M17x R2 8970M Crossfire Upgrade

I am making a thread for those who are interested in upgrading to a Clevo 8970M, single or crossfire. Original setup:
Intel Core i7 940XM
Nvidia GTX 280M SLI
16GB DDR3-1333
1920x1200 RGBLED WUXGA Display
512GB M600

Procedure:
0. Use DDU to remove any and all existing GPU drivers, then shut down.
1. Remove battery
2. Unscrew two plate screws securing bottom plate
3. Unscrew two screws holding the media board
4. Gently remove media board/cable
5. Remove keyboard/screws
6. Remove heatsink securing bracket
7. Remove heatsink/GPU
8. Install your 8970M into the slot (both side if you have two cards)
9. Use 1.0mm thermal pads on the VRMs/capacitors/memory.
10. Use a good quality thermal paste on the core, rice sized drop. Make sure you get Clevo securing screws, the Dell ones do not fit in the xbracket posts. No shimming/trimming needed for the clevo bracket. Can be ordered here for far better price than Eurocom: http://www.metricscrews.us/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1182
11. Screw down the heatsink as numbered on the heatsink.
12. Connect crossfire cable if applicable. You can reuse m17x r2 crossfire cable or you can remove tape from M18x crossfire cable and use that instead.
12b. Bonus step: I use piece of aluminum foil between heatsink and heatsink securing bracket to prevent air from flowing back into the chassis.
13. Put everything back together, install driver AMD Driver 17.3.3: http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/amd-radeon-software-crimson-relive-17-3-3-driver-download.html
14. Finish installation and reboot
15. Optional (but very useful) step to flash my custom vBIOS that undervolted 8970M from 1.0250V to 0.975V while holding stock clocks of 900/1250. Flashing package including flasher and vBIOS attached in this post

My best bench on 240W PSU:
940XM 25-25-25-25 @ 925/1300 crossfire (0.975V)
https://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/12683533

Temps are excellent with rear elevation. I use a hockey puck at the back near the power jack. Tops out around 74, levels around 70-71 under load and after fans kick in where they need to be.

Enjoy!

IMPORTANT UPDATE
I finally bought a power monitor to see how much electricity the M17x R2 was trying to use with 8970M crossfire. Even when UNDERVOLTED, the power meter was reading 235W with 920XM TURBO DISABLED.

You really shouldn't try crossfiring these cards unless you have a 330W PSU.


IMPORTANT UPDATE #2
I have finally gotten around to test displayport output. I can happily say, the 8970M gives full audio and video over displayport to HDMI, which was the one thing the 680M held over the 8970M. Since this has been accomplished, it can definitively be said the 8970M is the ultimate graphics card for the M17x R2.

 

Good guide. On a side note however, does the undervolted vBIOS work well when using a single GPU? I'm going to get an 8970M to upgrade my R2 at some point - that vBIOS should help keep the temps low if it works.

 

Yes will also work for single 8970M, but I wouldn’t use it if your ASIC score is below 70%

 

I don't see any reason why anyone would ever want to CF 2x 8970M cards on a system with a 940XM. The bottleneck and terrible CF support really makes this a bad idea.

I do like the fact that you did it just to showcase that it can work,but wouldn't recommend this for anyone other than just for the hell of it. Do you have games such as Crysis 3, Witcher 3, mafia 3 or DOOM around? I'd be interested to see how bad the bottleneck is.

 

I don't own any of those. I tried metro 2033 in the M15x with 920XM/970M vs the M17x 940XM/8970M crossfire and the frames are double in the M17x

when I make the EC chip mod I will make 330W power supply tests so I can crank up the clocks, nehalem is power thirsty and starves the GPU of power when clocks go up.

 

Metro is one of the very very very very very very few games that are GPU only intensive. I'm pretty sure even an I3 doesn't bottleneck the game, one of the very few games that actually got good optimization and is properly coded.

