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Hello. Here are more pictures and testing with the backlight mod v2! PWM brightness control works. System tested: ALIENWARE M17X R4 UEFI 120Hz Heaven benchmark 4.0 1080p: 236FPS Furmark 1.37 1080p: 146FPS

I am currently doing a fairly extensive restoration and modernization of an Alienware 17 R1 built around the Compal LA-9331P motherboard. The machine is now almost completely disassembled. So far I have acquired a replacement keyboard, trackpad, speakers, and battery, along with a five-heatpipe GPU heatsink intended for GTX 800/900/10-series MXM cards and a higher-CFM GPU fan. I still intend to replace several worn chassis parts, including the palmrest, front display bezel, and trackpad buttons, and I am also acquiring an upgraded CPU heatsink and possibly a better CPU fan. The planned electronic upgrades are a faster i7-4940MX CPU, 32 GB of DDR3L, several multi-terrabyte SATA SSDs and an mSATA, a modern display, Wi-Fi 7 via a BE200 and adapter (already done), new antennae , and eventually a substantially newer MXM GPU. The LA-9331P has four DDR3L SO-DIMM slots but is officially a DDR3L-1600 platform. Faster DDR3L-1866/2133 modules should normally fall back to a supported JEDEC speed, although running them above 1600 would depend on BIOS and memory-controller support. For storage, the machine provides two normal SATA drive connections, an ODD/HDD bay and mSATA. There is unfortunately no native NVMe interface, so my current plan is to put Windows on a high-quality 2.5-inch SATA SSD and use the mSATA slot and additional SATA bay for secondary storage. For the GPU, the most interesting card I have actually found for sale is an industrial Turing Quadro RTX 5000 MXM module with 16 GB of GDDR6. The seller has confirmed that it is an 82×105 mm MXM 3.0/3.1 Type-B card, and the listing photographs show an EGX-MXM-RTX5000-style PCB. It appears physically suitable for the system, but the remaining questions are the vBIOS, UEFI GOP support, power limit, subsystem/device IDs and compatibility with the Alienware BIOS. The heatsink would also need to be checked and modified for the card’s exact VRAM and VRM layout. Ampere RTX 3060/3070 MXM-B modules apparently exist through embedded-GPU suppliers, but most are inquiry-only industrial products and are often custom OEM boards with uncertain compatibility. I have also not yet found a practical retail source. At this point, the RTX 5000 looks like the best balance of performance, VRAM, physical compatibility and likelihood of actually working. A GTX 1070 or 1080 MXM remains the cheaper and more established fallback in the worst-case scenario. I am also not sure if Eurocom sells MXM GPUs, as I have no experience dealing with them. I am, however, aware people here have purchased from them before, so I am thinking of sending them a message and exploring that possibility. As for my exact choice, Turing is my go-to since it is a modern RTX standard that can bring the laptop at least partially into the 2020s but also not so far away from the Ranger to make me worry about further firmware issues or breaking the bank. I could theoretically go for Ampere or even Ada if I can find them in 82x105mm MXM form, as I have the cooling for them — but my main issue is firmware. The LA-9331P can electrically make any MXM card work — even the Ada monstrosities — but, as always, it is the BIOS, vBIOS, and EC behavior that gives me anxiety. The display side is especially interesting. My original 60Hz panel is damaged, so the machine currently has no usable internal screen. I would like to install a 17.3-inch 2560 × 1440 165 Hz eDP panel rather than another original 1080p unit. The LA-9331P schematic shows a four-lane internal eDP path and switching circuitry capable of accepting display signals from either the Haswell CPU or the MXM GPU. It includes signals such as DGPU_SELECT#, DP_MXM_CARD_SEL and PANEL_SW, so the hardware is more sophisticated than a simple fixed dGPU-only connection. However, the known factory-style 120 Hz eDP conversion normally disables the Intel graphics/Optimus configuration and uses direct MXM output. My current understanding is therefore that a modern QHD high-refresh panel should be technically plausible over the eDP path, but direct dGPU operation is