Video Card Problems on M17xR3 - considering changing it

[M17xUser]

Hi All,

My Alienware M17x R3 6970m started having some major graphics issues about two months ago - lots of artefacts on the screen whilst playing (and also on windows desktop) which to me were a telltale sign that the video card was leaving the building.

Took it to the local Dell retailer, however, since its out of warranty they were not very helpful at all and basically offered to replace the video card for 850Euro (not worth it for me) since there was nothing they could do.

Now am limited to just the intel graphics, which is a shame on such a nice laptop. The radeon video card, whilst physically in (i checked - its there), is not detected by either windows manager, nor the BIOS (it says Graphics Card: Not Detected).

I tried removing the card and reseating it but it was still not detected. Also tried resetting the BIOS and updating all drivers. Are there any further options I can try?

If I have a bad card, can I change it with a cheap 6770m I saw on ebay? Is it compatible with my laptop?

Thanks in advance.

Jon