R1 GPU Upgrade

Hey guys! I'm new in here but I researched so many things in one week on the web. And I still need your help I've got this R1 in june 2014 and I think it's also known as M17x R5, but I'm not sure. I love my laptop and I don't want to say goodbye to it. A month ago its GPU got broken. I was using Nvidia Geforce GTX 880M. I can buy the same one but I think it's a chance for me to upgrade my baby. I've been looking the threads on this forum, youtube, ebay, aliexpress... My eyes are bleeding now. I live in Turkey that's why I need to put too much effort for this upgrade thing when I decide to do it. I really want to upgrade it but I don't think I'm ready. That's why I'll need to ask you lots of questions. Specifications:

Motherboard: VAS00 LA-9331P (rev:1.0 - A00)
Processor: Intel i7 - 4910MQ (It's overclocked but I don't remember how high it can go)
RAM: 32 GB DDR3L 1600Mhz
Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce GTX 880M (the broken one)

Which graphics card would be suitable for it? I'm thinking GTX 980M - 1060M - 1070M but I believe they have different requirements.

I've got 3-pipe heatsink for the GPU. I think I'll need to replace it with 5-pipe ones If I want to use 1060 - 1070. Actually I don't know whether 1070 will fit or not because it's MXM 3.0, mine 880M is MXM B 3.0.

To be able to use the 1070 I think my lcd screen should be replaced with the 120hz ones. Mine is this one:
http://www.panelook.com/LP173WF1-TLB3_LG Display_17.3_LCM_overview_17534.html
Which panel should I choose I don't know.

Do you have any other suggestions for me? What do you think I should do? Should I buy the exact same GPU and go on with my life or can it be upgraded easily? I understand a little about laptops, but not so much. I need to get information from you step-by-step. It might be too hard for all of us to do this thing, I don't know In Turkey Dell customers services can't do anything except replacing it with the new one at a very high cost. It's too expensive that I can buy a new laptop instead of that already got old 880M GPU!!! Please help me, guide me on this. Thanks for reading so far!

 

You have a few options here. The 120 Hz screen actually is not a requirement for the 1060 or 1070 upgrade, but is recommended since you'll get a better gaming experience from a high refresh rate monitor, and generally a better experience with the cards too. I've heard they have some minor issues working in optimus mode. I'd perform the 120 Hz screen upgrade though. I can tell you from personal experience that games look much better on a high refresh rate monitor than a standard 60 Hz screen.

If you want the easiest upgrade, go for the MSI GTX 1060. It'll slide right in. The MSI GTX 1070 is non-standard MXM (it has a little extra tab in the top right corner of the card) and requires a chassis mod to make it fit, although there was another version produced in standard MXM format, but I think people had problems with that one blowing up (quite literally). There is a later revision of this that works well and doesn't blow up in your face, but it has reduced performance over the MSI variant.

The 3 heatpipe heatsink you already have should be enough for the 1060, athough I think you should get the upgraded 5 heatpipe heatsink anyway just because you'll see better temps. The 5 heatpipe heatsink is a must for the 1070 upgrade (for either version).

In addtition to installing the card, you'll have to mod the nvidia drivers to force them to install. We can help you with that though if you have no idea how to do that.

For the 120 Hz screen, this is the one you're looking for: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-LCD-scr...259670?hash=item36058b7596:g:DpsAAOSw6YtZVQqB

The part number you're looking for is GN36T. Make sure it's the D01 or D02 revision for guaranteed compatibility.

Here's a link to the eDP cable you'll need for that screen: https://www.ebay.com/itm/LVDS-EDP-A...555755?hash=item4d9d1f4beb:g:5oQAAOSwyO1dlXU8

The part number is N392W.

Let us know what you decide. The community is always here to help you.

 

First of all thank you for your reply and concern Clamibot! The information you gave is like a gift from heaven. Guided me well, thanks! Based on this, 1060 M would be great for me. I don't want to deal with that 1070 issues. Also sometimes the sellers couldn't give me the right information about the graphics card. It's a big risk in every aspect. Having said that, does 1060 M have any different types? I mean maybe there is MXM 3.0 compatible one, not MXM B 3.0. Are all 1060 M GPU's in Type B? I don't want to order the wrong pieces.

