M18X (R2) Time for an Upgrade or Leave the Family all together?

Hi.

Avid reader, first time poster. Here's my specs... and backstory.

Intel i7-3740QM
2 x AMD Radeon 7970M (only one connected, second won't work - more of that later in the story)
Running Windows 7 (64bit)
...not sure what else to include.


I am having a couple of issues. Here's the first.

1. I had a GPU fail (pixelated screen, auto-rebooting, pink pixels on start-up, etc.) So I removed them to determine that failed one, and kept it out, running only one 7970. Then next time I had a few hours to spare I swapped them to see that the removed one worked fine. This was a heat issue; so the system was stripped and cleaned and thermal reapplied to all components (that needed it). Only thing was when the drivers were uploaded it failed to recognise the second 7970 in the software. It was able to be viewed in device manager, but not able to be activated. So I'm still running on one 7970. Frustrating to say the least.

2. If I cant this this things working, which I'm sure I can't (my last resort is to buy another crossfire cable in the event that a passion-fingered it when handling it) so I'm hoping that a simple GTX GPU upgrade and processor upgrade will satisfy me in having a system that'll run the latest games and I get to keep my lil alien.

So given that I'm resolved to the fact that an upgrade is likely immanent, what can I do? I'm not going to spend thousands, as I can build a (Desktop) PC if need be, it just needs to give her a kick so she's around a bit longer.

What is the easiest way to do this? GPU types, CPU types, etc.
What do I have to do to the BIOS, if anything?
And, is cooling or power an issue?

Hopefully the community here will be able to assist me in my quandry. Ideally, I'd to get the crossfire (second AMD GPU working again) but in the event that that's unsuccessful (or just in-achievable) then I'll work on the upgrade.

Some helpful notes... I'm in Australia, so keep that in mind when (or if) offering vendors, as the importation of electrical components from some international vendors is not available. Also, I get most things, but software and programming are my Achilles heel, so please, be gentle.

Thank you. (love to hear Mr Fox's ideas (or opinion)

 

I had the same setup. My GPUs failed all the time. I wanted to keeo my little Alien so I went for a single 980m, and mSATA ssd and 32gigs of ram. Was around 800euros but it was worth it! Now I am on 980m SLI and it is trully an overkill. I also have a puny 3270qm CPU but every game runs max settings and 60fps.

 

With 980M prices still being so absurdly high 3 years after being released, I don't think it is worth upgrading. Just use it for what it's worth, but don't sell, it is a collectible. Build a desktop. I will be going this route when my 980Ms get tired (not for a while though...)

Mobile performance computing has too many unwelcome surprises these days. Standards have been thrown out the window.

 

Single 980M, unless you can swing $1500 for a GTX 1060 or $1070 unit, which the market is starting to offer.

You can find single 980M for around $500.

 

at next failure I think to dismantle my m18x r2 and buy a m-itx qm77 motherboard and put in my 3920x and 2133ram with a non mobile gpu ^_^
in the meantime selling apart all working stuff and save some money to buy another non bga notebook.
In all this words, I hope this machine will not die soon

 

Thank you. I was thinking along this line too. Keeping her the way she is and building a PC.

 

I actually like this idea too. So if I lean this way (which is likely as I want something now before I find time to build a PC) what do I have to do to install, update, upgrade in the way of bios, software (of course GTX drivers)???

 

If you go with 980M you will need Swick's unlocked A10 BIOS, along with a good vbios, PM me, I can provide you with a fantastic 1.00V vbios that doesn't exhibit any GPU Boost nonsense.

Get some good non-conductive TIM, I recommend Gelid GC Extreme or Grizzly Kryonaut (not Conductonaut as that is liquid metal) and not IC Diamond as you will scratch your die.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...maxwell-legacy-support-testers-needed.789322/

I love my single 980M, and that's coming from someone with a 1080 Ti in their desktop. This is all you need for 60 FPS 1080p gaming. It has plenty of VRAM on tap, it will push ROTTR, TW3 and FO4 at 60 FPS with only a few compromises (HBAO instead of VXAO, no Hairworks and God Rays to low and Shadow Distance to medium respectively).

On the desktop I need 1080 Ti because I'm enjoying two of the aforementioned titles in 3D Vision at 2560x1440 with mostly the same settings and am seeing 60 FPS nearly everywhere (120 FPS 2D equivalent).

For $500 980M will breathe new life into your M18x R2, especially if youre coming from 680M SLI with 2GB of VRAM as I was where SLI is only supported maybe 65% of the time with newer titles.

