Jump to content

2014 alienware 17

The_Odd_Streamer
By The_Odd_Streamer
in Graphics Cards
 Share
Posted

So recently just picked up an Alienware 17" laptop from 2014 the GPU can be swapped and I'm trying to figure out how far can I really go with swapping out my GPU if I can find one like a 1070 or a 1080 could I put this in my laptop or am I stuck with something older like at 980M or 970M

 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

What's the model of the Laptop and it's current GPU?

Powerspec 1530 (Clevo PB50DF2) ~ i7 10875H ~ RTX 2070 Super 115W ~ 32GB DDR4 ~ 2x 1TB NVMe ~ 2TB 5400RPM ~ 1080P 240hz matte IPS

 

Gigabyte G1 GA-970-SLI ~ FX 8320 @ 3.3Ghz, 1212mV ~ 16GB DDR3 ~ Radeon 570 4GB ~ 512GB NVMe ~ 2x 1TB HGST 7200RPM

 

Xtras ~ Dell 22" 1680x1050 matte IPS monitor ~ Logi M705 mouse ~ PowerA Fusion Pro Xbox One controller ~ Sony XB950N1 headphones ~ Epson V700 film scanner

 

Streaming Setup ~ OBS Studio with AMF encoding ~ iVCam bridged to LG G6 ~ Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface ~ TONOR condenser cardioid mic

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14696027
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Technically you can throw a 1070 on it (if you can even find one), but IIRC anything newer than an 880M requires a modded driver. And with how expensive (and fucky) MXM cards in general are, I can't really say it'd be all that worth it.

Main rig on profile

VAULT - File Server

Spoiler

Intel Core i5 11400 w/ Shadow Rock LP, 2x16GB SP GAMING 3200MHz CL16, ASUS PRIME Z590-A, 2x LSI 9211-8i, Fractal Define 7, 256GB Team MP33, 3x 6TB WD Red Pro (general storage), 5x 8TB WD White Label/Red (Plex) (both arrays in their respective Windows Parity storage spaces), 1TB Teamgroup MP33 (dumping ground) Corsair RM750x, TrueNAS Scale

Sleeper HP Pavilion A6137C

Spoiler

Intel Core i7 6700K @ 4.4GHz, 4x8GB G.SKILL Ares 1800MHz CL10, ASUS Z170M-E D3, 128GB Team MP33, 1TB Seagate Barracuda, MSI GTX 970 100ME, EVGA 650G1, Windows 11 Pro

OptiPlex 7040M

Spoiler

Intel Core i7 6700, 2x16GB Mushkin Redline (stuck at 2133MHz CL13), 240GB Corsair MP510, 2TB Seagate Barracuda 2.5", 130w Dell power brick, Windows 11 Pro

Mac Mini (Late 2020)

Spoiler

Apple M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB, macOS Sonoma

Consoles: Steam Deck LCD (512GB), Softmodded 1.4 Xbox w/ 500GB HDD, Xbox 360 Elite 120GB Falcon, XB1X w/2TB MX500, Xbox Series X, PS1 1001, PS2 Slim 70000 w/ FreeMcBoot, PS4 Pro 7015B 1TB, PS5 Digital, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo Wii RVL-001 (black)

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14696041
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I'm not sure if Pascal will work since that's when NV switched to eDP only for the MXM video channel but any Maxwell card almost definitely will since the machine already has a Maxwell card. FWIW I've found Quadro cards are a bit cheaper than the GeForce equivalents; something like a M4000M (same as 970M) or M5000M (same as 980M) would be a decent point to shoot for. If you're feeling extra ambitious (and a bit lucky) Tesla M6's (fully-enabled underclocked desktop 980!) are a ridiculous bargain rn but have a lot of additional caveats due to no direct video output.

 

Like was already mentioned, unless you upgrade to a card that was a factory option in the Alienware or very close to that, driver mods are pretty much a guaranteed requirement and compatibility is all over the place. Can be rewarding though if you have the patience to sort it out and a laptop that plays nice.

