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    upgrading to a 6990M from a 5870

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Shozuki, Oct 17, 2011.

  1. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    ok so, I've decided to change the GPU in my alienware M17x R3 to a 6990M

    the seller only stocks the card, but I assume I'm ok to use the heatsink from the 5870?

    All I need to do is cover the chip with thermal paste?

    If someone could confirm for me I'd be much obliged!

    Thanks
     
    Shozuki, Oct 17, 2011
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  2. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    Did the R3 come with a 5870? The heatsink that is currently in your laptop will work. Yes, clean the chip and heatsink and apply new thermal paste. There are also the RAM chips though, and you will need to salvage the thermal pads off of them, or buy new ones.
     
    TurbodTalon, Oct 17, 2011
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  3. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    Superb, many thanks. Any specific thermal paste or any will do?

    And yes, the 5870 came with the lappy. I picked it up 2nd hand but minty and it was an absolute steal!

    Thanks again!
     
    Shozuki, Oct 17, 2011
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  4. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    R3 with a 5870??? Can you post a screen shot of hwinfo with that? i never realized that the R3 came with that. That would seem like a backstep from the R2 and even 15x.
     
    DR650SE, Oct 17, 2011
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  5. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    oops my bad its a 6870!

    my mistake!
     
    Shozuki, Oct 17, 2011
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  6. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    ya, the heatsink will work off a 6870...just get yourself some decent thermal paste (and if you want a little cooler, some thermal pads)
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 18, 2011
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  7. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    I brought some Arctic Silver 5 and the cleaner/remover too.

    Thermal pads? Can I re-use the current ones?

    Thanks
     
    Shozuki, Oct 18, 2011
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  8. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    i reused the stock pads when i repasted. The pads that will be stuck on the heatsink won't be an issue. Just be careful with the large thermal pad under the card. When you remove the 6870, you'll see a large white thermal pad on the back of the card. becareful with that one.
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 18, 2011
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  9. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    What is the thermal pad on the bottom of the card for? What does it transfer heat to?
     
    TurbodTalon, Oct 18, 2011
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  10. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    SlickDude80, Oct 18, 2011
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  11. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    you've both been very kind and helpful. Much appreciated!
     
    Shozuki, Oct 19, 2011
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  12. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    Have you gotten that 6990 installed in the R3 yet? I just sold a 6990 ES card on ebay to an R3 owner. He says that the laptop won't POST, and just beeps at him. I tested the card right before I packaged it, but I tested it in my R2. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why it is not working in his R3?
     
    TurbodTalon, Oct 20, 2011
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  13. Mechanized Menace

    Mechanized Menace Lost in the MYST

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    Did you flash the VBIOS back to the Dell VBIOS? Or is it still on the Clevo VBIOS?

    If it is not on the Dell VBIOS I can see it causing a No Post. Unless it was damaged during shipping, either way you should have it shipped back to you to check and see what is going on with it, and maybe offer a refund because if not he can just go through EBAY buyer protection as the product was received not as advertised and in non working order.
     
    Mechanized Menace, Oct 20, 2011
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  14. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yes, it was the original VBIOS. The Clevo VBIOS made the card misbehave in Windows. He should be emailing me back with the number of 'beeps' so I can analyze that. Doesn't the 6990M work natively in the R3? I want to help him out, but if he isn't even getting a POST, he can't do much.
     
    TurbodTalon, Oct 20, 2011
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  15. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    I think the the problem has been figured out. It is because he has that 3D screen. He had a 460M in there before, with the 120hz screen.
     
    TurbodTalon, Oct 20, 2011
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  16. Mechanized Menace

    Mechanized Menace Lost in the MYST

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    Mechanized Menace, Oct 20, 2011
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  17. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    yikes! 6990m won't work with that screen :(
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 20, 2011
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  18. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, 6990 installed and working here. But the performance seems really bad for me, worse then the 6870 and im not sure why...?
     
    Shozuki, Oct 20, 2011
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  19. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    Shozuki, what are the specs of your machine. Also what cat drivers are installed?

    This sounds like a driver problem to me. You probably need to wipe the machine clean, then reinstall the latest Catalyst Driver (11.9+)
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 20, 2011
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  20. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    well the problem seems alright since i've uninstalled catalyst then re-installed it.

    but for the sake of doing it properly I'll listen to you!!

    heres the spec:

    2720QM/16GB 1333/128GB SSD/750GB/6990M/BD/Win 7 Home Premium
     
    Shozuki, Oct 20, 2011
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  21. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    that's a powerful machine...it shouldn't be slow at all. If its been ok since you reinstalled the drivers, then just leave it alone...no need to fix something that isn't broken anymore :D
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 20, 2011
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  22. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    why dont you download 3dmark Vantage and run the free benchmark. lets see if you're in the ballpark for your computer
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 20, 2011
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  23. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    hah thanks. well im definitely having driver issues. I've tried everything I can think of to remove the old drivers and re-install them but im not having much luck.

    I used Driver Cleaner Pro. thing is now I find the driver just randomly crashes and this can crash any game or windows.

    Please tell me I dont need to do a fresh install of Windows...!
     
    Shozuki, Oct 21, 2011
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  24. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    Shozuki, one method that seems to work with many is to reinstall the official dell drivers and then install over with the newer ATI mobile drivers from the AMD website. have you tried that?
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 21, 2011
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  25. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    nope, but im on it!

    Thanks
     
    Shozuki, Oct 21, 2011
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  26. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    installed the dell driver, has instantly stopped any crashing and performance is great. I scared but ready to install the ATI drivers now...

    question is:

    11.9 or Rage Performance driver...?

    Thanks Slick mate, you've been a massive help all the way through this process!
     
    Shozuki, Oct 21, 2011
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  27. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    You're welcome mate!

    don't be afraid lol...take the plunge lol

    Unless you're playing rage, i'd go with the 11.9's
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 21, 2011
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  28. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    well I've established:

    Dell + 11.9 overwrite = good performance/no crashes/no Rage

    Dell + Rage overwrite = Crashes/bad performance on Non-Rage/Rage works v.nicely.

    So... to sum up Rage driver is the issue. I guess I can live without Rage until ATI come out with a proper new release.
     
    Shozuki, Oct 21, 2011
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  29. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    Shozuki, leave the 11.9s

    you want to play Rage do this:

    Place atioglxx.dll from the 11.10p Rage driver into Rage’s folder. (Wherever rage.exe is located)

    no texture issues, solid 60fps

    http://www.kn00tcn.net/kn-atiogl-11.10p2.rar
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 21, 2011
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  30. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    your help knows no end! If you lived in London UK mate you'd be receiving flowers and champagne!
     
    Shozuki, Oct 21, 2011
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  31. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    lol...i'd settle for a pint
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 21, 2011
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  32. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    hah your on! thanks again man!!

    Loving my lappy at long last!
     
    Shozuki, Oct 21, 2011
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  33. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    :D

    Shozuki, do me a favour, can you check if that Rage solution actually worked for you? I.e., 11.9s but with the atioglxx.dll from 11.10s in the Rage folder
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 21, 2011
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  34. Shozuki

    Shozuki Notebook Consultant

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    yes mate, can confirm Rage works like a charm. just needs to be in the Rage folder along with the exe.
     
    Shozuki, Oct 21, 2011
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  35. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    SlickDude80, Oct 21, 2011
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