M17x R2 + GTX780M - safemode boot OK, Normall boot NOT

[flingin]

Can you say me if the 780M works on M17Xr2 ? I can try with a Dell 780M from my M17X R5, but i am afraid to remove the card from my new alienware

We don't know if it will work 100%, give it a try

that would provide some awsome info bro

[Fred1977]

i try it next week

[flingin]

YE, i can't wait, meantime, enjoy the photos, GTX 780m with attached heatsink from M17x R2, lets hope we can do more than just that......

Only thing that is missing is me standing just next to it totally naked...

[Khenglish]

YE, i can't wait, meantime, enjoy the photos, GTX 780m with attached heatsink from M17x R2, lets hope we can do more than just that......

Only thing that is missing is me standing just next to it totally naked...

I am alarmed at the lack of cooling for the 4 core FETs at the top of the card. These are cooled on the clevo 680m, and the 780m uses even more power. I highly doubt that dell does not cool these with stock coolers.

UPDATE:

I just looked up Dell 780m pics and yes there is cooling on the FETs. DO NOT RUN THAT CARD FOR MORE THAN 30s AT A TIME.

[svl7]

I just looked up Dell 780m pics and yes there is cooling on the FETs. DO NOT RUN THAT CARD FOR MORE THAN 30s AT A TIME.

I run my 680m for ages without cooling the FETs at all, no problem really. They can get warm but it's not like they will just die. Had that 680m for almost and no issue at all. Same with the 7970m btw.

[Brian]

Only thing that is missing is me standing just next to it totally naked...

Good, cuz I'd have to ban you for damaging everyone's eyesight.

Sent from my GT-I9100

[flingin]

DO NOT RUN THAT CARD FOR MORE THAN 30s AT A TIME.

My R2 boot time is 8 Seconds, this still leaves me 22 seconds for some testing....

FETs have been left without cooling in hundreds R2's with 680m's and 7970m's, and nobody reported any issues whatsoever even with heavy overclocking ....

R2 heatsink does not allow us to cool those elements...sadly..

Good news is that i have a Non-contact IR-Infrared Digital Thermometer, so next tme i will plug it in, i will post the temps of those 4 little fellas..

Good, cuz I'd have to ban you for damaging everyone's eyesight.

Sent from my GT-I9100

I am just having a good time joking here and there, loads of drama is going on on the forums these days, ....here mobo died, no POST, dead HDD

Let's put a smile on those faces time to time

I know the borders Brian, don't worry

[Khenglish]

My R2 boot time is 8 Seconds, this still leaves me 22 seconds for some testing....

FETs have been left without cooling in hundreds R2's with 680m's and 7970m's, and nobody reported any issues whatsoever even with heavy overclocking ....

R2 heatsink does not allow us to cool those elements...sadly..

Good news is that i have a Non-contact IR-Infrared Digital Thermometer, so next tme i will plug it in, i will post the temps of those 4 little fellas..

I am just having a good time joking here and there, loads of drama is going on on the forums these days, ....here mobo died, no POST, dead HDD

Let's put a smile on those faces time to time

I know the borders Brian, don't worry

I meant don't load it for over 30s. Idle is fine.

What do you mean hundreds of people have ran without FET cooling? All 680m and 780m heatsinks cover the FETs. Maybe they can live in lighter games, especially the slightly lower power 680m, but they are going to die at some point, especially if overclocked.

[Brian]

My R2 boot time is 8 Seconds, this still leaves me 22 seconds for some testing....

FETs have been left without cooling in hundreds R2's with 680m's and 7970m's, and nobody reported any issues whatsoever even with heavy overclocking ....

R2 heatsink does not allow us to cool those elements...sadly..

Good news is that i have a Non-contact IR-Infrared Digital Thermometer, so next tme i will plug it in, i will post the temps of those 4 little fellas..

