Upgrading Area-51m 7700

you can find nVidia GeForce Go 7800GTX 256MB Video Card at

http://www.rjtech.com/miva/merchant....VGA-D900T-7800

Be careful! Be sure to have motherboard revision 6.1 and a 220W power supply. The voltage requirements for the 7800 and 7900 are too much for previous mobo revisions or power supply. If you have not researched your system setup or are not comfortable with the all the hardware in your computer, I would suggest going through Alienware. Besides the fact that Alienware will not suppot the card - quite possibly will void the warranty.

My upgrade required a mobo & pw supply upgrade. The performance increase is totally worth it though!

If you decide to buy through the site, I would consider the 7900GTX 512MB.

http://www.rjtech.com/miva/merchant....-D900-7900-512

Tokamak - how much did you end up paying ? I am in the same boat i.e. I would need a mobo upgrade as well ..

If you don't have the motherboard revision 6.1, then yes you would need to upgrade the mobo.

I only ended up paying around $460 upgrading to the 7900GTX 256MB DDR3 (the 512MB wasn't available then) directly from Alienware. They exchanged the mobo & power supply free.

The reason I got such a good deal is because I spent enough time convincing them. When I bought the system, the website said that this machine was upgradable. And to go back on this would be against their best customer support polocy. Of course, you typically wouldn't get anywhere with the average support agent. Ask to speak with someone higher up. For me, the "manager" was either in a meeting or busy, so I asked for the President of Alienware's e-mail. After I was on hold for a bit, they gave me it.
I then wrote a long, professional looking e-mail that in the long run saved me probably $800. ^_^

The president then wrote a quick responce and assigned me to his "Critical Issues Agent." He was very nice and sure enough, settled my issues promply through e-mail and phone. I'm very satisfied with Alienware's Support. I received the system 3 weeks after sending it in. My 220W power supply burnt in the first 8 hours, but he sent a new one by same-day air so the system was running beautifully for the weekend!

I hope everything runs smoothly for you.

If you decide to buy from the online site, they also carry the mobo and power supply, search around to find their price.

Ask to speak or get an e-mail address of someone higher up than tech support... That was the same answer they gave me. -_- Remember, you are "unsatisfied with their service."

What are you trying to play, and at what quality settings?

It is possible, and very easy, to OC your card but it should be done with caution. Alienware does not cover damage due to OCing. And it probably would void the entire system if you are caught... ^_^

PM if you need aps/info to OC

2 things

Firstly, I would definitely ask to speak to someone who knows what they're talking about at AW. There are definitely vid card upgrade options for the 7700. Many, many here seem to have done it already. Don't take no for an answer. It really is one of the selling points of Alienware that they are upgrade friendly!I also got a free mobo upgrade...though I had to wait for my original one to implode! Luckily I've already got the 220W power supply. Now I just need to come up witht he cash to get the damn vid card!!

Secondly, Tokamak...just noticed the date of your upgrade:

Video Card: Area-51m 7700 NVIDIA GeForce™ 7900 GTX Go with 256MB of DDR3 memory - (Upgraded from 6800 Go DDR2 on 6/6/06)

Seems appropriate if, like me, you refer to your 7700 as The Beast!

And as for OCing. I've been looking here and elsewhere and noticed that the default speeds for my 6800 go (250/600) seem very low compared to that of other systems...strange as I'd expected my AW system to be fully supercharged for gaming! Annoying really. I'll get in touch re: your OC tips.

I Have a question my friend has this laptop and wants to know if he can put a 7950gtx in it he currently has a 6800 go in it and his motherboars specs are
Motherboard Information

• Manufacturer: CLEVO
• Product: D900T
• Serial Number: 400
• Version: Revision A
• Verified Hardware Device against Order: MB-D900GRY17XGANC6.1

reply back with details

Motherboard is around 600$ from alienware and 450$ for the 7800. I just got that info about a month ago.

So would he be able to put the 7950gtx in there the motherboard he has is revision number is 6.1

Yes.

I'm sure I read somewhere here that the 7900gtx 512mb was fine but the 7950 was somehow just a bit too hot or something! I'd do a thorough search just to be sure it is possible!

i wrote that somewhere
RJtech told me that 7950 is toooo hot & it defect many 7700 MOBO
so i decide to get 7900GTX 512M
& it's running Great
never reached above 62C even while playing FEAR, GRAW

like shadowspan said, the 7900GTX will work fine but im not sure if the 7950 will actually work too ill try to email clevo maybe they will tell you if it works

I to am also looking for help with upgrading my vid. card, I think I have the same exact mobo

I'll post my mobo specs just in case that’s helps

CLEVO D900T Rev. A
Chipset Intel i915P/i915G
Southbridge Intel 82801FB (ICH6)
BIOS Vir. 6.00

I'm looking to go for either the 7800 or the 7900.

E-Dirt I think mine is 5.3? I'm not to sure where to check for the model # but I found this in that file that comes on your desktop when you first purchase it.

• Verified Hardware Device against Order: MB-D900GRY17XGAN5.3.

I know that at the alienware website it offers a BIOS upgrade for my mobo (which I have) to allow for the 7800GTX, so I know I'm pritty sure I can use that card. But as far as other go I'm not sure at all. I also talked to a tech rep. he told me I could put a 7800GTX also, and he told me my mobo is MXM2 or something like that.