8970m in m15x

Ill admit I have little knowledge concerning the likelyhood of this. But my card showed to not match in the vbios so I don't know what to do.

 

Oops. Just saw that it's for clevos only. So that explains it. Still I can't understand why our cards are acting so out of the ordinary.

 

Hey! Great news! I've modified the stock bios you posted to tech inferno and flashed my vbios on my 8970m. It now runs at .975v at 900/1250 clocks the temps get a little high but my laptop no longer shuts down. I'm gonna adjust my fan speed to compensate. Would you like me to give you the vbios?

 

I heard about how some are flashing the 8970M bios on 7970M cards. They use the same GPU. I thought that this may be the case, so I looked up the number on the GPU die and it seems like it is from the 8970M. I looked up the number for the 7970M and it didn't match. It seems like dell is selling the R290X M option on their M17-18x lines. It seems like the 8970M default boost voltages are 1.075V. You have to use the base clocks to see 1.025V. Even then, any form of heavy GPU usage will result in heat issues and auto shut offs.

It seems like re pasting the gpu and adding the copper heatsinks helped a bit, but with constant 90%+ usage it will shut off. I personally think If we can get our cards to use 0.975V or 1.0V with a clock of 850/1250, we should be fine with temps.

You can find your GPU info from using the GPU-Z 0.7.8 program from techpowerup. It will allow you to see what bios version you have and even save a backup of your bios which I think you should have. Post your info once you get it.

I saw that post too about the bioses and the reason why I didn't try it because the version I had was from Dell. It got my hopes up, but I am really hoping SVL7 comes back and gives me some great news!

 

I fixed it man! My card works now!

 

What did you do? What are your temps? What vbios do you have and what subvendor?

 

I used your vbios and modified it to run at .975v at 900/1250. I flashed my 8970m to test and it works. My temps with custom auto in hwinfo64 show 60 under load in cinebench. I'm about to run 3dmark11 I'll post P score in a sec.

 

I'll give you a link to the modified vbios I made. It did not brick my 8970m. I'll make myself responsible if it damages your card but the chances are nil. https://www.mediafire.com/?me18mr79iue0774

 

Well I can't finish a 3dmark11 p score. My temps reach 89c and It cuts out. I think better cooling for this gpu is very necessary. I may try a modified heat sink from my m18x. I'm gonna repaste with IC Diamond first and see if it helps.

 

You are the man! I tried the bios you gave and although it does not respond at 0.975V, it now operates at 1.0V. I am going to do further testing but I am going to see if I can modify the back cover to allow more airflow to it. I will post results. Maybe I am doing something wrong? Why does it operate at 1.0V vs 0.975V?

 

That's strange. It shouldn't I set the vbios to be at .975 at 850/1250+. My voltage doesn't go above .975. Are you using hwinfo to monitor?

 

Okay, I disabled AMD Overdrive and it went to 900/1250 @ 0.975V I would hug you if I could! I am taking care of something right now, but I will be sure to test this out later! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Is there a reason why it is running at 900/1250 instead of 850/1250?

 

I re-pasted with IC Diamond and my temps are 70c max under 100% load in 3dmark11. Pscore 6657 at 900/1250. I'm pretty sure my heat sink is not meeting with the card properly. The screws stop short. I'm gonna modify an amd heat sink for a 7970m out of a m18x. Might as well go with the best fit.

 

I set it at 900. That's the turbo rate. I set max at 1050.

 

Oh my god! I never thought I would see the day that my M15x would finish the 3DMark 11 benchmark! It has not shut off yet! I will test some games out and see how it goes. I also did a little jerry rigging to the back cover and added copper heatsinks to the CPU and GPU heatsinks. I will post pics soon. THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN for your help Eepo! I gotta buy you a beer sometime!

 

As promised, I have modded my back cover and added some pictures. I don't know if it has changed temps yet. Would cable ties be safe with the temps this machine can get? What would be a nice alternative? King, what do you think?

 

Guys you need to change the clocks to 850/1200 then at 0.975v then you won't really see much more than 70c at full load.


