Which one is 1gb? As far as I remember seeing online reviews, the GTX 480 DDR5 1.5GB is about the same in performance with the ATI RADEON 5870 DDR5 1.5GB. Never seen 1GB vs 1.5GB.

Man, I haven't been around these days. I won't create a new thread but I will post the pic by pic post here. I need to get new resizing software as I just tried my PS and its screwed and needs an re-install. I'll limit the pics to the most significant ones......with some writeup on the important steps.

Yes. But you have to overclock it a bit cos the ATI 5870 Clocks are 700mhz and 1000mhz on stock. I can overclock them to 900+ and 1100+ which the 4870 cannot....

@Doc.

Gimme a bit more time for the guide kay? Been awfully busy and have been MIA cos I ain't having access to my pc... This week I'll upload it...

Maybe you can post that result in the GPU Benchmark thread to share?

BTW, What system are you using? M17x i7 720QM with single 4870?

OK, First my apologies for making Doc wait for me.....

First for Doc. The Black & Decker handheld vacuum which might come in handy in dusty situations....


The tools I used for this operation (Screw driver set, extra thermal pads, heatsink and gpu surface clearner and purifier, Artic Cooling Thermal paste, handwipes)


Firstly You'll need to have in pocession an ATI 5870 Card if you're switching to that. Also, you will need to remove all drivers from NVidia from your M15x using programs such as ccleaner or driversweeper. Once you've removed all and you restart, you screen will be like this but don't be alarmed as you're running what ever card which is inside but on default VGA display.


Turn the M15x over and place a sponge or cloth underneat the monitor as to not scratch it. Remove the battery and press the power button for 15seconds before opening up your unit to fully discharge it. You'll also need to REMEMBER TO DISCHARGE YOURSELF AND NOT TO WEAR CLOTHES THAT MIGHT BUILD UP CHARGE as a safety precaution. Read on Discharging yourself online just to be safe. I will notbe held responsible for any error on those operating their units by themselves voiding their warranty/spoiling their units etc. Do this at your OWN RISK!. Remove the screws circled in YELLOW and slide the back cover upwards revealing the whole internals of your m15x.


Once you've taken off the back cover, remove the 4 screws circled here to be able to remove the front panel in the next step.


You'll need to gently pry the front touch control panel using your fingers. Start from the right (star) and work your way to the left.


Now you've exposed the back gpu fan grill screws. Remove these 2 screws.


Once you've done that, turn over the unit again viewing the back portion. As you can see the fan is already removed here but u can remove yours by unscrewing the 2 screws in yellow. The red circle is the screw previously removed from the back panel/cover.


Here you can see the removed Fan grill and the fan as well. The screws circled in yellow are those to remove the GPU heatsink from the GPU. Remember to unscrew them slightly one by one before removing them fully altogether to ensure that removing the the heatsink will be easier. You will have to wriggle the heatsink slightly as the thermal paste and pads inside are sticking to it....



Now you will see your GPU exposed with the 2 screws circled in yellow left to be able to remove the card. Once you've removed the screws the card will pop up at an angle, gently slide it outwards: CAUTION!! DO NOT TOUCH THE COMPONENTS WITH YOU FINGERS AS STATIC CHARGES CAN SHORT CIRCUIT COMPONENTS.


Placing the heatsink and the GPU side by side, remember the position of the thermal pads as you'll be reusing them all alter. The areas circled in RED are those where the pads should be on which will be slightly similar in the ATI Card.


Here is the comparison of the NVidia GTX 260M(left) and the ATI 5870(Right). The arrows(yellow) are are suggestion as to where to transfer the square thermal pads from the NVidia card. The screws like structure in RED is GPU Mounting which are of different heights. You will need to remove the ATI Mouting from the back and replace it with the NVidia mounting from the 260M. Be EXtremely carefull and gentle. Don't have to rush thru. Use a screwdriver and slowly pry them out. This is a delicate process...


Height difference between the Nvidia(left) which is shorter compared to the ATI(Right).


Before applying the new thermal paste, I used ARTIC CLEAN 2 STEP remover to remove and purify the old paste and surface respectively. First step is to remove, 2nd is to purify. I did both steps at least twice.


I use ARTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal paste. Try out the texture before applying....then you can use an old card to spread the thermal paste. Search online for videos for applying the paste on youtube. I applied a pea size drop and used my old driving license card to evenly spread it. I did the same for the GPU Chip and the GPU Heatsink.


A Closeup view of the chip. The areas circled show the reduced height of the GPU Mount after swapping with the NVidia card. Slot the card in the same way the NVidia card was taken out. Then screw the screws back in.


