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    M15x GPU Thread: General Discussion on Upgrades, GPU Troubleshooting & Repairs

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Jeehan, Jun 28, 2011.

  1. Jeehan

    Jeehan Notebook Enthusiast

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  2. miahsoul

    miahsoul Notebook Deity

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    Well we pulled through with the 470M, I'm certain that there's a good chance for the 570M and 580M for they run cooler and draw less power while using the same architecture as the 4XXs.
     
  3. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    I will paypal $50 to the first person who tries it.
     
  4. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    ^^Oh really? Bring it on! Maybe...
     
  5. Jeehan

    Jeehan Notebook Enthusiast

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    ha ha, yea it would be real nice to run that card with stability. I started to hate Dell because they abandoned m15x.
     
  6. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Paypal me $750 and I'll do it :D

    Anyway... I haven't heard any confirmations about the used architecture, but the 580m has the same core count as the 485m as well as the same memory bus, seems to be a very similar architecture.

    The 570m has more cores than the 470m, but my guess is that the architecture is similar as well.

    The GTX 470m has a GF104 architecture, and it doesn't work flawlessly in the M15x... so I have my doubts about M15x getting these two new Nvidia working in the old faithful, but of course it needs to be tested to say anything reliable about the compatibility.

    Since Dell uses the card I think chances are that it works... as far as the power consum is within 6970m levels, but I have some doubts because of the problems with the 470m.

    The card's gonna cost a lot... I guess almost twice the price of a 6970m for a 580m.
    Most interesting option imo is the 570m... would be great to get my hands on such a card and put it in the M15x... :) But it'll be similar priced to the 470m I guess, which was more expensive than a 6970m as well.
     
  7. TheHighlightGuy

    TheHighlightGuy Notebook Consultant

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    "The GTX 580M takes the place of the GTX 485M, and NVIDIA's bragging that it's the "fastest notebook GPU ever," capable, we're told, of besting the Radeon HD 6970M's tesselation performance by a factor of six." - Engadget
    Hmm...if only...
     
  8. Hobgoblinpie

    Hobgoblinpie Notebook Evangelist

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    No.

    Don't want to sound defeatist, but the M15x will simply suffer if someone manages to get it to work. It's just not going to happen.
     
  9. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    I'm serious. First person that tries to get a 570m or 580m in their machine gets $50 from me as long as they can prove it. Doesn't matter whether it works or not.
     
  10. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    I may be getting a M17x R3 if my money all adds up correct and if I do, I'll get it with a 580m which I will try in the M15x for you guys.
     
  11. Saltius

    Saltius Notebook Evangelist

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    There should be more than plug and play.

    At least one should wait for the software support to editing 580m's vbios.
     
  12. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    The M15x can take almost anything, you guys were blessed.
    I'm pretty sure it's doable!

    Good luck to whoever tries it.
     
  13. Belowzero78

    Belowzero78 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Smart idea, I'm probably doing the same thing :p
     
  14. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    How about a 560m GTX, anyone willing to donate a few bucks for me to try this?
     
  15. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    I'm pretty sure it will work, apparently almost the same architecture, but they're calling it GF116 instead of GF106. Though the benchmarks I've seen so far show a stock vantage score below the GTX 470m... so it's not worth it imo.
    570m would be really interesting, but I'm afraid there may be similar problems like with the 470m... maybe with the Dell version...?
     
  16. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    So, we are finally here, I have a 580m inbound ready to try. Looking forward to that $50 :D
     
  17. xeroxide

    xeroxide Notebook Deity

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    go go widezu69!
    while i'd love to see it work, i have serious doubts since it's such a power hog. the power limitations of the m15x will be too much i think.

    maybe with an i3 or something? lol
    or even better (if it were possible...) an intel atom rotfl.
    now that would be a funny sight, intel atom + 580m.
     
  18. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    Looking forward to you earning that $50. ;)
     
  19. Villosa

    Villosa Notebook Deity

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    Looking forward to the results widezu69.
     
  20. elflegolas

    elflegolas Notebook Consultant

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    is it the power consum of the 580m is 120w?
     
  21. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    get it from eurocom for usd 869, -
    a bit overpriced huh? I think I can wait a year :D
     
  22. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    For what i have been reading the 580M performs up to 57% better than
    560M !!!! I just checked the driver(280.26) and that supports it already.

    GO GO GO

    Looking forward to seeing your results soooooooon !
     
