Henrik9979

11 hours ago, Bimbam said:

Hello,

 

I have win !

 

Thx for your help !

 

Here's what I did:

 

- save all my info on an external hard drive
- remove the drivers from my old graphics card
- remove my 2 GTX 675m
- created a windows 10 bootable usb key in NTFS via the windows utility on the windows site.

 

So I boot on the bios I changed the mode to UEFI and disabling the "load legacy option rom".

 

- turn off the pc
- remove the battery and disconnect the mains

- add the gtx 980m

 

Turn on the pc. This one has boot on the usb key. And the little problem.

My SSD was not the right format. It had to be put in GPT format.

For that, during the installation of windows, at the moment where windows asks you on which partition / hard disk you want to install windows, it is necessary to make:

 

- SHIFT / top arrow / F10

Dos starts and you have to type:

Type "diskpart" and press <Enter>.
Type "list disk" and press <Enter>.
Type "select disk #" and press <Enter>.
(Replace the # with the actual number, for example: select disk 1)
Type "clean" and press <Enter>.
Type "Convert GPT" and press <Enter>.
Enter exit and press <Enter>.

 

Continue your windows installation.

Once finished, launch windows update. Windows update will download the correct drivers for your graphics card.

 

I'm happy to have succeeded !!

 

 

 

4 hours ago, Bimbam said:

Hi Henrik,

Yes, thanks for your help

By cons, what is it that I go back to the way of the previous bios?

I did a test on Furmark and it is true that the graphics card drops quickly from 80 FPS to 20/30 ... then I find that it heats a lot (70/80 degrees).

 

In fact, 5 minutes before you post your first message on my subject, I bought this bios:

 

What do you think of this bios?

 

Thanks again for your help, it's really not my area to play with the bios

This bios is the best thing that had happened to the alienware.

 

None of the official dell bios will work correctly.

 

Also I will send you my vbios + flashing guide later.

 

(Vbios is the graphics card own bios that controls voltage, clock speeds and many other things.)

 

If some of you need to make some more post, you can help me with some ideas.

 

 

2 hours ago, Bimbam said:

Hello,

 

I have win !

 

Thx for your help !

 

Here's what I did:

 

- save all my info on an external hard drive
- remove the drivers from my old graphics card
- remove my 2 GTX 675m
- created a windows 10 bootable usb key in NTFS via the windows utility on the windows site.

 

So I boot on the bios I changed the mode to UEFI and disabling the "load legacy option rom".

 

- turn off the pc
- remove the battery and disconnect the mains

- add the gtx 980m

 

Turn on the pc. This one has boot on the usb key. And the little problem.

My SSD was not the right format. It had to be put in GPT format.

For that, during the installation of windows, at the moment where windows asks you on which partition / hard disk you want to install windows, it is necessary to make:

 

- SHIFT / top arrow / F10

Dos starts and you have to type:

Type "diskpart" and press <Enter>.
Type "list disk" and press <Enter>.
Type "select disk #" and press <Enter>.
(Replace the # with the actual number, for example: select disk 1)
Type "clean" and press <Enter>.
Type "Convert GPT" and press <Enter>.
Enter exit and press <Enter>.

 

Continue your windows installation.

Once finished, launch windows update. Windows update will download the correct drivers for your graphics card.

 

I'm happy to have succeeded !!

 

 

Glad I could help, now when you are mentioning all you steps, I remember doing the exact same thing, just been a long time though.

 

Now it is time to get the unlocked bios. Why?

 

You will be able to select a video configuration inside bios:

 

IGFX (integrated graphics)

PEG (discrete graphics)

SW (switchable graphics)

PCI (don't touch causes 8 beeps)

 

The gtx 980m and alot of other card has a throttle problem. The core speed is bouncing up and down like a flee.

 

To solve it you simply select IGFX reboot the computer enter bios again and select PEG. Done!

 

Sometimes the problem comes back but mostly if you shut down the computer uninspected.

 

 

And a bonus is you can boot in legacy mode with gtx 980m and having no beeps.

 

Trust one day you need to switch to legacy and don't remember changing to integrate graphics and you will here 8 beeps and need to take out the gtx 980m again. 

 

Trust me I have been there many times.

 

It is easy to install, take you time don't rush read the instructions a couple of times while you are completing the steps, then nothing will go wrong.

 

1 hour ago, Bimbam said:

Let me know if my bios is good or not

 

Thx

I think you need to disable load legacy option ROM in the boot section.

9 minutes ago, Bimbam said:

Hello,

Thank you for your answer !

I will try this immediately

Good luck, also I have some tips and tricks for you when you get it to work.

I have owned a M18x with gtx 980m SLI for a long time now, so I have learned some things.

Oh by the way, only windows 8, 8.1 and 10 is working with UEFI.

Hello

You need the modded bios created by svl7

 

The reason you have this issue is that the computer is booting up in legacy mode, it needs to be in UEFI mode. You don't need a modded bios to change it to UEFI. You can do it in the dell bios.

