Alienware m18x r1 gpu upgrade checks

Yes, a 2960XM or 2920XM will work beautifully in your M18xR1. Either of these XM processors will outperform any non-Extreme mobile CPU including the newest Haswell processors. In fact, the obsolete 2920XM, 2960XM, 3920XM and 3940XM processors will even outperform the newest Haswell 4930MX Extreme processor. Intel Haswell mobile and desktop i7 processors are poor overclockers and they cannot keep up with Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge i7 CPUs due to temperature and throttling problems. Upgrading your M18xR1 will get you a machine matches or exceeds the performance of an similarly spec'd brand new Alienware 18, so doing this upgrade makes perfect sense. You will also realize the massive benefit of having the ability to flash a fully unlocked system BIOS, which is currently not possible with the new Haswell-based machines.

You are going to need to purchase a better CPU heat sink to support the XM CPU. Order an M18xR2 3-pipe heat sink. It will do a great job and fits perfectly in your M18xR1. The Dell part number is 0MXJ5.

I would urge you to consider upgrading to GTX 680M SLI instead of 580M SLI. While 580M is definitely better than 560M you are going to blow a lot of money on a comparatively minor performance increase. The GTX 680M SLI upgrade works flawlessly in the M18xR1. Do not attempt to use 560M heat sinks unless they have a decal showing they are rated for 100W. If they have a decal indicating 75W you will run into cooling issues with a 100W GPU. (580M and 680M are both 100W video cards.) While the 560M heat sinks will physically fit, I do not recommend using them. However, GTX 580M 100W heat sinks will work really great for 680M and 780M video cards.

Here are the Dell part numbers you would need for this upgrade:

GTX 580M is outdated and not powerful enough to handle some of today's demanding games and I believe you will ultimately be dissatisfied with the results. The GTX 680M has already been tested and verified to be 100% compatible with the M18xR1 even though that configuration is not supported by Dell/Alienware. (They may tell you it is not compatible. Don't believe it because it is absolutely not accurate. The 7970M and 780M video cards have also been thoroughly tested and all of them are compatible with the M18xR1.) The GTX 680M is more powerful than any of the newest 700M series cards except for GTX 780M. GTX 680M SLI peforms almost as well as GTX 780M SLI does in the new Alienware 18. I do not recommend upgrading to 780M SLI unless money is no object, as they are very expensive video cards. If money is no object, then going with 780M SLI is a no brainer.

The performance increase 680M offers over 580M is nothing short of phenomenal... We are talking around a 100% increase in performance, and I urge you to consider this upgrade instead of 580M SLI. If Dell/Alienware will not sell you the 680M video cards to do the upgrade for your R1, simply buy everything else and then go get the Clevo GTX 680M 4GB MXM cards from Eurocom. The Clevo cards work fine in the Alienware machine.

If you buy new CPU and GPU heat sinks from Dell they will come with thermal pads and a "paste" (TIM) for the die surfaces pre-applied. The stock Dell thermal interface material (TIM) is excellent and you will not need to purchase any thermal paste for the CPU and GPU die surfaces. If you buy used heat sinks, then I highly recommend using IC Diamond thermal paste.