We can't use ebay here in Turkey (I hate it ) that's why I have to find the equivalents of them. Thank god, I found almost all of them in aliexpress. Just the 5 pipe heatsink is too expensive in there. Is it okay to get an external cooler for the laptop? I know you have said it was not necessary to have 5 pipe ones, but I want to do something about it.

I don't know how to use those modded drivers but I think I can handle it with some research. And maybe with your help a little, I will probably be around disturbing you because I have to wait my orders to come to me at least 15-20 days . Before dealing with the orders, is there anything else I need to be aware of? For instance my power adapter's watt, or BIOS settings, or anything different? I can check them up immediately.

 

Once you get a modded driver ini file, all you need to do is unpack (but don't install yet) nvidia drivers, open the unpacked folder and put in the modded .ini file (just find and replace), run Windows with 'driver signature disabled' (it can be done with Windows Troubleshooting Menu (F8 on startup I believe), and then install the drivers. Easy as pie. There are a few other methods, such as editing group policy, but that's a bit more complicated, and running PowerShell with a couple of commands. The options are plenty

External coolers are always a plus. From my experience, exhaust covering ones don't fit Alienware laptops, since they dont have flat surfaces between screen and main 'box', but a cooling stand is always welcome. I'm running all my Alienwares on a stand, it helps to knock down around 10 degrees in all cases.

Turkey, you say? Well, I'm from Poland, and I keep a keen eye on local bidding sites, that are in most cases cheaper than ebay, but unfortunately I can't offer much right now, the top range card on offer right now is Quadro P3000, which is something like 1050 in comparison. And the price is ludicrous - 450$, I've paid less for P4000.

However there are a few 980Ms around, cost of about 350$, give or take.

 

You may be able to find a good deal for a 1060. I got mine for $350 as well when I bought it 3 years ago. As for the power supply, you're all set there if you have a 240 watt PSU, which you should already have since your laptop came with a GTX 880M. The GTX 1060 power throttles on the 180 watt PSU since the TDP of the card is 100 watts, and that power supply is meant for 75 watt cards like the 860M.

There are 2 versions of the 1060, the Clevo (non standard) one, and the MSI one (standard MXM 3.0b form factor). You want the MSI one.

And yes, as MrMogwai said, a cooling pad will help. Another thing that really helps is excellent thermal paste. You can't go wrong with Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut or Phobya Nanogrease Extreme. Phobya Nanogrease is my personal favorite since it provides the absolute best thermal conductivity of any conventional paste out there currently.

Also funnily enough, I still have some of my modded INFs around for the driver mod for 3 driver versions, the most recent one being for driver version 441.66.

 

I personally use Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut for CPU and GPU cores and memory chips and MOSFETs with Cryonaut and/or IC Diamond.

 

Hey guys! Thanks again for the replies! @MrMogwai Hi to Poland from Turkey! As you say I think downloading modded driver is easy! Maybe to find the source files of it is the hard part. But if I get the 1060M I think @Clamibot can help me by sharing his modded INFs .

I've examined the Quadro P3000 and P4000, I can also buy the P4000 if I can get a better performance of my R1. It's double the price of 1060 M in Ebay but I think I can get it begging my parents They don't sell it in Aliexpress. We cannot find these kind of stuff in Turkey. There is no proper market for them. But I've got a new idea. My sister lives in Canada, they can use paypal and she can buy the stuff from Ebay and send it to me I think. Main problem about Ebay in here is that we cannot use paypal because they ended the business with Turkey. But I've got a solution now!

As I'm planning to buy everything like 5 pipe heatsink, LCD, eDP cable, GPU, external cooler, thermal paste and stuff, I can go for a little higher like Quadro P4000. But if the requirements of it is different from the 1060, I need to know. I'm just thinking though, I'm still focused on 1060, but I can still get your opinions about it.