 

Plugin the gtx 675m,

enter bios

In the boot section select UEFI

Shut down the computer and mount the gtx 980m

 

The problem however is you need to reinstall windows again.

 

But if you get the modded bios you can use the gtx 980m in both legacy and UEFI.

I know this is off topic, you can delete it, if it's inappropriate, but I think some M18x owners will find my new topic interesting.

Water cooling for the M18x.

 

 

I found this MOS water block that might fit.

It is 80mm long, 14mm wide and 16mm high. Keep in mind the hight is WITHOUT the connections.

 

So even though it is 80mm long, the block is only 16mm high so it will not stick out of the went hole.

The connections will stick out and because the is closer together they might fit through the went hole.

 

Also the wide will not be a problem either.

 

Now the question, will the heat sink still transport enough heat when have been bend and is this water block big enough???

 

The reason I do not bend all three pipes is because there is not enough place. I will connect the third pipe somehow.

 

Now it fits perfectly and it is placed directly in front of the went hole.

 

This however recruires a different kind of water block.

 

 

Idea number 2:

 

The next bending the heat pipes so they are vertically.

 

Idea number 1:

Cut off the bars where the air is coming out, so I will have a big hole.

 

Next

I wanted to remove the radiator from the heatsink.

 

And replace it with a water block like this:

 

But finding one in the right size is very hard.

 

This one on the picture is almost identical besides the connections, but here is the measurements:

The first problem:

It needs to be 77mm long,

82mm is too much of course I can cut the hole bigger.

 

Wide is 40 mm and this is not an issue, it can stick out of the back of the laptop. Also if a leak should happen it won't damage anything.

 

12mm thick is perfect. The maximum thickness is 16mm!

 

But here comes the real problem!

 

If I solder the water block directly to the copper pipes it will be placed above the went hole.

 

If you look at the photo of the heatsink, the foam is marking where the top of the went hole is.

It means that the water block needs to sit right below the foam.

It also means that I need to put a 6mm copper piece between the water block and heat pipes.

 

What I am wondering about is will a copper piece transfer the heat good enough???

First I want to thank the community, who have inspired me to do this project.

I will give you guys the chance to follow me on this journey.

 

I hope you will all help me come up with ideas, techniques and parts that could become handy.

 

This modding may be possible to convert to allot of laptops.

 

Let's begin!

Here is the measurement of the went hole.

77mm X 16mm

 

I have 2 ideas for what can be done.

 

Okay late update:

 

Extending the fans is not recommended, it gets noisy and collect dust. When trying cleaning the fan, the modification gets broken.

Can it only work in optimus mode?

What I am thinking is, I have a alienware m18x r2 gtx 980m sli, will it be possible to do this mod on two cards and run gtx 980 sli?

 

The sli part is actual not important for me, the important thing is, I am using my alienware for VR, which do not support nvidia optimus.

 

I had a clevo p170em I was using for vr but then oculus decided to bail on all optimus users and I was forced to buy a sli laptop.

 

Okay here is what's going. I have a alienware m18x r1 running an amd 8970m, I wanted to upgrade it to crossfire but I could see a 8970m was more expensive than a r9 m290x

So I decided to buy a r9 m290x and see if I could make it work in my alienware and also run crossfire.

Even though many shops refused to sell me one because the didn't think it would work in an alienware m18x r1 only in the r2.

 

Here is the whole process.

 

19/08/17 23:15

No post bios showing when booting, so impossible to enter bios menu, but can boot into windows 10 with no problems.

 

19/08/17 23:20

Because I haven't deleted the old AMD 8970m the r9 m290x shows as a 8970m with no problems.

 

19/08/17 23:34

First performance test was a success. The r9 m290x changed p-state normally. The gpu fan start spinning normally. But because of no thermal paste, the test lasted 20 seconds because the temperature raised fast.

 

20/08/17 00:00

Created a backup of the vbios version

015.032.000.004.044450

 

20/08/17 00:10

Flashed a new clevo vbios version 015.032.000.003.044465

Caused the card to be corrupted and resulted the 8 beep code.

 

20/08/17 00:35

Finally managed to flash the back and return the graphics card to its original state.

20/08/17 00:50
Flashed a new dell vbios version 015.046.000.014.045579
No change in behavior

 

20/08/17 01:07
After trying multiple vbios with no luck I finally found one.

Dell vbios Version 015.041.000.000.044966

Brings back the post bios screen and I can now enter the bios menu through the r9 m290x.

Note: This vbios reduce the cards performance from 900 mhz to 850 mhz

 

20/08/17 01:21

After more testing I found one that is working with no limits.

Clevo vbios version

015.036.000.005.044618

Brings back the post bios screen and I can now enter the bios menu through the r9 m290x.
This will be the vbios I will keep at the moment.

20/08/17 01:56
I completely uninstalled the previous driver and installed the newest driver. The graphics card is recognized as a 8970m but works normal.

