Alienware M18x R1 GPU upgrade

Eltrias

Commendable
Mar 18, 2016
3
0
1,510
Hello everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade my 2 graphic cards in my Alienware M18x R1 laptop.
My ATI radeon HD 6900's have finally decided they have had enough of life and died on me.

I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to what hardware laptop are able to take so would greatly appreciate any help I can get! :)

My current CPU is - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2960XM 2.70GHz

I will have to replace both cards, what would give the best performance vs cost?

Also I noticed it was running quite hot when playing demanding games (black desert), would I have to upgrade heatsinks or apply new thermal paste, if so what are some recommendations?

Thank you so much for all who reply!
 
Solution
Hi,

If you're planning on upgrading your GPU I would suggest changing the heat sink and fans as well. You have an option if you want a SLI graphics card which will have 2 GPU or just a single GPU.

Here are the suggested GPU's compatible for your laptop.

Part # Qty Description
XHW5W 1 Right Fan, Graphic Card (if you currently have only one GPU and GPU fan)
GDMRG 1 NVIDIA SLI Bridge Cable
CPCXD 2 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M 2GB vRAM
Y48TK 1 Right Heat Sink GeForce GTX 680M (100W)
5G1VJ 1 Left Heat Sink GeForce GTX 680M (100W)
3MHHT 2 NVIDIA support plate GTX (may be included with heat sinks purchased new from Dell)
XM3C3 1 330w Delta AC Adapter (required for CrossFire or SLI systems)
Note: Dell P/N...
Hi,

If you're planning on upgrading your GPU I would suggest changing the heat sink and fans as well. You have an option if you want a SLI graphics card which will have 2 GPU or just a single GPU.

Here are the suggested GPU's compatible for your laptop.

Part # Qty Description
XHW5W 1 Right Fan, Graphic Card (if you currently have only one GPU and GPU fan)
GDMRG 1 NVIDIA SLI Bridge Cable
CPCXD 2 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M 2GB vRAM
Y48TK 1 Right Heat Sink GeForce GTX 680M (100W)
5G1VJ 1 Left Heat Sink GeForce GTX 680M (100W)
3MHHT 2 NVIDIA support plate GTX (may be included with heat sinks purchased new from Dell)
XM3C3 1 330w Delta AC Adapter (required for CrossFire or SLI systems)
Note: Dell P/N F0K0N is identical and will work perfectly as a substitute part for XM3C3.

Hopefully this will help. :)
 
Solution

Eltrias

Commendable
Mar 18, 2016
3
0
1,510


You're an absolute God sent!
Thank you so much for your help, I had such issues when contacting Dell through online chat and honestly got no answers in the end.

Thank you for such a straight forward and fast reply, your information was exactly what I needed.

Thank you again. :)
 

Eltrias

Commendable
Mar 18, 2016
3
0
1,510


Sorry to bother you, just had one more question.

Would the GTX 780M also compatible or not worth the price?