Ray Tracing on M18xR2 - RTX 3000 MXM Upgrade!

Hey everyone, for those who don't know I've been working on getting a Quadro RTX 3000 MXM GPU for my M18xR2. RTX 3000 is basically a Quadro variant of the RTX 2060 (TU106).

The GPU I found happens to be about MXM 3.0b in layout made by ADLINK. This GPU is also available from Aetina and PNY in the exact same form factor. I chose this because it requires no mods besides INF and it provides the latest RTX features on an old platform.


I made a video of MXM in general here including the raptor NVMe card:




The laptop has 32GB 2133Mhz RAM, Wi-Fi6E + BT 5.2 as well. It is basically up to spec.











No heatsink mod needed:

Spoiler

Here's some benchmarks and pictures:





Benches:

Spoiler

 

The longevity of the old alienwares is amazing. I don't think we'll ever see something like this again in the laptop space because of the pursuit of maximum profit rather than the pursuit of good enough profit and amazing technology to back it up.

I understand the whole point of a business is to make money, but there's a point where enough is enough. If all laptops were like this one, we'd have much less ewaste. Not to mention a company could resell the same laptop in used condition multiple times to different buyers if they implemented a buyback program, which kind of makes the whole point of pushing BGA crap for maximum profit moot. I would think being able to resell the same product multiple times (albeit at decreasing prices each time) would be a profit driven company's dream. Not everyone wants to buy the newest stuff, so you can cater to the used market as well.

Some of the Alienware employees must be surprised how long this model lasted.

 

If I can get A4000 mxm next year then this M18xR2 will have a newer GPU than my Area-51m LOL

 

Great job mate!

 

That's great, super good news for my M17x R4 I guess! Looks good, nice work.

 

Looking at the whitepaper, it seems this card may be wired for all DP only. Meaning on 120Hz display there may be no image displayed and it would only work on 60Hz displays in SG mode.

Speculations of course, I don't have M17xR4 or AW 17 R1 with 120Hz to test.

 

That really is a wonderful project!
Where did you source these two, the card and the velociraptor, and how much did they cost?

 

been awhile since i browsed this forum and you guys still deliver haha. well done on this!

 

RTX 3000 found on ebay, cost around $532

Raptor card bought from @UltraGSM I think it was like $110 , originally he purchased from @Baddemichl

 

Yessir, mine is a 120hz eDP m17x R4!

 

First off I would like to commend you for paving the way for people like me that see the beauty of these m18x machines and there ultimate potential.

I myself have gone the same route as you in maximizing my R2. I have already added a 3929XM, upgraded with 32GB of 2133Mhz RAM and added WiFi6, all per your recommendation, thank you.

So now I have purchased a Adlink RTX 3000. Unfortunately I'm not too experienced in INF modding. Actually I've never done it before. Can you perhaps give me a step by step guidance on how to get the GPU working on my system. Thanks in advanced.

 

Do you already have the GPU in hand? I am actually working on a video on how to edit inf files. If you already have it I can provide you the inf itself and you can watch video later but if you don't have it yet might be useful to follow the video and try on your own.

 

Yes I already have the GPU. I was going to try to tackle it this weekend since we about to get our first snow storm this season. If you could send your INF file that would be greatly appreciated. I'm still going to watch your video on how to do it myself. I've seen a lot of your videos already.

Thank you so much

PS How do you like your SONOS speakers? Worth it?

 

Here's my video.





I also attached INF file but try doing it yourself first. It's in zip format since you cannot attach inf to nbr.

What SONOS speakers? I don't have any lol

 

can you make a test on games with the rtx 3000? I am curious how much fps will you get with 2020-2021 games (Valhala, Mafia 3 etc..)

 

I'll do shadow of tomb raider and see what other games I got but the 3dmark firestrike and timespy score should give you an idea.

Should be around mobile rtx 2060 performance

 

Thank you sir! I will definitely try to do it my self. I'll use your inf as back up.

Sorry, had a hard day at work, I ment to ask about your Atmos speakers.

 

Great job Bravo! I would like to buy an RTX A3000, I searched online I can't find anything. You can help me, I am also interested in the ADAPTER MXM / NVME. To modify inf use this nvcleanstall software, https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techPowerup-NvcleanStall/

 

what bios do you use?

 

A11 unlocked

The Sony atmos speakers aren't bad. I was thinking of getting the klipsch ones to match my set-up. I know mounting them up top would perform better but so far atmos sounds good.

 

Could you sticky this thread please.

 

Could you use the later cards even ?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373629271532?hash=item56fe0a3dec:g:-WcAAOSwAs5g2CTf
like the RTX 5000 DDR6 16GB MXM 3.0 ?


Compared to the desktop RTX 5000, the mobile variant offers lower clock speeds. There are different versions available with 110 Watt (1035 - 1545 MHz) and 150 Watt (1350 - 1770 MHz) in addition to the even lower clocked Max-Q variant.

​

Model TGP (W) Base (MHz) Boost (MHz)
Quadro RTX 5000 Desktop 230 1620 1815
Quadro RTX 5000 Mobile 150 1350 1770
Quadro RTX 5000 Mobile 110 1035 1545
Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q 90 930 1455
Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q 85 765 1395
Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q 80 600 1350

 

The core on that mxm card is offset not to mention the card itself it slightly bigger making it harder to get working. It will need modifications to fit.

I'm more interested in upcoming A4500 mxm card

 

Do you think it is possible to get hands on an A4500 MXM?
I guess it highly depends, if it gets used in a customer market notebook. However looking forward for an affordable upgrade with rtx.