On the go from my iPod touch

 

I can make another bios to flash our cards to if that would be best. Are the temperatures that different at 850/1200? right now I top out at 77c with a not fully clamped down gpu. I'm modifying a gpu heat sink to better facilitate the heat outputs. Did you solder those copper plates to the heat sink or did you just paste them down? I'm not sure the additional mass would contribute to the dissipation of heat enough. Copper transfers heat very well since it's so dense but without anywhere else for the heat to be funneled and expelled by a fan then it may just store heat at a higher rate nearer the cpu and gpu. It's worth a shot let me know if you see a difference.

 

I think I need to try 800/1200. At 900/1250 and 95% GPU usage it still climbs to 85C+ and shuts off. Granted it takes a while to reach that speed. If I set a frame limiter to 60FPS, GPU usage goes down and the it's not as bad. But the moment the GPU sees 90%+ GPU usage, it gets really hot. The heatsinks came with a thermal adhesive. Would these heatsinks be better off somewhere else? I also have a notebook cooler I am modifying to add airflow to the CPU and GPU area. Once I get all my fans in the mail, I will modify and see where it goes. I will post pics of that as well as I progress. Eepo, how will you use a modified heatsink and make it fit to work with the M15x? Would it cool it better? If it does, where and how can I do this? If you can...can you make a vBios for 850/1200 @ 0.975V? Thanks in advance!

 

I'll cook up a bios at 850/1200 but I don't see a significant drop in temps at that speed. I think the issue is the heat sink is not making proper or adequate contact with the card. I just purchased a full heat sink from dell with all the thermal pads in place for the 7970m which is the exact same physically as the 8970m. It's the right side heat sink from a m18x r1/r2 and it is oriented in the correct direction as far as the copper piping is concerned. The issue is that they are bent in the opposite direction and there are three of them. I am going to modify my current heat sink in the m15x so that the new one i put in will have the better mating surfaces of the m18x heat sink but the shape and length of the piping and the radiator from my current m15x heat sink. Basically I'm going to cut them in half and weld the two together using 96.5% SN/3% AG/.5% CU solder which should have a thermal rating of ~60 m/wk. If it works it should transfer heat just as well if not a little less but the difference is that the card will actually be transfer more heat to the actual heat sink due to the better mating surfaces and thus retain and build less heat.

You may want to check your heat sink. I've managed to get my temps under control by using IC diamond and pressing the heat sink down onto the GPU firmly after bolting it down. I don't break 77c at heavy load. the problem is it's just a band aid eventually the thermal compound will spread out as the gap between the surfaces increases just like I noticed the first time I pasted it using AC5. Even if it doesn't dislodge I'd rather have the piece of mind from a properly mated heat sink and gpu.

 

Oh wow your approach is very different to mine. I use velcro on the outside of the cover and use it to attach either fans or the mesh with opposing velcro. Whichever I need.

 

Why can't you use the stock M15x heatsink. It works well! At 0.975V at stock 850/1200 I have yet to temps past 69/70C after gaming in ambient temps of 25C.

You just need to have the correct AMD x bracket.

 

Hey King, do you think your method would cool the machine better? Do you have any suggestions I can do or try to get temps cooler with mods? If Eepo can give me a vBios that uses 850/1200, I would love to try it. King, does your temps reach past 70C even after your GPU hitting constant 90/95%+ usage? I see my CPU OC'ing to 3.2Ghz which is what is giving my GPU the horsepower to hit 99% usage. The problem is, when it is using that much power, it gets really hot. Maybe your temps are reaching only 70C due to your additional mods? Was it that temp before you added all those heatsinks and fans?

Eepo, I used Artic Silver Nano Diamond 7. Is this good enough? Antec FORMULA 7 Thermal Compound - Newegg.com Does IC diamond work better? What do you suggest I do to increase cooling to the GPU? I just don't want to worry about my card getting hot enough to shut down while GPU loads are heavy. I am prepared to take a clock hit if necessary.

 

I think we have an issue with surfaces not meeting so that's why we are seeing these temps. The ac7 you used is fine. Does your heat sink bolt down to the card well? If not then open it up and re paste but this time press your heat sink down a bit before you seal it up.

Hey king which x bracket do you recommend because I have the stock amd one for the 7970m. If its a simple part then I will just use that for a while.

 

Your temps shouldn't be going so high milk. You can always under clock to 800/1200 using software but I don't think it will help much. Flashing a vbios can be risky so if it's just a clock speed mod I recommend you use afterburner.