the most likely out-of-the-box result. The unanswered question is whether the existing display mux can be made user-selectable through BIOS/EC modification. In principle, an expert might be able to create an iGPU/Optimus mode and a direct-dGPU performance mode, but I have not found proof that this has actually been implemented on the Alienware 17 R1. I also would not assume that Intel HD 4600 can reliably drive 1440p at the full 165 Hz, even if the CPU eDP path is selected. A possible compromise would be 1440p at 60–120 Hz in an experimental Intel-driven mode and the full available refresh rate in direct-MXM mode. Before purchasing a panel, I still need to verify the exact 40-pin pinout, cable lane population, panel voltage and backlight requirements, connector position, and mechanical mounting. Modern slim panels will probably require custom brackets or spacers. Losing Optimus sucks, as this means I lose flexibility with the entire computer as a whole. If the MXM starts acting up or I do not have one ready yet, there goes my display. However, I have found a temporary solution: for initial testing, I intend to use the laptop through HDMI with the internal display cable disconnected. The physical HDMI connector is dual-purpose and supports both HDMI input and HDMI output through separate switching circuitry. The schematic also shows that the HDMI-output path can be sourced from either the CPU graphics or MXM graphics, although actual POST behavior will still depend on the BIOS and installed GPU. The board has not been powered for roughly a year, the RTC/CMOS battery is currently absent, and it has been cleaned repeatedly with 99.5% isopropyl alcohol. Before testing, I will install a fresh correctly wired RTC battery, known-good RAM, the CPU, and complete cooling system, then attempt a minimal HDMI boot. Cooling will be addressed before the final CPU and GPU upgrades. I have purchased a much larger custom copper multi-heatpipe CPU assembly from Cicichen, who has previously produced upgraded parts specifically for the Ranger. His CPU heatsink is made for the Alienware 17 R1/P18E mounting geometry, but adapts the later Alienware vapor-chamber design philosophy (from the R5, I believe) to the older R1 chassis. The listing photos show a large copper vapor chamber over the CPU, four tightly nested heatpipes, and a substantial all-copper fin stack. It is essentially the kind of cooler Dell might have fitted if the Ranger had been designed around a hotter CPU from the beginning. Unfortunately, he ran out of upgraded CPU fans and got rid of the tooling, which he said he deeply regrets, so I’ll just use the stock one. My final intention is to use Conductonaut, but I will probably first validate the heatsink contact and temperatures with PTM7950 paste before taking the additional electrical and mechanical risk. Cicichen has also offered to manufacture a completely custom GPU heatsink once I select and receive the graphics card. His current five-pipe Ranger GPU heatsink I acquired is designed for older GTX layouts and will not directly fit an RTX board, but he can build me a new heatsink around photographs and dimensions of the exact PCB. That removes one of the biggest mechanical problems with fitting an RTX 5000, 30XX, or 40XX (provided they are 82x105mm). My overall aim is not to min-max the cheapest performance per dollar/euro. It is to preserve and modernize a machine very dear to me with a socketed CPU, replaceable MXM graphics, four RAM slots, several storage interfaces, separate I/O daughterboards, and unusually flexible display routing, courtesy of the overbuilt and, IMHO, legendary Compal LA-9331P. A machine that is not like the soldered, planned obsolescence-obsessed, enshittified stuff we have today I am completing the work in stages and will leave the expensive GPU purchase until the rest of the platform is assembled, stable, and tested. I would particularly appreciate any first-hand information about RTX MXM vendors and vBIOS compatibility, the LA-9331P eDP mux controls, retaining Intel graphics with an eDP panel, and modern 1440p panel installations in the Alienware 17 R1. Any info on potential RAM overclocking and CPU/GPU underclocking would also be appreciated, as I heard somewhere this is not possible on this machine for some reason.

