What future GPU upgrades can current 5870m owners expect in comming months?

Hello fellow beast owners,

I wanted to start this thread as speculation has risen greatly since the news and verfication that 460m, and 470m's have been added to the M15x and M17x R2 GPU lineup, and quite possibly the R3 with rumored AMD 6xxxx series gpu's which are on their way.

I'm sure by now, current R2 owners are questioning the possiblity of future GPU upgrades for their beast's. I know I am!

So the question is: What can we (5870m owners) expect for future upgrades?

1. Will we have the luxury to swap out cards (say to Nvidia GPU's) since the 5870's are GDDR5 and our bios's are already DX11 equipped?

2. Can an update be created for the bios to support the newer cards?

3. Is it possible that Dell/Alienware are testing the 285m to see if the chassis can hold and support 470m SLI? or did Dell/Alienware release the 285m for the R2 to pacify those till the 470m SLI reaches production?

4. Should we petition for Dell/Alienware to create support for the newer cards that they are introducing into the lineup?

Though the R3 is on its way, wouldn't it be cheaper and more cost effective to just release the support for the newer cards but restrict the bios to accept Dell only 460-470m's as this would definitely assure current owners that their $4000.00 notebooks are not yet obsolete!

I realize that the 5870m is the fastest mobile GPU atm, I just think that with all the new GPU's comming out for the R2-3 (285, 460, 470, AMD 6xxxx), that some of us are contemplating what will happen to our current systems as many manufacturers are known for abandoning their late tech products after a new release.

I would like to hear everyones thoughts on this subject.

 

sorry to disappoint you, but alienware will release a new revision with a new motherboard. The current one will not be able to handle the upcoming GPUs. (my friend works at alienware)

 

Rather enjoy what I have right now and just buy the R3 when it comes out

 

5870m is not fastest GPU. 470M and 480M are both faster. They have been released for a while now... just not for alienware.

 

never say never,

There was speculation about crossfire coming out on 5870.

I reckon somewhere down the line someone will fit the new cards into their r2.

 

I dont think the R2 will meet the power requirements.

 

great inside news. any extras you want to share?

 

I'd like to add that my friend works at Alienware and says the new the model will come with a toaster above the gpu's the ensure that gamers on long sessions stay carbed no word yet on a hydration system.

 

460 and 470 are both 75W cards. there's no power limitations that would prevent the use of them.

 

From a physical and electrical standpoint, it would not have a problem supporting the GTX 460m or GTX 470m. The only real upgrade for 5870 owners would be the GTX 470m. I also don't see why it would not be able to support the newer 6870/6970 mobility cards.

All it would need it a bios update.

 

That's the most important thing.

 

And probably the one thing we won't get.

 

believe me when i tell you that your computer is not obsolete. that's an insane notion.

 

Hey Lozz,

I just read ATI mobility HD 5730 Benchmarks - Reviews that the 5870's are consuming 25% less than their Nvidia counterparts, however I would think that (theoretically) their shouldn't be any major power issues using the Nvidia cards and if their were then a 300w psu would be needed.

Hey AARPCard,

This is what I've been pondering about lately, thanks man!

LOL! I wouldn't be surprised! +1

Lol, ya for now its not. I would like to think at most a few years

 

Honestly, with all the talk of sb and AMD's new Zacate APU chips around the corner. It's been difficult, Our beast's (if eqquiped with the aforementioned update and support for newer cards and possible psu upgrade) really is all we need.

Wouldn't it make sense to issue an update and offer (future) upgradeable options to further maximize our systems so that we can truly have what we paid for?

 

Would it be nice for an upgrade path? Sure. Does it make good business sense, not really. There are many GPU’s and CPU’s that are compatible and makes huge number of total solutions at different budgets. People like us with decked out R2’s don’t have many options because, well, we already used them all and fully upgraded. It would be much better business to issue an updated R3 that has new CPU and GPU sets and go from there. They don’t make much from upgrades because few of us do it through Dell (cost is so high) and it just prolongs the life of our systems (less times we have to buy a new laptop).

I would love to see a 6800/6900 ATI solution offered to R2’s in the future, but I won’t be holding my breath for it.

 

I think we might see both the 460M and 470M SLi in the M17x-R2.

 

anything (as in insider's news) to back your theory?

 

I would like to know where you have deducted this from please.

again, I would like to know why you believe a 460 or 470 would require a 300W PSU.. the Flextronics 240W already peaks to 280+ on 5870s and 285's

If they're doing anything for the holiday season, it will be with the R2. I Don't think even dell would make a mistake such as getting flextronics to make another revision mainboard or laptop with a product cycle of 2-3months before sandy bridge were to roll out, requring another product revision.

 

I don't care I will just enjoy my XFX 5870 until next year.

 

Exactly what I've been thinking, all we need is a bios update and maybe a 300w psu!

