M17x r2 bricked both 5870's :(

I just got my m17x r2 with dual 5870's and was trying to set core clock in Radeon Bios Editor. When I rebooted it fails to post, the scroll/caps flash and num lock is on. I even tried swapping the left card to the right slot but still no change.

So now that I know I've just made two new paperweights my question is can the r2 use the new 6970m's? Physically they will fit as you can see from the picture below but will they be recognized by the bios and be able to pass post? I'd don't mind being the first to find out but I'm hoping someone has already determined if its even possible at all. Thanks.

 

If they will work, the M17x will only be able to use 1 6970m because of the cards 100 watt draw. You might be able to get two in there but i doubt the PSU will be able to handle it.

But after that, you are going to have possible issues with the vbios and the bios not recognizing each other which would result in basically another paper weight. And then if there are VRAM chips on the back of the 6970 mobility which I'm pretty sure there are, you're going to need to do a cooling mod as well.

 

From what we know of nobody tried it yet but the 6970m is not supported by the R2s BIOS.
You can be the first to try.
Also are you sure the cards are bricked because you usually get that flashing code when the LCD cable is not properly seated,you might want to double check,there's nothing to lose.

Also consider removing the CMOS battery,system battery and power cable and press the power button for ~20sec then try to turn on again.

 

I think that 6970 support is on the list for the next moded bios that is coming out.

 

aarpcard; what is the power draw of the 5870?

kataklin; tried again with pulling all batteries, still no go. No output to an external monitor as well.

claxdog; that would be excellent if true. Is that from a reputable source or just internet hearsay?

 

Power draw on the 5870 is 75 watts @ stock clocks and voltage.

The stated limit the M17x R2 can put out to the video cards is 150 watts total which can be distributed independently to either MXM slot. In other words, one slot could take the full 150 watts and the other 0 watts for example (although that'd be dangerous due to thermal limits on the slot.)

The actual limit is probably closer to 175 watts because if that weren't the case then people would not be able to overclock their cards as high as they can.

Two 6970's would be pushing that limit well beyond what it was designed for. One 6970 will definitely work fine coming from an electrical point of view. It's possible it might be as simple as upgrading the PSU, but i'd be concerned for the power distribution chips on the motherboard.

For example, the X7200 is known for having problems where so much current is being drawn through the MXM slot, that occasionally some pins melt.

When is this custom bios coming out?

 

The 6970M does not have 100w draw. Show me any measured evidence that says otherwise.

 

AMD Radeon HD 6970M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

You didn't just quote notebookcheck on me... come on man, I said I want some solid evidence.

 

http://web.eurocom.com/ec/ec_GetReleaseB(73)

AMD Radeon HD 6970M Review w/ Eurocom - HotHardware

 

Eurocom link is broken and hothardware never measured the power draw. Anyway, take a look at Tom's Hardware measurement of the 6970M at load:




Notice it's only 180W with the entire system active? I very much doubt the GPU was drawing 100W and only left 80W for the rest, especially in light of the fact that it's using a desktop processor (980x), bluray, 17.3" WLED, Intel 6300 Wifi, Momentus XT HDD etc. Now factor in that a 5870M Crossfire system with an OC of say 900/1180 pulls considerably more than 75W per card (I've measured around 90-100W). The 240W PSU can scale up to about 300W I believe or maybe a bit higher, it's been a while since I checked. So it may not be the wisest thing to do to put so much strain on a system + PSU not designed for this but if a bios mod is released, it should theoretically work with Crossfire 6970M.

P.S. My guess of the average power draw for a single 6970M is around 85W.

 

Current Consumption 75-100 Watt, this is coming from the above link. Doesn't look like so clear to me.

And another thing, are mxm III slot 75w? this is my knowledge so far

 

i agree with joker i don't think the hd6970 draw 100w the w860cu was supposed to handle 75w gpu at max but the hd6970 works even some reseller sells the w860cu with that card.

 

as i heared from exp people that 6970 card it will draw around 75-80 not more

 

If that would have been the case, MxM architecture had to be definitely changed in M17x R3 or M18x (imaginary)..

@OP

Btw, where did you get those Monsters from

 

ASMIG, the video BIOS is incorperated into the main system BIOS. This could be categorized as main BIOS failure. If it's not under warranty, contact a 3rd party BIOS recovery place like aqstech.com as mentioned in other threads on this forum.. replacing the cards won't resolve your problem.

