ichime

Here are some pictures. The color looks great in person (think of the nano-suit in Crysis). You can see that the Base is pretty much useless :/

I'll take pics of the lid, but the base tore as I tried to adjust it to the rest of the frame, so I might need another base to redo it. Now the problem is color: copper orange or bentley/dormant blue...

Well, finally got the parts back, anodized to a dark navy blue. In person it looks really good, but the process distorted the bottom base a bit so I'm not sure if I'm going to assemble it like that. What I might do instead is get it powder coated so it won't distort as much.

Haha, keep the faith! 16:10 RGB for life!

Alsa corp has a nice set of pearlescent sprays and other stuff: Alsa Corp | Killer Cans Mystic

Have you thought about pearlescent paint?

Great review guys! But who is the editor that doesn't want to make the switch to the M18x because of the screen? Sounds a lot like me...

Yep, it's in Brooklyn. Good to see a lot of people from New York (though I prefer Upstate NY to the City any day of the week; too stressful )

Still stuck with the anodizing part of it. I found a place that would do it, but I have to shine it up more and degrease it before I give it to them. Hopefully I'll have something done by next week.

Tried them and most of the advertised NY Metal finishing companies that do type 2, but they only do it for "commercial" or high volume requests. I'll probably look for a chop shop around my area...

Anyone know a good anodizing/plating company that does type 2 anodizing? You would think living in New York that would be easy to find... Aside from that, it looks like I might give a nVidia Fermi setup another shot in the R2 chassis...

Thanks guys Just an update; 14 days, 0 problems. Also, I added in the tutorial the recommended thickness for thermal pads (.5mm).

It'll fit. I have similar modules, but certified only up to 1866 mhz. Problem is that since the R2 doesn't support XMP, it clocks to 1333mhz. If there's a way to implement intel XMP in the R2 BIOS, then we should be able to set it to speeds higher than 1333.

5 days long, 5 days strong. Only other thing I'd advise against is installing the standalone AMD Overdrive tool (AMD overdrive 4.0). It'll crash your system and the only way to recover is through a system restore. Just use the one in CCC. I'm looking into that. Trying to find a way to splice that VBIOS with the Dell VBIOS.

