Just got my 880M twins!

After bricking my machine with the one vbios, I decided to stop testing for now. So no, yours has not been put through its paces but I honestly doubt its any different. If svl7 and Johnksss couldn't get the 880M to run properly, I doubt its possible to do so. I can have benches that have low temps too, they're over too fast to heat up the cards. Try Catzilla though... that one is a burner because its long.

 

i work very closely with john on my 880s and i will say this.. they function but not how he was stating they do.. theres no way they could..
theres simply just not enough power in the power supply to let these cards do what they do..

ill try to get john to reply on this and i think he will agree

 

My 880s get too hot when functioning as intended. At least driving a 120hz screen. If it was a 60hz screen vsync would take care of that problem but as it stands now, the modded vbios will hit 90s in no time and throttle... I have dual power supplies so that's not an issue for me, the cards just get too hot and I don't want to fuss with liquid ultra on them regardless of what it did for my CPU because I am fighting to get cards that actually work...

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

Repad + repaste sounds needed.

 

I'll do it tonight when I get home. Just need to figure out how to.

 

GPUz, little 'chip' icon to the right of the BIOS Version Number.

 

Ethrem, You have done more testing than many of us here to find an acceptable vBIOS for the 880s. And we appreciate
your efforts. It is indeed frustrating to own an expensive laptop with a single or dual 880s and not be able to use the
laptop for “extreme gaming.” Not because the 880 is not a wickedly fast gpu, but rather, because NVidia and/or Dell
have decided to cap its capabilities with a crippled vBIOS.

Perhaps testing for an acceptable 880 vBIOS can take a different direction? That is, has anyone tested the new
Dell vBIOS (vBIOS 80.04.F5.00.07) to see if it can satisfy the “non-extreme” gamers with acceptable fps rates (at
low temps, with little throttling) for demanding games, like Crysis 3? The new Dell vBIOS (vBIOS 80.04.F5.00.07)
may not be as crippled as its predecessors.

And if it turns out not to be as crippled as its predecessors, maybe new Dell vBIOS (vBIOS 80.04.F5.00.07) can serve
as a base to build upon – to develop a modded 880 vBIOS for the “extreme gamers” on this forum.

 

The problem is that these cards put out way too much heat for even the robust cooling systems in Alienware machines to keep under 90s when running at full speed and nVidia knew that so they used an algorithm that would constantly change clocks and voltage so that the average is around 950MHz even if it dips into the 800s at times.

I'd bet money that these chips were leftover desktop scraps they just wanted to get rid of and they knew the heat would be too much (low voltage, high core = higher leakage which translates to higher temperatures) so they used a beta version of Maxwell's "efficiency" programming to constantly tweak clock and voltage to maintain "acceptable" operating temperatures.

I've played with these cards to try to find the best performance to heat ratio and my notes show 954MHz @ 0.968v ran between 87 and 92C with max fans. I found that these cards will do 849MHz @ 0.875v and will run a max temp of 86-87C without the fans even kicking up and will run between 72 and 74 with max fans.

It's not exactly a trade off I like but it's faster than a stock 780M and had I bought my machine a week earlier, I would have had a pair of 780M cards. But with the trade off I get steady framerates.

I'm not comfortable with cards running in the 90s all the time and I'm not fond of fan noise either so I was running the 849 for awhile before I went back to the stock vbios because my system soft bricked itself when not in UEFI mode if I had the modded vbios on there which meant I couldn't play with any other operating systems. So I'm stock for now.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

vBIOS Version 80.04.E8.00.0C (P2053-0002)

I got both vBIOS from both of the cards in my SLI setup. Let me know if you'd like more.

 

Ive seen many horror stories in which upgrading a laptop gpu gone wrong, but this case is the winner by miles. A double 880m and for nothing! Man, if you were not working for an oil company, i would really feel sorry, not saying I dont already....

Anyways, I guess there is a weird silcon lottery going on, I do beleive nvidia took 780m left over chips and slaped them on a new board calling it by 880m.

I was about to buy a laptop with a pair of 880m in it, believe it or not the seller kept warning me of the throtteling issues he had. He even told me a 770m single card managed to beat his awesome 880m, he evntually sold it. I have no idea how Nvidia have not got sued yet.

Good luck all.

