Step by Step: 980m Install in Alienware 18

Ah im not sure actually, im just going by the temps sorry not the fan speeds.

youd know if there not working properly though as the temps quickly rise if the fans aren't working, even when there idle.

Mine went up to 70 even when I wasn't gaming.

 

hello guys I have some problem with second fan in my Alienware 18 its not spinning. I have 980m G sync
device Id 10DE 1617
original bios from Dell not working I can't flash my GPU
it's say Device ID mismatch

 

I think you should flash your GPU with the right DELL 980m G-sync bios. Nom G sync bios would brik your card.

In another related news the new official hotfix Nvidia 387.98 mobile driver now officially supports Alienware laptops with GM204 GPUs (965M, 970M, 980M), just tested it and really works right off the bat with no modding needed in my old Alienware M18X-R2.

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4563/~/geforce-hotfix-driver-version-387.98

 

i tried but I can't even install driver there is no device id in drivers I need mode it first and only after i can install
here is my device :
PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1617&SUBSYS_05AB1028
Vbios from Dell not working in my cards

 

Alienware 18 980m don't have G-Sync , so You cant use a G-Sync 980m on the Alienware 18

 

That is why it's probably not spinning because I have G-sync
at least I can trigger them manually
Thank you for helping

 

Does anybody know if there is still problem with bricking displays in aw18 by nvidia drivers? It is 2018 year and last issues were from 2015, maybe later nvidia drivers than 361 don't cause problems already?

Next thing: what is for now the possibility to obtain Prema's v1/v2 vbios to 980m? Links from first post lead to biosmods.wordpress.com, but I can't find any option to download these vbioses from there... There are links to twitter, to Prema's forum about clevos, to youtube, but none of this contains any aw18 vbios...
Unfortunately I don't have possibility to download from techinferno because don't have 5 points of sth which unblocks downloading... and don't want to look for unofficial sources to download because of Prema's policy and my own security.

I ordered 980m to my aw18 and if everything works ok, I want to buy and put second 980m to SLI mode, but want to prepare in case option with Prema's vbioses to avoid throttling and 2nd slot fan issue.

 

Folks need a hand down here, i'm thinking to upgrade my small beast AW 18 which currently has a SLI of GTX 765m to one GTX 980m because no better card can be installed in. It's a pain to find a heat sink but seems that i managed to find one. This one is for AMD 100W and the seller says is fully compatible to the GTX980m and other gtx as well. Is this possible ? i will post a couple of picutres for you guys. In the second picture he claims that the difference between the two heat sink AMD vs Nvidia is just a small hole.....???

 

Yes its full compatible
I have by an aw18 and by chance its amd gpu and amd heatsink
I bouth a single gtx980m msi with 4go
And work very Well My friend

 

Thank's mate, cheers

 

Hi everyone,

I am an Alienware 18 owner, my laptop has 2 GTX 780Ms in SLI, 32GB RAM and an i7 processor.

My cards are starting to be a little on the underwhelming side now, they run my HTC vivr fine for most things but my AW18 could do with an upgrade.

I would like to upgrade to the 980Ms in SLI.

I have upgraded my BIOS to A13 from A03 (although now I understand the BIOS has to be unlocked to swap cards?), I have been looking GTX980Ms on ebay and eurocom, i have the right heatsyncs (the ones with my 780ms) but I cannot source the Prema Mod vBIOS anywhere, I've been all over every site these guys have and have come up short.

Please could any of you guys give me some help to accomplish this mod please?

questions:

1. Does anyone have any updated links or have the vBIOS package still on their computer I could have

2. could anyone give me an update for 2018, such as BIOS issues, fan, heatsync issues etc or if these have been rectified

3. Does anyone know if i can use the SLI cable going between my 780Ms for SLI with the 980ms

4.I keep finding 2nd hand cards on ebay with g-sync, what does that mean

5. Does anyone know an alternative vBios if I can't get hold of the Prima one

6. What is the differnce betweek a locked and an unlocked bios, where can i get an unlocked bios and why can't I jsut swap the cards out for the new ones on a stock BIOS downloaded from Dell

thank you, I really appreciate any help people can give me.

 

-

 

1. Does anyone have any updated links or have the vBIOS package still on their computer I could have
Prema has asked not to share the vBIOS. Not sure where to get, might try sending him a PM or maybe Mr. Fox can be of assistance.
2. could anyone give me an update for 2018, such as BIOS issues, fan, heatsync issues etc or if these have been rectified
It is recommended to stay on A12 as A13 reduces performance of CPU.
3. Does anyone know if i can use the SLI cable going between my 780Ms for SLI with the 980ms
Yes, you can use the same SLI cable. (Please correct me if I am wrong).
4.I keep finding 2nd hand cards on ebay with g-sync, what does that mean
I believe there are 2 versions of the 980m GTX card one is g-sync and another is not.
5. Does anyone know an alternative vBios if I can't get hold of the Prima one
Here is one posted by Raidriar http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/release-980m-single-undervolted-vbios.800491/
6. What is the differnce betweek a locked and an unlocked bios, where can i get an unlocked bios and why can't I jsut swap the cards out for the new ones on a stock BIOS downloaded from Dell
You do not need an unlocked BIOS, you just need A12 or higher for Nvidia GTX 980m to work with the Alienware 18 (Viking). The difference is Dell's hidden settings are available with an unlocked BIOS (not needed for 980m upgrade just A12 or higher).

