M17X R4 GTX980M Upgrade

What drivers are you using for your 980m? Also the throttling will return if you are using any driver other than the 347.09. What you need to do to test you system and ensure it is holding the i assume you have UEFI legacy ROM disabled, PEG, Intel graphics Disabled??? If so once you shut down your computer unplug the power for 1min then plug it back in power the system up and test with Heaven to verify for me please. I am curious to know this because no matter what is done on the M17x R4 the Driver always reverts back to acting goofed up.

As for my vBios i spent "many, many, many hours" tweaking it to get it at a point i am happy enough to use it. The runs you view in my pics are with a small OC of +140 core/+400 mem. I have just barely scratched the surface and i am sure i can get my 3DMark score aroun 13K or higher and a Firestrike score of 10K or higher, i am hitting Max power usage on my PSU currently and waiting for my 330w to arrive. Since i am still testing things with the vBios i will be testing a few more things before i provide a public release with unlocked clock max's.

 

Just use the minimum voltage required for it to be 100% stable at the clocks you're operating, no more & no less - that's the best balance. (Use a Watt Meter that plugs into the electrical socket in the wall - measures the number of Watts your adapter is consuming. KillAWatt is one such meter.)

 

did you use Maxwell II bios tweaker?

i am on 3d machine, so i can only flash the card in my Clevo machine - not much room for experiments.

can you at least guide me a little?

yes, i still get throttling with 347.09, less, but noticable. with 344.75 driver and pci-ex reset trick i get 20% more scores in Valley at stock.

 

i have tested 3 different 980m in AW17 r5, without driver re-installation to see which one overclocks better. does that count for shut down? but seriously, i have been using the machine for 2 weeks and i must have noticed the throttling if it would be there.i used it like i normally do, shutting down, taking it out, battery drained etc. the machine is gone now. but like i have said before it worked even with 180watt with k-boost on and inspector profile edited without throttling, while in r4 it does not work that way.

when i have first installed the 980m in AW17 r4 a few days ago - i knew straight away something is wrong.

it is also very interesting that i have one 880m card from MSI that crashes after 5min load on any alienware, except aw17 r5.

edit:

forgot to mention that r5 was also 3d version, so no optimus.

 

ok, i modified the official nvdmi.inf in 347.09 driver from nvidia.com and the throttle went away. dont know why, but the 347.09 version from laptopvideo2go did not work properly.

also, when i modify Clevo strings in the driver for my m17x r4 string, like i did with 344.75 driver and i get black screen after driver installation.

btw, you already get 14500 graphical score with your modded Vbios in 3dmark11 and thats quite a lot!

 

did you reboot to make sure the throttling went away?

 

yes, the battery is off, unplugged the system for 15min, no throttle so far.

 

cool, i wonder what the difference was that caused the throttling?

 

i am guessing nv drivers behave differently for different subsystems. i have already noticed this installing 970m in my fellow's Msi Gt70 ONC. in that case only the Clevo section modification works, Msi inf modification causes driver to crash system for some reason and laptopvideo2go drivers mess up the system that the display driver is lost completely and can not be seen in the device manager anymore until DDU.

 

so the modification to the drivers is quite specific and that it's just best to mod them yourself provided one knew what to change?

 

from what i have seen so far... it looks like it is! and it seems very specific to driver version and system.

 

i wonder if an unlocked vbios would fix this?

 

Mike, how did you apply the IC Diamond? I was told that because it's slightly thick, it's good to leave it in a cup of warm water for it to melt/become a bit less thin before applying.. is that the right way to do it? Can anyone let me know? Have my GPU ready to be replaced

 

Brother Tom, warming it up in a cup of hot water definitely helps. IC7 is hard to break off when you want to stop applying it from the tube. I do a tiny blob in the center and make soft serve ice cream shape with the stringy end part as I finish.

 

Brother Tbone, sent PM to you

 

Well this is good... ignored by the rep

 

What happened about your 980M Billy?

 

980m DOA-ed and now the ebay rep is ignoring my messages. How did your 970m go?

 

Mine works perfectly.. Billy call Hidevolution up and talk to them on the phone... Phone numbers on website.. where are you located btw?

 

I'm located in Melbourne, doubtful that I could call them

 

Check their website

P.S: There is a local australian line which connects to the us.. Australia Local - 02 80155048

Call them

 

Billy did u call them?

 

urgh! must. hold. out. for. 980m!

 

@tom Yeap, gave them a call and truth to told I was rather taken aback. Tech support seems friendlier and much more willing to help.

 

i'm sure it has been mentioned but where did you order from?

 

Hidevolution

 

Good to hear that!

 

Some bad news as of late, it appears after setting my PCIE Delay timer to Disable in the BIOS it caused the 8 beeps. which I could only remedy with a CMOS reset, once that was done and I reinstalled the 980m the screen booted back up but while running discrete only the backlight on the LCD display would not respond. The LCD monitor only works now with optimus enabled, I believe there is a short of some sort on the MOBO or the BIOS chip is damaged, view post here for details Going to test clevo 980m in alienware m17x R4, m18x R2, AW17 - Page 99 pages 96-99... This is explains all routes I have tried to take without success.

