M18X R1 GPU Upgrade

[razor0601]

I have a link to the eurocom site.

https://eurocom.com/ec/upgrade(2,267,0)Alienware_M18xR1
 

Are there any other card which will work?

[jaybee83]

with the good old true Alienwares like the M18X Rx series id say any card that can physically fit in there would work with an inf mod 🙂 

[razor0601]

I heard that 980m/970m doesn´t work because of the no uefi Bios. Is that right?

[razor0601]

Now I installed the 2 GTX 770m from my Alienware 18. But it gives me a black screen. No Post. No matter if SG or PEG I read that 765/770/780 and 880m had VBios issues with the R1. So which VBios do I need? The 770m has 80.06.60.00.01

[jaybee83]

10 hours ago, razor0601 said:

I heard that 980m/970m doesn´t work because of the no uefi Bios. Is that right?

not necessarily, the mux switch should give u the option to route the signal through the igpu and make those cards work.

 

with regards to the 770M, have u checked techpowerup gpu vbios database for differing versions?

[razor0601]

Yes, there are different Dell 770m versions

[Azther]

I went with a single 780m in my r1, due to others online stating that anything above a 8 series wouldnt work due to the frankenstein bios the m18x r1 has. Would be nice to know if a higher gpu can somehow be forced to work via optimus but i would assume someone would of tried that by now

[razor0601]

I can test an MSI GTX 970m Gsync 3GB, Clevo GTX 970m and HP Quadro P4000

[ssj92]

On 8/13/2022 at 8:39 AM, razor0601 said:

I can test an MSI GTX 970m Gsync 3GB, Clevo GTX 970m and HP Quadro P4000

880M SLI works fine: https://www.3dmark.com/fs/28053101 

 

Try your 970m 3GB MSI card. It SHOULD work and boot up. Problem we had was it kept rebooting in BIOS screen. 

 

I also have Clevo 970m I have been trying to get to work in M17xR3 (same platform). I have been trying to get it to work on M17xR3. I am using 3D screen so since you are using M18x R1 with LVDS it might have better chance to work. Make sure you are on unlocked BIOS. 

 

SG mode will probably work and give you BIOS restart issue but good starting point. 

 

PEG mode, make sure you go to advanced video options and integrated display device is turned to disabled. then do PEG and try. 

 

Try this vBIOS for Clevo 970m in M18xR1 after you've tried MSI 3GB 970M. It's for Clevo 6GB card I have been trying. 

 

Note on Clevo 970m, Mine is NON G-SYNC 13D8 device id. This is the one you want. If you have G-Sync model send me vBIOS and I'll try and mod it. 

 

BTW since you have m18x r1 with those gpus it will make life easier both of us testing vBIOS, you in m18x r1, me in m17x r3. So just report results per card per vBIOS and we'll go from there. Let's get 900M series working in these laptops. So far one user from our AW Club claims M5000M working in M17xR3 & M18xR1 using modified vBIOS (removing UEFI GOP from vBIOS) so that is what I have been trying. 

970mnogopmbe.rom 970mnogopnoifrmbe.rom

[ssj92]

  

On 8/11/2022 at 1:59 PM, jaybee83 said:

not necessarily, the mux switch should give u the option to route the signal through the igpu and make those cards work.

 

with regards to the 770M, have u checked techpowerup gpu vbios database for differing versions?

 

It's complicated. The MUX switching in M18xR1/M17xR3 is not the same in M18xR2/M17xR4. I don't remember the specifics but the way it is done is NOT the same way as modern nVidia Optimus. If this was true we would have all GPUs working by now in these systems. This is why it makes it difficult to upgrade as well as the BIOS have UEFI conflict. But I am hoping we can finally solve this mystery. 

  

On 8/11/2022 at 3:32 AM, razor0601 said:

I heard that 980m/970m doesn´t work because of the no uefi Bios. Is that right?

 

This is apparently what has been said although not sure if that is 100% true. My 880M SLI is using UEFI vBIOS and those are working. 

 

Another interesting thing, M1200 & M2000M work in M18xR1/M17xR3. These are first gen maxwells. Something was changed with 2nd gen maxwells. Trying to figure out what it is these last few weeks. We need someone who is good with nVidia vBIOS & InsydeBIOS. I have tried contacting people but not many are interested in doing this. Although I do have hope it'll work because of the one member claiming M5000M working in M17xR3/M18xR1. It does seem to point to something in vBIOS that was changed. More proof of this is the MSI 3GB 970M/MSI 4GB 980M work but cause BIOS restart in M18xR1. 

[razor0601]

13 hours ago, ssj92 said:

880M SLI works fine: https://www.3dmark.com/fs/28053101 

 

Try your 970m 3GB MSI card. It SHOULD work and boot up. Problem we had was it kept rebooting in BIOS screen. 

 

I also have Clevo 970m I have been trying to get to work in M17xR3 (same platform). I have been trying to get it to work on M17xR3. I am using 3D screen so since you are using M18x R1 with LVDS it might have better chance to work. Make sure you are on unlocked BIOS. 

 

SG mode will probably work and give you BIOS restart issue but good starting point. 

 

PEG mode, make sure you go to advanced video options and integrated display device is turned to disabled. then do PEG and try. 