 

My cpu clocks up to minimum 3.6ghz (4 cores) and up to 4ghz (1 core) now that I have overvolted it. I have no fans blowing directly on the GPU now and even removed the old ram sinks I used to have on it.

Yes in FC3 GPU usage runs around 98-100% at all times with all settings on maximum except AA. Last night after over an hour gaming the max temp reported on GPUz was 70C. The night before it was 69C. If I were to do the same trick I have now done to my cpu I can easily imagine running around 60C max. Just no real need to do so at the moment as games run so well at stock clocks.

At 1.05V with a fan blowing on it my 7970M runs at around 75C max. Although with improvements in mind I think I can get that closer to 70C even in summer. However I have no current intentions in flashing back to that voltage, if anything I might do the modifications and see if I can finally run 0.95V which up to this point has been a tad unstable. I need this card to last me at least one more year. Then perhaps I can upgrade. Perhaps not.

 

Eepo, as you can see from the pictures...the heatsink sits properly into the GPU die. I have the X-Bracket that came with the 8970. I don't see a reason why we should be getting this high of temps when we have a properly seated heatsink and good Thermal Compound. I get idle temps as low as 27C when I have my jerry rigged notebook cooler fans on full blast. With the cooling mod, I can play a bit longer before the temps go past 83C+. But even at 0.975V and 850/1200...temps still reach 85C+ for some strange reason. I have no idea why. The card runs great, just runs too hot,

King, I saw your post on the Pin mod for the 920XM. I am intrigued but I need to solve my GPU heat issue first. I think 3.2Ghz on the CPU is more than enough for me right now compared to the old 720QM lmfao. I don't know the difference between the 7970M and the 8970M....they use the same chip. We are not even factoring in the clock speeds and the voltages because I am using almost the exact speed and voltages as you. I'm just trying to figure out why this card is getting so damn hot! I am trying to understand how your temps never hit above 70C on full load, but my 8970M shuts off due to heat using the same settings and hardware. AMD? Haha.

 

Sell and get the 7970m in the marketplace.


On the go from my iPod touch

 

I would have to sell it and pay fees and such. it seems like a hassle to sell on ebay. I added a few more fans to my notebook cooler and after an hour of bioshock it hasn't hit past 80C. I have 3x120mm fans and 1x 80mm fan blowing air to that sucker...I'm just worried that I won't be able to game without the behemoth notebook cooler. When I travel with my "Portable" laptop, I wouldn't be able to play any games. I have to figure out why this card gets so hot...or think of another mod to the heatsink or something. This is ridiculous...

 

Mine doesn't get that hot. I am seeing 64 to 79c under load. I switched to my 330w psu and my throttling issues are gone. give me a bit to try this other heat sink and ill let you know what's up.

 

If you are using the stock heat sink and the stock xbracket then there is a gap between the die and the heatsink because the posts on our xbracket are longer than the stock ones. that's what i mean by the surfaces not meeting correctly. This heatsink I am getting should fix the issue. It'll just take a bit of work. Milk try this stuff on your cpu. It gives me really good temps on my 2920xm it's just a little different to apply. you can try it on the card if you got different screws and it may bring your temps down more. http://www.amazon.com/Coollaboratory-Liquid-Thermal-Interface-Material/dp/B0039RY3MM

 

It has to be a really snug fit though because the compound is liquid metal. If the gap is too large then the compound won't work well.

 

What kind of heatsink are you going to get? Where can I get one? I am a little scared to use liquid metal because it's conductive. Last thing I want to do is short out my GPU. I have enough experience to apply it, but I dunno. Is there really a difference between that stuff and IC Diamond?

 

Yes there is but is it worth the risk! I am still surprised how hot this card runs. Could it be the additional Vram?

 

Just be careful and everything will be fine. If you spill any of it just use qtips dipped in alcohol and it will come right up. I think it may be the additional vram. Ill link a picture of the heat sink ill be using. It is for the right side amd gpu on an m18x. Its gonna require some modification but hopefully I can just desolder the pipes from the copper center piece on both heat sinks and swap over the radiator and piping from the m15x. Its either that or it will be a lot of cutting and soldering. I cant guarantee that it will work it will require modification so you may want to wait until I have worked the kinks out. But if you do buy one get one from dell. They sell them with the thermal pads in place for 22.99 free shipping.
http:// http://m.ebay.com/itm/Alienware-amd-Video-Card-M18x-R1-R2-Right-Heat-Sink-100W-6990m-7970m-029NC1-/160973858657

