The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Questions with 680M in M15x

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by ThaZatzke, Jul 18, 2013.

  1. ThaZatzke

    ThaZatzke Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hey guys, I'm somewhat new to replacing laptop GPUs and have a couple quick questions.

    I originally ordered a 7970m from a company off of eBay for my M15x, but it ended up not working. Apparently, the vendor the person ordered their cards from screwed something up on the cards, and they were unusable. A total of around 15 people, including me, returned our cards claiming they were faulty, and didn't work. Even after "refurbishing" the card (they replaced the gpu die...), they were still not working. The guy we ordered from apologized, and as a way of amending the situation (I ordered this 7970m from him over a month ago, and still haven't received a working one), he's instead going to get all of us Nvidia 680M's for the same price as the 7970m, which in my case was 300 bucks (he cut the price a little since I had to wait so long). A damn good deal, if you ask me.

    However, I want to know everything I need to know for putting a 680m into my lappy. I've perused the forums and gone into every thread that contains the word/numbers "680M" and have found a few things, but I just want to make sure so my installation goes as smooth as possible. I've been waiting for a better graphics card for over a month, and I don't want to screw anything up.

    Specs:
    Alienware M15x
    A09 Bios
    Windows 7 64 bit
    8 gb DDR3 ram
    Intel i7 720QM
    AMD Radeon HD 5870M (current graphics card)

    Concerns/questions:
    The card I'm going to receive is going to be a (new) Dell 680M, and the guy I'm ordering from said it'll work perfectly in my laptop. However, I've read from numerous sources that putting a 680M into an M15x requires flashing the vBios on the card. I'm fine with doing that if necessary, but where can I find the correct vBios? slv7 has a fantastic guide over at Tech Inferno explaining how to flash your vBios ( Here if you want to see), but people have talked about them all over the place on the forums, and I have yet to find a link to the vBios required. Is there a good source somewhere where I can get them? Is it even necessary if it's a Dell card?

    Apparently, Nvidia has had some issues with drivers for this card in the M15x. I'll obviously do a clean wipe of all of my AMD drivers, but what have all of you found best as far as drivers go? Many people have stated that to get the card to work, you need to modify some .inf files... I've never done this before and have no idea how to even start. Is there somewhere where I can just download modded drivers for the 680m/M15x? Or is it best to do it on my own?

    Finally, I want to know how well the 680m works in terms of power draw. The problem with the not-working 7970m's is that they were apparently drawing too much power at full load, and would cause the laptop to crash. This seems unlikely to me, as the card would just draw as much power as there is available, but that's what the guy's vendor told him. I know the 680m has a TDP of 100 watts, my cpu has a power consumption of 45 watts, and the M15x supplies 150 watts. I do have the M18x 220 Watt power cable, but it obviously just runs cooler than the 150 watt power supply. Have any of you with 680m's in your m15x run into throttling issues? I've read of some, but nothing terrible. I've also read it's a great card to OC as well.

    Any and all help is greatly appreciated. My card should be arriving in the mail tomorrow, and I can't wait to finally have a high-end gaming laptop. Also, sorry for sounding needy/stupid, I just want to be super careful.

    Thanks!

    P.S. How is the fit? The 7970m had required some very careful fitting and specific screws to fit the xbracket, and get it snug to the heatsink. Is the 680m easier? Also, the company I ordered from was reapergamingcomputers on ebay. If you need any laptop stuff, the people there are super nice, as you can tell, and if you happened to order a 7970m from them recently and it doesn't work, now you know why.
     
  2. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

    Reputations:
    241
    Messages:
    1,319
    Likes Received:
    123
    Trophy Points:
    81
    The GTX 680m seems to perform much better in the M15X than the 7970m and is much less prone to throttling.
    The custom vBIOS svl7 made is available here but you need to become a member and make a donation to be able to download them.

    There is information in this forum about the inf file mod but I can't find it right now, perhaps someone else has that info!
     
