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    M6000 black screen after install. No Bios.

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by poppawoody, May 3, 2017.

  1. poppawoody

    poppawoody Newbie

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    I just installed my M6000 firepro (blue PCB) in the m15x. When I power on I just get a black screen and the 3 flashing LEDS (caps lock area) and the GPU fan running at full speed. I was previously using the GTX 260m.

    Things I have tried:

    - installed using both xbracket from m6000 and the 260m.
    - re-installed the 260m (boots normally to windows 7)
    - checked bios version while 260m was installed. Bios vers A09.
    - reapplied thermal paste, thermal pads and checked the fan connection cable.
    - 150w original power cable

    What have I missed? Is the card faulty?
     
  2. poppawoody

    poppawoody Newbie

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    After more fiddling I got the LEDs to display the error code that states,
    " Video card is preventing the system from completing POST".

    Looks like I will be doing my first ebay return/refund :(

    Put the old GTX 260m back in the machine and it's running normally.
     
  3. kyussmanchu

    kyussmanchu Notebook Consultant

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    what is the power draw of the card? it could be the the 150W power brick is not supplying enough power now that the new card is in there.

    *EDIT*
    Nevermind, from what I can see, the firepro draws less power than the GTX 260M.
     
  4. poppawoody

    poppawoody Newbie

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    I was able to get a refund for the card. Now I am not sure if I want to try another m6000 or just get the GTX460m instead.
     
  5. maxslo

    maxslo undefined

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    5850M / 5870M is a better choice for M15x imo, overclocks better and runs somwhat better for games and stuff, if you dont need CUDA & PhysX, i'd definitely look for these cards as they are also relatively cheap.
    460M also comes with 2 different vBIOSes, the one for M15x has much lower clocks for absolutely no reason. The vBIOS ca be flashed to the one for M17x/M18x without any problem tho.
     
  6. poppawoody

    poppawoody Newbie

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    Would you suggest trying another M6000 or just go for the 5870? I've got a budget of about $100 for upgrades.
     
  7. maxslo

    maxslo undefined

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    From my experience the M6000 fail rate is above average, it is the best P/P card, but seems like it doesnt like the M15x :/
    Single 5850/5870 will double the 260M performance anyway.
     
  8. poppawoody

    poppawoody Newbie

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    I don't have another system to test the m6000 in, do you think the m15x actually damaged it? Or do you think it's a compatibility issue?
     
  9. maxslo

    maxslo undefined

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    Could be the M15x, could be the shipping, could be an issue during installation, multiple factors can make a gpu go bad.
    All i know that none of the M6000's seem to last in the M15x :/
     
  10. poppawoody

    poppawoody Newbie

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    Thanks for the reply. Seems like I'll go with the 5850 since they are a cheap reliable upgrade for now. I'll have enough for a i7 920 upgrade too. Later if I find that I even play games on this system I'll upgrade to a GTX 9xx series card since that seems to be the latest and greatest the m15x can safely handle.
     
  11. maxslo

    maxslo undefined

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    okay :)... let me know if you decide to get a 5850 i have one that i dont mind letting go off ;)
    as for the max upgrade, i dont reccomend 980M, it makes to much heat for m15x and takes too much power. 970M works great tho.

    Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk
     
  12. dodgeball585

    dodgeball585 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm currently running a 460m how do you load bios?