Going to test clevo 980m in alienware m17x R4, m18x R2, AW17

[Riri-Fifi]

GeForce Experience.

Did you notice any drops?

Yes No drop Freq

[J95]

Yes No drop Freq

Thanks man, now I need M18xR2/980M to test this...anyone?...

[brokendown]

You can use a 980M in a P370EM.. All you need to do is flash Prema's modded Bios and EC from his website... This has to be done with your 680Ms inserted... Then you can replace them with 980Ms, install driver and flash either Prema's or svl7 modded 980M vBIOS...

Very interesting! Lastly does somebody know where I could pick up a 980m separately? I live in Sweden and I imported my custom parts laptop from Germany and we aren't really bathing in spare parts for laptops. And also do you know if it works flawlessly after the method you described? Right now I am running my 680m overclocked so I know how to flash. But I wouldn't upgrade if the compability is just so so with the 980m after.

[Riri-Fifi]

I just got my Alienware 17 R2

I7 4710HQ

2X8 DDR3L

SSD M2 Samsung pm 851 512Go

HDD 1To

GTX 980M 4Go

Windows 8.1 64Bits

[Riri-Fifi]

First run Alienware 17R2 GPU Amplifier

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4710HQ,Alienware Alienware 17 R2

[kenny27]

Thanks man, now I need M18xR2/980M to test this...anyone?...

I had a play with 350.05 and your inf (from post #1471) yesterday night. I am using prema GTX980mOC vbios to put things in perspective, and my 3920xm is running at stock clocks.

I would flash svl7s vbios again but I have literally taken my M18x apart 25 times in the last 2 days flashing different vbios's and am a bit over it at this stage.

For reference:

344.75(Mr. Fox's desktop driver) throttled almost instantly with this vbios and is basically unusable.

347.90 on the first few installs was similar to 344.75 but now I am using an installation that so far is rock solid.

For your 350.05 drivers it seemed to do one of two things; work very well or throttle to 135Mhz.

I managed to get though 1.5 runs of valley before it throttled to 135, With a reboot valley manged 3 or 4 cycles no throttle before I shut valley down. Later runs produced throttling when the rain starts (in the valley run) or just after either on the first or second cycle, or it ran perfectly until I stopped it.

Metro 2033 benchmark throttled after 1.5 runs.

I did manage a few unthrottled firestrike runs, the scores however were not as good 347.90.

Additional Notes

Once the system throttled it stayed at 135Mhz until either a reboot or an overclock was applied but then the clocks bounced between 1038Mhz and the overclock limit which I did not test much because it annoyed me.

I only out of 4hrs of testing saw 6 mini throttles where the power state was drop or the clock was dropped to 1038Mhz and then continued as normal.

I hope my observations are useful considering the different vbios's. I can try the first inf you posted if you want, but that may be later today or tomorrow.

I was going to upload my msi log screen shots but I think you get the idea its either off or on for me with the premas vbios.

Just a question... Is there a reason you are testing svl7's vbios @1127 rather than 1203Mhz? I would get better performance with svl7's vbios downclocked to 1127Mhz (using 347.90) even though I never had any clock throttling at all it was a difference of about 1-2.5k in the firestike/3dmark11/vantage gpu tests. Is this the same with the M17(x)?

[J95]

I had a play with 350.05 and your inf (from post #1471) yesterday night. I am using prema GTX980mOC vbios to put things in perspective, and my 3920xm is running at stock clocks.

I would flash svl7s vbios again but I have literally taken my M18x apart 25 times in the last 2 days flashing different vbios's and am a bit over it at this stage.

For reference:

344.75(Mr. Fox's desktop driver) throttled almost instantly with this vbios and is basically unusable.

347.90 on the first few installs was similar to 344.75 but now I am using an installation that so far is rock solid.

For your 350.05 drivers it seemed to do one of two things; work very well or throttle to 135Mhz.

I managed to get though 1.5 runs of valley before it throttled to 135, With a reboot valley manged 3 or 4 cycles no throttle before I shut valley down. Later runs produced throttling when the rain starts (in the valley run) or just after either on the first or second cycle, or it ran perfectly until I stopped it.

Metro 2033 benchmark throttled after 1.5 runs.

I did manage a few unthrottled firestrike runs, the scores however were not as good 347.90.

Additional Notes

Once the system throttled it stayed at 135Mhz until either a reboot or an overclock was applied but then the clocks bounced between 1038Mhz and the overclock limit which I did not test much because it annoyed me.

