[Guide] - M15x with AMD 7970m

[sashimi101 10]

Make sure it comes with the proper x-bracket for a 7970m.

The picture on that ebay auction didn't show the x-bracket.

Would be good to tell the seller that you need him to include the x-bracket. If not, you wont be able to install the card.

[Genetics 70]

I can tell this is what happened to me Thanks a lot for the priceless information bro!

Im sorry to recant a problem with my 7970m but can't help but realize it is a very similar situation. I just had 7970m replaced by Alienware when no matter what as load got put on the gpu I wpuld get flickering all on stock clocks and vbios and sudden black screen till load went down and temps went down. I never did solve what was wrong because I tried all basic troubleshooting and it happened on both 7970m switiching prmary and secondary cards was repeated for my crossfire setup. I hope it gets resolved my cards needed replacing... almost seemed like damaged VRM as it happened under a decent 3d load after using some power and heat. The only thing replaced was the video cards and that issue went away. It also never happened on the Intel IGP. I hope your card is not damaged but it very well might be possible.

[TnF 10]

Does anyone knows why the clocks only go between 300Mhz (idle) and 450Mhz (3D example Furmark) on my system? I know it is an internal profile on the vbios, but when the card uses this profile?

[sangemaru 51]

Um, you might be throttling? What's the voltage on the card and what CPU are you running?

What vbios are you using and what card vendor?

[netlord 10]

Hi guys, which would be the best place to buy a 7970 if you live in Europe?

[mike2668 33]

if clock stays about 300/450 than it proberbly stealth mode..........i would not go for a 7970m better get a 970 gtx unless the 7970m is really cheap.

[lotusman 10]

@svl7,

Thanks for all the excellent information you've provided on upgrading, vbios changes and so on. I successfully upgraded my m15x to the 7970m quite a while ago, but have decided I'm not using the benefits from the 7970m enough, so want to go back to the 260m. I tried the downgrade yesterday, but ran in to issues and I'm not quite sure what's wrong. Basically, I completely uninstalled all AMD drivers etc via the uninstall manager, as well as running the DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to completely eradicate it. My GPU then showed as the windows generic one and I went about downgrading.

But when I put the old card in, I either get a completely black screen, or one time (I switched it in and out a number of times) it was a completely white screen - both white or black, if I hit the power button again it shuts down immediately, so it appears it isn't booting up properly (though I don't see any flashing keys on my keyboard to indicate a problem as I've read elsewhere). I can't get it to come up no matter what I do and I'm not sure what the issue is. I stored it carefully in the anti-static packaging that came with the 7970m, so the card should be fine. I put the 7970m back in and my system came back up as expected, so I'm not sure what the problem might be.

Do you have any suggestions I might be able to pursue to determine what is happening.

Thanks

LM

[Dakio 10]

This card runs very very hot in the m15x, random shutdowns without any additional cooling. After attempting to undervolt the card following svl7's guide, the card is now bricked. X.x

[unifying1337 12]

Hello guys,

I recently upgraded the GPU (GTX 260m) in my M15x to a "Dell 7970m".

Worked "good" but I experienced some issues:

Here are some specifications:

i7 920xm

16gb ddr3

250gb ssd

150w psu

1. My "Active Displayport to DVI Dual Link" does not work anymore.

Flashed several vbioses (Dell and Clevo) issue still persist

Put the GTX 260m back in and it worked.

2. Displayport to HDMI adapter worked but I get a little blurry picture on my 24" external display.

Tried other cables, same result - with GTX 260m no blurry picture

I had to use CCC "overscan at 0%" to get rid of the black borders at 1920x1080

Solved by changing pixelformat from 'YCbCr4:4:4' to 'PC standard RGB 4:4:4 (full RGB)'

3. My gpu utilization in games drops to 20-40% range which results in stutter and bad performance.

With and without oc the gpu and cpu.

Tried several drivers: 12.XX - 15.4.1 CCC

Will a 240w psu solve this problem?

[fatboyslimerr 42]

Can you use software like MSI Afterburner or HWinfo64 to monitor GPU clock speeds? Is the card throttling?

