M17x r3 680M compatability

3D model?
Dell/Clevo ?
Win 7/8 ?

1 Power off/remove power cord
2 Remove Battery
3 Hold power button 30 sec.
4 Remove CMOS battery

Now check if the card is fully inserted.

Put CMOS battery back>batterry>power cord>Power on>enter the bios F2>check if the card is detected.

 

1. 3D
2. Dell
3. Win 7
Unfortunately nothing worked and I just took it in for repair.
Tell me please, be sure to flash the A12 unlock or simply the original A12?

 

I don't believe you need the unlocked bios on the 120hz model. The iGPU is already unavailable and if you make a mistake in the bios and set igpu it will brick - maybe this is what happened originally?

 

i think i also experience with this... 1st take out the G.card
check back your thermal pad on VRAM .. make sure the thermal pad are covered all VRAM around the card..
after that, don't put back your G.card into the slot.. just start back your AW then go to BIOS..
check at graphic, choose PEG .. don't ever try to use SG ..
SG = switch graphic
PEG = PCI Express Graphic
then F10 >> Reboot >> Hold Alienhead power button to shutdown..

Insert back you G.card into the slot, then start like a normal.. try, i'm not pro with this.. just done when i also have this problem on GTX 660M

 

Did you enable IGP as MickyD asked ? Don't
PEG enabled ? Yes
A12 unlocked Bios brings Sata III speeds back, before taking it to repair a blind flash could fix things (corrupt Bios update)
Previous GPU ?

 

Those who updates the map to R3 A12unlock bios be careful with because it does not turn off automatically in case of overheating. when I installed my first GTX680m I forgot to connect the loop cooler. And while the windows installed card overheated and went artifacts. Outcome: gtx680m burned!

GP was on, the previous card gtx460m. Still there is one interesting feature: when I lay it 2 days without the battery and the network. Today I turned it on and it booted up everything was fine! Laptop passed the test 3dmark c gtx460m and good, but after the restart it again showed me 8 beeps. then I took it to a service.

sorry for the ugly language, I use a translator.

 

That has nothing to do with Unlocked A12 Bios, what was reverted Sata III speed from A08.

 

Modded nvdm.inf M17XR3 GTX 680M v. 313.96 :thumbsup:


Drivers | GeForce

 

Strange nvdm.inf modifications. Why not just add needed lines ?

Code:

[COLOR="#D3D3D3"][SIZE=1][...][/SIZE][/COLOR]
%NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.0490.1028% = Section[COLOR="#FF0000"]???[/COLOR], PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_11A0&SUBSYS_04901028
[COLOR="#D3D3D3"][SIZE=1][...][/SIZE][/COLOR]
NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.0490.1028 = "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M    "
[COLOR="#D3D3D3"][SIZE=1][...][/SIZE][/COLOR]

What section is the more appropriated because each [Section???] have little differences like a [nv_miscBase_addreg__XX] call and additional value declarations ?

 

It was failing so I didn't check anymore just overrode it, thanks for the useful reminder.

Code:

%NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.0490.1028% = Section216, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_11A0&SUBSYS_04901028 

Code:

%NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.0490.1028% = Section217, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_11A0&SUBSYS_04901028 

Code:

NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.0490.1028 = "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M "

 

Haha, Thanks buddy!!

 

great job on the guides. after sending my first card back and waiting a painful couple of weeks i received my replacement 608M today, had it up and running in no time.

 

Here you go http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...dows-8-clean-install-drivers.html#post9065543

 

Anyone knows DELL part numbers for 680M M17xR4 heatsink and crossplate?

I have just got a 680M from LannBot and found out, that the crossplate is a must and a new heatsink with proper thermal pads is also a good step. It seems that the 6970M heatsink is somehow compatible, but Id like to have 100%.

Those Part numbers would help me a lot.

 

No part numbers i' afraid but I do know I called dell about a 680m and they offered to sell me the heatsink - complete with pads and paste for around £25.00.

 

i got the 580m heatsink and it works just fine. the only thing you need to do is take the black tape off the copper plate on the heatsink (which you could probably do with the 6970M. I found the x-bracket that came with the heatsink had a metal shield for the vram modules which seemed to put a fair amount of pressure on the card so i ordered one from e-bay that didn't have the heat shield.

