Need to upgrade my Alienware M17x R2, where to start?

I havent worked on my computers for ages, and is totally out for sync on where to start.
Guess this is kindergarden questions for most of you.
Need to upgrade to be able to run most games etc.
Not for having the fastest Alien alive (At least not at first)

Using standard A10 BIOS. (no overclocking ability)
Got 4 GB RAM 2 off 2 GB 1333 DDR3
I7 720 CPU
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (double, but not sure if crossfire works, not able to use Catalyst, what to do?)

Just got a SSD disk Corsair Neutron GTX 240.
That helped a LOT on performance, but couldn't install my normal HDD as secondary disk.
Missing this DELL 90 deg bracket for horizontal (normal disc) to vertical DELL socket.
Someone mentioned that this should normally be installed in the slot, but not on this computer. Had to use the adaptor connector to be able to run the SSD disc.
What socket adapter to buy to be able to insert the normal HDD for more storage space? (or upgrading to another SSD)

Where is the easy/cheap way of upgrading? Guessing RAM first. What kind of RAM to go for before cost is an issue? Only have 2 slots (as you probably know already) Guess 1333 is the fastest i can use?

Should i go for new GPU's? Is there a lot to gain compared to price or will my GPU still manage most games?
Considering also going for a CPU upgrade, but dont want to spend 400 USD for it.

LOADS of questions. Hope i can get some help on some of it.

Just to mention.
Im from Norway, and every price you see on the net will be increased by a lot when i get taxes etc.

 

You should be able to do 16 GB DDR3, 2 x 8 GB sticks. As for the GPU, it depends on the games you play. Newer games you'll need a better GPU, 6990M/7970M/580M/680M. What do you mean you needed an adapter to install the SSD, 1st slot should be a SATA port, and the 2nd one AFAIK should be the SATA interposer.

 

Hello, Trome, just do a quick search on upgrading the M17x R2 and you should find lots of useful info.

I believe you are referring to the interposer from the HDD1 slot.
Found a cheap one here.

But before buying it, check if you have the hard drive caddy marked HDD1. If you do, look on the inside for the interposer and screws.
The caddy looks like this:

 

Ok Great. Dell page tells me I can only use 2*4GB (or what i have already.) Will look for 2* 8GB instead.
Will there be any scenario where i need more than the 1333 memory? (
Do i then need to change mainboard, or will CPU change be enough?
Since i plan on swapping CPU eventually I will buy the optmial as long as its 16 GB total. )

In noggieland the Dell 4 GB RAM is about 100USD each.

I had some threads before but could not find them anymore. A lot of discussions here and they move along quite fast.

Ive checked under the caddy, there is nothing.
In Norway a DELL SDD is about 1000 USD. Almost 3 times the price of my Corsay that is better and faster and they try to make you think you need it by not adding/removing the interposer.
(a serviceguy told me to buy a cheap disk from DELL and take it from there)

Thx for the link to the cheap interposer. I will go shop.

 

You don't need to get dell brand anything. With video cards, you can find 2 6790's for 500$ together maybe, as for ram, you can get corsair 8gb sticks for 45$ on newegg at 1866. It will down lock itself, but for that price it's not a big deal. As for an ssd, buying one used from a member will save you a ton of money. If you want to spend 400$ per graphics card, get the 7970, it is basically on par with the gtx680 and a lot cheaper, as for CPU, You can get a 920xm for 300-500 usd. Hopes this helps with pricing.

 

May we have a budget for everything you would like to have done. In my opinion the video cards should be the very first upgrade and with a budget we can help you make an informed decision.

 

Nice got something to start with now. But buying it into Norway ads quickly a lot of price on components.
Got the SSD, for primary disk.

From what i read on my 720 i cant use more than 8 Gb (guess 4 per slot and i need in both? If i can fill only one at the time i might for for 8 at once and then upgrade CPU after i do GPU.
If so I have to upgrade to 920 if i really want 16 or more Gb. (Guess i need to keep in generation 1?)
Do I will have enough power to both 920 and dual higher performance GPU with no other upgrade?

