possible to install 680m in Alienware 17?

Hi guys, I have recently bought a new alienware 17 via a sale and it came with the 770m by default. Due to the fact that I have an older 680m in my r2, I was wondering has anyone tried installing a clevo 680m on the alienware 17? Technically speaking it should work however I am just making sure first before continuing with the process

 

You should be able to, but I don't think it would be worth the bother since optimus and such would have to be disabled. I'd just overclock your 770m and call it a day.

 

ahh i see, may I know how does one disable optimus? I did a little reading and found out that apparently optimus cannot be disabled. Don't plan on overclocking the 770m either as its performance is still somewhat inferior to 680m even when overclocked.

 

If you can overclock your 770M to 1006Mhz core, then you'll be about 10% better than a stock 680M, but you'd need to flash a modified VBIOS to it in order to get that +135Mhz limit removed.

So, what was wrong with your R2, why replace it with an A17 with a worse GPU? (Or is it not a replacement?)

Re disabling Optimus, it's an option in a modified version of the A12 BIOS for the M17xR3, if it's not an option in your A17's BIOS, then you might need to search for a modified BIOS (the system BIOS, not the VBIOS).

 

EDIT: Sorry I misread/thought you were putting a 680m into a r2 not a new one.
As I am not sure with new alienware being backwards compatible with older cards your best bet is waiting for the alienware reps to come back with a reply.

Best of luck

 

i got the new A17 through a local sale in JBHIFI (Australian Re-seller) for 15% off. As I am not a local and would be flying back to my hometown within 2 days, I am able to claim another further 10% tax for the purchase. Pretty good deal especially since I have the money to spare

Another question tho, do you think it'll be a plug and play or would it not post with optimus enabled?

 

As previously mentioned, it's unlikely to be plug & play, hence the need to disable Optimus.

 

I believe the usual problem is that the new card will not be visible for the driver to install or refuses to switch to it when gaming? Another win for the 120hz display guys, any NV card will be almost plug n play . No optimus was a + selling point IMO. Just needs a modified driver - no hacking the BIOS.

I have seen someone that said that just using the FnF7 and a reboot made it run on the NV only just fine on a non-standard card.

Remember that battery life will be down about 50% and I have no idea if the hotkey switch is permanent after a power down?

 

thanks for the input guys i'll give it a try once i get my new laptop on monday

 

I just had a laptop build cancelled because someone tried to put a 680m in my new 17 in production at the factory lol...the system detected the compatibility issue and cancelled the system ( it is a replacement for an R4). They have told me that the 680m should not have been added as it will not work in the new 17 but they also tell people you can't upgrade from a 675m to a 680m in the R4 too so....take that with a grain of salt. I have had a few different people tell me it won't work though while talking to Alienware, when my system was cancelled I tried to find out why and that was the general shared opinion from a few different people...not sure why they tried to put a 680m in it anyways haha, as it was showing the 780m in production.

 

Man you sure got some dummies there. I have a dell quote for a 680m to replace my 675m in my R4 so that was rubbish.

As for the 680m in the M17, the dell guys will look up the list of cards offered with the machine. If it's not on the list then as far as they are concerned it will not work. We do know a non-standard (not sold with the model) GPU breaks optimus so in a way they are correct

 

Even though my system comes with the 780M if I press the combination of FN+F7, the system will restart and the intel GPU will be disabled. That said, ofcourse optimus is disabled; I believe that he may be able to use the 680M in his system with most probably a help of a modded vbios. If any problems occur, I would contact SVL7 from techinferno. He will help you through the process; he is a MASTER at this and I do not think there will be anyone to know better than him... Try, be careful and you shall succeed

 

We keep assuming that optimus needs to be disabled. But what I'm thinking is it will probably just be a modded driver with inf, etc. And please tell me why a vbios mod would need to be in place? This card is of the kepler series.

 

From what I read, optimus does not work with any GPU that is not on the model list. Result is that you cannot get it to switch to the dGPU when gaming.

The unlocked BIOS is often needed to be able to disable the on-board as dell do not usually include this option. I have never been able to try it and always thought 'why not just use the hotkey to switch off the iGPU?'

I did once install an unlocked BIOS when I first got my R3 and then discovered why it was not there. On the 120hz display the iGPU is already wired out of the system so I bricked it trying to see if I could get it to work - doh, more reading, less experimentation!

 

Yes I remember something on another thread about the igpu. Also you are talking about the system bios not vbios.

 

Yup, system BIOS. The vBIOS mods are for things like non-standard P1 clocks, higher voltages, and to unlock the 135mhz overclock limit on the 680m

 

Been quite awhile since i last posted cuz i've been busy but meh i'll post my input here:

successfully installed the 680m into my new R5 however I had a load of artifacts popping otu here and then. Did a little bit of bios reflashing and it seem to magically vanish. One week later of gaming and testing, I then upgraded to windows 8.1 and this time the artifact came back along with it. Flashing this time doesnt seem to work at all and i am currently back to my 770m.

Surprisingly my 680m works like a charm on my older R2. Safe to say that it is somewhat not compatible with R5? Will keep the updates coming after more testing.

 

Updatee: apparently the artifact is because of my monitor's loose wire. As for right now, everything is working perfectly with the exception for my HDMI. I've tested my 680m on both of my tv's with both of it displaying signal error messages. My igpu on the other hand works with both of my tv's. Any input on this issue? I'm currently on 331.83 and windows 8.1

 

Optimus is working with the 680m?

 

Optimus doesnt work, I switched off igpu with the fn+ f5 command

 

Are you using modified drivers for the 680M, or do the stock drivers detect the card?