Upgrade GTX1060 on Alienware 17 bought 2014? Default: M290X

Hi All,
I bought this Alienware 17 in 2014, default configuration as below:
CPU: i7-4710MQ 2.5GHz
Graphic: Radeon R9 M290X
RAM: 8 GB DDR3 1600MHz * 2
Power: 240W (saw it in BIOS)
System: Win8.1

I saw @loafer987 upgraded his Alienware 17 R1 with a stunning 1070 graphic.
I'm wondering can I upgrade mine to GTX1060 without extra power supply?
My target is to run Dark Souls 3 and The Witcher 3.

Many thanks.

 

To run the 10xx generation of gpus you have to run the 120hz display. If you have an amd card now I'm 99.9% sure you have the 60hz display. You would have to buy the 120hz panel and the edp cable for your machine to make the system display picture on the internal display. I have my 8gb 980m I intend to sell in the very near future if you would rather have a drop in solution that is twice as fast as what you have now. It's a brand new warranty replacement with less than 6 hours on it. Only used it while I was waiting for my 1070 to come back off warranty.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

I believe @woodzstack can guide you through the process and even help you upgrade the screen to a 120 Hz edp one.

Or as @loafer987 said, the 980m will make you run Dark Souls and Witcher 3 alright in case you don't have budget for screen upgrade.

 

1060N works with the 120hz screen, and can work with the regular 100W NV100 or AMD heatsinks, and it draws nearly nothing in comparison to the 980M powerwise and is a bit faster.
If you do not have the panel you will need to source the panel and the cable, and upgrade the screen, but the rest is easy as Pi (usual modified driver setup)

 

Hey woodzstack, I have an Alienware 17 R5 (mid 2013) with the GTX 880m, 120hz 3D Display, i7 4710mq.
Can I upgrade for the GTX 1070 or 1060??
How stable is it?? How much would cost for the 1070 or 1060??

 

yeah you can upgrade thats the beautiful thing about those older laptops !

As far as cost, it's going to be like the same price as a 980M or more...

I can get you quote son the 1060 or 1070 if you like, but know that for the 1070 you will need to modify the chassis.
You will also need to prep the system, because I do not think it's easy to just install windows with the card installed. you have to have windows already installed, but I can explain it for you. Its the same as it was for people who wanted to use 120hz screens before for the 980M before it was well supported.

anyways let me send you a PM

 

Hey @woodzstack. Sorry to write in this thread but i couldn't find a way to reach you through PM. Could you please PM me. I am planning to do almost the same upgrade.

 

Sure, would be my pleasure, welcome to NBR BTW..

if you like the place you should finish your profile and junk

 

Thanks The place is awesome. There's a lot of useful information and fun threads. Also i am working on the profile and stuff

 

haha cheers then man !

 

Hey guys. I just thought i should share this. I have an aw17r1 and i have tested both a 1060 and 1070 version and both work great with the 120hz screen if you do not have a 120hz screen you may not be able to get it to work but if you can run in dedicated mode there is a chance. Here are some firestrike benchmarks with the cards listed.

The 1060 card i have is for sale if anyone is interested.

 

Hi, I'm interested for m18x r2, if you are on A11 modified bios could you please try to test the 1060m in "SG mode" (that from my understanding is the optimus mode for m18xR2 like in the m17xR4 or AW17) if not make 8 beeps sound maybe it only missing its bios microcode (in AW bios) like at beginning with 970m and 980m compatibility issue or the already present issue of gsync cards not boot (beside mine ^_^ ) and we all know some people that can take care of it

 

I can not run in optimus mode. It is not an option for the 120hz screen which is what i have.

 

Yeah I mean If you could try on m18x r2

 

What kind of heatsink modifications are required for the 1060?

 

Very minimal if any. In fact i did not modify my 100w heatsink at all. Just moved some thermal pads around. I do not have the m18xr2 put together anymore. Its essentially in pieces.

 

loafer, I might be interested in your gtx 980m .