The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    7970 drivers

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by emery1000, Mar 30, 2015.

  1. emery1000

    emery1000 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    So i just ordered a 7970 for my m15x to replace the nvidia 240m i have. I was wondering what kind of drivers or what I'm going to have to get to install it and get it working properly
     
  2. UPGI2AYDD

    UPGI2AYDD Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    21
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Well... Since you're asking about drivers and what you need to install it, I'm going to assume you know nothing and need the full story. If not the case, bare with me lol...

    1) You need a x-clamp/spreader if it did not come with your card you ordered. They are usually card and brand specific, so your 240M one will not work. Verify yours has one or order one.

    2) It's extremely important you purchase some IC Diamond thermal compound. I've tried to use whatever I had (Arctic Silver), while it will "work", IC Diamond will ensure the BEST results.

    3) It's extremely important you purchase a thermal pad. A 100mm x 100mm sheet of 1.0mm density is enough for the job. You'll need to cut it to fit all the capacitors and memory. We can supply you with an image on the locations to place the pads.

    Once you have those three items you are ready to install the card. Simple procedure if you ever handled any computer hardware internally before. If you are in doubt, there are LOTS of video on YouTube that I won't bother writing out since a picture is worth a thousand words.

    After you've installed the card and the system boots up properly, assuming you've uninstalled your Nvidia drivers BEFORE installing the AMD card, all you need to do is go to the AMD website and download the latest Notebook/Mobile drivers. As of right now 14.12 OMEGA are the newest.

    Keep a ever close eye on your temperatures. Use any tool you prefer, HWiNFO, MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z, your choice. Ensure your card doesn't not exceed the 85* C thermal shut down. I'm still figuring out the happy zones for this card but 80* seems to be the hottest you'll want to run it at peak.

    You'll more than likely find the card running warmer than desired, the solution is to under-volt the card. Slv7 has made an AWESOME package of vBIOS files you can use to flash to the card. He's included everything from under-volt to over-volt, as well as overclocked configurations. But we'll touch base on this once you gathered everything and ready to rock and roll.

    Consider a CPU and Power Supply upgrade in the future. You'll want a 210 or 240 watt power supply to feed the card and anything less than a 920XM i7 processor will in some situations bottleneck your graphics card from peak potential. So keep an eye out for a 920XM or 940XM if you have anything less... Trust me I know I'm currently using a 740QM.
     
  3. emery1000

    emery1000 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Well thank you alot you answeres my question perfectly!
     
  4. emery1000

    emery1000 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    One last question, will this work with my m15x?

    Seagate 1TB Laptop SSHD SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 2.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive (ST1000LM014)
     
  5. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

    Reputations:
    3,658
    Messages:
    6,874
    Likes Received:
    969
    Trophy Points:
    281
    That one should work like a charm.