Norway: first country to virtually ban the use of AI in primary education Norway has decided to make a radical shift in its education policy: starting with the next school year, which begins at the end of August 2026, primary school students will not be allowed to use generative artificial intelligence tools in their.....

Microsoft has created a complete disaster. When will they reach the bottom of stupidity @Mr. Fox🤔 Windows 11 26H2 confirmed, 26H1 devices will not get this update 26H1 uses a different Windows core.

Yup. Asus going nuts.... This anniversary nonsense need to stop. What anniversary will they try use with next gen cards?🤔 ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 Edition 20 priced at €5,799 or converts to $6,650 +$2200 USD above an vanilla overpriced 5090 Astral or $4500 above 5090 FE. Nice. Can't be done any better. Gigabyte... You need to do much better. $5300 is all too cheap.

If you don't mind the "Alienware" text light working, it sounds like @SuperMG has a R4 120hz assembly you could potentially buy. Part list: 3d 120hz eDP cable: 4GWC0 C30PY 17.3 3D panel XX7CM 3D LCD Emitter WWKT6 3D LCD Emitter Cable N7VXD Alienware Logo Cable Full R3 Parts list:

I'm making this post for every AW I own so it can help me and anyone else looking for spare parts. M17x-R3 Parts Accessory 43H75 Alienware Logo PCB (w/ Cable) 923YH 3D shutter glass set F836R Mousepad F837R Alienware Baseball Hat F889R Alienware Stickers FKJ85 Card Reader Board + Cable Cables and Cords 01K8M Front Speaker Lighting Assembly (w/ Cable) 0X56W Cable for BT module 4JV8X ODD Cable 5120P Power Cord, 6FT 7XD6N Power Button Cable 894PC Card Reader Cable FF56M NumLock Board Cable GTDTJ LCD LVDS Cable-HD N7VXD Alienware Logo Cable WWKT6 3D LCD Emitter Cable Displays 1FX9D AW2210 RMW9V AW2310 DVD-ROMs, Accessories 1HC8F HLDS DVD+/-RW,8X,SATA M5F6V PLDS DVD+/-RW,8X,SATA P94GT HLDS DVDRW/BD-ROM,6X,12.7,SATA XPXR7 ODD Bracket Hard Drives, Accessories 23NXF 320GB S2-P11, 7.2K, 2.5", Samsung MP4 (Use only Non FFS HDs as replacement, supports FFS circuit on MB) 34C6N HD,320GB,SATA2,7200RPM,PIN 11,4KE,7MM 4K2C3 256GB SSD-S2, 2.5", CASED, Samsung PM810 6VN64 250GB S2-P11, 7.2K, Samsung-MP4 (Use only Non FFS HHDs as Replacement, Supports FFS circuit on MB) HD,250GB,S2,7.2K,P11,SMSNG-MP4 0 1 0 Yes 1 GD3G4 250GB S2-P11, 7.2K, 2.5", Toshiba CC (Use only Non-FFS as replacement, supports FFS circuit on MB) HD,250,S2,7.2,P11,2.5,TSHBA-CC 0 1 0 Yes 1 HWW3K 320GB S2-P11, 7.2K, 2.5", Toshiba CC (Use only Non-FFS as replacement, supports FFS circuit on MB) HD,500,S2,2.5,7.2K,ANAK 0 1 0 Yes 1 PPHPX 320GB S2-P11, 7.2K, 2.5", Toshiba CC (Use only Non-FFS as replacement, supports FFS circuit on MB) HD,320,S2,7.2,P11,2.5,TSHBA-CC 0 1 0 Yes 1 R185F SSDR Metal mounting Bracket (Can be used to support no HDD option. However, HDD bezel and screws must be ordered separately) R6KNT HD,750,S2,7.2K,P11,4KE,SGT-DRU HD W5Y3D 320GB P11, 7.2K, 2.5, Western Digital MX-250M HD,320,P11 XDNFF 250GB S2-P11, 7.2K, 2.5", Seagate Holliday (Use only Non FFS HDs as replacement, supports FFS circuit on MB) Y19R3 250GB S2-P11, 7.2K, Western Digital MX320 (Use only Non FFS HHDs as replacement. Supports FFS circuit on MB) Heatsinks, Fans and Accessories 4K1MM