Alienware m17x R4 upgrade from 660m to 770m

I currently have a alienware m17x r4 with these specs:

Intel i7-3740QM
Geforce 660m
12 GB ram

I just bought a 770m for my laptop but want to know what i need to do to install it. I know how to put the new gpu in and put thermal paste on but i am wondering if there is anything else i would need to do other than installing the new drivers from Nvidia. Any help would be great.

Thanks For Any Help

PS
Heres the link to the card i bought: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Nvidia-GeFor...PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3cda42f2bd&_uhb=1

 

You would want to flash an unlocked BIOS before replacing the card... Then swap the cards and you need to mod inf files of the driver to allow it to install on your machine.. There are plenty of threads on this.. Look around on the forum..

 

Yeah, unfortunately that card is a little work and I have seen some people have problems with the 770m .

You need to disable the iGPU in the BIOS (unlocked bios required) and then modify (or find the inf file) to allow it to install. I've used them from here in the past: LaptopVideo2Go: Drivers

A bit late now but the 680m would be a much better upgrade for an R4. It is all plug-n-play and the performance is great.

You should have a link with the card for a modified driver but the version will probably not be the latest - not that that matters too much .

Good luck.

 

Yeah the 770M is an odd choice, it IS an upgrade but there are other easier and beefier cards like the 680M around.

 

Ya, it was a pretty bad choice but with limited funds it seemed like a good choice

 

Did you guys find any 680m cards that were relatively cheap? Meaning under 500 usd. I was unable to find any.

Also what ac adapter would a 680m need because i have a "DA180PM111 - Dell 180W" psu. Guessing ill have to throw in some more money for a new psu.

 

There are a few on eBay for less than $400, some from USA and some from overseas.

 

Yup, you will need the 240w PSU. Yours will work but the card will throttle.

I got my 680m from ebay in an auction for £280. Of course a risk from a private seller but I scored, even got a new x-bracket in the deal!

Good luck

 

Luckily there tend to be quite a few 240w bricks around for a reasonable price.

 

My 680m card was about $100 less than that and wasn't from a private seller. They have two left on eBay for ~$370 (or £220).

 

I went with a used 770m because it was $319 and free shipping. It was also from a computer repair shop and it had been tested. I also like the fact that is a 75w card and I thought the lower power consumption might help me prevent overheating. I didn't know about the 3D gaming issue till it was too late! Oh well, I'm happy with the card, but if I have to replace it someday I'd probably get the 680m. I was considering getting that one originally since I knew it was designed for the R4, but I couldn't find an affordable price at the time.

 

Hmm guess i should of done more research before buying the 770m. Whatever, ill make it work

 

Hey guys i need help unlocking my alienware m17x r4 bios. On tech inferno i cant download the bios unlockers because you have to make 5 good posts and i just simply don't really know how to do it. Can you guys help me? I really hope you guys can help because i can't install my new card without your help

 

I believe you can 'donate' $5.00 for download access as a member instantly. Not something I like but since you get stuff that helps it pays for something.

Maybe someone has one they used and can post?

Just noticed, the 680m is appearing at lower prices almost weekly, my bargain last month is no longer so

 

Is it possible to use the 4GB 680M in the R4?

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

 

Yes, I have not seen any problems with this and it might have an advantage with the latest round of games asking for 3gb of video memory?

It can be loaded with the Dell vBIOS as it does not care about the memory but it might come with a different one (Clevo) - and still work just fine - maybe even better than with the Dell one!

 

Yeah only issue seems to be that the 4GB version is as expensive as the 780M so it's just better to get that..

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Guess it's still holding it's price - it is a very popular GPU and ahead of it's generation. The 2gb can be found for around £250.00 so is a bargain IMO and I still have to be convinced the extra memory will be used for anything other than multi-monitor setups

With a 680m you are making life easier for very little (if any!) loss of performance, but your call :thumbsup:

 

Does the 770m work with the 180w psu that came with my 660m? I think ill probably need a 240w psu to over clock but would just stock clocks be fine?

 

I think dell supply the 180w with that card so you should be OK. If it throttles then you might need to.

You must have the 240w for the 680/780/880m as they are 100w cards. The 770m is 75w.

 

K thanks. After I install the card successfully (hopefully) if it has any problems overclocking I'll just buy the 240w (which it probably won't)

 

Well the 880m would be ok for stock on 180w (but nothing more), the 770m has headroom.

 

How hard would it be to put a 880m in my m17x r5

 

Well the 880m would be ok for stock on 180w (but nothing more), the 770m has headroom....check the specs...and you will find out that the i7 4700mq and gtx 880m drain 215w out...with an 180w it will not work
Alienware 17 (GTX 880M) Notebook Review - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

 

The 880M is just not worth the extra... Wait till the new Maxwell cards come out.. the R9 290MX is still bloody powerful..

 

K, psu wont be a problem then ;D
And does anyone have any rumors or ideas of when the next generation of mobile gpus come out?

 

Probably Q4 or next year...

 

K, cool. Can't wait to see the power in the next generation of gpus.