Can M17xR4 with 7970M use the AMD 12.11 Drivers?

Like the title says, can we use the new AMD drivers? Do we need to wait for Dell/AW to release custom drivers derived from the AMD drivers?

News article: AnandTech - AMD

EDIT: Similar discussion here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...2-10-whql-vs-amd-catalyst-12-11-beta-3-a.html

I'm mostly wondering if as a rule we can use straight-from-AMD drivers. The article linked above notes that your manufacturer has to somehow build support for such drivers into their machines.

 

no they work!
i use windows 8 and installed straight from amd 12.11 beta.
graphics switching works with A09

 

Yes, 12.11 are specially out for 7900 series. People gained significant fps in games and according to 7900 owners, 12.11 betas are by far the best drivers since the launch of 7900 series.

 

I go the R4 with the same gpu and I have recently got the 12.11 drivers and they're great. Much better than 12.9 as I had issues with it. As the others have said, fps increase in games is significant (some games gain 20% increase). In terms of stability I think it's great, I've been gaming for hours on this driver (sleeping dogs, LoL, assassin's creed 2) and there has been no issues. From my experience, the previous most stable driver has been the 12.8.

 

I just finished upgrading to Windows 8 Pro and while it told me to uninstall the Intel USB3 and Bluetooth drivers, it did not mention the display drivers. I figured both the intel and amd (12.11b3) drivers would work as is. After reading this thread, I figured I can just install the AMD beta3 drivers but after installation it wouldn't let me boot fully into Windows. I had to restore and I'm guessing I'm using the intel drivers I installed from Dell's site for Win8... maybe I should just switch to dedicated gfx since my laptop isn't used for travel anyway...

 

Whats the best way to upgrade to the 12.11 drivers? I have read a few posts and seems there is some difference of opinion. I am currently on A08.test (shipped build) and have enduro off (Fn + F7). This is what I plan on doing based on what I have read so far.

1. Fn + F7 to re-enable Enduro
2. Reboot
3. Take system image with Windows 7 Backup/restore on external HDD
4. Flash the bios from A08.test to A09
5. Open the Start Menu, type “device manager” in the searchbox and press .
6. Click the arrow next to “Display adapters” to expand the filter.
7. Right-click the AMD Graphics Card and select “Uninstall”.
8. Check the “Delete the driver software for this device” box and click OK to proceed.
9. Once the driver is uninstalled, restart your computer and repeat the process until Standard VGA adapter shows up instead of the AMD Graphics Card (this is done in order to avoid any traces from past drivers).
10. Open the Start Menu, type “programs and features” in the searchbox and press .
11. Search the list of installed programs for any AMD Software and uninstall it. Restart and repeat this step until no AMD software shows up in the list.
12. Restart your computer, at the Alienware Logo screen press .
13. At the Advanced Boot Options, press the arrow key to highlight “Safe Mode with networking”, press .
14. Run driver sweeper, check the box for “AMD display”, click Clean, then restart your computer.
15. Run ccleaner, clean items found, reboot
16. Open the Start Menu, type “regedit” in the searchbox and press .
17. In the “Registry Editor” go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
18. Look for a folder named “AMD” or “ATI”, right-click to delete it.
19. Restart your computer.
20. Download the 12.11 package and install it.
21. Reboot

 

I just installed over top and it was fine for me.

 

so how do we install the 12.11, and still retain switching, because uptill no

12.11 no switching
12.11 beta's flickering on the display and no switching

also, is there any way that switching could be done as in the R3 era, hit Fn F7 and it switches on desktop, rather than this long reboot..oh an all of this on the A05, as the A09 isnt offically avaialble and i am a bit concerned RE: bricking it

 

Actually A09 is available on the Dell site. But anyways you should be ok with the switching. I'm running 12.11 and it retained switching. You will have to reboot as that is the way it is implemented if you want to disable Enduro. If you leave Enduro on then it will switch on demand. The GPU selection can be overridden in the AMD control panel for the drivers.

 

You are right the A09 is available but it doesn't come up as an update required by the laptop...so I took that as a sign that perhaps AW didn't want us messing with the bios, secondly, can some one direct me as to where I can find out this enduro implementation, as my understanding was this was going to be a change from the r3 as the r4 was mux-less.....

Also, when I installed the 12.1 beta's, I had this mad flickering happening over the left side of my laptop......any idea why? Or is it generally experienced and goes away after some time?

 

Well the A09 has been officially listed, did upgrade ... And. Have begun a clean install of win7 on my SSD ....however I am a bit confused on this point whether one has to install the intel gpu drivers and THEN the 7970M drivers during a clean-install....

Alienware M17x R4: Initial Drivers Installation | Dell

On this dell page (referenced by dell ppl. Here on NBR) seems to me one has to install IGP and then ATI's drivers...is that correct?

 

For the BIOS I'm on A04 and when i go through Alien Autopsy, it tells me I should upgrade to A09 for critical fixes and other stuff.