I am just having a good time joking here and there, loads of drama is going on on the forums these days, ....here mobo died, no POST, dead HDD

Let's put a smile on those faces time to time

I know the borders Brian, don't worry

I was joking with ya dude :beer:

Sent from my GT-I9100

[nerogoth]

Dumb question, but did you try a external monitor just for S&Giggles and see if there was any differences? I.e. Snow White on built in LCD, Black screen on Ext.? That at least would narrow down and eliminate the potential the signal from the video card to the built in monitor isn't hosed up (broken / bent wire, etc.).

[tucksha]

I meant don't load it for over 30s. Idle is fine.

What do you mean hundreds of people have ran without FET cooling? All 680m and 780m heatsinks cover the FETs. Maybe they can live in lighter games, especially the slightly lower power 680m, but they are going to die at some point, especially if overclocked.

I'm not entirely sure that they'll die, that's a little mellow-dramatic, and even if they did it's not like they're expensive, you can replace FET's relatively easily. The only thing that you need to be wary of is the PCB, though the FET can take the heat [probably], the PCB certainly won't, and it's the resulting damage that fries your GPU.

I am running a GTX770M in my R2 with stock cooling, and have done some really strenuous, repetitive benchmarks and have never seen signs of heat on my card, and nor have the temps ever exceeded 65deg's. I am inclined to think that as the exhaust fan is placed on the underside of the card, and it promarily sucks up, then out, that there is enough airflow around the card to keep the FET's cool.

Anyway, how have you progressed flingn? Have you managed to get any further since last time you tried?

[flingin]

I'm not entirely sure that they'll die, that's a little mellow-dramatic, and even if they did it's not like they're expensive, you can replace FET's relatively easily. The only thing that you need to be wary of is the PCB, though the FET can take the heat [probably], the PCB certainly won't, and it's the resulting damage that fries your GPU.

I am running a GTX770M in my R2 with stock cooling, and have done some really strenuous, repetitive benchmarks and have never seen signs of heat on my card, and nor have the temps ever exceeded 65deg's. I am inclined to think that as the exhaust fan is placed on the underside of the card, and it promarily sucks up, then out, that there is enough airflow around the card to keep the FET's cool.

Anyway, how have you progressed flingn? Have you managed to get any further since last time you tried?

PCB is more than capable of taking a lot of heat, it is DESIGNED to take a lot of punishment, believe me, my profession is - electric engineer

What i would say, is this, if manufacturer recommends to put a thermal pad on ''something'' it means that it generates heat, not putting a thermal pad on it, can, but not must, shorten the lifespan of the card, or damage it on a long run.

That said, loads of R2 users have 7970m's and 680m's, and i could not see a single post indicating that ''something got fried'', but you never know.....

Back to my card, yes i installed it again, but no matter what i do, my screen will shut off just before windows logon screen, it just shuts off, and that's it.

I can boot to windows without any drivers normally, but when i install any driver with a modded .INF file, i get screen shut off before logon screen.

I can do everything on HDMI 42inch TV, play games, run 3dmarks ETC, but what is the point LOL ?

Also tried SLV7 brightness adjust, but i cannot adjust anything without drivers, and when i have the drivers finally installed, i cannot boot to windows YOLO.

I am green, tired, wasted and fed up with this, what to do next ?.....

Only hope is in another guy @Fred1977

he have a dell branded card from NEW alien 17, if this works, then expect me getting dell card ASAP.......

If it fails, then treat this thread as one of the biggest fails in R2 upgrade history......

[J95]

@flingin latest attempt, Disable onboard sound card/Azalia/ and set display to PEG.

-Download latest diriver NVIDIA DRIVERS 326.80BETA extract it using 7-zip then delete the following folders Display.Optimus / Display.Update / NV3DVision / NV3DVisionUSB.Driver / MS.Net / Experience / NVVAD.

-Use this driver uninstaller (nvidia/amd) Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) V6.2 select GPU upgrade option (backup first).

Modded .inf Modded nvdmn.inf v326.80 Alienware M17XR2/R3/R4 3D + M18XR1/R2 Nvidia GTX 680M / 780M

[flingin]

..... and set display to PEG....

