Upgrade M17x R2 with ATI radeon 6970M?

I have alienware M17x R2 version, with ATI readeon 5870M crossfireX configuration. I want to know if i can upgrade it with the new ATI Radeon 6970M, and if i can have 6970M CrossfireX configuration.

 

Compatibility is unknown yet not enough people have the cards to test with and the 6970 isn't a crossfire option on the m17x yet

 

I think support for that card has to be added to the bios.

 

Single 6970 might be possible, but Dual probably will not be possible.

 

Tried it:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/561054-6970m-vbios.html

At this point, it's a work in progress. BIOS support is probably needed.

 

I'm not sure how much of an upgrade a single 6970m is, you most likely will not be able to get two (heat, power, bio's etc...)

 

Does the R2 have switchable graphics?

 

what are mean "switchable graphics"? i have 2 radeon hd5870 in crossfireX configuration and i want to change with 2 radeon 6970M if is possible

 

What is the point with switching from 2x 5870m to 6970m?

 

6970 in crossfire is up to 150% better then 5870 in crossfire and could get better with driver support
There is no reason why you should not be able to get 2 in your r2, so far heat doesn't seem to be an issue and they dont draw as much power every one seems to think , we also have some talented people working on bios support for it
check this thread for more info

 

Doesn`t R2 feature a 240W power supply? 2x 6970m alone will draw up to 200W

 

have a look here the 480m is a 100w watt card even thought he 6970 has a 100w tdp dosent mean it will use it all, by the looks of it, its more like a 150-160w setup
240w is what its rated for although usually they can supply more but with no guaranty it will last

 

could someone grab the vbios for 6870M please

 

Good news for people wanting to get 6970Ms in the R2. New VBIOS fixes the fan and shut down issue. I tested both single card and Crossfire and both setups work in the M17x R2 (though you have to use different VBIOS for Crossfire). Only setback is that there is no audio over HDMI. The 6970M with the M18x VBIOS fixes this, but that VBIOS doesn't fix the shutdown/sleep/unplugged issue. More info on this coming soon.

 

Yes it is possible. Several people have tried it and it has worked. mxmupgrade.com confirms that it will work as well.

Crossfire 6970 mobilities should work as well, the only problem will be power. A more powerful PSU will be needed.

I'm going to be buying two 6970 mobilities some time next month and trying it.

 

They only confirmed it for the R3, NOT the R2. During that time, the 6970M worked in the R2 in that it could render 3D, but the fans didn't spool up according to temperature and if you put the system to sleep, hibernate, closed the lid or unplugged, it would crash the system and force the system to restart. That is what prevented most people from making the upgrade on their R2.

Since the new Clevo VBIOS fixes those issues (but sacrifices audio over HDMI), the 6970M in an M17x-R2 both single and crossfirex looks to be more livable/practical. I'm still running some gaming tests (no benchmarks, just see how it responds to hours of gaming).

However, the biggest problem of installing the 6970Ms in Crossfire is actually the physical limitations of the R2 chassis. I'll point this out when I write a tutorial on how to install these cards.

 

Nice job ichime, i am sure if it all works out in the end like your hoping there are going to be alot of happy R2 owners out there.

Your temps look pretty solid from that screenshot i saw as well .

 

where can we get the clevo vbios?

http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/Table_3.html

Not "confirmed" per say, but I knew about the issues you described. I was prepared to live with those but this news about the clevo bios is interesting.

 

I used the one listed under vBIOS update for 6970M (under the X7200 box):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/416916-clevo-bios-thread.html

The instructions provided (making a USB stick and flashing it in DOS mode) works in the R2, so just apply it that way when downloading the VBIOS files.

 

thanks man! I can't wait for next month when I can pull the trigger on the cards.

 

The 6970M CF is NOT 150% better. More like 90%. Even a single 5870M can get better with driver support. AMD drivers have a long way to go across the board. I hope you guys do get the 6970M CF going in the R2. Even though I love my M18x, I would love to see that kind of power in a 17" form factor with RGB LED display .

 

All I want this summer is a working R2 with crossfire 6970's without any problems!

Make it happen Ichime!!!

 

sorry worded it wrong i meant if xfire 5870 = 100% performance xfire 6970 would be 150%

 

oh ok...now I get it.

 

A gain is still a gain, that's very nice
Thread rated 5/5

 

thank you and +rep