Upgrading the GPU through Dell

I am considering getting the 6970m from Dell for my R3. (I ordered mine before the 6970 was an option...). I am curious if I get that (which comes with its own limited lifetime warranty) could I sell my GTX 460m or would I still need to keep that in case I have to send it in for warranty work?

If my laptop has a 3yr basic warranty on it and the 6970m comes with it's own warranty doesn't that mean that everything is covered? Just under 2 separate warranties instead of just the laptop warranty.

Thanks guys

 

If you purchase the card through them you should be able to have the rep switch the config in their systems so you'll be fine to sell the 460m. Unless they've changed something that's always been their policy.

 

That's not so bad then. How much are the 460m's going for? I can't find one for sale separately at all...

 

300-400 10 char

 

I wonder if anyone would be interested in a 460m. If so I would def grab a 6970m separately.

 

I'd hold off There is also a rumor going about, a dell rep said that one member should wait on getting the 3D model, becuase a even better card than the 6970 was going to be released soon. IE the 485m, and they pulled their 3D package deal offline so they may be upgrading it to the 485m's

What does this mean for you, you get to keep your 3D, and you can have a 5-10% improvement over the 6970. which doesn't even work with the 120hz screen.

 

yeah but also paying way more then 300-400 dollars. That 5%-10% gain is going to come at a 200% price gain as well.

 

That and I have the 60Hz screen

 

Be careful of the fanboys. No one knows if the 485 is coming to the R3 at this point (even though its likely), and the 1 person to try it before Dell's support had to mod the heat sink, lost 3D capablity, and is having fan issues. Its also a $750+ GPU which is almost twice the cost of the 6970 and performs pretty evenly in gaming some better, some worse. So for the cost of admission over a 6970 you'll get 120Hz, higher benchmarks, and the loss of IGP (no Optimus either).

 

that's an awful lot of "talking out of" you did there lol, lets just wait and see what Dell comes up with, I'm in the market for a Nvidia 485m GTX no matter what happens, I've noticed many 6970 peeps on here trying to convince others that their choice was best - perhaps trying to convince themselves he he

 

I don't think they are saying the 6970 is the best. I think they have been explaining their opinion on why it is a better DEAL because of the price of the 485m and the fact that it performs only marginally better in most tests than the 6970m (confirmed by many benchmarks). I agree that bang for the buck the 6970 is a better "deal" but I also agree that the 485m is a better performing GPU (confirmed in some tests).

I am not bias seeing as I do not have either. I see both sides of the debate and agree with parts of them both. I have not decided for myself which route I will take but, in saying that, I do believe it is simply a personal choice that can be justified individually based on personal interests and budget.

Just my opinion though

 

No I just meant I see your current system is the 460m so I'm assuming you have the 120hz 3D screen as well, the 485 allows you to keep 3D functionality, where as the 6970 does not.

 

Oh I got you. I actually was one of the first to order the R3. I ordered it before there ever was an option for the 6970m and I wasn't really into the 3D epidemic at the time so I got the 460m with the 60Hz screen. I just stuck it out and waited through the Intel processor debacle.

So my options now are to get the 6970m and keep the 60Hz screen or keep the 460m/485m (or whatever 3D car comes out) and upgrade to the 120Hz screen.

Probably MUCH cheaper for me to go the 2D route seeing as I would have to have my screen replaced to get 3D...

 

depends on how much money you want to spend, but in your case if 3d really isn't a deal breaker definitely go for the 6970, great bang for buck like ATI always is

 

Yeah I haven't really decided yet. If I want to go 3D I may sell my system and buy one with 3D. Kind of hard to do though. I actually have it posted for sale just to see what interest there would be. But the thought of getting rid of it is a tough one to swallow even though I would turn right around and buy another one.

I should probably just keep it and get the 6970m though.

