Extremely faulty M17x R3 need help?

Hey guys, I bought my R3 around 2 years ago, and within two months my GPU failed without a reason, it was a brand new Alienware M17x R3 with a 6990M GPU. They replaced it with 6970M (Accidently?) under the warranty and it lasted somewhere between 6-8 months. At that point the laptop was no more under warranty But I figured out that they have sent me a 6970M instead of 6990M so another GPU the third one was sent due to missunderstanding. This third GPU lasted another 6 months and it's dead. 3 GPU's in 2 years, I don't think it's common at all, I barely play games not that it damages the GPU but I by no means mess with the GPU, overclocking etc, and always used 200mm thermaltake fans so never had heating issues either, battery was fine no electrical issues no nothing. Does it have to do with something else? Maybe the mobo? What causes my laptop to kill those GPU's. Now my laptop is out of warranty, and to be honest I don't have the courage to fix it myself before knowing what is up with this laptop

 

Someone more knowledgeable about the amd cards hopefully can help there... I've got some ideas but probably completely wrong

However, having the same Alienware except for the card (m17x r3) - I got a three year warranty and this was originally an outlet machine that got lost and then was replaced with a brand new one.

The reason I mention it is that I bought mine at the tail end of March two years ago so perhaps in a similar timeframe. Strange that you've only got two years but I got three... hmm. You've definitely logged into your Dell account to check that? Perhaps it's asking the obvious but if you've added your machine to the list of 'my stuff' (paraphrased) in your Dell account - you could check for sure there if you haven't already.

 

The warranty is out I'm pretty sure on that. I'm trying to get help from the alienware technical support by calling them it is really hard and irritating, %60 of the representatives says that My laptop is out of warranty and they can't do anything not even a little help like maybe possible diagnostics they just hang up, %40 other just sends me to some other department so it's really depressing to be honest. Waste of $2.000 gave me nothing but a headache throughout 2 years

 

Hi Anotheron,

I am a m17xR3 original owner and got my machine a little over 2 years ago too. Only I just about maxxed all my settings and also had the 6990m. My video card crapped out about 4 or 5 months ago and had a hell of a time finding a replacement. Dell/AW no longer carry that specific card and recommended that I find a replacement through eBay or some other outfit. That was kind of a nightmare. They are hard to comeby and I don't quite have the patience to check eBay every day for 6990's. I did find one for a decent price and it ended up not being compatible with my rig even though the seller claimed it was the correct one. A lot of time went into finding the correct screw size that would secure the heatsink to the GPU of the video card...it was the most annoying part of the whole process.

That being said, I ended up returning the 6990m I got from eBay and went ahead with a nVidia GTX 580m (also from eBay). It seems to work fine but I believe I need to do some fine tuning that I might do a fresh and clean install of windows and drivers.

From my research and knowledge, besides the price difference between AMD and nVidia, AMD runs a lot hotter than nVidia and that is why they are cheaper. nVidia cards run cooler and are more efficiently. However, I can't imagine why it would be 3 or 4 cards in the 2+ years of owning your rig. My guess: your 6990m is constantly running at hotter than normal temperatures. Where do you live? I ask that because if you're somewhere that has warmer climate than normal (I'm in WA state), the ambient temperature could be the reason for your short-lifed video cards.

I've gone through everything you have talked about in this thread so I feel you. Even if AW diagnosed the problem with your video card being at fault, you would still be on your own in trying to find a replacement. They started the diagnostic price at around $90 USD and after talking to them and actually being respectful (instead of showing your frustration), they knocked it down to about $60. One time, they forgot to get my card info and I got a free repair through their customer support.

I don't usually idle these forums so I'm sorry if I don't respond to your next reply (if there is one) promptly. However, I do idle the alienwarearena.com forums.

Hope this helps a little.

 

I don't think it's about the weather tho 2 of the GPU's died when I was in Chicago... There is yet to be a reasonable answer for why my laptop is killing GPU's left and right so I wouldn't risk my money to be honest it is not logical. I live in Orlando now and I'm actually thinking about going down to Miami to Alienware's headquarter and just smash my m17x r3 in front of them just for the sake of it lol never in my life I got ripped off like this so frustrating.

 

Ok. Then it sounds like it's a motherboard issue...That should've been the first thing replaced after the 2nd GPU died in that short time....I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with your rig. Even through my couple "bad experiences" with my rig, I had fun troubleshooting and fixing the problem.

