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    I need help from M17Xr-1 owners with GTX280m

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by usmc1488, Sep 25, 2011.

  1. usmc1488

    usmc1488 Notebook Evangelist

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    Ive successfully installed two GTX280M cards in my Area 51m 17x and its running great. The highest I can get my GPU clocks are 585/1467/950 with out down clocking, any higher and the cards down clock. Ive got about a 30% improvement over the old 9800m, but I want more. So what did you guys do to fix? My power supply is the 230v version, same as your so power isnt a problem.
     
    usmc1488, Sep 25, 2011
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  2. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Those GTX 280M in the Area 51 m17 are not the same as the GTX 280M in the M17x.
    Yours are MXM 2.1, the ones in the M17x are MXM 3.0.
     
    katalin_2003, Sep 25, 2011
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  3. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Area 51 owners should go to the legacy section. Some of us don't have enough experience with your kind of system to give you advice.
     
    widezu69, Sep 25, 2011
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  4. usmc1488

    usmc1488 Notebook Evangelist

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    Gents, just please read the post, I modded my Area 51 M17x to run two GTX 280ms. Yes physically the GTX280ms are different, but the software is pretty much the same. If you have a Dell M17x with dual GTX280ms please charm in.
     
    usmc1488, Sep 25, 2011
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  5. tyranus7

    tyranus7 Notebook Evangelist

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    You can always use NVflash, and flash both videos cards to a higher Voltage. This for sure will allow you to OC at higher clock rates. But off course it will increase the heat as well. But if your temps aren't that high at this point, you can increase the voltage a litle bit.
     
    tyranus7, Sep 25, 2011
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  6. Ratatat

    Ratatat Newbie

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    NVFlash sounds interesting.
     
    Ratatat, Sep 25, 2011
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  7. tyranus7

    tyranus7 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes it is. You can not only rise the Voltage in GPU's you can also change the defaults clocks. In fact I flashed my GTX 280M at GTX 285M clock speeds.
     
    tyranus7, Sep 25, 2011
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  8. orionz

    orionz Notebook Consultant

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    Like Tyranus said...I'm guessing your cards need a bit more voltage to perform their best. I get 720/1790/1000 out of mine BUT I had to reflash the VBIOS on both cards to increase voltage to 1.03. That requires reading out the current VBIOS from each card using GPU-z, saving it, then editing using NBITOR and then flashing the VBIOS on each card. This procedure NORMALLY works fine BUT IS NOT DELL APPROVED AND WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY on the cards if you have one. IT ALSO IS NOT WITHOUT RISK! People have bricked their cards this way! Also increasing the voltage MAY shorten the life of your video cards, especially if you keep the overclocks full time. My recommendation: DO RESEARCH here first...many good thread on all the above. If you decide to do so proceed carefully and systematically through the procedure which has many steps. Be sure and ask question BEFORE you allow NVFLASH to actually rewrite the VBIOS...recovering from a bad flash is HARD! Last, when you get the best clocks that work for you....only use them when you need them to protect the life of your cards. Oh yeah....FIRST....clean out you cooling system and clean it every three months or you WILL cook your cards. And if you don't know how to tear the lappy down and clean it you're most def not ready to flash a VBIOS. Good luck!
     
    orionz, Sep 26, 2011
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  9. orionz

    orionz Notebook Consultant

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    P.S. Ooooh Rah Marine!
     
    orionz, Sep 26, 2011
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