I use a cheap thermal paste called cooler master, it's white and a little more liquid, I don't know the exact information about it I don't know much about thermal pastes as you can see I can deal with that later when I pick the main parts first. I couldn't find Phobya pastes in here but I can check again the Ebay or Aliexpress. I found the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut at a high cost though, but I can figure it out somehow.

@Clamibot As you say, I've got the 240 PSU. Then everything will be okay with 1060. Thanks for the heads up for MSI MXM 3.0b type.

Note: I've come across a new info about the LCD panels, there are 2 types of LTN173HT02 D02. One has got LVDS interface and the other has got eDP, both of them are 40 pin. Does they differ from each other? I think I need to get the eDP version.

 

You need the 40 pin eDP screen. The specifications for the screen should mention it has a 120 Hz refresh rate. If it's 60 Hz, it's not the right screen.

If you're eyeing the Quadro P4000, I'd advise against getting it. The GTX 1070 is significantly cheaper and will give you more processing power. Quadros are really good if you do stuff like AutoCAD or anything else that can benefit from the extra hardware inside a Quadro card. Having said that, Quadros perform just as well in games af their GeForce equivalents, but the extra hardware inside Quadros will be wasted if you only game on them. However, a variety of factors always plays in our decisions, such as which card offers the best price to performance ratio at your location.

Here in the United States, a GTX 1070 is significantly cheaper than a Quadro P4000, and is about an 11% improvement over the P4000. If you start eying the 1070, get the version with the black PCB, not the green one. The green one is the one prone to blowing up, whereas the black one is the revision that doesn't have problems.

As for the MSI GTX 1060, those work exceedingly well and come only in black PCBs.

 

I thought 1070 was not an option because it seemed problematic to me based on what you said, that's why I thought Quadro P4000. But I've eliminated it right now, I'm much of a gamer than a editor. I asked some sellers on aliexpress, they said 1070 is not compatible with R1s. Actually there are too many wrong information and titles in ebay and aliexpress. Buying these stuff from there is like trying to walk on a rope.

All the 1070 graphics cards that I'm looking are in black PCB, and the sellers say all of them have got MXM 3.0, or in the title they say they're for type B but in detailed description they say they're for type A . I believe the sellers don't know that these graphics cards can also fit in MXM 3.0 B because in the photos they look so similar with the 1060 or 880M in the aspects of measures. Maybe I'm wrong I don't know. I will make sure of them by asking some questions to every seller, one by one if necessary. I will appreciate if you send me one of the right product of 1070 as a link that I can use it like a sample. Thanks again for the information you gave!

 

Sorry for the confusion. Let me clarify. There are 3 versions of the GTX 1070, one for Clevo laptops (non standard MXM), one for MSI laptops (also non standard mxm, but almost there), and one in standard MXM form factor.

Here are some images for the different types.

Clevo GTX 1070 MXM:


MSI GTX 1070 MXM:


Standard GTX 1070 MXM:


The standard 1070 with the black PCB will work very well with the Ranger. The one you want to avoid is this one:


The green PCB ones blow up. Don't get a 1070 if it looks like this. They're very bad quality cards.

The black PCB 1070 is what you're looking for and will make you very happy. If you get the 1070, the 5 heatpipe heatsink is a must, and you're all set with the 240 watt PSU. These are perfectly compatible with the Ranger and will slide right in. Some of the sellers may not know what they're talking about, and you probably shouldn't buy from those sellers since they may sell you the wrong product. I've never bought anything from Aliexpress. I only buy parts from ebay because I've had a very good experience buying from there, but unfortunately that isn't an option for you in Turkey. Generally people know what they're selling on ebay as far as I can tell.

This is what you want: https://www.ebay.com/itm/GeForce-GT...032578?hash=item3da23ed802:g:7JoAAOSw56petl~F

 

Clamibot is right - Quadro is a good option only if you can get it on a discount. They can be extremely expensive. I got lucky, spending far less than a GTX of an equivalent would cost. In normal circumstances the prices are pretty much flipped.