Here you can see both the heatsink and the GPU card before I finally replace the heatsink over it. The areas in RED are covered with additional thermal pads I purchased seperately as the ones from the NVidia card were insufficient to cover all. Once you've replaced the heatsink, do the identical steps above backwards till you end back at the beginning.


Once the new card is inside, boot up the system and the M15x will detect the card as a VGA Display. This is because the drivers are not installed yet. Download the ATI Catalyst driver from the AMD Website. ATI CATALYST 10.5 worked for me. Then install it and update the GPU Driver. Once updated the system will recognise the GPU as a 5800 series card and VOILA you have successfully installed the new card into your system. Remember to always practise caution and safety steps as to not kill the card or the system. Power should never be connected and the same goes for the battery. I used rubber gloves at some point during the process.....

This post has been edited by julchin_09: Jun 23 2010, 12:30 AM

You're welcome....

No biggie man. Thanks for being patient....

Thanks. Hope it is.

The vacuum is about RM250. Battery works for over 10mins of vacuuming and at Turbo, it reduces the usage time a bit but its good for sucking up dust from the keyboard and the fan vents....

This post has been edited by julchin_09: Jun 23 2010, 12:41 AM

M11x = Cili Padi. Small but packs a punch. U guys gotta try BF2BC2 and let us know. I'm trying to get a friend of mine to get the M11x-R2 but he wanna know the performance first....

Nice one bro. Post in the benchmark thread ur scores over at MOBILE COMPUTING

Nice specs. Hope to welcome you here on that day...

YeaH,,they upgraded the i7 and tge 740QM is running the same as the current 820qm both at 1.73ghz. The 840 is around 1.86ghz... I wonder if its easy getting the cpus individually? Then we can upgrade ours.....

Sweet. Another M17x-R2 owner. So you're running the all mighty i7 920XM PRoc. How about your GPU? Single or Dual ATI 5870?

Thats like maxed out specs. How much did it cost?

Oh... more expensive than I thought..... but the power

Cool. Your friend changed his GPU to a ATI 5870 too? Did it himself? We'll welcome fellow modders here so I hope you'll get him to participate here ....

I have the same opinion for this redundant feature. We have to manually downclock to attain a similar function to STEALTH MODE.

Seriously, take off STEALTH mode cos it has NO PURPOSE. WE NEED IT TO WORK IN BATTERY MODE unless they can give an UPDATE to make it so.....

To Those Using the Alienware M11x-R2 with the i7 640UM, Hows playing games with it? Games like Battlefield BC2 or Crysis or COD MW2? I'd like to know some feedback as I would like to purchase one for a friend.

This post has been edited by julchin_09: Jul 5 2010, 07:02 PM

And that new 740QM is like my 820QM except that the 820 has turbo boost up to 3.06Ghz and a 8MB Cache.... But then theres a 840QM... Cannot chase so much cos even those with 920XM has a 940XM Replacement. Later there will be a 960 and 980 so we'll always be in a dilemma...

Impossible = Nothing. Well I stole that frm Adidas. If you told me that the M17x would come With 5870s CF and that an M15x could fit a 5870 card 6 months ago I wouldn't have believed it....

Yeah Bro! Everything going fine and temps have been at max 80c which is good. Wanted to reopen to apply more thermal pads but it was a bit of a hassle to at the moment, the temps and performance didn't require any mods. Good thing I didn't get any GSOD like what I read at the Asus G73 Thread.

Regarding the 480m, Having it in SLi would mean an equivalant of 4 GB of Ram JUST For GPU which is MINDBLOWING. Its comparable to desktop already...!!! New Powerbrick and new Motherboard I think is in line. Also new Proc in the 940,980 Would be great if they gonna be making a M17x-R3. And maybe a 120Hz screen....


I'm very happy using the Alienware TactX mouse too so another vote here for the TactX!!

Which shop?

Have you tried much gaming on it? I have a friend interested in the M11x R2 with the i7-640UM but I wanna know if it can run games well. Games like COD MW2 or BFBC2 or Those like Mass Effect 2 and WOW or Splinter Cell. Just gimme some numbers and I'll try to digest it. Trying to get a clue besides reading reviews online which I will....

I've found Display Port to HDMI converter cable for around RM50 at LowYatt plaza same floor at VIEWNET. IIRC its the shop which has a huge LCD Hanging in front of it always playing either games trailers or game demos.....

Just dropping by to say hi to the regulars here. Sorry for being MIA but am clearly outdated with the topics you guys are on. But that does not dampen my efforts in recruiting new ALIENWARE owners. Got 2 of my friends to purchase the new i7 M11x. Hope they'll frequent this thread as soon as they get theirs.

So whats new Doc? I think I'm left back at Page 50 or something. Any news of the GTX 480M coming into our Airspace, or a new AW Variant coming out? From what I've seen, just the new 740,840 and 940 CPUs.