Aw m18x R2 Dual 980m SLI upgrade!!

If you ever selling it I hope you could sell it internacionally on Ebay for example. I'm wanting one of these Dual PSUs a long time but I dont have the skills to do one myself.

 

Yeah, M18xR2 is pretty amazing, but we haven't really seen any stable high overclocks with 980M sli on it yet though have we? (You did 1200 odd Mhz) Perhaps if you left your CPU at stock, then you'd have enough juice to really test if Prema's vBIOS is stable at high clocks without throttling on the M18xR2?

 

Is not the time for that right now, when the vbios is finally released the results will come but first Prema or svl7 needs to make the most stable and user friendly vbios they can prior to release it to the world. The main issue is to fix the throttling and that is fixed by now or I feel that way.

I know it is quite difficult to wait for this but if he doesn't mind that I talk in his behalf just this time I am quite sure both of us is giving our best to get it released the sooner he can but still there is no ETA or released date for the final version.(obviusly Prema work is the really importan here, I am just the tester).

Regarding selling the DUAL PSU, first to get in production I need to know if there is people interested so if you are, send me a PM just saying you are interested it's not final but I wish I could sell the final version for all who might be interested on it.

 

I am waiting impatiently for the release of permas Vbios! thanks for all your hard work @Perma and the testers!

I will get a pair of the 980ms as soon as the vbios is released.

I will be happy achieving a moderate overclock on the 980m SLI setup hopefully +100 - +120 on the core and hopefully +300 on the memory. I am overclocking my cpu to only 4ghz with 0 flex so hopefully my single 330w power brick will be enough to handle these beasts!

I am currently overclocking my 780m sli to +130 core and +400 memory and from what i hear the power draw is about the same with the 980ms so it shouldn't be a problem hopefully. Im really not interested on carrying 2 power bricks.

 

Not the time for testing high overclocks on your 980M sli - why not, that's the whole point right? To check that the cards don't throttle in the M18xR2 when overclocked - they always used to throttle worse the more you overclock them according to what I've read; so, to me it makes sense to dial back the CPU overclock & crank up the GPU overclock (because you're limited by power apparently) - that way you can be sure the vBIOS is not throttling even under extreme loads in the M18xR2. Then you would know that the vBIOS is fixed instead of 'feeling' that it is. I don't understand your point.

 

That is only a partially correct perspective @Robbo99999 as 980M under-performed and often throttled even at stock clocks on my M18xR2 without Prema's current vBIOS mod. The fact that it is not throttling stock or overclocked, up to the functional limits of [Nikos] dual AC adapter mod, is a gigantic leap ahead. Using a stock BIOS greatly minimized throttling when I was trying to make it work, and it performed better without any overclock, but vBIOS mods made 980M almost completely unusable much of the time for me. Mine often throttled just trying to play games with no overclock. Overclocking simply exacerbated the malfunction. Even in cases where it did not throttle at stock clocks, the graphics performance was weaker than it should have been. From what I can see as an observer, it certainly looks like the problem is fixed and having adequate power supply for heavy CPU and GPU overclocking is the main impediment at this point.

 

Man this is such great news a progress by the community on the 18xr2.. These guys deserve so much credit and acknowledgement for all the work they put into making these Alienwares what they are and will hopefully continue to be. I commend you all and am excited to at some point possibly add 980's to my r2's. For now my "old 15x" is enjoying the hell out of the 980m I have in it.

Side note.. I really want project cars but no limited disc edition in the U.S. Well hell cant even really find PC DVD only download.. I'm not buying it download only...

 

Well, that's cool, I'm happy with a partially correct perspective, but I still believe that if you're testing out the capabilities of a vBIOS then you'd push the cards to the limits, which Nikos can't do if he keeps his CPU overclocked because as you say he is power limited at the moment. So, I still think it's worth using a stock CPU with max overclocked GPUs to test the vBIOS properly.

 

What I mean by partially correct is that this is a catch 22 scenario. What if it is NOT fixed when the CPU is overclocked? You wouldn't be verifying it works correctly by running the CPU at stock clocks if throttling is re-introduced with the CPU overclocked. You have to look at the whole machine to know for sure if it is really fixed. If you remove CPU overclocking, it's a wildcard that may lead us to conclude it is fixed even though it may not be.