 

gift me one of them games you mentioned and I'll happily run the benches you want lol

 

You can actually try fortnite, it's for free and should also have quite some bottlenecking going on given your CPU:

 

I think Planetside 2 is pretty hard on the CPU as well.

 

Hi there!
I am trying to bring back to life my M17X R2, therefore I took it to a specialized shop but with no avail so far. I had to hunt for the parts: processor (920xm as suggested in other post) and power button strip. Now, after I got all the parts, the laptop doesn't gives me any video. It boosts and I can hear itit, the capslock and block num seems to work (as indicated on the panel) but the RGB LED screen is fully black; we tried to connect this from VGA to another screen and there is not image either, but randomly you cacan see some artifacts, so I guess the video card (5870) is broke.

Im trying to get a 5870 from ebay but I can't find itit, which other card would you suggest me to use (could be the one suggested here) and "easy" to find. Im not interested in a crossfire but if this is affordable, may consider it.

I've appreciated your help.

 

What kind of games do you plan on playing? If its older stuff then the 5870 will do fine most of the time, but the lack of driver updates and 1GB of VRAM holds it back in newer games. When Crossfire works, its brilliant - but you will run into all sorts of minor little bugs like random texture glitches and flashing UIs. I have a strange issue in Mass Effect 2 where almost everything works perfectly, except any video which plays on a screen in the game will appear green or ghosted. Other games seem to work perfectly, mostly ones which are AMD Gaming Evolved titles, but many games are so buggy that its not worth using Crossfire at all. I'd recommend a more powerful single card over 5870 Crossfire.

 

Thanks for your help!

Actually I am just trying to bring it back to life, I have the Nebula Red version and I'm just on love with this machine. Sadly I put it back years ago since I got a gaming PC (Desktop), but it hurts me a lot watching it just there collecting dust.

So basically I don't plan to playllay much games, since I'm not 100% a Playstation gamer (if you can say that), but getting a card capable of run games would not hurt me. So the 5870 or above, will work just fone for me, problem is, which and where? Tried ebay and there are not too much options, or maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. Any reliable site or source?

 

In that case, the 5870 may be fine. What country are you in? Did you try searching for "AMD Mobility Radeon 5870"? It should help you find the mobile card rather than the desktop one with the same name. 7970s are easy to find and will work, but they are fragile cards and prone to failure. The 8970M is not as common and is therefore more expensive, but they do last longer than 7970s.

 

I'm in Colombia, but I can buy from USA easily and get all my stuff to an address there.
Yes, 8970 looks expensive nd yes, I've tried looking exactly as you described for the 5870, with few sellers.

Does the Nvidia cards works or the AMD are the best options?

 

A few nVidia cards will work with the R2, but they usually need an .inf file tweak to install the driver. AMD cards are usually plug and play. Not sure exactly which nVidia cards work with the R2, but i think the highest one that is confirmed to work is the 765M (i have no idea what kind of mods you need to get that working though). Others will know more about that than me though.

 

I was trying to get a hold of an 880M to test in the M17x R1 and R2 but I was conned by one seller and I'm feeling conned by the second one I bought from a week ago....but I will make a thread with results eventually. The other problem with nVidia cards is that they throttle....frequently, often for inexplicable reasons, which is a giant headache to deal with. Usually not the case with AMD Radeon cards.

 

Well, that said iim not interested, just need to find a card that works :|

 

Raidriar,
how much do you want for the two working clevo amd 8970 cards & the crossfire cable ?

 

Hello , i am reading with interest your work .I am very impressed that you succesfully instaled the AMD 8970m in 17xr2.By the way i have some questions about cooling.It is working without HW info? .Which is the stock vbios?Thanks

 

Native fan control require clevo 8970M. Dell R9 m290x not work. MSI R9 m290x also not work. only clevo 8970M. vbios not matter

 

Clevo 8970Ms should have native fan control working, but I don't think the Dell cards do. There are 4 stock vBIOS' I believe: Clevo 8970M, Dell 8970M, Clevo M290X and Dell M290X (there may be more I do not know about). Raidriar will be able to tell you more though.

