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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. destinymax

    destinymax Notebook Consultant

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    The same question……
     
    destinymax, Sep 16, 2011
    #51
  2. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Hey guys I'm really sorry. Having some personal stuff i got to deal with, not to mention my 580m came with the wrong back plate so I'll let you guys know when I get round to doing it. It will be done, but please, patience.
    Sorry lads.
     
    widezu69, Sep 16, 2011
    #52
  3. Mexic00ls

    Mexic00ls Notebook Deity

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    no problem widezu, hope everything works out, good luck
     
    Mexic00ls, Sep 16, 2011
    #53
  4. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    Hola has this been tried
    Waiting forever :D
     
    dutchess63, Sep 23, 2011
    #54
  5. saadleo

    saadleo Notebook Consultant

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    waiting to hear about the action widezu69 :)
     
    saadleo, Sep 24, 2011
    #55
  6. destinymax

    destinymax Notebook Consultant

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    I am waiting……
     
    destinymax, Sep 24, 2011
    #56
  7. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    Come on guys, have patience. Anyone here is free to buy one and try it.
     
    JohnnyFlash, Sep 24, 2011
    #57
  8. ElectricTurtle

    ElectricTurtle Notebook Consultant

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    bump, waiting for the result...
     
    ElectricTurtle, Sep 24, 2011
    #58
  9. noelho

    noelho Notebook Consultant

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    yeah .... have a little patience, or buy it and try it if you cant wait ;-)
     
    noelho, Sep 24, 2011
    #59
  10. worldedit

    worldedit Notebook Consultant

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    so are you goin to pay me $50 for trying m15x on gtx580m :D
     
    worldedit, Sep 29, 2011
    #60
  11. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    The two weeks was up a while ago. :p

    But you should still try for the betterment of mankind.
     
    JohnnyFlash, Sep 29, 2011
    #61
  12. DraZziW

    DraZziW Notebook Consultant

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    and +rep from me :))
     
    DraZziW, Sep 29, 2011
    #62
  13. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    gunner1905, Oct 1, 2011
    #63
  14. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    My assumption was always if the gfx is dead its dead. I could be wrong though.
     
    khetik, Oct 1, 2011
    #64
  15. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Probably would be better off just buying a GPU from ebay.
     
    moral hazard, Oct 1, 2011
    #65
  16. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    I have a gtx 260m currently and am in the process of getting my new gpu. My main concern is that if I upgrade to the 5850m or the 6970m can I just use the stock heatsink, cable, retention bracket, etc. that came with my M15x (gtx 260m) for the newer gpus?
     
    khetik, Oct 1, 2011
    #66
  17. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    I'll probably buy one anyway if it comes down to it
    but if it's possible then that would be nice
    anyway it's not really dead just a bit busted, don't know why
    anybody here has ever had their card repaired?
     
    gunner1905, Oct 1, 2011
    #67
  18. kurupt

    kurupt Notebook Consultant

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    kurupt, Oct 1, 2011
    #68
  19. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    What do you exactly mean with "a bit busted"?
     
    svl7, Oct 1, 2011
    #69
  20. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    Will it fit the 5850m?
     
    khetik, Oct 1, 2011
    #70
  21. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Yep, one size fits all.
     
    The Revelator, Oct 1, 2011
    #71
  22. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    Well it starts but if put it under load it crashes so it's not completely dead, i think.
    I'm thinking like this because I really hope it's not dead
     
    gunner1905, Oct 1, 2011
    #72
  23. Allawi

    Allawi Notebook Guru

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    Allawi, Oct 1, 2011
    #73
  24. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    What graphics card is it?

    Did you try changing drivers?

    Are you sure the rest of the system is stable (ram, CPU)?
     
    moral hazard, Oct 1, 2011
    #74
  25. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    The Revelator, Oct 1, 2011
    #75
  26. Allawi

    Allawi Notebook Guru

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    alright thanks, i just bought myself one
     
    Allawi, Oct 1, 2011
    #76
  27. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Good choice. :)
     
    The Revelator, Oct 1, 2011
    #77
  28. Ldmoose

    Ldmoose Notebook Consultant

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    I feel stupid for asking this, but how do you install thermal pads? Mine don't have any adhesive or anything to stick it to the memory diode.
     
    Ldmoose, Oct 1, 2011
    #78
  29. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    it's a 6990m

    I tried using [email protected] and then I used driver sweeper and tried the newest one posted by revelator

    I'm pretty sure the system is stable because now I'm using my old 260m and it's fine. Although I remember that this card also sometimes lock up but rarely, could it be that cause the card needs more power it's showing these symptoms?
     
    gunner1905, Oct 1, 2011
    #79
  30. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Yes it could be because of power, what notebook do you have and what is your PSU rated for?
     
    moral hazard, Oct 1, 2011
    #80
  31. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    If you feel ur gpu dies under load...have you dusted out ur laptop and done a repaste of you gfx card. Also get a program like hwmonitor to check ur idle temps. Just an fyi, its best to give the whole picture so the more knowledeable guys on the forum can give you the proper advice and get u fixed up quickly.
     