I only out of 4hrs of testing saw 6 mini throttles where the power state was drop or the clock was dropped to 1038Mhz and then continued as normal.

I hope my observations are useful considering the different vbios's. I can try the first inf you posted if you want, but that may be later today or tomorrow.

I was going to upload my msi log screen shots but I think you get the idea its either off or on for me with the premas vbios.

Just a question... Is there a reason you are testing svl7's vbios @1127 rather than 1203Mhz? I would get better performance with svl7's vbios downclocked to 1127Mhz (using 347.90) even though I never had any clock throttling at all it was a difference of about 1-2.5k in the firestike/3dmark11/vantage gpu tests. Is this the same with the M17(x)?

This mod only works using svl7's vbios 80.04.22.00.20, Prema's vbios throttles to 135MHz...including my other 'fix'. nvlddmkm.sys + 4 DLLs will override FW...

347.90 is the best driver so far...

Try this 120Hz/PEG AWs nvflash'ing 900M series - Legacy BIOS Mode

http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware/8113-going-test-clevo-980m-alienware-m17x-r4-m18x-r2-aw17-145.html#post126373

[Riri-Fifi]

Hi J95

Drivers 350.05 no Stereoscopic 3D

[kenny27]

I thought as much. I'm not really keen on svl7's 980m vbios, while it does disable the boost function which is good, I cant run it without "underclocking" to 1127Mhz or my computer freezes during vantage even if i bump the voltage.

Agreed 347.90 is a great driver for stock clocks or very mild overclocks. Overclock to much and the gpu usage goes out the window instead of sticking above 90% it'll drop as low as 65% despite holding the overclock as steady as a rock.

[TomJGX]

I thought as much. I'm not really keen on svl7's 980m vbios, while it does disable the boost function which is good, I cant run it without "underclocking" to 1127Mhz or my computer freezes during vantage even if i bump the voltage.

Agreed 347.90 is a great driver for stock clocks or very mild overclocks. Overclock to much and the gpu usage goes out the window instead of sticking above 90% it'll drop as low as 65% despite holding the overclock as steady as a rock.

How is boost good? 1st thing I did once I got my 970M was to flash svl7's VBIOS to disable it... It messes up your clocks.. I run at full boost clocks now all the time during gaming and performance is much better.. Not to mention svl7's vBIOS lowers voltage to 0.95 and my card runs rock stable and cool..

[J95]

Hi J95

Drivers 350.05 no Stereoscopic 3D

Officially 900M series lack 3D Vision support (internal) licensing GPU, Emitter, Screen IDs...external/mini-DP works just fine though.

I thought as much. I'm not really keen on svl7's 980m vbios, while it does disable the boost function which is good, I cant run it without "underclocking" to 1127Mhz or my computer freezes during vantage even if i bump the voltage.

Agreed 347.90 is a great driver for stock clocks or very mild overclocks. Overclock to much and the gpu usage goes out the window instead of sticking above 90% it'll drop as low as 65% despite holding the overclock as steady as a rock.

Fixed too, but I can't post it >yet<...it's the only solution we've got. AW throttling is intentional, unfortunately v347.90 & v350.05 Mod proves that NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M17xR4

[kenny27]

How is boost good? 1st thing I did once I got my 970M was to flash svl7's VBIOS to disable it... It messes up your clocks.. I run at full boost clocks now all the time during gaming and performance is much better.. Not to mention svl7's vBIOS lowers voltage to 0.95 and my card runs rock stable and cool..

I actually said the fact svl7's bios disables boost is a good thing but..... I get crashes (most likely due to the combination of voltage reduction and clock increase) chances are my cards are not quiet at good as yours. I'd rather not rely on software tweaks be it over-volting or under-clocking to ensure stability that in theory should be present the moment you hit the power button.

To be honest though Prema has done a fantastic job of preserving but at the same time hiding the boost function I have never seen it provided I used provided I use the right drivers, it is always at 100% boost under load

It sound like a compromise in theory but in the practical sense is an improvement for my system at least.

I am interested to know though; does svl7's 970m vbios overclock your 970m beyond the stock boost clocks?... and if so which performs better svl7's base clock or underclocking to the stock boost clocks? I ask this because when I was using slv7's 980m vbios I got much better performance under-clocking to the stock boost clocks, if I didn't the card usage would throttle despite the clocks remaining rock steady. I get the same issue if I overclock "to-much" with premas vbios.