Agreed, I highly doubt that Dell/Alienware will announce the rumored R3 with sb for the holidays. My guess is (well not really a guess anymore )that they will introduce 460-470m SLI for brand new R2's.

Plus, I think that sb is rolling out with the new 6xxxm and quite possibly AMD's Zacate APU. If I'm not mistaken, MSI is already trying it out in one of their new notebooks.

 

Should I start thinking about selling my R2? I'm in the process of getting another 2yrs warranty. If my R2 was to have a catastrophic failure or 2 during that time they would more than likley replace it anyway right?

 

yes, you're reading it wrong. 50W is for the chip alone, the whole board is a 75W card, which is a bit more than a 460 and the same as a 470

the 280, and 285 are both 75W cards, and both do just fine on the flextronics 240W PSU. They do not draw more than the 5870s I have right now from my observations with a kill-a-watt.

 

Hey there Lozz,

Appreciate the correction. I'm no expert when it comes to tech, just learning as I go.

Well, thanks to Lozz for enlightening me on the 460-470m cards having an output power equivalent to the 5870m and that the current 240w Flextronics psu can handle the greens. It makes me even more curious why Dell/Alienware wouldn't issue a bios update for our current beast's. maybe to give the engineers a break or maybe to make even more money on a newer revised system?


maybe I am over-analyzing the topic here, but why hasn't Dell/Alienware offered the 285m as an current user-upgrade path or option for current M17X owners preferrably those maybe with 4870m's or maybe for those that need the Cuda cores and PhysX and then of course for those such as myself that just want the option available without having to purchase a new system or send mine in for that matter. Why can't they just offer it as a regular purchase by itself? Reason I say this is because they (Dell/Alienware) state that the M15X and M17X are user upgradeable meaning that the GPU(s) can be upgraded to better existing cards or for a different card altogether. Why has this option been stripped from us?

 

Just a thought here, but ....

Wont anyone even thinking with upgrading to different cards (whatever they may be) have to get proprietory ones from Dell (Dellized, if you like) or can they be bought any other way?

Im just thinking logisitically here, in terms of expense, that if indeed you have to get them from Dell, its gonna be severely cost prohibitive....and then .... disposal of old cards???

Seems like a whole lotta expense for not a great deal in gain....

 

More than likely! If I were you, I'd get that 2yrs extended warranty cuz sooner or later you'll need it.

I believe that the cards would be "Dellized", however I heard of someone within these forums having an xfx 5870m? Which if I'm not mistaken would be a non-Dell card.

Logistically, in terms of expense it would be alot cheaper than buying a brand new PC. "seems like a whole lot of expense for not a great deal in gain" not everyone would just get the upgradeable cards and dispose of their old ones. I know I wouldn't! If I could get a pair of 470m SLI, I would stilll keep my 5870m's just so that I can swap them when I feel like it or for when demanding applications and games could use the Cuda cores and PhysX.

The purpose of this thread is just to see, that if Dell would release a bios update and approve the option to upgrade from current 5870m's to perhaps the 460-470m's or newer by just allowing us to purchase them off of their website rather than having to send our machines to the Depot of Dell would not only relieve alot of frustration from users but also offer the full upgradeability that was advertised from jump. I mean that is the reason why we purchased these beast's right? For the capability to be fully upgradeable?

 

True on the point of upgradability - thats why we bought 'em - but, its Dell here.....the firm that like to stamp "proprietory" all over the place where it sees fit....classic example being PSU.

If they make an m17x with better cards as an option, i would doubt (but i could be wrong) that you could simply get one off the shelf.....which means big bucks for Dell when you want to upgrade..

Saying that, iim sure that it CAN be done, its just at what expense....

 

To upgrade my dell desktop my Father had to cut a bit of metal off for the PSU to fit. I personally dislike dell really :[

 

I dont think they are that bad to be honest - i just dont agree with such proprietory things....if i want a psu or whatever, i shoulndnt HAVE to get one from Dell just so they can make even more money....

 

The one serious wrench in these concepts is that if by "new" the R3 is actually a Sandy Bridge system, that changes the PCI-E slot to gen 2.0. That won't be compatible with any of the current cards slot wise.

470M's take slightly less power than 5870's from "wall meters" and the 480M's take a bit more power than the 5870. What we need is 470's or the imaginary 485M's based on the newly spun chips to get something equal to the 5870.

If the "new" R3 is based on the current I7 platform then all the bets are on. I've often told Dell they have no idea what a market they have at the ready in simply offering upgrade GPU's to the market. Quite often folks give up on the chance of an upgrade because the hurdles are too difficult, yet they have the money at the ready. Those folks aren't going to buy new machines (not in this economy anyway) but would spring for upgraded GPU's quite often. Dell has so far not considered this but they should.

Anyway, is the R3 a Sandy Bridge or not. Have to answer that question first. Because if it is, then the R2's are done where they stand now unless Dell gets a clue and begins exploiting the GPU upgrade market.