Jerryzago

Awesome results. So we can safely say, the 3080 is another step to upgrade our M18x R2? It works with minor heatsink modding and custom drivers?

I tried this and it worked for ma HP Quadro RTX 3000. I flashed (and briked) it with dell vbios successfully. Sadly the PNY Quadro RTX 3000 kept giving me errors when the programming was about to start!

Looks like the secondary GPU is on it's way out. If it were the cable, the problem would be there regardless the iGPU or the 880m. Disable SLI for starters to see if the problem is still there.

It has an QM77 Express Chipset. So a 3rd Gen I7? It might be possible, and since mine worked in an Alienware, I believe it will be compatible. I cannot guarantee that though.

This is a complete guide on how to upgrade your M18x R2 with the HP Quadro RTX 3000 from an HP ZBook 17 G6 with the blue PCB. 1) Before you start. It is mandatory to install either swicks A11 unlocked BIOS to be able to use SG mode, since M18x R2 dowsen't support GPUs later than Maxwell aka 9XXm series. Files and methology are here in this forum. Having a version above A11 officilal, will require a downgrade and then unlock. You can do this process before you dissasemble your laptop. Keep in mind, setting SG with both GPU slots populated, results in a no boot condition. Unlock your BIOS and set the system to IGFX and verify your BIOS dispays the IVY Bridge as GPU ONLY in the fist page. Lastly grab an X-Bracket, beacuse the HP pegs are too short for the heatsink. You can use your old one from the gpu you are removing. Familiarize yourselfs with the NVCleanistall software. You can install drivers for unsuported GPUS easily without modding inf files. Physx Software will have to be installed seperately after the driver installation. So grab both NVcleaninstall and Physx installation software. 2) Mod the heatsink. I got myself an extra heatsink, in case I mess my original one. The mods needed are, trim the colling fins, as the core is offet both vertically and horizontially to the standard MXM cards. I advice trim and test fit the heatsik when you will have the laptop apart. Also the notch in the center of the left side where are the VRMs are, and a section of the RAM heatsink, needs to be grind down to accomodate the new VRMs. Picture is from an AMD heatsik, but the same applies to the Nvidia heatsink. Also a small part from the top, needs to be removed. Look below. 3) Mod the MXM Slot Though the mods are permanent, I will not make your motherboard unable to accomodate MXM GPUs in the future. Just make sure you store safely the small metal notch. You will have to trim down the top notch, and remove the metal pin inside. The lower notch can stay in place, but the metal pin needs to be removed. I marked a hole that I used to make a small bracket to hold the GPU in place, since none of the screw holes, aligh with the motherboard. So it is best to insulate them with tape and keep the nylon cover of the GPU (if it still has it on). 4) Install the heatsink Install the heatsik to the GPU. Take extra notice if it sits flush, and extra trim might be needed to the section where the VRMs will take place. Put thermal pad accordingly. I used 1mm pads all around and some PTM 7950 on the core and on top of the two VRMs that had clearense issues with the heatsik. 5) Install the GPU Place the gpu in the slot. As I said, none of the screws aligh, so I made a small allouminium bracket and screw it onto the motherboard. I place some thermal pad to apply pressure to the GPU and insulation. The core is offset, and doesnot aligh with the chassis hole. This is what holds the GPU in place, along with the lower notch fro the MXM slot. I used a short screw, because the hole is used from the other side. That area where the GPU is installed, will have a small bulge on the keyboard. The fan shroud no longer makes contact with the heatsik. You can install some insulating tape to keep the air from escaping, but I haven't and it really has no problem. 6) Boot the system up Boot into BIOS and change from iGFX to SG in advanced settings. Enter BIOS again after reboot and check if BOTH Ivy Bridge and NVidia GPU are present in the front page. Procced to Windows. Best to change to Full UEFI boot and disable secure boot. I haven't tested if it works in Legacy mode, so I cannot say that it will not be an issue. 7) Drivers Use GPUz to find yout GPU id and see if it shows in the device manager. Install the Intel Drivers first if you haven't already. I used the ones from Dell's site. Reboot and start NVClean install. Install the drivers you want, adding your Hardware Id and GPU name. After that, install the Physx software too. 😎 Run a benchmark Run a benchmart to see if everything works like it should. Temps should be at around 75 degrees for the GPU core and 80 for the hotspot. Above that, might need some attention. Power draw for the GPU is 80Watts due to vBIOS limitation. vBios is flashable so in the future, if someone might have the skills, maybe help push this GPU further. Maximum Power draw for my system is 300Watt with my overclocked 3940xm. Results are below. Please let me know if I have forgot something to add it.

Allow some time, I will make a full wright up with pictures. It is a DIY job but it needs extensive mods to the heatsink. I got another one so I kept my original one.