And one last question. If i upgrade GPU.
Can i directely mount that on my cooling brackets for the one i already have or do i have to modify?
Dont want to do too much other upgrading since it easily makes my computer as pricy as buying a new Alien.

@ homank76
Dont know how much to use since my cost will be a lot higher than the budget given here due to taxes and P&P. but guess 6-700 USD used can be a start, keeping me around 8-900 usd total.

 

You have plenty of RAM to play games. You really need to upgrade the GPU's!!! Since you already have AMD I would go with the 6990 cards as they will still play games for at least two years.

 

Luckily in Norway the only thing i can buy fairly cheap is RAM, setting me back about 50 USD for 2*4Gb on the door.
The GPU and CPU i think i need to order from the net.
A normal version of 6990 PCI exp is just above 1200 USD each in norway.
Guess a version for Laptop is more expencive.

 

Are you looking for the 6990 or the 6990M? There's a significant difference between those two, and I'd look on Ebay too. They've got some on there for around $400 and lower.

 

Sorry for my ignorance.
The M is for mobile i guess, beeing the one i need?
Can i then use my normal coolingsystem or do i need more fans and or brackets?

If i buy them induvidually, what should i look for to avoid getting none compatible cards?
Just got to have a look at what is out there first.

I see by the way that you use a 7970M.
Does that give a lot extra or is it just too tweak out a litle extra?
Think i might try to play BF3 on this thing, the 6990 is fully capable by the spec that i see, but probably need that to do full resolution?
Actually going to florida (orlando) this desember. Might save some money by waiting until i arrive and buying there, but then i need somewhere to shop. Any suggestions?

 

The desktop 6990 not equal to a 6990M. The 6990M is based on a desktop 6870. So using desktop benchmarks for the 6990 is of no use really.

The 7970M is almost as fast as 6990M in crossfire and is based on the desktop 7870.

 

Trying to benchmark what i have while waiting for available 6990M cards for a possible upgrade.
Anyone knowing why i the GPU shark shows 0% and MAX 0% on my GPU2 all the time?
Could it be my crossfire not working or is it normal?

Trying to update my catalyst.
Getting errormessage cant find the INF-file.

probably only got one card working

8694 PCMarks with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870(1x) and Intel Core i7-720QM Processor

Not very speedy :-(

Anyone got any ideas?

 

PCMark is not what you're you looking for when it comes to GPU performance. Download the free 3Dmark11 application and run the standard performance test. Most members here use that as a benchmark and would be able to give you more objective feedback with those results.

edit: or 3DMark Vantage, not sure if the 4870's are supported in 3DMark11

 

3DMark 11 has found DirectX 11 system files, but your graphics adapter reports that it supports only Direct X 10_1.

3DMark 11 requires both DirectX 11 system files and DirectX 11 capable hardware to run. If you are certain that you have DirectX 11 hardware present, there may be a problem with your video drivers. See 3DMark 11 FAQ for more information.

Probably cant install DirectX 11 on my 4870 like you edited.
Trying 3DMark vantage

 

for sake of correct information

As per performance the gap is not really that big, and with 6970's, believe me, you will face far less power supply issues. With the config in my sign i've never tripped the PSU.

But owning a Crossfire system, let me give you and advice, at the moment being i believe is a better option to go on single 7970M card than either of the other crossfire options. You will have newer tech, nowaday 12.11beta4 drivers seems to have awaken the 7970M card real potential, and hopefully things will improve in the future. You will have at least the same performance of the crossfire system with half the Power consumption. Crossfire 6970/90 cards are 200W in crossfire, a single 7970M is 100W. With a XM cpu you will have lot of headroom to OC and i believe you'll be amazed by the performances.

Take it as an advice from a CF system owner. just for info, my system do works really well, i'm not complaining about CF, just that i believe that the tech on newer cards at the moment is a better option for newer upgraders

ad maiora

Edit: the above apply of course to single 680M cards

 

Score
P7091 3DMarks with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870(1x) and Intel Core i7-720QM Processor

Score
P7091 3DMarks

Graphics Score
6364

CPU Score
10784

It claims Crossfire is off.