 

I'm surprised too. It shouldn't get that hot if the 7970M is cooler by a lot. I ordered the liquid metal TIC. I hope and pray to god I don't fry my GPU. How long does it take for the stuff to cure? I hear this stuff eats away at copper and also dries up within a year? I will wait till you get your heatsink and figure out how to fit it Eepo. I would rather see how you do it and figure out how to replicate it later. I notice how much of a bottleneck the CPU is, I tried playing FFXIV without throttlestop and it was lagging like crazy. I turned on TS and it's silky smooth. At this point, I just don't want to have to play in windowed mode to monitor temps when I play games. I just don't want heat issues, I can deal with a performance hit at this point.

 

Don't worry it'll work.

 

Hey Milk what kind of PSU are you using? and yes it does eat into copper but no worries the heatsinks are cheap and they will withstand several applications. The compound kit comes with a scrubber mat that will refinish the copper easily. The compound may scuff up the cpu a tiny bit but it's just residue and you can use acid to wipe it right off if you are brave enough. haha but it doesn't hurt a thing. The reason I ask about the psu is that when I was using my 240w I ran into throttling issues that were causing my card and cpu to downclock. Now with my 330w they both run at full speed but my temps are better then yours. Modded skyrim runs at 60 or better frames and I can play for hours with my card and my cpu in the 70's.

 

I also just ran a 3dmark 11 and max temp on my card was 67c and max on my cpu was 82c at 3.3ghz with no throttling. Average was 65 to 72 on cpu.

 

I am glad! Eeposaurus. Good thing you seem very handy with hardware!

 

Thank you sir! I am trying to get on your level.

 

I'm using the 240W PSU. I will return it and I ordered the 330W version. I didn't notice any throttling, but If it will help with the temps... Is acid okay to clean the CPU die without damaging it? Do you think it will be okay to put the Liquid Metal TIC on the GPU die? Does your 8970M run cooler now that you have the 330W PSU? Or is it because of the liquid metal TIC? Is it normal that when I run Google Chrome, my GPU clocks at 450/1250 @ .900V and hits 49-50C?

 

Have you tried flicking on stealth mode it might just force downclock your 8970M to 2D clocks.

 

Far better than I. I have never touched a soldering iron!

 

Yes the acid will not damage it as long as you use it to clean the stain quickly but honestly it wouldn't get on there until after some time with heavy use if ever. Yes the compound is safe I use it on my 2920xm and it runs cool. It's use is well documented on the forums. I haven't repasted with the LM TIC yet I'm waiting until Thursday when I plan on modding the heat sink I linked earlier. I'll report my temps and procedure on the forums incase any one else wants to try it. Your load determines your speed because your load determines your temp so normal web use may put you at those numbers. It's not out of the norm. I will say that at idle my temps are 32c on my gpu. My cpu however hits 46 to 52 at idle so she runs hot and as soon as I get the LM TIC in the mail I'll re paste it and report temp difference. As far as the psu is concerned I notice a difference in temps but I think it's just because of the throttling. It may stress the system and it's components if the system is starved for power but I don't know if that drives up heat or not. I will say that since our setups are very similar it couldn't hurt to try it out.

 

I'm not concerned with my CPU temps as they are okay. My main concern is the GPU temps. I ordered the Liquid Metal TIC, will try it when I get it. Are you sure that acid will not damage the GPU die when I try to clean it?

 

Dangerous stuff!

My next card will be a mid range card! 20nm-15nm next year will bring such huge performance gains I think the M15x won't need the most powerful 100W tdp chip anymore.

 

You say that but I can see both red and green teams reserving 20nm just for their top-end cards and keeping the rest of the lineup 28nm. Yes Maxwell and Tonga will be more efficient and cooler but I can't see midrange being 20nm too. 28nm is a much cheaper manufacturing process apparently.



Sent from my One S using Tapatalk

 

You may be right there! They might just skip 20nm....

Hey you wanna do a bit of coop far cry 3?

 

No if you do it correctly it'll be fine. But seriously man don't clean the residue off. It won't hurt a thing. It's just staining on the die and it won't effect the function or transfer of heat unless it gets really bad. Treat this like a TV dinner. Just set it and forget it.