 

Well, we just concluded previously that Nikos was limited by the power supply capacity of his dual PSU, but we're actually in awe of Prema's vBIOS that seems to be working without throttling when overclocked. If you want to test the vBIOS & isolate that variable, then you need to take the PSU capacity out of the equation by running at stock CPU settings. This would validate that the GPUs themselves can be pushed as far as you like with Prema's new vBIOS as long as your PSU can supply the necessary current. Then of course for gaming, or other scenarios you would dial your CPU overclock back in & probably run less of a GPU overclock.

 

I do only post here relevant information buddy, I do not post errors or shutdowns or whatever happens than OK results (Maybe with my laptop happens more problems than it should but anyway we can be 100% sure of that because there is tons of things that can cause those problems by now. I am trying to help Prema to fix them one by one). Of course we are testing CPU with very low frequencies. The thing is what Mr.Fox told you, what if Prema release a vbios that can't work with normal CPU frequencies. Or what if the motherboard is not capable of powering the cards with more than stock voltage?
Really we are testing all kind of things to make the best of the best (again if I say "we" I mean Prema is doing and I am testing, as far as I know maybe could be others testers but I have not met them yet.)
Also the drivers (NVIDIA) are not playing in our side unless you use j95's drivers. We do not know if the issues are caused by hardware problems or software problems so this is taking a lot of time to find out. I just ordered the best thermal pads available around the world to minimize the thermal impact on mosfet and circuitry.
Please be patient, I do understand your position you want it now. But we have made a great progress in very short time. I rather to wait a couple of weeks more as long as it gets fix.
This is the number of test I've done that was completed or at least it did not end with error. I do assure you that those numbers over there are ridiculous compared to the number of times that my system got frozen or it went out of power or I had blank screen or it just won't work or did not took the correct settings. Sometimes it is very frustrating.


To let you more relaxed I always do the same test starting with a low frequency in the CPU (0 flex) and if stable repeat the same test over and over with different frequencies to reach or limit or confirm that it is 100% rock solid.

The procedure is something like this:
Set GPU clocks (both GPUs)
Set CPU frequency.
Stop not relevant programs which are running in the background.
Set CPU to low power state.

 

Yes, this exactly. The real question is "does it work right in the M18xR2" more than the "does @Prema vBIOS fix 980M throttling" question. The latter question is probably safe to say, yes it does fix GPU throttling. Prema did something amazing here, but that is separate from overall system behavior. My P570WM can suck almost 700W with a big CPU and GPU overclock and it has power handling limits also. That is with a factory dual PSU setup. [Nikos] and I have homemade dual PSU setups that take these Alienware beast machines MUCH farther than they can go without it, but those dual PSU mods are not perfect and may not be as effective as the fully engineered setup available for the Clevo. Heck, even with 780M SLI, my dual PSU mod reaches its functional limit. Our homemade PSU mods raise the bar a lot, but they do not remove the bar, LOL. Even with the factory Clevo dual PSU setup, the bar is there, and you will smack your head on it if you try hard enough.

Looking at it from another angle, even if Prema's vBIOS had fixed the 980M throttling 100% when a CPU overclocking barrier is removed from the equation, not being able to overclock both GPUs in SLI, if you want to, is a deal-breaker for me. It doesn't make the machine undesirable. It makes a 980M SLI upgrade undesirable.

 

That's OK, I'm just curious about your testing, which is why I was asking the questions. You say in your post there that you have done testing with a low CPU frequency, what's the max non-throttling GPU overclock you can get with low (stock maybe) CPU frequency? This was really the main question I'm asking, and I do understand it's a work in progress for you both.

(I'm also well aware that the overall system will have limits related to motherboard/PSU (as lots have you have posted), but I'm not enquiring about that, because that's a given).

 