I still very much love my M18x R2 after upgrading to a single 980M.

 

So at the end I'm too much in love for this machine and..

Last week I bought another m18xR2 on eBay for 515€ shipped (europe to europe) ^_^ It should arrive this week.

It has very base specs (330w adapter but no gpus, 8GB Ram, 3610qm, 120GB ssd, all original accessories and packages)

I'm going to test it a bit and park as spare machine/parts, also is the same color as mine (nebula red).

 

@aaronne would you like to send me an price for the casing (both of them ). I would like to convert my black alien to a nebula red!

 

I'm in. Let's do it. How do I PM you?

 

To PM someone click on their username and then find and click on "start a conversation". I already PM'ed you.

 

I'm also in a similar situation as the original poster. I'm finally a month out of warranty and another one of my 7970Ms just died (had around 10 of them replaced under warranty before) and a single one is too slow for my needs and I fear that one won't survive long either. I do have a strong Titan X Desktop at home, but I have to travel to different countries for weeks at a time so I require a good mobile Desktop replacement laptop to take with me and my M18x-R2 has served me well over the years (even though the video cards have been on the slow side for many of the more recent games).

Should I try to get an Nvidia videocard somewhere or buy a new laptop with a GTX 1080?

I do need Windows 10, though, as some of the applications I work with require it and I also develop for the platfrom here and there and also play some Windows 10 exclusive games like Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, etc.. Does the 980M work with Windows 10 64 Bit 1703 in the Alienware M18x-R2 without bricking displays etc. yet? If not, what other card options do I have and what is the fastest Nvidia card that works in the M18x-R2 in Windows 10 64 bit 1703? Will a GTX 880M 8GB (or two) work? What else will I need going from a 7970M to an Nvidia card? Brackets, heatsinks, etc.?

I looked at the current Alienware 17 with GTX 1080 and it's just underwhelming, especially since I can't configure it the way I want with top end CPU, GTX 1080, 1920x1080 display (for some reason it's hard-locked to a WHQD one in my country), 32 GB RAM (only 8GB possible in my country?), no larger M2 HDDs than 180GB and it seems I can only fit one SATA HDD in addition to an M2 Sata SSD whereas I have 3 2TB SATA HDDs (in addition to a mSATA SSD) in my M18x-R2 and I wouldn't want to loose all the storage space. They are also rather expensive for the type of components they use. Do you know if it's possible to change the configuration to something else via phone? I saw that configuration of these Laptops is way more flexible in other countries like the USA and I could configure it the way I want to.
I do love that long Dell/Alienware warranty with next business day on-site service and accidental damage protection which served me well for many years.

The only machines coming close to my Alienware M18x-R2 in terms of being powerful, flexible, modular/upgradable and powerful nowadays seem to be Clevos, although the warranty isn't anywhere close to Dell's with bad stories about service and warranty handling by resellers around and I'm not too eager to send in my laptop and be without it for weeks at times, which does worry me. There also isn't a reputable Clevo reseller in my country so I'd have to import it from elsewhere in the EU (likely Germany).

Why oh why doesn't Alienware make M18x-R2 style upgradable laptops with the most top-end hardware anymore? I'd buy it without blinking an eye.

What to you guys recommend me to do?

 

From another thread but I recently reinstalled my m18xr2 with windows 7 and windows 10 in a dual boot setup, 7 will be more stable as the original drivers and os are made for it but windows 10 does work well.It was buggier with older versions but it seems MS is patching up the issues quietly. As for bricking the only risk is using precisionx on an alienware m18x that will corrupt the edid and break the monitor. Beyond that windows 10 is fine though on my machine sometimes windows 10 wont boot the video drivers correctly on cold boot when moving to the login screen. Restart usually fixes it but I dont know if its just my laptop being tempermental or a general issue. You still have the option of upgrading your m18x to good specs. Newer laptops are BGA aka mrfox's bane and honestly not worth buying simply because if something goes its bin food instead of repairable.

 

Thank you very much for your reply!

Ah, so that was the issue, not Windows 10 itself. I haven't used EVGA Precision since they stole Unwinder's code after terminating their partnership anyhow (and then only on my old desktop with then EVGA video card).
Is MSI Afterburner problematic in that regard as well? I guess I could do without as I don't like to overclock video cards inside a laptop anyway, although Afterburner/RTSS' monitoring features are nice.