 

I HAVE THAT VBIOS STOCK

I wonder if anyone with throttling problems has that stock vBIOS? 80.04.F5.00.07 P2053-0002 Dell version. No problems on stock. If anyone has throttling issues try flashing vbios in my attachment. That vBIOS came with my cards and I didn't experienced throttling. Cards were dedicated probably to AW18, working in M18xR1.

Ah and heat is not the problem. With good thermopads and thermal paste it's about 78-79 in heavy gaming.

 

I've read a lot about vBIOS on the GTX 880M, though I'm not sure what's the best option for my couple of 880M's.. I'm currently using the vBIOS modded by Johnksss... any sugestions?

 

That's the one to use.

 

vBIOS from above is stock vBIOS from my cards that were bought in end of 2014. It solves any throttling problems. Installed in M18xR1 Plug'n'Play

 

any confirmations that this vbios will not throttle with extreme cpu users?

 

It still wont work for you in the AW18 Dumbdumb.

 

I also have the same 80.04.F5.00.07 (P2053-0002) vbios on my late 2014 AW17 Ranger; I also have just upgraded the CPU to an i7 4930MX which I am running at level 1 overclock through the BIOS, and have experienced no throttling issues at all.

 

You might need to define what you mean by "not throttling" A lot of people thought they weren't throttling, but in the end they were.

 

Hey fellow Alienware lovers and proud gtx 880m sli owners Just curious about what scores you guys generally get for 3dmark firestrike. Without any Oc'eds I got 12500 for the graphics scores and that was my maximum. I tried overclocking but to no avail, it won't go above 993MHz but when it works, it just goes to the specified amount then dips to as low as 700Mhz then goes back up to the specified amount. I believe that if the OC is stable, our gtx 880ms are on par witht the gtx 980m sli.

 

Each 980M pretty much compares in GPU power to your SLI setup so clocking that far is just not possible.

 

??? Works fine for me.

 

Dream on...

19106 graphics stock

22458 graphics overclocked

Kepler can't touch that.

Absolute highest my 880Ms could ever do (and this test was 1 degree from thermal throttle when it was over) - http://www.3dmark.com/fs/2327316

 

Well with a bit of proper overclocking, am pretty sure I can get 16500 points. I saw two gtx 780m sli getting a score of 17000 with extreme overclock The 980m sli is not far from the 880m sli. Maybe in benchmarks it does well but in actual gameplay, not much of a difference. I think I'll stick with my 2 880ms till the 1000 series comes out.

 

Hey buddy, I see you have the same setup as me so can you tell me what 3dmark firestrike scores you get? Thanks

 

Well with a bit of proper overclocking, am pretty sure I can get 16500 points. I saw two gtx 780m sli getting a score of 17000 with extreme overclock The 980m sli is not far from the 880m sli. Maybe in benchmarks it does well but in actual gameplay, not much of a difference. I think I'll stick with my 2 880ms till the 1000 series comes out.

 

Do you have 2 880ms as well? What temps were you running at? Also were your gpus overclocked? Can you give me your overclock profile please?

 

You're delusional comparing 980M SLI to 880M SLI. I have owned both and I can tell you that it is a fact that a single 980M at stock is only 10-15% from a stock 880M SLI configuration running the same workload.

If you are happy, that is all that counts, but don't spread misinformation.

 

Yeah maybe you are right but in actual gameplay, there is not much of a difference. Also can you give me your overclock profile?

 

There is a huge performance gap. I don't get how you can say that.

Compare the 880M SLI results with the 980M results here http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html

As for my overclocking profile? I used svl7 modded vbios, maxed out the voltage, maxed out the power target and set the core and memory in Inspector. This was too much power draw for my power brick so I had to actually disable the CPU turbo to get Firestrike to complete and 3DMark11 overloaded the PSU even then. Way too much power for a 330W brick to support, not to mention that at that overclock you are literally going to be at 94/95C when the benchmark finishes.

 

Thanks for your answer. I'll maybe install a custom vBIOS so that I can overclock my gpus as I need it only for benchmarks. I easily get over 60fps on every game I played so far which includes Metro Last Light Redux, Crysis 3, GTA 5(maxed out with advanced settings on). The MAXWELL is indeed impressive. I have an Alienware 18 so I can upgrade whenever I want to but I think am gonna wait for the 1000 series. What laptop do you have if I may ask?

