Confirmed! Single HD5870 M17x has CF connector!

Thanks for all the rep points! Is definitely pleasant to be appreciated. I'm leaving now. So i will answer any further requests tomorrow.

I tried looking, but for the life of me (pausing at every screen) i cant find the BIOS ver. with the prefix A0... All i got was the following numbers. - 9.5.0.1021 - i hope this is it or one of you needs to point me to exactly where i can locate the ver. number.

[/IMG]

 

awww I can't see the pics!

 

Looks like version A04

 

If you cant view the image it could mean i have done something wrong. Please visit my hosting page at Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

Alternatively search for the following tag in photobucket. (Alienware) or (M17x) If you see the my username as Msashi18 you got the right page.

I had to remove a total of 4 parts to access the GPU. Its part no.3 the Center Control Cover (where your on button is located) that will kill you if its your first time or if you do not have proper tools. I should have used some electrician's tape on my screwdriver so that it wouldn't scratch as someone mentioned above.

 

I can see the pictures just fine, thank you for the work

 

Actually I think its because of work restrictions hehe....

BTW I have some friends in Malaysia. Wanna visit next year...

 

Thanks for all the clear pics!

 

That means these cards have a special vbios.

 

Stupid question alert..ok so if the card has the Xfire connectors..is there room for an additional card if required..(I presume it is that black location..on the right?

 

Care to enlighten me more? My M17X is still in production and I don't want to be screwed later if for some reason we can't get 5870's in CF

 

yeah I had a sneaking suspicion that was going to be the case :/

 

VBIOS is nothing more than the BIOS for the video card. It appears the 5870 Mandrake bought form babyhemi don't have same VBIOS as Msashi's 5870.

This could mean a 3rd party 5870 may not work for your system. But also, like MB BIOS, VBIOS can typically be flashed upgraded...

 

yeah what he said.

If someone really wanted to know if the babyhemi 5870 works in the M17x I would need a copy of the vbios asap. I'm sending my M17x back soon.

 

Hmm, so what your saying is that we probably cannot buy a 2nd 5870 to work in our laptops from another place other than Dell?

 

There is a good chance that Dell will be the only ones producing these cards. So if you buy it from someone else they more than likely got it from Dell.

 

You returning your laptop with the new 5870? What are you going to do now?

 

so it looks like the 5870 for AW is proprietary, that sux...
why dell makes everything so difficult

 

Well heck, if they have enough in stock then I wouldn't mind paying around 300 to 400 bones for a 2nd 5870 from them. But you never know someone might come up with a better bios like they did for the m17 to oc them

 

I still have my G73. I'm contemplating reordering or going the gaming desktop route.

 

It explains why its taking them so long to get them working in XFire. But the problem is. Does this mean if you order one 5870 from Dell. You need the A04 BIOS? Will they send that to you?

 

Well if its just the VBIOS, it could be flashed. I'm almost 100% certain ATI makes their cards' BIOS upgradable...for no other reason because Nvidia does so as well.

If its another factor causing it to not work, then yeah, buying from Dell, at least for now, will be the only option.

I sure hope Dell did not take this route!!

 

hehe I prefer the desktop route anyway...tinkering with laptops is not my forte. But its kinda hard to do where I am at...

 

Bios is flashable on the ati cards.

 

that's what I thought! Now I'm 100% certain lol...

 

just a silly question maybe. can we take the crossfire connector plastic from 4870s and put it on 5870s?

 

in theory if the jack has the same amount of pins then yes, I don't see why it wouldn't, but how will you isolate the crossfire cable? Will you send the laptop back without the cable?

 

I'm sure CF 5870 can be done. It just require two people with m17x 5870 to meet up and install both cards in one m17x. (If they have existing 4870 cf)

 

also dont forget about master/slave bios for the cards. Doesnt that have to bet setup right?

 

i mean the input on the gpu not the cable. stamatisx got the point but his answer is like it cant be done due to techniqal issues.

stamatisx expect me to do what i told you soon.

my order is progressing so slow (in pre-production for 6 days now) that CF 5870 may be released till i get into production and the 4870s maybe 5870s then.

 

VBIOS is the BIOS on the GPU, which is totally seperate from the mainboard BIOS.

 

and both matter finally.

 

Probably not. The 4870s have the same bios on both cards.

 

mainboard BIOS update should bere there for just a few things
1) correct GPU ID displaying
2) power/fan/voltage settings
3) correct CF ID
4) If the display I/O is different, adjust it for the 5870, it shouldn't(since the 260M and 5870's used in the M15x's are the same) but if it is, it would be changed there

 

So all we need is 2 m17x owners with 5870s and a m17x owner with xfire 4870.

 

Hey Guys.

I called DELL regarding upgrading 4870CF to 5870(CF and Single).
They told me that it would require a completely different motherboard to upgrade to 5870, both single and CF.

I asked what an expected price range would be and I quote the techical supporter, when i asked him if it was upgradeable: "No sir, its like a completely new system, you would require a new motherboard too."

I hope this is not true!
Any thoughts?

 

No, the dude doesn't know what he is talking about. People upgrade their systems all the time.

Even a Dell rep put out a part # for a CF 5870 M17x...

 

LOL!!! I have the same exact Compaq laptop as well!!! $500 for that cheap laptop!

I thought I was the only one who bought it. nice.

 

Dell reps do not have a clue what they are talking about 90% of the time. They are the worst people to ask questions of.

 

I don't mind people stating stupid things and being ignorant because I am too sometimes but this is going too far.

The motherboard has nothing to do with you being able to upgrade from the 4870 to 5870 since they are both MXM 3.0b.

On top of that if you read this forum you would know Dell Reps NEVER know what they are talking about. You need to speak with an AW technician to have some decent information.

As an FYI, people are upgrading their M15X with 5870's, they are NOT changing their motherboards...

 

Well, but the BIOS needs to support the card as well. If its an R1, it might not work with the 5870...

 

Ok, that's true but I was referring to the claims of a new motherboard.

 

No. It doesn't.

See here.

 

thanks for the pictures!

 

that screen looks amazing!

 

Don't know if this has been mentioned or not, but if you have a single 5870 and plan to add another to your M17x, won't you have to upgrade the power supply as well? I just got my M17x today (single 5870) and the power supply is only 150 watts. Wouldn't two 5870s require an upgrade to the 240 watt power supply?

 

yep...................

 

If you had the 920XM and a single GPU you would've had the 240w ac but any cpu less than that the 920XM and a single gpu ships with the 150w ac.

 

How hard would it be to upgrade the PSU? Or is it just the AC cord?

 

I think it's any quad and single GPU. Any i5 with single GPU is 150w.

 

You just need the 240w brick. The connections are the same.