 

If you haven't already, I recommend poking around on NotebookReview forums too- they have some folks over there who are super knowledgeable about MXM intricacies, that's where I learned a lot when I was dipping my toes into laptop GPU upgrades a little while back.

Powerspec 1530 (Clevo PB50DF2) ~ i7 10875H ~ RTX 2070 Super 115W ~ 32GB DDR4 ~ 2x 1TB NVMe ~ 2TB 5400RPM ~ 1080P 240hz matte IPS

 

Gigabyte G1 GA-970-SLI ~ FX 8320 @ 3.3Ghz, 1212mV ~ 16GB DDR3 ~ Radeon 570 4GB ~ 512GB NVMe ~ 2x 1TB HGST 7200RPM

 

Xtras ~ Dell 22" 1680x1050 matte IPS monitor ~ Logi M705 mouse ~ PowerA Fusion Pro Xbox One controller ~ Sony XB950N1 headphones ~ Epson V700 film scanner

 

Streaming Setup ~ OBS Studio with AMF encoding ~ iVCam bridged to LG G6 ~ Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface ~ TONOR condenser cardioid mic

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14696123
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

addendum to above: just double-checked and the config for your machine says the panel is LVDS, so getting Pascal / Polaris and newer to work will be extra difficult 😞

Powerspec 1530 (Clevo PB50DF2) ~ i7 10875H ~ RTX 2070 Super 115W ~ 32GB DDR4 ~ 2x 1TB NVMe ~ 2TB 5400RPM ~ 1080P 240hz matte IPS

 

Gigabyte G1 GA-970-SLI ~ FX 8320 @ 3.3Ghz, 1212mV ~ 16GB DDR3 ~ Radeon 570 4GB ~ 512GB NVMe ~ 2x 1TB HGST 7200RPM

 

Xtras ~ Dell 22" 1680x1050 matte IPS monitor ~ Logi M705 mouse ~ PowerA Fusion Pro Xbox One controller ~ Sony XB950N1 headphones ~ Epson V700 film scanner

 

Streaming Setup ~ OBS Studio with AMF encoding ~ iVCam bridged to LG G6 ~ Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface ~ TONOR condenser cardioid mic

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14696130
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

ok, another addendum- I'm looking at pictures of Alienware 2GB 860M MXM cards on eBay and the core looks more like a GK104 than a GM107 🤔 so it may be a Kepler GPU you have now (860M is confusing like that, two very different versions), but Maxwell should still work as long its a Dell card. No guarantees of course.

Powerspec 1530 (Clevo PB50DF2) ~ i7 10875H ~ RTX 2070 Super 115W ~ 32GB DDR4 ~ 2x 1TB NVMe ~ 2TB 5400RPM ~ 1080P 240hz matte IPS

 

Gigabyte G1 GA-970-SLI ~ FX 8320 @ 3.3Ghz, 1212mV ~ 16GB DDR3 ~ Radeon 570 4GB ~ 512GB NVMe ~ 2x 1TB HGST 7200RPM

 

Xtras ~ Dell 22" 1680x1050 matte IPS monitor ~ Logi M705 mouse ~ PowerA Fusion Pro Xbox One controller ~ Sony XB950N1 headphones ~ Epson V700 film scanner

 

Streaming Setup ~ OBS Studio with AMF encoding ~ iVCam bridged to LG G6 ~ Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface ~ TONOR condenser cardioid mic

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14696171
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
14 minutes ago, Natty Ice said:

ok, another addendum- I'm looking at pictures of Alienware 2GB 860M MXM cards on eBay and the core looks more like a GK104 than a GM107 🤔 so it may be a Kepler GPU you have now (860M is confusing like that, two very different versions), but Maxwell should still work as long its a Dell card. No guarantees of course.

i know its a maxwell card and if i found a 1060 for 200 what's the % it would work ??? if its to low i will just go with a 980m

 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14696214
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
16 minutes ago, The_Odd_Streamer said:

i know its a maxwell card and if i found a 1060 for 200 what's the % it would work ??? if its to low i will just go with a 980m

 

honestly, there are so many variables with MXM upgrades it's hard to say without having experience with that system and card. Could be hit-or-miss, could be a method someone found that's likely to work, could be something that's guaranteed to prevent it from working, it's all down to the specific motherboard/display/BIOS/GPU/OS/driver combos.