  23. toltek

    toltek Notebook Guru

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    How power hungry is this thing exactly i wonder )
     
  24. Villosa

    Villosa Notebook Deity

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    Should not be more than the 6990M at stock is my best guess. Should work well with non OCed CPUs.
     
  25. DraZziW

    DraZziW Notebook Consultant

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    the m15x would be beastin'; did anyone try the original 6990 with the m15x?
     
  26. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    I have a GPU similar to the 6990m almost identical. I use it and it's fine if I have both CPU and GPU clocks stock. Great performance. I haven't got a better PSU so I run into shutdowns when benching with high clocks.
    Will update when I have the 580m.
     
  27. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    What timeframe is this? I might have one in 1-2 months from now
     
  28. Mexic00ls

    Mexic00ls Notebook Deity

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    is it a dell version? really looking forward to this, since im planning to upgrade the video card on my rig before October.

    fingers crossed :)
     
  29. xeroxide

    xeroxide Notebook Deity

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    i too heard it was > 100w which is why i'm doubting it would work.
    still, would be awesome though and we have seen some pretty amazing things with the m15x so far.
     
  30. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    basic Question > Does bios A09 support the 580M. How do we know for sure?
     
  31. Kratzen

    Kratzen Notebook Consultant

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    By testing? :)
     
  32. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    Anybody ever tried a 480M in the house ??
    then I will have some idea at least

    >>there is no return if i order the 580m so if like wasting about 800$$ I rather trow it in a dutch canal to see it float :)) hehe
     
  33. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    The 485m would be similar, the 480m was a very different card and there weren't any Dell versions.
     
  34. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    So enlighthen me.. 485M is ok ? and 480M has not been ok ? Have someone ever modified a bios with success ?
    I am on A09
     
  35. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    Can anyone confirm whats on the table ? Many thanks.. learning
     
  36. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Right basically we are looking to see if the 580m is going to work in the M15x. It is similar to the 485m which is similar to the 470m which had problems in our laptops. The 480m is similar to the 460m which worked in the M15x but even if the 480m works, it is a really bad card anyways, huge die, high power consumption, lots of heat, not the best performance either.
    Update, I'll have the 580m next week but it won't go into the M15x for a while. I'm quite busy at the moment.
     
  37. destinymax

    destinymax Notebook Consultant

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    what a pity, I look forward to your results about 580m :(
     
  38. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    I'm adding a 14 day condition to my original offer. :p
     
  39. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Alright alright. Sure by the end of next week, I will have had the 580m inside my M15x but I will not attempt any forms of vbios tweaking. This card is worth way too much to brick. I will however do as much as I can on the driver and OS level.
     
  40. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    Nice! I am here to help with any drivers :D
    Cheers,
     
  41. migualo

    migualo Notebook Consultant

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    nice one widezu, looking forward for your feedback :D
     
  42. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    I have plenty of time > LET ME KNOW
     
  43. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Thanks. I have had dealings with nvidia and driver modding for over 5 years. If I do run into these problems I'll ask. I'm not passing this GPU on as it is from my M17x due on Monday.
     
  44. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Hey widezu, when you come around to slap your new card in the M15x, can you take some pics of the back of the card (including heatsink and backplate)? Would be greatly appreciated!
     
  45. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Yeah sure, problem is that my M17x R3 came with a 6990m pack plate with the wider square. A bit annoying and I can't call Dell about it as removing it would void the warranty. I ordered another heatsink with the appropriate back plate from ebay. Should be around soon enough hopefully. When that comes, the wider backplate will go into my 6990m and I will test out the 580m in the M15x.
     
  46. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    That's exactly why I wanted to see pictures... :) Very annoying, this issue seems to be spread all over Europe. Dell is now aware of this and should replace it for free, at least this seems to be the case in Germany from what I've read online.
     
  47. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Oh right, I though taking out the GPU and having a look voids the warranty? Oh well I wanted to buy a new thing anyway as I want to keep the wider square back plate for my other GPU :)
     
  48. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    Hmmm, don't know exactly, but as long as your system comes with the wrong plate they can't blame you, it needs to be replaced. The backplate presses on some capacitors on the back of the card which isn't necessarily healthy and mustn't be on a new system.
     
  49. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Yeah I'm holding off doing anything torturous until my new parts arrive.
     
  50. DraZziW

    DraZziW Notebook Consultant

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    no news? :(
     
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