17 R1, graphics card purchasing help

Question

I created a discussion about two years ago about graphics issues I was having with my Alienware 17 R1 laptop. Final verdict was that my Radeon R9 M290X card had to be replaced. I was given some recommendations - GeForce GTX 770M, 780M, 860M or 880M. I didn't buy a new card at the time.

I'd like to buy one now but I'm not sure where to be looking. I would hate to buy a new card only to find out it doesn't work. Amazon doesn't have much. Ebay seems to be all used cards. Anyone have any recommendations on sites to buy from? Recommendations on different cards? Any help is greatly appreciated!

mattyb3 · Answer

You have very little chance of buying a brand new GPU for one of these laptops as they are now 10-11 years old. Any sites that tell you they are new are probably Chinese sites and they are most likely refurbished.

eBay is definitely going to be your best bet. If the card is faulty then you have a good chance of getting your money back compared to the Chinese sites.

Have a look at cards like the 970M, 980M, 1060 and 1070 as well. You may be able to pick one up for a decent price and get some better performance than the 700M and 800M cards. These ones still have driver support.

BobbyB999 · Answer

Thank you for the response. What I'm afraid of is the card not working not because of the card but because of my laptop.

mattyb3 · Answer

@BobbyB999​ The chance of your laptop being the problem is far smaller than the GPU being faulty. It's not impossible but you will only know if you try another GPU. I've replaced many GPU's in these 17 R1's over the years and I've never had an issue where the laptop had a problem which caused the GPU not to work. It has always been a failure of the GPU, in my experience. The 700M and 800M cards you mentioned above will be plug and play and you shouldn't have too many issues as long as the cards aren't faulty.

BobbyB999 · Answer

On ebay I found the following card... Dell Alienware Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M 8GB MXM VGA Video Card JH9PP W9RVN The description does not say DDR5 like some of the other cards I found. I'm hoping someone can tell me if this card will work in my particular Alienware 17. If yes, I am going to order it. Thank you!

mattyb3 · Answer

If it's an 880M then it will work. Those two 5 digit codes at the end of the description are Dell part#'s so you should be perfectly fine with that card.

BobbyB999 · Answer

I purchased and received a GTX 880M GDDR5 8GB N15E-GX-A2 Graphics Video Card For DELL Alienware M17X R4 R5 M18X R2 R3.

My old card had four screw holders and the new care does not.

Can I use the new card without using the four screws or is there something I should be doing?

mattyb3 · Answer

@BobbyB999 hey, sorry I wasn't online much over the holidays. If you haven't done it already, you will have to carefully remove the old heatsink mounting bracket from the old card to put it on the replacement. Sometimes the cards already come with one installed but sometimes they are missing. It is held onto the card with tough tape and you have to be careful when removing it or you will damage the bracket and the card.

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17 R1, graphics card purchasing help

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