 

Thanks for the help guys. At this moment Ive got dell on the phone, se let me see how much they will want for the Xplate and heatsink.

Thanks a lot again.

Btw. is it just me who is said, that the switchable graphics doesnt work? I have read hundreds of post and it seems, that nobody even take care about it and I dont get why..? Its always better to turn PEG off so the computer itself is much quieter and with less power consumption.

 

On the R3, switchable graphics does not work.

 

Yeah, I have got that, but i dont get why not and if we can do somethin to help the gurus to make this work.

 

im new so i know im probably not gonna get a reply but i cant get drivers installed for my GTX 670MX my notebook is alienware m17x r3 any ideas?

 

Follow this guide http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability-63.html#post9038829 instead of nvdm.inf use nvcv.inf, next time give more detailed info Win7 skip disable driver signing (step 2 & 4).

 

Hi k-man832, good to meet you here. Thanks to the guys at Laptopvideo2go.com, I download all my Nvidia drivers from there. Click on the Drivers Link at the top of the homepage, and for Windows 7 drivers it is the same download as currently shown for Windows 8.
I had the same issue as you with the GTX670M Fermi GPU and their drivers worked just great. Hope it helps.

 

Hi there, i want to upgrade my gtx 580m of my M17X R3 to a gtx680m (i think i ll go for a dell 2gb version instead of clevo 4gb version), so does the dell version one also needs to use modded drivers ? And will it support Hdmi in and out function ? thanks

 

p.s. i m already using a12 unlocked bios, and my os is win7 64. Another thing is if i want to overclock the dell version 680m a bit on my 17x r3 in the future? do i also ve to flash the vbios ? or i can just oc it through nvidia control panel just like normal? thanks

 

I have the Dell 2GB card and it does still need the modded driver. the HDMI out works fine, but i haven't tested the HDMI in so i can't comment on that.

 

And how about the overclock problem ? do i have to flash the vbios or i can just normally oc it in nvidia panel ? Because i heard that the original vbios has tweaking problems when working on a R3 so many people just flash the vbios? i have no idea about this.

 

For software unlocked OC vbios mods NVIDIA Kepler VBIOS mods - Overclocking Editions, modified clocks, voltage tweaks choose to flash between stock voltage or OV, I'm using OV 1.025 1000/2250 w/ Nvidia Inspector NVIDIA Inspector Download version 1.9.6.9




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Hello. Leave me an email adress so we can talk more about the card. You can also find me at [email protected]

 

Thanks for the help. So one final question, if i decide to install the gtx 680m on my brother's M17x R4 (currently using 660m), will things be a lot easier just like normal cards? or i still have to use modded drivers or so on? thanks

 

The 680m should be plug and play in the R4 since it is an option from Dell.

 

So I tried using msi afterburner to overclock my card and it seemed to work fine without doing a vbios flash...i though after reading through some of the threads that it couldn't be done without a vbios flash. did i misunderstand that?

 

With the R4 there's no need to mod the .inf file.

Yeah but you're limited to 135 MHz OC with svl7 vbios the core is set to 758 MHz and raising the default clock will enable GPU BOOST which is disabled now due to the lack of support at a bios level.

 

So with the R4 if i use the dell version 680m card then i don't even have to disable SG n IGP in bios ? How about if i put a clevo version 680m into the R4 ? just curious

 

right, time for my silly n00b posts again!! basically I'm not really sure what 680M card I have anymore... how can I find out and then work out if I can overclock it...?

Thanks!!

EDIT: Downloaded nVidia inspector and it says subvendor: DELL (1028)

Do I assume its a Dell then? and download the correct vbios to accompany that?

Thanks

 

Go to Nvidia control panel, click the help tab and select "system Information"

 

The amount of memory is usually a good indicator. 2=dell, 4=ANOther. If it has been flashed with a dell bios before you got it that is what would come up.

 

cheers lads, well it's a 4GB card...



Also I dont have a spare USB Pen drive at the mo, can the vbios simply be flashed in Windows...?

On my research I found this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...nvflash-version-use-gtx-680m.html#post8790074

would it be ok to do that?? Also should I download the clevo vbios then??

Thanks!

