M17x-R2 5870's upgrade

Are the dual 5870 up for buy yet? Can I swap out my 4870's and install the 5870's in my new Alienware M17x-R2? And where can I purchase the 5870's?

 

I would suggest following this thread and not starting a new one.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=452370

 

That thread didnt help me any. I see people signatures say they have the 5870's but in that thread it doesnt even say they are out yet.

 

Single cards are for asus for the most part and speculation on M15x as the bios had it listed in there.. for crossfire no one has those yet.

 

I have a M17x-R2. I cant replace my 4870's with the 5870's yet?

 

Dell hasnt released them yet so no. The bios afaik doesnt have the card coded in it yet.

 

That makes me sad in my pants

 

The single 5870 is out and in many high end laptops like the asus G73 but i have not seen 5870s crossfired. You might think that you can just remove the 4870s and put two 5870s. In the system there is a cable that links both cards together. The bios needs to be updated to support the new cards. Each brand makes certain cards that fit in their system. For example, someone wanted to put a 5870 in the M17x But found out they don't actaully fit.

 

Why would you be sad, if you had a single 4870, I can understand why but with a crossfire setup makes the M17x the most powerful laptop. It is only a matter of time, and the longer it takes, the more you save up for the cards is the way i see it.

 

Ya, i havent even had my M17x-R2 a month yet and i got the dual 1gb ati cards in crossfire, but if there is something better I can add to my system then ill do it.

 

Also there is a good chance they are taking their time to release because they are actually thoroughly testing something for the first time since I have been into highend laptops lol

Bios support is there, but at the moment you can only run a single card, or 2 in NON crossfire mode. Until they are released with the CF connector we are better off still with out dual 4870s. I am certain the BIOS supports it because the M15x is working with it (same manufacturer and BIOS type)

 

There are no crossfire versions of the 5870 cards anywhere. And one 5870 is considerably weaker than 4870 crossfired so even if you could (and u can't) put it in your m17x you'd just loose performance. As a sidenote, someone did manage to put a 5870 pulled from a clevo I think (can't use G3 cards, they are asus proprietary) in his m15x as the new bios recognizes it as someone mentioned.

 

You know...your can always go to http://www.dell.com and look to see rather then starting threads on topics that are covered. I'm pretty sure there would be a 5870 x-fire dedicated thread when they come out...

 

Buy more RAM

 

and buy a SSD

 

and a blu-ray burner

 

more ram is pointless unless you go and use vmware like apps that eat ram for breakfast.
get ssd, that you won't regret. ssd booted my m1730 win 7 in 14 seconds flat.
now i'm on a normal laptop and damn this is ssssslow..
can't wait till monday when i'll be flying again.
bluray is nice but with the internet now a days.. do the math

 

Makes you "sad in your pants"?

What in the world is going on around here? Seriously....

 

Is there a "secret" direct X 11 game I'm unaware of...?

 

even if the game is direct 11x app, the system in its configuration will still not have the desktop performance, I really doubt a mobile version will play direct 11x effeceintly, so let see some direct 10 and 9 games maxed out with the engine .

 

You should be able to run the 5870 in an M17x actually. It has been ran in the M15x by multiple users now. The only thing keeping crossfire from working is the physical omission of the needed CF connector on the cards. The solder pads are even there to accept this part. One user may try transplanting the cf connectors from his 4870s over to the 5870s to test it all out

 

And who might that user be, lol?
I have a dilemma now:
4870s->5870s project or HP 8740w.

BTW, what do you think of this cooling ?

 

Is that picture the HP?

It is decent cooling but reminds of the leaf blower asus G51 series

I immensely prefer having the CPU and GPU completely isolated (like the M15x and M17x). The fins there are somewhat well used, but the fan is always going to be going loud since there is a lot of heat for one place

 

Yes, the pic is from their user manual.
I agree, ideally 2 fans would be better but at least they got separated HS and pipes and the GPU heatsink is enormous.
Plus, for the i7 quads there's an extra pipe on the CPU HS.
And that single fan is huge. Will see some stress tests and gaming benches when people start receiving their systems.

 

That does look like a pretty nice system. Love how the much stronger ATI graphics are so much cheaper than the Nvidia option as well haha

That is the workstation equivalent of the 5870m it looks like. The option for a backlit keyboard is nice as well

 

And no dilema at all....if you just get the 5870s for the M17x, even if using just one, you have the 8740 topped in 3D power If you get crossfire working, even more of a deal

 

Don't forget the shock-spill-pressure-dust-thermal resistance, light (3.7kg) weight and a 30bit IPS screen.

At least I'm gonna look at some reviews before making up my mind...

 

Ya I was not sure what the screen specs were. The M17x can be all those things too, as long as you don't try to use it like a football underwater in a lightning storm lol

Yes it would be lighter, but people tend to forget that the reason alienwares weigh so much to begin with is due to the cooling

 

i'll take a heavier laptop with better cooling and an dedicated gpu any day over a light weight firetop with dedicated gpu

 

It's only $798.00 with free shipping to the lower 48 states for one to try this project with the 2 5870's...but as we know there are risks with most everything in the cutting edge department