And another.. 7970m in M17x R2..Installation with photos

did it display on the r3 though? Just curious if it worked or not.

 

Yeah it did, but that's a whole other story - using the modded A8 bios to disable integrated graphics and such.

 

well that would suck. I don't have access to a R3

 

I thought we didn't have to flash the VBIOS with the Eurocom cards?

 

The Link he posted is from RJTECH, not from eurocom. Flingin has the eurocom cards I believe.

 

yes, from eurocom, i got one for 450$, this cards have bios specially modified to work in R2, eurocom have a separate auction for this cards on ebay

 

So the cards from the Eurocom site have the VBIOS for the R2's already flashed, but the other sites (including Dell) don't?

 

OK guys. Since I'm wearing the corporate hat, and I saw this conversation, I have to say something official. Please consider this. Official statement: “Mods like this one are not in line with Alienware designs specs for the system. You increase the chances of causing long and/or short term damage to your system components. There is the chance that if a failure analysis engineer can determine what you have done that your warranty will not be honored in cases where mods like this can be determined to be root cause of component failure."

 

we do understand this, we are not noobs, i will not spend 3000 bucks every 2 years, just to get, r2, r3, r4, r5. If you want us to do this, solder the cards to the mobo, or just make a better laptop, without plastic and RGB/IPS as an option...no offense of course

 

And get rid of the integrated graphics and bring back the 1920x1200 screen option. You wonder why people refuse to retire their R2's?

 

Thanks Luis. Sorry for the snide remarks; we know you have our best interests at heart. We are just a very emotional bunch!
That being said, even if dell did not support these projects (for obvious reasons), having a little bit longer support cycle for older models and a bit more friendly bioses wouldn't hurt

 

I hear you guys haha. I totally understand you and I know that the older machines are beasts and very capable of doing so however I just wanted to bring that comment to your attention.

 

Title asks the main question I've got. So far the Eurocom cards will work with a modified bios, but aside from that... I don't know what else will work... o_o

Will the Dell models work as is?

 

Ok, BIG UPDATE:

I finally got all the pieces together to insert my m7970 into my m17x R2. Well, bad news.

I applied the heat pads and paste that I had. I dont have 1mm pads, only .5mm, so I doubled up. After putting on the heat sink I could see that it was not resting evenly on the core. However, I could certainly see that .5mm was not going to be thick enough for the ram heatsinks to make contact. So i left it as it is.

Now, i go to boot up. I see the boot screen alien head, but the screen is fuzzier than normal. Then I get a white screen. Power down, repeat just to see. On reboot I get a bunch of artifacts and patterned lines across the screen, and it sometimes flashes fuschia, but i get into windows. The screen never gets better, so I power down again. Repeated this process 3-4 times, changing the screw tension on the heat sink somewhat but still using double pads. It never gets better.

So I have 3 options:
1. Bad heatsink - it may simply be that the incorrect pressure of the heat sink could be causing this, or there could be a bad contact with the MDM port, but I dont know where to go to try to make it better. Pad the bottom of the card? take off the RAM heat transfer pads?

2. Bad BIOS - I have been told by my supplier that this is a Dell card. WhapAChow said he couldnt even get his Dell card to post in his R2. So, perhaps, a new VBIOS can clean up the artifact mess?

3. Bad Card - it could simply be I got a bad card as this was from the first batch being sold. I'd hate it to be that as I dont know if my supplier will take it back or not.

So, what would you, the experts, recommend? Try 1 and 2 first, or assume 3 and go back to my supplier to see what is possible?

.....
And for those that are interested in external displays, the guys at techinferno.com confirm that while the HDMI wont work, the VGA will.

Hi imglidinhere,

So far only the Eurocom cards (or a card flashed with a Eurocom VBIOS) will work, that I have seen:

flingin: Eurocom card worked on first attempt

WhapAChow: Flashed a Dell card in an R3 with Eurocom to make it work in an R2. Would not post in the R2.

