Upgrading an Alienware M17x R1

Hey everyone, just a question... On my m17x r1 it came with the GeForce GTX 260m and I'm wanting to buy the Radeon HD 4870 to upgrade but I've been reading online that these 2 cards are close in performance and stand hand to hand on almost everything and would this be considered an upgrade to my GTX 260m and would there be a big difference. Can anyone help with this question and thanks again

 

There isn't much upgrade between the 260M*EDITED DUE TO TYP0* and the HD 4870.
They both can be clocked for the same amount of memory.
The 260M has a significantly better GPU memory and Resolution Performance.
Here.

 

Hi and thanks for the reply, do you think the Geforce GTX 280m would be a better choice then the 4870

 

Radeon Mobility HD 4870

• 550 MHz
• 1 GB GDDR5

GeForce GTX 280M

• 585 MHz
• 1 GB GDDR3

If you already have the 4870, stick to it. There isn't much of a difference either.

 

Hi again, what does the GDDR3 and GDDR5 mean and the 280m has a higher MHz

 

Source - Wikipedia: GDDR or graphics double data rate memory refers to memory specifically designed for use on graphics cards. GDDR is distinct from the more widely known DDR SDRAM types such as DDR3, although they share some technologies - including double data rate design.

Yes, the 280M has a slight advantage in processing speed than the 4870. But then again, it is almost the same.

 

Alright then, you have been a great help with all this and I'm understanding a lot better now and I had not bought the 4870 yet and now I'm leaning towards the 280m now. I bought this m17x brand new from Dell in 2009 and have used it maybe 20 hours and one day I decided to upgrade everything and I maxed out the memory to 8GB and installed a second hard drive in the dual bay and my last is the stick, so wanted to thank you again for all the help

 

The AMD or ATI 4870 never came with the GDDR5 memory. From my knowledge, AMD or ATI had some issues with GDDR5 memory back them so it never shipped with it, only GDDR3 was ever shipped. GDDR5 memory finally showed up in the AMD 5870m.

 

How did you manage to only get about 20 hours of use out of a piece of premium machinery that you purchased six years ago for at least a couple thousand dollars? Not asking to be a jerk, just curious. My R1 got ran right into the ground eventually with all the use it saw in our house between my wife's business, my writing and of course, gaming. What was it doing?

 

This is the comparison you want:
http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/inde...e=mobility-radeon-hd-4870-vs-geforce-gtx-260m

The ones in your link are the desktop variants

 

I could have sworn I saw the M somewhere... Thanks for the correction there Katalin.

 

The 4870M is superior (atleast in my experience) stock performance is around 20% better, when OC-ed it's about 50% better than the 260M due to the reason that 2X0M series don't overclock well.

 

But radeon is AMD drivers vs Nvidia drivers so also consider that. And yes I had two HD6990M and I don't recommend bothering with a crap AMD drivers.

 

What are you trying to say? the 4870M and 260M are old cards, the drivers have matured and there is no issues with AMD drivers. I hate how people still flame AMD drivers like it's still 2007 lol...
The 6970/6990 were bad series, but take a look at nvidia 580M / 675M, same story there, those cards are just waiting to kick it...

I'm neither red not green team, i think both have good hardware so let's not go there anymore, the OP just asked if it'd be a good upgrade.
If the OP wants, i got all three cards (260M, 4870M, and a 285M (wich is basically the same as 280M)), I can run a couple of benches when i get the time if you'd like.

 

Hi and thanks for the info, I decided to go with the GTX 280m and now one more question? I took apart the m17x to install the GPU and the power button panel I took off and when re-installing it the little snap that holds the small ribbon on the left side snapped off and broke and now I can't secure the small ribbon onto the power button panel. Any ideas? Besides buying a new panel

 

On wich side did the snap broke off? motherboard or the panel?
If on the panel i guess you could just use some electrical tape to keep it in place, or perhaps some tape that doesnt leave residue migh be better.

 

Hi and thanks for the reply, it broke off on the panel and I tried a small piece of duct tape and when I flip it over it breaks loose but I'll keep trying and if that don't work I might have to buy a new panel. Thanks for the help

 

Happened to me r2 too. That hinge is really weak. Tried tape but never could get enough pressure on the ribbon. A new panel off eBay was just over 40 bucks but this was 3 years ago