 

Try this vBIOS for Clevo 970m in M18xR1 after you've tried MSI 3GB 970M. It's for Clevo 6GB card I have been trying. 

 

Note on Clevo 970m, Mine is NON G-SYNC 13D8 device id. This is the one you want. If you have G-Sync model send me vBIOS and I'll try and mod it. 

 

BTW since you have m18x r1 with those gpus it will make life easier both of us testing vBIOS, you in m18x r1, me in m17x r3. So just report results per card per vBIOS and we'll go from there. Let's get 900M series working in these laptops. So far one user from our AW Club claims M5000M working in M17xR3 & M18xR1 using modified vBIOS (removing UEFI GOP from vBIOS) so that is what I have been trying. 

970mnogopmbe.rom 256 kB · 0 downloads 970mnogopnoifrmbe.rom 256 kB · 0 downloads

Today I will try my cards in SG-Mode first. I have installed unlocked A04 Bios.

[ssj92]

On 8/15/2022 at 1:24 AM, razor0601 said:

Today I will try my cards in SG-Mode first. I have installed unlocked A04 Bios.

There A05 Swhick updated BIOS as well available in Alienware High Performance Club. 

[razor0601]

What is the difference?

[Maxware79]

On 8/12/2022 at 6:29 AM, jaybee83 said:

not necessarily, the mux switch should give u the option to route the signal through the igpu and make those cards work.

 

with regards to the 770M, have u checked techpowerup gpu vbios database for differing versions?

 

The 900M series will not work in the R1 due to the UEFI requirement of those cards. There have been people trying to work around it for years but no confirmed success yet. The R1 BIOS is the limiting factor with anything past the 800M series

[razor0601]

Yes, I tried both. 970m GSync and 970m Clevo non GSync. The GSync card goes in a Bootloop and the non GSync holds at the Startscreen Alienware Head

 

Also the Dell 770m from an AW18 will not work. Not in PG and not in SG-Mode. I don’t know the right VBios for them. 

[jaybee83]

well that sux, wasnt aware that the sbios is such a limiting factor on this machine...

[Azther]

would be amazing if someone was able to get modern gpus to work in the r1, would be a nice alternative to the r2. Anyone tried soldering a bios rom chip from a broken r2 board into an r1 i wonder? or would that not work. Reason im thinking that is due to how the r1 cant be flashed with the r2 bios due to size constraints, but this is outside my knowledge so apologies if it sounds dumb

[Maxware79]

On 8/19/2022 at 4:47 PM, razor0601 said:

 

 

Also the Dell 770m from an AW18 will not work. Not in PG and not in SG-Mode. I don’t know the right VBios for them. 

The 770M should work. I haven't looked at the R1 BIOS for a while but I'm assuming it has the same HD Audio as the M17x R3 that needs to be disabled to run the 700M and 800M cards. 

[Jerryzago]

An effort was taking place back in NBR forums to remove 'functions' from R1 bios to incorporate the UEFI portions to make R1 work with 900 series.

 

But i can't remember who was involved or to which level this job was extened. It would have been a miracle to get a 900 series work on a AW m18x R1.

[ssj92]

It may be more than just a UEFI thing actually. I've been trying for awhile now and if it truly was a UEFI only issue, the vBIOS I made should work fine. Unless there is so other mods needed in vBIOS. 

 

R2 BIOS with R2 bios chip would be interesting. It may work but no one has tried it yet.

 

I don't know if @Prema was ever involved in the Alienware modding scene back then, but I bet he can solve the issue whether UEFI vBIOS mod is needed or sBIOS needs to be modded. The member Swhick who made legacy 900M possible on M18xR2 said he may have figured it out but he never uploaded the BIOS and I have no idea if anyone else ever got it from him. He didn't give it to me at the time because I didn't have a programmer. 

 

@Maxware79 The Audio issue only seems to affect M17xR3. On my M18xR1, single 880M and 880M SLI work fine without ever needing to touch audio option in BIOS or drivers. 

 

I also got 880M working in M17xR3 somehow with audio perfectly fine. It's just in the way you install drivers. 

 

@razor0601 does the holding at the alienhead happen with my vBIOS or the stock vBIOS or both? 

[At0mX]

Don't know if this helps, 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

[razor0601]

On 8/11/2022 at 8:23 PM, razor0601 said:

Now I installed the 2 GTX 770m from my Alienware 18. But it gives me a black screen. No Post. No matter if SG or PEG I read that 765/770/780 and 880m had VBios issues with the R1. So which VBios do I need? The 770m has 80.06.60.00.01

Can someone upload the right VBios to get my 770m SLI working in the M18X?

[ssj92]

16 hours ago, razor0601 said:

Can someone upload the right VBios to get my 770m SLI working in the M18X?

Try this: 

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/149614/149614

 

If it doesn't work try these: 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Wuuadxrk8brSFXDBrFCR-vjNcXgfwcF/view?usp=sharing

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Du3DWQpJWDu6W9rakDKU7yEIf6aPsU_7/view?usp=sharing

 

770m SLI should work. I am running 880M SLI in my M18xR1. 

[razor0601]

Thank you, I will give it a try.

[razor0601]

These VBios‘s also doesn’t work for me. And I tried almost every Bios from Techpowerup. I need someone who has a M18X with a working 770m inside.