Me: Dell card posts in the R2 with a bunch of artifacts. It could be the card is bad, or just the VBIOS. (By the way, if you have ideas to test which it is I'm all ears )

We are currently collecting all our knowledge in the post by flingin. Also you can look to the threads at the techinferno.com; there the moders are trying to get crossfire to work.

 

@rsgeiger, all 3 options may be the root cause in this case, my bid is on wrong pads/DIE contact., or faulty card.
Do not take the ram pads off, and you dont have to pad the bottom of the card for sure.

I would try to put the old card, and see if there are any problems, if not, then you have faulty 7970m.

I would like to add, that i am having ''stability'' issues with my card from eurocom, this was from the very beggining but i think it maybe driver related. My screen goes red, or black or whatever the color, everything freezes, and i am forced to hold the power button and restart, this only happens during normal web browsing (maybe adobe flash glitch ? ), and it NEVER occured while gaming. Only while web browsing, or when my girlfriend is chatting trough facebook, this happens maybe 1 time a day, at most, any thoughts about this wierd glitch ?

 

Thanks flingin,

to me that sounds like the voltage issues they were having in the R3 thread. For some reason the default voltage didnt work for many of them so a set of altered vbioses were used to find the correct voltage and clocks. But they were only testing under gaming condition in most cases. if I can find the thread again I will post a link.

More updates,

My supplier pau1ow thought the back plate might be the reason based on svl7 comments.

Without the back-plate I have normal screen responses, and no artifacts. However, the brightness and constrast are way off. Brightness controls work, but there is terrible shadowing (a line of text in DOS mode makes the entire screen darker for that line). I guess I will have to try modding the x-plate next; cut off the corners and just use the corners. Be aware I was using an old 6990 back plate, so even they could cause problems.

 

So it would be caused by the card switching from one voltage/frequency profile to another, and sometimes crashing due to undervolted component(s)....... i will ask eurocom if they know something about it.



backplate ?.....that is wierd at least...

 

Yeah, well the backplate didnt solve my issue though. With the backplate removed, I can get something, but the screen is really bleached white, still has some artifacts, and crashes after 2 min.

Dont know where to go from here...

 

I'm going to upgrade to a single 7970M because this is asinine dealing with these crossfired 6970Ms. If the game doesn't cause the PC to BSOD from power draw, I get crazy low framerates. Hell, I took one out and tested Crysis 2 and get 60 fps under all circumstances @ very high settings with DX11 enabled vs 20 fps with crossfire on.

So I've just got to find a buyer for these and I'm good.

 

Yea I was thinking of going single 7970M too since I got an OCed 920xm.

From my dual 4870s, how big of a jump would I see going to a single 7970M rather than crossfire 7970M?

 

From what I've seen the jump from dual 4870's to a single 7970 is significant. I can say for a fact that dual 4870's to dual 6970's was an HUGE improvement, so I imagine a single 7970 should be quite noticeable

 

Hmm alright. I need to decide soon. I want dual cards but I see people with 920xm are having trouble with them since they have a 240psu

 

one card is more than enough for tooday games, 2 cards will bring nothing more but troubles, limiting your 920xm power, and x-fire ''awsomness'' is far away from it should be.

I dont know why X-Fire and SLI have been introduced anyway, so many problems, driver support is terrible, micro stuttering, and so on, and so on, and so on,

and you have to tear apart your PSU in order to get more power.....i know my alienware is a desktop replacement, buti still want to keep the mobility, .....limited mobility, but always something,,,...i cant imagine taking 2 PSU's with me lol.

Eighter way, i think X-Fire is not worth investing in.

But this is my personal experience, you may want 100 FPS, becouse 60 is just not enough for your eyes

 

Yeah a single 7970 should be quite noticeable. If you want to stick with a pair of cards in a crossfire configuration, then a better move might be a pair of 6970's or 6990's until the PSU issues can be sorted. Personally my 6970's have been rock solid stable and performance has been fantastic.

 

Which would be higher performance, a single 7970m or dual 6970m in a Crossfire configuration?

