questions about upgrding my R3 GPU

Hi everyone,

My laptop is the m17x R3 with the 460m

I'm thinking of upgrding my gpu to a better. I read alot about that and i came to a conclusion that only 3 cards are supported, the 460m, 560m and the 580m.

The others i assume yoy need a specific ini file to be replaced in the nvidia driver installation folder.

So, I took my time searching the internet about that and I came to these conclusions, please correct me if Im wrong:

You can install the AMD 7970m but many users reported many problems mainly a serious drop in the frame rate.

The 680m is also not supported but there is a guide here to install it but in the other hand its too expensive

So after all of that i decided that i would buy the 675m..yeah i know its a renamed version of the 580m but i have two reasons that encourge me to buy it.
First i have heard its core clock slightly higher than the 580m
Second i have found a sale on a website offering the card cheaper than the 580m...strange huh

So what do you think guys? Should i go with the 670m? And is there a specefic instruction in install it?
Will i face a future problem with it if i do install it

Thanks alot

 

Howdy Newbie. Welcome to the forums.

The choice is yours. I personally plan to go with the 680m though when I get the money. I am on the ATI 5870m and the 680m will be a huge jump from my current card. Also, only Clevo/Eurocom cards will need a modified inf file to get the drivers to install. If you get a Dell re-branded version, then the stock dell drivers will install fine to begin with, and then you can install the latest drivers over the Dell ones right away.

 

Thanks for the fast reply, I really appreciate the help.

for now I think I will upgrade to the 675m as the seller said its pulled out from an alienware laptop. so basicly It will work plug and play as you said, right?

 

I don't believe the 675M is supported in the R3...much like the 680M you will most likely have to use a modified inf file. it doesn't matter if the card is dell or clevo/eurocom you will need the modded file. I have the dell 680M and needed the modded file.

 

Thanks Shnogger, So you think it will not work as a plug and play.

If I may ask, where you can find the modded inf for a specefic card? and after installing the drivers with the modded, do you need to mod every update and such? and do you have any problem with the card whatsoever? and finally how much you pay for it?

oh and BTW my m17x R3 also comes with 3D so I dunno will this change anything regarding the compatibility? I don't use this feature after all

 

It's a hit and miss. There are those here in the forums who upgraded to better cards and were able to use the stock drivers. And there are others who needed to use drivers with the modded inf file which isn't a big deal IMO since you can modify the inf on your own. As far as the 675m being supported, yes it is as there are users here in the forum who have installed the 675m in to their R2s and R3s. It's just not "officially supported" by Alienware so you need to keep your old GPU in case you need to have any work done under warranty. But as far as the 675's performance, I direct you to this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/691358-gtx-675m.html#post8880728. Read thru it and do a search on the 675m here in the forums. It's better to make an informed decision so you have no regrets later on.

 

Shnogger is right you'll lose 3D and a modded inf. is required with every driver update but a 580m vbios flash fixes it. I think @MickyD1234 mentioned that the 675m wasn't stable as the 580m regarding OC. With dell preferred account the 680m is worth $500.

 

That is if the 680m is in stock. I keep checking and they still haven't gotten it back in for sale yet.

 

It's never listed, maybe insisting as he did http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability-27.html#post8841762 the card mysteriously becomes available for purchase
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability-28.html#post8843641
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability-28.html#post8842746

 

I check with the Alienware reps here in the forums. If I try calling in they want a service tag no and I only have an R2 so the phone rep "cannot look up that part for my current service tag no".

 

He got the same blah but he managed to go through with it, relief the pain from a tenacious customer and leave him happy one shot.

You could also try Andres instead of Anbres.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/com...vidia-680m-2gb-w-new-x-bracket-backplate.html

You can also pick up this 680 from a trusted seller here. That card and the modded inf that j95 has posted in other threads on here will get you up and running. I picked up the 680 that's in my R3 from this seller and used the info j95 and others provided and got it working in my R3 with no trouble. Bear in mind that my R3 originally came with an AMD card and no 3d.

 

Thanks alot guys, i dunno what will I do without your help.

so I set up my mind on the 680m, but regarding the 3D, my laptop as I mentioned before is 3D based so do you think that will pose a problem in the future. as along as I don't use the 3d everything is fine right?

about the 680m, there is a 2gb and a 4gb version? do you recommend taking the 4gb if the money was no problem ?

 

Oh, Damn! I completely missed that part. I kept looking over your OP and didn't see it.

As far as the 3D goes, you will lose that function I believe. But I am not sure. I think Alienware was talking about certifying the BIOS for the R3 to work with 680m for 3D but I don't know if they ever did or ever released a revision which took care of that.

Yeah, if you can, go for the 4GB version. But remember, it will be CRAZY expensive. That Eurocom stuff ain't for the conservative shopper.

 

Well , yeah/ The price is way over.

another question, will CLEVO work for the Alienware one? I can see alot of brands but I dunno, some says you must flash the vbios to make it work for you

 

Go for the Dell card the price for the Clevo one is not worth it, both have the same performance people rushed in the beginning buying clevo cards not giving time for the modders do their job. Try with Dell as I mentioned earlier or SlimShady suggestion, the vbios flash is just for unlocking OC the card is still plug&play NVIDIA Kepler VBIOS mods - Overclocking Editions, modified clocks, voltage tweaks svl7 is doing a great job with vbios modding, he is also working on an experimental bios to enable 3D with the m17xr3 / gtx 680m [Alienware] [M17x r3] NVidia 680M Compatibility with 3D Controller

 

Thanks guys, I will let you know when I order the card and install it....mean while will the heatsink of the 460m do the job? or I should replace it with a new sink...I found this guide dunno if I should go with it GUIDE: Installing Clevo GTX 680M in Alienware M18x

Do I need to disable the integrated graphics like when installing the 7970m or not?

 

I ordered a 580m heatsink from dell and it came with an x-bracket, screws and thermal pads installed. I found a couple of the pads were too thick so I removed them and used 1mm pads instead. I also ended up ordering a new x-bracket off e-bay that doesn't have the heat shield on it as it seemed to put a fair amount of pressure on the vram. you will need to disable the integrated graphics as well. j95 has a good guide here http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/672230-m17x-r3-680m-compatability-63.html.

 

Got my card today..installed it as instructed, but using my 460m heatsink which worked like a charm. I will test it further so I can make sure nothing is wrong