 

Yeah, it's like that Radeon e9550, basically an rx480/570 but it was in so few systems it isn't really available reasonably. Supposedly was supposed to hit near 1060 performance with a 95w TDP, too, so not awful.

 

I am still waiting on a4500 mxm specs to see how its layout is. Q1 2022 is the earliest.

Then if it'll fit next step will be finding it

 

Wouldnt get your hopes up for an affordable nvidia/quadro/mxm/RTX upgrade any times soon

Yeh I'm keen for the A4500 also.
Not sure if the images on Adlink's site are anything to go on at this stage but looks like an offset core similar to the RTX 5000

 

it's not even so much the affordable part - there simply aren't any new 18.4" laptops to get...so its "upgrade at any cost" for many

i could easily drop 4-5k on a good one if there was one on the market...but there simply is nothing there and many aren't willing to downsize to 17.3".....that's one of the major reasons why so many of us are still using this old trash that should have been replaced 5 years ago

 

That's amazing

 

Yeah, pretty nuts. I don't really agree with the 4k/15" gaming-laptop market swing, it makes for a pretty subpar gaming experience with hardware creeping ever upward in terms of power consumption. 17" is great, I'm sure the 18" Alienwares are even better! Not to say that all new 15" laptops pack 4k screens, but there are plenty of laptops in the upper-mid to premium tier that are in that configuration.

 

Awesome. Do you think the m17x r4 and Ranger can have the same upgrade?

 

It can, only concern would be if the GPU has a eDP out port or not. In Optimus mode it'll work fine.

 

Was just about to say the same a 2012 system still kickin can't see that happening today. I worry the Framework laptop team will go a similar direction as Dell did with the Area 51M with a proprietary GPU
Solution calling it a new "standard". If I knew in 10 years I could still be upgrading that laptop I would be sold, I mean tons of people complain about this e-waste problem isn't this the solution products that last and can be upgraded. You can even get an entire new storage standard of M.2 from the second GPU Slot amazing!

 

@ssj92 Congrats on this amazing job!

Just a few questions:

1. Are you using stock 2133MHz RAM or did you overclock by using XMP from 1600/1866MHz sticks? Do you need unlocked BIOS to operate higher than 1600 MHz?

2. Are you using stock Heatsinks or did you get the "enhanced" ones from China with more Heat pipes?

3. Which WiFi-Module did you use exactly? Is it just p&p or dou you have to mod something in order to function?

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1) Stock 2133Mhz sticks, Idk if you need unlocked bios, I only use the unlocked one. Haven't used stock in years

2) All stock heatsinks no mods

3) https://www.ebay.com/itm/392602726695 Basically look on ebay for axe3000h wi-fi card. it's mini pcie so plug n play + drivers

 

@ssj92 have you been able to overclock your RTX3000 in anyway?
Would be nice to get a custom vbios with a higher power limit... unlikely Adlink would make one but maybe some one else??

 

No overclock. No underclock. Nothing, all locked. Maybe @Prema can do something but I haven't heard from him in awhile.

A simple TDP boost from 80W to 110W alone should increase performance. I'm trying to see if I can run it as a RTX 2060 using Geforce drivers.

 

Is it safe/backwards compatible reverting from A15 to A11 unlocked?

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As far as I know there should be no issue. M18xR2 also has emergency usb recovery method as well.

 

Unfortunately I "only" sport the M17X R4....

I got the "special - all copper" heatsinks from china but it seems that it isn't copper that much so no overclocking for the CPU cuz temps under full blast already is high in the 80-ies and I wasn't able to get 2133 RAM-Sticks working; it simply doesn't boot no matter if in single, double or quad channel.

So maybe running higher frequencies than the official 1600MHz is an "unlocked" feature coming with the A11.

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M17xR4 might also be able to run RTX 3000. 2133Mhz RAM is not needed. My M18xR2 with 2133Mhz RAM performs barely any better than AW18 with 1600Mhz RAM. CPU OC will make bigger difference.

 

Geeezzz, I'm really tempted to try it out on my M17x R4 (120Hz) but there are so many "IF's".....

Is there a source where you got the RTX 3000 from? I don't see an option to buy from Adlink directly neither on eBay, alibaba, aliExpress, etc. I'm located in Germany.

 

Adlink charges $1,534 for one. I got them off of this seller: https://www.ebay.com/usr/noexcuse0414?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2754

He seems to upload stuff here and there. Right now no RTX 3000 but he does have a GTX 1080.

 

Is this the card " https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...;759.05;-1;-1@salePrice;USD;search-mainSearch"

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002994026784.html

This one might work too. It does have a slight kickout on the one side, and is from a zbook g6 so it might have a weird bios? I know some of the zbook mxms have no bios chip and the vbios is part of the system bios.

 

Both of those have core offset, it would require significant heatsink modification.

This is the one I bought: https://www.ebay.com/itm/275086786928?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

The seller could post another one in the future. They sold like 5-6 already.

 

Ahh, I see. Even the mounting screw locations for the board to the chassis are in a slightly different spot (at least one is). That is very strange, but good to know.

 

Looks like there's four Ampere MXM cards coming now:

https://www.adlinktech.com/Products...\EGX-MXM-Ampere_Series-datasheet-20220118.pdf

 

Is it possible to use a4500 on m18x r2 ?


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I would buy the 1080 but its 113mm long and it looks like it might hit a module next to the card and also has 150W power, I do have a 330w psu. But I did buy the P4000 you pointed out, that is a really good card for the price.
Thank for that info. Its in the mail right now