 

Thanks for the explanation @Clamibot I really appreciate it. I was looking at the correct 1070M's! I've decided to get one of them. I'm still laughing though because of the sellers on aliexpress I'm asking if the LCD panel is with 120 hz, she says it's 3D screen I ask lots of questions, they say yes, it's correct I'm gonna use ebay with the help of my sister who lives in Canada.

Yes Quadros are so expensive, also in here we have to pay tax about %20 of the product's price that comes abroad @MrMogwai

Thanks again for everything, now it's time to do some shopping!

 

No problem! Let us know if you need any more help!

The 120 Hz screen is a 3D screen. There's no non-3D version that was ever released for this laptop model, so if they say it's a 3D screen, it's the 120 Hz screen.

 

Oh I see. I believe there is one type 0GN36T (LTN173HT02 - D02). I'm still not sure though. I looked everywhere to learn it but there is no information about it. There is no seller who indicates it has eDP interface or LVDS except one seller. She made me confused a little.

I'll probably buy this one, I'm waiting their response: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32962957633.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.7d7a3c00IWIQb3&mp=1

Also we've purchased the 5 pipe heatsink thanks to my sister. I think there is no one in the world who sells those heatsinks except cicichen in ebay . We asked him if it's okay to send it to Turkey instead of Canada (it was stated as ''ships to Turkey''). I'm looking forward to get his response asap Because if don't get it I won't be able to buy 1070 I'm trying so hard for my R1, after I'm done upgrading I expect him to do the dishes, cooking, helping my daily chores and everything

 

That screen you linked looks like the correct screen, although I'm confused as to why the screen looks like it has a matte finish. The 120 Hz screens for the Ranger have a glossy finish. It might be because they put the plastic film over it that's used to protect the screen during shipping. I took a look at the label on the back and that's the correct part.

Chichen is a great guy who makes high quality custom parts. I have nothing but the upmost respect for him.

The R1 is an amazing laptop. It's real sad that Alienware didn't take this chassis and improve on the internal design. Had they done that, we'd have a much better Alienware Area 51m today. Imagine if they had taken this chassis or the chassis from the Alienware 18 and turned that into an Area 51m. That would be a vastly superior offering over the one we have today, not to mention the case design on these 2013 models look badass. It's by far my most favorite Alienware laptop chassis design. Real sleek and looks like a spaceship.

 

Yeah I think it's because of that plastic film. I hope LCD panel won't be a trouble for me.

I'm not surprised Chichen is known by everyone, he has got a big part in upgrading laptops.

I really like Area 51m, but I agree with you chassis of the 17, 18 have better design and easier to deal with. Maybe they will compound them together someday I'm grateful that manufacturers produce upgradable laptops though, it's a chance for us to use our beloved babies until they take the last breath. I was using Toshiba X505 before R1, I really love it either. I've lost it from a broken graphics card like my R1. I'm still thinking how to save it but I guess it's too late. I think it's my destiny to lose my laptops because of the GPU's

Edit: I want to ask you something again. This eDP cable is used for what exactly? To convert LVDS to eDP?

 

Might just be a bad streak of luck with laptop graphics cards. I've never had a graphics card die on me, even when abusing the hell out of it. The only part that has ever failed on me in any system is a screen, which is easy to replace and usually one of the first components to fail anyway. I'm not surprised that your 880m died though, because those cards were always problematic. A lot of people had their 880m die on them, but I've never seen anyone complain about a dead 870m or 860m.

The eDP cable connects the 120 Hz screen to the embedded displayport output on the motherboard. It's not a signal conversion, it's an entirely different signal type. The LVDS output is not capable of outputting a 120 Hz signal because the cable does not have enough bandwidth to do so, which is why this laptop comes with 2 internal display output ports, an LVDS output port, and an eDP output port. The eDP cable connects to the 40 pin eDP output, and has enough bandwidth to drive a 120 Hz display. Any laptop from before 2014 that has a 120 Hz screen option has both these display output ports on their motherboards. After 2014, manufacturers dropped the LVDS standard, and all laptops now have one eDP output port on their motherboards, no matter the screen's refresh rate.

