M18x R2 CPU + GPU upgrade

Hi, I haven't posted here in years.

I have an M18x R2 with an i7-3610qm and a single GTX 660m. I want to upgrade both of these. I bought a 3940xm, and I understand I need a triple pipe heat sink for that. Cheapest I can find is $85.

For the GPU, what do you recommend? I understand the 880m is probably the easiest, and a 1060m is possible with some heat sink modding is that right?

And the A12 BIOS mod is the latest BIOS to run for a new GPU? I guess I could use some help with part numbers to look for for sure on the heat sink(s). Will I need a 780w adapter for a single GPU? I just want to play the latest games. Am I right in assuming getting 2 880m/1060m is not worth it?

 

No need to mod the heatsink for the 1060 or 1070 if you choose the right one. I didn't have to do any mods for my 1070. Just get a standard MXM 3.0b card
You will need the unlocked BIOS for a 10 series card. I wouldn't suggest the 880M. The 780M is a better card in my opinion but the 980M is the way to go if you don't want to get a 10 series card. You'll need a modded driver for anything newer than a 680M.
No point to get SLI these days for newer games, just get a decent single card.

I haven't seen the triple pipe CPU heatsink. I just use the 2-pipe one and it does a good job but now you've got me interested in the 3-pipe......

 

Thanks for the reply!

This is the triple pipe I just bought: 0MXJ5

I was just reading a thread about the 1070m...it would seem if I'm going to spend money/time on this 8 year old machine I might as well go as big as I can.

Would this work?
GeForce GTX1070M N17E-G2-A1 8GB MXM 3.0 Type B

 

ooh yeah I want that heatsink. A little pricey for me though unfortunately.

That 1070 should be perfect.

 

Thank you for the help! My existing heatsink for the 660m won't suffice for this right?

 

If you only have the 2-pipe GPU heatsink then you'll definitely need the 3-pipe for the 1070

 

I see you've done a few GPU oven cooks going by your signature. I have a few dead cards that I've been meaning to try fixing in the oven. Any tips?

 

That was for my oldddddddddddd m17x r1 lol. They had the real **** 8800 gts I believe. I used to have a link to a thread where someone here outlined it, but it looks like it's gone.

The major thing is to prop up the PCB on something (like nubs or cones you make out of tin foil) so as to not heat up any other components on the oven tray. Something like 350F for 10 minutes. Here's a link to something that seems familiar to what I did: 385 Fahrenheit at 8 minutes

 

Heat sink came. Should I leave this tacky paste on?

 

No, remove it, clean it, and use decent thermal paste, that is stock paste, so at least you know that is a new unused heatsink.

 

That's what I was hoping. Thanks!!

 

How to see which card to get? I've seen a lot of people stating the 1060 needs a heatsink mod including Eurocom. So what gives?

Also do you run any kind of altered vbios on the 1070?

 

My 1070 came with the wrong vBIOS for my machine so I just had to flash a Dell non g-sync vBIOS and it worked great. I haven't messed with the 1060 but I can't see why any modding would be needed. You need one like this

 

I have been looking at this model as well. The one you showed looks to fit. There are multiple models of the 1060. The middle one is the one where it doesnt fit into the slot entirely.

(GTX 1060)


Which heatsink did you use? Nvidia heatsink or AMD? It's so weird to me everyone says that you need the modded heatsink and you just plop it in there no problems.

How did you flash the vbios and where did you get it? I've seen almost nobody with a 1070 so I would imagine it's hard to find the correct vbios and I have read somewhere on here that these pascal GPU's are only flashable with a hardware extension that clips on the chip.

 

I just used my original Nvidia heatsink. I've seen an all copper heatsink on ebay but I'm not willing to spend the cash on it right now. This one seems to be doing a good job.

I went to TechPowerUp to grab my vBIOS. After work I can find out what vBIOS version I'm using but it's posted on a thread here somewhere. You'll need to download NVFlash and follow the flash instructions but I've only flashed a vBIOS a couple of times so I'm not much of an expert on it sorry. I didn't use any extension or external programmer.

 

Do you know if the M18x R1/R2 are compatible with the Alienware 18 (Viking) ? If yes, can you link the all copper heatsinks from ebay ?
thanks

 

They use different heatsinks.


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Do you know if full copper heatsinks exist for the Alienware 18 ?

 

I’ve never seen one but I’ve never really looked. You could ask the guy on eBay if he can make one.


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