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When Inap and RogueOP (at the "other forum") recently confirmed that a Dell 6970m is working in a M15x I decided to try the upgrade myself. But as it's hard to get your hands on a Dell 6970m here in Switzerland (at least without having a M17x R3), I decided to get a 6970m from MXM-upgrade and try it myself. Here's the card next to a 5850m and a GTX 260m: As you see, the layout is pretty much the same and the heatsink from the M15x fits perfectly. (Of course this doesn't change the fact that the M15x isn't actually designed for such a high-powered card ) So the installation is pretty easy, no heatsink modding or similar needed to make it fit. The unsolved issues so far are the following: - The fans are running constantly, at a high, but not highest speed. Similar to the M17x R2 afaik. The fans also won't go automatically to full speed, even during under 100% load. - I wasn't able to install the drivers first. I tried the regular from the AMD site, the M17x R3, the 11.4 preview... nothing. I succeeded when Fatal1ty39 suggested to try the driver of the P150HM racer, which worked. -Audio through DP doesn't seem to work, even with the Dell drivers. The heat is okay so far, I guess this can be optimized. The memory hit 90°C during a benchmark run, the core 85°C, both with a little overclock. Anyway, the card hasn't been in the system for a long time, so there's definitely more testing needed. Also the power will probably become an issue as the 920xm already consumes quite a lot under load. Here are some benchmark runs: Stock GPU and 920xm with 24x multi across all cores: With a little OC and stock 920xm. Anyway, I'm still testing the card. What I need to add is that so far the support from MXM-upgrade has been very quick and helpful. And a big thanks again to iloveb00bs and RogueOP for (quickly) testing it with a Dell card in the first place. BTW... we need some more M15x users over here... the M17x users are a little bit in the majority Too bad the M15x seems to be a dying species. Shame on you, Dellienware.

I had a lot of people asking me for this video so I finally made it. I hope this will help answers some of the questions people had about re-pasting. <object width="560" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITj5XV7XimU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITj5XV7XimU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="349"></embed></object>

did u guys see the pix ? Find a Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Server, Printer, Software, Service, Monitor or TV at Dell. | Dell

Questions are numerous, answers are scarce; such is life....

AWESOME! Placeholder page?

M18x Picture Gallery Some points : Gotta say it looks SERIOUS! I like the extra space on it's back for ventilation 4 Fans ! Same touch panel and touch pad as the R3 One of the picture confirms both NVIDIA SLI and ATI CF Up to 32 GB Of ram Seems like the whole body is anodized aluminum AlienTactX Macro Key Controls on the left side of the keyboard

Looking for answers... Can't wait to see the exact specs of my future M17X (eYe hope)... countdown started; clock is ticking... ... .. .

3dmark2011 6018 result 925 core 1270 memory 1.15v 125tdp 95tdc 148.3 bclk 3.56 quad http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff474/marcwwaters86/Benchmark/3dmark20116018result925core1270memory115v125tdp95tdc1483bclk356quad.jpg Result 3dmark2011 6038 result 925 core 1270 memory 1.15v 75mv 130tdp 95tdc 149.7 bclk 3.74 quad http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff474/marcwwaters86/Benchmark/3dmark20116038result925core1270memory115v75mv130tdp95tdc1497bclk374quad.jpg Result 3dmark2011 5999 result 925 core 1270 memory 1.15v 150mv 125tdp 95tdc 148.3 bclk 3.86 quad http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff474/marcwwaters86/Benchmark/150mv3dmark20115999result925core1270memory115v150mv125tdp95tdc1483bclk386quad.jpg Result

