D and everything now

 

So do i, as i know, most of ppl using 460,560, and 580M but not much people that using the 570M.. ( maybe )

and about the 580M, it's already supported with 17x-R3 right

 

Its nothing to do with Fanboyism. I have a 460m in another computer and I can tell you that it wasn't enough to play the new AAA titles @ 1080p. Games like the Witcher 2, Crysis 2 DX 11 w/ high texture pack, Metro 2033 all required major drops in IQ and resolution.

Add 3d in there (which further drops the fps in half) and you have a slideshow.

So in my simple opinion, yes, you don't get 3d with the 6970, but with the 6970, you get a much more playable game

 

^^Correct. For good decent gameplay experience, the AMD cards are fool proof. With 3D most titles will have their frames cut in half apart from Crysis 2. Crysis 2 actually uses a way of creating fake 3D. Basically the same 2D image is taken and converted like they do in films therefore framerate stays the same. 3D is not as good as some other games. Gonna install Bulletstorm again and see what that is like in 3D

 

460m isn't to bad on my 900p monitor, the most graphic intensive game I have ever played has actually been Total War: Shogun 2. I look at the sky and get like 60FPS, but as soon as I get into a big battle the Framerate drops like a rock(down to like 6FPS). Thats the only game I can't really play maxed out. The Witcher 2 minus ubersampling runs at a solid 30FPS

 

I just bought an m17xr3 from a fellow NBR member, and I'd be interested in upgrading it to 3D later on too (I don't have the money for it now). Quick question though, the one I bought still has almost 2 years of Complete Care warranty, so would Dell be able to upgrade it for me? I'm sure they would charge ridiculous prices, (and they probably wouldn't reimburse me for the old screen), but who knows?

 

Im getting my m17x r4 soon. I decided to go with the 7970m cz of the huge performance diffrence over the gtx675m... Just out of curiosity as I have never had the priveliage to test nVidia 3D. Whats it like? Do bullets fly out the screen? Haha and the depth must be amazing!