Although....When was the last time you had GPU was serviced through dell/AW? Also, do you know anything about your temperatures? GPUs running super hot frequently could be the reason why you've gone through so many video cards.....For the amount of gaming I did in the past, I'm surprised I never had to replace my video card as many times as you...But I did everything I could (from the get-go) to keep my temps low (i.e. repasted thermal compound, good laptop cooler, etc.).

I hope that I've helped you in some way.

 

OP, there are a few AW reps on the forum. PM/email one of them and see if they can help...

 

I doubt there is anything wrong with the rest of the laptop. If it is unstable and difficult to use with the bad GPU, take it out and run on the integrated graphics while you are preparing to get it fixed.

Buy an NVIDIA GTX 580M to replace the 6970M/6990M along with the appropriate heat sink and your probably won't have any more issues. Be careful buying obsolete GPUs as the used ones for sale might be up for sale for a good reason. If you cannot find a new 580M with a warranty, try looking for a brand new 675M or 680M directly from Dell first, then a Clevo reseller if Dell won't help you with purchasing parts. You'll need to learn to mod the driver INF to make 675M or 680M work, but that's not difficult.

Not saying you can't get lucky with perfectly good used video cards from people that upgraded to better performance, but the risk of buying someone's problem from unscrupulous sellers that peddle bad parts is always within the realm of possibility. Although it seems to not be quite as frequent, NVIDIA GPUs can have defects like AMD, and even good quality parts wear out. My personal feeling is that 680M is your best option for performance and reliability at a reasonable price.

I've had a total of 6 defective AMD 6970M/6990M and 4 7970M with a 100% failure rate. So far, I have had no failures with 580M, 680M and 780M.

 

Lol 10 amd failures? AMD should be banned for the good of the realm it's so sad

 

I did not even mention my AMD desktop video cards that failed, so you can add two to the count. When they work properly they are great, and they are less expensive. They used to be the best back in the days of ATI. I am reluctant to buy AMD products based on failure rates I have experienced. Sounds like your experience has been similar.

I'm not attempting to bash AMD, just stating what I have experienced. I really don't have any brand loyalty when it comes to video cards... I care mostly about my wallet and performance more than anything else. I want AMD to be extremely successful. Options for consumers is a good thing and without AMD and NVIDIA battling for business neither one will be great... monopolies mean mediocrity for everyone. Until something changes, I won't be taking risks with AMD products using my own money. I will let others roll the dice and watch to see what happens.

 

wow, this is pretty eye opening, after 3 years of wrestling over the phone and now being out of warranty, and spending 2k on a mobile system and having it fail on me and basically give up on gaming for 3 years, i thought all hope was lost for my m17 r3 but this gives me a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, my 6970m seemed to have awesome potential but now lags on the lowest of settings, i'm def not tech savvy but willing to try anything that seems like a good chance to fix the problem

so is it safe to say i should boot the old 6970m and look for a Nvidia replacement? and in doing so i would have to update drivers as well, my problem i had before was my switchable graphics and hot keys became befuddled in my search for fixes on to my graphics problem and had to factory restore, this is the only thing i could do to get my system to playing simpl steam games without getting huge shading problems

will it be hard to install or change over to the Nvidia chip, is there safer way like having a tech do it? or hopefully a slightly newb oriented guide to deliver from this pit of despair i like being dramatic, but seriously pretty bummed :/ but all and everyone amount of help is SUPER appreciated! Thx also sorry if i broke any forum rules super nub and forgot i had an account here <3

 

Avoid the 580M/675M, they also are dropping right and left. Most reliable card, from what I've seen, are the GTX 680M cards. Or..I could try to revive your 6970M, but its not guaranteed.

 

ahh okay, so the 680m is my best replacement option, also how would one go about trying to bring my 6970, back from the dead? also my biased pc gaming friend says my 2gb card doesn't get enough power to play current games, because my 120v power supply is to puny, resulting in lagged fps :/ but i think that's BS i should at least be able to play the damn games, even on lowest, and if i replace the card i'm sure i will be able to play just fine, so is this all just BS and i just need a new/fixed card?

 

I was going to try with liquid flux and a heat gun, I've used that to fix fauly 6470Ms before. 2GB is fine, and so is your 220W power adapter. I always recommend undervolting the 6970M/6990M since it does run rather hot at stock voltage. I cut down temps by 10 degC by undervolting to 0.975V