NEED HELP Upgrading alienware M17X R4 GPU and Screen

[Uness]

Hello, I am starting this topic, because I am willing to upgrade the GPU of my Alienware m17x r4 : 

- Win7 64x

- BIOS A05 (normal not unlocked) 

-16go RAM

-AMD 7970m 

-FHD 60hz screen (I bought a couple of weeks ago a new alienware m17x R4 3D 120hz screen with nvidia 3d vision 2 glasses, for those who might ask I tried to use it, but i got 8 beep the screen won't work).

 I really need your help in order to buy the GPU depending on your answers.
I've been saving money for quite some time, I got enough to buy the GTX 970m or 980m  I can also consider the GTX 880M depending on the 3D feature:

 

 

 

 

1) if I upgrade to a 970m or 980m, GTX 880m I lose the 3D feature knowing that the 120hz screen will work (I searched in a lot of forms I couldn't find a precise answer)??

 

 

2) Do I need to upgrade my bios(A05) to an Unlocked bios, if so to which version?

 

 

4) Is my AMD 7970m heat sink (see enclosed picture ) Compatible with the gtx 970m or 980m, 880m?

 

5) Correct me if I am wrong, I only need a modified .inf Nvidia software to install the card if so which version is the best for a 970 or 980, 880m?

 

I really appreciate your help guys, thanks

Ps: please excuse my english, I am french ^^

 

 

 

Edited February 29, 2016 by Uness

[Uness]

UP!

[Brian]

@Mr. Fox and @johnksssmay know about the M17x-R4. I don't know whether the 120 hz screen isn't working because the 120 hz  version uses a different motherboard type and/or bios or not. Never used one of these systems so I can't be of much help to you. 

[Guest]

It probably has something to do with the BIOS settings. I suspect it needs to be set to PEG mode to work correctly. It is eDP, not LVDS, so the settings that worked with the LVDS screen may be incompatible. I've never owned one, but I bet @J95 can give you a straight answer on that rather than me using an educated wild guess.

[mariussx]

On 2/28/2016 at 1:26 PM, Uness said:

Hello, I am starting this topic, because I am willing to upgrade the GPU of my Alienware m17x r4 : 

- Win7 64x

- BIOS A05 (normal not unlocked) 

-16go RAM

-AMD 7970m 

-FHD 60hz screen (I bought a couple of weeks ago a new alienware m17x R4 3D 120hz screen with nvidia 3d vision 2 glasses, for those who might ask I tried to use it, but i got 8 beep the screen won't work).

 I really need your help in order to buy the GPU depending on your answers.
I've been saving money for quite some time, I got enough to buy the GTX 970m or 980m  I can also consider the GTX 880M depending on the 3D feature:

 

 

 

 

1) if I upgrade to a 970m or 980m, GTX 880m I lose the 3D feature knowing that the 120hz screen will work (I searched in a lot of forms I couldn't find a precise answer)??

 

 

2) Do I need to upgrade my bios(A05) to an Unlocked bios, if so to which version?

 

 

4) Is my AMD 7970m heat sink (see enclosed picture ) Compatible with the gtx 970m or 980m, 880m?

 

5) Correct me if I am wrong, I only need a modified .inf Nvidia software to install the card if so which version is the best for a 970 or 980, 880m?

 

I really appreciate your help guys, thanks

Ps: please excuse my english, I am french ^^

 

 

 

 

 

3D screen needs to be connected to the different port (60Hz uses LVDS, while 120Hz uses EDP). When you opened the laptop up to replace the screen, you might have noticed there are 2 very similar looking ports. 3D screen needs to be connected to EDP port and screwed in (there should be 2 screws on LCD cable). 3D functionality will only work with GTX 680M and other 6xxM series cards, however 120Hz can be utilized with 980m and most other cards. 980m will need UEFI only Windows installation otherwise, it will give you 8 beeps with 3D screen. You might need to update your BIOS to A12 stock (or slightly older unlocked version if you want, but not necessary) if uefi is missing. I upgraded from 680m, so can not comment on the heatsink. You will need modiffied inf files every time you update the driver, they can be found on this forum.

Edited April 5, 2016 by mariussx

[Uness]

2 hours ago, mariussx said:

3D screen needs to be connected to the different port (60Hz uses LVDS, while 120Hz uses EDP). When you opened the laptop up to replace the screen, you might have noticed there are 2 very similar looking ports. 3D screen needs to be connected to EDP port and screwed in (there should be 2 screws on LCD cable). 3D functionality will only work with GTX 680M and other 6xxM series cards, however 120Hz can be utilized with 980m and most other cards. 980m will need UEFI only Windows installation otherwise, it will give you 8 beeps with 3D screen. You might need to update your BIOS to A12 stock (or slightly older unlocked version if you want, but not necessary) if uefi is missing. I upgraded from 680m, so can not comment on the heatsink. You will need modiffied inf files every time you update the driver, they can be found on this forum.

