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    Alienware M17x R4 770m Problems

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by EvilSpartan, Jul 12, 2014.

  1. EvilSpartan

    EvilSpartan Notebook Enthusiast

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    I finally got around to installing my new 770m in my alienware m17x r4 which originally had a 660m.

    I have installed everything fine but now when i play games the 770m throttles and doesn't go past 405 Mhz clock speed. It's not a heat issue because it never goes higher than 70 C.

    I also found that my cpu wasn't turbo boosting anymore and was staying at 2.7 Ghz when under load it should go to 3.7 Ghz.

    Another big problem is that the computer says "plugged in, not charging" but i was able to run the computer without the battery inside with the GPU still throttling.

    I have a big suspicion my psu isn't sufficient to power my new gpu. I'm currently have a 180w psu and think I might need a 240w psu.

    Specs
    Alienware m17x R4
    GTX 770m, origanlly a GTX 660m
    i7-3740QM
    12 gb ram
    Windows 8 64x

    So whats you all's advice? Is it a psu problem or something else? Really want to start gaming on my 770m. :(

    Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance!!!
     
    EvilSpartan, Jul 12, 2014
    #1
  2. J.Dre

    J.Dre Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You answered the question yourself. Go buy a 240W PSU. ;)
     
    J.Dre, Jul 12, 2014
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    DDDenniZZZ and EvilSpartan like this.
  3. EvilSpartan

    EvilSpartan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ya, i guess I should just buy the 240w xP Got to fork over more money on this upgrade lol.
     
    EvilSpartan, Jul 12, 2014
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  4. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    The 180W could deliver it but because of the way PSU ID works in alienware/dell systems it will be artificially locking it.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Jul 12, 2014
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  5. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    Yeah you might want to get a 240W PSU or if you want, get a 330W for future Ocing :p
     
    TomJGX, Jul 14, 2014
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  6. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    The 240W is plenty for the 770M lol, the 330W is a LOT bigger so I would wait until you actually needed it. ;)
     
    Meaker@Sager, Jul 15, 2014
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  7. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    Let us know how it goes once you get the 240W PSU.
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Jul 17, 2014
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  8. EvilSpartan

    EvilSpartan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Sorry for not posting for a while, I was on vacation. :p
    I got the 240w psu and its working great. It used to throttle a lot but after using the 240w psu it doesn't throttle as much but still does a little.
    The gpu's max core speed before ocing is 714mhz. After ocing to the max it switches between 779mhz and 792mhz.
    Regardless, I'm still extremely happy with the performance of my 770m compared to my old 660m. :)
    If you guys know how to fix the small throttling problem that would be awesome but if you can't it isn't that big a deal.
     
    EvilSpartan, Aug 1, 2014
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  9. J.Dre

    J.Dre Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Good to hear. Have you been monitoring temperatures?

    Try using NVIDIA Inspector (find it on Google) by adjusting the temperature limit to 93C with the overclocking tab. This was a known problem before with the 770M - it would reach 63C~ and throttle down.
     
    J.Dre, Aug 1, 2014
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  10. EvilSpartan

    EvilSpartan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok i got Nvidia Inspecter up and running. Are you talking about the Prioritize Temperature bar(in the overclocking tab)?
    If you are, its set at 90c and it is still throttling a little like it was before.
     
    EvilSpartan, Aug 1, 2014
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  11. J.Dre

    J.Dre Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Have you updated the BIOS? Also, try installing the latest NVIDIA drivers.
     
    J.Dre, Aug 2, 2014
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  12. EvilSpartan

    EvilSpartan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok well i fixed my problem by going into Nvidia Inspecter, then the overclocking tab, then went to (P5) in the drop down menu. From their i changed the clocks to what i wanted and clicked "Create Clocks Shortcut" and their is a link sent to the desktop. You can rename it to anything, and you can place it anywhere you want.

    The next part was making a .bat file. I made a new text doc in the same folder as Nvidia Inspecter . It must be in the same folder as the Nvidia Inspecter.exe to work. In the text document I pasted this "nvidiaInspector.exe -forcepstate:0,5" Don't paste the quotes. Then clicked file, save as, and then name it as whatever you want as long as it ends with .bat (ex: Gaming.bat) Then you run the Nvidia Inspecter link on your desktop and then the .bat in your folder when you want to start gaming or benchmarking or any other weird things you do with graphics cards.

    Well other than that, your good, just make sure that your temps are good and not exceeding 80c under load :p I for one am really happy with my 770m's performance now :D

    After the upgrade and everything I think it was a good choice, the 680m would've been easier to get to work, it's just that the 770m was cheaper from what i found and the 770m and 680m don't have that much a performance difference if any.

    I also learned about modding Nvidia Drivers and found out about the awesome Nvidia Inspecter tool :D
     
    EvilSpartan, Aug 7, 2014
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  13. joshwaan2k

    joshwaan2k Notebook Guru

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    I have a Dell M6700 with a 770M I'm trying to work at past 135MHZ. It's got the Bios version: 80.06.60.00.01 I can install the drivers for the card thanks to some helpful people here :)

    I really want to update the bios so it removes the throttling. when I have my AC in it works at 705MHZ. Does anyone know a bios for my card to do this?
     
    joshwaan2k, Aug 11, 2014
    #13