Hmm. This is giving me a very strange feeling. PROS: 1: Looks like the 6970m crossfire need a bigger PSU that isnt available yet - which means we should be able to shoehorn in some XM CPUS! 2: It appears that they have re-used the same basic chassis design as the m17xR2, with a bigger screen! I like it much more than the M17xR3. 3: 6870m crossfire is an option. CONS 1: No 485m sli option. Not even a 460m sli option. WTF? Lets hope they update that. 2: If they have re-used the m17x r2 design but put in a larger screen (18.4 inch screen fits the 17x chassis easily) then it is likely they re-used the motherboard layout as well. This means only two dimms for ram! 3: Probably using the 960sp version of the 6970m, which is unnecessarily underpowered compared to the 1120sp version (which is fasterish than a 485m!) My dealbreakers: 1: I need 485m sli. Or I wont even look at this thing. I already have a sketchup design for a mITX shuttle-type box that is 160mm x 160mm x 330mm. Its pretty small, and fits a full size PSU, full size tower cooler, and 2.5 slot 580m. If I dont get 485m sli im building it instead. 2: 2 dimms. I am actually running out of ram on a daily basis with 8gb. I need 16gb minimum now. 3: If it is the same design as the m17x R2, the cooling is going to be WTF loud again. I can mod it again, but I shouldnt have to. I want cool, quiet computing. Asus did it on their crappy 17inch gamer lappy, alienware can do it. Lets hope more info comes in, but I am hopefuly about the 330/320w AC adapter - if we get it, we have the TDP for a 2820qm + 485m sli OR a 6970 crossfire + XM cpu. -Ash

I hope you're right about the subwoofer, it's one thing I felt that was severely lacking in the R2 and R3. Well I think it will be released in a week from now. The problem is that they are testing the configuration on their live website for testing purposes and it's getting people excited. I do agree they should issue a press release for two new exciting models. I just hope Dell doesn't decide to push M14x and M18x back to E3.

The biggest turn off for me is the screen (WLED vs RGB LED) plus I am allergic to 1080p... still my current configuration is more than capable to handle anything out there so I most likely will skip this generation of laptops.

And HOW I would LOVE to have a subwoofer-inside... Even willing to trade a fan for a sub... Please.... I WANT AND I NEED A SUBWOOFER, I've been quiet and nice all year long so far; please allow me to get some BASS in my ears, in my body and all over the place ! Ok....

No I haven't cause after that my temps rise way too fast since I have no extra cooling... that's why I keep it at 3% no extra voltage

Nice! Finally broke 6K, congrats! Thats awesome. Try lowering your TDP to about 105W and see if that prevents you from hitting the thermal limits. From my benching it didn't look like the CPU drew more than 101W according to HWinfo32. StamatisX, Have you tried raising the BCLK with your voltage increased? Thats when the extra voltage really helps.

It will be an interesting battle as long as Dell allows it (BIOS locking) otherwise TS won't be able to do much...

Challenge accepted LOL no glasses LMAO

11000ms works fine for me. 13 seconds is too long, it will start spinning down for a short while.

i think the 3D hype will wear off quite fast. As long as i have to wear glasses to watch 3D i am not buying it

I love the monthly ATI driver cycles, i neither care about 3D nor i care about CUDA and the marginal performance increase 485 will give over the 6970 is not worth the money/heat imho. Plus correct me if i am wrong but the 485 are also watt-hungry so less power to the future 2920xm

yeah for a reason I can't raise my BCLK high enough, ie your frequency, I might have to take a look into it, so I just play with the multis...

If i can throw on my R2, 2x 6970M and a 320/330W PSU from the M18x and have them play without issues then I will stick with it for a long long time.... LOL

and what about the 3D option???? that's another question that remains to be answered....

yep, you are almost a breath away from beating my score

It's strange there's no nVidia option when most of Dell's discrete lineup uses an nVidia GPU. Also the M11x and M14x uses nVidia GPUs. I think it'll be added later on though or someone would do it themselves.

6 Grand eh? That's going to leave a mark The total for my setup (2 SSDs + i7 920XM ES) was about $3000 since I bout the system used. Now it's probably worth a little bit less than what Brian is selling his for since I got rid of the SSDs. Also, I'm thinking about keeping the card a little while longer to test something (or maybe Brian can test it if he keeps his R2, sells the R3 and gets an M18x. I have a feeling that the 6970M in the M18x uses a slightly different VBIOS than in the R3, which would allow it to work on the R2s without the fan and shutdown issue. They probably used the same mods they had to do to the 5870Ms in the R2 after the new Catalyst driver design wouldn't work properly with the older VBIOS.

They will most likely add options as time goes on... Meaning, once they fix every little annoying thing that will be discovered after the launch... just a thought though...

i vote for 6970 ATI cards A. Because i prefer ATI over NVIDIA in general B. Because my bet is that the 485m will heat up much more and we saw how cool the 6970s run.

I am inclined towards Spyder 3 pro, any reasons not to go with that?

