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17 R1, 2014 change graphic card
Hello, I have a 2014 Dell Alienware 17 R1 laptop Intel i7 4710mq + r9 m290x video card has died and I have a question, can I install Nvidia gtx 970m 6gb on my laptop? I do not want another, this video card does not heat up much and consumes less current.
mattyb3
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May 11th, 2021 14:00
Hello, yes you can. I have a 970M in one of my 17's and it works great. Just note that the 2013/2014 17" machine is actually designated the Alienware 17 and not the M17x R5 even though the sticker on the base of your laptop will say M17x R5. I'm not sure why they did this but it can be confusing.
There are a few things you will need to do to get your 970M working. Firstly it's best not to have the Aetina version of the card. I've heard people having issues getting this one to work. Secondly, you have to make sure the laptop is running in pure UEFI mode in the BIOS. If it's on Legacy then you have to switch to UEFI, disable Legacy ROM, Secure Boot and possibly Fast Boot and this usually means having to reinstall Windows. Thirdly, you may have to flash a different vBIOS depending on what laptop the card was previously in. I was not getting fan control with my card but I finally found a vBIOS that worked.
Once all this is done you will need to run a modified Nvidia driver as the 17 has no native driver support past the 800 series Nvidia cards. I can help with this once you get to this stage.
dreamcatcher9212
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May 17th, 2021 01:00
I run only in uefi mode, there is an unlocked bios, but I can't find vbios for flashing a card for Alienware, if this one fits, https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/206333/206333 I'll be glad
mattyb3
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May 17th, 2021 14:00
I can check the vBIOS of my machine tonight and let you know which one it is.
mattyb3
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May 18th, 2021 14:00
Here is an image showing my 970M vBIOS. It is for the 6gb card, not the 3gb version.
Mordossek
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January 18th, 2022 16:00
Hello,
I've just upgraded my Alienware 17 R1 with 980M, but there is one problem: no GPU fan control. When I turn on the laptop it spins so its mechanicly good, but it does not work with loads on GPU? Should I get a new VBIOS for it? Can you help me with geting the right one?
Thanks!
mattyb3
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January 18th, 2022 17:00
Hello, first thing to do is to check with vBIOS it currently has. Download GPU-Z and let me know what it says.
It can be a common problem with the 980M. Hopefully it's just a vBIOS issue and not something else. I have heard that some Clevo 980M's have a different thermal sensor setup so it may not be possible to get fan control with these unless you use something like HWINFO