Note that when you use the eDP output, you loose optimus and the integrated graphics card gets disabled, so battery life will suffer immensely. This is because the eDP output is routed directly to the dedicated graphics card instead of to the MUX switch embedded in the laptop. The LVDS output is wired to this MUX switch, which allows you to choose between either the iGPU or dGPU as the primary display output card. Unfortunately Dell did not think to wire the eDP output to this switch, but you get better performance in dGPU only mode anyway, and it gets rid of stupid compatibility issues with various software due to optimus.

What we really need is dedicated graphics cards that can be just as eficient as an iGPU in light tasks. dGPUs suck power even in light tasks, but they were engineered for performance, not efficiency. We need a GPU that can be efficient in cases where efficiency is needed, and be performant in cases where max performance is needed. Nvidia's new advanced optimus technology is essentially supposed to do just that with a dynamic MUX switch that is connected to the iGPU and dGPU, and automatically selects the right GPU for a job, connecting that GPU directly to the display. Unfortunately this has only been implemented in two Lenovo gaming laptops so far.

 

One thing that can be said in defence of newer video cards, Pascal+ to be exact, is that they've written an algorithm that dynamically switches the card power states to conserve energy and drive the card to a proper performance level. The downside being, the card has now a very bizarre definition of "proper". And another downside is that you can no longer easily modify the vBIOS settings on the fly, like you could with Nvidia Inspector and Maxwell Tweaker...

 

I see. I believe it's not a big deal for me to lose optimus because I need performance for the games mostly, and I think 1070 will be enough to do that. Also my battery died maybe 2 years later after I got this R1, since then I've always used it with power cable plugged in. I believe it won't be a problem for me either.

By the way I bought the LCD from another seller, she said It's 3D, 40 pin eDP, and it has a glossy screen. Hope it will come to me in one piece and correctly. I also bought the eDP cable, and ChiChen said he can ship the heatsink to Turkey. Last one is the graphics card, I'm gonna get it tomorrow or the day after. Hope everything goes well. I have to wait for them about one month or more.

I think I'll start replacements firstly with the graphics card and 5-pipe heatsink, after that the LCD comes in because if I start with LCD, it means I will lose integrated graphics card as Clamibot says. Since my graphic card is broken, I have to use integrated one. That's why I need to replace the graphics card and heatsink first, am I right?. Do I have to do anything before replacing the new ones except downloading a modded driver, do you have anything in mind? Maybe there are a lot of details that I don't know about.

 

You need to have your system in UEFI boot, just keep this in mind. Either do a fresh install with Legacy disabled or run NIUBI software to convert the partition to GPT.

 

Exactly this. Personally I'd do a fresh install of Windows to have a clean slate to work with. To set the system to pure UEFI boot mode, simply go to the boot tab in the BIOS, and set Load Legacy Option ROM to disabled. I haven't found a way to make the legacy option ROM work with the Pascal cards, which is really annoying because without it, I can't adjust my screen brightness in MacOS.

And yes, replace the graphics card and heatsink first. After the 120 Hz screen comes in and you install that, we can help you with the setup.

Funny your battery died so quickly. I'm still on the original battery my Ranger came with 6 years ago. HwInfo64 only shows a 14% wear level on it from 6 years of use, and it indeed still lasts mostly as long as it did when I first got the laptop. Maybe I just got a battery with mythical quality. Lol I'm going to coin the term battery lottery now. I have good luck with batteries though. They usually last a very long time for me.

 

Yeah, I got mine a year ago with what looks like a stock battery and it was wear level 0% previous owner never used it without the PSU

You're using macOS on the Ranger? On Win10 there were no brightness issues for me.

 

Cicichen' s stuffs are great. I have upgraded heatsinks bought from him for both my Ranger and m17x r4 and never have any issues.

