M17x r3 680M compatability

if i were you I would wait until they figure out a way to overvolt/extreme overclock the Dell 680M without throttling.

Edit: in case you're getting a R4 or M18x R2. Otherwise go ahead with Clevo cards.

 

Anything new on this?

680m in a 3d R3 with OC possible yet?

 

error 43 usually means the underside bracket is shorting the card.

 

can anyone do a youtube video? that be awesome!!

 

Hi So I have gone ahead and acquired a 680M for my M17XR3. I have been sent the Card, thermal paste, thermal pads, a layout for the pads, some screws for the card and a disc with the modded drivers on it for Alienware M17XR3.
After reading through the article I can see some ifs and buts which are confusing me mixed in with great installation techniques but I am stumped at the first hurdle.
My BIOS have now been updated to A10 and when I reboot and press F2 I can see the bios version is A10. Is this sufficient to go ahead and begin the installation procedure?
I was told to update the bios of my computer but unsure if that means updating to latest R3 bios, R4 bios or if there are some different kind of bios that I have missed completely. Anybody else know and have a procedure list from start to finish about what to do here?

I only have 60HZ screen so don't care about 3D.

 

You can only update the R3 bios to a newer R3 bios. Not an R4 bios. Currently the A10 bios is the newest version.

 

thats great news, I will go ahead and begin installation then and see where it takes me. Hopefully won't be too grief ridden but I don't have a great track record with PC's. Here goes...

EDIT: Ah crap! forgot to get some cleaning alcohol and I must be the only guy with a girlfriend who doesn't own nail polish remover. Poop!

Anyone got tips on alternative cleaning fluids?

 

If u upgrade from dell original card and paste u dont have to use alcohol because dell orinal paste is thin dry paste. So use few cotton butt should be fine.

Regarding the bios, when i upgrade mine, i use unlocked A10 bios. I since beginning of upgrade to 680m are disabling the igp. It is easier to install driver when windows only deal with one descrete graphics. Even now im using only 680m everytime.

 

What are the temps on the 680M like? Specifically the 4GB Clevo card in the R3.

 

Ok I installed it. It's now plugged in but can't be recognised. I tried setting up the nvidia drivers but installation failed as it could not find compatible hardware. (I'm assuming that means it can't read the card. Joy, this is going to be a lot of fun, I can tell.

 

I think you need the modified .inf file. If you bought it from upgradeyourlaptop on ebay they should have provided you with said file.

 

You can also try laptop2go.com and see if any of their drivers work for you.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 running Resurrection Remix

 

Is the card there in the device manager something like video adapters only? Do u disable the igp?

 

I check never goes beyond 75 degC during full load with BF3 will all setting to ultra.

 

Hey guys, this is my first post. I've been reading and keeping up and now that I know you can at least get a 680m working in the R3. I've been trying to pull legs at Dell to get them to sell me a 680m from them. From someone who's only current financial option atm might be AW's 680m (Dell Preferred Accnt), in performance, is it still around double the performance of their own 580m? Also, I know some people have gotten 680ms to function within the R3, have they had any issues after using modified drivers (inf's) if anyone had managed to pull AW's leg enough to get them to sell them the 680m? Thanks.

Also, AW tried to tell me that the reason they don't sell it as an upgrade is BSOD, HAS anyone received this problem even after all the updates and whatnot to get it working. I figured it's because of their driver choice and/or crappy thermal paste.

One more thing, anyone know if I can still use the 580m sink n fan with their own 680m GPU, I think I saw someone say yes, but I couldn't remember where and can't find it.

LMFAO, I'm on the phone with them now, going from department to department. The guy was like, it won't work, he contacts their "gaming" department, "Oh... it does work, but we don't support this configuration on the market", I told the guy, idc, think of it as an experiment, you guys make money, make me happy, and when I have the money, I'll get the R4 or R5 or the M18X R2/R3 or whatever they have when the time comes, cause i love their product, lmfao.