Yeah, I really don't like the new BGA systems, but I do like the next business day multi-year on-site warranty and accidental damage protection (although I've never really needed the latter as I'm careful with my stuff). I've gotten many years of warranty repairs and replacements out of this (was originally an M17x-R1 replaced by an M17x-R2 due to DPC Latency issues, replaced by the current M18x-R2 when they ran out of replacement video cards. Also had around ten faulty 7970Ms replaced under warranty, last one in February - at first they were going to give me two 780Ms, but then they found another 7970M somewhere after all), but my last possible warranty extension sadly ran out in March. The warranty is the only reason I'd even consider an Alienware these days, but I'm also not content that I can't choose a 1920x1080 screen with the GTX 1080 as any higher resolution than x1200 on 17" is just too much for my aging eyes. I was also thinking on going with one of the smaller Alienwares for portability, but again, they aren't configurable the way I'd like and still BGA.

The only new laptop I'd go for right now would be an upgradable Clevo with desktop CPU and GTX 1080 which I find very appealing, the only thing I don't like about it is the crappy warranty. I wish Dell would just rebrand such Clevo systems as Alienware and sell them with their great warranty if they don't want to make proper laptops themselves.

In any case, what would I need to upgrade from the 7970Ms to 980Ms? Do the heatsinks (100 Watt), brackets and other stuff work? I'd assume I'll need an SLI cable as well. Anything else?
Which 980Ms can I buy? Alienware, Clevo, MSI, etc.? Are there any reputable resellers for them in the European Union?
Do I have to flash a certain BIOS on the laptop and vBIOS on the cards, where do I get them and how do I flash the vBIOS on the cards before they have a working BIOS, especially? Can I run the cards in UEFI mode in Windows 10 or do I need to run this legacy mode I keep hearing about?
I know these questions have probably already been answered on the forums (I believe I've read them a long time ago when I contemplated upgrading first but was put off by the display bricking on Nvidia cards, alas I can't remember specifics and the forums seem to have changes so much since I was last really active here), but doing a search I only found answers for the newer Alienware 18 but perhaps someone that has first hand experience going from 7970M(s) to 980M(s) on the M18x-R2 will be kind enough to summarize the answers quickly (feel free to post the links to posts as well if you wish).

 

That is a heck of a lot questions!!!!

All of your questions have been answered in several threads here in NBR but I will help you as much as I can since I had the same setup.

Going from 7970m to 980m, single has less fuss and dual is futureproof.

- To go from 7970m to 980m you will need the VGA (clevo or dell and propably MSI with sli support) flashed with a dell or clevo bios.
- Raidriar has made an excellent job posting an Under Volted one that works great in my sli system. Seek the post here in NBR. Also prema has a dedicated site for vbios. Grab the clevo one. Also inside the vbios files, lies the software needed to flash the vbios, or better, as the seller to flash one for you.


- 100W heatsinks will do just fine, backets and new screws will have to cme with the new gpus.

- New thermal pads for the vram will be needed and also brand new thermal paste (I used IC diamond). Repaste the CPU since you will have dismantled the whole pc.

- SLI cable will be needed also.

- I don't know any sellers in EU. I bought them from woodz in canada. You can also buy from this forum.

- 980m with dell official bios will run only on pure UEFI. If you want to legacy to use windows 7, swicks or raidriars modded a11 bios will be needed. An extra with this bios is that you can manually switch between internal and dedicated to elimitate gpu throttling. Bios files and method can be found on this forum and the throttling fix is also in this forum.


- Windows 10 and 8.1 run on pure UEFI and legacy and windows 7 run only on legacy.

Hope I helped you enough.

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain these things, Jerryzago! This makes my decision to hunt one or two of those 980Ms down (they seem to be really hard to find in Europe and especially at affordable prices) and postponing a full laptop upgrade instead a log easier.

 

I've come across someone selling a A18 here at home and I'm thinking of buying it and moving the 980m's from my own M18Xr2 into it in lieu of its 880M's. Dunno if you'd be interested in them but if you want I could in theory sell the 880m's to you if you wanted em as well (I still have the r2's original 675's that I could reinstall into it and give the old computer to my parents for internets).

 

Hm, that's interesting. Thank you for the offer. I'd rather go for the Maxwell 980M(s), though, if I can find any over here. Although if the price is a really good deal I'd definitely consider the 880Ms as well.