Thanks for your reply, It's too bad  that the 3D feature does not work with 880M GTX or newer gtx cards, do you know if 120Hz screen can be used with 880M on Windows 7 without having to upgrade to Windows 8 or 10?

[Solo wing]

1 hour ago, Uness said:

Thanks for your reply, It's too bad  that the 3D feature does not work with 880M GTX or newer gtx cards, do you know if 120Hz screen can be used with 880M on Windows 7 without having to upgrade to Windows 8 or 10?

Only Maxwell cards (9XX series) need Win 8 / 10 + UEFI.

Kepler cards will work fine with Windows 7 under Legacy (no need for UEFI). My advice is to stay away from the 880M it's a disaster. 

[Uness]

On 5/4/2016 at 0:52 AM, Solo wing said:

Only Maxwell cards (9XX series) need Win 8 / 10 + UEFI.

Kepler cards will work fine with Windows 7 under Legacy (no need for UEFI). My advice is to stay away from the 880M it's a disaster. 

Thanks for your reply, the main raison i wanted to stay with win 7 is because of this  https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/862417/geforce-drivers/windows-10-geforce-drivers-are-killing-samsung-and-lg-notebook-lcd-display-panels/1/  (thank you @Mr. Fox) since nobody reported the problem with alienware m17x R4 120hz screen  I guess I will upgrade to the gtx 970m (not enough money for the 980m) I already bought the 3d screen all that's left to buy is the gpu, If i may ask which version of the gpu driver you're using  ??

Edited April 8, 2016 by Uness

[Solo wing]

1 hour ago, Uness said:

Thanks for your reply, the main raison i wanted to stay with win 7 is because of this  https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/862417/geforce-drivers/windows-10-geforce-drivers-are-killing-samsung-and-lg-notebook-lcd-display-panels/1/  (thank you @Mr. Fox) since nobody reported the problem with alienware m17x R4 120ghz screen  I guess I will upgrade to the gtx 970m (not enough money for the 980m) I already bought the 3d screen all that's left to buy is the gpu, If i may ask which version of the gpu driver you're using  ??

I don't think you should worry about damaging your screen, It was  mostly caused by EVGA Precision. Driver 352.84 is  best for Windows 10 (throttle-free), same thing for 353 on Windows  8. If you can wait a bit more to grab the 980M you won't regret it , the performance is extremely good and overclocking headroom is huge.

[Uness]

Thank you for all the informations, I will save some more money in order to get a 980m, For now I will start by upgrading from win7 to win 10 and unlocking my bios. About the bios my actual version is A05 (locked) is it enough just to unlock it or do I really need to upgrade to A12(unlocked)?

[Solo wing]

I'm running stock A13 BIOS. Why do you want an unlocked BIOS?

[Uness]

On 6/4/2016 at 0:32 AM, Solo wing said:

I'm running stock A13 BIOS. Why do you want an unlocked BIOS?

Well I was thinking I need to Set Display to PEG mode in advanced Menu (only available in unlocked BIOS) in order to get the 120hz screen working with the Nvidia gpu

.

 

Edited April 8, 2016 by Uness

[mariussx]

17 hours ago, Uness said:

Well I was thinking I need to Set Display to PEG mode in advanced Menu (only available in unlocked BIOS) in order to get the 120ghz screen working with the Nvidia gpu

.

 

When you plug 3d screen into eDP port, Intel GPU is automatically disabled. No need to change anything in BIOS.

[Uness]

Thank you for all the informations ^^, So to sum up  all the steps I have to do when I get my GPU:

1) Since I will already be running on win10 with my current GPU (AMD7970m) I will start by uninstalling the AMD GPU driver and Intel integrated driver + reboot 

2) Disable  Driver Signature Enforcement  on win 10 + shutdown

3) Unplug power cord

4) Remove battery

5) Hold power button for 30 seconds

6) Remove CMOS coin battery 

7) Unplug the old gpu and plug the new one (GTX 980M) + unplug the old screen (60hz) and plug the 3D in the EDP port (
I will skip meeting some minor details like putting thermal past and heat sink on the gpu...etc.)

8) Reinsert CMOS battery + Plug power cord

Did I skip the part when i should put boot list option to UEFI in the boot menu??

10) Install the new gpu with moded inf files

11) reboot and everything should work??  

Please correct me if I forgot any important step, I am sure I made a lot of mistakes:/

Thank you guys again for all the informations

Edited April 8, 2016 by Uness

[Zoldago]

I had to make a clean full uefi install of Windows 10 with the new GTX 980M.

So maybe you have to do this too.

[Solo wing]

On 4/8/2016 at 2:39 PM, Uness said:

Thank you for all the informations ^^, So to sum up  all the steps I have to do when I get my GPU:

1) Since I will already be running on win10 with my current GPU (AMD7970m) I will start by uninstalling the AMD GPU driver and Intel integrated driver + reboot 

2) Disable  Driver Signature Enforcement  on win 10 + shutdown

3) Unplug power cord

4) Remove battery

5) Hold power button for 30 seconds

6) Remove CMOS coin battery 

7) Unplug the old gpu and plug the new one (GTX 980M) + unplug the old screen (60hz) and plug the 3D in the EDP port (
I will skip meeting some minor details like putting thermal past and heat sink on the gpu...etc.)

