Tristan0123

Would have loved a random internet stranger with screws when I had to upgrade. Just wanted to let the folks out there know if you have an old dvd drive (broke or not being used) ......... open it up they are a great source for super tiny screws

Just a thought but have you looking into the articles on here about gpu throttling. I just made a gpu upgrade to my old m18x r1 and while I know the system can handle the game requirements, after anywhere from instantly to a few mins I can watch my framerate drop and in msi I can watch as the card throttles down and runs at half of what it should. this article explains what I'm getting at http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-m18x-r2-with-980m-possible-throttling-fix.791358/ . I am by no means an authority on such but maybe i'm just seeing my problem in yours. =P Also just wanted to say that this thread makes me want to throw another 780m in my old girl. Unfortunately a lack of funds is currently a problem.

I Feel your pain brother. find the solution and the obstacle in the same place lol.

So I have an old Alienware m18x R1 that I upgraded this past Sept. It shipped with nvidia 460m in sli and I ended up putting in a single 780m I ended up getting everything swapped out and up and running after reading alot of post on this forum . Most of the old games I regularly play ran smooth enough but everything newer seemed to have a have a hard time running smoothly. first i though it was overheating but no temps are normal. Then I noticed that my gpu is throttling. At this point I had some new drivers, that I found ran pretty stable. Came across this thread So I did as instructed and wiped the newer drivers in safe mode and loaded out some old ones suggest in the linked thread above. My problem currently is that throttling is still taking place. I am pretty sure I know what I need to do. When I upgraded the hardware I had trouble finding an unlocked bios for my m18x r1. I know there is a TechInferno link to download one but my account does not let me. So I found a A05 version that was not unlocked but was still able to support the new card. So I am attempting to find a unlocked version of the A05 driver so I can attempt to follow the instructions here http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-m18x-r2-with-980m-possible-throttling-fix.791358/ and change some of the setting in the bios. I have a feeling this may work but I am currently stuck as I am apparently not able to download anything from this site. I am far from an expert on such so if anyone out there reads this let me know if you can help a fellow out or maybe point me in the right direction. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

You nailed it man and thanks for your reply. TBH it ended up taking many hour reading this forums old articles and a few you tube videos to get it figured out. I ended up getting everything swapped out and up and running. Most of the old games I regularly play ran smooth enough but everything newer seemed to have a have a hard time running smoothly. first i though it was overheating but no temps are normal. Then I noticed that my gpu is throttling. At this point I had some new drivers, that I found ran pretty stable. Came across this thread So I did as instructed and wiped the newer drivers in safe mode and loaded out some old ones suggest in the linked thread above. My problem currently is that throttling is still taking place. I am pretty sure I know what I need to do. When I upgraded the hardware I had trouble finding an unlocked bios for my m18x r1. I know there is a TechInferno link to download one but my account does not let me. So I found a A05 version that was not unlocked but was still able to support the new card. So I am attempting to find a unlocked version of the A05 driver so I can attempt to follow the instructions here http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-m18x-r2-with-980m-possible-throttling-fix.791358/ and change some of the setting in the bios. I have a feeling this may work but I am currently stuck as I am apparently not able to download anything from this site. I am far from an expert on such so if anyone out there reads this let me know if you can help a fellow out or maybe point me in the right direction. Thank you for taking the time to read this. update: Solved ......got promoted loaded unlocked bios and switched the setting in the advanced vid cofig bios settings

I am scared to even update I have always had win 7 but it seems like you may have to soon

Hey Guys I bought my old Alienware m18x something like 7 years ago and the current 460m's in sli are not cutting it anymore. I have ordered the parts needed ......at least i think i needed. In prep of these parts arriving I was looking to get everything ready for the upgrade. To keep things simple ......much like myself, I believe I need a new Bios and a set of modded nvidia drivers and I should be good to go. To clarify I have ordered a new mounting bracket, heat sick, a new 780m gpu and new fan (my old is dying needed a new one). I need Bios and modded nvidia drivers. Would there be anything else I am missing.