ponx

I flashed the vBIOS that gives 1.025V and that improved stability at slightly higher clock speeds. Not massively higher though, so I'll keep experimenting...

Thanks for the feedback. svl7 produced 3 overvolted vBIOSes in addition to the standard one I've been using; when I have time I will try them out and report back...

Please help... I am trying to give my trusty M17xR4 a new lease of life and have flashed the unlocked vBIOS from svl7 (thanks, btw!) 80.04.33.00.32__'OCedition'_revised_00. Trouble is, I can only overclock by about +160MHz before the video drivers crash while running 3DMarkFS, and I lose video completely in FarCry4 - I can't get anywhere near the +405MHz NVidia Inspector now offers..!! (The temps are fine, so that is not the problem: getting 62-65C under load) Forgive me, but I'm no expert with regards to overclocking... To get stability with higher frequencies do I need to increase voltage..? Strangely, the voltage tweaking options are greyed out for me in Nvidia Inspector. Or do I need to try one of those over-volted vBIOS images instead..? Thanks.

I don't have a 980m myself, but I read somewhere that the A13 BIOS recognises it. Failing that, you need the unlocked A11, but I'm not sure where to get that from... Drivers can be obtained from: http://downloads.eurocom.com/support/drivers/upgradeyourlaptop/Alienware/ I believe the 9xx cards require Windows 8, 8.1 or 10; the drivers don't work in Windows 7.

OK, I repasted the GPU and found there were already pads present, problem solved...

OK, so I found out that the 980M card requires UEFI or is starts beeping at you, which means Windows 8 or 10 (again, not sure why this is, since my desktop doesn't require UEFI for my 980Ti; perhaps this is specific to Alienware hardware, or laptops in general)...

Did you get this running..? On Windows 7..?

On the Eurocom web site (where one can purchase a GTX980M upgrade kit), they state that their modded drivers require Win8+. This seems strange to me, considering my desktop still runs Win7 with a 980Ti and the Nvidia drivers are fine... Is anyone running the 980M in their R4 with Win7..? Is it possible to mod Win7 drivers for this card..?

I've heard that the R3 and R4 are quite similar (never seen an R3), so is this guide valid for the R4 too..?

When I get round to re-pasting my GPU, is it also worth fixing adhesive thermal pads to the memory chips too, would it help temps when overclocking the vRAM..?

I gather from reading around that without a new vBIOS you can overclock the 680M from the stock 719MHz up to 854MHz (+135), is that true..? So with a new vBIOS, how far have people ramped-up the clock..? Does it get anywhere near the 970, in terms of game performance..?