 

Well the 880m brand new off eurocom is like $650 so I could prolly sell those for like €400 each or something since the guy selling it is looking for €1900 and im only thinking of getting it because of native w10 support, no longer needing modified drivers and the fact it's got 980m compatability + raidar and his friend finally unlocked the bios to boot on it. I'll let you know if i get the machine im still mulling over wether to grab it or not but thinking of gettting it since it has a 4940xm processor.

 

What about the 1060/1070 working on the R2?

 

1060/1070 arent supported as they lack LDVS from what Ive seen on this board.

 

There might be a way to have 1060 working if you dont mind using optimus...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/quadro-p5000-with-m17x-r4.800489/

 

Yes @Ashtrix pointed this out last day here http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...bios-a12-unlocked.802249/page-5#post-10509611,

and I'm already arranging to buy a 1060m from Woodzstack to make my m18x r2 a beast again!

 

Let us know if you managed to get optimus working, very interesting idea to pursue if it does. Means we could probably use a 1070 if you get the 1060 working

 

Oh my, that would be awesome. I'd love it if I could upgrade my M18x-R2 to a GTX 1060 or higher, even if that means dealing with Optimus.

That would make me stop thinking about going Clevo and keep using that M18x-R2 for another while longer.

 

did test it today with 1060 gtx - works perfectly in SG mode with unlocked bios.

 

it works!

 

1060 work, 1070 from Gecube should be working aswell(going to try that in couple of weeks). sorry for flooding this thread, just couldn't keep it to myself, haha

 

BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Well looks like its time to start offloading 980Ms.....

 

right, SG is a doom though but can be tolerable still for the lack of a better..

 

I am pissed that there is STILL NO DRIVERS for the Alienware m18x R2 on Windows 10, I have been checking the website once a week for the past 2 or 3 years, ever since Windows 10 was released...spent over $4000 USD on it and Microsoft Windows 7 Extended Support ends in Year 2020, plus the current drivers are old and are outdated as hell for Windows 7 anyways....I mean seriously Dell? This is what the customers receive after spending big money on your company? This will be the last time I will ever Purchase an Alienware machine....My Old Toshiba Satellite X205-S9359 received updated drivers from the Toshiba company for like a span of 10 years! And here is what bothers me the most...I purchased the Alienware m18x r2 in 2011 and only got 2 YEARS OF DRIVER UPDATES....THE LAST TIME DRIVERS WERE UPDATED WAS IN 2013-2014.........I MEAN WTF!!! My Advice, yea it's a bomb laptop, everything runs great on it...when it is supported. But, the Company DELL SUCKS!! They don't give a **** about the products they make and they sure as hell don't care about the Customers!!!! Mind as well build your own laptop or PC!!! Stay the Hell away from DELL!!!

 

I agree my kids have been using mine to play some of my steam games till now. If we could easily upgrade gpus to current gens id still be using it for my main laptop. Clevo aint much diff i got my 870dm thinking i could upgrade but the 1080 cards put and end to that idea

Sent from my SM-P905 using Tapatalk

 

Dude what are you doing that you burned up (10)!!!! M7970s??????!!!!!! Im still running my original (2), overclocked, and zero issues. For real. I havent even put on aftermarket paste in them. Revist how you run your machine bud befroe you invest in more stuff. Just a suggestion.

 

Well, I do run lots of graphics intense tasks, some professional applications as well as gaming with highest image quality settings including high levels of RGSSAA pushing the video cards pretty hard. The two original cards lasted the longest anyhow (they may have never been defective, but Dell decided to replace them as well as the display which was truly at fault), the replacements sadly didn't last very long. The ones my brother has now have been in there since February, the last month of my warranty. I noticed they have a different make of memory than the previous cards and I've repasted them myself with some Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut instead of that default dung Dell puts on these days, so hopefully they will last longer for him, although I'll probably upgrade his system to a GTX 1060 or 1070 down the line anyway.

 

Dell, along with most if not all other notebook (and hardware in general) manufacturers are currently sinking because without a middle class with expendable income, who can afford to purchase a new laptop every 3 years? So, their "logic" is that by abandoning support for older units AND making newer units un-upgradable (soldered CPU to the mobo etc) they are hoping to compel you to throw your perfectly fine hardware into the rubbish bin and do your patriotic duty and buy a new one every 3 years.

I'm not kidding nor exaggerating.

These are the same entities that comprise the .1% (Chamber of Commerce) that is behind the offshoring of jobs (NAFTA, and they are salivating at the prospect of TPP) environmental deregulation (that makes an economic model with throw away laptops ever 3 years "make sense") etc.

49:37 mark (I can't seem to post this video here at that point for some reason)