 

I'm dual booting Windows 10 and MacOS Sierra 10.12. Brightness control works fine in Windows, it just doesn't work in MacOS without having the legacy option ROM enabled for whatever reason. Unfortunately I lost the ability to use the legacy option ROM after upgrading from my old 860m to my current 1060. I don't know of anyone who has managed to get the Pascal cards to not boot to a black screen with the legacy option ROM enabled.

Hackintoshes are awesome. Combine Apple software with non-Apple hardware, and you've got the best kind of PC.

 

Okay, I'll keep them in mind. Every time I get here I learn a new thing thanks to you. Mine is already UEFI I've checked it, Load Legacy Option ROM is disabled. Then I just need to do a fresh install of Windows and I'll be ready to go. I'm planning to install basic Win 8.1, I guess it won't be a problem for UEFI or something else. I'm still not used to Win 10 but I can try again if it's necessary.

By the way I'm also that guy who never uses his laptop without PSU Well, the battery was running out so quickly, I didn't have a choice.

I hardly believe that you're still using your 6-year-old battery Clamibot You should get a gold medal or something for that. That's a battery lottery exactly!!! And I think you use it properly, not like I do

@Duck W I was lucky that I was able to buy stuff from him, and hearing that you never had any problems with them makes me relieved more.

 

So seems like the battery either degraded some more since the last time I checked, or maybe I was thinking of the wear level from a while back, probably the latter. In any case, a wear level of 21.7% is still extremely good for 6 years of use. It probably helped a lot that I don't use the battery every day. I recently bought 2 extras in case the battery suddenly dies for some inexplicable reason. It probably won't though considering my track record with batteries, but I'll be prepared nonetheless.

I can't believe it either, and it's MY laptop lol. I also have 4 AA Rayovac 15 minute rechargables that are 13 years old and still work. I originally had 8, but half of them died. Both AAA ones also died. I don't know exactly what the remaining capacity is on the 4 I have left, but I'd estimate it to be around 40-50%. I don't expect them to work for much longer, but who knows.

[Captain's Log] June 5th, 2100: Batteries still working!

 

I'm still using my original M18x R2 battery after 8 years. I did a health check last week and it's at 83% which seems pretty decent. It's been plugged in while in use for 99.9% of it's life, battery always connected.

 

A moment of silence!

Either you're so lucky or you know how to use the batteries, or both of them! @Maxware79 @Clamibot Respect!

 

I think it comes down to never using my machine without power connected. For a machine like the old M18x it is pretty standard to keep it plugged in but smaller/lighter machines are more portable so the battery is used frequently. Li-ion batteries have a certain number of charge cycles so constantly draining and recharging reduces the lifespan. Also, having the machine stored away with no power also seems to kill a battery faster (as what happened to my old 13 R1 that wasn't used for 2 years).
People get confused with the older nickel batteries that had charge memory and they drain Lithium batteries and fully charge them again thinking it is helping but it's the opposite.
I think I lost most of my battery health when I had my first kid and stored the laptop away for close to a year. There must be a minuscule power drain from somewhere on the board when the laptop is powered down, not 100% sure on this though.

 

My M17x's battery died in 2 years or so, and I've always used it with PSU. I think batteries, laptops, or I can even say it about the other electronic devices are a matter of luck. My laptops always stand 4 or 5 years max. Batteries died so quickly, after that my adapter stopped working and I bought a new one for my R1, and lastly the graphics card got broken (same thing happened for the last 2 of my laptops) and now I'm here to get help! I've got lots of friends who still use their 10 or 15 year old notebooks, and they don't even take good care of them.

 

The board doesn't draw any power when off as far as I'm concerned. The battery ran down because all batteries have a self discharge rate, which is only noticable after a long period of time. Lithium batteries and single use alkaline batteries have the lowest self discharge rates of any battery types, which allows them to be stored away for years. The rate at which self discharge occurs is significantly affected by temperature though, with hot environments accelerating this effect, and cold ones drastically slowing it.

Basically if you want to store your battery away for a long long time and still have it be usable, fully charge it, then store it in a feezer.

