M17x R3 AMD Display Drivers Question

Hey all,

I was wondering what AMD driver versions everyone was using for their 6990M-based R3's.

I had been using 12.4 (on top of base Dell drivers) and have been playing around trying to update them today with no success. First I tried installing the new Dell 7970 AMD drivers and putting 12.8 on top of them, with no success. Then I went back to the base Dell AMD 6990M driver package and tried both 12.6 and 12.7 beta on top of that with no success.

I managed to get 12.4 back (mostly) working over the base Dell 6990M drivers, though CCC doesn't seem to want to launch.

Also notable, every time I install an AMD mobility driverr package on top of my Dell drivers, it crashes on the display driver install and reboots and I have to install it a second time.

Any advice?

 

I have had the same issue and resorted to just disabling my Igpu through the bios and installed 12.8.

 

Hi

If you are trying to update the graphics drivers, it's better to uninstall the previous drivers first. Follow the steps in this article to update the drivers succesfully:

Alienware Video Driver Clean Installation

 

Doing better than that. I'm using driver cleaner software in safe mode. Though, to clarify, you MUST install AMD drivers on top of the existing Dell display drivers if you want to have switchable graphics. At least as far as I know you do.

 

oh ok, then I'm not sure what you mean with "on top of the Dell driver", I thought you were saying you were only trying to install them without uninstalling or deleting anything first...

Edit Add: Do you mean the Integrated Intel graphics?

 

By "Dell Driver" I mean the Dell-repackaged AMD drivers downloaded from Dell's site. There is the version from 7/2011 which are the original 6990M drivers, and there is a more recent version from 6/2012 which supports the 7970M. Both also include the integrated graphics and graphics switching support. Problem is, these drivers are basically never updated by Dell, and also lack some features like a full/newer Catalyst Control Center.

If you don't install one of those two Dell drivers, you will not be able to use switchable graphics as far as I know. The solution in the past has been to install newer AMD drivers over the existing Dell/AMD drivers, but that seems to be getting more problematic recently.

I really would like to upgrade beyond 12.4 for added game support and enhancements, but it seems I can't. Additionally, I can't seem to get back to my previous stable config in 12.4 either, since if I install 12.4 on top of either Dell driver everything is ok except Catalyst Control Center and switchable graphics don't work (nothing happens when you run them).

I know there are people out there running newer drivers on my hardware, I'm just not sure of the special steps/voodoo/etc that they are taking and what they are installing in what order. This all reminds me of why I went back to a desktop after my last desktop-replacement notebook.

 

Do you use the igpu? If not, you can just disable it and run on the 6990m all the time and drivers will then install fine.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

I'm contemplating it, but I do use the integrated GPU from time to time when traveling. I guess I could just wipe and resinstall drivers when I do, but I am wondering if there is a better way.

 

hey guys

Is my M17x r3 the only one with out Int graphics? lol reason i say mine only came with single GPU and i see lot of people with dual graphics .. is it better or more of a pain to have both?

 

The integrated graphics are on the CPU/chipset. Should be Intel HD Graphics 3000, or something to that effect.

 

You cannot install latest drivers on 6990m since there is no support for them in switchable graphics category, better stick to 18th April, as they perform better than latest Catalysts.

 

But is that with every M17xr3?

 

Yup every Sandy bridge processor (that was sold with the r3) has the Intergrated GPU built into it. Only way to disable it is to run an unlocked bios.

 

Mine using 12.6 now..... seems ok until now. Switchable graphic, CCC, brightness, all working fine.....

I still remember that I Install it directly on top my beta 12.2 driver. In fact, it's the first time I install the driver without getting BSOD. Back then I always get BSOD first and need to install the driver the second time until the driver properly worked. Sometimes I need to uninstall completely and install the stock driver first before updating it to the version that I want. Even we are on the same system, everyone here have their own way to Install the driver. So you just need to try it one by one until you pick the most working method that working on your system......