 

vBIOS will not matter for fan control, it was whatever communication chip they decided to use with the video card. For some reason, the clevo EC chip communicates fine with the m17x, but not the dell or msi cards. Imperative to get the Clevo 8970M version any nothing else.

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE
I finally bought a power monitor to see how much electricity the M17x R2 was trying to use with 8970M crossfire. Even when UNDERVOLTED, the power meter was reading 235W with 920XM TURBO DISABLED.

You really shouldn't try crossfiring these cards unless you have a 330W PSU with the 240W ID chip mod

 

Can you tell me about the power supply mod ?

 

You disassemble a 240W PSU, remove the ID chip from it and solder it into a 330W PSU. There is a thread on here somewhere with a guide and pictures, i'll try and find it.

 

This one?
http://www.imsolidstate.com/archives/1162

 

Yeah that's the one.

 

I think I will use @Nospheratu s guide here:
https://www.techinferno.com/index.p...ide-dell-330w-power-adapter-mod-for-the-m17x/

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-ALIEN...467480?hash=item4d718bc658:g:KL8AAOSwgyNazhHy

this is the SLAVE card it will run no problem as a master, no mods needed. just swap it into the left gpu heatsink and mxm slot.

4870m tho.

 

Thanks for bringing my attention to the guide again @Raidriar. Images have been restored.

 

Raidriar,

Thanks a lot for this guide. I'm looking to upgrade the GPU on my M17x R3 and I assume a Clevo HD 8970M should work in that as well with the same method, not just for the R2?

I'm also seeing some Dell R9 M290Xs on ebay, which should be essentially the same card, right? They are Dell, not Clevo, but are significantly cheaper. Would these also work or is this method only for the Clevo 8970Ms?

Thanks in advance!

 

Dell R9 M290X does not give native fan control. You cannot flash Clevo vBIOS to Dell M290X (brick)

 

Thanks for clarifying. Then it looks like I'll need to go with the Clevo HD8970M.

 

better to go with dell 7970m later revision

 

Hmm, I've read that 7970Ms have higher failure rates. Are the later revisions different? Are these revisions indicated on the card (just to make sure I purchase the correct one)?
Also if I go with the 7970M, will your guide work the same (other than the optional step with flashing the vBIOS of course)?
Thanks a lot for helping by the way.

 

if you find a 7970m with vBIOS 0.21 or 0.22 stickerd on the back of the card, it is a later production card that should be cured of the defects of the early cards. I can modify vBIOS for you if you want an undervolt or overvolt

 

Awesome. Would this be one of those cards? I can see a sticker with 0.22 on the back. I'll ask the seller to confirm if so. Thanks.

 

Yep that should be fine. You will need an x-bracket though as that card is missing one. If you have a 6970m/6990m in your m17x r3 you can simply reuse that bracket as it is the same

 

I have an 5870M. Will the bracket from that work? Now that you mention it... what about the heatsink? Can I re-use that?

 

No, that bracket is too small and will short out capacitors. I have an extra I can sell you

 

Sounds good. I'll send to a PM to discuss the details.

EDIT: Except, I can't start a new PM conversation. Maybe it's rep related, since I'm new in this forum.

 

Here you go: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laptop-X-b...575257?hash=item3f884b4a59:g:ir8AAOSwnjpZ0L3P

I cannot beat that price

 

Thanks for that link, tempted to buy a couple as spares for when I get hold of an 8970M that works.

 

Thanks, that's perfect. Will my old heatsink from the 5870M be usable or do I need a new one as well?

 

The 5870 heatsink is fine, but you need to remove the screws from it and put the new ones in as they are smaller.

 

Awesome. Thank you both for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

What is the latest unlocked bios and where to get it? I am interested in maybe picking one up. TIA ....

 

can you point me to a reliable seller with the working clevo 8970M you mentioned? or if you have one for sale. please PM me. thanks

 

None for sale from me at this time, but I do have a GTX 680M Dell version