21/08/17 20:15

I have inserted my old 8970m in the secondary slot and will start testing crossfire.

 

21/08/17 21:45

I have found out that the fan for the secondary fan did not spin. The is a cable that have felt out. I will fix it now.

21/08/17 22:00

In my try to test crossfire compatibility, I installed the newest AMD driver 17.7.2 but as soon it installed the driver for the secondary card it caused black screen. Only booting the computer in safe mode brings the screen back.

21/08/17 23:02
After many frustrating hours I finally managed to get crossfire working with the r9 m290x as the primary card and my old 8970m as the secondary.

I have flashed the same vbios on both cards so the r9 m290x shows up I device manager as a 8970m.

 

I first installed AMD driver version 16.2.1

 

Then installed AMD driver version 16.6.1 in order to play battlefield

21/08/17 23:20

First test run in battlefield 1

21/08/17 23:40

Battlefield 1 is flickering bad, this can maybe be solved with a new patch or driver.

Other games I have tried is working perfect with crossfire on.

Now what I would like to try is somehow force the r9 m290x driver to be installed and see if it will make it possible to run the latest AMD driver without getting a blackscreen.

 

I have tried to edit the .inf file like you would do with nvidia but no luck.

I have also tried to figure out how to edit the device id in the vbios, but I find it too complex.

1 minute ago, aaronloveweed said:

Thanks for your nothing I say.

You  didn't read at all that you only need to make 5 useful post, but clearly you are not here to share but only to take, if world were full of individuals like you, you'll never get your issue resolved, so be grateful for a works done by someone else,

you only catch it but you are not hunting a bird without stuff or skill acquired (by time and money).

I hope to not read you again in this way
 

Remember it needs to be 5 QUALITY posts.

10 minutes ago, jack sparrow said:

Hi, i'm new at the forums, and i need the unlocked BIOS for my M18x R1 but i cant download it. Why not ?

It´s really curious.

You cannot download anything before you have answered or made some threads.

I can't remember the exact rules, but you can find it somewhere in here.

On 10/5/2017 at 8:38 AM, Masterchief88 said:

Hi,

i'm new at the forums. I need a unlocked BIOS for ny M18x R1 to use an EXP Graphic Adapter. But i cant download the latest A05 unlocked BIOS. So where can i get the BIOS?

I am a bit curious about you project. If you can make a thread with some photos, your budget and where you bought it. Then I can find the bios for you.

Why would you want modded driver if you got it working?

I ask because what will you achieve?

17 hours ago, rummenagu said:

Hi @Henrik9979, 

 

I could to get a Dell M9 R290X. Could have any problem with it  and my M15x? I have read problems with the fan control (I can assume it, because it could be controlled via software) and overheating shutdown and down performance.  I fear that I can have any these problems. What do you think about it?

I have read about this issue too. Yes you can use a software called HWinfo64 https://www.hwinfo.com/download.php to controll your fans. I have tried it many times, and you can either make your own automatic configuration on what speed the fans should spin at different temperatures. Or you can adjust it manually.

For some reason, when I try using my own automatic setting, the fans can suddenly get stuck at one speed. This is dangerous because you will not notice when you play games that the fans is running at low speed and your computer overheat.

I have tried it on two alienware systems.

 

So back to the graphics card. You will have those problems as you describe if you choose the R290X. So If you are going for it, read so many threads as possible, about solutions to those issues, and save those threads so you can find them again later.

I would try to avoid dell graphics card and look for clevo graphics card and avoid the r290x. Of cause if you can get the card cheap you might safe some money, but again be prepared for the issues that might follow.

8 hours ago, rummenagu said:

Thank you for the complete information. I will think about it and I will inform of my final decision.

Glad I could help.

If you need help with something els, just say so.

Okay if you want the least hassle solution, go for a gtx 680m. It is very strong, and very stable. (That's the reason for the high price)

Anyway go for the ones that is branded clevo not dell.

What you also need to be prepared for, is how to edit the nvdmi.inf file inside the nvidia driver and how to disable driver signature.

Of course 7970m and 8970m is good too, but editing the .inf file is a bit more complicated, and there is a bigger chance you need to install a vbios.

 

To help you out a little, here is a tutorial on how to do a .inf mod:

http://null-bin.blogspot.dk/2015/08/how-to-modify-nvidia-notebook-driver.html?m=1

I know its bit off you budget, but I found this.

Amd R9 m290x is a re-branded 8970m. It is the same card.

 

Another card you can look for is an gtx 770m

Remember the biggest difference on 7970m and 8970m is the vram.

Yes you can overclock a 7970m to be like a 8970m but you can't put more vram in it.

The 7970m has 2 gb vram

The 8970m has 4 gb vram

 

Anyway I have upgraded my m18x r2 from a single 8970m to gtx 980m SLI.

I haven't had a single issue with the 980m after flashing premas vbios and installed a throttle free costume driver.

 

My only issue is my 330w power supply can't keep up and turns off. Think it has served it's days and I will get a new one.