[Khenglish]

PCB is more than capable of taking a lot of heat, it is DESIGNED to take a lot of punishment, believe me, my profession is - electric engineer

What i would say, is this, if manufacturer recommends to put a thermal pad on ''something'' it means that it generates heat, not putting a thermal pad on it, can, but not must, shorten the lifespan of the card, or damage it on a long run.

That said, loads of R2 users have 7970m's and 680m's, and i could not see a single post indicating that ''something got fried'', but you never know.....

Back to my card, yes i installed it again, but no matter what i do, my screen will shut off just before windows logon screen, it just shuts off, and that's it.

I can boot to windows without any drivers normally, but when i install any driver with a modded .INF file, i get screen shut off before logon screen.

I can do everything on HDMI 42inch TV, play games, run 3dmarks ETC, but what is the point LOL ?

Also tried SLV7 brightness adjust, but i cannot adjust anything without drivers, and when i have the drivers finally installed, i cannot boot to windows YOLO.

I am green, tired, wasted and fed up with this, what to do next ?.....

Only hope is in another guy @Fred1977

he have a dell branded card from NEW alien 17, if this works, then expect me getting dell card ASAP.......

If it fails, then treat this thread as one of the biggest fails in R2 upgrade history......

[J95]

Hi Mr J95

and if i do not have PEG option in my unlocked BIOS....because i have an R2, should i just skip this step ?

Thank you

Mr flingin if PEG is not available then try with AZALIA...

The uninstaller speeds the process, rebooting once will uninstall everything Nvidia related, if still no go, uninstall under safe mode>normal boot>device manager>display adapters>drivers>update drivers>Browse my computer>Display.Driver Folder (326.80)>install(no PhysX/Audio).

It's probably a driver that is causing this so you should start disabling other HW options (BIOS) by elimination.

[flingin]

Mr flingin if PEG is not available then try with AZALIA...

The uninstaller speeds the process, rebooting once will uninstall everything Nvidia related, if still no go, uninstall under safe mode>normal boot>device manager>display adapters>drivers>update drivers>Browse my computer>Display.Driver Folder (326.80)>install(no PhysX/Audio).

It's probably a driver that is causing this so you should start disabling other HW options (BIOS) by elimination.

Yep, a driver problem it may be .....

[Czarny_PLone]

Hi bro nice to see you around

The thing in red, is disabling the onboard Internal Graphics Device (IGD), which i disabled already.

I doubt my screen is not supported....even if this would be 4263x1567 resolution it should work

I ordered second heatsink, because i have enough of switching, and wasting thermal paste, so i should start testing again next week, till then, i will gather info, as usually.

LaptopMonkey on ebay claims that they have done the upgrade and it is working super-duper, it may be as well a bite for me to buy a card from them, i dont know....i said to them ''screenshot or it did not happen'' and all they had to say that it is working and thats it, no reassurance or whatever.

They may also see this post, so, i would say, again, ''screenshot or it did not happen''

Why i feel like i am the only guy in the world who is putting 780m into R2 ?

Stupid me...

[J95]

Hi you are not alone :)I am the third day I fight with my M18x R2 + GTX 780M Clevo and ass beaten :(The same problem of lack of vision on lcd It's peg, the modified bios, additional external monitor and nothing else saying ass beaten and empty pocket and is also unlocked A10 bios what else do you need for happiness:( On Monday Thank unless this card and change to 680m What is going on with the M18x R2 is so resistant to gtx780m ??

Follow this guide (flash the latest M18xR2 unlocked system BIOS) http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m17x-aw-17/4132-alienware-m17x-r3-upgrading-gtx-780m.html#post57970

Skip disabling the integrated sound card, Creative SC shouldn't have issues with the 780m.

[flingin]

Mr flingin if PEG is not available then try with AZALIA...

The uninstaller speeds the process, rebooting once will uninstall everything Nvidia related, if still no go, uninstall under safe mode>normal boot>device manager>display adapters>drivers>update drivers>Browse my computer>Display.Driver Folder (326.80)>install(no PhysX/Audio).

It's probably a driver that is causing this so you should start disabling other HW options (BIOS) by elimination.

