M18x R2 GPU upgrade path from dual GTX 675m SLI

My M18x is getting a bit sluggish on newer games and so I am looking into what would be the options for upgrading the GPUs so ones with a bit more power.

I just don't want to start down an upgrade path and end up getting in over my head.


My specific questions are:

- What are the most powerful Nvidia cards that I can put into it without a Bios update? (780s? 880s? )

- What are the most powerful Radeon cards that I can put into it without a Bios update?

- What is the best overall GPU (single GPU or SLI) that the M18 R2 can handle with bios and driver mods?

 

The m18X-R2 is doing great with current titles.

I'm running a pair of AMD HD 8950 in crossfire.

fyi: using hwinfo for fan control though.

 

880M SLI would work without a BIOS update although everyone here will tell you it's better to just go 780M SLI because 880M is essential a overclocked 780M that runs hot.

For AMD, 7970M, 8970M, R9 M270X crossfire will all work but all three are basically the same cards (rebrands with higher clocks).

With BIOS/driver mods you can either run:

980M SLI (fastest SLI setup/last setup to support PEG mode) [but requires reboot trick sometimes to fix downclocking issue]

GTX 1070 (fastest single GPU that's been tested, only single GPU supported and requires Optimus mode [SG in BIOS])

My issue is the 2GB vram on the 680M SLI lol

 

Here is the stock score for the pair of AMD HD 8950

P10608

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/13075831

 

Here's stock 680M SLI:

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/13075890

Slight OC:

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/13075894

 

Okay, so the next question..

Will I need to upgrade the heatsinks if I move up from the 675s to 780s?

 

980M SLI or a 1070 are two highest NVidia configs, a WX 7100 is the highest end AMD config.

The 1070 and WX 7100 need optimus enabled which I do not believe is easily possible without changing BIOS to unlocked one.

Im still trying to see if my 8950M's have crushed cores, but given that my screen is almost dead its very hard to use

 

675M is rebranded 580M which had 100W heatsinks.

So you should be fine with your current heatsinks.

 

Thank you.

Side question..

If I want to upgrade my i7-3610QM to a i7-3920XM I'll definitely need to also upgrade the CPU heatsink to a 3 pipe version.. Correct?

 

Yes the 3-pipe will be needed if you plan to overclock. Even at stock it'll run a bit hot with the single pipe.

Should be able to hit 4Ghz all cores all day easily It'll provide a nice performance bump over the 3610QM.

 

My 3 pipe easily handles my 3940XM @ 4.3

 

Same for me 3920XM @ 4.4Ghz

4.7Ghz needs 100% fans and reaches 90C lol

 

I got a 3 Pipe HS for sale ..