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    5870m and the m15x

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Ovenmitt, May 8, 2012.

  1. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Upgrading from a 260m and was wondering if this card is just plug and play?
     
  2. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Anyone help me out please?
     
  3. King of Interns

    King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast

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    Yup should be plug n play. I assume you know how to change the card?
    If you haven't got a card yet perhaps might be an idea to wait awhile as the 7970M is releasing now and in a couple of months the low power but 6970M performing 7870M will hit the market.
     
  4. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    If it's a Dell 5870M, then it's pretty much plug and play. If it's a Clevo card, it's a bit more involved because PowerPlay doesn't work and fans can be erratic, which results in higher temps. There are workarounds. If it's a Dell 5870M (originally intended for an M17x-R2), it must use the older (original) vbios or the screen will be distorted and effectively unusable in an M15x. A lot of available Dell 5870M cards have been flashed to the revised vbios and must be reversed. It's an easy fix if you know what the problem is.

    Here's an excellent (if very long) thread that covers every aspect of using a 5870M in the M15x. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/474717-m15x-ati-5870-mod.html. If you should come across a Dell 5850M in your searches, grab it. That card is relatively rare now, but it was the real star of the 5800M series, worked perfectly in the M15x (it was designed for it) and was a ferocious overclocker.
     
  5. ASCI_Blue

    ASCI_Blue Notebook Consultant

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    Wait, wat the 5850 is a overclocking monster? might have to try that.
     
  6. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Check out the old M15x benchmarking leaderboard. Scroll down to the 5850M section and take a look at the scores posted, with links to SS's showing the settings used. You can also compare them to 5870M scores right above. The Dell 5850M is a great card; it's actually identical to the 5870M, but downclocked, yet it just seemed to work better. One of my all-time favorite graphics cards. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...5x-benchmark-thread-part-2-a.html#post6781257.
     
  7. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Yeah I got the 5850 in my m15x, but my bro needs a new card and cant find a 5850 and saw a handful of 5870s on ebay. Wish I could find a 5850 and yeah I upgraded mine from the 260m as well and feel comfortable doing it although I've never flashed bios on a GPU before.