    khetik, Oct 1, 2011
    #81
  32. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    it's m15x, of course, and the psu is the one I got when I bought the laptop

    i've repasted it a couple of times and the idle temps is standard

    this is the post is posted in the 6970m thread

     
    gunner1905, Oct 2, 2011
    #82
  33. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Try underclocking the GPU.
     
    moral hazard, Oct 2, 2011
    #83
  34. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    thanks for the advice, I'm new at this so how do I do that?

    edit: also do you know how to underclock the cpu too, because I also just replaced my CPU with a 940xm and maybe the psu is not strong enough
     
    gunner1905, Oct 2, 2011
    #84
  35. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Try using AMD Overdrive.

    You can underclock the CPU with throttlestop.
     
    moral hazard, Oct 2, 2011
    #85
  36. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    Thanks for the tip
    Oh, do you know what would be the appropriate clocks?
     
    gunner1905, Oct 2, 2011
    #86
  37. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    I just bought the 5850m card to go in the laptop in my sig, but it doesnt have any thermal pads. Should i get the 1mm or .5 mm pads. Does anyone know of a good place to get them, and any advice on which brand/type (i live in australia)?
     
    khetik, Oct 2, 2011
    #87
  38. ettehbrute

    ettehbrute Notebook Consultant

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    Picked up both the pads and some as5 (darn you ebay)
     
    ettehbrute, Oct 2, 2011
    #88
  39. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Sorry I have no idea. You're going to have to experiment.
     
    moral hazard, Oct 2, 2011
    #89
  40. svl7

    svl7 T|I

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    You have thermal pads on your heatsink, they should still work fine. Haven't replaced mine so far and it's working well.
     
    svl7, Oct 2, 2011
    #90
  41. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    Ok thanks man
    I'll try that when I put my card back in
     
    gunner1905, Oct 2, 2011
    #91
  42. Allawi

    Allawi Notebook Guru

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    Allawi, Oct 2, 2011
    #92
  43. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Probably. I'm no expert; I just know the Fujipoly pads are considered the creme de la creme and have worked well for me. The Chinese pads are said to provide about half the thermal conductivity of the FP pads, but that is more or less standard so far as I can tell. Those shipping charges to Canada are brutal. Is that typical for US sales?
     
    The Revelator, Oct 2, 2011
    #93
  44. Allawi

    Allawi Notebook Guru

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    it actually isnt, this is the first thing i was buying that cost more than $5-10 shipping from US to Canada
     
    Allawi, Oct 2, 2011
    #94
  45. nasomi

    nasomi Notebook Enthusiast

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    Most likely repairable. And you can do it yourself, if you have an oven. I've repaired numerous cards successfully. I preheat the oven to 385, and put the card in, chip side up, suspended on aluminum foil balls, and bake for 8 minutes. Let it cool naturally, and presto, fixed.

    What happens is the solder develops microfractures, and heating it melts the solder, then letting it cool resolders the entire board. Did it with an 8800gtx and a gtx280. It would start up, get lines, bsod, sometimes not start at all.

    If you do this, remove everything! Google guides, there's quite a few.

    Here's one: Fix Your Graphics Card By Baking In Oven

    *Performing this has no warranty from me. If it doesn't work, sorry. But it has worked for me and MANY others, just google it. In fact, I've never heard of anyone having an unsuccessful bake, short of someone doing something horribly wrong, like baking it upside down and having hte gpu fall off.*
     
    nasomi, Oct 2, 2011
    #95
  46. nasomi

    nasomi Notebook Enthusiast

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    Or if you'd rather not, I'd be interested in buying it and giving it a shot myself :)
     
    nasomi, Oct 2, 2011
    #96
  47. Allawi

    Allawi Notebook Guru

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    Allawi, Oct 2, 2011
    #97
  48. gunner1905

    gunner1905 Notebook Geek

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    Did you have the same symptoms as me? If so that's worth a shot, I'm already out of ideas anyway.
    I'll probably try it first, I just got this card a while back and I really don't want to buy another one
    Thanks for the tip though
     
    gunner1905, Oct 2, 2011
    #98
  49. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Let us know how they perform when you get them installed.
     
    The Revelator, Oct 2, 2011
    #99
  50. Fancysauce

    Fancysauce Notebook Consultant

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    Ok so I can't buy anything online for a free months and I want to buy some thermal pads. Are there any stores that sell thermal pads and if so which ones would be best? im doing this because i think my thermal pads are the problem with my new 6970's temps which are really high. idle temps are about high 60's!! i respasted a couple times with ic diamond and there's no difference in the temps so far. the fans sound really loud the whole time my computer's on.

    edit: the thermal pads i am using currently are the stock ones, and also after installing the drivers for the 6970m CCC won't open. i don't really know how to install the drivers when checking out svl7's guide so a little info on that would be much appreciated.
     
    Fancysauce, Oct 3, 2011
    #100
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