Maro97 Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 It’s a shame that we own the best upgradable laptop, yet we still haven’t found a solution for upgrading the GPU to the RTX 40xx series. We’re stuck in 2021 with the 30xx series . But what truly shocked me was discovering that the Alienware M18x R2 can still be upgraded with newer GPUs. Luckily, I own the most powerful version of this machine — an i7-3940XM paired with 4x8GB of 2133 MHz RAM (32GB), and I’ve also installed an MXM to NVMe adapter. Over time, I upgraded the GPU from GTX 680M to GTX 780M, then to GTX 980M SLI, and finally to GTX 1070. I recently found on a forum dedicated to this laptop that one of the users successfully upgraded the GPU to RTX 4060 and even RTX 3080, and it actually worked using Optimus mode (where the Intel iGPU is active and the dGPU is used alongside it). This achievement drew a lot of admiration and proved the exceptional legacy of a laptop that was a masterpiece when it launched in 2013, and is still upgradeable today — thanks to companies like X-Vision, Aetina, and the unlocked BIOS. Now, is there any solution for upgrading the GPU to RTX 40xx series in the P870TM, which I personally believe is far superior to the X170KM and X170SM, both of which suffer from numerous bugs and thermal issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sliderfra Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 hi, it's probably doable, but you'd have to use dual GPU mode (Master GPU to drive internal display and Slave GPU RTX 4000 for 3D app via passthrough on internal screen, and direct output on external screen via HDMI / DP). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 I need to know is there any hope to upgrade our p870 to rtx 40xx or not like 2013 Alienware m18x r2 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runix18 Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Of course there is, you just have to find an 40xx MXM gpu with edp and you are all set. Desktop - MSI X670E Tomahawk Wifi (cheap Ebay mobo that I fixed) | AMD 9800X3D | 64GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 Dual Channel Kit | MSI RTX 4070TI Suprim X | Alienware 27 AW2724DM 2K 165 Hz Gsync | Samsung 990 Pro Nvme - Boot | Other various storage | Windows 11 Enterprise x64 SOLD - Clevo P870DM-G | i9-9700K 4.5 Ghz on all cores (-50 mv undervolted) | 32GB Hyper X Black 2666MHz | Clevo RTX 2080 3.1b undervolted for better temp 1905Mhz @881 mv | AUO B173HAN03.1 144hz Gsync | Samsung 980 NVME | Dsanke TM BIOS - Chujoi13 adapted based on needs | Network Card: Intel AX210-AX | Windows 10 Pro x64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 i know there is an mxm gpu i mean this module https://www.x-vsion.com/product/x-vsion-mxm-embedded-module-rtx-4090m/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runix18 Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Should work, do you have 910 USD to try? Desktop - MSI X670E Tomahawk Wifi (cheap Ebay mobo that I fixed) | AMD 9800X3D | 64GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 Dual Channel Kit | MSI RTX 4070TI Suprim X | Alienware 27 AW2724DM 2K 165 Hz Gsync | Samsung 990 Pro Nvme - Boot | Other various storage | Windows 11 Enterprise x64 SOLD - Clevo P870DM-G | i9-9700K 4.5 Ghz on all cores (-50 mv undervolted) | 32GB Hyper X Black 2666MHz | Clevo RTX 2080 3.1b undervolted for better temp 1905Mhz @881 mv | AUO B173HAN03.1 144hz Gsync | Samsung 980 NVME | Dsanke TM BIOS - Chujoi13 adapted based on needs | Network Card: Intel AX210-AX | Windows 10 Pro x64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 Enjoyment is expensive… I love upgrading laptops—that’s the real fun for me, as long as I can afford it. Surely, if I saw someone install it in their P870 laptop and share a full review of the installation process, I would definitely buy it—just like I bought the RTX 3080 and the modified heatsink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalman Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 Could the mxm port support 150W? Clevo P870DM2 9700k RTX3080 Clevo P775TM1 9400F GTX1080 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 I don’t know if p870tm mxm slot can handel 150w without pwr cable or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMG3 Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 These cards don't have eDP support. Even tho on the Nvidia controller panel it shows the "EDP" port but it won't work with my eDP display from 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 working only with LVDS ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiemsigh Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 On 7/9/2025 at 9:43 AM, Maro97 said: Enjoyment is expensive… I love upgrading laptops—that’s the real fun for me, as long as I can afford it. Surely, if I saw someone install it in their P870 laptop and share a full review of the installation process, I would definitely buy it—just like I bought the RTX 3080 and the modified heatsink. You can sent for me the modified heatsink picture? Tks, Clevo X7200 i9-10900K-32.0GB 3200mhz-RTX 2080 Super-FHD144Hz Clevo P870DM3-G i9-9900K-32.0GB 2667mhz-GTX 1080-UHD60Hz Clevo P775DM3-G i9-8700K-32.0GB 2667mhz-GTX 1080- FHD75Hz eGPU Razer Core X + RTX EVGA 3070Ti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted July 10 Author Share Posted July 10 15 hours ago, kiemsigh said: You can sent for me the modified heatsink picture? Tks, You can ask @Developer79 a about p870tm vapour chamber on fourm . and i see someone modded the T shape to support rtx 30xxx with a good cooling results. but not like vapour chamber one . Greetings…….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Developer79 Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 11 hours ago, Maro97 said: You can ask @Developer79 a about p870tm vapour chamber on fourm . and i see someone modded the T shape to support rtx 30xxx with a good cooling results. but not like vapour chamber one . Greetings…….. My development works with both vapor chamber and T-cooling!!! My adapters work everywhere!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted July 11 Author Share Posted July 11 On 7/9/2025 at 5:17 PM, SuperMG3 said: These cards don't have eDP support. Even tho on the Nvidia controller panel it shows the "EDP" port but it won't work with my eDP display from 2012. ZRT have an eDP support ? I see eDP in display features Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMG3 Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 12 minutes ago, Maro97 said: ZRT have an eDP support ? I see eDP in display features The 4070 I bought had also "eDP" written but it didn't work as said. On Alienware eDP and Clevo eDP. Would probably have the same results on Dreamcolor displays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerokool Posted Sunday at 05:04 AM Share Posted Sunday at 05:04 AM On 7/8/2025 at 9:43 PM, Maro97 said: Enjoyment is expensive… I love upgrading laptops—that’s the real fun for me, as long as I can afford it. Surely, if I saw someone install it in their P870 laptop and share a full review of the installation process, I would definitely buy it—just like I bought the RTX 3080 and the modified heatsink. The 4080 MXM that excuses in the wild is a 150 watt part . That I've seen . I have a 200 watt 3080 ti 16gb and apparently it's faster according to developer . Maybe I'm wrong . Further more I think our main limitations is using regular MXM GPUs in these . I've tried with a Quadro p4000 that has known edp support and I was met with angry beeps lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerokool Posted Sunday at 05:07 AM Share Posted Sunday at 05:07 AM On 7/9/2025 at 12:20 AM, Kalman said: Could the mxm port support 150W? The port can handle up to 200 . My 3080 ti easily hits 190 watt . Held back a bit do to CPU bottleneck ( QTJ1 ) but in some games I've seen it spike to 200 . It's a custom mining card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maro97 Posted Sunday at 11:32 AM Author Share Posted Sunday at 11:32 AM Did you modded a Clevo rtx 3080 to rtx 3080 ti by reballing the gpu chipset ? And how your gpu tdp up to 200w ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerokool Posted Tuesday at 08:26 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 08:26 PM On 7/20/2025 at 6:32 AM, Maro97 said: Did you modded a Clevo rtx 3080 to rtx 3080 ti by reballing the gpu chipset ? And how your gpu tdp up to 200w ? The guy I got the clevo from bought it from eBay . The seller had a bunch of these cards . Used for AI. In weird mother boards with built in MXM slots . Some even had 4 slots . They then offloaded all the gpus and sold them on eBay as 3080s . Some of the cards are 3080ti mobile versions . So they perform on par with a full 3080 . The 200 watt power draw is tough on most laptops but these clevos do ok as long as you have the vapor chamber .they are designed to be install into rack most systems . The card has 16gb vram . And just works . There is a clevo bios on it to funny enough so hmmmm . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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