So, the real testing, to focus on the vBIOS itself would be one 980M installed in the machine (secondary slot totally empty) running a dual PSU mod with a maximum stable CPU and GPU overclock. This would be to remove any artificial barriers like exhausting the available power supply. But, that won't answer the question about whether 980M SLI works 100% in the M18xR2... it will allow us to close a chapter on whether or not the need for a vBIOS mod still exists. @Prema cannot fix parts of the machine relating to functional limits using a simple vBIOS mod. The question about whether 980M SLI is a good upgrade for the M18xR2 (or AW 18, or any other laptop,) will be subjective, with a yes or no response dependent on the wants of the end user. Based on my wants, 980M, while amazing, is going to have functional limitations on all laptops. None of them available for purchase, in any brand, have the kind of engineering excellence and hardware support needed to let it and an unlocked CPU run totally wild and free for insane overclocking. We may not like the answer, but there is nothing we can do to change it. We are expecting results well beyond what any OEM has contemplated for their laptops. Bad planning and half-assed engineering on the part of the OEMs out there (and NVIDIA)? Yup, I think so, but it is what it is. If we don't want this kind of nonsense, then we need to move to $5000 desktop builds with 1.5kW PSUs and liquid cooling or start building our own laptops they way we want them. I can do the former, but the latter is not within my technical skill set or financial means. All that being said, I can certainly assign fault to Alienware for what they are doing (or even their lack of doing) with new machines. I cannot fault them for the component changes that have taken place a year, or two, or three, after a machine was released.

 

Well put Mr. Fox, for these reasons I think a single 980M is the best bet for the majority of us, at least those who need the mobility (not having to lug two PSU's around) and aren't looking for desktop-esque performance figures.

I've just started looking into 980M as a potential upgrade, it is my understanding that I would also need to factor in an OS upgrade to 8.1? What else? Also, any idea as to how 980M will work with Win 10? I might just wait until Win 10 arrives before putting any more serious thought into this.

Thanks as always.

Oh and I believe a single 980M with a healthy OC that bridges the gap between it and the desktop variant (20%) should be able to run 95% of games in existence completely maxed out at 2560x1440 - 60FPS, not only 80%.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_and_980_reference_review,16.html

100% of games at 1080p is an afterthought

Mobile Maxwell truly presents an extraordinary (100%?) jump in performance over the previous generation. Desktop Maxwell, with exception of overpriced GM200, has not really been that impressive (GTX 980 ~10% faster than 780 Ti?).

It's really something to think that 980M is as fast as 680M SLI, with 4x the VRAM, and consuming only as much power as one 680M. Hopefully the prices come down to a semi-sane level, $800-$1k is still way way too much to ask for a one of these, as magical as they are. They really should cost no more than the desktop variant, especially considering they come completely bare, without a snazzy cooler. $550-600. and Nvidia would sell these like hot-cakes. I would have purchased one already, instead I am on googlemaps looking for plasma and organ donation centers. Seriously though, 980M costs as much as the blatantly over-priced Titan X!

 

If you are going to run only one 980M, you can keep Windows 7 at the expense of using Optimus. You can set the BIOS to SG mode and still use UEFI with Legacy Option ROM. If you do not want Optimus, then yes, pure UEFI with Windows 8 or newer. If you set the BIOS to PEG mode the machine will fail to POST with 8 beeps with Legacy/CSM enabled. Our InsydeH20 BIOS appears to be working with Maxwell to demand GOP with firmware signature enforcement (GOP is there, but a firmware signature... a new strain of cancer... is not present). A firmware signature is not required for the Intel HD Graphics because it is part of the CPU. Using Optimus boots from the Intel HD Graphics instead of using GOP. With PEG mode enable, the Intel HD Graphics is disabled, so not finding any firmware signature, it fails to boot GOP. We don't know why Maxwell ignores the VGA boot option in Alienware systems, but it almost has to be a problem with the InsydeH20 BIOS structure since VGA boot is supported by Maxwell and it work with AMI/Aptio BIOS without issue for Clevo.

For those content with a single GPU, this is probably a good option. Not the best predicament and a huge waste of resources having to ignore the secondary PCIe slot, but admittedly better than just about any laptop available anywhere with only one PCIe slot on the motherboard.

For those, like me, that have no interest in a laptop with only one GPU, sticking with 780M SLI and not having to put up with nonsense like Optimus (which I really hate) or being forced to deal with limitations using pure UEFI and Windows 8 crap is the best option available. 780M SLI still holds an edge in performance over a single 980M, so there is nothing to lose by sticking with 780M SLI and nothing meaningful to gain by downgrading to a single 980M unless you find yourself tethered to a desk and exhausting the 4GB of vRAM on consistent basis due to pushing a higher pixel count.

 

Mr. Fox youre blowing me away! I'm unfamiliar with nearly everything you laid out except Intel HD. So what youre saying is that, if I elect to stay with Win 7, I will need to use Nvidia Optimus? What do you think of it? What's the difference between that and without Optimus? Sorry for being a noob.

 

Short answer: yes. Unless a hacker can somehow fix the BIOS, and that is highly unlikely.

