Alienware M17xR3 replacement GPU Recommendations Please

[Rico_UK]

Hi guys,

2 years ago I bought an Alienware M17R3 but recently it died on me and apparently is down to the GPU.

My problem at the moment is that I bought it whilst I lived in UK and now live in Dubai where even Dells official service center dont have the same card to replace with.

Whilst I'm pretty computer savvy, laptops and the latest hardware has eluded me in the last couple of years so hoping you guys can help recommend a replacement.

The rest of the system spec is listed here:

Alienware M17xR3 : Stealth Black
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Wireless: Dell 375 Bluetooth Card
320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Wireless : Intel Wireless 6300 (802.11a/b/g/n 3X3) LAN Card
Processor: Intel Core i7-2820QM processor (8M Cache, 2.30 GHz)
Battery : Primary 9-cell 90W/HR LI-ION
Graphics: 2 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M
Display: 17.3in 120Hz w/ 3D Bundle WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)

Whilst I could order another graphics card of the same type (GeForce GTX 580M) would it be worth getting something else (newer?) based on the other components I have. Im aware there is going to be a bottleneck somewhere so based on replacing just this one component what would you recommend?

 

[GefGz]

I think you can get in touch with Alienware themselves and purchase a GPU - The best course of upgrade would probably be the 780M, since it follows your upgrade path and it will give you a nice boost.

Not entirely sure if/what bottleneck you'd get with that CPU, can't see it being massive if at all..

 

[Rico_UK]

Thanks, I wasnt sure if the age of the CPU might be a limiting factor here. Anyone else care to chip in with thoughts as well would be appreciated.

 

[GefGz]

Nevermind I checked the benchmarks of that CPU and it's quite fantastic for a laptop so you won't get a bottleneck.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-2820QM+@+2.30GHz&id=885

 

[Rico_UK]

Thanks for your help GefGz. The 780M is pretty pricey hey! Should we expect a price drop in the 780M any time soon? The 680M seems quite decent as well, a bit better than the 770M?

 

[mark118]

if you dont buy from dell/alienware direct make sure you get a alienware compatable card as there are different bios versions for different type laptops mainly sager-clevo and then dell-alienware.

i have a similar spec laptop to you but in a clevo chasis and not alienware.

thing ran fine for 2 years and now had two 6990m's pack up with in 6 months

 

[Rico_UK]

if you dont buy from dell/alienware direct make sure you get a alienware compatable card as there are different bios versions for different type laptops mainly sager-clevo and then dell-alienware.

i have a similar spec laptop to you but in a clevo chasis and not alienware.

thing ran fine for 2 years and now had two 6990m's pack up with in 6 months

Good tip, thanks for that! Last thing I need is more issues when I'm trying to fix this from the middle east. Already a headache as Alienware isn't very common out here!

 

[fowler002]

Might be more pricey but to avoide any headache what about buying a new/better laptop?

 

[Rico_UK]

Might be more pricey but to avoide any headache what about buying a new/better laptop?

Think a slight headache vs high prices out here might be worth it for a whole new system.

Will look further into the 680 and 780 options I think.

 

[Rico_UK]

Guys where is the best place to get a gfx card like the 680M in the UK? There doesn't seem to be that much of a marketplace online for them or im missing something?

Any links?
680M a reasonable choice?

 

[kitkat9933]

Guys where is the best place to get a laptop like the 680M in the UK? There doesn't seem to be that much of a marketplace online for them or im missing something?

Any links?
680M a reasonable choice?

It's 2 generations old. There has since been a 780m and a 880m.

 

[Rico_UK]

It's 2 generations old. There has since been a 780m and a 880m.

Thanks, where is the go to place to get these M model cards these days?