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    m17x R3, 7970m upgrade part number?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Nightwizard52, Feb 22, 2020.

  1. Nightwizard52

    Nightwizard52 Newbie

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    I am looking to purchase an AMD 7970m GPU to replace my dead 6970m card. I looked at going nvidia but don't want to go through the hassle of the bracket and heat sink changing. One thing I can't seem to figure out is which is the right part number to order and use.

    There seems to have been two dell releases of this part
    747M2 - m17x R2 release
    9XVK3 - m18x release

    As this is an unofficial upgrade, are both cards equally okay to order or is one newer and better? any clarification would be appreciated.
     
    Nightwizard52, Feb 22, 2020
    #1
  2. SMGJohn

    SMGJohn Notebook Evangelist

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    As long as its a Dell card it will work, green PCB.
    You can look into W7170M if you want 970M level performance but keep the heatsink.
    It will also work out the box, they still sell them on Ebay pretty cheap these days.

    Sent fra min SM-G970F via Tapatalk
     
    SMGJohn, Feb 22, 2020
    #2
  3. Mastermind5200

    Mastermind5200 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Can anyone "confirm" W7170M working? What about WX7100 or later?
     
    Mastermind5200, Feb 22, 2020
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  4. SMGJohn

    SMGJohn Notebook Evangelist

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    There threads about W7170M working just fine, let me find them

    Sent fra min SM-G970F via Tapatalk
     
    SMGJohn, Feb 22, 2020
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    M18x-oldie likes this.
  5. Mastermind5200

    Mastermind5200 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Thank you
     
    Mastermind5200, Feb 23, 2020
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  6. Nightwizard52

    Nightwizard52 Newbie

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    Thanks for your response! what about blue PCB boards? I guess as long as the interface is the MXM 3.0 type B, i should be okay.
    i'll look up about the W7170M card too.
     
    Nightwizard52, Feb 23, 2020
    #6
  7. Nightwizard52

    Nightwizard52 Newbie

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    Grabbed a 7970m off ebay today. pictures looks like it has the 15.017 vbios and I asked the seller if it came directly out of another alienware product.

    Is there anything else I need before installing? I still need to acquire the A12 unlock bios which I guess will just pay for since not promoted on tech inferno. I see that dell now has amd drivers for 7970m on the r3 pages V. 9.003. Are these good enough or do I need moddified ones still?
     
    Nightwizard52, Feb 24, 2020
    #7
  8. Mastermind5200

    Mastermind5200 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Try and download the ones off AMDs site first
     
    Mastermind5200, Feb 24, 2020
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  9. Maxware79

    Maxware79 Alienware died in 2014

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    I was under the impression that AMD added support for this upgrade some time ago. There is a chance that it could just be plug and play with a standard AMD driver.

    I can download the unlocked BIOS from TechInferno but I have no way of sharing it.
     
    Maxware79, Feb 24, 2020
    #9
  10. Mastermind5200

    Mastermind5200 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Upload it to here or another file sharing site.
     
    Mastermind5200, Feb 24, 2020
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  11. Maxware79

    Maxware79 Alienware died in 2014

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    I should download every unlocked BIOS and keep them handy just in case I lose access to TechInferno. I'll keep you posted.
     
    Maxware79, Feb 24, 2020
    #11
  12. Mastermind5200

    Mastermind5200 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Please do
     
    Mastermind5200, Feb 24, 2020
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  13. Maxware79

    Maxware79 Alienware died in 2014

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    The file is too large to upload straight to here. I'll have to find another way. Suggestions? I'm guessing dropbox is a favorite but I've never used file sharing before.
     
    Maxware79, Feb 25, 2020
    #13
  14. senso

    senso Notebook Deity

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    Upload and post in various posts, dropbox links have time and download quotas that will eventually make them go dead..
     
    senso, Feb 25, 2020
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  15. Maxware79

    Maxware79 Alienware died in 2014

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    Maxware79, Feb 25, 2020
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  16. mike26668

    mike26668 Notebook Consultant

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    it's plug and play with my system normal bios (m17x r3) and also with m17x r4. (edit also have the blue pcb and working in the m18x r1/2 and m15x....lol).
     
    mike26668, Feb 25, 2020
    #16
    Maxware79 likes this.
  17. Mastermind5200

    Mastermind5200 Notebook Virtuoso

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    For file uploading, Mega is good but can be unpredictable, as are most, but it seems to be the best
     
    Mastermind5200, Feb 26, 2020
    #17
  18. Nightwizard52

    Nightwizard52 Newbie

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    Hey guys update. I was following along the old guide and set my computer ready for the install. Removed my old card and installed the new card. Turn on my computer and black screen. No sounds or boot option for BIOS. I have already disabled the internal graphics card and set primary display to PEG.
    Anyone have anything next to try?
     
    Nightwizard52, Mar 1, 2020
    #18
  19. Maxware79

    Maxware79 Alienware died in 2014

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    It sounds like the card is dead unfortunately. It would be good to test it in another machine, if possible.
     
    Maxware79, Mar 2, 2020
    #19
  20. Rengual

    Rengual Newbie

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    Hey there, has anybody the bios for me? I Need it for my new setup ;)
     
    Rengual, Dec 30, 2020
    #20