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Dell 46MHW Alienware R3 Motherboard Compatibility - Help
Hi All,
I have an Alienware Aurora R3 with the following specs:
Computer: Alienware Aurora-R3
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K (Sandy Bridge-DT XE, D2)
3400 MHz (34.00x100.0) @ 1596 MHz (16.00x99.8)
Motherboard: Alienware 046MHW
Chipset: Intel P67 (Cougar Point) [B3]
Memory: 8192 MBytes @ 665 MHz, 9.0-10-10-25
- 2048 MB PC10600 DDR3 SDRAM - Corsair CM3X2G1333C9
- 2048 MB PC10600 DDR3 SDRAM - Corsair CM3X2G1333C9
- 2048 MB PC10600 DDR3 SDRAM - Corsair CM3X2G1333C9
- 2048 MB PC10600 DDR3 SDRAM - Corsair CM3X2G1333C9
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5
ATI/AMD Radeon HD 6950, 2048 MB GDDR5 SDRAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5
ATI/AMD Radeon HD 6950, 2048 MB GDDR5 SDRAM
Drive: Crucial_CT128MX100SSD1, 125.0 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s
Drive: ST31000524AS, 976.8 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s
Drive: PLDS DVD+-RW DH-24ABS, DVD+R DL
Sound: Intel Cougar Point PCH - High Definition Audio Controller [B3]
Sound: ATI/AMD Cayman/Antilles - High Definition Audio Controller
Sound: ATI/AMD Cayman/Antilles - High Definition Audio Controller
Network: RealTek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (x64) Build 7601
I want to upgrade my GPU and hear horror stories regarding incompatibility with the MoBo. I am looking to purchase a GTX 970; Will this be a significant upgrade? Other recommendations are completely welcome =)
Thank you!
C.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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17K Posts
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December 1st, 2015 17:00
If you have 875watt PowerSupply ... just about any single video card should work (even a "dual-slot-card" is ok) power-wise and cooling-wise.
.
HOWEVER, since it's Aurora-R3 you better get a video card with a Dual-BIOS switch on it that supports both Legacy BIOS and UEFI Hybrid BIOS.
Aurora R3 is maybe just EFI (not true uEFI) so it can't decide which it needs. Save yourself a lot of trouble and get one with a switch on the video-card.
Reportedly, newer MSI video cards have the switch.
AntDX316
202 Posts
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December 3rd, 2015 13:00
if there is no bios update to support up to a 3770k then you can't
you are better off taking all the parts out and going i7-6700k with z170 or even the cheapest i5-6600k and z170 motherboard with ddr3 support and sticking it into the same case..
I mean.. going from a 2600k i7 to a 5930k i7 I can't tell much difference at all
I had 3770k and 4690k in between
plus if u do happen to get the 3770k to work the lane isn't 3.0
I had z97 and saw difference in smoothness with the 690 GTX when I had p67 with 3770k.. I think I saw smoothness from 2600k to 3770k too but it was best with z97
it would still work even if the lanes are less.. the alienware laptop people have only 4x available instead of 16x and it's running ok
Reodoc
4 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2015 13:00
Thanks! I purchased the MSI GTX 970 4GB. Hoping to get it in the next couple of days.
C.
Reodoc
4 Posts
0
December 4th, 2015 07:00
Yes, currently I read (and know) that there hasn't been a bios release for the Aurora R3 since A06...I haven't read anything pointing to this as a problem yet with other people upgrading to the 970.
C.