Graphics card upgrade to 1060/1070/1080

[Vqmp]

After more detail so can upgrade laptop which has one broken graphics card 😞

 

Alienware M18x R2

• Processor: i7-4940MX CPU @ 3.10GHz, 3200 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
• Mem: 32gb
• Graphics:
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (broken)

 

See mattyb3's comment lower down, but now would like a bit more detail to can pass on to PC hardware guru who has taken laptop apart before and renewed the thermal greese and the heat to dramactically drop.  Sounds like 1070 or 1080 would give great performance and 1060 not much.

 

Questions

1. would replacing both graphic cards with 1060 require any addition things (fans, power)
2. as above but for 1070
3. as above but for 1080
4. can i have old 880m card and say 10?0 in non-sli mode?
5. any links to what is needed, ideally uk sites!

 

mattyb3 has said

The 1060 and 1070 are very similar upgrades, you just need to try and get the standard MXM 3.0b form factor. Some cards have a different shape and are hard or impossible to physically fit into the laptop. 

There aren't too many 1080's that will fit. The Zotac and Aetina versions are the only ones that fit and have the GPU die in the right place for the heatsink. They also require more power than the MXM slot can provide to get the full performance. 

The 1060 is only slightly more powerful than the 980M while the 1070 is a good jump up. It all depends what you can find for a decent price. 

The problem with the 980M is that most of them come out of China and they are 'clone' cards. Basically made in peoples garages so the quality is poor and they don't tend to last long. 

 

A single 1060 is far better than dual 880M's as SLI support has pretty much ended with most games these days. 

No, you can't SLI 1060's in the 18. You will need to flash the unlocked BIOS to run the 1060 as it has to be in SG mode (Switchable Graphics / Optimus) to run the card. SG mode means SLI isn't possible. Also, most 1060's don't tend to have SLI connectors on the PCB.

[Maxware79]

Hello, If you have the 4930MX then you have the 18, not the M18x R2.

 

1. No, you won't need anything extra

2. As above

3. Some 1080's have an additional power connector because the MXM slot does not provide enough power to run the 1080. Some 1080's don't have the extra connector though

4. Not really sure about this one. Running different cards in the same machine could cause some issues and I'm not sure if there is a reason why you'd want to. You used to be able to set a second card to run Nvidia PhysX but that's dead now

5. The Unlocked BIOS is required and available on this site

 

 

You'll have to learn how to mod the Nvidia driver. Here is a written guide and also a Youtube video

 

https://null-src.com/posts/nvidia-notebook-driver-inf-mod/post.php

 

 

[aldarxt]

I need help, I'm put a Aetina GTX 1080 in my m18xr2 and am getting bluescreens on restart. Tried different drivers, 512.15notebook,  472.12notebook, don't know if it needs quadro drivers but editing the quadro drivers didn't seem correct. Maybe the vbios needs to be changed OR maybe I got a bad card.

The drivers install ok but after restart I get code 43 with 497.29 notebook driver. Nvidia control panel not working. I put SG mode in bios is there any other bios settings that need to be changed like muxless settings?

[Maxware79]

Aetina cards are notoriously troublesome. Use DDU to remove any NVidia drivers. Does the card cause any bluescreens without a driver installed?

If it's a GeForce card then you shouldn't have any need to edit a Quadro driver. 

With the driver removed, check GPU-Z for the vBIOS version and we'll see if there's a more suitable one. 

[aldarxt]

On 3/30/2022 at 10:29 PM, Maxware79 said:

Aetina cards are notoriously troublesome. Use DDU to remove any NVidia drivers. Does the card cause any bluescreens without a driver installed?

If it's a GeForce card then you shouldn't have any need to edit a Quadro driver. 

With the driver removed, check GPU-Z for the vBIOS version and we'll see if there's a more suitable one. 

Thanks Maxware79, you are a reliable source and great help, So the GTX 1080 mxm from aetina  did not run in the m18xr2, tried about 4 different drivers and every option on each Express install to custom and all installed perfectly until reboot and then bluescreen. So I went back in and reinstalled the P4000 and it is running top notch. Took the 1080 and installed it in the m17xr4, first shot running perfectly. Very happy with that 17x. As to why the 18xr2 is not taking the 1080 will have to wait, I pulled the LED Logo Board Cable and it ripped like a piece of paper (see photo)

I don't use that light anyway, disabled it years ago because it botherd me when playing games in the dark. Now I am going through Drivers for the m17xr4, I'll start with the latest and see how it does in 3DMark, I am now a happy camper!!!