The Optimus stuff I had some degree of experience with. I only know about some of this other nonsense because of the crippled BIOS in the 17 and 18, and I had to find out more about it trying to use 980M SLI in the M18xR2. I wish I knew nothing about some of it due to the adverse circumstances that precipitated my need for learning. The firmware signature feces is especially grievous, but this will continue to be a problem and get progressively worse with OEMs cowering to the Micro$haft Mafia and their firmware and driver certification control requisites and the Nazi-grade mod/upgrade-blocking enforcement of UEFI Class 3 BIOS looming on the horizon. Secure Boot will be required for Windows to load, and components that are unsigned will be blacklisted by the BIOS and cause the machine to halt. Ain't that nice?

I won't belabor the signature enforcement thing other than to say if firmware or driver signature enforcement is required, you will not be able to use hardware or drivers that have not been "signed" by Micro$haft and the OEM. The simplest examples are Secure Flash (Alienware 17 and 18) not allowing modded BIOS firmware to be flashed because modding breaks the signature, or driver INF mods that cause driver installation to fail. Windows 8 and newer have draconian controls on driver signature enforcement and you have to access the advance boot menu, select the option to disable driver signature enforcement before Windows logon in order to install your modded display driver. Once the driver is installed everything is OK, but this option may go away at some point, which will make hardware upgrades very cumbersome or impossible. Should be interesting to see how much of this functionality ends up being crippled with Windows 10 RTM or subsequent service packs.

Optimus uses the Intel HD Graphics as the primary display GPU and the discrete GPU is only employed for 3D graphics work as demand dictates. If it worked flawlessly and gave the user absolute control it would be fantastic for a single GPU machine. To an extent, Optimus relies on driver support like SLI does. When profiles are not optimized for Optimus (sounds like a pun almost) it might not work correctly. Meaning, some games might not hand off the workload to the discrete GPU when expected.

Additionally, some functionality is buggered up with Optimus. You need to use special settings with HWiNFO64 to "wake up" the discrete GPU, and some things like ShadowPlay, ShadowPlay desktop capture and RTSS OSD output can be hit-and-miss... meaning erratic, not at all, or sometimes works.

To some extent you can tweak this with NVIDIA Control Panel, but it's not 100% reliable. You can set NVIDIA Control Panel (Global settings tab) to "prefer" the discrete NVIDIA Graphics, but that does not force it 100%. You can also right-click on a program executable and select NVIDIA discrete graphics as the primary GPU, but again, it tends to have a mind of its own and only works when it works. I have even tried forcing 24/7 use of discrete graphics by selecting NVIDIA discrete graphics for running DWM.EXE and even that doesn't work. So, yeah... I more or less hate Optimus.

In spite of its shortcomings, some people actually like Optimus. You'll have to reach your own conclusion if it is worth it to have Windows 7 fully supported.

Optimus and Enduro are not SLI or CrossFire compatible. Along those lines, a word of caution... if you enable SG (switchable graphics) mode with two GPUs installed in the M18xR2 it will fail to POST with 8 beeps. It can only boot that way with one GPU installed in the primary PCIe slot. If you try it, you'll have to tear it apart, remove the secondary GPU, boot into the BIOS and change it back to PEG mode before putting the secondary GPU back in.

I have had several Optimus and a couple of Enduro laptops. Most of the time they worked OK, but never 100% and I never, ever, liked it... maybe because I'm an unreasonable control freak and have close to zero tolerance for hardware that does not follow my orders explicitly. But, I like myself this way and against the flow is how I roll, LOL.

TL;DR - even with 980M throttling cured by @Prema the M18xR2 and Alienware 18 will likely never have 100% full functionality with one or two 980M installed due to InsydeH20 BIOS conflicts, and the M17xR3 and M18xR1 are completely non-functional with a Maxwell GPU due to a dependency on UEFI/GOP, which they do not have. The Ivy Bridge and first generation Haswell beasts may run fantastic, but with functionality limitations and a need for compromises that did not exist before NVIDIA screwed things up with changes to Maxwell. Something changed between Kepler and Maxwell, and it brought us to where we are right now. Alienware did not create these problems... NVIDIA did. The conflicts between Maxwell and the InsydeH20 BIOS are why there is a Panther/P570WM in my signature and at my side today.