If so there is a throttle fix for the M15x (linked in my signature) which involves removing the centre pin from your PSU jack or purchasing a right angle connector and removing the centre pin from that as removing the centre pin stops the PSU charging the battery but does allow overclocking and stops throttling.

[unifying1337 12]

Afterburner is always on even without oc.

Clocks stays at 3D speeds no dips or anything.

Since I flashed vbios to 0.975v the performance is better.

And in GTA V the fps is higher and constant, maybe due to the new driver.

Is removing the centre pin from a 150w psu recommended?

[fatboyslimerr 42]

Is removing the centre pin from a 150w psu recommended?

Glad to hear flashing 0.975v vBIOS helped. I hope to buy GTA V soon so also glad to hear its working well on 7970M, what graphics settings do you use? For info I run my 7970M at 1.0v and 900/1350Mhz overclock and it works very well. Scores 4856 in Firestrike at those clocks.

You can remove the centre pin from 150W but if you plan on overclocking both CPU and GPU then 150W even +/- 15% won't be enough. I use a 210W Dell PSU with centre pin removed and kept my 150W PSU for charging the battery. 240W PSU also works very well and most people buy the right angle adapter so that can also charge the battery.

[unifying1337 12]

Im running GTA V with high/normal settings, fxaa, 1080p, advanced settings off.

GPU OC: 0.975v, 880/1465Mhz

Without CPU OC

---------------------------------------------------------------

With CPU OC: 26/26/26/26

the system turned off after few minutes.

[fatboyslimerr 42]

You're pushing things too far. Dial back GPU to 850/1300 and CPU to 24x 4 cores, 24x 3 cores, 25x 2 cores and 26x 1 core and see if its more stable. If not then I'd advise PSU upgrade immediately. You might be tripping the PSU by exceeding max output.

[unifying1337 12]

I don't use overclocking on the CPU while gaming or anything else.

So that's not a problem

[fatboyslimerr 42]

What are your gaming temperatures? Do you know how to use the OSD for temperature monitoring whilst gaming?

MSI Afterburner settings > Monitoring > tick GPU temperature and near the bottom tick "show in On-Screen-Display.

When you start up the game press F1 I think and it'll display temps. For me the 7970M shuts down at 85 degrees but this is solved by using custom screws to get a tighter fit on the GPU heatsink.

I suggest dropping GPU back to stock clocks if temps are high and possibly try to improve thermal paste application and/or heatsink tightness.

[unifying1337 12]

My 7970m stays never goes above 75°C during long gaming sessions.

I monitor it with Afterburner using my Logitech G510 LCD.

Im also using custom screws for the heatsink and IC Diamond.

[fatboyslimerr 42]

I don't know what to suggest then. It could be your PSU is dying. I suggest you get a 210W or 240W PSU anyway and it might just fix the problem.

[unifying1337 12]

Thank you, I will try the 240W PSU by the end of month

PS. CCC 15.4.1 Beta improved the performance of GTA V.

You should try it, when buying the game.

[tesseract19 1]

Hi guys. I apologize for the thread revival. Hopefully some of you are still around. It's 2016 and I'm still sitting here trying to upgrade my M15X :D.... I know there are probably better options out there (I also bought a used M17X R2 in non-working state and trying to fix it). So far I was able to upgrade to this:

CPU: 920xm

GPU: dell version 7970m with correct screws and artix compound. Waiting on thermal pads so having some heat issues (card reaches 85 and shuts down under heavy load; usually 30 min of playing)

VBIOS: Stock? 015.022

Mem: 16gb

HD: 500 gb 7200rpm (looking to upgrade to a SSD Sata III. I know it will likely run at Sata II speeds but they are cheaper)

PSU: Stock 6 year old 150w

 

Issue: I am experiencing throttling. Looks like a simply PSU upgrade and right angle connector and removing the center pin should fix this? (let me know if this one works: https://www.amazon.com/90-degree-Connector-Converter-Latitude-Elitebook/dp/B009KUI41S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482698404&sr=8-1&keywords=right+angle+connector+power)  Another options are:

 

- To downgrade cpu to 720qm which I still own.

- To flash the vbios and undervolt?

 

I am not trying to have the fastest running m15x just stop the throttling as this video card is plenty enough for my needs. I runs Dota 2 1920x1080 and every setting in Ultra even shadows!!!

