Can't enable my HD 4870 cards?

Hi! I'm new here and I just got my refurbished Alienware m17x from NDC. So I tried to install a new game and get playing but I found out that apparently I was using a different nvidia integrated graphics card.
After reading some guides online I went to the BIOS and tried switching on the Hybrid graphics, but turns out that it is greyed out.
Seeing as the BIOS is A03 I downloaded the A08 one and flashed the new BIOS. But I got an error 144 >.<

Please help!

Thank you

 

You need to put quite a few more details. I'm assuming your using an R1, and where did you download A08? A08 Bios is for the R2. R1 is only up to A05 bios I believe. Also, welcome to the forum.

 

Naw I'm using an R2.

Core 2 Quad Q9100
xfire HD 4870

And I downloaded it from the Dell site

 

Thats an R1 M17x system. All R2 systems utilize the Core-i series CPUs due to the new motherboard. R1 systems use Core2Duo and Core 2 Quad. Download GPU-Z and see what that program is reading for the GPU. My guess is you have stealth mode on. Hit the button on the touch strip that looks like a speedometer. That should enable the 4870 GPUs.

 

Are you serious? I thought this was an R2.. I think I'm going to send it back for a refund and buy an i7 one then. Cause I heard the R1 has soo many problems. You think I should get another one?

 

Depends, are you having any problem? Are you happy with it? It's really all your choice. I liked my R1, just returned it because the R2 came out right after I got the R1. But yea, that is an R1 system and if you can return it, then I would return it.

 

Aw man, this is annoying. Sorry to be bothering you, but what would be the difference between a Q9100 and an i7 740QM with the same specs? Cause I just went through a bit of an ordeal to get this thing out of customs.
I haven't used it enough to know whether I'm happy with it, but it seems alright. :/

 

Q9100, might have a higher clock speed. Its a quad core, so it runs four cores, each running 1 thread. So four cores, four threads. The i7 Q740M would be a quad core, running four cores, but it has hyper threading enabled. It will run 2 threads per core so you can have four cores running eight threads. Essentaially giving you more multitasking power. However some older programs don't take advantage of hyperthreading, and are based on clock speed. Where the Q9100 would win. Newer programs would run better with hyperthreading however.

 

Oh so I guess I won't see much of a difference.. But did you get any noticeable problems with your R1? Will I be able to play games just as well as I was using an R2 with the same specs?

 

Not quite sure. I only had my R1 for a few weeks and only long enough to play MW2. Which ran smooth. The R1 had issues with game stuttering, sound stuttering all attributed to DPC Latancy. There are tons of threads on it, and I'm not sure where the issue is now. I'm happy with the R2, though. If you can speak with the company than I would definately try for that. The RGB screen on the R2 is gorgeous.

 

Sending the laptop back would mean paying a lot for the shipping fees and my pocket is already burnt after this purchase. So I don't mind dealing with the fact that the laptop isn't as good as the R2. But it should run every game out there and be at par with other gaming laptop brands right?

 

Yea, obviously it depends on the specs of the other laptops, but I would think it would run most games pretty well. There are a lot of people here that are happy with thier R1 systems.

 

Think I'm gonna keep it, I just realised that getting an R2 with the same specs would cost way way more than what I paid for and I'm pretty okay with dealing with computer problems.
Oh and btw my laptop WAS actually on stealth mode! hah. It works all great now.

Thank you very much for your help!
+rep

 

Does this mean you somehow fixed the 144 error?

Anyway, if you're able to boot, - flash the BIOS with the correct version

 

Well I got the 144 error cause I was trying to flash the BIOS to A08 which is for the R2.

I think I'll flash to A05 later on then!

 

Oh, I see... You're fine then. R1 is a good system, no matter how much people complain about it. I had one and enjoyed it very much, especially after replacing 280's with 4870's. Now I have an R2 and don't see a huge difference in performance, stability, etc. One real advantage of the R2 is the RGB LED screen.

 

thanks for the input that really reassures me. Hope I won't have much problems with it!
+1

 

Yea and like Aikimox said, I didn't have issues with my R1 (QX9300/4870s) and only returned it because when the R2 came out I was still in the return window, than I waited months for 5870s.

 

Just make sure you do not open the laptop and break that warranty Sticker as you will be SOL This happened to someone else on this forum who purchased an R1 from NDC.

 

Lol yeah i was about to open it to see if my graphics card were well plugged in and I saw the little sticker. I was like "ouh no touch dis."

 

Maybe if your having issues, you can ring them up and they will take care of any charges that may be incurred as a result. Worth a shot if you can't get it working.