As to exactly why this occurs, I don't know. It's extremely counterintuitive, because you'd think that if something isn't used at all, it should be in the same state that you last left it in. Unfortunately nature doesn't always behave logically, or so we think. It probably has something to do with micro-shorts that develop in the battery over time due to quantum mechanics blah blah blah.

Honestly it's really a luck of the draw thing. Lucky bastards like me and Maxware79 get to use our machines for a long time because we won the electronics lottery. I always take care of my stuff, so that probably prolongs the usable life of all my electronics significantly. Some people always seem to have bad luck with electronics. No company has ever produced every product defect free, but I feel very bad for the people who manage to somehow always end up with a defective product. They're just extremely unlucky.

Having said that, you can significantly mitigate your chances of getting a defective product though extensive research or consulting knowledgeable people on this forum. We'll save you a lot of time and pain. The fact your 880m died doesn't surprise me because it was a pretty problematic card with a very high failure rate.

As for your friends who don't take care of their stuff and still manage to be able to use their machines, they're the luckiest of the lucky.

 

Yes @Clamibot I can't thank you enough! I feel like I'm getting a new laptop thanks to you! Hope everything goes well! If I get problems in the future or with this upgrade, I'll be here to get some help from you.

By the way, I asked 2 sellers on aliexpress about 1070, they say it won't work with R1's, it has defects. They got me confused again but I've bought it anyway. I guess they think I'll use it without any preparation for it. I've bought this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000547701735.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.33d24c4diSWix4

He said it's the same as the one in pictures. It has black PBC, and in the description it says it's compatible with M17x R5. Then It can work with R1's either, am I right?

 

That seller is an idiot. The card will work in any system that it can physically fit into provided it has the right VBIOS. The M17x R5 and the R1 are the same exact laptop. Both designations refer to the Ranger. Dell decided to confuse people by marketing it as the R1 in some countries, and the M17x R5 in others.

Don't worry, you shouldn't have to do any VBIOS flashing. It should work after being plugged in, and have full functionality after installing the Nvidia drivers.

 

Thank god you made me relieved! I was thinking the same thing but the sellers always find a way to make me confused!

About the R1 and M17x R5, it's freaking me out that they didn't create a one type name for it! I don't know what's wrong with them. I also was not sure quite a long time if my laptop was R1 or M17x R5.

Nevermind, I'm so excited right now!! I don't want to wait! When my orders come to me, I'll be here shouting for help. Thank you soooooo much again and again and again!

 

No problem! As I said before, the community is always here to help!

The official model name for the Ranger is just Alienware 17, but yeah it's both the R1 and the M17X R5. It's weird.

 

The guy whom I bought the graphics card asked me to cancel my order, he insisted on 1070 has defects in R1s. I said R1 is also known as M17x R5, he doesn't listen. And he made me suspicious again. I'd probably buy it from another seller. Actually I asked too many sellers, and I said my laptop was R1, they probably won't let me buy this 1070 either. I'll say my laptop model is M17x R5 to the new sellers that I contact with, maybe after that I can buy another. I could hate Dell just because of that!!! Searching section has started again!

 

Well that sucks. You'd probably have a much easier time on ebay if you could use it. I wonder if these sellers actually know anything about what they're selling. Blame Dell's marketing for this mess. Just make sure you get the 1070 with the black PCB. I'm sure the sellers are just trying to look out for you, but it's a real annoyance when they don't know what they're talking about, especially when you know what you're doing.

 

Yeah, I even said that I was taking the responsibility for it and I wouldn't be a trouble for you, he didn't accept it. I'm able to buy stuff from ebay thanks to my sister but I need to pay a little bit more, that's why I'm trying aliexpress first. Thanks again for everything, I will be here when I get my stuff.

 

Also keep an eye out on the Marketplace here. I grabbed my 1070 for $400USD but they can go for $350-380 on here nowadays.
Or post a WTB thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the NBR marketplace. You can get high quality used parts from there, and most of the sellers there are excellent.