 

Ok Douse, VGA port is working,
i have to buy another cable to see if display port is working as well.

 

Last night I went from dual 5970m's to a single 7970 and the difference is HUGE. For example, in BF3 I went from 40fps on Medium to 55fps on Ultra.

As a bonus, my laptop now runs quieter and cooler than before.

I also bought a 920xm, which I'm of half a mind to just leave out given how happy I am with game performance right now. (I have an 820qm in there now)

 

Agree, performance is awsome, and idle temps are great as well. around 35'C comparing to 43'C of 6970 (undervolted to 0.96v)

 

Hi there, when you said display port is working, does that mean the audio gets transmitted over display port as well?

if that is the case, only HDMI port is not working right?

many thanks

 

Great update on the display port. Any news yet on the HDMI video & audio?

 

where are you guys getting your cards?

 

I have an interesting update to my m7970 adventure with my R2. As a last resort I tried applying various VBIOS I’ve been finding along the web. The first VBIOS I applied was for an over volted Dell bios (1.075 volts). This resulted in a black screen on boot, so I needed to blind flash it back. Then I tried flingins Eurocom VBIOS. I was surprised to see that it had the same version number and checksum as my original bios! After flashing I still had the same white-out problem as before. I guess this means I’ve had a Clevo card the whole time. Still, long story short I could not find a bios that would work. So I think I have to send the card back to RMA or find another way to get a new card.

ps - brooks, I would tell you if I had a working one

 

VGA port is for video only, you can't transmit sound trough this port.

 

you mentioned display port is working in your previous reply. display port is not vga port, it's the port next to the HDMI port with a D symbol. i know VGA cant transmit audio, BUT display port can. can you please double check? thanks

 

Sure i can, sorry for being a noob but i never used this port and really didn't know its purpose LOL.

I just bought Display port to HDMI converter from amazon and i will probably recieve it on friday, and will update on it ASAP,

again sorry for misleading information

cheers bro

 

Thank you very much for your info and feedback. We have learned a lot from you and there is nothing to apologise for. Display port is essentially a digital interconnect that works pretty much like a HDMI which allows you to transmit video and audio digital signal. Again, your help and input are very much appreciated. Thank you

 

So I installed the new eurocom 7970m in my R2 and my screen is just black. Computer starts and everything but the screen looks dead. I checked the cables and everything and it all seems right. So I plugged in my tv through HDMI and I got the computer startup and all on my tv. I thought maybe it was a driver issue so I downloaded 12.6 and installed it correctly (uninstall, driver sweeper etc), and now my HDMI doesnt work. Some few times it works up untill the login screen then the tv screen goes black and says "no signal or power check the source" or something like that. Basically 12.6 killed the stable hdmi as of now, and my computer screen is still all black and dead. Anyone encountered anything like this when they installed their 7970 ??? :O Since the Hdmi was working up until the last driver, I'm thinking it might be a screen issue not card issue?? Any help is appreciated!!

 

Im have the same issue, except i have no HDMI out what so ever. VGA works fine.

 

I have had the same issues. First it gave a black screen. Then later it gave artifacts, and then finally it gave a white screen. It seems the Eurocom cards are not that healthy for R2s . What is worse is that I have reinstalled the 5870 back into my machine and the screen STILL is white! Boots up fine and windows runs well, but boy I cant read a thing. Have yet to check if it looks better on an external monitor over VGA or HDMI. Need to wait a week as I am out of town.

 

But Eurocom do test their cards and then flash the card with "correct" bios before sending it out. So it must have worked on their R2 before they sent the cards out right? It's kinda frustrating that the screen is total black... I took the card out, sorted cables, repasted and put it back in and its still the same.. From what you're writing it can't be a card issue???? If you have the same problems with your old card ?

