oldschool M17X r2 question

I recently picked up a X920 ati 4870 M17X r2 on the cheap.
I am in the process of formatting and updating but I have 2 quick questions:

I have a GTX 460M from a M15X R2

1. is this an upgrade to the 4870
2. I tried to install it but got the beep code: long short short- is there something special I need to do like a BIOS upgrade?

In updating this computer it was on BIOS A05, I since updated it with A10

Thanks!!!!!

 

The 460m should work right away on the R2, I have seen people with the single card in theirs and I beleive it was offered by Dell. I haven't seen any bios mod for the card with a quick search on google, so I don't know about that.

As for the upgrade, the 460M is only a slight boost over the 4870M. However, the 460M has DirectX 11, whereas the 4870M is still on DirectX 10, most games nowadays take advantge of this so it's worth the swap.

 

Well it almost worked!!

I tried again and the system booted!
Of course I am having a hell of a time trying to get the drivers.....
trying the next set in a moment

 

Awesome! Have you tried the official Dell drivers for the 460M? They can be found here under the video option: Drivers & Downloads | Dell US

It's really odd though, it seems the 460M was offered only in the M17X R3, not the R2.... even though the card was out during the time of the R2. But, people have put it in the R2 without issue, maybe it's just a matter of finding the right driver version.

 

update the BIOS, that should help.

 

Yeah A05 BIOS is ancient, A10 has been great for the R2. I think the R2 can accept any modern MXM 3.0b card, you'll need to do the 330W M18x PSU mod if you want 100W cards in SLI/CF.

PS: R2 isn't that old school, still does all my gaming needs (I only play Dota 2, SC2, MW3, TF2).