I have the same one in my M18x R2. Needs modifications to the heatsink, to the MXM slot and an extra brace to hold it to the motherboard. It sure pays off, since it is better than a 980m SLI and need a lot less power. Also runs a bit colder than the PNY one. Lastly it needs an dell x-bracket because the HP one has short pegs

My Alienware had also two 7970 so I use those heatsinks for my Nvidia GPUs. I removed the black insulation tape from the heatsink copper core. Leaving a GPU to the secondary slot, doesn't detect it from the system. Transfer it to the primary slot (left). Before doing the teardown, set the system to SG, then disassemble, install the GPU and check if it detects it in the BIOS. If it detects it, go from there to install drivers.

Second post, settings seem ok, though you could disable secure boot. Switching to UEFI requires a full windows install sadly. Intel HD drivers should install via windows update. Though I did installed the intel drivers for the dell site my own system. That is a 1060 variant I presume. It is in slot no1? Or do you still have both GPUs inside (7970 in slot 1 and GP106 in slot 2)? If you do have both, try to set PEG mode and install ati drivers first and Nvidia second.

Since you already have the unlocked BIOS, you could set from advanced options, video settings the mode SG. That will enable intergated graphics and the GP106 to show up both in BIOS. Make sure you are in full UEFI mode, because legacy is only supported from the 980m and backwards. Can't confirm that it works for later GPUs. Also a member here had issues with the GP106 in his setup. Try not to use the Fn + F7 switch because it can really mess things up now with the unlocked BIOS. Don't change anything you are not familiar with, as it can result into a paper weight if you don't have an external programmer.

One left!

That's a lot of progress. Don't mod inf. Use NVcleaninstall instead

Is it really that offset? I mean it has 2 cm of fins. It should fit since it is an MXM format.

Yes. Cut accordingly. Trim some, test fit and trim some more. You need these fins as long as possible

Yes, they are the same generation. But keep in mind, 17 may have the 120Hz screen so no SG can be used in that configuration. At least I think it is. I also have a 17 because it's a lot cheaper.

I believe these will not be your problem. Besides they have some adjustability to them. The cooling fins might be your problem. The ones I show in my photo. They are white (or silver) because the black color on them is trimmed away. But you can actually see these modifications, after you have your hands on the GPU and laptop

Look at the page above. A12 is the latest for the 18. Instructions are also there, take your time read through them thoroughly. The heatsink fans are flexible, but bending them will restrict airflow. Trimming them will be your best bet. Here is mine, trimmed down to fit inside the chassis. It needed extra time, because HP RTX 3000 has the core offset both horizontally and vertically.

Search through the posts here. A list of unlocked BIOS exist along with instructions. Don't know the exact version for the 18, but there is one one available. The screws are only horizontal offset. Better get a 100watt heatsink and trim the fins of. Measure the distance of the offset and remove as needed. A Dremel or any rotary tool will be fine. I managed to do the HP RTX 3000 for the M18x R2 that needed quite a lot of trimming. You will do it, it is simple. Hope this turns out good...

Best of luck to you making this GPU work especially in the 18. M18x R2 is more tolerable to changes. I made some changes to the unlocked BIOS of the Alienware 17 and made the RTX 3000 run at full 80watt load without throttling. Make sure you have installed the unlocked BIOS for the 18 and setting SG or iGFX prior to install. Waiting for your results

Isn't there an unlocked BIOS for it? 17 R1 also does not support PEG, but bios unlocked does.

Well after taking advice from this group, I got my hands on some Honeywell thermal pads. Not the easiest thing to apply, but was totally worth it. At firtst my 3940xm barery could keep the stock clocks, reaching 92 degrees on full load with my Artic Silver MX-4. Switched to Honeywell and also put thinner pads to the VRMs cooled by the tripple pipe CPU heatsink and BOOM...... Setting all cores to 4.4GHz via BIOS, sytem barely exceeds 80 degrees. I can hear my fans barely working and even the GPU climbs above 70 degrees. also some firestrike results https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/119616612? I just couldn't belive the difference. Next my Alienware 17 R1 will get a 4930xm to accompany its Quadro RTX 3000

Most of the first set of problems are related to hard drive communications. I say stop using the HDD caddy, get an msata for boot and place an SSD caddy to your Optical drive. There are options to put an 2230 Nvme to the Msata port via an msata to Nvme adapter. I will try it shortly to see results. Also the flickering might be if you installed the 980m and RTX3000 and had set the Video settings to SG. I places in both slots two RTX3000 (HP main slot, PNY secondary). PEG resulted in 8 beeps, SG resulted to flickering.

How about going the M18x R1 route. Install 4050 to the secondary slot and a "known to work" GPU in the primary slot (780, 880, 980 with unlocked BIOS) and set the GPU to PEG. If the system detects it, then drivers will be installed and MAYBE it might work?

Please do post pictures when you will make the install. I was sceptical about this (fitting an A GPU to a B slot). Though I have a quadro M2000m lying around for testing, I didn't go forward.

Isn't the 4050 a MXM type A? M17x R4 works with MXM type B? Maybe it will fit in the slot but you will not be able to screw it in place, and stock heatsink won't fit!