Upgrading to the 6690m Questions

So im about to buy a 6990, and I'm just trying to make sure i know the process of replacing my current card.

1. Remove drivers for current card
2. unscrew the backplate, fan, and heat sink to remove current GPU
3. place new GPU in and apply thermal paste
4. put it all back together
5. install drivers and hope it works?

this is the list i got right now, if you guys see any errors please let me know what Im doing wrong so i don't break something.

 

i recommend doing a bios reset too by doing a power drain with the cmos battery out.

remember to install official dell driver first, then any newer driver over it.

 

also be careful with the thermal pads on the heatsink and there is a large thermal pad on the back of the card (don't ask).

I would follow this guide and follow the pics on the placement of all the thermal pads:

M17x-R3 CPU & GPU Re-Pasting Guide w/Pics!

 

The bottom cover needs to be replaced as well.

There is an additional vent right next to the nameplate on the 6990m. Dell replaced the bottom cover for me.

 

WHY???????

 

Bios reset so it properly picks up the video card.

I didn't do it with my 580 or 6970 but it's always smart to be safe.

 

hmm is it really that big of a deal? i guess ill ask the tech when they come to replace my screen eventually

 

I see you're from Alaska....I guess not

JK! The shader temps go up all way to 83 deg C even with those vents installed. I'm sure you'll be hitting higher without them.

 

Dang thats hot , my 460 hits like 66C max even OC'ed i almost always have my laptop propped up though, and its usually cool in the house so i hope i get better temps.

 

my 6970m used to get that hot as well.

These are hot cards!!!

 

nvidia > Amd

 

not in price per performance


another question i had is how do the ATI drivers work? they sound way more complicated than my nividia ones

 

You install the dell ones on the support site first, then you install a later one over it without removing the dell one.

 

i have both bottom covers, honestly make little to no difference for me.

 

alright sweet thanks

alright ill stay with my original cover i guess then thanks

 

BREATH 6990m BREATH

 

well i just sent in the money for the 6990 hope the installation goes smoothly

 

dude! you have a 900p monitor...you'll be getting some mad FPS!

 

hehe only for a bit... im trying to get my screen replaced with a 1080p one soon.

 

well i just read through the GPU repasting guide and i have a few questions

1. do i need to purchase new pads to stick on the new card?
2. if i do, where do these new pads need to go?

I wanna do this right the first time and not mess up my brand new card, so any advise would be very helpful.

 

i've repasted twice...and i continue to use the stock pads. There is no need to replace them unless you've damaged them somehow. The pads are like silly putty, they won't break if you're careful with them

When you take off the heatsink, the pads will be stuck on it. If you want to replace the pads, just stick the new pads over where the old ones sit on the heatsink. Cut out the same shape and size as the old pads, and replace with new pads

Word of advice...contrary to the guide, the stock pads are 1mm...i've talked to many people that used 0.5mm and have regretted it...or doubled up to make 1mm

 

Ill stay with the stock pads for now then, just gotta wait for the card to get here

 

ha...i bet you're like a kid waitin for Christmas

 

yea its gonna be worse when it gets here and i can't put it in im gonna let dell replace my screen before i mess with the graphics card

 

finally got my 6990m in the mail today gonna install it tomorrow after i pick up some thermal paste.

 

Congratz lol...its about time!!

 

what score should i expect from 3d mark vantage? just trying to find a good ballpark for witch the card is supposed to be in.

 

vantage...stock 6990 with a 2630...you're around high 13's low 14k

 

thanks man ill let you know how it goes

would rep you again but it says i need to spread it around

 

On Vantage you will get mid 12ks with the stock Dell Drivers. With the 11.9 and 11.10 drivers, you will get what slick has said.

Max GPU score with 11.9 and 11.10 drivers will be 13 300...min will be 12 800.

 

Congrats, you are going to love it. I'm still in shock this damn mobile GPU is putting my GTX 470 to shame.

 

Anybody here has experience with this card?
ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 6990m GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay

 

should work. Only question i would have would be what bios it has on it? Idk much about third party cards though, so it might still work.

 

well i put in the 6990m and got.... hardware not detected even after a bios reset. anybody what could be going wrong!?!

 

what BIOS do you have?

 

when i first installed the card i was running the stock A08 Bios but now im running the modded A08 bios because i thought it might help although i still haven't had any luck

 

wow that does not makes any sense to me. maybe try to put there old card and see if it works or not? maybe 6990 is just not correctly plugged in.
and also, where did you bought the card? directly from dell?

 

nah i bought it from a seller here on notebook review. I have been talking to him and will prob end up shipping the card back to him so he can take a look at it.

Also did a thermal repaste of the CPU while I had the back plate off and i can't breach 70C running Prime95. I'm perfectly content with that

 

well the seller finally got the card back(I was an idiot and shipped it USPS). According to him it runs fine in his m15x. What could I have done wrong to prevent it from being detected in my r-3?