Graphics Card ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 VendorDell Computer Corporation# of cards1SLI / CrossFire Off Memory1024 MBCore clock300 MHzMemory clock400 MHzDriver nameDriver version8.961.0.0Driver statusFM Approved

 

That looks about right considering a single 5870M scores around 10000. CptXabaras gave very good advice above, I would follow it if you have it in your budget to get one of the newer cards.

Check out this link, it'll help you gage your current performance in games and then have a look at the 7970M's benchmarks on the same site.

 

And going over to single GPU should be easy? And so will swapping to a 7970 board? (brackets etc)

I see that the 7970M also is awailable in crossfire if I want to upgrade later.
Will all be crossfire ready or do i have to buy specific ones or buy them in pairs?

Still wondering why my crossfire dont work by the way.
GPU shark finds both, just not any action on the GPU2 board.

 

Fairly easy depending on your skill level. There's a lot of valuable information already on the forum search for the M17x R2 6970M/6990M upgrade thread, it also includes info about upgrading to the 7970M. All your questions are answered there. The 7970M can be crossfired later on but it requires modding the 330W PSU from the M18x to work with our laptops which is a another topic altogether.

Is crossfire enabled in your catalyst control center? Troubleshoot the obvious things first.

Do your yourself a favour and search before you ask a question as all your questions have been answered numerous times before. There's a wealth of information on this forum, make use of it!

 

I' have a problem with my catalyst.
I cant access it. The program halts when trying to enter.
I cant update it since it claims it cant find the INF file.

 

Try repairing the installation before you uninstall it. If repair doesn't work, try downloading your current version again and re-install it.

 

Done repairing, same error.
Has also downloaded from AMD site.
Even uninstalled the cards from device manager and let it start from there back in VGA mode.
Also tried the ones from DELL.

All has problems finding the INF file.

:-(

 

Uninstall from device manager again and restart in VGA mode, then download and run DriverFusion from here to clean out all AMD entries and files. Then try installing the driver again.

Edit: You sure your card is supported for the driver version that you using. Release notes for 12.10 doesn't show the 4000 series.

 

Could be me a while back trying to install wrong drivers.
Ill try the Driver Fusion. Thx

Nah still nogo.
Done Driver Fusion, even bought the full version.
Still cant find the INF file.

And now ive ended up having only 1600*1200 and no option to go above.

 

Don't buy older technology for an upgrade, the whole point is performance>=price. Keep that in mind. The 7970 is about 300$ cheaper than a gtx680, and is maybe 2-4% slower. The 7970m is the next great ati card, and what makes it great is the ammount of performance you get for the price. Put the 8 gigs of ram in your laptop, buy a complete 7970m kit on eBay for 500$, 450$ if you look hard enough for it, it will include thermal paste, all brackets, and a new heatsink. Upgrade CPU if you need to after that.

 

Can you send me the file? I'll have a look at it and try to fix this instead of making a new one.
Thanks

 

The only set i could find now is this.
Alienware M17 M18 VGA Upgrade Kit Dell HD7970M | eBay

Cant seem to find Heatsink in it.

I have already gotten my 8 GB RAM. Vengance 2*4

 

Looks like 12.6 is the last version that supported your cards. Try downloading from the below links, I'm not sure what version of Windows you're running.

Win7 32bit
Win7 64bit

 

Mhm, its the one ive tried a few times today.
Giving me this file 12-6-legacy_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc_whql

It stops all the time not letting me install.
think i gotta roll back my computer. :-(

Now i bought a 7970M card.
Might upgrade my CPU to.

Will it be either 920 or 940 to replace my 720MX or something else?

Guess my videocard replacement will fix my Catalyst problem too since it needs a newer version.
Have got my 2*4 Gb Vengance.
Also got my corsair SSD.
If i now upgrade my CPU, i might be ok or could other cards be replaced?

 

Congrats on the upgrade

Go for a 920xm you won't regret it. A trustworthy seller on ebay is laptopmonkey. That's where I and several other users have purchased ours.