 

Alright my new gaming watercooled system to ready to kick some games. 3 x Titan X watercooled

Spoiler

 

Nice system Peter

Quick Question For you, How are your 980m sli doing in ur m18x r2? are you able to sustain stock clocks without throttling?

 

Mr Fox

question for you, I am still debating on getting the 980ms or stick with the 780ms. using windows 8.1 is not a deal breaker for me. Lets say the throttling is fixed on the 980ms what other disadvantage would I have by switching to the 980ms from the 780ms?

 

None at all, and 980M is definitely a lot more powerful. That said, the difference in gameplay going from 780M to 980M is essentially unremarkable for me. 980M runs a bit higher FPS, but there is not enough for me to actually see or feel an improvement in most things.

The hate is less about Windows 8 and UEFI and more about the terrible path we are on with the rampant abuse of UEFI capabilities. When not used for evil, UEFI can be awesome. The control it affords to the OEMs to implement unethical restrictions on what people can do with their own property is unfortunate and makes Legacy BIOS more attractive. With Micro$oft being knee-deep as a primary driver of cyber-terrorism against enthusiasts with firmware and driver signing, and Secure Boot, being requirements to gain the "Microsoft Certified" marketing gimmick that some ignorant end users believe to be of value, I have nothing but contempt for them.

I think going from 780M SLI to a single 980M would be a terrible waste of money for most users. You'd be going backwards in terms of performance. The only reason to do it would be if you actually needed the 8GB vRAM. 780M SLI to 980M SLI is a very big jump in performance with throttling fixed. The newer version of NVFLASH that works with UEFI is also a huge win that removes some pretty serious hurdles we had with flashing them.

Going from single 780M to single 980M is a great upgrade. 780M to 970M is more of a side-grade and pretty much a waste of money from any angle. Going to 970M from a GPU older than 780M or any AMD GPU is a good upgrade.

Look at this 3-way comparison of single GPU Fire Strike with a consumer-grade 4700MQ CPU:
http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/3816059/fs/4636074/fs/4105964

In 3DMark 11, the gap between 780M and 970M is essentially irrelevant:
http://www.3dmark.com/compare/3dm11/9020768/3dm11/9541961/3dm11/9446604

 

Yeah i totally agree with you, If i do the upgrade is because im going with 980m SLI thats the only upgrade im considering. Without SLI on the 980ms i would rather keep my 780ms SLI. As long as the throttling is fixed and hopefully i can achieve a moderate overclock the 980ms sli (with single Power brick) I will be content.

 

I just posted this in another thread. It really says how I feel about the nonsense that is closing in on us from all sides.

 

Thanks Bro!! Unfortunately i sold my Aw R2 system with dual 980ms. I spend few months tryin to solve throttlin issue. I think it is related to Aw R2 system bios and i do not see that Aw will release bios update for R2. I got Clevo system just for mobile gaming. If your thinkin to upgrade 980ms, i advice is do not upgrade on Aw system. Better get Clevo system. 980ms indeed smashin setup tho but not for Aw.

 

You need to read previous pages prior to say that

 

Is it normal that when in sli mode, the second gpu usually runs hotter in the m18x r2?

 

*GPU 13K* NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M17xR4

 

Although that run is your M17xR4 though right, not the M18xR2 that is the topic of this thread. The M18xR2 was the one that had the problem with the throttling GPUs.

 

lol just went through previous posts, finally Prema solved it.

 

J95 is beta tester for the R4. Both systems M17xR4 and M18xR2 had mad throttle problems (core, vRAM & voltage)...

EDIT: Regarding AW VBIOS status:

http://forum.techinferno.com/alienw...ware-m17x-r4-m18x-r2-aw17-164.html#post132236

 

Hey guys your work is amazing!

I have a M18x R2, 3840QM, 7980m, (single card) 240GB msata card with Win 7 pro 64bit and two 1TB drives for data. I know I will have to upgrade to Win 8 no issues with that, I will be just gaming not chasing benchmarks. I'm deployed to Afghanistan so I don't have access to a frys store or anything except online mail is at least two weeks. I am thinking one 980m now and a second down the road maybe (then again maybe now lol) I should be able to game maxed out at 1080p with just it right?

What do I need to order to make this work? I did some searching and people say the heatsink is fine no need to swap the ati for the nvidia, is this true? I know if I get the second one I will need the extra heatsink. I'm getting the thermal paste and pads also.