 

All that said I did a quick look on NotebookReview forum and saw some chatter mentioning Pascal GPUs in Alienware 17s (not sure if same generation as yours) so people are out there trying things. 

Powerspec 1530 (Clevo PB50DF2) ~ i7 10875H ~ RTX 2070 Super 115W ~ 32GB DDR4 ~ 2x 1TB NVMe ~ 2TB 5400RPM ~ 1080P 240hz matte IPS

 

Gigabyte G1 GA-970-SLI ~ FX 8320 @ 3.3Ghz, 1212mV ~ 16GB DDR3 ~ Radeon 570 4GB ~ 512GB NVMe ~ 2x 1TB HGST 7200RPM

 

Xtras ~ Dell 22" 1680x1050 matte IPS monitor ~ Logi M705 mouse ~ PowerA Fusion Pro Xbox One controller ~ Sony XB950N1 headphones ~ Epson V700 film scanner

 

Streaming Setup ~ OBS Studio with AMF encoding ~ iVCam bridged to LG G6 ~ Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface ~ TONOR condenser cardioid mic

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14696279
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
On 5/2/2021 at 2:38 AM, The_Odd_Streamer said:

Thank you I will look it up and see what thay have to say

 Hey, that's me! Yes the 1060 or 1070 will work in your 17 and quite a few guys have done the upgrade. There are different versions of the MXM pascal cards though and some require modifications to the chassis to get them to physically fit. 

The 120hz display is the best option as it removes Optimus which can be a little stupid sometimes but it will still work with the 60hz panel. Yes, a modded driver is required but you can learn how to mod your own driver or I can help. The NotebookReview forum is probably the best source of info with guys who still like to keep the MXM laptops alive. 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14709351
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
On 5/1/2021 at 3:42 AM, Natty Ice said:

Tesla M6's (fully-enabled underclocked desktop 980!) are a ridiculous bargain rn but have a lot of additional caveats due to no direct video output.

No go with the Tesla M6 for the reason you mentioned. I gave one a try in a 17 and couldn't get a video. I was hoping that the Intel graphics would help drive it but no good. One guy has managed to get them working, I believe in a Dell M6600, but it took some major modifications (I think to the MXM PCB). He wouldn't tell me how he did it. 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14709471
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
16 hours ago, MattyB79 said:

 Hey, that's me! Yes the 1060 or 1070 will work in your 17 and quite a few guys have done the upgrade. There are different versions of the MXM pascal cards though and some require modifications to the chassis to get them to physically fit. 

The 120hz display is the best option as it removes Optimus which can be a little stupid sometimes but it will still work with the 60hz panel. Yes, a modded driver is required but you can learn how to mod your own driver or I can help. The NotebookReview forum is probably the best source of info with guys who still like to keep the MXM laptops alive. 

 I got a pretty good idea on how to modify the driver and in terms of which Pascal card I'm really go for probably one that was pulled from a dead alien Ware laptop something that has the genuinely same layout that will work and most of them look identical to each other anymore anyways

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14710969
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
7 hours ago, The_Odd_Streamer said:

 I got a pretty good idea on how to modify the driver and in terms of which Pascal card I'm really go for probably one that was pulled from a dead alien Ware laptop something that has the genuinely same layout that will work and most of them look identical to each other anymore anyways

Sounds good. If you need any help with the driver then it's probably best to contact me on NotebookReview as I'm more active over there. Maxware79

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1333104-2014-alienware-17/#findComment-14712472
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Graphics Cards

×