Just got 6990m - Badly outdated drivers

My 6990 m17x just came in today. They are old as heck and Dell doesn't have any for the 6990 on their site. Can I just install AMD's drivers without losing the ability to switch graphics?

Thanks.

 

Hope so I'm going to be integrated more often than 6990 since I decided to also use it for work.

 

As long as your system runs well (games, etc.) stick to what you have until there will be something official from DELL available...

 

Thanks, I won't then. Sucks though, drivers are really holding back this beast.

 

I know what you mean. But unfortunately we have few bugs that we need to put up it...

 

well you chose amd

*runs away*

 

Dunno about you, but I see people running 11.6b and 11.7 catalyst drivers all the time.

It's seems safe to run the latest amd drivers, just look through some posts for clarification.

 

Maybe you are right, but something will mess up and he needs to reinstall everything (driver sweeper, ccleaner etc.) and install the default driver, how he will be getting it back? And / or from where? That is the reason I told him to hold, unless he makes a full backup of the system and try different versions of drivers, including the 6970m from dell website (preferable the m18x version).

 

Though those drivers may not work as the inf file does not have 6990m entered. He has to modify it...

 

does the 6990m look exactly like the 6970., so if you get the card separately it will fit?

 

Can you look at the bottom of your chassis and see if you have an extra vent right beside the nameplate. Check this thread out http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/598034-just-received-r3-nvidia-gtx-580m-3.html. There is a pic that shows it on that page. The nvidia geforce gtx 580m chassis has an extra vent right by the nameplate to keep it cooler, interested to see if the 6990m has the extra vent as well. TIA

 

You mean if it is compatible with your R3 system (though you got the 6970M)? Yes it is, but it is not worth buying it for a small increase in the performance (And even if you want to buy it, DELL at the moment does not sell them separately, saying that they do not have them in stock)... Probably when 7k series will come up, those cards will start to sell separately. By then we will buy our new systems already

 

I thought about it too, but I doubt there will be one (unless is standard for all the systems as of now). ATi cards are much cooler than Nvidia... My 6970M is stuck on 50-55 degrees celsius at idle and full load max 75... I am sure 460m was far away from that and now 580m, there is no point in even thinking about it.

 

How much was your price before tax? Me and a few other would like to know.

thanks

 

Confirmed, there is a smallish vent right next to the nameplate.

My price before tax was $1765

 

Exact same card, with just a few more streaming processors unlocked.

So yes, it will fit.

 

So is it actually a "nex gen" instead of a refresh like the 485m and 580m?

 

580m is a power optimized version of the 485m, thus running on same power but 9.3% higher clock core.

6990m is quite a lot a differant from the 6970m. They use the same Barts archeticture, but the 6990m has all the shaders unlocked, higher clocks, and more texture units, while running on the same power.

 

I need help. My 6990m is just not performing how I expected it too.

I'm only getting ~25-35 fps on Crysis 2 Hardcore with V-Sync off. A OC'd 560m can achieve this... Any ideas what the problem is?

 

The 580 and 6990 will probably not perform until they get updated drivers. The Catalyst 11.7 should be compatible, amd's site just says it won't work with switchable graphics. Is that correct?

 

That's a crazy deal!!! How did u get this!?

 

he probably got it with 25% off epp members

 

I saw someone else mention EPP what is it?

 

Employee/Employer Purchase Program, I think. Basically, if you work someplace that buys lots of Dell hardware, they probably have an EPP # that employees can use to get discounts with Dell, as a reward for the company buying so much stuff.

I am about to order an m17x with my company's EPP # as well.

 

Lol we sell 90% lenovo or ibm.

 

I don't see any choice for "Just Drivers" for my 6990m on AMDs website. I downloaded from this webpage ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

Is that the right thing to download? I didn't think the one on the first tab, the catalyst suite was the right thing.

 

I didn't have problems finding it

ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver