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    Hd5850

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Ovenmitt, Dec 19, 2011.

  1. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    After my failed attempt at speaking with a good rep at Dell I'm going to call again today. My question is that if I get them to sell me a 5850 is there anything else I need to get from them as far as backplates or pads? From everything I read it sounds like 5850 is the best bang for your buck....I'm upgrading from a 260m.
     
    Ovenmitt, Dec 19, 2011
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  2. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    Just use the backplate from your 260m for the 5850m, that's what I did. Be careful taking the backplate off, otherwise you could risk snapping your card. You can also use the same heatsink already in the laptop. Basically just a plug and play, with AMD drivers of course. Use driver sweeper in safe mode to remove all nvidia stuff, then boot normally and install AMD drivers (11.7 seem like the best ones, a few people have said the 12.1 are good also).
     
    khetik, Dec 20, 2011
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  3. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Well now I'm torn between going with the 5850...or the 6970....seems like every time I go through the forums I change my mind lol...+rep for the response!
     
    Ovenmitt, Dec 20, 2011
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  4. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    I was in the same boat as you when I upgraded my gpu. My reasoning for getting the 5850m was that I knew it could hold me over til ivy bridge and the new amd/nvidia gpus. Also, wouldn't have to worry bout power issues, and a cheap upgrade for excellent performance.
     
    khetik, Dec 20, 2011
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  5. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Yeah I think the 5850 is probably better for me since its cheaper and pretty much a plug and play....where did you get your card from? Tried to call Dell the other day and had terrible luck...going to try again tomorrow.
     
    Ovenmitt, Dec 20, 2011
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  6. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    I don't know if dell even have them in stock anymore. I got mine from a user on NBR, someone else just sold one with a heatsink for $100 just recently. So you could always look around the marketplace. The way I got mine from here, was that a user was upgrading his laptop gpu from a 5850 to something else, and I just offered to buy his 5850 even though he didn't put it up for sale. You could always try that, what's the worst that could happen?
     
    khetik, Dec 20, 2011
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  7. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    ok i'll try that and see if I can find one....never bought anything from someone like that. Just paypal it? Are there any other tips I should consider?
     
    Ovenmitt, Dec 20, 2011
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  8. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    also do I need a new heatsink or pads or anything? And whats a fair price? Thanks man really appreciate the quick and great responses...would give you more rep if I could =D
     
    Ovenmitt, Dec 20, 2011
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  9. luigimario01

    luigimario01 Notebook Geek

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    I would assume $150-200 would be a fair price for a used 5850m. Dell sells the refurbished units for around $300.
     
    luigimario01, Dec 21, 2011
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  10. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Ovenmitt, Dec 21, 2011
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  11. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    I've seen them on NBR for about $100-150 (got mine for $150 shipped), and being that ebay is more expensive $200 seems about right. You can use your current thermal pads as long as they are in good shape, and also the same heatsink/backplate.

    Try to get some pictures from the person before purchasing as well. Not to get you mixed up with the cards again, but a 6970m can be had for $325-400. Don't know what your budget is, but just throwing that out there.
     
    khetik, Dec 21, 2011
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  12. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Yeah I was just thinking about getting something plug and play, but I think you just swayed me to the 6970m lol.
     
    Ovenmitt, Dec 21, 2011
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