M17x r3 680M compatability

.. now it's all about gaming I guess .. anyway does anyone know if upgrademonkey's cards come with thermal pads on it ,ive ordered my 680m from there. because I can't find any locally

 

Update 4 j95

got myself a M17x R4 without CPU and GPU (2nd hand).
So now I have 2 M17X
- R3 with 2920XM - 6990m - 12Gb Ram
- R4 with 3820QM - 680m - 16Gb Ram
:rolleyes2:

 

Okay crap , guys I need some Help ! Today I received my 680m , so I flashed my bios to A12 unlocked , installed my gpu to the laptop (I used the 6990m Heatsink and xbracket since they matched) but my pc was unable to detect the 680m in the bios . So I tried to reseat the card . After that still no bios detect still wasn't able to install the drivers (no hardware found + replaced the inf ) . Any help would be appreciated because I'm afraid I wasted 550 euros ... maybe I should ask for return ? :S don't know what to do . How do I contact upgrademonkey ? It takes 1 - 2 days to contact me via email ...

 

Did you disable the intel graphics and take the black tape off the heat sink? From what I remember the 6990 die is at a different angle from the nvidia cards so you can't just change to the nvidia card without removing it. I used a 580m heat sink and still had to remove the black tape so there would be full contact with the card. I purchased my first card from upgrademonkey and it worked for about 10 mins and then all I got was 6 beeps . they were really good about the return and gave me a full refund (excluding return shipping of course)

 

UPDATE

removed the tape went to bios disabled IGP set to PEG and now 6 beeps and I can't even boot my pc anymore .. how do I turn my IGP back ? : ( ...
thanks anyway shnogger .. btw how should I approach upgrademonkey what did you say ?

 

I had to do a blind flash when that happened to me.
There is link to a guide in this thread...I haven't been able to find it again so if someone else know where it is hopefully they can post it.
I will have another look shortly.
When I bought mine they guarantee a non DOA card (which hopefully they still do), and I would call your card DOA. I simply emailed them stating the card doesn't work...they will probably send you links for this thread to follow for the install to try and get it to work.

 

UPDATE
for last resort I install my card naked (without heatsink pads and bracket) ... and it worked ... -.- .. well at least as long as it took to overheat and shutdown of coarse . So I think the problem is the 6990m's bracket . What do you think guys ? Shouldn't be the bracket included anyway ? Where do I get the bracket for the 2GB 680m ?

 

Before blindflashing, you could try to reset the bios. Remove the coin battery and press the power button (30sec).
Reseat the battery and start it. First you should get 5 beeps, thats OK. It tells you the bios - battery was removed.
Restart and all should be ok.

Just to get things sorted.
You installed the 680m without heatsink and it worked?

If I remember right the heatsink of the 6990m should fit the 680m (remove blacktape on heatsink).

On the other hand you can get yourself a new 100W heatsink from ebay.

cheers

 

I cut the black tape from my heatsink and put it between the bracket and the card and now my card works fine .. is this gonna create any problems ?

 

I've just upgraded my 6970M to a 4GB GTX680M and I re-used my 6970's heatsink without any issues (I removed the black tape on the heatsink). The eBay seller (Upgradeyourlaptop) provided the correct X-plate with the card, and also thermal pads and thermal paste.

 

that's great .. did u take the upgrade kit ? my card came without the bracket ....
anyway I finally pulled all the pieces together , installed the drivers but I get very high temps 52-53 C on idle and 70 +++ when on load .. they might seem normal .. but the thing is that when it reaches 70 ++ the clock are around 400 :S

 

I'd chase them up for the correct bracket. The latest GPU cores are thinner so the contact is not as good using an old bracket. Without an OC you should never see any higher than 70C and a good max is around 68C.

 

they don't seem very professional .. when I asked about the bracket the first time the answer was this ..
"Hello it appears you do not have the minimum knowledge to perform the upgrade.

The X-bracket is not included in the listing , so not supplied, and not required.

do reaseach first , or you may damage the card !

and you need to use the X-bracket from old card and put on 680M

, you now need to enable the intergraded card.

log into OS


Regards
Lee
"

-_-"

 

ROFL ... when I told them about my card reaching 74 C on 400 clocks DDDD the replied with this !

"2, the temp is ok, 70 is very low, and it is clocks down when idle (very normal again)


Please learn some basic knowledge of upgrading.


Regards
Lee"

 

The guy is obviously working with desktop data or bad notes. It can also clock down because it is too hot. What a *****!

Hit him up with this: The 680 m has a 28nm thickness core, the 6990 is (couldn't find it but very unlikely to be the same), the posts on the x-bracket are specific to this measurement. It is important that this pressure is good in a laptop GPU.

Temps of 70's are just fine on my desktop cards, not even stretching them.

 

i ordered the 580m heat sink from dell which came with the x-bracket however it seemed like the heat shield for the vram modules put quite a bit of pressure on them so i ended up buying this one GPU Spreader X Bracket FOR MXM 3 0B Nvidia GTX AND Quadro With Matching Screws | eBay and it worked just fine.