The vBios in the 1080 is 84.04.39.00.00, Here is the validation page https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/details/g5rx2

I can over clock but can't set power and temp

OH Yea I had to take out the 2nd Drive to fit the 1080, now I'll have to get a dvd caddy to put in a HDD for extra storage

The 1080 is longer and reaches in to the 2nd drives bay. This stuff really makes me shake my head LOL

[aldarxt]

On 3/30/2022 at 10:29 PM, Maxware79 said:

Aetina cards are notoriously troublesome. Use DDU to remove any NVidia drivers. Does the card cause any bluescreens without a driver installed?

If it's a GeForce card then you shouldn't have any need to edit a Quadro driver. 

With the driver removed, check GPU-Z for the vBIOS version and we'll see if there's a more suitable one. 

OK started up the m17xr4 this morning from overnight shut down and the BSOD came back. Don't understand why it worked last night, even got this score on Firestrike

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/73753021. It was running for about 4 or 5 hours before I shut it down, I needed to get some sleep, just want to keep an eye on it till its stable. How about the vBios option, I'd like to experiment with different ones. I also went to Aetina and got the 436.02-notebook-win10-64bit_Aetina drivers for 1000 series from them, seems like a regular Nvidia installer I was hoping they did some in house hacking to, but same, I get a BSOD or code 43 windows stops it from running and the

Microsoft Basic Display Adapter gives a code 31 can't load the driver. I also increased the timeout (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
\GraphicsDrivers\TdrDelay to 8. I hope there are other vBios I can try

 

EDIT EDIT EDIT

OK Hate to be a pest but I took out the 1080 and put back the P4000 in m17xr4, was hoping to put the P4000 in the M6700 cause it has a GTX 980. But since it is so easy to change cards in the m17xr4 I don't mind if a solution or suggestion comes in, Thanks for the patience.

 

[aldarxt]

On 3/29/2022 at 2:12 PM, Vqmp said:

After more detail so can upgrade laptop which has one broken graphics card 😞

 

Alienware M18x R2

• Processor: i7-4940MX CPU @ 3.10GHz, 3200 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
• Mem: 32gb
• Graphics:
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (broken)

 

See mattyb3's comment lower down, but now would like a bit more detail to can pass on to PC hardware guru who has taken laptop apart before and renewed the thermal greese and the heat to dramactically drop.  Sounds like 1070 or 1080 would give great performance and 1060 not much.

 

Questions

1. would replacing both graphic cards with 1060 require any addition things (fans, power)
2. as above but for 1070
3. as above but for 1080
4. can i have old 880m card and say 10?0 in non-sli mode?
5. any links to what is needed, ideally uk sites!

 

mattyb3 has said

The 1060 and 1070 are very similar upgrades, you just need to try and get the standard MXM 3.0b form factor. Some cards have a different shape and are hard or impossible to physically fit into the laptop. 

There aren't too many 1080's that will fit. The Zotac and Aetina versions are the only ones that fit and have the GPU die in the right place for the heatsink. They also require more power than the MXM slot can provide to get the full performance. 

The 1060 is only slightly more powerful than the 980M while the 1070 is a good jump up. It all depends what you can find for a decent price. 

The problem with the 980M is that most of them come out of China and they are 'clone' cards. Basically made in peoples garages so the quality is poor and they don't tend to last long. 

 

A single 1060 is far better than dual 880M's as SLI support has pretty much ended with most games these days. 

No, you can't SLI 1060's in the 18. You will need to flash the unlocked BIOS to run the 1060 as it has to be in SG mode (Switchable Graphics / Optimus) to run the card. SG mode means SLI isn't possible. Also, most 1060's don't tend to have SLI connectors on the PCB.

Hey Vqmp, Hows your upgrade going? I was looking at a P5000, ssj92 says he is waiting for a Quadro A4000 but that might be hard to come by, and the P4000 went in my m18xr2 without a hiccup and also my m17xr4. They are running great, I just have a problem leaving well enough alone

[Azther]

On 4/1/2022 at 3:14 AM, aldarxt said:

Thanks Maxware79, you are a reliable source and great help, So the GTX 1080 mxm from aetina  did not run in the m18xr2, tried about 4 different drivers and every option on each Express install to custom and all installed perfectly until reboot and then bluescreen. So I went back in and reinstalled the P4000 and it is running top notch. Took the 1080 and installed it in the m17xr4, first shot running perfectly. Very happy with that 17x. As to why the 18xr2 is not taking the 1080 will have to wait, I pulled the LED Logo Board Cable and it ripped like a piece of paper (see photo)

I don't use that light anyway, disabled it years ago because it botherd me when playing games in the dark. Now I am going through Drivers for the m17xr4, I'll start with the latest and see how it does in 3DMark, I am now a happy camper!!!

