no i don't

there are plenty of 3dmark 11 on the internet. compare it with those.

nevermind i found out by resetting cmos lol

there were 2 key settings that we have to set up, as per slv7's modded bios. the defaults are video config: sc, igpu: auto.

this is weird.. maybe the guide for 880m setup in m17x r4 is not correct true after all. let me test this first to double confirm. if this was true then fcuk me i was so stupid :/

there was always this problem with fps drop (throttling, even if the temperature is just 73c max) with 880m in my m17x r4, running dedicated gpu mode only. i followed the guide to install unlocked bios (a11), and installed windows in legacy mode.

after reading that optimus mode with uefi might help in my situation, i tried to use slv7's unlocked bios and set it to defaults of stock bios, so that i could use optimus. i booted the os (uefi) with igpu mode, installed intel gpu driver. everything was fine. however shit happened when i installed nvidia drivers (modded 350.05), so that i could run the card when playing games. the os booted, but it showed a black screen. when i moved my mouse, the cursor appeared then disappeared. (it's like loops to draw windows login screen). so, i couldn't run optimus.

here's when the magic happened. after that blank screen i went to bios and messed the video configurations up, and got 8 beeps. i drained the power from the laptop, took out the cmos battery and everything was reset to defaults in the bios. since optimus did not work for me, i went ahead and set it back to dgpu only, with intel gpu disabled, and reformatted the os again in uefi mode. (from the guide that i followed, the os was supposed to installed in legacy mode or else it would show me a blank screen). to my surprise, i could boot with 880m in uefi mode, fastboot on, secureboot on!

as usual, i installed the drivers from dell, and updated windows. finally i installed the modded 350.05.hf geforce driver, rebooted and played games. this was the second surprise: my previous experience was that in legacy mode, when i played games for the first time after fresh install, everything was good. however if i shut the laptop down overnight, booted and played games, there would be intermittent drops of fps. (a few seconds each) it's a common symptom for 880m running dgpu mode according to the guide. i shut it down and went to sleep. this morning when i played games again, expecting the same fps drop. however, nothing happened. the game play was so smooth, and there was no fps drop.

so i turned it off again, took out the battery, and left it alone after the games for few hours. just now i used the laptop to play games again. still, no fps drop.

this is unbelievable. something in that guide might be wrong after all.

to confirm, lemme test it again for a period of time. if this worked, i think i have a m17x r4 running well with 880m and i get back the uefi mode, fastboot and secureboot

edit:

another test. flawless.






This post has been edited by horns: Apr 12 2015, 08:16 PM

yes i am using the latest driver.

our drivers are all unsigned. it can be enabled but just need to disable when you do driver update i think.

so so. if you wanna run z97, go for i7 4790k, ax860i, asus maximus vii hero, and 980 (sli if possible). ram is fine. is the case a full tower?

it's better to save more and go for x99.

ah ok if that's the case it should be fine, except for cpu. imo it's better to invest on 4 main parts in a rig initially: cpu, ram, mobo, and psu, so that there is no bottlenecks on gpu upgrades in the future (mainly the only part that get upgrades more often than others) since it's a itx there is not much to play with.

at first i thought you wanna build a rig with more extendability. if that's the case x99 should be your option. the basic setup shouldn't be very costly. i know the pain of z97 because if i wanna keep my 980 sli, i need to let go pcie ssd :/ (it has serious pcie lane limits compared to x99 to me)

you chose the right wc aio. i am running h240-x and it's good (much better than corsair h110)

Yes, http://www.asrock.com/news/index.asp?id=2710

It should be available after ces.2015.

z97 should be sufficient for a mitx build, because that form factor has limited ports, so it can only house limited parts. x99 on the other hand might be a waste if you build a mitx with it.

Yeah it can handle it fine.

For 660m, you need additional 2 things: the stock heat sink is a dual-pipe. It's better to swap it with a 3-pipe to keep the new card cool. The stock 180w adapter is not enough. get a 240w or 330w.

i just wanted to let you know that there are options when your gpu is getting overheated or the laptop has not enough juice to run.

for power adapter option, my m17x r4 has many stuff put in and connected to, so i swap it with a stronger one. the laptop only draws the enough power from adapter so it's safe. using higher-power adapter also means it generates less heat (less stressful)

nice thanks for the clarification. if that's the case it's just the gpu if the adapter is sufficient

what's your laptop model?

for m.2 sata, we have very limited choices here. plextor m6g is the only so far that are 'more common'.

check out the manual for steps to install it. after that you might need to reinstall/migrate/clone your os onto it.

no such issues here.

try unplug it from power source, disconnect the battery from the laptop, and then drain the power by pressing the power button for 20 seconds.

found this with keywords 'm17xr4 bios chip images' hehe

good for you

oh haha m17x r4 really gives a good impression to many people.

right, a basic model should do the job pretty well for your usage. for gaming, i prefer my desktop with 980 sli. hopefully there will be 980ti soon hehe

a decent skylake i7 desktop should be good enough.

let's see if there is anything interesting in ces.2015