 

Hi All https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vEk_ZFAzLI#at=306


Anyway to install

1. Take off back panel (2 screws either side of the battery) then slide off forward.

2. Unscrew fan left fan (laptop upside down front away from you)

3. Lift out fan, this was a bit tricky but got it out from wiggling it a bit

4. Unscrew GPU 2screws left and right of GPU

5. Remove GPU lift up from the back of card and towards you. Be careful it's tricky.

6. Now you have he GPU out with the heat sink and heat pipes attached.

7. Unscrew heat sink and carefully pop the card off, this took me and age as it was quite stuck

8. I cleaned the heat sink of all residue thermal paste using nail varnish remover, it was all I had but seemed to work

9. I applied new thermal paste (IC Diamond) to the new 680m and new thermal pads

10. Repeated all steps in reverse order putting it all back together.

After this I turned on installed the drivers and much to my surprise works perfectly. I've had no issues at all but I have no idea what temps it should be running at so if anyone has some advice I would be grateful.

Currently idle is between 52 and 57
Under load its 67 to 77

Thanks for any advice and hope this helps. Oh and if you follow these instructions it's at own risk

(Enter the A12 unlocked bios, disable the integrated graphics Advanced Menu>Video Configuration>disable IGP and set PEG.
disable the integrated graphics: Advanced Menu>Video Configuration>disable IGP>set display to PEG>F10>reboot.

Download Nvidia driver
1-Install Nvidia driver.
2-extract.
3-Installation failed>close dialog.
4-Browse the extracted Nvidia folder>open Display.Driver folder> copy and replace nvdm.inf.
5-Run setup.exe within the extracted Nvidia folder.
6-Select custom install>next>Check clean install option>uncheck Nvidia update.z)


1) Enter the A12 unlocked bios [M17x R3] - BIOS A12 'unlocked' & 'SATA tweak' , disable the integrated graphics Advanced Menu>Video Configuration>disable IGP>set display to PEG>F10>reboot.





3) Driver installation.

Download NVIDIA DRIVERS 320.49BETA


.1 -Install Nvidia driver.

.2 -extract.

.3 -Installation failed "No compatible device found">close dialog.

.4 -Browse the extracted Nvidia folder (C:\Nvidia)>open Display.Driver folder> copy and replace with the provided nvdmn.inf.

.5 -Run setup.exe within the extracted Nvidia folder. (green icon .exe)

.6 -Select custom install>next>Check clean install option>uncheck Nvidia update.

.7 -Reboot.
Modded nvdmn.inf http://forum.notebookreview.com/atta...0m_v320.49.zip

 

Hey all,
Just ordered the 680m to upgrade my 580m with 3D, I'm after any tips please.
Will i need to flash the unlocked bios for this? Are there any other problems i should be aware of
Thanks for your help

 

I don't know whether technically you NEED to flash an unlocked BIOS, but I run a 680M with the A12 unlocked BIOS + SATA fix and it works perfectly. I had already flashed it a while ago to disable Intel graphics and to run SATA III speeds, so I can't comment on 680M compatibility with older and/or unlocked BIOS's.

 

I don't believe so. From what I read some people needed an unlocked bios to force the dGPU. Since you do not have an iGPU it should not matter, in fact I managed to brick my R3 with one of those unlocked bios - bad selection

 

I ROFL when I read this...:thumbsup:


Fixed 680m definitely runs cooler on thickness alone.

 

What do you mean by "flash an unlocked bios" ? ( computer noob)

 

A BIOS with all advanced BIOS options unlocked, that normally aren't visible for users to change on the official Dell releases.

For example: You need an unlocked BIOS to disable Intel graphics and only use your GPU. This makes it possible to install later drivers from NVidia and AMD, amongst other things.

It's worth flashing, with very little risk, as long as you do a bit of research into any settings that you change and follow any available guides on this forum.

 

Just to add to this, changing the video options on a 3D model by using an unlocked bios can end up with an unusable machine (bricked). Since this model does not have the iGPU connected the issue of forcing the dGPU does not arise

 

I can't down nvdmn.inf ? reupload a link

 

Interested to know why the 680m bottom side, horizontal line of chips are not covered by the x-plate.

They don't need cooling as much as the vertical line of chips?

I assume none of bottom chips are part of the 2048 memory and these are all on top of the card?

 

As far as I know the chips on the underside are the second bank of 2048 on the 4gb models. A dell x-bracket may not have a plate that I have seen mentioned (but not seen) but nobody has reported any issues with overheating

 

Mine's the 4GB model with a re-used 6970M heatsink, and I played Bioshock Infinite for nearly 4 hours continuously this afternoon in the 30 degree UK "heatwave" and had no overheating problems.