The vBios in the 1080 is 84.04.39.00.00, Here is the validation page https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/details/g5rx2

I can over clock but can't set power and temp

OH Yea I had to take out the 2nd Drive to fit the 1080, now I'll have to get a dvd caddy to put in a HDD for extra storage

The 1080 is longer and reaches in to the 2nd drives bay. This stuff really makes me shake my head LOL

ouch, yeah for future reference i always use my finger nails to pry out the connectors for the cables using the plastic tabs at the top of them(wiggle them gently side to side until they come free). Unless the RTX 3000 comes down in price im pretty happy sticking with the p4000 personally

[aldarxt]

3 hours ago, Azther said:

ouch, yeah for future reference i always use my finger nails to pry out the connectors for the cables using the plastic tabs at the top of them(wiggle them gently side to side until they come free). Unless the RTX 3000 comes down in price im pretty happy sticking with the p4000 personally

Yeah, I think the damage was more from pressing it in over the years flattening the wires and pulling straight up and over time fatigueing the copper wires, getting my fingernails in those tight spots attached to my fingers is a difficult process lol, but thats deffinetly a good practice. I am just so glad I don't need to bother fixing it. I left the cable in, bent it away from the socket on the mobo and that is the cable that rides next to the gray display cable in that channel, helps them to fit more snug. On one of my laptops, I think my asus g51jx (out of commision now) I tried to pull the cmos plug out prying it with a flat screwdriver and broke the plug, yeah fingernails are deffinetly better.

[Azther]

4 hours ago, aldarxt said:

Yeah, I think the damage was more from pressing it in over the years flattening the wires and pulling straight up and over time fatigueing the copper wires, getting my fingernails in those tight spots attached to my fingers is a difficult process lol, but thats deffinetly a good practice. I am just so glad I don't need to bother fixing it. I left the cable in, bent it away from the socket on the mobo and that is the cable that rides next to the gray display cable in that channel, helps them to fit more snug. On one of my laptops, I think my asus g51jx (out of commision now) I tried to pull the cmos plug out prying it with a flat screwdriver and broke the plug, yeah fingernails are deffinetly better.

yeah lol, due to the age and parts being hard to source i tend to take extra care with both my r1 and r2 m18x machines

[At0mX]

just a quick listing of all the heatsinks I found for M18x R1/R2 an A18:

M18x R1 LEFT       NV  75W AT0 FM00 30F0 // 00TYGV - 3 pipes
M18x R1 LEFT   AMD 100W AT0 FM00 70F0 // 0Y8T9Y - 3 pipes
M18x R1 RIGHT AMD 100W AT0 FM00 A0F0 // 029NC1 - 3 pipes
M18x R1 RIGHT     NV  75W AT0 FM00 80F0 // 05DWH3 - 3 pipes
M18x R1 RIGHT    NV 100W AT0 FM00 C0F0 // 0Y3WC7 - 3 pipes

 

M18x R2 LEFT  AMD      100W AT0 MI00 10F0 // 0V4NXK - 3 pipes
M18x R2 LEFT  NV           75W AT0 MI00 20F0 // 0KY4VY - 3 pipes
M18x R2 LEFT  NVGTX  100W AT0 MI00 80F0 // 0KC5GV - 3 pipes
M18x R2 RIGHT NVGTX 100W AT0 MI00 90F0 // 077YMM - 3 pipes
M18x R2 RIGHT NV        100W AT0 MI00 60F0 // 0Y48TK - 3 pipes

 

A18 LEFT  NV      75W AT0 UN00 F0C0 // 0P4P1Y - 2 pipes
A18 LEFT  NV      75W AT0 UN00 50F0 // 0YX4KF - 2 pipes
A18 LEFT  NV    100W AT0 UN00 10C0 // 0HTXFC - 3 pipes
A18 LEFT  NV    100W AT0 UN00 D0C0 // 0R5NKT - 3 pipes
A18 LEFT  AMD 100W AT0 UN00 B0C0 // 0MPF9H - 3 pipes
A18 LEFT  GTX 970     AT0 UN00 H0F0 // 0WJ75M - 2 pipes
A18 RIGHT NV     75W AT0 UN00 70F0 // 0H3P03 - 2 pipes
A18 RIGHT NV     75W AT0 UN00 G0C0 // 07P34C - 2 pipes
A18 RIGHT NV   100W AT0 UN00 G0C0 // 0NHGJM - 3 pipes
A18 RIGHT NV   100W AT0 UN00 E0C0 // 0NHGJM - 3 pipes
A18 RIGHT AMD 100W AT0 UN00 C0C0 // 0H3KKT - 3 pipes
A18 RIGHT GTX 970     AT0 UN00 I0F0 // 0HJJ21 - 2 pipes