Alienware m17r3 HD6970 MXM Upgrade

Alienware m17r3 HD6970 MXM

By Mickael N.

	Here is the beast, the brandnew alienware M17x R3, with a Sandy Bridge CPU : 2630QM I mailed MXM upgrade and asked for the most powerfull ati VGA adapter: the HD6970m !
	First things firt, let’s remove the AC adapter and the battery pack.
	A last push on the power button to remove the lasting electric charges We unscrew the only two screws witch maintains the back plate And we slide it to reveal the inside of the laptop
	The area of interest, the GPU, first we remove the fan, we take off the 3 screws and the connector (be careful with this one do not break it, it seems kind of weak)
	Let’s remove the two MXM screws and the 4 tension screws (watch out for the order engraved on the heat sink: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4)
	Then, lift the card and slide the whole thing:
	The heatsink seems to be stuck, slightly remove it to separate it from the card
	460m (left) and the 6970m (right)
	The bracket of the 460m fits just perfectly!
	Use the arctic clean kit to remove the old thermal paste
	Then let’s settle the new tenant of the laptop! Using the same path, backward step by step. The heatsink seems to be just ok without any modifications.
	MAGIC!

So, that was Mickaels story. We asked what his temperatures were. He claims 65 degress when idle and 74 degrees when gaming. If this is accurate, that's comfortably low indeed! Got more questions?

The below links may only be used for the Alienware m17x R2 or R3 notebooks. If it is used for any other platform, we reserve the right to refuse returns or warranty.

No guide but we had if confirmed: Crossfire is a go!

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Here is the beast, the brandnew alienware M17x R3, with a Sandy Bridge CPU : 2630QM I mailed MXM upgrade and asked for the most powerfull ati VGA adapter: the HD6970m !

First things firt, let’s remove the AC adapter and the battery pack.

A last push on the power button to remove the lasting electric charges We unscrew the only two screws witch maintains the back plate And we slide it to reveal the inside of the laptop

The area of interest, the GPU, first we remove the fan, we take off the 3 screws and the connector (be careful with this one do not break it, it seems kind of weak)

Let’s remove the two MXM screws and the 4 tension screws (watch out for the order engraved on the heat sink: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4)

Then, lift the card and slide the whole thing:

The heatsink seems to be stuck, slightly remove it to separate it from the card

460m (left) and the 6970m (right)

The bracket of the 460m fits just perfectly!

Use the arctic clean kit to remove the old thermal paste

Then let’s settle the new tenant of the laptop! Using the same path, backward step by step. The heatsink seems to be just ok without any modifications.

MAGIC!

Here is the beast, the brandnew alienware M17x R3, with a Sandy Bridge CPU : 2630QM
I mailed MXM upgrade and asked for the most powerfull ati VGA adapter: the HD6970m !

A last push on the power button to remove the lasting electric charges
We unscrew the only two screws witch maintains the back plate
And we slide it to reveal the inside of the laptop

Then let’s settle the new tenant of the laptop! Using the same path, backward step by step.
The heatsink seems to be just ok without any modifications.