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    Planning to buy a 330w PSU for AW 17

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Billyxq, Jan 21, 2015.

  1. Billyxq

    Billyxq Notebook Consultant

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    Hey guys, I've recently upgraded my AW 17 's 680m to a 980m and came to notice that my current 240w PSU is not enough to sustain overclocks for both my CPU and GPU. Since it came down to this, I have decided to upgrade my 240w PSU to that of a 330w and would like to inquire a few questions regarding this.

    Which 330w PSU should I look for specifically? the r3/r4 variants or the AW 18 ones? Are there any difference between them to begin with?

    Would I need to mod any bios or in fact, any form of mods at all?

    The sum of it all, does the AW 17 actually even support a 330w PSU?
     
    Billyxq, Jan 21, 2015
    #1
  2. ejohnson

    ejohnson Is that lemon zest?

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    I have a 330w psu from a first gen x51, its the same one used in the m18xr1. When I plug it into my aw17 (780m i7 4700) the bios shows "330 watt psu"
    Everything works perfect and its just plug and play.

    With that said, I dont think there was any change in the 330 psu from the m18xr1 to the aw18 to the x51.
     
    ejohnson, Jan 21, 2015
    #2
  3. Billyxq

    Billyxq Notebook Consultant

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    Sweet! That would definitely save me from all the hassles
     
    Billyxq, Jan 21, 2015
    #3
  4. ssj92

    ssj92 Neutron Star

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    You can use any of the dell 330w adapters, they're all the same lol

    I used to use my m18xr2 330w adapter when benching my aw17, worked fine.
     
    ssj92, Jan 21, 2015
    #4
  5. Hackintoshihope

    Hackintoshihope AlienMeetsApple

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    I use this with my 780m, the 330w psu. Planning to grab a 980m. It is simply plug and play.
     
    Hackintoshihope, Jan 21, 2015
    #5
  6. djcgeez2189

    djcgeez2189 Notebook Consultant

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    I grabbed my friends old 330 watt alienware 18 charger and works like a charm in my m17x r4 3920x gtx 780m supports my overclocks and runs great however you're not really going to need a 330w psu because that chip doesn't have a high tdp and the 980m uses less power then the 680m so you're good with you're 240 watt unless you go xm cpu
     
    djcgeez2189, Jan 21, 2015
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  7. Billyxq

    Billyxq Notebook Consultant

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    My current 980m is floashed with prema's overvolted vbios and I'm planning to get a xm cpu some time soon. Even without the xm cpu, the 240w psu is not stable and occasionally could not support my overclocks
     
    Billyxq, Jan 21, 2015
    #7
  8. thegh0sts

    thegh0sts Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    though it should be fine at stock speeds even with the vbios mod!
     
    thegh0sts, Jan 21, 2015
    #8
  9. Billyxq

    Billyxq Notebook Consultant

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    At stock clock, its smooth as a marble block however, overclocking at 1.062v can get unstable at times. I failed to mention as well that I intentionally OC my 4700mq cpu as well to see if it is able to sustain the increased voltages.
     
    Billyxq, Jan 21, 2015
    #9
  10. thegh0sts

    thegh0sts Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    if you're OC'ing the CPU with the BIOS settings then that's considered to be not the best way as it can cause issues that Mr. Fox papusan would know all too well.
     
    thegh0sts, Jan 21, 2015
    #10
  11. Billyxq

    Billyxq Notebook Consultant

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    I'm Ocing it with XTU
     
    Billyxq, Jan 22, 2015
    #11
  12. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    Common sense .. overclocking profile in the bios is still garbage. :thumbsup:
     
    Papusan, Jan 22, 2015
    #12