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    GPU Upgrades for M17X R1?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by pointblank9957, Jul 26, 2014.

  1. pointblank9957

    pointblank9957 Newbie

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    Hello, I just recently picked up this Alienware M17X R1 for $600 and the specs (that I know) are:
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G
    Intel C2D 6GB RAM 2.80GHz
    750GB HD
    1920x1200 Monitor

    It doesn't seem to have come with any separate gpu, just the integrated one which would explain the slow performance in games. My question is should i just get 2 280M SLI's or 2 HD 5870 CrossfireX (if that's possible, I know near nothing of GPU's and such)?
     
    pointblank9957, Jul 26, 2014
    #1
  2. radji

    radji Farewell, Solenya...

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    I don't think you can put a crossfire/SLI getup meant for the R2 in the R1. But I could be wrong. I think the AMD 4870 is the highest crossfire you can go for an R1.
     
    radji, Jul 26, 2014
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  3. sangemaru

    sangemaru Notebook Deity

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    http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-17-m17x/610357-m17x-r1-5870-crossfire-running.html

    They're still somewhat common and cheap cards, and two of them together scaling well can sort of play in 7970m ballpark, so this should keep your machine running a while longer, although 600$ for an R1 with those specs smells like a heavy rip-off to me.

    Not to mention you need to spend money on the GPU upgrade, the xq9100 upgrade and a SSD if you want top performance in that machine, and that will easily bring you to the cost of a modern more entry-level gaming PC, only at (most) half the performance.

    Anyway, the 5870m is faster than a 280m, slightly faster than a 285M, scales a little better afaik and is a DirectX11 card (as opposed to 280/285 which are DirectX10 cards). In these day and age, not having DX11 support is a further crippling of your machine. And the AMD cards should be cheaper.
     
    sangemaru, Jul 26, 2014
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