 

I have the Clevo P377SM-A / Sager NP9377. I started off with 880Ms but they had too many issues and after the second pair failed, I had them upgrade me to 980Ms so my numbers are in fact from the exact same hardware with just a video card swap.

Be aware that the modded vbios will dramatically increase your temperatures as it prefers maximum power draw and disables all dynamic core scaling by disabling boost. My cards went from max 87C up to 94C in just an hour of Bioshock Infinite (maxed out) with the mod so it's really only recommended for benchmarking. They thermal throttle at 95C, dropping the core down to 405 if I remember correctly then back to 993 when it drops to 94 which puts it back to the throttle...

 

The 980M is nice, the thing is there are no nice laptops with 980M. Clevo and Clevo based laptops are plain ugly as hell... I love Alienware 50% because their performace 50% because their look and quality contruction..

 

Alienware dropped the performance crown and is embracing mainstream soldered HQ CPUs that bottleneck high performance GPUs. Unless Skylake fixes the TDP throttle that prevents most HQ chips from hitting their turbo bins, Clevo will be the only option left for performance, especially with their desktop CPU configurations.

My P377SM-A isn't the biggest looker, my M17xR1 holds that title, but it can't be denied that Clevo is the only ODM that cares to make true high performance machines anymore.

 

Thanks a lot Ethrem, I still have to decide whether to install a custom vBIOS or run it stock till I upgrade my 18. As it runs every game on max settings above 60fps, I think it should last 1 more year to 2 years running games on ultra settings. After that, i'll swap them for the 1000 series as it should be out by then

 

I have to agree with you Ethrem, Alienware made a DICK move and they will pay the consequence, trust me. Everyone is just going towards the MSI titan or Sager/

 

I couldn't agree more with you tyranus7. Fortunately, I have an Alienware 18 which is fully upgradable compared to the ****ty 2015 lineups. Every bloody thing is soldered, like WTF ALienware. Sometimes I think that Alienware just decided to go full retard. If you have an Alienware 18, just upgrade it although if I were you, I would wait for the 1000 series to come out.

 

Honestly I would leave well enough alone. Many of us found after flashing them that even going back to stock they never worked properly again (not that they ever worked right in the first place, things were really bad when they launched) I'd do it if you need the performance but not for numbers chasing.

Well the MSI Titan uses a soldered CPU too =/

Intel is dropping the MQ and MX lined entirely going forward so it's all going to be HQ with TDP throttle or desktop CPUs. I have to say that the Clevo P770ZM looks really nice... I dislike that it isn't SLI but love that it has a 4790K in it. It doesn't look bad aesthetically either.

 

Yes, M17x R1/R2 has the best look. AW 18 is nice too, it looks a bit rugged IMO tough I love the light touchpad. Sager/Clevo latops tend to look like shoe's box with a keyboard on it. Though you're right is the only performace valid option at the moment. I hope Alienware go back to the right path at some time in the near future.

 

HAHAHAHAHHAAH MSI is going downhill as well. But actually to be fair with you, they were never good:/ Fortunately, I have a 4710MQ which is beast and planning on upgrading to the 4940MX when I upgrade my gpu. I think you are right, am just chasing numbers which is just foolish as it already runs every game i threw at them well above 60fps. Hey by the way Ethrem, do you know when the 1000 series will come out. Am pretty sure the performance will be astronomical I wish Alienware could of support a dekstop cpu as they have proper cooling especially the 18, the cooling is amazing. My temps never go above 85 for my cpu and 81 for my gpus and that is during heavy loading like playing Far cry 4 on maximum settings with nVidia gameworks.

 

Alienware will always be the best in terms of looks but they just lost their place in the 18 gaming laptop market and overall their laptop quality which saddens me so much. What Alienware do you have if I may ask?

 

I think Dell is going to stay the course with BGA and focus on more thin and light machines. Unfortunately they have gone completely mainstream and everyone wants a razor thin laptop thanks to Apple.

As for my Sager... I wouldn't mind the look so much if it didn't have the tail lights in the back. It would also be nice if they used an actual 17" keyboard but I've gotten used to it now.