 

Mike I'm so sorry to hear this, hope it get['s sorted soon.. my 970M has run flawlessly in optimus mode and I really don't see the reason why everyone is trying to get it to work in dedicated mode when it works so well in Optimus mode.. Good luck getting it sorted anyways..

Billy, so what happened? Are they letting you return it and they'll send a new one? Also, their ebay rep Ted was great and very responsive.. I think you might have pissed him of slightly(I understand where your'e coming from ^^) and hence the breakdown in communication.. Hope your issue fixed soon

 

They didn't renew their card-only eBay listing when it ended. They still have one up that includes replacement service. However, if they are not going to provide the bracket's, bios, etc. there is no reason not to go with the cheaper option from the company is Canada that is listed about $20 cheaper. Quite frankly, as a business, they don't get to be upset and ignore their customers. They shipped a DOA card, they need to handle it and it shouldn't have taken this much drama.

 

I can confirm, HIDevolution is not doing any sort of mods to the drivers or card itself. They are simply wholesale ordering them (970/980m), and then gutting the box of the bracket and heatsink then selling each part individually. They are a small company trying to make ends meet, this is clear after watching their amateur hour DIY videos. Like i have stated before, i just ordered from them for the card.

 

Yeah looks like that.. I don't blame them though.. Their service was excellent for me.. Their drivers were useless but quickly found J95's inf mod and everything's been good since then.. Card arrived well packed and I didn't have to pay customs fees which helped me save almost £100 so no complaints here.. I would buy from them again. The main thing to do is call them on the phone before you place the order to determine what they'll provide, place it through the website and then chase up to ensure everything is sent properly and you will get it.. It is important that you communicate with them on each stage to ensure you get what you should!

 

so if they gut the box of the bracket/screws and the heatsink then where am i to get a bracket? heatsink not so much!

 

They provide everything in their upgrade kit: x- bracket, screws, card, pads and IC Diamond.. The problem Micky and some people had is that Hide were careless and didn't pack all the stuff.. I made sure I communicated with them that I need everything and made sure they sent it so there weren't any issues for me.. The main thing to do when you buy from them is to do it through their website, pay by paypal to protect yourself and call and make them confirm that they'll provide everything before and after you place your order...

 

Now that's a company I want to do business with. Customers in these niche markets are really understanding.

 

Yes this is the same Hidevolution Billy had problems with.. I've always inquired like nothing before buying and I always chase up to get what I want.. Hidevolution were excellent for me and I'll probably get a Clevo laptop from them next time who knows

 

are there any other alternative sellers? anyone tried RJ Tech?

 

They were recommended by one of the regular posters in another thread. I am going to use them.

 

the price is OK though they only offer a 90 day warranty which is a concern.

 

The guy EepoSaurus who installed his 970M in M15x got it from RJ Tech... The warranty and shipping was my main concern so I got it from Hide..

 

A warranty is only worth it if the company stands behind it. Based on Billy's experience, I am not that optimistic about them.

 

Can anyone confirm VBIOS flashing works on non-120hz screen on the AW17?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Dear All,

I need help, I understand that this is a GTX980M thread but am desperate. I had gone thru all the threads but still dont understand how to get a working driver for my AW M17XR4.
I just replaced my GTX660M with a GTX970M. I have all the signs that I need a modded driver. I bought mine from HIDEvolution and had tried to install their driver. But I understand that its not a modded one.
My Bios A13, recognizes it as nVidia GFX. But windows only acknowledges it as a "Standard VGA Adapter" All the drivers from nVidia and Hide refuses to install indicating that "The graphics driver could not find compatible hardware.
I had reinstalled Windows 7 64-bit, installed all drivers EXCEPT Intel 4000 and the Nvidia one.

This is my first time upgrading my graphics card and I dont understand how to mod my own .inf file despite reading thru alot of diff threads.
Please help as its frustrating trying to get it to work.

 

Here's a guide on how to create/use a modified inf to install NVidia drivers on non-standard machines:
[Guide] Modding Nvidia OEM INF Files

 

i'm curious as to how bad the throttling is and whether it does throttle at stock when the card is dedicated?

 

With the 344.80 drivers, I get about 100mhz under stock clocks, consistently. When I tried the 347.09, it was about 200mhz under, which makes me think its a driver thing. It drops the 3dmark down about 10% from average. I strongly suspect it can be fixed with a vbios mod, but with the 120hz screen, I cannot enable legacy ROM to allow me to try. If I can get confirmation from someone with a non-120hz screen on a AW17 that flashing works, I'm actually going to buy a 60hz screen just so I can play with the vbios. My unit is out of warranty, so may as well play with it LOL.

N

 

Are you using the 240w or 330w PSU?

 

The 240w which should be plenty for a solo 980m


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

what is your ASIC quality %?

and just to be sure, are you using full performance mode on you laptop?

 

what clocks are you seeing at stock? i am looking at GPU-Z captures and i am seeing the base clock at 1038 and boost clock at 1127 and so i am wondering where that -100MHz downclock is happening.