 

I see. It's $499 USD in Aliexpress. They say it's new. I checked NBR marketplace a little, most of them are used and there are some but with ridiculous prices. I think I've got a little chance to get it because I live in Turkey. Some of them accept only paypal (we can't use it in Turkey), some of them don't ship it to Turkey, but I'll keep the marketplace in mind. I also asked one seller on Ebay, he said he can't ship it to Turkey even if my sister buy it Canada. That's why I'll try Aliexpress first, they haven't answered me yet, I think they are on weekend break. Probably I'm gonna lie about my laptop model, maybe they accept my order. I can also post a WTB thread if I have to. Thanks for the advice!

By the way, if you can share a fully compatible laptop model for 1070 gtx, it would be great for me to lie about to sellers

 

Here you will find a model with GTX 1070 :

https://www.amazon.com/Alienware-15-R4-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B07F84P9RZ

 

That laptop doesn't use MXM graphics cards. The GPU is soldered onto the motherboard.

Other laptops the 1070 works with:
Alienware 18
Alienware M18X R2
Alienware M17X R4
MSI gt75vr
Clevo P750DM
Clevo P775DM
HP Zbook 17 G3

Honestly it's pretty silly the sellers won't sell to you even though you said you'd take responsibility for the buy. It shouldn't be this hard just to buy a computer part.

 

well, maybe the seller wouldn’t like to have it returned with no idea what had been done to it and then returning the money

 

I said them already that I'd take responsibility for it and I'd not be a trouble for you but they still didn't want to continue the process, what the hell There is only one seller left that I haven't spoken yet. I said my laptop model was M18x R2 Thanks to you @Clamibot They leave me no choice. I mostly need the graphics card but probably it'll come to me last!

I know I understand that it's appreciative but they should have approved it when I said I'd take the responsibility. Now it's weird.

 

Hi guys, I take advantage of this post cause I am in a similar point that the OP.
I am from Spain and recently bought a Ranger with a GTX 765 (only 2 heatpipes ) 60hz screen for only 200€ and now looking to upgrade to something powerfull but trying to keep costs down.
Which card/setup you guys thinks is the best value for money. GTX 980? 1060? would like to keep the chance to still use the ranger without connecting it to the PSU.
Thanks in advance.

 

Ranger without Tha brick
Why?

 

I think your best bet would be to restore the battery (I guess it has some wear) and removing the GPU and using it that way on integrated GPU. Otherwise 765M should be your best bet, it's only 75W. Without the PSU it's good for typing for a couple of hours or Heroes 3 I guess I mean, ok, it can handle some stuff, but playing on battery either seriously throttles the machine or puts serious stress on the cells, so your bet for gaming SHOULD be the PSU. You won't be able to run it even on a brand new battery for more than 1,5-2 hours. For 980 don't show up without at least 240W, maybe even 330W, 1070 should in theory be a bit less power-hungry (and a lot more efficient). Furthermore, the 980 is notorious for running into issues while installing. Maybe something like 1060? Comparably it's better than 1080 (in synthetic benchmarks at least, but they can be generally reliable).

 

The 1060 requires the 240 watt PSU as well. It's a 100 watt card. If you use it with the 180 watt PSU, the GPU gets power limited to around 45 watts, just as if you were playing a game off of battery power. It's super stupid as the 180 watt PSU can technically handle the 1060, but it just refuses to supply full power to it. It probably has something to do with power allocation in the firmware. 75 watts to the GPU with a 180 watt PSU and 120-150 watts to the GPU with a 240 watt PSU are probably the power profile definitions set in firmware, which I don't know how to change if there is even a way to do so.

So basically if you want to upgrade to a 980m, a 1060, or a 1070, you'll need the 240 watt PSU for any of those three graphics cards. Otherwise the laptop will power throttle the GPU to 45 watts max, which is the same behavior as gaming on battery power.

 

Thanks a lot guys.
Did just came home back from buying a brand new 330w PSU half the price. Sweet.
Now my battery is charging and everything seems to be ok.
It's not that I think about playing on battery insted of plugged in but i would like to keep as much baterry life as possible for web-browsing,etc if I take the ranger out.
So power-efficiency the 1060 is ok?
Seems to be kind of the best deal for me.