Fixed too, but I can't post it >yet<...it's the only solution we've got. AW throttling is intentional, unfortunately v347.90 & v350.05 Mod proves that NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M17xR4

Wow that is an excellent score! Isn't the 9.18.13.4752 driver OC blocked though? or was that a vbios overclock?

Well keep us posted, your doing an excellent job IMHO so would love to see what you have cooked up when the time is right, hopefully the M18x can benefit as much as the M17x

[Techm18x]

Hi all, I've been following this thread around the windows 7 boot issue but haven't since then, until now. I noticed alienware selling AW 17 with 980sli and windows 7 option config and was wondering if any one had access to that bios, also does anyone know why the AW 18 isn't available anymore. I was wondering if that vbios would allow the 980m to boot into win7 and or on m18x R1 systems as i hate win8 for many reasons. Also does any one have the part # for the newest revision of the 980m heatsinks (Alienware model) or where to buy? And lastly and just as important does anyone know of any fans (laptop) that are over 11.4 cfm? Doesn't matter the laptop brand as am certain i can mod it one way or another, Thanks, happy modding!!!

[kenny27]

The 17 R2 is being sold with a 980M 4GB card with no SLI, I understand that vbios is not compatible with our 8GB versions. Chances are the 17 is booting windows 7 with optimus enabled which we can do on our M17x R4 and M18x R2 (with one card) anyway.

Heatsinks for which computer? Any of the 100W AMD or Nvidia heatsinks should work fine. (I am using the 7970m heatsinks the 980m's in my M18x R2)

The 18 is not available any more because they stopped making it. The 18 is a step backwards from the M18x R2 in many ways which has stopped a lot of people from upgrading. Dell have stopped making enthusiast grade laptops for what ever reason, which makes the 18 less viable due to a smaller customer base hence they stopped making it (IMHO).

Not sure about better fans though, it can be hard to find a cfm rating for a laptop fan as it usually made for a specific model, cfm then becomes irrelevant.

To be honest I'm not sure why you would like to put better fans in anyway, for everyday use and overclocks the standard fans work well in Alienwares at least, and if your into serious overclocking you need more then a what a laptop fan can give you anyway.

Colder ambient temperatures is the best way, be it going outside when the weather is cold or using a portable Air Conditioner to pump cold air into the laptop. I have seen (pictures) laptops placed into chest freezers and chunks of dry iced on the heatsinks if you want to go really crazy (Although not recommended at all!).

I would recommend Liquid Ultra if you want low temps, my 3920xm dropped 13C compared to IC diamond under heavy load which is simply amazing, just don't get that stuff on any aluminium.

You could also raise the back of the laptop up to improve air flow or use/make a laptop cooler. If your really keen you could remove the perforated mesh that covers the fans, which might help a tiny bit.

I don't want to discourage your fan modding but there might be a more proven method that may help you to achieve your goals what ever they may be.

[supermi]

So from what I am reading there is progress on the 980m in the M18X R2?

Can a single 980M with higher OC and an overclocked (4.3ghz) XM cpu run without throttling now? Single not SLI?

also I have seen some pics of 980m pcb having more VRM than others looks like 4 vs 5, any difference in use? Lower OC, more failure rate with OC?

[J95]

GeForce 350.12 WHQL

GeForce 350.12 WHQL

Game Ready

• Best gaming experience for Grand Theft Auto V, including support for SLI technology and GeForce Experience one-click optimizations.
  INF MOD v350.12
  nv_dispi.inf: PEG/Dedicated ->900M P1 Switching/throttling removed - MOD Included<- & Optimus/M17xR4 - GTX 980M , 970M , 965M , 880M , 870M , 860M , 780M , 770M , 765M , 680M , 675MX , 670MX
  nvcvi.inf: Optimus Alienware 17 / 05AA (only) GTX 980M - 970M - 965M
  GeForce 350.12 WHQL
  INF MOD v350.12
  

[TomJGX]

GeForce 350.12 WHQL

Can you make a mod for Optimus ppl? Just standard one.. Please don't remove anything.. I want everything like the HD audio, mircast etc.. Thanks J95.

[J95]

Can you make a mod for Optimus ppl? Just standard one.. Please don't remove anything.. I want everything like the HD audio, mircast etc.. Thanks J95.

Did you try installing nv_dispi.inf?

[TomJGX]

Did you try installing nv_dispi.inf?

Haven't will try tomorrow... Gaming time now .. On the safe side, can you just mod the nvci and add the line for 970M? That should work.. No need to do anything else.. I will try both then..