 

Mhm, would howevver be happy if someone could help me spot a proper version of the 920XM.

I see they range up to 700 usd and im not sure what makes them good or bad.

I see that laptopmonkey has 940XM cheaper than 920XM but i guess it depends on what version it is.

This is where i need help.
Dont want to spend as much as 800 USD for the thingy after upgrading the GPU also.

 

Congrats on the card, excellent choice

Both the 920XM and 940XM are QS so the 940XM seems like the better deal. From what I understand the chips go through an evaluation process during final design from ES(Evaluation Sample)->QS(Qualification Sample)->OEM(Retail). Any of them are fine as a lot of members are running ES and QS samples. An OEM CPU would be a "nice to have" but considering the price difference I would go with the QS.

I managed to pick up my OEM version for about the same price as an ES at the time, so if you're a bit patient you can score a bargain.

 

Thx for all help so far.

Ill keep an eye out.

Normal prices for OEM i see is about 1000 USD from upgrademonkey and i guess they are that pricerange no matter what as long as I choose upgrademonkey.
Also seems like there is only 50$ between 920 and 940.

Are there any bad experiences with the QS or ES versions in here?
Since i order from Norway, sending back within 14 days could be a reach.

And one last question.
On the actual picture of the chips from upgrademonkey it says ES on most that are sold as QM.
Is that not ES versions or are they marked differently or do they only use one picture for all?
Nice to know when i order.

My complete buyin was way over 1000 $ but now i have upgraded with a QM version 940 and 7970 GPU.
Also put a new vengance 2*4 Gb on order.

Hope that speeds up stuff.

Next i guess will be throttlestop etc.
Is there any other upgrades recomended as long as we have started?

 

You're pretty much sorted now You already have an SSD and that would've been my last recommendation.

Don't forget to get some thermal paste for the CPU/GPU install. If you bought your GPU from Eurocom it looks like they provide OCZ Freeze which will suffice. You also need thermal pads for the GPU's memory chips.

 

Luckily the packaging should contain the termal pads too.
Will have a good look at some installation videos before doing it.
Might need some good advice about what to do with my empty GPU slot.

 

Just leave the GPU slot empty. The Alienware wont be bothered by it, and the fan will still obey whatever you set in HWInfo fan control. Your laptop is pretty much maxed out. Dont push it further if you dont need to

 

I've been thinking of doing something similar with my m17x R2 as well - I've been finding my beloved laptop starting to struggle with a few games like Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, Star Wars: The Old Republic so I was looking into how I might be able to upgrade my baby without needing a full replacement.

Looking at the config in my signature, would an upgrade to a single 7970M be enough of a noticable difference to my current Crossfire 5870 setup to justify going through the hassle/expense of the replacement? It sounds like an upgrade like this should be a relatively simple "out with the old one, in with the new one" replacement without more drastic modifications so would be exactly what I'm looking for...

 

A single 7970 would be a significant improvement over your dual 5870

 

I was originally looking at getting a dual 6990M upgrade but after reading this thread it sounds like a single 7970M would have almost the same performance, be cheaper overall, use less power than a crossfire setup and still give me the option of adding a second 7970M later on for even more performance (after some power supply modding).

How does this card go with heat & fan noise in a stock M17x R2 chassis? I remember reading about some extreme heat dispersion mods back when I originally bought my M17x so I assumed upgrading to a MUCH faster graphics card would require the same - maybe they were simply overclocking the stock cards so they were running a lot hotter than normal...

My M17x is a desktop replacement so sits on the desk beside me with external monitor/keyboard/mouse connected - fan noise could be an issue if it constantly screams as it tries to keep the 7970M at an acceptable temperature...

 

Dsan,

the 7970, when given the right cooling pads (1mm) and seated correctly runs COOLer than a 5870 when idle. So when surfing you can make the laptop very quiet. During gaming it can get up to 80 degrees with full fans, but wont overload as long as the fans are working. You need to use HWInfo to control fan speed, as the 7970 cannot use the R2 automatic fan control. HWInfo works great though so it is not a problem.

