Original M15X looking to upgrade video card and ram

It has I7 Q740 @ 1.73GHz
6Gb ram
Nvidia GTX 260M

Im wondering what the most reasonable card to put in, that would be as close to as a plug and play. Also i'm not looking into spending a lot unless its worth it and i'm from Canada so everything seems expenses.
For the ram is there a specific type you need im looking into putting 2 x 4GB in since intel says the max is 8gb

Also I have very low to any idea of what i'm doing.

Edit* Would getting a new cpu be reasonable

 

I started out with a 740QM, ATI 5850M, and 8GB of ram. I have since upgraded to the 920XM, GTX 970M, and a 512GB SSD

This thing can box with the 2015 BGA Alienware 15 and hold its own. These are significant upgrades that really keep the computer relavent in 2016 on into 2017. The GTX 970M runs VERY cool, never topping past 57 degrees Celsius (I have undervolted my 970M instead of overclocking it). 920XM you will need because your CPU is really quite a bottleneck, and the 920XM will need to be moderately overclocked to find any benefit. You will also need a 240W power adapter.

 

Agreed.

A recent find has us working on getting pascal and polaris to be compatible too.

970M will not be end of the line.

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The only real CPU upgrade is to an Extreme processor like previously mentioned. However, if you plan to overclock, you're going to want a more powerful power adapter (210W and up) because those CPUs draw a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. I'd keep the 740qm for the time being since you don't want to spend a lot (a 920xm sells for around $120 nowadays).

16GB of RAM (2 X 8GB) will work if you use one of the quad core processors (like the 740qm you have). I personally would upgrade to 8GB (replace your current 2GB with another 4GB stick). I have 16GB of RAM and I honestly think it's overkill; 8GB should be enough for most. I'd look on e-bay to try to get a used but working 4GB stick identical to your current one.

An SSD in the HDD compartment along with a mechanical drive sitting in the optical bay with an adapter (your optical drive will be removed) is a nice speed plus storage solution. An SSD will be the most immediately noticeable overall performance boost. You can get a 120GB SSD for around 50-60 USD nowadays. That should be enough space for your OS and apps. The 2nd mechanical drive in the optical bay will then hold your personal data.

For graphics: If you are not willing to spend a lot, consider the AMD Firepro M6000 (essentially a Radeon 7870M). It is cheap, runs cool and does not require an upgraded power adapter if you run it alongside the 740qm. There is a thread dedicated to this card with tons of info on installation, benchmarks, and overclocking. These cards usually sell for around 70 USD.

M6000 thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/m6000-7870m-gpu-thread.785735/

 

Awesome thanks for the answers i'll look everything up, I have some follow up question aswell now.
Where is the best pace to get parts all i have found is ebay really

 

E-bay is good as long as the seller has good feedback.

If you decide on the Firepro m6000, I would recommend glancing over the thread I linked for installation issues that you may want to consider before buying. In short, I'd recommend not using the stock x-bracket that comes with those cards (if the seller includes it); instead I recommend using the x-bracket from your 260m GTX. I go into detail on why in the thread. Also, there are some issues that I had with thermal pads and contact between the heatsink and GPU core on those cards which I also mentioned in that thread. You can post there if you have any specific questions about those cards. I have 2 of them on two different M15X laptops. Both run great.

Newegg or Amazon in Canada are probably good choices to look for an SSD.

For the hard drive adapter, I recommend this one :
https://www.newmodeus.com/shop/inde...id=325&zenid=d55d263e36982407bbf35daf083dc995

It costs a bit more than some cheaper generic adapters but it is very high quality.

 

I ebayed everything for my M15x including the original M15x, the replacement FHD panel (to upgrade from 1600x900), the 920XM, the GTX 970M, and the micron m600 512gb SSD i have in there now. All working superbly.