Graphics Card Fan module 650RY CPU Thermal Module GVHX3 CPU Fan J9H7X MXM Thermal Module N11E-GS (Heatsink only) VH0YK MXM Thermal Module Granville Pro- (Heatsink only) YHP1P MXM Thermal Module Blackcomb XT- (Heatsink only) Keyboards and Mice 9M46F Keyboard Alienware 101 9T3CX Keyboard Adapter PCB (w/ Cable) U254N MG900 USB Mouse LCD Plastics, Covers, Accessories 0MKH2 LCD Back Cover- Red 2NH6T LCD Back Cover- Black 39PKF Sibeam Antenna Module (Includes Antenna) 7TJJN Hinge-Up Assembly 8HPX1 LCD Hinge up Assembly, WLED (Includes LCD, Frame, LVDS Cable, Logo board, PMMA ) (Does not include the LCD back cover or antenna cables) PYVWX Camera / Array Mic Module XM2J5 LCD Hinge up Assembly, 3D (Includes LCD, Frame, LVDS Cable, Logo board, PMMA ) (Does not include the LCD back cover or antenna cables) XX7CM 3D LCD Emitter LCD/Display Assembly 983RG LCD, 17.3HDF+, WLED, LVDS, LG C30PY 17.3 3D panel H8D3K 17.3FHD, WLED, LVDS, AUO M99C0 17.3HDF+, WLED, LVDS, AUO MGNC7 17.3FHD, WLED, LVDS, LGD Mechanical/Chassis 0JDJY Power Button LED Board (w/Cable) 4PMPH HDD Bracket Assy (Primary) 6H7T5 HDD Bracket Assy (Secondary) 92XH8 NumLock PCB + Cable 9JFTX Media Button PCB + Cable 9P0X0 Media Button Board Cable DJ5TV RAM Area Support Bracket GDKVM Keyboard Frame Assembly J9XWC Bottom Housing Assembly- Black M1P0R Bottom Housing Assembly- Red N1N6W Power Button PCB Assy + Cable WMCFH Palmrest Assembly (Touchpad, Palmrest, Front Bzl and Lighting) Memory 560NY 2GB,1333MHZ,256X64,8K,204 F073F 2GB,1333MHZ,256X64,8K,204 V1RX3 2GB,1333MHZ,256X64,8K,204 PX72C 4GB,1333MHZ,512X64,8K,204 X830D 4GB,1333MHZ,512X64,8K,204 YR6MN 8GB,1333MHZ,1024X64,8K,204 Miscellaneous Hardware 45YR1 Toslink Mini-m Adapter Motherboards 5HT44 WiHD Card (DMC/SiBeam) 5VYM9 Motherboard Plastics 11KR8 Bottom Door P7H63 Generic M17x-R3 Nameplate Power Source 5WP5W 9 cell battery (Simplo) 7XC9N 9 cell battery (SDI) J211H AC Adapter 240W, 3Pin, Delta J408P AC Adapter 150W, 3Pin, Delta J938H AC Adapter 240W, 3Pin, Flextronics MY53R RTC Battery Screws 2864D M3x3 : 4 for Bracket to HDD, 4 for HDD assembly to Base SCR,M3X3,KSH,MS,BLO 0 1 0 Yes 1 3R690 2.5X8: Palmrest Bottom Side (Total Qty 11), Optical Drive (1), Bluetooth Card Door (1) SCR,2.5X8,#1- KSH,MSCR,CPS 0 1 0 Yes 1 4270E (LCD PANEL TO LCD COVER) 63PDH M2.5X5, LCD Screws(6) SCR,M2 9GY7V SCR,M2X2,PHH#1,MSCR,NPL,PHTM (Nameplate) Software TMCCD W7U64 446JR W7P64 DW6RN W7HP64 CTTHN Adobe Elements 8 K989J Adobe Acrobat 9.0 W7NRW Adobe Premier Elements 8 FPGC7 PowerDVD 9.5 R4DW2 PowerDVD 3D 9.6, Remote Media 1.6 T1WKW Fast Access Facial Recognition 3.0 WC3YD Dell Webcam Central 2.0 WCMJX McAfee 11, Pearl, 6-Month Subscription Y6VKV McAfee 11, Pearl Speakers J1XW4 Speakers (w/ Cable) Video Card Integrated Intel HD3000 RDRGR AMD HD6990m Blackcomb XTX V9XKH AMD HD6970m Blackcomb XT V5TGF AMD HD6870m Granville Pro 3MF8R Nvidia GTX580m N12E-GTX2 YT99J Nvidia GTX470m N12E-GS VDV04 Nvidia GTX460m N11E-GS Wireless 4W00N WiFi Half Mini Card Intel Link 6300 G9M5X Bluetooth module 375 Foxconn (Does not include cable) K5Y6D WLAN Half Mini Card DW1501 LiteOn Verdi MW04C WiMAX/WiFi Half Mini Card Intel Link 6250 Dionysus WHDPC WLAN Half Mini Card DW1501 Foxconn WJCJD Bluetooth Card 375 Liteon (Does not include cable)

