Area 51 M17x Upgrade thread.

The original thread was moved to help it along, all the bugs are ironed out and its dieing in the hardware section so Ill link it here. In summary I successfully have 2xGTX280m's running in my Area 51 M17x.

Here it is
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...a-51-m17x-dual-gtx280m-project-thread-14.html

 

that's a great upgrade

if the m17 could be unlocked it could be awsome

 

Just posted on the original thread. I just purchased Need For Speed Shift II and it is playing the game maxed out at between 28-45 FPS depending on numbers of cars on track and environment Temps are 63 for master and 50 for slave.

 

Now running 600, 1450, 875 clocks!

 

PS, what are the clocks of the Dell AW M17 GTX280m?

 

585 core 1000 memory

Can't you go higher on the memory? My 280m did 950 stable, my 3700m even did 1.1ghz.


How did you manage to get higher clocks? Bios editing?

I currently have a 8600m inside, i have 3 heatsinks so removed the standoffs on 1 and ductapped the 8600m to the heatsink.

Sold my 280m, ordered a 8800m gtx (fancontrol) but it's stuck at customs somehow :s

 

I adjusted the voltage to 1.05 and viola higher clocks! Im currently rocking 585, 1500, 950. The HAWXII benchmark that I had been using doesn't like overclock cards and crashes. Real games like the new need for speed shift II love it!!! 35 FPS all the time with jumps to 50FPS. Duke nukem maxed out is a breeze. Going to purchase Crysis II this weekend. Ill report back.

ps,
Im using EGA afterburner to adjust clock speeds, and nbitor to modify the BIOs so I can get 1.05V.

 

Funny thing happened, had stealth mode on, didn't realize it. I was stumped for an hour trying to figure out why my fps were so bad. Oh well, back to working on 600+ clocks . The original beast lives!

 

Well Im calling this long grand experiment a success. With 1.05v 600/1500/900 clocks the old girl is a beast. Ive down clocked it to 570/1400/855 to make it game all day stable. Been playing Need for speed Shift II maxed out. Avg FPS of 35. And yes it plays Crysis II, all day long! With all settings on ultra, no V sync, and shadows on their lowest settings I get 25 FPS constant with max of about 50FPS. Ive dropped Crysis II down to 1680 and get an avg of 35 FPS. No need for a M18X yet! And temps, hah max temp of 69 on the master and 55 on the slave.

I cant go higher than 600 on both cards, the computer instantly goes to 2D clocks, if someone knew how to mod my BIOS to alow such or has ideas, this thing would be a super beast!

 

Guessing on of your cards is a bad overclocker.

I had a 280m for a weeks weeks and it did 640ish core clocks furmark stable

 

I thought the same thing. So a few weeks ago I flashed both cards back to GTX280m and ran each by them selves. With one card I can overclock each one to 650/1550 with out issues. But 1 GTX280 < than both running 9800m BIOs at 570/1450 in SLI.

 

What about a single 280m with the 9800m bios?

 

I never tried just one with the 9800m BIOs, Ill try and report back.

 

Same as GTX280m single. Got to 650 just fine. I didnt try any higher as I dont want to hurt the cards.

I cant leave enough alone. Been using 585/1467/950 man these cards rock. Fall Out 3 NV is awesome with these cards, outside im seeing 65 FPS with native res and settings maxed. When the characters are indoor it goes to over 100fps, im loving it.

 

What's your 3dmark vantage gpu score?

Not sure what i'll do with my m17x, currently using it as a portable gaming rig / watching videos on my room (main rig is a an 3.8ghz x6 + 570 gtx, no laptop can beat this really )

Really tempted to sell this one (after fixing it 100%, maybe your barebone/cover etc ) and grabbing an alienware m15x with a 6990m!

 

Does this notebook work with ATI cards?
Like this:
ASUS W90 HD4870 1GB DDR3 MXM III VGA Card [W90] - $224.99- laptop-ac-adapter.org

 

12,000 I think it is being held back by the CPU its only the 2.5 non extreme.

It should work with ATI cards that are MXM II, but I do not know if anyone has tried. The link you says MXM III but the picture is of a card with the MXM II format.

 

In the pics it's actually an MXM 2.1 type III ati 3870, they used the wrong pic.

I believe what they are trying to sell is an MXM 2.1 type HE ati 4870 (because that's what belongs in an Asus w90).

I'm guessing the heatsinks wont fit though..

 

My wife owns an ASUS W90 and I've actually tried to fit those into my Area 51 m17x, moral hazard; and you're right, the heatsinks will not fit the cards without any major modification. Thought to give a new lease on life on my A51 m17x with those, but I ended up getting a 280MGTX from another member on these boards and am happy with the results. Fan control not withstanding, the single 280MGTX outperforms the SLI 8800MGTXs I was originally running.

 

Update, with the new NVIDIA 290.xx beta drivers I can clock the GPUs up to 590/1560/990. However, there is no noticeable improvement in games. The system is playing the newest games at Native Res. with the clocks at 550/1463/950 NS Shift II and Crysis are maxed out. BF3 is quite the resource hog, Im playing it on native res high settings and maintaining at least 30FPS. The old girl is doing great, max temp gpu to this date is 78. I highly recommend this mod to those of you with this older beast.

PS
Thinking about selling, wife is pregnant. Let me know if any of you are interested.