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    New GPU

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Ovenmitt, Nov 30, 2011.

  1. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    I have a M15X and have a lot of issues with the GPU freezing up and driver issues and I've tried to resolve the problem but think I am just going to get a new card because I'm tired of dealing with it.

    I currently have the GTX 260m and like I said have had nothing but problems....repasted and all that but still no dice. So my question is, what is a good upgrade and where would I get it from? I tried to look for my answer already so I apologize if this has already been asked. Any help would be appreciated!!
     
  2. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    Your options in terms of performance gtx 460m, amd 5850m, amd 5870m, gtx 560m, amd 6970m, amd 6990m.

    The best gpu upgrade which is officially supported would be the 5850m
    The best gpu upgrade which is unsupported (works) would be the 6990m.
     
  3. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    when you say unsupported what does that mean...and is this something I can get off newegg? Which card would you recommend?
     
  4. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    You can't get MXM cards from newegg. You need to either get it from a Clevo reseller, ebay, or Dell (difficult). This is the thread you need for the unsupported cards.
     
  5. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    I read that thread and I'm a little concerned with my knowledge of doing it all correctly and being in a worse position that I am now. I have re-pasted my GPU and CPU and felt comfortable with that. Is the gtx560m a decent card and would it just be plug and play?? If so I may just go with that to save some headaches....thanks for all the feedback!
     
  6. jedinorth

    jedinorth Notebook Enthusiast

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    i have a 6990m that i just purchased from upgradeyourlaptop that works great but wont do xfire. so i would be happy to sell it for what i paid
     
  7. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    For the 560m I believe you have to alter the driver inf files a bit, not hard (very simple work).

    By unsupported I mean it was never meant for the M15x, but people got it to work very well in their laptops. Also, there is a whole thread on getting the 6970m installed and in full working order.

    Swapping out gpu's is not hard at all, just some cards like the 6970m/6990m require a bit of work once the physical installation is done.
     
  8. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    would the thread that was made for the 6970m work for the 6990m? I am assuming so but wanted to make sure before I purchase a card. Thanks for all your help +rep!!
     
  9. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    I would see no reason why they wouldn't be. Just read up a bit on these forums as to which cards work best, and before purchasing paste a link to the card so the members can help you determine if it's a good buy or if there would be any problems with the particular card you select.
     
  10. paolo b

    paolo b Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello, I own the first model Alienware M15X I want to upgrade the video card, right now I have a gtx260m want to mount the gtx560 or above, you can?
     
  11. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Now I am having a hard time finding where to buy a card....I havent called Dell yet but from what I've read on these forums that doesnt always go over well. Anyone know where I can get a 6990m?
     
  12. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    Check ebay and the NBR marketplace. There is a guy selling a 6970m if you'd be interested in that, and it can be overclocked to 6990m stock.
     
  13. otosan

    otosan Notebook Consultant

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    just want to say that i found this GTx260m is a bit troublesome with TDRdelay on windows 7 and PhysiX setting,

    last month i facing driver and crash problem for several time, already start thinking that my GPU is start dying,

    but then i found about TDRdelay on windows that actually was the culprit for my crash, so i increase the delay timeout setting

    also on Physix Processor setting on NVIDIA panel, seems leave the setting on Auto Select also give me some troubles, so i change it to GTX260M manually,

    The crash never happen again since then...

    maybe this thing can actually help your problem, before you really deciding to spend some money for GPU...
     
  14. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Where were you able to increase the TDR delay timeout setting?

    Edit: Never mind. Found it. Thanks for the pointer. :)
     
  15. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Where do I go to change my TDR delay timeout settings? and what would I change them to? Thanks for any and all help!

    anyone?? anyone?? Bueller??

    Well I went to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SYSTEM>CurrentControlSet>Control>GraphicsDrivers

    and made a new folder DWORD TdrDelay and set the value to 8, is that correct?
     
  16. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Well what I did, did not work. Got the blue screen after 4 matches of League of Legends. Someone please help....I don't know what else to do

    and now when I logged back in my FPS is awful getting 15ish.....check temps. CPU 65 GPU 48
     
  17. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    What bios revision do you have? what driver you on? Because when I had my gtx 260m the only time I had problems with it was pre A09 bios.
     
  18. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Driver version 285.70 Bios A08....should I flash to A09?

    flashed to A09, so far after 5 games no problems...if I have another problem I'm probably just going to upgrade GPU to the 6970

    well I knew it was too good to be true...6th game...froze to a black screen but could still talk on skype with no lag issues. Had to hardboot again....I guess I'm going to call Dell tomorrow and see what kind of card I can get.

    can you tell me how you did that? May be my last solution before I buy a new card.
     
  19. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    I did the Memtest86 and everything passed....I guess TDR is my last option to check before I'm out of ideas on what to do. Would really appreciate any help to locate where to change my TDR at..thanks!
     
  20. otosan

    otosan Notebook Consultant

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    you should set the value to arround 10 (decimal) or A (hexadecimal)

    and just make a new DWORD value with name TDRlevel and set the value to 0
     
  21. otosan

    otosan Notebook Consultant

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    the location u mention on top is correct btw...
     
  22. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    Did the TDR delay thing like you metioned and still got the blue screen. Going to take it apart tomorrow and check the GPU fans but if that does not work I am at a complete loss. Frustrating that I can't find the problem behind this =/
     
  23. khetik

    khetik Notebook Deity

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    When you flashed to A09, did your EC flash properly. I know because when I flashed mine I had to manually input a command to flash the EC correctly. Also, have you tried using different drivers? I remember with my 260m I had great performance with the 280.66 drivers.
     
  24. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    I just updated my drivers and had no luck....not sure what EC is? I just made a bootable CD with A09 and it seemed everything went ok.
     
  25. csin

    csin Notebook Consultant

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    After the first BIOS update it reboots and flashes the EC... If you did not complete this step you will need to re-apply the update.
     
  26. Ovenmitt

    Ovenmitt Notebook Guru

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    How can I check to see if I did this? Also where can I find the driver you had a lot of luck with? Just google it?
     
  27. csin

    csin Notebook Consultant

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    Boot to the BIOS CD you burned. Apply the BIOS patch, let it reboot on its own. Once it reboots it will start the EC flash. Make sure you let it complete this step and let it reboot on its own.