Just bought a 5870 from Dell and I have a few questions

As the title reads I just ordered a 5870 for my system and I was wondering a couple things. I've done graphics card installs on Alienwares before so I know what I am doing but is it as simple as popping in the graphics card and installing the drivers. I did read the thread that was linked in the new m15x owners about the 5870 but I still don't understand how people did it or the necessary steps to ensure that it works. Also what do temps look like on idle and load? Are they so hot that I should consider canceling my order and going with a 5850 instead? Thanks for the responses and help in advance!

 

If your system bios level is a08 or higher you should be ok. Personally I would un-install the nvidia drivers FIRST and make sure the reg is clean. Then physically change the hardware and then install the ATI drivers. Take the opportunity to clean the heat sync and use some new (high quality) thermal paste and you should be good to go.

StevenX

 

^^^ Agree with StevenX. Plus, temps should not be an issue with a Dell 5870; in fact, temps should be very similar to a 5850. The heat issues were related to the Clevo 5870's which can not run PowerPlay and therefore ran at full 3d clocks all of the time unless manually downclocked. Compared to the 260, your M15x will feel like a new machine.

 

everything steven and rev said. i also recommend getting good thermal paste and pads for the 5870.

 

Thanks guys for the responses. Will do everything mentioned and hopefully all goes well :-D I am very excited for this card lol.

 

You'll love the card. Considering that the 5850 and 5870 are practically identical I can tell you that the card temperature should be fine as long as you follow what the previous posts mention. Have fun over clocking that puppy =D

 

Lol thanks. I probably won't overclock right away but regardless I'm sure it'll blow my 260m out of the water... And then some hahaha. Another question though if I upgraded my processor to a 920xm would I experience throttling issues. I did search around but I couldn't find any posts saying yes or saying no. And also would a processor upgrade benefit my set up. If not should I spend the money on a memory upgrade instead?

 

Has any one flashed a 5870 bios to a 5850 or vice versa? if not i may try it. The only real difference is the clocks right?

 

DR- i have asked about this before and nobody has yet. If you could use a 5850 and the 5870 bios that would be cool.

 

Guy named ccolin01 up in the sticky A09 Bios thread flashed a 5870 with a 5850 vbios by mistake. All seems to be working well. His problem is that he would like to flash it back if it can be done safely, which I have no doubt it could be, but he has no clue how to proceed and not much to build on, a perfect candidate for a bad flash. I sent him a 5870 vbios extracted from the M17x-R2 vbios upgrade file, but he has no idea what to do with it and I am wary about trying to lead him through it.

 

The only difference in the clocks, I wouldnt flash it, if I were you.

 

ccolin001 wants it to say 5870 in GPU-Z instead of 5850 as it does now after the flash. Resale value maybe.

 

I'm going to revert it back to 5870 vbios, but for benching I just need a 5850 vbios, for GPU-Z. Not looking for anything performance wise. Just extra hardware.

 

Haha the only person I can think of that may have more insight is Mandrake, he has worked on all of these cards.

 

Well...(obviously there's a ****** in linkin park ) Wish me luck, I'm going to man up and give it a shot. Maybe be posting in 20 min that I need to call Dell in the am... hahaha

 

I'd love to find out if you could flash a 5850 with a 5870 bios...

Just for the sake of saying i have a 5870. They're identical cards anyway, right?

=D

 

@DR - What Happened? Did it work out?

Hope all is well. StevenX