8) Reinsert CMOS battery + Plug power cord

Did I skip the part when i should put boot list option to UEFI in the boot menu??

10) Install the new gpu with moded inf files

11) reboot and everything should work??  

Please correct me if I forgot any important step, I am sure I made a lot of mistakes:/

Thank you guys again for all the informations

Perhaps a clean install would be better.

If you decide to start new:

1- Change Bios settings to UEFI / disable fast start/ disable legacy rom / disable secure boot.

2- Install Win 8 or 10 from a media of your choice.

3- Since you booted with pure UEFI, Windows setup will probably format your drives to GPT.

4- After the setup completes, shutdown the computer, unplug the adapter and battery. (no need to remove the CMOS)

5- install the 980M

6- install the new display

7- turn on the computer, disable DSE

8- install modded drivers

9- Enjoy!

[Uness]

 

@Solo wing thank you again ^^, Can you please explain to me why the 3d feature is not available when we upgrade the gpu, knowing that when I searched on the nvidia website the gtx 970m & 980m support 3d?

[Solo wing]

1 hour ago, Uness said:

 

@Solo wing thank you again ^^, Can you please explain to me why the 3d feature is not available when we upgrade the gpu, knowing that when I searched on the nvidia website the gtx 970m & 980m support 3d?

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/notebook-gpus/geforce-gtx-980m Mobile Maxwell GPUs (& 880M) do not support 3D. Perhaps OEMs or NVidia decided to discontinue 3D vision for notebooks. 

Edited April 11, 2016 by Solo wing

[danyune]

Late reply but, I'm almost positive the 120hz screen only works with nvidia cards, hence your 7970m got beeps when you installed the 120hz screen

[Noxco]

Hello to all can you help me change the graphics card? Alienware m17x r4 i7 3610qm quadro k4100m display 120hz 3d bios a15 trying to install 980m but not getting 5 or 8 beeps removed the battery and reset the bios. disabled legacy and secure boot in settings windows 10 gpt uefi help how to be?

[MattyB]

On 1/26/2022 at 11:25 AM, Noxco said:

Hello to all can you help me change the graphics card? Alienware m17x r4 i7 3610qm quadro k4100m display 120hz 3d bios a15 trying to install 980m but not getting 5 or 8 beeps removed the battery and reset the bios. disabled legacy and secure boot in settings windows 10 gpt uefi help how to be?

 

If the BIOS set to UEFI boot with Load Legacy Option ROM and Secure Boot disabled and you are getting 8 beeps then there could be an issue with the 980M. If you are getting a 5 beep code as well then your CMOS battery could have failed. It is only a C2032 battery which you can get from the supermarket for $1-2. If this is failed then it may be trying to reset your BIOS which could be the problem. I'd start by replacing this battery and go from there. If you are still getting the 8 beep error then the card could be bad. 

[Noxco]

On 27.01.2022 at 05:43, MattyB said:

 

Если в BIOS установлена загрузка UEFI с отключенными параметрами Load Legacy Option ROM и Secure Boot и вы получаете 8 звуковых сигналов, возможно, проблема связана с 980M. Если вы также получаете 5 звуковых сигналов, возможно, ваша батарея CMOS вышла из строя. Это всего лишь батарея C2032, которую вы можете купить в супермаркете за 1-2 доллара. Если это не удалось, возможно, он пытается сбросить настройки BIOS, что может быть проблемой. Я бы начал с замены этой батареи и пошел бы оттуда. Если вы все еще получаете 8 звуковых сигналов, возможно, карта неисправна. 

Is there a possibility that you need to remove the memory from the laptop? the seller from China suggested this option

 

He said :"reinstall the memory banks"

[Klem]

31 minutes ago, Noxco said:

Is there a possibility that you need to remove the memory from the laptop? the seller from China suggested this option

 

He said :"reinstall the memory banks"

Hi!

You can try to do this and check if there is any result or not.

[MattyB]

980M's out of China are notorious for being DOA so I'm hoping this isn't the case for you. I've never heard that removing the memory can help but you never know. Remove all the memory and hold the power button down for 30 seconds (without any power/battery attached. This will give you a power and memory drain and it may help. 

[Noxco]

On 04.02.2022 at 03:52, MattyB said:

980M из Китая печально известны как DOA, поэтому я надеюсь, что это не ваш случай. Я никогда не слышал, что удаление памяти может помочь, но кто знает. Удалите всю память и удерживайте кнопку питания в течение 30 секунд (без подключенного питания / батареи. Это приведет к утечке питания и памяти, и это может помочь. 

Maybe need install other vbios?

What you think about this?