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    Upgrading an alienware m17x r2

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by pilade, Nov 20, 2011.

  1. pilade

    pilade Notebook Enthusiast

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    Now i have an alienware m17x r02 with intel core i7 840m 1,86ghz and 2 ati 5870 crossfire.I ask is there a way to upgrade my pc instead of buying another one? can i mount of my alienware (even if i loose warranty on it) a new intel i7 processor like the 2860 qm? and the new ati radeon 6990m crossfire? (in THIS case it is worth to change my graphic card cuz i wont use the 1980x1020 resolution!) :)
     
    pilade, Nov 20, 2011
    #1
  2. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Unfortunately your machine best CPU is the 940XM which isn't such a huge upgrade from a 840QM. 920XM are getting cheaper which is a better value than the 940XM. If you get an extreme edition CPU, I recommend you get the Alienware extreme edition heatsink.

    Yes you can drop in 6970/6990 in the R2, but it will run hot and I believe you lose fan control with certain vBIOS, so be aware of that.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Nov 20, 2011
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  3. pilade

    pilade Notebook Enthusiast

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    ok thank you so i can't upgrade my pc, a new pc with 6990m is already too weak (!) XD i should wait next year to buy a new pc.
     
    pilade, Nov 20, 2011
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  4. niffcreature

    niffcreature ex computer dyke

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    You can upgrade it, its not too hard to get fan control. Also soon you might be able to get crossfire amd 7000 series pretty soon which will be even better while running cooler...

    And of course, a new PC with 1x 6990m would still be like 1/2 as powerful as running 2x 6990m in crossfire, so I think its worth it, especially just 6970m which wont run as hot.

    Also the 920xm can be a good bit better when you use the unlocked multipliers to overclock it to 4.5ghz or so ;)
     
    niffcreature, Nov 20, 2011
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  5. Syberia

    Syberia Notebook Deity

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    Yes, you can upgrade to a 920xm, overclock the hell out of it, and have a machine that matches or beats the new Sandy Bridge processors.
     
    Syberia, Nov 20, 2011
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  6. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    I mean it all depends on what you want to achieve...CF 6990M is like CF desktop 6870 which should play nearly all modern games at high. SLI 580M is like a SLI desktop GTX 460/560 or desktop GTX 480. You won't hit desktop performance, but you'll come close, but you will really have a desktop replacement laptop as machines of that nature cannot run on battery.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Nov 20, 2011
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  7. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    The m17x R2 is a great chassis...xfire 6990's and a cheap 940xm QS off of ebay is what i would do.

    You should ask the mod to move this thread to the Alienware m17x forums...many have upgraded the R2 to xm processors and 6970's/6990's
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 21, 2011
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  8. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    Agreed... :D

    The 6990M cards in my system actually run cooler than my 5870s. And the M17x R2 only has one heatsink model. 940XM can be a beast when you increase the TDP. It's one of the most overclockable CPU's on the market, I love it for benching because it can be fine tuned. I can change the multiplier, FSB, and TDP of the chip :D
     
    DR650SE, Nov 22, 2011
    #8