Unsolved
1 Message
0
400
March 22nd, 2021 04:00
17 R1, graphics card replacement
I have a mid 2014 Alienware 17 R1. The card an gtx 880m went bust around mid 2017 and I haven’t touched the laptop ever since. Now I have the money to replace the card and also in a position I cannot use my MacBook for anything so I need to fix this one up ASAP. It’s out of warranty so from Dell’s side the solution is as promising as my tenure position, nada.
The only cards 880m I could find is on Ali Express and I am not sure if I should take this route as I have never used this before. Is there any other option? I am even open to other cards as long as it’s compatible.
Also my computer is wiped clean of an OS as part of a drunk recovery process half a decade back. So it’s gonna be like a fresh start I suppose. Any help is highly appreciated.
mattyb3
7 Practitioner
•
1.7K Posts
•
8.4K Points
0
March 22nd, 2021 14:00
Hi. I'd stay away from the 880M and also Aliexpress, unless you have no option. The 880M was a terrible card and tends to fail more often than it should.
The 970M is a much better option but you can also upgrade to a 980M, 1060 or 1070 easily enough. Ordering MXM cards through China can be tricky and I've heard lots of horror stories of cards arriving dead or faulty. If you can find one locally (don't know where you're from though) then it's often better to pay a little more.
Any card above the 880M will require a modded Nvidia driver and the system needs to be set to UEFI in the BIOS with secure boot and Legacy ROM both disabled. This usually requires Windows to be reinstalled.