 

I can confirm that the same cable for the SLi 780M GTX works with the SLi 980M GTX upgrade.

 

Thank you guys for the helpful replies. Do the cards not cove with a vBIOS pre installed? or is custom needed to get the cards to work? It's turning out to be quite the project

 

The cards should come with a vBIOS installed. Just ask the vendor you buy them from and verify that it is a compatible Dell vBIOS.

 

Hello,
Pls help cause I have an issue with 980ms sli in aw18.
Bios a13 official from dell's site, two different official vbioses to 980ms from dell's site also installed (bioses made by dell to properly see fans). Set UEFI mode in bios.
Both cards install fine in sli, everything ok with drivers etc.
But aw18 shuts off after some minutes of turning on ... fans going max velocity, three seconds of space and computer shuts off...
I checked temps of both cards in hwinfo and in gpuz and temps are completely ok - 50-60 degrees.
Why my aw18 shuts off???

 

Try unplugging the battery and see if it works OK. A dead battery can cause random lock-ups and shutdowns from my experience.

 

AW 18 has been broken from day 1 lol ... I think I went through 2-3 motherboard when I had that model.

 

@opacik

Did you reset your cmos (remove battery, cmos battery, hold power button for 30 sec)?
Verify your PSU is properly being detected in the BIOS
Run Dell diagnostics
Remove both cards and test with Intel graphics
If working with integrated graphics, remove your slave card and test master card in single configuration. If working, flash slave to master and test in single card config to confirm both cards are working.

If I had to guess, those dual 980m's are putting too much strain on what may be a compromised system board. Only way to really check is to pull them, cmos reset, run diagnostics just because, verify 100% operation with no GPUs installed then test each card as a master in slot 0.

@Rengsey R. H. Jr. is pretty much on point. I've owned, repaired and deployed dozens of AW18 to family, friends and guildies. Running less demanding GPUs and low to no problems. As soon as you put in some heavy hitter cards (780m/880/980m), that's when things start to go south, especially in SLI. At this point, I run my few remaining AW18's with 770m/860m's w/ 4930's and 4940's and have zero problems.

 

even when a pair of M290X was killing the motherboard. It's either the motherboard killed the cards or the cards kill the motherboard lmao. I remember on two different occasion the AW 18 killed one of of my R9 M290X and a GTX 980M.

 

hello
Firstly sorry for my English , I do not speak English is a translation from google
i have laptop dell alienware 18 (PROCESSOR I7-4710MQ) with two nvidia gtx 860m in sli mode . the last month the left (primary) gtx 860m 2gb in test from bios he found error v ram

after testing I put the right (secondary ) gtx 860m on the left and now
the laptop is working with one gtx 860m 2gb
i have read and 23 pages but i have some questioningly
If i remove this one nvidia gtx 860m and after i install only one gtx 980m 8gb my laptop dell alienware 18 in bios ( last Version A13) menu ( press f2 ) recognize one gtx 980m ?
and after in windows 10 using drivers from nvidia and everything is ok ?
the heatsink of gpu is 75w must to change her
to 100w anyway ?
this headsink 75w clicks on gtx980m 8gb
or he wants to convert for click on gtx 980 ?
if I get stuck a few Copper VGA RAM Cooling Heatsinks cooler on
heatsink 75w earn something to cooling ?
please someone let answer me.
thank you

 

The 980M is reconized in the BIOS and I believe NVIDIA has drivers for it natively, if not modding them is relativily simple. Yes, you need the 100W heatsink

 

Finally doing my upgrade right now !

 

I'm happy for you bro. It take some time to upgrade.

 

Ok so I managed to have both cards installed.
Main = Prema V2 bios
2nd = Stock bios

Windows Version : 8.1 x64
Bios : A12 unlocked
GPU mode : PEG

I have no option for SLI in Nvidia control panel...
What is the latest no throttling drivers that you guys recommend ?
My last check gives me this : 368.25
https://www.techinferno.com/index.p...dded-inf/&page=50&tab=comments#comment-143321

EDIT : SLI is working now. Did clean DDU + A12 unlocked + 368.25 PEG driver.

Last question : what is this Optimus / PEG talk I hear about ? is it related to the AW18 with 980m SLI ?

Thank you

 

A bit low score for now : P14 854 with a stock 4810MQ.

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/13149948

 

If you're looking for a CPU upgrade, you could go 4910MQ and get one core up to 4.3GHz, or you could go for one of the extreme processors 4930MX/4940MX and get all 4 cores at 4.3GHz+ with proper cooling.

But keep in mind the upgrade will more than likely be minor when it comes to gaming.

 

True Dat ! And there will be the problem of power ... I have a 330 W PSU but yesterday Furmark made my laptop shutdown after 30 seconds of full screen mode ... and none of my stuff is overclocked...

Edit : is prema's V2 OCed ?

 

Yes, Prema's v2 will pull a bit more power over the stock VBIOS. However, I do not think that is enough to trip a power throttle...

Previously, I did have both of my 980m's with Prema's v2 VBIOS and had my 4910m over clocked to 4.3 and was able to use Futuremark without issues.

Might be something else?

 

where should I look ?

 

You can use HWiNFO64 to log the system, once it kicks you, you can open that log and see the reason. Could be temperature as Prima's VBIOS will make the card run HOT.

 

Hi all:

The link to download the Linux image to unbrick LCD is not available.

Does anyone know where I can find it?

Thank you.