 

According to the source you provided the 6970m actually adds 105W to the system......look at the difference between one 6970m and two........

 

I tried the 6970M in the M17x. It'll post, but it doesn't fully work. After installing the drivers, you'll get a pixellated picture and constant driver crashes. Also, the fans will be stuck at one speed (which is what happened when I tried installing the GTX 460M). I even tried changing the subvendor ID to Dell (originally a Clevo VBIOS meant for the x7200 as it said in the hardware string) and same problem.

Also, the 6970M doesn't draw 100w. More like 75-85w (which is what the Clevo official release suggests for it). During the only time I got the cards to render furmark in the M17x, my Kill-a-watt read a max of 152w (using a non-oc'd 920XM).

 

I'd guess its due to increased CPU load with both cards active + early drivers. Best way we'll know is when someone can measure it using a meter.

You had them in crossfire? If so then that supports my earlier guess of 85W.

 

so the hd6970m doesn't draw 100w there is chance that we could put it in the m15x but it will need the bios support to work.

 

as i can see there is a big chance and hope for M17xR2 to have CF6970 but need Thewiz for bios GPu Mod am i right?

 

Well that I was not aware of. The question is how would Alienware handle that claim? Clearly it was my own fault that caused the problem, I doubt my warranty would cover it unless it falls under the complete care plan. I'm not sure if complete care extends to cover stupidity.

 

Single GPU.

 

I'd say BIOS support is going to be the true deciding factor. According to my Kill-A-Watt, my laptop draws 240-245 watts constantly when I'm gaming. This is with 80/90 CPU and 800/1100 GPU. It doesn't trip until nearly 300 watts, which is FurMark and Prime95 running simultaneously. There is plenty of headroom for the 6970s. Again, BIOS support.

 

Even though it runs though, constant use over the rated limit will almost definitely kill the psu prematurely.

 

Thats why they make new ones.lol

 

The VBIOS is NOT incorporated into the system BIOS. The VBIOS is independent of the system BIOS, and flashed directly onto the video card.

The only tie-in between the system BIOS and the video cards is that the BIOS needs to know how to read the GPU temperature in order to control the fan speeds. That's why there's a GPU white-list in the system BIOS.

 

The temperature is not the reason. Money is the reason. Vendors do not want you using anything that they did not approve and sell you in their laptops. It would be harder to support and make it easier to upgrade, meaning less people would be buying whole new laptops instead just getting new gpus

 

Ichime, did the 6970 mobility have memory chips on the back of the PCB as well as the front, or only the front?

 

Now the question is: Will the R3 6970M work in the R2? It has a dell vbios so it just might. I can't wait to test this out.

 

You and me both.

 

The 5870s with a dell bios did not work in my R1 so it may not be that simple

Really wish it was!

 

Good discussions in this thread but I'm still left with the question of what should I do.

Should I try to call Dell and see if complete care will cover it?
If Dell does not cover it where can I get replacement 5870's?
Should I wait for the modded bios and get a pair of 6970's?
If I should get the 6970's where can I get them from?
Is there some other option that I should consider?

Thanks for all the good technical discussion and all the help you've provided!

 

I would call Dell it's complete care after all. I never had any issues using my complete care from my R1 and R2 you paid extra for it use it

 

You can call and just tell them that the cards are not working. Leave it up to them to figure out why

 

Is there any repercussion though, if they were to replace the cards for him and dell later finds out through testing that the reason they died was user activity not covered by the warranty?

Could they force him to give back the cards?

 

I would be very surprised if they were able to test and prove he damaged the cards. Further more, the most I could see them doing is declaring his warranty as void.

 

They wouldn't bother. They probably just send these parts back to the manufacturer for testing and refurbishing. I doubt their techs even verify it's not working. Doesn't seem like it would be cost effective.

The only way they'd be able to tell you bricked them is if you had to send the laptop in. Then they would do a full inspection and draw their own conclusions.

There wouldn't be any reprocussion. I've seen hundreds of parts replaced by Dell, some out of warranty limits. They don't follow up on it.

 

I also agree. Get Dell to send out a new pair.

 

Just got off the phone with Alienware customer support, they sent me a new set without question after going through their troubleshooting procedure over the phone. Thanks for all the helpful replies guys!

I still do want a set of 6970's though

 

i was just checking mxm upgrade website and i found that they will be testing the hd6970m in the m17x r2 shortly

MXM notebooks 3.0 and up