- Guide by Ike C. Special thanks to Marco R., Brian K. and the rest of the Tech|Inferno community for their support. Also special thanks to NBR.com member Pkhetan for selling me these cards at a great price. So you have an M17x R2, but may secretly want the new M18x with dual AMD Radeon 6970Ms in CrossfireX, yet you’re bummed with the relative reduction of screen quality in the M18x and you’re also not a fan of the big move to 16:9. You really don’t want a bigger chassis and you don’t feel like going through the whole process of throwing down $2500+ on a M18x and selling your beloved M17x-R2 to cover the cost. What do you do? A. Break your piggy bank and buy/lease an M18x or B. Watch in silence as M18x owners have all the fun with those dual 6970Ms? Answer: C. Install two 6970Ms in your All-Powerful M17x-R2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION; Please read the following before continuing with this guide: The Radeon 6970m being installed in the Alienware All-Powerful M17x-R2 is not officially supported by Dell/Alienware and will most likely void the warranty on your system. The 6970m is a powerful card in single and in CrossfireX configurations; it will draw more power and produce more heat than the Mobility 5870 in the respective setups (or any other similar setups). Although the long term effects of the Radeon 6970M single and CrossfireX in the M17x-R2 are currently unknown, these cards will perform significantly better than any equivalent setups offered by Dell/Alienware for this particular system. Although the Alienware All-Powerful M17x-R2 and M17x-R1 are similar by design, their chipsets and BIOS firmware are different. Although I encourage anyone to try this on the M17x-R1 due to the similarities in chassis design with the R2, keep in mind the possibility that results may differ from those when tested in the newer R2. Different types of Radeon 6970M/VBIOSes and their effects on the M17x-R2: • 6970m Engineering Sample from MXM-upgrade.com (Please note that MXM-Upgrade.com now sells OEM 6970Ms now): Originally had display issues with the original VBIOS. This was rectified by reflashing the card to the VBIOS used in the M17x-R3 6970M. Also found out that this specific ES chip had 1120 shaders vs. the 960 shaders the original 6970M is supposed to have. Nonetheless, functionality was no different than the 960 shader (except for increased performance). While flashed, the system fans did NOT respond to temperature and was stuck on one speed. Also, the system would crash when shutting down, in sleep mode, in hibernation mode, or when unplugged from the PSU. • The card Dell uses in the M17x R3: Originally tested by Brian K. Same issues I experienced with the 1120 shader 6970M ES sample when reflashed to Dell VBIOS. • The card Dell uses in the M18x R1/VBIOS from M18x R1: Fixes the fan issue, but does not allow the system to shut down, sleep, hibernate, or remain unplugged without crashing. However, it does support audio over HDMI and DisplayPort. • Clevo (and resellers) 6970m (This is the recommended version and will be used in this guide): There are two versions of these type of cards; the cards meant for single GPU setups (Clevo P150hm, P151hm, P170hm) and the ones meant for Crossfire setups (Clevo X7200, X8100). Both cards look physically the same with the difference being the type of VBIOS they use. Thus, the Clevo cards meant for single GPU setups does NOT support CrossfireX and would need to be reflashed in order to gain that ability. However, both versions allow the system fans to respond to temperature and also allows the system to shut down, sleep, hibernate and go on battery mode without crashing. Both of these also give you access to ATi Overdrive in the Catalyst Control Center. This means that you don’t have to disable ULPS when overclocking in Crossfire mode. Unfortunately, these cards/VBIOSses do NOT support audio over HDMI/DisplayPort (but hopefully this could be fixed with a VBIOS update/mod). • Eurocom 6970M: Issues similar with the Dell 6970M; fans work but still has the sleep/hibernate/battery/shutdown issue. Also, the VBIOS limits you to a 1600x1200 resolution. Please note: You can flash any of Clevo/Eurocom/Reseller 6970Ms to the VBIOS that is recommended for this guide. Once I get confirmation that the Dell/AW 6970M cards are as flexible I will update this post. Things to do before proceeding with this tutorial: • Download the drivers. For this tutorial, I would recommend installing Catalyst 11.5 Mobility (or newer), readily available at AMD’s website. For those looking towards a CrossfireX setup, I would also recommend installing the latest Catalyst Application Profiles (CAP), also available at AMD’s website. • Download GPU-Z and or HWinfo32, both of which allow you to monitor some important information about the cards such as temperature, clock frequencies, voltage, etc. • Prepare a Bootable USB stick. You can refer to Zfactor’s guide on how to do this posted here. • Buy the proper thermal gear. This includes thermal paste and thermal pads. I personally use Tuniq TX-4 for thermal paste, but there are other good alternatives out there. As for thermal pads, anything other than the stock pads or thinner than the stock pads (I recommend using pads that are .5mm thick) are recommended. Be sure to use the stock pads to outline how you want to cut the new thermal pads. You can buy both thermal paste and thermal pads at FrozenCPU.com • Buy electrical tape (for CrossfireX setups only). This is going to be important because we are going to alter the Crossfire cable so that it accommodates the new pair of GPUs in the chassis. • Know what you’re doing. This is probably the most important thing to do because not knowing what you’re doing could change this experience from a great one to a not so great one if your system is rendered useless. So take precautions and please read/know how to disassemble your system before proceeding. Part I: Preparing your system for the upgrade Download and unzip my 6970m VBIOS pack in your Bootable USB stick. Link can be found below this post. Uninstall your current GPU drivers. Turn off and powerdrain your system by removing the power cord and the battery. Then press and hold down the power button for about 10-20 seconds. Disassemble your system until you remove all discrete GPUs from the board (1 GPU for single card setup, 2 GPUs for Crossfire setup). Remove the GPU heatsink(s) from the GPU. Locate the C-clips surrounding the screws that hold the heatsink(s) to the GPU (there should be 4 screws and consequently 4 C-Clips per heatsink). In order to remove the C-clips from the heatsink's retention clip, stick a fine pointed object (i.e. tip of a pointed knife, sharp screwdriver or scissors) between the gaps between the inner ring and the screw the C-clip is mounted on (this area is boxed in red) and try to pop them away from the opening of the C-clip): Legend (looking directly down at the tip of screw with C-Clip): Light Grey = Screw / Dark Grey = C-Clip Remove the screws from the retention bracket Afterwards, your heatsink's retention bracket(s) should look something like this: This is what we want because now you can use any set of screws to hold down the heatsink to the GPU as long as