Last M17 & M18 to be upgradeable for GPU & CPU?

Question

What are the last models and/or dates that M17 & M18's could still upgrade their graphics cards and CPU's?

mattyb3 · Accepted Answer

The 2014 Alienware 17 and 18 are the last machines that can be upgraded with MXM style graphics cards and mobile CPU's.

Obviously this doesn't include the Area-51M which uses a propriety Dell GPU design.

The 17 and 18 can be upgraded to a GTX 1070. There has been some success in trying to get an RTX card to work but it seems that only one guy has given it a go so far and he's had a few issues. The GTX 1080 draws too much power and the GPU die is in the wrong spot for the heatsink.

The M17x R4 and M18x R2 can also support a GTX 1070 (I have a 1070 in my M18x R2)

DELL-Cares · Answer

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le_filoZof · Answer

Hi, doesn't the 1070 suffer from heat and consequently downclocking because of the insufficiency of the Alienware original cooling solution ?

mattyb3 · Answer

I didn't have an issue with heat when I had a 1070 in my M18x. It would reach mid 70's under load.

le_filoZof · Answer

Thanks ! Performance of a 880 sli can be in par with with a 1070, even better on some games but on average the 1070 is stronger and above all offers more efficiency as many games aren't optimized for sli, right?

Is it possible to make a 1070 sli in a M18x ? Still impossible to make a 1070 work in a M18x R1 ?

mattyb3 · Answer

SLI died years ago. Most games past 2015-16 won't make any use of SLI so a single card is the way to go.

No, you cannot SLI the 1070's. Firstly, they don't have an SLI connector and secondly the system needs to be in SG mode to run the 1070 and SLI requires PEG mode. It may be possible but I've never seen any confirmed success stories. It's a waste of energy anyway since there is no SLI support anymore.

The 10 series cards will work in the M18x R2 and the 18 but not in the M18x R1.

le_filoZof · Answer

Thank you! As I just bought a R1 with a 6990M CF, which is a fantastic machine, I will adapt.

There's a lot of unique games which support sli and crossfire, even if most of them are not recent:

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/List_of_games_that_support_Crossfire

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/List_of_games_that_support_SLI

le_filoZof · Answer

Any chance to use a professional gpu (CAD) like a Quadro  on the R1 ?

le_filoZof · Answer

Hi,  does the R2 manage to give 115w to the 1070 ?  Because the heatsink is only for 100w.  If not, isn't the 1070 underpowered? Thanks

mattyb3 · Answer

The MXM port can supply over 115w, from what I remember.

Alienware

Last M17 & M18 to be upgradeable for GPU & CPU?

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