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    P170EM for Gaming

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by Jetzet, Jun 14, 2019.

  1. Jetzet

    Jetzet Newbie

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    Hi all,

    I've dusted off my old Clevo P170EM (rebadged as a sager) because I've wanted to get back into gaming. I would like to play games like fallout 4 and metro exodus on higher settings with good frame rate. It currently has a 7970M and a i7-3630QM, and as far as I can tell, those won't fit the bill and an upgrade is needed.

    I've already looked into 980Ms, and 1060s by Msi, and I've seen that alot of other members have successfully upgraded their Clevos with them. The threads don't specify what modded drivers I would need, nor if I need a bios update or not (some have written yes and some no). Ive seen kits offered for the 1060 but I would like to keep it under $500 if possible. However, if buying the card and trying to fiddle with the drivers and bios is best avoided then I won't be stingy with the kit.

    Furthermore, cooling and power is a concern. I've heard that investing in another heat sink is preferable, but I've seen mods done with the stock heatsink. Thermal paste and thermal pad brands are as numerous as they are confusing and I cant seem to get a straight answer as to which I should purchase or if there is an advantage of one over the other.
     
    Jetzet, Jun 14, 2019
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  2. Khenglish

    Khenglish Notebook Deity

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    You don't need any bios mods for the 1060. I'm pretty sure you don't for the 980m.

    The 1060 is a cool running card and your current heatsink will be fine as long as you move thermal pads around to make sure all power FETs on the card are cooled. The 980m uses more power, and you should consider getting the improved SM series heatsinks.

    The driver mod is just a regular .inf mod like any notebook GPU upgrade.
     
    Khenglish, Jun 14, 2019
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  3. Jetzet

    Jetzet Newbie

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    In that case, the 1060 looks preferable. Its the 1060 mxm by Msi correct? Would any other chip provider work?

    Just in case, if any thermal pads are accidently torn during removal, any specific ones I should get?
     
    Jetzet, Jun 14, 2019
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  4. Khenglish

    Khenglish Notebook Deity

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    It's hard to find good thermal pads. Whenever I get aftermarket pads they dry out and harden over just a few months. If you tear one I would just use it anyway.

    I think any card besides the Clevo 1060 should be fine. The MSI card is definitely a good one.
     
    Khenglish, Jun 14, 2019
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  5. Jetzet

    Jetzet Newbie

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    Thank you so much for your help, I'll start looking for a good 1060.
     
    Jetzet, Jun 14, 2019
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