  3. ThaZatzke

    ThaZatzke Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Thanks for the response. It's good to hear the 680m is easier on the M15x, and if I have to spend a couple more bucks to get my laptop upgraded that's no big deal.

    And I've been searching but can't find the inf mods either, but I've been wondering - Is it necessary to get the card to work? Or have people been modding their inf files to get the most performance out of their card possible? If it's the former, it's obviously mandatory. If the latter, I can run it at stock clock speeds/performance and deal with that.

    Also I just got an e-mail from the company I bought it from. Apparently they lied about the shipping date again. This time they say it'll be here by Tuesday next week. He also said he was talking with some of the Nvidia guys, and he said they determined it was 50/50 whether it would work well in the laptop or not. But, judging by the success stories here, I don't think it'll be an issue.

    Just kinda pissed my card got delayed again.
     
  4. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

    Reputations:
    241
    Messages:
    1,319
    Likes Received:
    123
    Trophy Points:
    81
    You need to modify the inf file in order for the card to work. You also need to turn off driver signature certification in Windows 8 I think.

    =http://www.techinferno.com/2012/09...: Installing Clevo GTX 680M in Alienware M18x

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...80m-driver-assistance-needed.html#post9087721

    A couple of threads with all the information you need. You need to get the device ID from device manager > details tab > hardware ids.
    Mine looks like this PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6800&SUBSYS_057B1028&REV_00 but that is an AMD device ID.

    You need to find the nvcv.inf from the ‘Display.Driver’ directory and make the alterations in the top link.

    Not actually done any of this myself but hope these help.
     
  5. ThaZatzke

    ThaZatzke Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Thanks a ton!

    See, the thing I'm confused about, is that that guide is for installing a Clevo 680m into an M17x R2. But my card is going to be a Dell card, and in an M15x, which is an older model. So since it's a Dell card, shouldn't the vBios already be set for Dell?

    Same with the link to the drivers you have (also I'm running windows 7). Won't the fact that it's a Dell card and an M15x change how the card operates in the laptop? I've read that driver issues/modifications only need to be done with Windows 8. Maybe I'm crazy?

    Like for instance, Eurocom has a guide on installing a 680m/7970m into an M15x ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl81nN8cmdA), and they just plug the 680m in and install drivers, and they're good to go, and I would assume this is because it's a Dell card in a Dell machine.
     
  6. King of Interns

    King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1,329
    Messages:
    5,418
    Likes Received:
    1,096
    Trophy Points:
    331
    Yes the 680M is plug and play once you modify the inf file in the driver. All Nvidia cards require this since the 280M GTX.

    SLV7 vbios isn't a necessity however he has tweaked the clocks and voltage to be perfect for the M15x. As a result it is highly recommended that any M15x user with 680M flashes their card to the settings he has tested and chosen for his vbios.

    I spoke to him recently and he told me that he prefers the 680M in the M15x to even the 780M due to it's stability and OCability. Enjoy it. You are lucky to grab one for $300!
     
  7. ThaZatzke

    ThaZatzke Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Ahhhhh, Alrighty that makes perfect sense. Thanks man! And yeah, it's an awesome deal, i just kind of wish i didn't have to wait this long. The card got delayed until Tuesday, but I'll post how the install goes!
     
  8. pangers94

    pangers94 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    70
    Messages:
    31
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Just a quick question guys, the GTX680M for dell is the green card am I right? I'm not sure about the difference in GPU card color... Can somebody verify this?
     
  9. ThaZatzke

    ThaZatzke Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hey, sorry for the late response. I don't think that the Clevo vs Dell cards are different colors... Rather, I don't think the color of the card indicates whether it is Clevo or Dell. I could be wrong, obviously, but all I know is I Googled "Dell Nvidia 680M" and "Clevo Nvidia 680M" and both colors turned up in the results.

    Also, my card got delayed again... No idea when the ETA is now.
     
  10. STiHiaL

    STiHiaL Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    22
    Messages:
    166
    Likes Received:
    44
    Trophy Points:
    41
    Dell 680M is 2GB card, Clevo 680M only 4GB.