[J95]

Haven't will try tomorrow... Gaming time now .. On the safe side, can you just mod the nvci and add the line for 970M? That should work.. No need to do anything else.. I will try both then..

HD audio & Miracast are both included. You should test nv_dispi.inf (M17xR4/Optimus), P1 Throttling MOD also removes some key Optimus DLLs.

[TomJGX]

HD audio & Miracast are both included. I need you to test nv_dispi.inf (M17xR4/Optimus), P1 switching/Throttling MOD also removes some key Optimus DLLs.

I will do so in the morning.. 1.30a.m here in the UK... BTW, where are you located J95? I haven't been able to figure this out at all

[HaloTechnology]

^^^ Tom and J95 you are the best but

Which driver and modded inf is the best right now for AW17 R1 with Optimus ?

[J95]

^^^ Tom and J95 you are the best but

Which driver and modded inf is the best right now for AW17 R1 with Optimus ?

v350.12 / nvcvi.inf http://forum.techinferno.com/nvidia/6307-%5Balienware%5D-aftermarket-upgrades-driver-support-modded-inf-23.html#post129510

- - - Updated - - -

GTA 5 @1202/2808...

v350.12

2015-04-18 20:21:19
2015-04-18 20:34:30 

Edit: GTA 5 @1202/2907

2015-04-19 08:19:31
2015-04-19 08:45:12

GPU-Z Sensor Log_GTA_5 _.txt

GPU-Z Sensor Log_GTA_5_1202_2907.txt

[Techm18x]

Sorry for the delay haven't been around since i last posted. Thanks for your response!!! I see, thought they had sli and it's a shame they don't work with the 8GB versions, looks like dell is seroius about tightening their grip on us enthusiasts, oh so much for that idea "but where there is a will there is a way".

I have a M18x R1, wasn't sure if the had a heatsink better than 100W. Noted wasn't aware the AMD heatsink for the 7970m could also work that opens a bit more room for modding if needed.

No more enthusiast laptops, well i was hoping they won't of taken that route eventually, But they might change their minds soon, but that 18 was more than a step back not sure what that design team was on and the same goes for the coders the ridiculous fan table it came with was more than enough for me to stay far and ovenwell (hashwell) didn't help that problem either. You think they would at least sell upgrade parts: graphics cards, processors, etc along with a bios update for comparability for us they would still make money, but i guess they prefer we buy their lemons (e.g 18) and be happy, i also think they are forgetting we are paying for it so it should be worth the price and not be like buy a ferrari with a little go-kart engine but i guess they don't see the unfairness in that.

Well, that is true but i have been able to shave off 7 degrees off my primary card modding a 11.4 cfm fan for it usually under full load using a benchmark software i use as reference knowing no game will ever push the card that much now that card dances between 60 -62 degrees only after multiple back to back runs, temps no crawl up that that rather than jumping. But the real reason i asked is due to the fact that from tests it's clear i havent reached the heatsinks maximum capacity and figured a faster fan will squeeze a little cooler temps before i consider tweaking something else. I i also did a mod to prevent the hot air from bouncing back into the system which just causes the temps to rise, got a 4 degree drop with that. Am currently working on a cooling pad but it's slow and tedious work but it's coming along but i wouldn't dare use dry ice on the heatsink way too close for comfort.

I do use Liquid Ultra, best in my opinion! Did that right after i made sure the laptop came without any damage (both for the graphics cards and processor), that thing is great! Also if you ever get that stuff on the transistors isopropyl gets it off clean. I thought about removing the mess but i clean it maybe every 3 months and what little dust gets stuck to it made me reconsider but may once the cooling pad is done. Thanks for your insight though but have done most of those already.

No, not at all i might have even came up with some new ideas thanks to you! When done the cooling pad will be sufficient but until then i figured i would conclude the limitation of each cooling part by modding until that limit is reached as we all know ever degree counts in the summer time. I wonder if the 1080m will be a pain, any news on that?

[Wlodipawel87]

As its my first post I would like to say hello to all of u.

i went through all 150 pages in this topic and I'm lost now.

bought an Alienware m17x r4 2 months ago with gtx 680m and thinking to upgrade to 970m in plug and play way.

because of I'm running on w8.1 with newest bios a13 would I avoid any problems ?would that be enough to swap old gpu with new one and install modified inf files for drivers? And what about Optimus mode ? Would 2 options run correctly ? I'm just trying to find out before I spend 600€ .