the screw is compatible with the GPU's retention bracket (if this card comes from Clevo, it should come with its own set of screws; we will use these screws to hold the R2 heatsinks to the 6970m(s)). Part II: CF Cable Modification and Card Installation Below is a diagram is how the 6970Ms in Crossfire would look like when installed in the M17x-R2 without modifying the Crossfire (CF) cable. Notice how certain parts of the cable bend out of the system. This will interfere with keyboard replacement, heatsink replacement on the 2nd GPU and it could also distort the Crossfire connectors on the cards. We want to prevent that. First, cut the cable wrapping outlined in red. This will address the cable interfering with the heatsink installation on the 2nd GPU: Before After On the other end of the cable, peel off the clear taping (boxed in red) until the blue mini-cables are exposed. Using a 1-2 inch piece of electrical tape, wrap the tape around the meeting point of the cable head and the mini-cables: While holding the mini-cables at a 90 degree angle (shown in the previous picture), wrap the rest of the bundle using about 4-6 inches of electrical tape (not shown) Connect both GPUs with your new CF cable BEFORE placing the heatsinks. You will not be able to effectively reconnect the CF cable to the cards once the heatsinks are placed on them. If you have thermal pads (presumably already cut out and ready to place), place them accordingly on the heatsinks. For these cards, I recommend using .5mm thick thermal pads; anything thicker would compromise contact between the heatsink and the GPU die. Apply your thermal compound on the respective GPU die. Place AND hold the heatsink with the GPU and fasten the heatsink to the GPU with the provided heatsink screws. For a good lock, rotate each heatsink screw 4 to 5 times, or until the heatsink mount starts to bend slightly. Do this for both GPUs while the CF cable is connected. Once the CF cable and heatsinks are installed, replace both cards accordingly in the system chassis. Be careful when replacing the second/slave GPU because the CF connector will fit tightly at the space where it is supposed to be. Be sure to press on the CF connection firmly so that the CF cable is tucked between that junction. The CF cable will bend a little bit at that junction, which is fine. After lining up the middle part of the CF cable with the chassis, your configuration should look something like this: Note: I used some tape to hold down certain parts of the CF cable that lost some of its original adhesive material. This is optional. Towards the slave end, tuck the taped part of the CF cable (boxed in red) under the small opening next to where the GPU meets the MXM mount: In the other end, contour the newly taped part of the CF cable so that it goes around the small plateau where the CF cable would go under originally: Optional: You can tape that end with additional electrical tape so that it doesn't pop out. However, the keyboard should keep it at bay once placed. At this point, you should be ready to reassemble your system. Part III: VBIOS and Driver Installation Depending on what setup and cards you have, you may need additional modifications to get the 6970Ms to work properly in your system. If you have a single Clevo 6970M (from the P150hm or the X7200) or dual Clevo 6970Ms (from the X7200 only) and you are satisfied with the stock Clevo ATi Overdrive limits (730mhz core, 1000mhz memory), then you just need to install the latest drivers or CAPs from AMD's website. If you do not fall under the aforementioned categories, read on. Before reflashing your VBIOS (if necessary), it is recommended that you save a copy of the original VBIOS of the 6970M you have. You can do this by opening GPU-Z and clicking on the extract VBIOS button (on the extreme right of the "BIOS Version" box in GPU-Z). Save this VBIOS under the 6970m folder we created in your bootable USB drive (save it as something easy to remember and something preferably other than "6970CX0.bin" or "6970CX1.bin"). Afterwards, shut down your computer. Plug in your bootable USB stick containing the ATiFlash utility and the required VBIOS files. Turn on your computer and log on to your boot menu by holding F12. Choose USB/Removable Media when presented the list. Once you are in DOS mode, type in the following command in italics: cd 6970m Afterwards, type in the following commands in italics (wait for confirmation of successful flashing after typing each line): atiflash -f -p 0 6970CX0.bin atiflash -f -p 1 6970CX1.bin (for CF users only) Restart your machine and install the latest AMD Catalyst drivers. If all goes well, you should be able to log on to GPU-Z and/or HWinfo32 to verify that the card(s) are installed properly. For CrossfireX users, make sure that CrossfireX is enabled under GPU-Z. Tips and Precautions: This upgrade is a relatively new upgrade, even though there have been successful upgrades to 6970Ms in other systems such as the Alienware M15x and the MSi GT660R. However, the added power consumption of these cards may require a higher rated power supply than the one provided for the original configuration. In our case, there exists the 330w PSU used in the Alienware M18x. Unfortunately, the M17x-R2 does not recognize the M18x PSU, even though the connector is compatible. Thus, it is not recommended to overclock your 6970Ms in CrossfireX to high levels when paired with a Core i7 Extreme processor with turbo mode on, throttle-stop active or the base clock overclocked using SetFSB. Hopefully, the guys at bios-mods.com can release a BIOS that removes this PSU check so that R2 owners would be able to use this 330w PSU. Because we used the Clevo x7200 VBIOS for the 6970M, we have access to ATi Overdrive, ATi's factory overclocking program. This is great for Crossfire users because you don't have to edit the registry or disable ULPS in order to overclock your cards. This utility can be accessed in the Catalyst Control Center under the Performance tab. You have to click on the key button in order to activate it. Keep in mind that you'll have to overclock both cards individually and although it gives you the option to control fan speed, it doesn't work. Benchmarks and Statistics: System Configuration: Dual AMD Radeon HD 6970M CrossfireX - Core i7 920XM with Turbo mode enabled - 2x2GB Kingston HyperX Intel XMP DDR3 modules - 1920x1200 RGB LED - 250GB 7200rpm HD - Intel Ultimate N 6300 Battery life: 1 hour 3 minutes Average power consumption during gaming: 220 watts GPU idle temperatures: GPU 1 = 48 degrees C / GPU 2 = 44 degrees C GPU web surf/video playback temperatures: GPU 1 = 64 degrees C / GPU 2 = 48 degrees C Maximum stable GPU overclock so far for both GPU: 820mhz Core /1050mhz Memory Stock 3Dmark Vantage run with temperatures: Vantage with GPU clocks at 750/1000 with temperatures (Ambient temperature was 81 degrees F during this run): Vantage with GPU clocks at 820/1050 with temperatures: Stock 3Dmark11 run: 3Dmark11 run with GPU clocks @ 820/1050 (Kill-a-Watt max reading: 278 watts): 20 minute Furmark run with GPU @ stock clocks (Kill-a-Watt average reading: 260 watts): 5 minute Furmark fun with GPU 820/1050 (Kill-a-Watt max average reading: 272 watts): 6970m.zip

