R4 not detecting 680M

Found the time to sit down and open up my R4 tonight, removed the 660M. Reused the X-bracket and sponge mats onto the newly inserted 680M. I was able to boot safely into W8 but neither OS or bios detects the 680M?

I've read about the R3 having compatibility issues with the 680M and so requiring a flash, but I thought the 680M in an R4 was practically plug and play.

I purchased the 680M from Dell Alienware M18X M17X Nvidia Geforce GTX680M Laptop Video Card CPCXD 680M 2GB | eBay, so I don't think there should be an issue with the card. Is it possible I'm missing a step?

Is there a bios I'm supposed to flash to?

 

Hi, no idea as yet but you're right it should be plug-n-play in an R4. If you have changed any BIOS settings then try to default it and see if that helps.

FYI you should NOT reuse the x-bracket inless you are sure the GPU die is the same thickness (measured in nm). The posts are specific to this and too large a gap will cause overheat, too small a gap and you risk cracking the die

 

I remember reading a thread by an AW rep (Luis I think) who confirmed that the 660M's parts were compatible with the 680M. Unless that doesn't include the X-bracket.

I think the bracket fit snug enough, I was able to get it into all 4 holes cleanly. One doesn't come through the card far enough because I bent it a little while removing it from the 660M, but I just compensated for that by using a longer screw.

 

It should be plug-n-play, try to re-seat the card and clear the CMOS before turning on the laptop and see if it shows up in the BIOS after this.

 

If the posts do not come through enough then you might have cracked the core. Not for sure just a posibility. I checked on the die and the 660m uses a GK107 core ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M 1 GB GPU specifications) and the 680 a GK104 ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M GPU specifications). Both are 28nm cores so it should be the same but the fact that it did not fit perfect does not sound good. The heatsinks are often interchangeable but the advice I was given (that makes sense to me) is that although the heatsinks are often interchangeable the x-bracket designed for the card should be used to ensure the correct pressure.

The difference in the post heights (measured in nm's and very small diference) is what sets the pressure of the heatsink on the die. I always believed that a new x-bracket was supplied with a new card but obviously not

 

It may be D.O.A, can you try it in a different PC? (relative or friend?). Or maybe ask for a return/exchange.