 

Hi Sinn3246,

im using the clevo 680m 4GB version. im using the old 6990m heatsink and its compatible. 580m heatsink also is compatible.
the 680m will come with X bracket that you need to use with your current heatsink.

so far i had one 680m that is defective and i have RMA it and get the replacement. Since i get the replacement ~ 1 month ago, i do not encounter any issue with this clevo 680m. It performs great. so far all my current game playable at full ultra settings (BF3,COH,SKYRIM,Diablo 3,Cyrsis 2). It got 7k in 3D mark 11 and 26K at 3D mark Vantage. Not sure how SLI 580m perform though.

I am very satisfy and couldt believe that this single gpu can outperform my old desktop with GTX 580. Now my old desktop sitting on the table untouch

If you willing to upgrade, try upgradeyour laptop. they sell the 680M 4GB versions.

 

Haha, thanks, hopefully it will come with an x-bracket, I didn't think about that. so didn't ask. I had waited nearly 4 hours today, the tech I was talking to seemed to have "pulled" arms to get it for me and I will have one in my hands in roughly 48 hours or by monday.

The one I'm getting is only a 2 GB version but still, it's better than nothing since I have a good standing dell preferred accnt with only a little in my bank, so I'm better off just going through them.

I'm going to follow all these instructions, though I was curious, recently I flashed my bios to the unlocked A08, should I flash up to the unlocked A10 for the 680m? And I do in time hope they get the 3d thing sorted (you guys I mean since AW straight out told me they aren't going to support the configuration, even though my warranty hasn't been voided, thank the gods, lmfao).

 

Hi Sinn3246,

When u say buying frm dell does it mean dell will install it for you?
Yeah im still keep the original 6990m in case i need to claim from dell.
Im not a fan for 3d and i only have 60hz screen so no issue for me.
Ok good luck and update when you have done urs.

Regarding the bios , i think should be ok as long u can disable the igp.

 

@sinn3246, how much did dell charge you for the 680m?

 

I'm sure I got ripped on the 680m at a price of $560 on the dot.

But with my patience, I couldn't wait to save the money to buy it from else where. Would have taken me indefinitely anyways, where currently since my accnt is still new I have no interest, so why the hell not, on the plus side, it's technically my GF's account, I just use it, lmfao.

 

No, I mean they are just sending me the card, all the necessary parts for installation including bracket, sink, fan, pads, there crappy paste (I have AS5), everything possibly needed as if they were putting it in themselves.

I will definitely be posting on the installation, and hopefully all goes on without a hitch.

Now, what about the A08 Unlocked vs A10 Unlocked for this card?

Thanks guys

 

That looks a good price to me. just got quoted in the UK from dell:
" If you want to proceed with the upgrade, you will have to pay the full price for the card. and the full price is 1,010.99 GBP. With the graphics card you will have to pay also for the heatsink, with the price of 9.43 £, and the price of the technician 94.00 £. After that you will also keep the original graphics card. There is no option for partial discount/refund from your current graphics card.

If you want to proceed with the upgrade, please call us so we can proceed with the upgrade."

I asked about warranty and why so expensive and got this:
"regarding the change of graphics cards, according to dell internal polici, we have parts that are CRU, which means the parts that customers are alowed to replace by themselves without loosing their warranty, like memory modules, HDDs, but unfortunatelly, graphics card is not one of them. So if you will buy the graphics card by yourself cheaper from 3rd party reseller, it will not only be included as an upgrade, but by changing the graca by yourslef you will also loose your warranty. "

Of course I would have the original parts should I need warranty service but still, wow!

 

Hi managed to uninstall the drivers again and am waiting for clarification from upgradeyourlaptop (Eurocom). I have the disc with these files in it and unsure what to do as there isn't any instructions. Don't want to touch it until I know what I'm doing with it.



don't know if photo shows up...

 

you cant install because the nvcv.inf do not have your card device id to enable the driver setup to continue. i had the same problem before. please check my earlier post. Slick dude has pointed me how to resolve this.

 

That seems reasonable. Did you close the deal in one call? Do you have a contact detail of the sales rep? I'll try to contact the rep I know and see if he can give me the same deal Thanks!

