M17xR3 GPU upgrade

Hey all I'm after some advice. The time has come to upgrade my GPU from 580m I have m17xr3 with the 120hz 3d display. I do not care if 3D will work or not after the upgrade.

My questions are simple.
1) what do you guys think would be the best upgrade, as in least complications, best bang for buck, we all know what is best performance(780m) but i've read it is not compatible with 3d screens? (any thoughts on the 770m???)
2) Will i have any compatibility issues will i have with my 580m heatsink.
3)recommended sellers.

Thanks for all your help and input.

 

if you haven't already...refer to this thread. It will answer all your questions.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...are-m17x-r3-460m-780m-questions-concerns.html

 

Thanks Slick, I had a read of that thread some good stuff. Upgrade my laptop for ebay states that the 780m is not compatable with 3d screen so that rules that out. How is the 7970M will that work in my system?

 

Once you go with the 120hz screen, you need to stay with nvidia. If you installed a 7970m, and you tried to power it on, you'd get the dreaded 8 beeps and a black screen.

you may want to research if the 680m works with 3d. I've been away from these forums too long and I can't remember

 

I think the 680m will work but will only give normal picture not 3D.

 

ya, i tend to agree with this...if memory serves me correct, the bios determines what are valid 3d cards based on the deviceID. Because the 680 and 780 don't exist in this list, there's no 3d for them...eventhough 3d works fine on these cards.

 

Yup, the best GPU you can get with the R3 (and still retain 3D) is the 580m - exactly the same GPU as I have - 675m = rebadged 580m. My maximum is the 680m as dell sold the model with that GPU.

 

Thanks for the help guys, I'm regretting the 3d screen now as i don't use it for tha,t just the 120hz refresh was nice. I dropped a e-mail to eurocom and they confirmed the 680 is the way to go. They said that they are working on a way to get the 780 compatible but its a no-go for now. But hey the 680 will still be a nice boost right.......

 

Just remember that a 680 in an R3 is the same as a 780 in an R4, still no 3D. Eurocomm may have been confused when you asked about full functionality of a 680m in an R3? If you are not using the 3D then I would have thought there is no problem (except for needing a modded driver inf) getting a 780m to work.

Have a look over in the overvclocking thread - I'm sure there are some 780m users already posting.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all you help and comments. I decided to go for the 680 in the end has it has proven compatibility and is still a huge step up from the 580.

 

We do not recommend anything above the 580m for your platform but we have seen some success stories with newer video cards.
I hope the upgrade goes well and you get to enjoy your Alienware for a long time.

 

Thanks Luis,
Just trying to find out if i will need to flash a unlocked bios? The 3D already has the igpu disabled so is this required?

 

Where did you obtain your 680 from? I've been looking but have only seen what appears to be very overpriced cards on Ebay.

 

It may be required, I have seen many different scenarios and most of them have had different outcomes and issues.

 

I think you're fine without an unlocked bios. Make a mistake in the GPU selection on a 120hz model and you'll end up with a brick - been there, done that!