 

Advice would be helpful! Greatly appreciated

Edited December 25, 2016 by tesseract19

[tesseract19 1]

On 12/25/2016 at 2:39 PM, tesseract19 said:

Hi guys. I apologize for the thread revival. Hopefully some of you are still around. It's 2016 and I'm still sitting here trying to upgrade my M15X :D.... I know there are probably better options out there (I also bought a used M17X R2 in non-working state and trying to fix it). So far I was able to upgrade to this:

CPU: 920xm

GPU: dell version 7970m with correct screws and artix compound. Waiting on thermal pads so having some heat issues (card reaches 85 and shuts down under heavy load; usually 30 min of playing)

VBIOS: Stock? 015.022

Mem: 16gb

HD: 500 gb 7200rpm (looking to upgrade to a SSD Sata III. I know it will likely run at Sata II speeds but they are cheaper)

PSU: Stock 6 year old 150w

 

Issue: I am experiencing throttling. Looks like a simply PSU upgrade and right angle connector and removing the center pin should fix this? (let me know if this one works: https://www.amazon.com/90-degree-Connector-Converter-Latitude-Elitebook/dp/B009KUI41S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482698404&sr=8-1&keywords=right+angle+connector+power)  Another options are:

 

- To downgrade cpu to 720qm which I still own.

- To flash the vbios and undervolt?

 

I am not trying to have the fastest running m15x just stop the throttling as this video card is plenty enough for my needs. I runs Dota 2 1920x1080 and every setting in Ultra even shadows!!!

 

Advice would be helpful! Greatly appreciated

 

So I ended up buying the Dell 240W charger along with L-shaped adapter and removing the center pin. I am EXTREMELY happy with the results. It runs like a charm, no throttling. However, I do experience thermal shutdown after 30 min of playing some games. I'm still tweaking and hopefully finding a way to fix this. I will try undervolting and will post results (if anyone is following this thread)

[DeadStar 10]

 

So I ended up buying the Dell 240W charger along with L-shaped adapter and removing the center pin. I am EXTREMELY happy with the results. It runs like a charm, no throttling. However, I do experience thermal shutdown after 30 min of playing some games. I'm still tweaking and hopefully finding a way to fix this. I will try undervolting and will post results (if anyone is following this thread)

I'm following the thread! Haha I'm in the same boat that you were in, waiting on thermal pads to get here before I install the 7970m. Coming from a Nvidia 240m , yikes. Ended up getting a 240 watt power supply and L connector a year or so ago when my stock one started to come apart at the light by the connector, probably from bending somehow. Also upgraded to a 940xm around the same time. Can't wait to see what this old beast can finally do.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[xonix76 0]

Hello. 

I hope this thread is still alive. Anybody still using an M15X? Well, I am. I have an i7 720QM version with 8 GB RAM (upgraded it last year from 4 GB) and a trusty GTX 460M.

PSU is stock 150W. BIOS is A08.

 

Now, I had this strong itch to play DOOM 2016 on it so decided to get my hands dirty.

 

I read a bit about GPU upgrades and found the GTX 680M a good choice but it is still so damn expensive! I then searched around and homed on to the 7970M.

 

Here's my ebay shopping list:

 

AMD 7970M ( blue version so...DELL)

X-bracket for MXM 3.0b AMD cards

10 pcs of 20mmx20mmx0.5mm heatsink copper shim thermal pads (claims to have thermal conductivity of 401 W/mK but I wonder if that's fake)

Grizzly Kryonaut thermal paste 1.0 gram

Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR3 (1600 Mhz but read somewhere that it clocks down to 1333 Mhz)

 

Will take some time to ship but meanwhile I have decided to read up more about this upgradation.

 

What do you guys think about the shopping list? What else do I need? I heard that the screws might be an issue. I will be handing the laptop to professionals (although I have changed the keyboard of an M11X before) so I hope they will have the required screws. Should I tell them to acquire 4mm screws? I have also noted that the heatsink and thermal paste need to fit properly along with the x-bracket.

 

I do not intend to OC either the graphics card or the  CPU. Will I have bottleneck/throttle/heat issues? Do I need to upgrade the bios to A09?

 

Thank you

 

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by xonix76
grammar