I don't want to order from ebay.... Way too many bad problems have happened. So I found RjTech.com how are they? And which model cards do I order from them? They show a list of Clevo laptop 980m upgrade kits does it matter? l Like in reference to the X bracket or anything?

http://rjtech.com/shop/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=30303

UEFI trick do I have to have a thumb drive in just to install win 8 or all the time to boot it up?

Sorry for all the noob questions. I have been trying to follow the threads but it's gotten pretty confusing for me because of all the different models, work arounds, and latest developments.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK!!!!

 

Cheers for the response. Throttling on the R4 was just when it was in dedicated mode right? It didn't throttle at all in Optimus mode right?

 

Yep, there was throttling in M17x R4, AW17R1 - PEG mode & AW18 , M18x R2.

 

Yeh you should be able to max most games, if not all at 1080p with a single 980m (depending how much AA you want to use and what min fps you are happy with).

I used my old 7970m heatsinks on the 980m, no modification is required.

I also ordered my cards from RJTech and had no issue with them, just make sure you get the screw set, as the 7970m screws dont work on the 980 x-bracket that RJTech provide.

The appropriate clevo model is the P377SM-A (the one with sli) RJTech have a selection of models to choose from for the upgrade because they include a new heatsink for the laptop you have selected, which is useless for us. I'm not sure but it is also possible that the cards for the other non-sli laptops dont have a sli port... I am not sure though, it just safest to go with the sli model so you know for sure you have the option for sli later.

If you get a second 980m at some stage in addition to another heatsink you will also need an m18x sli cable (the clevo sli cable isnt the right shape/length FYI).

You don't need-need a USB to install windows 8/8.1 in uefi, I just used the 8.1 DVD, seeing as I need to survive on 8GB of internet per month it was not feasible to to download windows 8. You will only need the DVD/USB to install windows not to boot it up each time.

Hope that helps.

 

Kenny27 Thanks! My but my impatience got the best of me! lol I order the nvidia X brackets, heatsinks smh... But not the cards yet! I greatly appreciate your quick reply before I made a big mistake. I really am thinking about two 980m's. It will defiantly future proof it for a while. I hope some manufacture will make a 4k 18.4 screen that we can reto fit in the m18x rX so it will live for a really long time.

 

I am in talks with Clevo re-seller to get you pure pre-flashed cards (with Dell x-brackets, pre-flashed vBIOS and without Clevo heatsinks)

 

One question regard to the 980m sli temp when idle. My 980m sli idle temp are around 50-60, the fan kicks in when it hit 60, then the temp goes down to 38ish then the temp starts to climb again. Is it normal with that idle temp? I used the thermal pad i got from where i order my card, they should be the standard thermal pad inside every clevo machine.

 

Search before posting...

 

¡¡Prema is unstoppable!!
16409

Funny thing is I could push it harder, maybe not too much since my system is not as good as others to tolerate high voltages but it is incredible what this buddy can accomplish.

 

And post something worth reading...rather than taking up the space of a post when a simple answer could be given (like Prema's response to me)! I don't think it's always practical to search multiple pages of multiple threads to find an answer, and besides when an answer is given it benefits other readers and not just myself.

 

That's more like it benching like a modded titan-x Here is my not yet modded score for comparison:

http://www.3dmark.com/fs/4547883

 

What branch of service are you with? I was in Afghanistan in 2004-2005 (5 months at Kandahar and the rest at a forward operating base in Shindand) with the 25th ID (U.S. Army active). I can't believe we're still going over there, this is insane.

Anyhow, I would only go with one 980M as that is more than enough for 1080p and to extract the full potential of 980M SLI youre going to need two PSU's, which will completely destroy any remaining semblance of mobility. You could theoretically do 980M SLI with no overclock to speak of, but then you will be running your 330W PSU into the ground. And again, there is absolutely no need for 980M SLI. I've taken a look here at Prema's latest Firestrike bench of nearly 24k GPU, let me translate this into some kind of performance metric that you can understand. My desktop (see sig) is also pushing 24k GPU in Firestrike and it is pushing the newer games in 3D Vision at 2560x1440 on the ROG Swift.

I'm talking Shadows of Mordor, Alien: Isolation, Metro: Redux, Crysis 3, nearly maxed out (except MSAA, I usually opt for FXAA at this resolution) and running them at a smooth 60FPS in 3D Vision which is actually 120 FPS 2D (one separate frame is rendered for each eye).