It's a solidly built machine for something that is pure plastic though. It also cost me a lot less than the Alienware would have, I have US tech support, the same people that built it do the repairs (no Dell Depot to deal with), and I've actually been impressed with their warranty, having to use it twice due to 880Ms.

4940MX is a big waste of money unless you can get one cheap. The 4810MQ is a better buy for the higher turbo bins and the 4930MX is usually more capable than the 4940MX is... If I could do my purchase over, I'd have gotten a 4810MQ or 4910MQ and put the extra 500+ bucks into bigger SSDs.

 

The one in my signature. AW 18, SLI GTX 880M and i7 4910MQ... I flahed the both 880M vBIOS and they run better than ever to me. I'm more a gamer than o benchmarker and 880M kills almost every game out there..

 

Yeah but I think you pay more for Alienware as it is upgradable plus the awesome build quality but now it's just(sorry for my language) ****ING POINTLESS to buy their 2015 lineups. I just hope they revert back to the awesome company they were when I purchased my 18. I want to cry when saying that but oh well I got my 18 ( the best and last worthy of the name ALIENWARE). I will probably get the 4930MX then according to what you said which is good cause now I can concentrate on saving up to install more storage devices in and upgrade my gpus too.

 

Yeah, I agree with you so much. My 2 880ms destroyed every game I threw at them and these includes crysis 3, metro last light redux, GTA 5 with everything maxed out plus advanced settings cranked up. I just wonder what kind of performance I would get with a custom vBIOS like you but am just too afraid. Trust me, it can rock benchmarks too, the 980m sli with a different architecture will obviously be a bit faster. Have you tried 3dmark firestrike, with your custom vBIOS am just curious what kind of performance you can get. At what temps are your 880ms running at with the custom vBIOS?

 

My Sager is upgradable as well. In fact it can handle 4 hard drives (2 msata, 2 2.5"), 5 if you drop the optical drive and mine has a 120hz screen which between all the storage options, the warranty, the 120hz display, and the much cheaper price (I believe that my Alienware 18 build with M290X CF that I canceled was still more expensive than my 880M SLI build despite the premium cost for the nVidia cards), it was an easy choice for me.

The P377SM-A can also run dual power adapters which is a nice bonus for benchmarking and overclocking.

 

I haven't run 3dmark firestrike, just 3dmark 11 and got something like ~p13500 with custom vBIOS and stock clocks on both CPU and GPU. Got a nice ~p700+ jump with custom vBIOS and no throttling at all, confirmed with GPU-Z Log's.

4 disk drives, that's nice, I wish the AW 18 had more than 2 SATA ports or more mSATA ports, I'm not discarding the optical drive in favor of the extra HDD.

 

My 18 supports 4 storage devices as well. The price of an 18 fluctuated so much when I was looking to buy one and that was on the dell website. Depends on which country, in USD I got mine for 3400 including warranty which is a pretty good price. The dual power supply is one nice addition though. Mr Fox made a PSU hack for the 18 so we can chain two power supplies together, which is pretty neat. How much did you get yours for.

 

Nice scores turanus7. I got 12500 graphics scores with stock clock speed as I couldn't get overclock to work even though I did overclock, it was running at 993 which is the boost speed, on 3dmark firestrike. In games, the 880ms just kill it oh and btw the 18 supports 4 storage devices if you remove the optical drive ( which am planning on doing once I open it up

 

It's is just a pity that you can not use dual power supply with Aw18.

 

I spent 4800 for mine - 4940MX, 880M SLI, 32GB DDR3-1600MHz, 2x240GB Crucial M500 SSDs, 2x1TB Hitachi Travelstar HDs, Blu-ray writer, 120hz 72% gamut matte LCD, 2x330W power adapters, 3 year extended warranty plus accidental damage and lifetime labor, Windows 8.1 Pro full version plus install disc, and white glove packaging to make sure it was completely cushioned for transit as well as an Xotic PC t-shirt.

Considering the 4940MX alone was about 1K of that... Both it and the 880M were brand new, I was one of the first to have them.

The Alienware 18 was either an 80GB caching SSD or the quad SSD and was ludicrously expensive.

Also, last I heard, the 18 could be attached to the box @Mr. Fox made but didn't pull over 330W due to a board limitation.