GTX 780M installation on M17x R4

Hey guys what's happening? It's been a while since I was last hanging around these parts. Recently I got a deal on a GTX 780M so I took the plunge and got it. I've been trying to get it to work and come into some issues. I came from a stock 7970M so the heatsink is made for that card.

Maybe you guys can help me out?

This is the thermal paste layout I'm using based on the reference picture by Eurocom. Note that for the two blocks up top I have to stack 2 1mm pads together, it doesnt seem to make contact otherwise.
Image 1



Here you can see the amount of paste I put in and the make shift pad for the stack of RAM underneath since I don't have that specific nvidia x-bracket for it.
Image 2



Right now I'm running in Optimus mode and through GPU-Z I can see that the 780M chip is idling at 56*c. If I attempt to run a game or switch to dedicated mode the screen will start to show artifact and then freeze.
Image 3


So yeah right now I'm quite lost on what to do. The fan doesn't seem to kick in. Should I try to unlocked vBIOS or M17x R4's unlocked BIOS? Do I have to disable onboard sound like on M17x R3? Any help at all is really appreciated!

 

- Flash stock A11 BIOS, then follow this (FPT method - A11 Unlocked) [M17x R4] - 'unlocked' BIOS versions
- Advanced menu, Disable IGP and set display to PEG.
- Check that the x-bracket is properly isolated/components (Different size).

1mm / 0.5mm Thermal Pads (fill the gap 580m htsnk)



Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) V9.6.1 / first uninstall option.



GeForce 331.82 - WHQL - Game Ready Driver

Modded nvdmn.inf v331.82 Alienware M17XR2/R3/R4 3D + M18XR1/R2 SLI GTX 680M / 780M

 

thanks for the quick reply j95! I removed the extra layers of pad according to your layout and then instead stack it up for the vertical line of ram on the back of the card. I can boot into windows and tried Max Payne 3 now. My card is idling around 53-54 and 58-61 while under load.

Is that normal? Should I do anything to check if the ram chips are not getting too hot?

Say with most thing normal now do I still need to try the unlocked BIOS? It is better to use the unlocked vBIOS by Slv7 right?

 

Keep those Thermal Pads (back ones) Image 2 53-54 are normal idling temps, svl7's unlocked vBIOS + NV Inspector allows full control of the gpu like a desktop card.

NVIDIA Kepler VBIOS mods - Overclocking Editions, modified clocks, voltage tweaks

 

i flashed svl7's vBIOS. However I'm still having trouble keeping the temperature down. The core seems to be stable anywhere from 54 to 58*C but mostly 55-56*C and get up to 66*C while running games but the multimedia buttons on the right of the power button is very warm. It's like the fan won't run until it get very hot or something.

I'm using HWinfo fan control custom auto settings for now to help with the fan while figuring the rest out.

 

It probably would not hurt to obtain the correct NVIDIA 100W heat sink and support plate. The parts for 680M should work perfectly. That should not affect your fan. Those temps are fine.

 

Hwinfo custom settings, higher trigger for 2500RPM 55/45C / aggressive from there https://imageshack.us/a/img41/4936/sqfa.png
Record low temps modded CPU/GPU/PCH htsnks (R3) https://imageshack.us/a/img829/623/x5v8.png
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2960XM Processor,Alienware M17xR3
Try disabling IGP and set display to PEG, monitor gpu fan triggering temps/rpm with HWinfo..OSD or Windowed mode.

 

Thanks brother Fox, I hear you loud and clear. Unfortunately right now I am not in the States and therefore it would be quite troublesome to get the backplate. But yeah sooner or later I will have to get one.

Thanks, I copied the settings there from your image and its stable now at 53*C. Right now the GPU chip seems to be fine while the RAM chips or the grey blocks get hot and overwhelm the rest. I used to have a bunch of extra pads, paste and the cleaning alcohol but not anymore

 

so I managed to get a few some more thermal pads and proceed to put them in. Now if I run in dedicated mode (FN+F7) it will take about 15 seconds before the alienware logo show up (fastboot) and launching a game will lead to artifact and freeze within seconds. Did I just break the card?

 

Oh, you are running Secure Boot? If so, that may explain a lot. You might be encountering issues with a vBIOS that does not work for Secure Boot/Fast Boot. Disable those and switch to Legacy mode in the BIOS and it may resolve your issues. Additionally, having Secure Boot enabled may also be interfering with your modded driver installation.

 

Yeah disable secure boot, unlocked BIOS/vBIOS flash - Legacy Mode - only.

 

okay i did as you guys said and the only thing left is the unlocked BIOS. The card seems to boot up properly now but I can't use it for gaming yet. I'm looking to get a new heatsink and backplate now.

so there's absolutely no chance for me to use fastboot again with a GTX 780M?

 

okay so now i temporarily took out the 780M and currently running on intel hd 4000. Here's hoping the new heatsink and backplate will get here soon so I can go to town again.

 

Still 70C is not that high for heavy load. Let us know what happens after you get the new heatsink.

 

yeah I think the chip itself is well covered (not too much mind you, just a small dot in the center) but somehow the thermal pads don't really do their jobs with the other stuff like ram chips and grey blocks. I'm still waiting for them heatsink but I will keep you guys posted for sure.

 

alright guys so I just got the new GTX 680M heatsink and the backplate a few days ago. I put them together but It's still not working.

I am on unlocked BIOS A11, unlocked 780M vBIOS and reinstalled windows in Legacy as per suggestion. I was able to run AC4 Black Flag and a few 3DMark 11 tests with it but since I'm not satisfied with the temperature I tried to take the thing out and refit the pads and pastes again. And all hell breaks loose.

The GPU fan doesn't seem to power up by itself unless I use HWInfo. I tried to reset the BIOS too but that didn't help.

Now if I switch to PEG and disable IGP, the screen artifacts like hell, take close to a minute for the BIOS loading screen to show up. If I try to install the driver (331.82-93 with signature enforcement disabled) the system will automatically restart and back to square one.

And then I tried the usual mode with IGP on Auto, display to SG there is no more artifact as I am running on Intel HD 4000. I can try to install the driver in this mode too but after the restart prompt from the installation, the next time the system boot up it keep flashing up in a black screen with the mouse cursor without showing anything else. From here I can hold the power button to shutdown and restart, switch to dedicated mode and uninstall the graphic driver for the screen to show back up properly.

Can someone confirm if I have or have not broken the card yet? It's not like this is the first time I do this kind of thing and yet :-s













oh I also checked out a Alienware 17 disassembly video and it looks like the layout underneath is not that much different? other than being black, the GPU heatsink in that one looks kinda the same.

 

I think it's a road till a certain death....
You can try some more times but I think you need to get a new card.

 

Where did u get it??
I want a 780 too

 

Bad vRAM / artifacts, RMA the card.