Would A RTX MXM Card be compatible with the M17x R4

I know this sounds kinda overkill and crazy, but would a RTX mxm card be compatible with the M17x R4?

FYI: I would never personally spend 1,200 USD to do this lol

 

I remember seeing someone with a Quadro RTX 5000 in their M18x R2, so maybe. Don't get one of those though. RTX 2060, 2070, and 2080 modules may be coming out in standard MXM form factor this November: Zotac has officially abandoned the mxm format on the new EN72070V.

I don't think your idea is overkill at all. I want an RTX 2070 in my Ranger so I can play all my games at 120 FPS at 1080p resolution at high to ultra settings. A 1060 isn't enough for that in any of the games I have that were released after 2015.

@Baddemichl, how's that Quadro RTX 5000 working in your laptop? Does it work well in games?

 

Sounds good. Would also like to hear how good it works with these legacy alienwares

 

It is working fine in games, But i only tested Wolfenstein Young Blood and doom ethernal at max settings.
There is only one Limit. Max FPS are limited to 60 FPS ( 60Hz Display ).

 

That's good news. The fact it works well in games on your machine bodes well for the rest of the upgradeable Alienware laptops released from 2012-2014.

 

Would the CPU bottleneck if you had a 120hz display? What's the CPU/GPU usage looking like

 

Honestly I highly doubt it. I have the 120 Hz display and the only thing bottlenecking my framerate in games is the GPU. The only time you'd experience a CPU bottleneck from the Core gen 3 and 4 CPUs is when using laggy unoptimized software, or software that can't take advantage of multiple CPU cores. In any case, the only reason you'd experience a CPU bottleneck is because of a software issue, not because the hardware isn't powerful enough. This may change with newer games, and those may require more CPU cores to run well, but most games should work well on the aforementioned CPUs.

 

What is your GPU Temp looking like under load? Just curious as I just installed a new 1070 and wanting to see if my temps are alright under load

 

Around 158°F, or 70°C, usually a little bit lower if the GPU isn't running at full throttle. That's with the 1060 and the upgraded 5 heatpipe heatsink + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut thermal paste. It'll probably be a little higher for the 1070. 176°F or 80°C should be okay. Personally I don't feel comfortable going past this on the GPU side.

 

Yup. Kinda running a bit toasty at 80C under full load which I'm not liking too much

 

That sounds normal. You should be fine long term. The health of the card really only starts to suffer once you go above 85°C for prolonged periods of time.

 

I think I need the 5 pipe heat sink as it is reaching about 85C if left for at least an hour

 

The 5 pipe heatsink should help quite a bit, especially if you force max fans through HwInfo64 and use high quality thermal paste.

 

Well I found a temporary fix for now while I get that heatsink. I just use my power brick as a stand so my laptop stays at an angle. That has dropped about 10C and is now averaging 79~80C with fans on full blast

Edit: Yes, 10C as I was basically getting 90C while having is flat on my desk

 

If it works, then it works!

I find it interesting that angling up your laptop made that much of a difference. Angling my laptops has never made a significant impact on temps unless they're placed on a surface that isn't flat.

 

Oh yes angling it has made a huge impact!

 

And a weird thing is that in firestrike I get a score of 11 262. Thats about 2000 points lower than the average 1070 for some reason.

 

Which 1070 are you using? The MSI variant or the variant that comes in a standard MXM 3.0B form factor?

 

Standard 3.0b form factor. My computer seems to be throttling the clock speed down for some reason. Could it be a temperature related issue?

 

Ok that makes perfect sense now. The 1070 that comes in standard MXM form factor has lower performance than the MSI variant. It's not a temperature issue. Temperature throttling kicks in at/near the temperature limit of the processor, which is 100°C for any CPU or GPU I've ever had. The clock throttling you're seeing is a result of the power limit of the card. The VBIOS on the standard MXM form factor 1070s define a power limit of 120 watts if I remember correctly. The power limit on the MSI variant is 150 watts, so no power related clock throttling on that card.

You can verify this using GPU-Z. Look for the PerfCap reason in the sensors tab. If I'm correct, it should say PWR when benchmarking or doing something that runs the GPU at full throttle.