 

Hi, I`m wondering about this too. Finally decided to upgrade my M15x. Have a Q720 Quad CPU, 4 GB of RAM and a GTX260M GPU. I`m nervous about the Firepro M6000, because my tech know-how is minimal. Would the MSI GeForce GTX970 be the best option for me? I also thought that with my two memory slots, that I could stack two 8 GB RAM sticks in there? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

The 970M is probably the best card for the M15X but it is quite expensive. It's a high end card so it doesn't compare to the mid-range Firepro m6000 (aka Radeon Mobility HD 7870M). If you are on a budget, the m6000 is easily the best mid-range card right now for the M15X. Besides some minor fitment issues that may need to be addressed, the card is plug and play. There's a huge thread on this card in the M15X subforum. Other good cards are the Nvidia 680M and AMD 7970M. Those are in the lower end of the high end range, but perform better than the m6000; although they usually sell for twice what the m6000 sells for.

With quad core CPUs (like your 720qm), the M15X will work with 16GB of RAM. It will read 0GB in the BIOS but your OS (if it is 64bit) will recognize the full 16GB and use it. I'd at least look to upgrade to 8GB though.

I'd also look into getting an SSD unless you already have one. You can use an SSD as a boot drive and a regular larger capacity mechanical drive in the optical drive bay (using an adapter) for data storage. You'll lose your optical drive but you can always get a USB one if you really need it.

 

Ty for the reply Kosti. I`ve seen a number of your posts, and you seem to know your stuff. I was looking at 16 GB RAM upgrades, would this work for my rig? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kit-16GB-...84-/351945132362?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368.

For storage, I have a 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD btw.

 

That RAM should work, but I'm not a fan of generic RAM and that one isn't cheap (in price) either for a generic set, but it looks like RAM prices shot up recently though. I am using a Hynix set (HMT41GS6MFR8C) and it works great. I got it off e-bay as well. It was a used set but was fully tested and the seller (U.S based) had good feedback. Been using it for around a year now with no problems.

 

Something like this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hynix-16G...sh=item4649700c18:g:gNEAAOSwNyFWcv4s#viTabs_0

Good feedback too. Usually prefer new products, but with the FB and price, if it works, I`ll get this.

 

No, those are full sized DIMMS. You need SODIMM modules for laptops.

 

Right, hadn't noticed that. These are the ones I`ll get then probably. Damn the prices, though. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351942770419?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Those should be good. Shop around, you may find something cheaper or just go for 8GB, it will probably be enough if you are just gaming and doing basic tasks. Eventually prices will drop down to reasonable levels at some point. The 16GB kit I bought for around 60 USD last year. Surprised they are almost double now.

 

BTW, sometimes Quadro K4000M available for around $140-160 on eBay (for now only one card available for more or less reasonable price - $180, but from time to time cheap one appears). It's pretty good card for this price with 4GB GDDR5 and good overclock potential compared to stock clocks.

 

I also want to upgrade my gpu and it depends on your budget and if you want it to play medium / high / ultra details, ascending order (performance and price):

FIREPRO M6000
FIREPRO M6100
GTX 680M - 7970M
R9 M290X no native fan
GTX 970M

 

K4000M Benches

Spoiler

 

I have most of these GPUs compared with Firestrike over in this thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/deadsmileys-m15x-gpu-comparisions.801458/

 

I have often wondered about the K4000M. Thanks for posting this!

 

Nice scores, but and what is the performance with games?, The truth is for me the most important.

 

Heavily Oced k4000m will kick a 980M hard but run very hot.

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I find it very difficult to believe that a K4000M will come close to a 980M, overclocked or not.

Edit 2/14/2017:
@King of Interns ^^^ that came off kinda snarky. This was not my intent buddy. I hope we are still good.

 

I think you mean the M4000M, don't worry mate, I made the same mistake

 

I still think 970M is the way to go, they can be had for cheap sometimes. I picked up an untested 980M (broken) and 970M to find out that the 970M worked fine. Both together cost me 150 shipped.

I wouldn't bother with a 980M or M4000M.