 

Right. I'm sure that I did something wrong during the installation that shorted out something on the motherboard. But I'm not sure if the m7970 helped push it to the breaking point or not. I've also repasted and re seated everything I could find, without any more luck. If the VGA works as normal when I get home, then I know I have an LCD problem. Perhaps the refresh frequency on the card was too much for the lappie to handle. I really dont know, and I dont have the tools, until next week, to test further.

But i will say this: If all you are getting are black screens, then contact Eurocom for assistance (if you bought from them). I know one other member that also had a black screen, and he could solve it by only flashing a custom bios on it from an R3, and then putting it back in an R2.

 

I'm going to try VGA today, but since my HDMI was working untill I installed the new driver (Now it works till the login screen), I'm thinking nothing is wrong with the motherboard. Might be a screen issue (But how could that happen?) or something with the card. I'm just not sure. Was hoping maybe some more experienced members here have the answer

 

Are you saying that I'm not experienced?!?

True, the driver will have a major difference, but bear in mind that the VBIOS on the cards also dictate what ports are active. Flingin, his HDMI wont work but his VGA and Displayport do (and his screen, lucky guy).

I have a strange feeling that the card is changing what is the active default screen in boot and windows. I know ATI/AMD cards in the past would randomly turn off my laptop screen because it thought one of the external ports was the default now, even without a monitor plugged in! Was very frustrating to sort out.

 

No I ment more experienced than me This is the first GPU upgrade I do on the R2

That does sound somewhat logical in this case :O But it's weird how after installing the 12.6 driver the HDMI only works till the logon screen.

I used to have 4870x2 on my desktop a few years ago. I remember a problem with that card and windows. Windows didn't have the drivers for the card so you usually got a black screen or a screen untill you got to the logon or something and then it switched off. Come to think of it, exactly like how my HDMI is doing now! But... In the end what use is getting the ports to work if the laptop screen doesnt :/

 

VGA seems to be working fine. The laptop screen however is still black as if its turned off :/

 

Correction, VGA port does work, but i didn't test the DP port yet, i will test it next week.

As to the ...black, white, or whatever the colour the screen is, please post your Bios versions, maybe we can narrow the search, by excluding the most obvious conflicts that may cause your cards NOT to work, I am on A07, proved me it is STABLE AS ROCK, so i didn't flash to A08,A09,A10 or A10 unlocked. Loads of NBR users accually got more problems when they reflashed to the newest version, or whatever A08...A09, and it was enough for me to decide that i will stay in the shade as a noob with A07. Worked well for me i think.

We will try to fix it, i can't bare in my mind somebody with ALL Powerfull R2 can't put 7970m ...when i can..

Cheers Brothers !

 

I'm using A10 VGA works flawlessly, I even tried firing up a game to see if the card has some juice and it runs smooth. The R2 doesn't know it has a laptop screen though :/ If I do a FN + F6 it only shows one screen (the external VGA screen). I checked in all programs and catalyst control center etc, and my single primary screen is my external one :O I ran all diagnostics and found nothing, all tests were run using my external screen. It's as if the laptop screen is non existant. This is just so weird. :/

 

You guys have me worried since my card is still on the way and I have A10 ._.

 

think I will let you guys get this figured out before I buy my card.

 

I think i know what is going on.
Tooday morning, i switched on my laptop, after i press enter on the logon screen to windows, screen started to display wierd colors and then went black, but i could hear that it is entering the windows.

Same thing happened once, when i plugged my external LCD via VGA port, laptop screen went black after displaying some wierd colors, and i had 42'' LCD working, while leptop screen was black.

I entered CCC, and from the options, click on ''duplicate screens''

this worked and laptop duplicated the screens, like on the photo



So basicly i think, some r2's are somehow switching to external-VGA mode by default, wich may cause this problem.

In my case, power drain was enough, and laptop worked again as normal ( power drain = unplug the CMOS battery, and take the battery out, then push power button and hold it for about 20 sec)

if this doesn't work in your case, you must somehow, or, re-detect the screens in CCC, or disable external VGA monitor- again, i dont know why this option would be turned on by default.

hope this helps, any questions please feel free to ask.