M6700 Heatsink swap/repaste

You might want to check if remnants of the IGP software is still lingering/stuck trying to load somewhere. Delete the %systemdrive%\Dell\ IGP folder if it got that far.

Yeah No Optimus for AMD.

In NBR you can go to User CP, Settings, Edit Signature and put system specs there. Easy - Easier.

 

If you have the firepro (you said firepro, but game a quadro model #) then switchable is disabled, it is only available with quadro GPUs.

Also, as a follow up:
Laptop on dock (slightly better access to "fresh" air), ambient at 24^oC (~75^oF)


I haven't shown it, but according to HWiNFO, the fans are usually at 3000 or 3300 RPM, not silent, but it's definitely not operating in hair dryer mode either.

 

Yes, sorry it is the Firepro M4000.

 

Tijo -

Aren't the new CPU's (Ivy Bridge/22Nm) to run quite a bit cooler and use somewhat less power?

 

The CPUs have the same TDP and under full load, they sit at about that TDP (although my ivy does seem to be 1 or 2 Watts under sometimes) so the amount of heat generated is roughly the same, each CPU is slightly different so there is bound to be some minor variations. The thing is that ivy bridge CPUs have a smaller surface area meaning that they should run slightly hotter all else being equal. That said, if the CPU doesn't have to reach max TDP to be at full turbo it will probably run cooler and I think that is more likely to occur with ivy than sandy.

Ivy does generate less heat per MHz, but then Intel increased the clock speed to take advantage of that bringing heat dissipation to the same levels as the previous core i generations. The core i CPUs have the same TDP for equivalent models across all generations: m at 35W, qm at 45W and xm at 55W.

EDIT: Rob, I noticed your xm was running at 65W, that is almost 50% more heat than what the qms produce so getting higher temps is perfectly normal.

So yeah, no switchable graphics for you, AMD's implementation (Enduro) isn't as good as Optimus yet anyways.

 

Thanks for noticing/insight. It doesn't stay up there though. Although, it rarely drops below max non-turbo 2.7GHz. I recall Bokeh writing that the QM's will max-turbo for longer duration than XM's. Yours looks like it powers steadily in the upper turbo band. Whether it's noticeably different between CPU's probably depends on the operator/program demand.

 

Intel usually allows more aggressive/higher turbo frequencies on the xms so I wouldn't be surprised if the default maximum turbo might not be sustainable 100% of the time. If your BIOS allows it, you can overclock the hell out of those after all. I brought my 920xm up to 2.7GHz while running prime 95 for example, it did require setting the max heat output at 85W though. I've also seen a 2920xm run at ~4 GHz in an alienware m17x, again, the heat output was off the charts for that.

Even at 55W (max sustained TDP allowed at default settings), it is still ~22% higher than the qms so it remains significant. Then there is the good old luck of the draw when it comes to CPUs, Intel guarantees they pass a minimum set of criteria, but when it comes to xm, how far you can push them and th maxe frequency for a given TDP can vary from CPU to CPU (well, it can vary for the qms too to some extent), some are just better than others. The joys of binning...

 

My XM seems to remain at full turbo indefinitely as long as it does not reach the thermal limit (105C). The only time that any of the cores seemed to drop the clock rate under load was when they were hitting 105C.

This is what I chalk my temp differences up to. It is probably within Intel's manufacturing tolerances. If all of my cores performed as well as core0, then my CPU would have some decent overclocking potential (if the BIOS supported it).

 

grumpy,

How is it possible to raise the thermal ceiling? I thought it was 100C (212F). Not that it matters much in the sense that if it can't be maintained below either limit then throttling would occur.

I'd really like to improve my temps but may wait till Aaron and some others do theirs. Obviously if mine deteriorates, it's getting done. Also with the different readings that I posted I'd like to be sure that is the source and cure. I also would worry about screwing something up out of ignorance (first time effort).

 

Ivy Bridge has a T[SUB]j[/SUB] of 105^oC compared to Sandy's 100^oC, that limit is hard coded into the CPU and can't be changed.