 

So getting that 5 heat pipe will help remedy the power throttling issue I'm guessing. In games, my fps fluctuations alot along with the watts and GPU usage of the card

 

If the GPU is getting very hot, yes the 5 pipe heatsink will help. I think that custom heatsink can handle GPUs up to 150 watts. I think it was made for the 1070 in the first place.

 

Makes alot of sense why I'm getting alot of performance issues then. I'm looking at my GPU usage going all over the place plus monitoring the GPU power limit on MSI going crazy while underload. It'll have to be a definite buy if I want a usable GPU that will last me a while. Thanks for all the information!

 

No problem man! The community is always here to help!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/rtx-3000-tested-in-aw18.833130/

 

Thanks for the link. That'll give proof to other brothers and sisters on this forum that an upgrade to the Turing lineup is in fact possible.

 

Use XTU and check your core current, change it from 32A to 112A and re-run.

 

I'm in XTU right now and don't see anything about current change

 

CPU page. Should show core current 32A

 

I'm in the advanced tuning tab right now. No core current at all. My cpu is the 3630 also. The only unlocked settings are turbo boost power max and turbo boost short power max

Edit: I do have a unlocked bios which I could overclock my cpu. But I'm too afraid to brick my machine. I also found out that my graphics score is 1624 which is right about where it should be but my cpu is bringing down my overall score by 2000

 

Sold my laptop but looks sort of like this (example picture found) where "Core Current Limit" lower left. R4 defaults to 32A due to BIOS.

 

I don't have any of those extra settings available other than the ones i mentioned

Edit: I probably need an extreme processor to access any of those features.

 

Ok that score might be appropriate then for the CPU and ver. of 1070 you are using. Mine would be about 1k lower when the core current was set to 32A vs 112A

I got 12.8k w Zotac and 3940XM cpu

 

I just ran firestrike again on a fesh install and newer driver and that gave me a graphics score of 17 000. The 3630QM in the benchmark is impacting the score. Not the 1070 and a overall score of 11 678. I went to my bios also and could not find any visible settings to rise the core current. I would need an extreme processor to do any overclocking which I don't plan on getting one for now

 

Yeah your GPU seems fine then. Maybe get the 5 pipe to keep it running cooler. Some folks blew up their 1070s.

 

Yup. I got the 5 pipe heatsink on the way already. I don't want to keep using my pc while its at 85C while playing the new modern warfare. Admittedly, It is pulling some pretty good frames! It wants to hover over 100 - 120 frames but it keeps thermal throttling down to 80ish and keeps going up then down

 

Pick up a variety of thickness thermal pads and take your time with placement and squish. Maybe get some clay to use to confirm heights and such.

 

I know I have alot of thermal paste which when the new heatsink comes in I'll clean up, but this is my setup

All of the pads make contact with the heatsink

 

You have a massive contact Problem between die and heatsink. If it is ok and you dissamble it, you could read nvidia on die and see the chopper on the heatsink,
I think you have an other Problem. The 5 pipe heatsink will not help.

 

I can't read the nvidia on the core nore can i see the copper on the heatsink... if that's what you're saying. And the heatsink does make proper contact with the core when it is screwed on.

 

That´s a normal Problem with pascal and turing. The core is 0,7mm lower then maxwell. So you don´t have a proper contact.

 

How would I go about fixing this then? Do i have to make the middle of the heatsink .7mm deeper to properly make contact with the die?

 

I use always a a choper shim with 0,8mm between core and heatsink.
Fixed with liquid metal on heatsink side.

 

But Could i just file away the middle of the heatsink till it does make contact with the die?

 

So i looked at the alienware R4 with the 1070 and the heatsink and the core sit with that same space in between . I think by design it might just be like that. What is definitely tanking my temperatures is the 3 pipe heatsink.

 

Isn't the 5-pipe heatsink for the 17 R1? Does it also fit into the M17x R4? I thought they were slightly different.

My Kingdom for a M18x 5-pipe heatsink!!

 

Nope they are not different in any way besides the 3 extra pipes and it being full copper.

 

Ahh very interesting. I have heatsinks for both laptops at home so I'll put them side by side tonight.

 

Alright. If there's any other difference other than that, then let me know!

 

I'm sure I remember reassembling a 17 and grabbing the M17x R4 heatsink by mistake and it didn't fit, but don't quote me on that. I'll let you know.