I wonder why not 485M... really interested to find out the reason behind this decision

Thanks guys! CCC says: "Driver Packaging Version 8.80-101110a1-109153C-ATI " Now that I have working drivers installed I will see whether I can now install a different version. I'll keep you updated. I'm using HWinfo32 for a while now, it works very well with the M15x and it's essential until I find a solution for the fan control (Hopefully I will).

You definitely got raped with the M17x man, I feel for ya. And yes, if your R2 suddenly breaks down in a year while its under warranty, Dell will likely give you an M18x.

Here's a sneak peek at one of the benchmarks I recently did:

I don't think it will be limited to 2 dimms nor have the same chasis as the R2. It should be closer in design to the R3 and I think this time Dell is going to position all the fans + sinks below for easy access rather than go with the R2 design. The chasis will also employ rubber coating so it's going to be quite a change from R2. I'm anticipating the following: 1. 320-330W PSU with 6970M Xfire 2. No 485M support. 3. 18.4" that is relatively teh same size as the 16:10 17" found in R2. 4. Anodized chasis w/rubber coating. Same may hold true for lid as well. 5. 16 GB memory capacity like R3. they'll put the extra dimm slots under the keyboard like R3. 6. Widi supported like R3. 7. HDMI In. Basically a better performing, better built version of the R3.

This has become a feeding frenzy, god help us!! I believe Alienware Reps are not going to have no rest in the coming days. I really don't know what to do. To cancel or not, that is the question.

I think it should be 320W but could be 330w too. I really don't need the M18x's power, weight and noise to be honest. The R3 fits me just right for my use but I'm a new tech junkie and I know it'll be difficult to resist. So in the end I might cave and sell the R3 for $100 less than I paid to Michael or someone else and then get that M18x. My other R2 + 920xm sale is pending so we'll see.

So 12K for GPU with slight oc, not bad at all, what version are the drivers you have currently installed?

Yeah I hope the price is that low during the final launch! 1. It should have the same 16 GB limit as R3. 2. 18.4" should make it similar in size to the R2 17" screen 3. It will definitely have a blu ray rom. 4. I'm guessing they will toss in a 320W PSU when xfire is configured on launch day (they never charge for something that is required to run the system). As for whether it's worth it or not, I think it depends on your needs. The M18x will be constructed of anodized aluminum + have the same rubber coating as the R3 so overall it will be a much better constructed system. The trade off is that it will also weigh more than the R3, cost more and likely be louder due to an extra fan. You also get 6970m Xfire performance which should obliterate the single 6970M in the R3. I'm on the fence right now, I might sell my R3 to Michael (who is leaning towards R3 more than M18x) or whoever else that is interested and then purchase the M18x for myself when it's launched this month.

Just talked to my Rep, It is coming out they cant say when, they will cancel my order with no problem but: 1.m18x will have less ram memory ( I don't see 16 gig option) 2.The only difference is 18.4 screen and no 3D 3.No blue ray player option. 4.Can't select the ATI Card's because it requires a more powerful power supply, question is are we gonna get charged extra for it? 5. Alienware Rep confirms imminent launch, but we still gonna have to wait a month plus for our systems. Giving us the final question, Is the M18x-r1 worth the hassle and wait?

Dual 6970m costs only $150 more than a single 460m????

o.O time to stage frontal assault on Del representative, where is that number.

NP pal. For informational purposes, you can read my first post about the true existence of the M18X here... eYe

I think this is an epic video, i cant stop laughing about and it hits home after seeing all those AW m17x Unboxing videos. But for the record I am planing an unboxing video myself once i get my m17x-R3

X7200 is a clevo model, a single PSU couldn't support an overclocked desktop CPU and SLI 485M so they had to use two PSUs in parallel.

didn't have much time to test, but fans worked and i manage to do a vantage run. for some reason it won't let me add more attachments, how do i delete my old stuff.

Does it not work in the R2, the R3, or all around? And do you think this may just be an issue of better support for the card on RBE?

Editing the voltage above default results in bsod as soon as windows tries to load corruption of the display driver. It simply doesn't work.

The most serious problem i see with 6970M is the fact that it doesn't allow any increase in the voltage, so the overclockability of the card is limited to whatever clocks the stock voltage can support. Brian didn't have any luck with that so far.

Hi svl7, i own an R-2, i'm getting the 920xm not the 2920xm Sorry mate

Yup $600 is my price range, maybe lower and it will get there soon enough. I plan to get it from PC-Best-Buy again on eBay, he's pretty reliable.