 

If you have your reps number would you please pm it to me? That price seems pretty good to me.

 

Ye, it sounds good. I emailed him. They start work 4pm EST as he is from Puerto Rico but I've closed more than couple of deals with him before. I'll send you his email if it's possible to order from him and if the price is good. If not maybe we can get the contact details from Sinn3246

 

Haha, sure guys. I have the direct line to their "Gaming/Advanced Tech" for AW and spoke with a guys named Anbres Delgado, his e-mail is [email protected].

I'm not sure if the number will work outside of the US but the number I used is 1 (877) 330-9732

Hopefully they give you the same price as they gave me, haha. Just be aware it's the 2GB ver. I don't think BF3 even on ultra will use all of that be near it, I think. And I don't run multi-monitor setups or a huge monitor, just my laptop. lmfao. Good Luck

 

I have no idea how our warranties may be different other than the expire date, but the rep told me that as long as whatever caused the issues with the laptop isn't from the gpu, then my laptop is still covered by warranty. RAM blows or HDD, it's covered, but if I fry the pcie controller for the GPU while the 680m is in, it's not covered and then I'll have to buy a replacement MB.

 

Yeah, that's the way I always understood it - I have noticed different 'application' of the warranty in different countries even though it's supposed to be an international warranty. Probably just an attempt to get me to part with the cash but jeez, $1640.00. I'm used to computer equipment being around 1/3 higher than US prices but this is a rip-off of extraordinary proportions

 

Yeah, I completely agree that's nuts. If that was the case, and they don't come down from that price, then I'd just get the clevo 4GB one, freaking cheaper. But you might be able to talk them down, make a customer happy and still make some dough. At least that was the talk I gave them when the first rep kept telling me he couldn't sell me the part and I was the most persistent, lmfao.

 

Has to be worth a try I guess but I'll be dealing with support in a different country (India), with a different 1st language, and a very different culture - although I do have to say that they are very understanding of disabled customers

My only worry with the clevo card is the vbios. I haven't seen anyone yet with an R4 confirming that 3D works with a non-dell card, and I'm not keen on flashing a new card out-of-the-box (or tracking a dell vbios down)

 

So, do you think you shorted your card out? or managed to fry it during one of your gaming sessions? Any idea on how it became defective? I think if it was working prior to dying I'm thinkin something went wrong. Someone else on here said error 43 is a short due to the bracket?

I'm trying to make sure so I don't kill my card, lmfao.

How long till you get your replacement?

 

As of right now with a little research, my understanding is that anything other than a dell configured card that is standard in the model, even the upgrades through dell that is "Dell Compatible", you lose 3d, but I'm not entirely sure since I'm referring to an R3 where an R4 does come standard with the 680m option. So don't quote me on this. I did all my research on the R3, know I'm losing 3D, but I don't care... I get practically 2x the performance over the 580m. And if the guys here do eventually figure out how to get the 3D working, awesome, but performance first I saw.

 

Yeah, that's the kicker - I have an R4 now and I really have become used to the awesome 3d that I can't give that up now. All my research says that it should work but since 3d relies on the card ID (which might be different in a non-dell card) being in the bios (certified) it is a gamble. If I can't get a definitive answer, or a better price from Dell, I'll wait till the games overtake the power of my 675 and take a punt.

 

It does show up in the devices list as NVIDIA GEFORCE 680M with a yellow triangle next to the image with and exclamation mark in.
I spoke with Kevin at upgrade your laptop and he kept saying, just install the exe file. Even when I asked what all the other folders were like Display.Driver folder etc he just kept saying click the exe file and install it. Not very clear on what all this stuff is and when I mentioned .inf file he said I didn't need it and click the exe file.

I'm starting to think Kevin has some OCD issues about .exe files...

EDIT: I have now tried to install the drivers via the exe file and it says Installation failed. no reason, just a big fat fail. Any ideas?

 

For these guys, did you get any error messages, or just installation failed? I know you said no reason, but figured I'd have you double back.