Edit: going back on eBay: I can read the item title: Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M 4GB DDR5 for clevo eurocom etc..

 

Yes you can easily flash from within windows and as long as you do not have the 120hz display you can always go back to the backup you made before the flash if it goes bad

 

As always sir, your speedy responses are always helpful!!

Just to confirm:

Back-up bios
Flash Clevo 680M vbios using the nvflash in windows (do you have a link handy for the nvflash? Googling isnt helping my n00b...)

Really required...?

Uninstall drivers
use Driver Sweeper before flashing...

Thanks!!

 

You're welcome

Personally, I'd just see first what you can do with it using nvidia inspector. If you hit a wall with the overclock then hunt down a vbios that claims to remove the limit (135mhz I believe). The drivers step is only needed if you are installing the card for the first time from a different one (AFAIK) and more likely to cause issues if it is already working fine.

Good place for a ton of utilities and stuff: Guru3D.com

Edit 2: NVFlash Download nVFlash 5.127 Free - An NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility - Softpedia

 

Cheers mate, one last thing actually the thermal pads that cover the chips - any ideas where I can buy new ones??

Thanks man!

 

Not in the UK. I know you need two different thicknesses AND some sort of thermal putty for the VRM section but the last time I used that stuff I was in the US and it was for a bunch of water cooling blocks. I believe this is where I got them, and most of my WC stuff: FrozenCPU.com | 1.877.243.8266 | World's Largest Selection of PC Modification Supplies

They are reusable though and often I'd put a tiny blob of liquid compound on them just to improve the contact (and to see how good the contact is when removing )

When you purchase a heatsink from Dell it comes with all the pads and paste pre-applied.

Good luck!

 

Thanks again man, I re-used the old ones but just thought if their easy to get might as well...

Can't actually get nvflash to run in Windows 8 - seriously wonder why I upgraded.... must be an easy way to downgrade back to Win 7...

 

NP

Good luck with that! I have the cheap win 8 licence but not gonna use it until all these annoying things are known. Probably it is 'protecting' you from a program accessing the hardware. You might need an elevated command prompt to do it but I have no idea (or inclination ) how you would go about that...

 

Hello I did upgrade to a R3 dell gtx680m but I watch gpu trotting when temperature reaches 78 degrees. I use the official BIOS A12. Fix it?

 

Nope, no fix for that. You need to look at your thermal solution (heatsink) as you should never get that hot - unless you are overvolting and overclocking to the max!

 

this is bad news. really no way out? I use arctic silver 5

 

Nope, went through all this with dell and my 580m. They refused to fix it as it puts the machine 'outside of thermal specification'. It's not going to be a paste quality issue that only accounts for a couple of degrees at most.

What did the heatsink come off of?

Did you look up all the pad placements?

Did you get a new X-plate with the card?

Was there any tape around the GPU core area on the heatsink?

All play their part in the total heat dissipated.

 

That's the Dos version, for windows use this one Download NVFlash 5.118 for Windows | techPowerUp.

Download nvflash 5.118 to desktop>unzip it>open nvflash folder copy/paste .rom file (vbios).

Command prompt (Admin) windows key + X

1-Type "cd C:\Users\"your user name"\Desktop\nvflash_windows_5.118" (without quotes) hit enter.

2-Back up first. Type "nvflash.exe -b backup.rom" hit enter (with spaces)

3-Vbios flash. Type "nvflash.exe -6 vbiosname.rom" hit enter.

4-Type "y" twice to confirm.

5-Flash successful, reboot.

DOS method is safer, follow this guide [GUIDE] NVIDIA VBIOS flashing

For Clevo cards Downloads
Dell cards Downloads

NVIDIA Kepler VBIOS mods - Overclocking Editions, modified clocks, voltage tweaks

 

Finally I have just got the Heatsink with Xplate from DELL as a standalone part ( it was around 70USD incl. shipping, but a bit problematic to order, they didnt like the idea to get this part ordered just by phone without a service incident, anyway, Dell rep did a great job and its finally here).

I have noticed that you are talkin about the tape around the GPU core. I really wonder if it is better to have it on place or remove it? I have just removed original thermal paste and placed a MX4 one but I have left the black tape on it..

It can make sense to leave it there, because it can collect the heat and push it forwards to the heatsink.