Slovedon

What is the best way to mod the VBIOS on a 660M to increase the voltage? This is a G46VW, but I imagine it would be the same as G55VW and others ROG laptops with a 660M.

Ah, the accelerated internal LCD mode is the kicker for me. Nvidia it is! Out of curiosity. Has anyone looked into the possibility of getting PCIe compression over Thunderbolt? Would this be remotely possible? This is great news if the GTX 980 will be able to run off of a Dell DA2 PSU.

I've just got myself a nice Thunderbolt-enabled G46VW that I'll be adding onto with a ThunderTek/PX chassis (unless there is a better option, but this is what the others on this forum have used with this computer) and an eGPU. My question is: Do the vast majority of people here use Nvidia GPUs because of the x1.2OPT? Are there any downsides to using an AMD GPU over Thunderbolt? It seems that AMD GPUs lose considerably less performance when starved for bandwidth, compared to Nvidia, and are also more competitively priced, at least for now. Also, is there any speculation on if the GTX 860/870/880 will lose less % of performance over TB, given their improved efficiency or any other improvements? Edit: Does performance tend to be similar on the internal and external LCD with a TB implementation? (sorry for all the probably-searchable questions, but I thought I'd ask here while I research)

Wait, so are AMD cards plug and play?

I'd love to be the first, although I want to get a TB2 laptop, and this article seems to imply that the first ZBooks - and thus the refurbs I'm looking at - do not in fact have Thunderbolt2 compliance. Only TB1. "The Thunderbolt 2 version will double data transfer speeds when it arrives later this year" "The ZBook 15 and 17 are shipping now" Other sources also show that the ZBooks launched before TB2 dropped. Damn, TB2 + 4700QM in a Zbook 15 for $1250 with a warranty would have been a hell of a deal! Ah okay, thanks. Might have to look into that 220W when/if I get this going, since a GTX 680 wouldn't be bad at all.

The Zbook 15/17 are marked as TB2, but do we know that the Zbook 15/17 G1 has TB2? There are many listed as G1 for sale online, but I can't find any difference in specs between the ZBook 15/17 and the ZBook 15/17 G1. Perhaps there is no major difference, but there is definitely a slightly lower price for models marked "G1". The question is, did they change from TB1 to TB2 in G1->"G2"? if that is indeed referring to generation 1.

(I am actively researching everything eGPU as well, but thought I'd ask here in the meantime to get some specific insight into all of this.) I'm in the market for a new laptop, and hoping to get one that is extremely future-proof with eGPU options. I'm very interested in the ZBook 15, especially since (according to the eGPU candidate list) it has ThunderBolt 2. However, I can't seem to find anything saying that it actually has TB2 and not just a regular TB1 port. Do all ZBook 15's have TB2? If not, how would I find out if this one has TB2? Also, I have a Dell 240W power brick from my old laptop. Can I use this to power an eGPU? If so, what am I limited to? Finally, what all will I need to get an eGPU working over TB (1 or 2) with the 240W PSU (or another PSU if that won't work)? Any other thoughts/advice are appreciated.

I need to buy a new PSU for my laptop, and heard that the Dell/Alienware PA 9E "slim" 240W PSU is a good option. Where can I buy this 240W PSU (I think it is for the M17x) with a Clevo connector or adapter? Is there anything I should know about buying this PSU, and are there other options to consider?

I would highly recommend upgrading to a 3720QM. It is the best bang for your buck upgradewise. You can sell your CPU and buy the 3720QM for a difference of $70-100, and you are upgrading your frequency from 3.4GHz to 4.0GHz, since that is the max overclock allowed on the 3720QM with Intel XTU. You may also be able be able to find a similarly priced 3740QM which will give you 4.1GHz.

What do you mean by "with the internal monitor disconnected"? Disconnected from the motherboard entirely? I'm just referring to the same situation the OP is talking about, with the external monitor connected to the laptop and internal LCD connected normally. I'm not saying it's impossible, but just speaking from my experience, my laptops have always shown the boot process on the LCD screen and then switched to the external monitor at log in.

Have you tried opening the keyboard color app (fn+/) and changing the lighting for the right side?

All of my laptops, including my current P150EM, have done this with external monitors, no matter what connection type (HDMI/DP/DVI).

Not until AMD updates drivers to support Mantle+Enduro, which could be a long wait

It's not an issue with the display size/resolution. Notebooks of that size have issues dissipating the heat put off by the higher end GPUs.

I tried overclocking my girlfriend, but her brain's firmware is locked But really, as far as I know, there hasn't been much luck at all with overclocking the memory clocks on the 8970M.

It is indeed possible for it to work in the P150EM.

Interesting, thanks.

Could you explain that last part about making a great MXM card? Isn't it already MXM (and I assume you meant 7970M instead of 7870M)?

I just recently upgraded my Clevo P150EM's 3610QM to a 3720QM and running that at +400MHz. Both of these processors have the same "issue" - an oddly low benchmark score thats ~60% of what others with the same setup are scoring. However, the performance seems to be perfectly normal in all apps/games, and other CPU benchmarks (SuperPI, wPrime, 3dmark06 CPU, vantage physics, 3Dmark11 physics, WEI) are all performing as they should on my 3720QM (overclocked or not). It was the same for my 3610QM. Intel XTU doesn't show any throttling, even with the 3720QM fully OC'd. Temps max out at 90*C for the OC'd 3720QM, but are lower for nonOC and for the 3610QM. Any ideas on what would cause only Intel XTU to benchmark the CPU with such a low score?

Is there anywhere online that sells just the Clevo connector, or would I have to use the connector from my 180W?

I wouldn't say an "easy" 1.1GHz on the core, but the 7970M definitely has good OC potential while staying relatively cool. I'd also say go for the cheaper card.

Out of curiosity, what's the overclocking situation for the 4800MQ/4900MQ? Can they get +400MHz like the 3720/3740/3820/3840? Or are they also only +200?

Thanks for the input guys. I was under the impression that the 680M overclocked to noticeably higher performance than the 7970M, with OC-tuned custom VBIOS, but it sounds like I was wrong. I'd considered swapping out my 7970M for a 680M 2GB, since I could swap for a $20-40 price difference, but it seems like it wouldn't be worth it, especially since my 7970M hits 1.1GHz reasonably stable.

I'm not asking which one is better, but for insight on how they perform compared to eachother at this point. What is the current state of these two cards? How well do they perform at their full potential, which means the best drivers (including custom OC VBIOS for 680M from here) for each card, and overvolted/overclocked as much as possible while remaining stable (for the average quality card with adequate cooling). Also, the 680M is the 2GB version, so ignore VRAM differences. Bonus points for recent benchmarks

You're not going to find much smaller 180W PSU's, unfortunately.