Both 6970M died on me.

Hi guys ive been owning my m18x r1 since june 2011 and last thursday both my video card died on me, i tried everething i could.

It all started when ive lauched i game then the pc crashed, bleu screen but not the BSOD like hundreds of vertical blue line, then on
reboot i had 3 pale green vertical line about a inche wide stuck on the screen even in the Bios setup screen so a thought it was the
display not the card , but when i logged in W7 a was on a low resolution with still green lines. I switched to my IGP and found out it
was not the display that caused all the green lines they were gone.

Then i start a series of uninstalling my drivers (i was on 13,7 beta) , Safe mode driver sweeper then CCleaner , they install but no
screen flashing during instalation, i ve found that weird at first but on reboot after the instalation was done BSOD atikmpag.sys safe
mode again then tried driver 12,6 then 12,8 (both were working great 4 me in the past) then 13,1 (Mobile and normal version) , then
i flashed my MB bios, didnt work. Tried Dell Drivers same thing.

Then i decided time to Format fresh W7 re-install everything , nothing work out BSOD on every boot. So i took my M18x and opened
it (never repaste my gpu or cpu) and all the thermal paste was caked, and they didnt do a very good job at the factory (no wounder a was hitting 95
degres when i bought in in Furmark with no OC) so i did try both cards alone first one same problem second one same thing, i was like
what are the chances both my cards died on the same time.

So i decided to call Dell, was a bit scared cause my warranty was past due. But they will send someone Monday with 2 new cards cause
they told me it is a AMD known malfonction of my 6970m series. Damn i felt so lucky.

My question is do Dell still sell some 6970m or i might get even more lucky and get something more powerfull?

p.s Sorry for my bad English guys im French

 

The chances of both cards dying at the same time is very low. One bad card will cause the whole machine to malfunction though. The only way to know is to try each card in the primary slot without the other installed. I'm guessing one of them will have worked. If you want to have a working machine in the mean time, you could find out which one still works and use it.

Also, let this be a testament to all of the people who complain about Dell's customer service. They're sending two new cards even though the warranty is expired.

You might get a pair of 6990Ms, and I really doubt they're going to send a pair of 7970Ms, due to the fact that Dell still doesn't believe they work in an R1. But do keep us updated.

 

Ok thx for the info ill keep you guys know what happend this coming monday

and Dell are sending 2 new video cards AND the technitian too no charge

 

Wow, you lucked out. That's pretty generous of them to take care of you when you're out of warranty.

And amen Turbod, this is just another example of Dell providing incredible customer service... it amazes me that they can afford to do things like this so frequently. You can bet there aren't any other manufacturers that would do something like this for one of their customers with an expired warranty.

 

yeah the only warranty left for me is tech support and next business day support!
And i dont know if does change something but since im french a spoke with a girl @ Dell from Moroco that it is where they got theire french services and
even tho it was the second time i was sending my m18x (last year) for the video card problem ive was very very polite with the girl talk for an hour or so about how nice
her country was and how much she was doing an exeptionel job and that i was going to write a e-mail to her Superviser to tell him how nice she was.
i think that help me alot.

 

Greasing the gears is never a bad idea.

 

That is AWESOME news! Glad to hear Dell has you covered!

I agree, this is just one of many examples in this forum where Dell has proven themselves over and over again. :thumbsup:

 

Chances both your cards died is pretty slim. That would likely mean a defect in your motherboard, so let's hope that's not the case.

As said above, if your first GPU malfunctions, you won't notice the second one working correctly so it will seem both are dead. Maybe you're lucky and just the first one's defective

Great they're fixing it for you though, hope you're up and running real fast again!

 

True, but these defects have been happening at very similar times so it may be the case they are both dead.

 

The technitian just call me he will be here in 2-3 hours and by what he just told me im not going to get any 6970m he told that dell send him 2 new cards 2 new heatsink and a new crossfire bridge
why will Dell send 2 new heatsink if the were to send me 2 original 6970m since i already have those heatsink?

And does anybody just by the look @ them how can i diffrence between a 6970m and 6990m i mean physically? is it written on the cards?

 

It might not be easy to tell by looking at the GPUs, but here are two ways to verify what parts have been sent.

Easy way #1 - before installation - Dell part numbers:

• V9XKH AMD Blackcomb XT 6970m
• RDRGR AMD Blackcomb XTX 6990m

Easy way #2 - after installation (important: need to verify this before Tech leaves):

• Load Windows and confirm that both cards have matching specs in GPU-Z.
  Read this thread: 6970M or 6990M?
• 6990M - Shaders: 1120, Core Clock: 715MHz, Memory Clock: 900MHz, Texture Fillrate: 40GT/s
• 6790M - Shaders: _960, Core Clock: 680MHz, Memory Clock: 900MHz, Texture Fillrate: 34.3GT/s
• Download GPU-Z here: TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.6.8

GPU-Z should identify a 6990M like this:

GPU-Z should identify a 6970M like this:

 

Ok thx you very much

 

In Resume the technician came with 2 6970m one was refurbish the other one was new one had a dark brown pcb the other one was blue.... Installed them with new heatsink and crossfire bridge but when he plug the ac in the laptop we heard a tick noise and no power now nothing power on no beep nothing dead he call dell and dell said Alienware will call me tomorrow... Tech said it is the first time he saw dell send a refurbish with a yellow sticker on it saying "engineering" on it

It said those cards are normally sent to hardware testing ....

Told me that maybe the motherboard died too...

What you guys think I should do when Alienware call me tomorrow? I mean my laptop was working before the tech change the part , it is not my fault.

 

I can only assume that means you got an engineering sample card, which is not really cool.

Also, yeah, you should get a POST or 'beep' codes.

Dell will keep trying until it is fixed, that's for sure.

 

You just improved your chances at getting an exchange system. Possibly new, probably refurbished.

 

For now the only think I want Is a working computer I'm using this laptop for work, I'm glad they replace my video card but I was expecting them to work lol

 

I would try sending the PC in for repairs so that they can do a full check on it. Send me a PM with your service tag and phone and I'll be able to help you better.