Those Eurocom cards are pretty much the same as the Clevo cards with the exception of the board being a Cyanish color, retention clip mounting and possibly a different VBIOS. If you ask the seller (I bought stuff from him/Eurocom before) to provide you with the heatsink screws (should be 4 screws per card), then you should be fine. The tutorial I'm working on will point out how to combine the retention clip mod/removal with the new screws provided by Clevo.

Experienced my first PSU trips. Happened after increasing the base clock and also while benching at 850/1100mhz. I'm gonna need that 330w PSU with the modded bios to remove the restriction before I push the CPU and/or CPU. And because I used overdrive and left it locked, I had to use system restore to get things back to normal...haha. Now I see why people use TriXX

Seems to have the same limits as the Dell VBIOS: going into 3d @ 1.15v just causes driver crashes. As for the CCC overdrive limit editing, I used Method 2 (no hash) and just increased the limit to 900/1200 from Clevo's original 730/1000. It's under additional features and is only available when using the Clevo VBIOS.

I haven't done a throttlestop-type OC, but I'll do that soon. In the meantime, here's an OC'd vantage run (750/1000 using overdrive): Cards overclocked to 750/1000 Other tidbits: I edited the VBIOS to increase the overdrive OC limits (another benefit of using the Clevo VBIOS) Ambient temperature was 81 degrees F PSU never tripped and Kill-a-Watt read a max of 251 watts After another game of HoN, I'll get started on that tutorial

Sure. Here's a link to the run: Result Screenshot: Sent via e-mail

I did and during a Vantage run, it maxxed out at 247 watts. With Turbo mode disabled, it maxxed out at around 215 watts but I also got a Vantage GPU score of 17,700, so CPU clocks definitely gives these cards some juice. I hear TheWiz is still working on another VBIOS release for the M17x R2 but don't know what features are going to be available. If he could give access to Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) and take off the Dell PSU check, then the R2 would be able to play with the big boys again Also, I finished about 3 and a half hours of gaming (Heroes of Newerth, Dirt 2, Bad Company 2) and everything seemed fine, except for the start of Dirt 2 where I would get some hiccups when there was a lot of sunlight in the scene. Temperature never touched 80 degrees in any of the sensors, making me rethink if I want to do that heatsink mod. Tomorrow (later today), I'll have to work on the crossfire wiring. Long story short, it's messy and it's a tight fit. After that, I'll probably write a tutorial now that 6970M single or crossfire + M17x R2 is practical.

And boom. CrossfireX with the added benefit of proper fan control and shut down/sleep/battery works thanks to a nice flash of X7200 6970M VBIOSes (master and slave)

Thanks Brian!

Ok, so awesome news: I just received two 6970Ms to test Crossfire. I haven't done that yet because of even more awesome news: The 6970M I received (bought from NBR member pkhetan who gets them directly from Clevo) apparently works with the fan and sleep issue fixed! I'm still testing everything out but yeah...fan spools up accordingly to temperature with no help from hwinfo (though I'm still going to use it) and when I close the lid and remove the PSU, the system doesn't freeze. BTW, these cards are for the P150HM. This basically means (unless I did something strange) that a single 6970M in a M17x R2 is a go! Edit: Here's a picture of one of the cards: And also, audio over DP/HDMI doesn't work with the original Clevo BIOS. To fix this, you'll have to flash the card with the M18X 6970M VBIOS, which is posted on the M18x section (thanks to Brian). However, using the M18X BIOS doesn't fix the sleep/shutdown issue (system will crash if you close lid and will hang up if you try to shut down).

I should have asked this sooner, but would any M18x owner be as so kind as to extract and send me a copy of their VBIOS? I would be very appreciative of this.