 

Good to know, thanks

 

Thanks for feedback here and your PM

 

guys after I installed my 680m + a12 unlocked bios .. I noticed some perfomance loss on my system . On boot sometimes before the log in screen I get a black screen with my cursor and the loading circle .. and sometimes even system freeze but not on random occasions only after boot and only like 2 - 10 boot .. anyone got any ideas ? Is it the new bios fault ? my hard drive is sata 2 . Is it possible the default new bios settings are affecting its speed ?

 

Which driver are you using? The latest ones are having a LOT of issues so I'd try an older one (314.22) just to eliminate that if you are on the latest one.

 

I'm using 320.49-beta .. okay I'll downgrade asap and post the results .
For once again thank you

 

I installed 314.22 but I had lower performance on games so I tried to switch back 320,49 beta but somehow I messed something up and there is display adapter on the device manager and I'm not able to install any drivers ... ¯\(°_o)/¯

 

Is it listed as a standard VGA adapter?

 

no there were no display adapters on my device manager .. maybe i screwed something up with driversweeper ? dont know .. I did a system restore and it fixed the problem and I was able to install 320.49 beta again .. thank lord

 

New in GeForce R326 Drivers

Performance Boost – Increases performance by up to 19% for GeForce 400/500/600/700 series GPUs in several PC games vs. GeForce 320.49 WHQL-certified drivers.

NVIDIA DRIVERS 326.19BETA


http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...river-v-6-10-0-6421-maxx-audio-3-quality.html

Driver installation / vbios flash guide http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability-63.html#post9038829


nvdmn.inf v326.19

 

Hows this working for you? The .92v boost is not happening at all on mine and so far even with a decent OC I am not seeing P1 hit at all - even 5c cooler!

 

Working well slightly better image quality under Win 8.1, no v spikes anyway with modded vbios. 3DVision issue is fixed through drivers as it should be, since v326.01 win 8.1 these drivers have four sections w/ install entries maybe Nvidia fixed the blank screen bug due to win 8.1 preview release.

 

Cool, maybe? I do notice a black screen now for about 5 seconds at game initialisation for every game but other than that all looks good.

The image quality looks better to me but so subjective, lets see if any 680/3d users can install, even though NV said it would not work until a vbios update??

 

Windows 8.1 preview slightly improved performance compared to win8 results +250.


OC 1006/4600

P8196 Nvidia drivers v326.01 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2960XM Processor,Alienware M17xR3

P8215 Nvidia drivers v326.19 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2960XM Processor,Alienware M17xR3

 

That's pretty close and could just be test error.

 

Yeah it is but still better than P7960 win8 result.

 

Some pictures of the installation. Followed Dell GPU guide. The card is working great. Thanks Riri-Fifi

Had to add extra thermal pads to make sure the chips on the back are covered as I saw in other pictures. (The 3 dark black ones) The blue one didn't cover the chips... it seems the heatsink is for the 580m and the 580m chips are a bit back near the blue section as in here
I kept the black tape and the thermal pad stuck on the motherboard. I think it will do fine cooling the chips not covered by the x-plate.

Spoiler

I'm not sure about temperatures. Monitoring them 24/7 to make sure everything is fine.
~54 C @ idle / 135 Hz.
~58 C @ semi-idle
~65 C @ 80% Load

Seems ok to me

Software went smoothly with IGP disabled ofc. Sticking with 314.22 driver. Don't want to risk it with the new dodgy drivers.
Linux working fine too, had a bit of trouble cleaning the remains of AMD drivers on Linux. DisplayPort working. Didn't test HDMI.

Feel free to ask questions or recommend something!

 

Greetings all,

I have a m17x r3 and for the GPU it's the 580m. After multiple issues with this card and being fed up with it, I've been "offered" a 680m card. Others have said in different threads that it won't be supported if it's put in my r3, yet Alienware wants to send out a tech to do just that.

Anyone else have any experience with this? I know that this thread is mainly people doing it themselves, but I just want to make sure Dell isn't putting a band-aid over a laceration, so to speak.

Thanks for your time and responses

 

MOSFET

Interesting dell offering a 680m as replacement, if warranty covers it...why not. Dell technician modding drivers, (60Hz screen) flashing unlocked BIOS....

Guide http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability-63.html#post9038829

 

I had similar nightmares with my R3/580 and eventually they replaced the whole machine with the one in my sig.

I am surprised dell offered that card. The last person I saw that asked for a different card form the 580 was given the top AMD that was offered with the R3. If you have a 120hz model then 3D will not work but you are getting a much better card .

good luck with it.

 

Those capacitors you crossed out do still want to make contact with the heatsink since they work hard too.

 

Since the capacitors are so close to the mosfet area which under stress reaches +120C large temperature difference between components, reverse effect ? 580m thermal images http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ttling-see-post-191-later-29.html#post8400372 680m capacitors slightly more distant.

 

I don't see any way to disable IGP in the modded BIOS. I was able to set the display though to PEG.

Also, after running the 326.19 Drivers and having them fail and then dropping the nvdmn.inf in the Display.Driver folder, I tried to rerun setup.exe in the extracted folder, I just get the message that there's no compatible hardware found.

Ideas?