 

Haha, stop telling me good things about it! I'm trying to find reasons to save my $500+

I've been reading so many threads on upgrading an M17x with a 7970M graphics card and they all have nothing but good things to say about the upgrade (except for a slight downside of the HDMI output no longer supporting audio) - so I guess I'll have to get out the credit card and buy the Eurocom kit and get things underway

Thanks for all the great info guys!

 

It will be soon in my hands.
I might have to read up a bit on it to be sure i remember everything when installing, and will off course have to install HWinfo to run the fans.

You should concider a SSD disk to Dsan.
It made great improvements in the overall performance, startup etc. .

Been trying to upgrade to win 8 by the way.
That has been days of upgrading and downloadin on my cumputer again with drivers and programs to get back to win7.
Win8 was not very tampering friendly from my point of view.

 

Anyone got a good suggestion?

Swapped my CPU now to my new 940.
Found that my 5% overclocked 720 scored better than the 5% overclocked 940 (2000 points on 3D vantage) when i clocked it normally and changed CPU voltage to default, it ended up in the midle between the two overclocked tests.
What can be the cause? Heat?

 

by the way.
Buying a QM version from upgrademonkey and with a sticker saying QM.

Both the CPU label and the CPU-Z specifications mentions this as an ES version.
Anyone seen the same?

It is running as high as 99 degC by the way. The fan going to 3800 RPM.

 

With full fan speed all the time I hit 96 deg CPU temp even playing MW3 and an crazy 9000 CPU score in 3D vantage.
No overclocking on my 940 CPU. Overclocking reduces my speed. (probably temperature related)
Have used Cooler Master'High performance Thermal Compound.

Might actually go back to using my old 720 with overclocking since it outperformes my 940 by a LOT.

 

You should work to fix your heat issues rather then rolling back the CPU.

Sent from my Samsung Captivate/ICS CM9 via Tapatalk.

 

Did switch back to the old CPU to check.
Didn't even apply more heat compound just to test.

Runs now with 5% overclock faster and 20 DegC cooler than the 940 .

Could there be something wrong with my 940 or is the heat just increasing faster due to even higher speed?
The temp hits above 90 Deg C in just 4-5 sek in one CPU when running Vantage.

Like i mentioned. My 940 bought as QM has ES on it (and a QM sticker) and CPU-Z also called it ES version. Is that normal?

 

Intel i7 940XM 3 3GHz SLBSC Mobile CPU Processor FOR55 Chipset Upgrademonkey 0735858211307 | eBay

upgrademonkey sells OEM retail CPUs and he also sells engineering sample (ES) CPUs. If you bought off of EBay and it shows OEM then the Specifications box in CPU-Z should NOT show ES.

I think QM is a qualification sample which is the version just before the final OEM version. It is usually functionally equivalent to an OEM processor but it is still an ES processor. If you want to get technical, Intel owns all ES processors and it is illegal to resale them.

A 940XM can put out a significant amount of heat so you better get yourself the best thermal paste money can buy and do whatever you can to maximize your cooling.
When benching, moving up north and heading outside isn't a bad idea.

 

Hehe im living up north, in norway.

The one they advertised they were selling should have been QS (sorry got the S wrong ) donno why it says ES.Have anyone got a QS and have seen the lable on it?
Have sent them an email about it.

Looks like this, and you kan clearly see the ES, but selling QS. The one i got looks the same:

Intel i7 940XM 3 33GHz Quad QS Mobile CPU Processor for 55 Chipset Laptop Monkey | eBay

But from what i see on Ebay is that all QS have pictures of ES.


The paste i had was ok good, been reading tests about it today and it scores high.
When removing it it had the "fingerprint" evenly all over the pad.
I even put the old one in without adding more paste and it cools 20 deg (to apx 70 when testing at 43 watts).

The 940 one heats one of the processors increadibly fast. CPU0.
The rest follows after. Wouldnt expect it to bench slower than the 720 even with heat problems since the effect of the same speed should be about the same.
A LOT slower. (10-20%)