 

You can always try to talk a sales rep into giving you a discount on the 485 when it comes out, see if you can get them lower on it and then decide which is better, but considering you only have a 60hz screen I would probably say go with ATI

 

LOL, I have no dog in this fight. I had an Nvidia on my last Alienware, and will always buy what gives me the most bang for my buck. 3D means very little to me, however I would've liked 120Hz. Once I saw the gaming performance of the 6970 vs the 485M it wasn't really worth it once I considered the loss of the IGP. And that's before cost comes into it. However, the most glaring problem is the possiblity that there will never be Dell support of this GPU. I've said many times that I think Dell will offer this GPU, but you and I both know this is based on pure speculation.

What I don't like seeing is most of the cheerleaders around here spewing fanboy garbage that sway people's decisions. You stated 6970 owners (me I guess?) are trying to convince others their choice was best. Thats actually why I think you and a few others are living vicariously through LV right now. Basically, a lot of the early 460M purchasers bought either before the 6970 was available, or based on the thinking that the 485 was a lock. Now that there's some doubt, a few of you are posting in every thread possible pumping the 485, praying to (insert random God here) that it works. TBH if I chose the 3D route, I'd be praying for a better card than the 460 (for 3D stuff) and would want to know that in the future I could upgrade to something on par with the AMD option. So I'm not hating, I actually hope that LV gets his system working, just as much as I was hoping Dane gets his 6970 working. In the end it's all about performance and the more options we have the better off ALL R3 users will be. All I'm doing is presenting facts, so people can make their decision based on reality, not the hopes and dreams of a select few on here. Talking to some of you, you'd think the 485 was confirmed by Dell, and it runs flawlessly in the R3 right now.....which couldn't be further from the truth.

I'm a fan of the 485, and if it was available it would've been hard for me to not choose it as my GPU (who doesn't like having the top dog) but I'm deployed half the year, which makes battery life more important than slightly improved gaming performance on some titles (slightly worse on others) and 3D. Take it easy man, enjoy what you got, I certainly am enjoying mine.

 

If you have 60hz and dont specifically want Nvidia the 6970m is a great card. Call Dell and get them to sell you one, add it to your system specs, and I believe u can get a tech to install it too? (Doesnt this come with the Dell vcard purchase?).

Then sell your 460m

 

It's simple...

If you want 3d, pray for 485m

If not, get 1080p 60hz with 6970m.

No need for everyone to start comparing this better than that, etc.

Before you say I'm a vicarious 460m owner, or a nvidia fanboy, I went with the 460m because I'm a casual gamer, and have other stuff to do than just game. So a high level gpu that "isn't " the best is fine with me. Plus I wanted to try out 3d (please no trolling about gimmicky 3d). I'm interested in the 485m because I plan on keeping this system for at least 3-4years, and would like to upgrade the gpu to stay up to date.

 

well said


Right now we have this senario


6970 +IGP +faster card for games etc -more expensive than 460m -no 3D -no 120hz, my opinion nvidia has better drivers and better support, if 485m becomes availble you cannot go back - you're stuck with it

460 +3D +120hz LCD, cheaper card but 3D package more expensive -no IGP (loose about 1hr battery life)

485 +120hz LCD +marginally better performance in some cases as much as 15% (currently working 2D but will cost $300 to upgrade) -no IGP (battery 1hr less) 3D is possible once drivers are sorted


so in summary with the 6970 you have no 3D option ever you are stuck with 2D and 60hz panel +1hr battery life

Nvidia solution offers 3D and upgrade to 485m with 120hz panel with equal performance or better to the 6970 and 3D with correct drivers

it's a no brainer if you have a little extra to spend

 

RJTech.com

 

there will be loads soon enough lol

 

Yeah its a no brainer if you already have the 120Hz screen or if you are still contemplating what system to buy, but for someone like me that already has the computer and its the 60Hz screen it seems to be way more of an expense difference to go 3D with the 485m. Having the screen swapped out for the 120Hz one and having to pay full price for the 3D vision pack is probably pretty expensive.

 

It's really not worth it unless you got the 3d screen with the package, the S3D WLED panels are pretty damn expensive by themselves