Latest games completely maxed out, at 120 FPS at 2560x1440. I'm telling you right now, YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT NEED 980M SLI TO PUSH 1080p at 60 FPS. NOT NOW, NOT EVER.

In point of fact, there are a few games that still don't have proper SLI support that I can push at a healthy avg. ~ 90 FPS in 2D with only one card on my desktop, I'm talking Titanfall and Planetside 2 etc.

You could theoretically pick up an 2560x1440 external monitor and push 95% of games in existence at AT LEAST 60 FPS with ONLY ONE 980M, possibly with no overclock.

I would ONLY consider 980M SLI if I was intending to add a 4k display when I got back from Afghanistan AND was ready to forgo any and all mobility for two PSU's tethered together. At that point I would consider putting together a desktop, so that the NEXT time you deploy back to wherever empire sends you you will still have your R2 to take with you.

At $700 a pop, you could simply put the $700 you didn't spend on the second 980M towards either non-reference 980 Ti (if things turn around for me I'd go for EVGA 980 Ti Classified) or AMD 390x, which will be as fast and only $550.

http://wccftech.com/amd-r9-390x-nvidia-gtx-980ti-titanx-benchmarks/

Win 10 and DX 12 are also slated for release soon, at which point having a CPU with more than 4 logical cores will finally pay off.

You could probably put together a decent Haswell E / X99 rig (5930, 5960) with a single 980 Ti or 390x for under $3000.

Aside from showing off on the forums, there is no reason to opt for 980M SLI if your mobile rig isn't pushing 4k at home.

My $.02.

P.S.

That's a great deal on 980M, the best I've seen, ebay had them at no less than $800. I'm assuming they are compatible?

P.S.S.

I would pick up an Extreme Processor, either a 3920 or 3940, instead of the second 980M. CPU still matters, take a look at GTA 5 where everyone under 4.0GHz is CPU necked with more than adequate GPU on tap.

P.S.S.S.

Oh and don't go nuts with your money, I made nearly $70k when I was deployed to Afghanistan, tax-free (married, Hawaii BAH) and am now wishing I didn't blow all of that on a Corvette Z06. I'm now homeless again, sleeping in my car, and looking at being a valet driver for $10 an hour. Boy do I wish I had that $70k....

 

This has been answered already, not once...you missed Ashtrix's post. A little advice instead of repeating previous posts. Your lectures on overclocking never end well...

Nice improvement, we're definitely closer.

 

I disagree completely, you are talking nonsense, "lectures on overclocking" you say - don't be so patronising & stop talking rubbish.

(I didn't miss Ashtrix's post, and was not relevant to my previous reply to you.)

 

[Nikos] if possible post your score with only one overclocked 980M. I'm really start to think now its worth to change a 780M SLI for just one overclocked 980M without reach/exceed the 330W limit. I can't pass the 9950 mark in 3DMark FireStrike with my maximum 780M SLI overclocked.

Mr. Fox, what if I install only one card(980M) within a unlocked M18X-R1 BIOS in SG mode to use optimus in Windows 7 without the need for UEFI bios? Could be work just like the R2 this way?

 

[OFF topic]
Heat problems?
check this one out!
http://techreport.com/news/28251/deltatronic-shows-off-a-passively-cooled-x99-system

 

No, unfortunately that did not work. I was hoping it might. I tried it on two different occasions with the M18x R1 and it could never get it to boot, even with a single 980M and SG mode. Doing single GPU in SG mode it did not fail with 8 beeps, but went into an endless rapid rebooting cycle just as the Alien head logo would appear on screen. I could not even get into the BIOS by spamming the F2 key. Installing second 980M would fail to post with 8 beeps no matter what BIOS settings I tried. I think Maxwell needs to have some basic UEFI support from Alienware for makeshift operations, which the M18xR1 and M17xR3 do not have.

 

@Tulius Firestike @1303/1453 1.62V

 

I have searched through this thread for the past hour and 15 minutes. Cannot find the answer to my questions.

I am reaching 85c after 3 minutes of furmark stress test. Shut down at 85c as im unsure stable temps.. i see other members maxing out at around 70c, is that just in SLI as the loads is shared?

My other concern is I have tried multiple combinations of deleting, switching with f7 and downloading the intel graphics driver. Is it simply not possible to switch gpu and im just wasting my time? I know there is no optimus in m18x. Just wanting to switch when not gaming..
Thanks for any help!