Hello I have the same problem with my m18x r2 that happened to many before . and as I just bought bough the device two days ago and it's my first time using alienware device I had problem running it with gtx 1070 and I changed few settings in bios that made the device dead to me . starting for few seconds then shutdown . blindflashing never worked I tried many times . so I have to go with your method with the dumb for SPI Rom chip . will appreciate if anyone has the dumb that I can use to fix this . or if there is any other solution to this

Hello I have the same problem with my m18x r2 you had while ago . and as I just bough the device two days ago and it's my first time I had problem running it with gtx 1070 and I changed few settings in bios that made the device dead to me . starting for few seconds then shutdown . blindflashing never worked I tried many times . so I have to go with your method with the dumb for SPI Rom chip can you help me by sending me this dumb as I am stuck here

I have them. Correct screen 50 pins and correct cables for webcam and eDP. No 3D emitter for it. 3D functionality doesn't work for Maxwell and above.

Do you potentially know part numbers for the 1080p panels? Even if it’s a non edp panel. I fear finding all the things for the 3d panel to work will be hard, not too sure what exactly I’ll need parts wise either.

I went with the #1= AMD 9950X3D2 (Mouth watering expensive), #2= ASUS X870E Dark Hero (This is the new Hero board with better PCIe release, it was an open box “Excellent” $559. This “Hero Dark” is absolutely NOT worth the regular retail of $699.99 for a Hero board.. 😂 I learned Ryzen is not exactly memory limited from the board with ram, so this swayed me away from the Apex X870 which had a few missing key features that I’d really like to have like 40Gbs USB-c), and finally #3= the (2x16GB) Corsair Dominator Titanium Z30 6000c30 kit. I sourced the kit else where at a much much better price though. I wanted to explain my reasoning behind wanting the Dominator Titanium “Z30” kit. I did some research, and these sticks overclock VERY VERY well. So, this had me intrigued and they were like half the price of the normal MSRP on BestBuy. Also, the very main REASON WAS! The cooling is actually good on these Dominator Titanium rams, I was not planning to water cool my dimms right away. And I know what ram temps are like on DDR5 and getting errors due to temps. I remember my Bdie Dom Platz OCed well, and ran very cool! These should run even cooler. So much back and forward wanting a 270KP, then a regular 9950X3D, then a 14900K or KS, then maybe a 9850X3D. I just said F it… Let’s try AMD, I would like heavy lifting power outside of gaming, and X3D capability as well. Since I do not have a 9850X3D or a 9950X/9950X3D etc; the 9950X3D2 made the most sense in my mind. 😀

Those are all fair points. Thank you Aaron, I will setup a service.

Yes. Source is max 1080p 60Hz. The cables I used, work with The HDMI in of a previous M18X R2 with Windows 10 I had.

Only thing to note, the “Alienware” text isn’t compatible. R3/R4 use different cable for the AW text. Everything else is compatible.

So it’s on a black screen? The source is 1080p 60hz or less?

@DylSkiI sell that if you want. It's the whole assembly + it's red nebula, doesn't have the 3D emitter though. Today I came back and I stripped apart a m17x R4 I had because no one wants to buy it. The assembly is compatible with R3 because it's the LGD02C5 screen.

I believe that any issues "caused" by the technician or replacement parts are covered for 90 days, even if your warranty expires in the meantime. If they propose an upgrade, you can always decline.

Yes it says that but no signal just a backlight on.

I highly recommend finding the 120hz 3D panel because it’s much higher quality and you can use better GPUs such as P5000/P4000 or even RTX 3000-5000. Right now I’m working on getting 4090 to work. I can easily do 4.0Ghz on my 2920XM without any additional voltage. p5000 will give you 2x performance of 980M in games.

If the OSD says HDMI IN when you plug it in then it should work.

Joined in. I have better luck in RU.efi doing below: Alt-F to enter menu bar Choose EFI Variables and then the scroll to the EFI Variables -> Setup Use Control + PgDwn to get to proper addresses. Control + w to write before Quit and reset.

Checking my settings in RU.efi the eGPU root port was already set. I did the 2080 RTX disable, PEG and internal Gfx disable.

I hope that your hard work and faithfulness is recognized by your employer and pays off in compensation equal to the time and effort. It generally does when you are working for a respectable organization. Good companies know that good employees are hard to replace and need to be retained. It's sad how things are turning to crap for our hobby. It's hard to get excited about anything from AMD, Intel or NVIDIA. Not only because of abusive, predatory pricing. Everything is riddled with compromises and mediocrity in one or more areas. Hardly anything is awesome. Even the extremely retarded price of a 5090 gets you a GPU that has been deliberately castrated in terms of power and voltage controls needed for overclocking excellence, a dangerously inept power delivery mechanism (12VHPWR) and dishonest, unreliable warranty handling by the OEMs and retailers. It applies to DDR5 and NVMe failures as well as GPU failures. "Sorry, we took your money, sold you a defective parts, but you're on you own now because we make more money selling the same parts to AI data centers for 150-300% more than what you paid for them." Now even Best Buy is selling "open box" GPUs with no core and memory. Clearly they did not bother testing anything before putting it on the shelf. This video from Alex should help the victimized customer get a refund. I'm surprised it wasn't handled and made its way into a video like this.

From cold boot the 5080 has incorrect PCIe settings. As if the BIOS picks a "bad handshake". The only workaround found is to allow boot to Windows. Disable, unplug, replug the AGA inside of windows. Then stable connection is established. You can see all the screenshots and progress in the AGA thread. What stinks is that if I leave the AGA plugged in overnight with the laptop on suspend or hibernate the system crashes. Comes up cold boot.