[J95]

Hi, update,

Done everything in this guide, still same issue, i think i have to wait for @Fred1977 to see if he encounters same problems, if yes, then we can assume R2 can't support 780m, if he manages to get it working, then we can assume dell version of the card will work, or the vbios, or there is still something in the driver.....i was wondering about driver signing..if i leave it on, can it cause this problems ?

It will work, before you were able to boot only under safe mode, now normal boot with IDT/AZALIA disabled using microsoft basic driver so you must keep disabling BIOS/HW until you can pinpoint additional HW causing this, driver signing would make a difference under win8 but you can try it anyway.

Are you using the latest unlocked system BIOS ? In order to better help you, try to post all BIOS/settings pics.

[flingin]

It will work, before you were able to boot only under safe mode, now normal boot with IDT/AZALIA disabled using microsoft basic driver so you must keep disabling BIOS/HW until you can pinpoint additional HW causing this, driver signing would make a difference under win8 but you can try it anyway.

Are you using the latest unlocked system BIOS ? In order to better help you, try to post all BIOS/settings pics.

i am using the first and ONLY release of R2 unlocked Bios,.....correct me if they are more

[J95]

@flingin besides IDT and since normal booting w/basic driver now is possible probably the issue here is that the panel is not detected similar problem (blank screen) with the R3/R4/680m/120Hz screen and 320.18 drivers bug I've reported R3/R4, supposedly fixed with a vBIOS update which was never released instead nvidia solved it using 326.01 win8.1 preview drivers.

Nvidia's response "Yes. This is a VBIOS issue. We fixed it in VBIOS but will require an update from Alienware. It was just fixed and verified a couple of days ago.

CLEVO issue same cause and VBIOS also fixed it. For both laptops, the DFP entries in DCB table is ruled as invalid, so no gpio data set, and hence we don't detect the panel at all. "

vBIOS fix with these specific entries... ----- maybe changing the screen resolution, the R2 has to 2 different settings for it, differently the R3 resolutions are BIOS only changing them bricks it; research first.

[sLI][3D Vision][GeForce GTX 680M][Notebook]: The internal display goes blank after

installing the driver and enabling SLI or stereoscopic 3D. (Requires VBIOS Update from manufacturer) [1297104].....desktop configurations too.

-Some 27" 1440p monitors with Korean B grade panels are not detected. [1329305], 326.80 bug fixes.

[flingin]

@flingin besides IDT and since normal booting w/basic driver now is possible probably the issue here is that the panel is not detected similar problem (blank screen) with the R3/R4/680m/120Hz screen and 320.18 drivers bug I've reported R3/R4, supposedly fixed with a vBIOS update which was never released instead nvidia solved it using 326.01 win8.1 preview drivers.

Nvidia's response "Yes. This is a VBIOS issue. We fixed it in VBIOS but will require an update from Alienware. It was just fixed and verified a couple of days ago.

CLEVO issue same cause and VBIOS also fixed it. For both laptops, the DFP entries in DCB table is ruled as invalid, so no gpio data set, and hence we don't detect the panel at all. "

vBIOS fix with these specific entries... ----- maybe changing the screen resolution, the R2 has to 2 different settings for it, differently the R3 resolutions are BIOS only changing them bricks it; research first.

[sLI][3D Vision][GeForce GTX 680M][Notebook]: The internal display goes blank after

installing the driver and enabling SLI or stereoscopic 3D. (Requires VBIOS Update from manufacturer) [1297104].....desktop configurations too.

-Some 27" 1440p monitors with Korean B grade panels are not detected. [1329305], 326.80 bug fixes.

Do I get it right....

This is a vbios issue, which nvidia fixed, but still need an action from Dell, so..... are there any updates on this from Dell ? is there any other vbios i can use ?

New alien 17 vbios maybe ? or what ?

[Fred1977]

sorry for the delay, but i tried my Dell 780M on my M17XR2, and i ve same issue : no display on Windows normal mode. Alien logo appears, and when Windows is lauching, i've a black screen. I try to resolve that next week, i must reinstall my 780M in my R5 for a business trip.