 

Im not surewhy the 1st card become defective without any reason. Guess itsa latent defect card..some reliability issues or what.

I got the replacement 1 week after i send back the defective card for RMA.

 

I still think that is the setup config file issue that ive mention earlier.

Can you try modified it to include your card hardware ids?

 

Hi guys just got installation failed via the nvidia installer and a list of the items not installed correctly. (VIA the installer)
DADDYZ don't know exactly what you mean by try modified it. Is there an explanation as to what needs to be done in relation to this somewhere.

Forgive me for being a little dumb but I want to be sure im doing things slowly and correctly.
Kevin is not very helpful on upgradeyourlaptop as he has suddenly gone quiet as to my emails.

Had a look at laptops2go aswell and its almost impossible to work out the wheat from the chaff. Anyone got a run down of what I need to do step by step as the .exe file of nvidia modified drivers does not seem to install.

 

Hi, might be able to clear this up a little for you.

The files you got with the card should be already modified to allow the install to complete. In the display.drivers folder there are a bunch if .ini files and you replace or edit one of these to add the ID of your new card. You can download modded ini files from laptopvideo2go : LaptopVideo2Go: Drivers.

If your install completes but then says failed you are already getting past the point of 'hardware not found' error.

My only suggestion at this point would be to remove the device in device manager, select to delete the software as well, and allow it to restart from scratch. Copy the DVD you got to a folder on the HD so you can browse to it if windows asks.

 

Thanks MickyD1234 I will look into it and check the display.drivers folder but where do these ini files go? I can copy folder to hard drive but if the installation fails then surely there will be no folders to copy it to?

Are there step by step instructions about what to do somewhere so I don't get lost along the way?
I now may have partially installed folders and stuff on my laptop that will scupper clean installs so what can I do to clean my drivers off fresh and start again etc

I only wish that things are as simple as people like upgradeyourlaptop say they are but then I guess that doesn't get them money.

 

Don't know of any giude but they are probably out there.

What you need to do is create a folder on your c drive. Call it NVIDIA for ease and then copy the whole driver dvd to it. Then run the setup from there. If you are not getting an error when the install starts, failing with the error 'hardware not found', then you do not need a modified ini file (they are in the display.drivers sub folder and you'll have to copy them to the HD if you want to change one!)

For the clean install just try removing the device first, it might work. And if you download the latest approved drivers from NVIDIA these might work. They are the first WHQL release from nvidia that worked (without a modified ini file) on my 675 and they state 680 supported. Drivers | GeForce.

After that you'll be into cleaning and removing software components - I haven't had to do that yet

Wish it was straightforward but it is the latest card, on a different core and problems are going to happen, especially as drivers are only just becoming available . I just hope it's not the card.

 

Yeah and I have an SSD which seems to be a pain too. I will use CCLEANER too and wipe the nvidia files I find see if that helps me out too. Whats the latest NVIDIA drivers and what will they do on my M17XR3 as I thought unless its an R4 they will not install.

also, should I do and express install or custom?

EDIT: Tried express stall but the installer seems to take a long time on the 3D VISION DRIVER. Is this needed for my laptop (60hz monitor) as I don't need 3D capabilities as it cannot produce 3d images anyway.

 

The link I gave above is the latest NV driver. It is for any machine with a supported card.

Select custom and then clean install. You can try to uncheck the 3d components before the install at this point if that seems to be the problem area but give it a few mins as sometimes it can appear to hang..

 

NVIDIA driver v306.23

 

When do I replace it and where to?

also here is what happened when I installed drivers again from C:/ drive as per Mickyd1234 instruction.



And I went into the NVIDIA CORPORATION FOLDER and saw these folders in there



So I went into control panel to run the app and got this message



Hmmm interesting.

 

Have there been any benches done with an R3 680M to compare to an R4 680M? I realize the R4 may score marginally higher due to processor difference but I'm curious as to whether the PCIe 2.0 vs 3.0 difference would show.

 

Is that from a clean install? Did you try removing the device altogether and letting it re-install? Also try the latest driver with a clean install