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    Upgrading from 6870m

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by HaloGod7786, Aug 9, 2011.

  1. HaloGod7786

    HaloGod7786 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Dell will only sell me a 6990m if i claim i have a m18x. Will a 6990m made for a m18x work in my m17x R3? Heatsink and all? thanks
     
    HaloGod7786, Aug 9, 2011
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  2. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Not the heatsink but you can use your original heatsink with it. The rest should work fine.
     
    widezu69, Aug 9, 2011
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  3. Greywolf22

    Greywolf22 Notebook Deity

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    I'd recommend talking to member pkhetan about a Clevo 6990 card, you should be able to flash the dell vbios on the card and make it the same as a Dell 6990 card and will probably save you money as well.

    Just a recommendation. :)

    Good luck...either way you'll need to use your original heatsink.
     
    Greywolf22, Aug 9, 2011
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  4. HaloGod7786

    HaloGod7786 Notebook Enthusiast

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    thanks everyone, dell wants 450 for a 6990, and 550 for gtx 580m
     
    HaloGod7786, Aug 9, 2011
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  5. zoolian982

    zoolian982 Notebook Deity

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    Yeah, dell's pretty evil about their newer cards.
     
    zoolian982, Aug 10, 2011
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  6. Brabostaan

    Brabostaan Notebook Deity

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    Dollars? If so get the 6990m. :eek: Kinda cheap for a dell card. :confused:
     
    Brabostaan, Aug 10, 2011
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  7. HaloGod7786

    HaloGod7786 Notebook Enthusiast

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    yes thats in US dollars, and it comes with a complete kit and heatsink from dell
     
    HaloGod7786, Aug 10, 2011
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  8. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    thought someone said Dell charged like $1200 for a 580m?
     
    ewitte12, Aug 10, 2011
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  9. zoolian982

    zoolian982 Notebook Deity

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    The 1200 probably was for dual or something. Cuz I was offered $550 as a quote to replace my 460m for the 580m.
     
    zoolian982, Aug 10, 2011
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  10. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    It was not dual but i think someone later said there was a glitch.
     
    ewitte12, Aug 10, 2011
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  11. livid

    livid Notebook Consultant

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    Where are you guys getting quotes for the upgrades? I'm curious to see if I can get the 580M upgrade, while adding a few pesos to my monthly payments instead of paying full price.
     
    livid, Aug 10, 2011
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  12. HaloGod7786

    HaloGod7786 Notebook Enthusiast

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    call Dell Parts, say you wanna upgrade to the 580m , should be a kit, 550 shipped. 800-289-3355

    UPDATE: no longer have stock for spare 6990m, just 6970m for 400 USD, they will email me when 6990m is available again for upgrade.
     
    HaloGod7786, Aug 10, 2011
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  13. livid

    livid Notebook Consultant

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    Seeing that I am in Canada, they had to transfer me to Canadian parts 800-847-4096. They don't do upgrades in Canada, so I'll have the buy the card somewhere else. ;(
     
    livid, Aug 10, 2011
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  14. HaloGod7786

    HaloGod7786 Notebook Enthusiast

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    do what i may do, hold off on the upgrade, my 6870m clocked to 890/1200 is more than fast enough for all games, so i may wait it out for more cards to show up and get these cheaper, you should do the same. a 6970 is 700 on ebay, rip
     
    HaloGod7786, Aug 10, 2011
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  15. livid

    livid Notebook Consultant

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    I can't use AMD graphics cards, as per the 120Hz screen in my notebook. It's either the 580M or bust.
     
    livid, Aug 10, 2011
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  16. zoolian982

    zoolian982 Notebook Deity

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    I doubt the 6870 can handle playing the witcher 2 on max res and settings.
     
    zoolian982, Aug 10, 2011
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  17. maxtek

    maxtek Notebook Consultant

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    IMO I still think the 580M cards are overpriced...
     
    maxtek, Aug 10, 2011
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  18. james_2k

    james_2k Notebook Evangelist

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    and i dont. its great :p
     
    james_2k, Aug 10, 2011
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  19. jruss

    jruss Notebook Geek

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    The 6870m is upgradable? I thought it was soldered onto the motherboard.

    If this is the case I might just go with the 6870m (which comes with the base price) and upgrade it myself down the road..
     
    jruss, Aug 24, 2011
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  20. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    I do not think any alienwares are soldered
     
    ewitte12, Aug 24, 2011
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  21. jruss

    jruss Notebook Geek

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    The graphics cards on the M14xs are.
     
    jruss, Aug 24, 2011
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  22. ewitte12

    ewitte12 Notebook Evangelist

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    I can see that with a 555m... most higher end cards are MXM. I'm pretty sure they are not going to solder an MXM card.
     
    ewitte12, Aug 24, 2011
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  23. custom90gt

    custom90gt Doc Mod Super Moderator

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    the m15x and m17x are not soldered, they are MXM...
     
    custom90gt, Aug 25, 2011
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  24. jruss

    jruss Notebook Geek

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    I'm debating between buying the M14x and the M17x and, specs aside, I'm leaning towards the M17x based on this alone.

    I'm thinking of just getting the stock 6870m and upgrading it myself later down the road since I don't play demanding games, only Sc2/WoW/LoL.
     
    jruss, Aug 25, 2011
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  25. custom90gt

    custom90gt Doc Mod Super Moderator

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    Its up to you in what you want to do. I don't like to play games on anything smaller than a 17" screen anyway so the M17x was a no brainer for me. The M14x is nice, but not powerful enough for me to be more than a novelty anyway.

    The 6870 will run those games without a hitch as you know, so that sounds like a good plan to me.
     
    custom90gt, Aug 25, 2011
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  26. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    the 6870m will not handle this game on max...you'll have to tweak it and turn the resolution to 1600 or below

    I currently have an Asus ROG with a massively overclocked gtx 460m and if i want fluid game play, i have to lower to resolution to 1600 but that's with AA on and some other tweaks to speed up play
     
    SlickDude80, Aug 25, 2011
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  27. M11xDude

    M11xDude Notebook Consultant

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    What are you using to overclock your 6870m to 890/1200? TriXX?
     
    M11xDude, Dec 22, 2011
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  28. pr0cl1v1ty

    pr0cl1v1ty Notebook Guru

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    I can only go to 860/1200, though I don't use trixx anymore, I had problems with gray screening and crashing and being really unstable. I unlocked the catalyst control center "AMD Overdrive" section." and this is how I overclock now, it's simply amazing.
     
    pr0cl1v1ty, Dec 23, 2011
    #28