M14x Overclocking Discussion

Hello.

I decided to start this thread to gather and consolidate information on the overclocking capabilites of the m14x as pertaining to the CPU and RAM. I realize that for gaming purposes the GPU is far more important and overclocking the CPU really doesn't do much, but I think this information is still relevant for some applications, as well as for people purchasing 3rd party RAM.

Anyways, on to the questions.

From reading the manual it indicates that you can adjust the BCLK upwards from the stock 100 MHz setting in 10 MHz increments. Is this accurate? If so, is there a BIOS-imposed limit on this? If not, this would be different than most other Sandy Bridge CPU's since only the K models have an unlocked BCLK.

Can CPU voltages be adjusted?

Is the RAM frequency linked to the CPU/BCLK?

Lastly, what stable CPU/RAM frequencies have people been able to achieve?

 

my understanding is that overclocking this way is quite limited, since this is the base clock not just for cpu and ram, but pci-e bus, usb bus, etc so you can only go as far as the weakest link. (hint: not the cpu or ram)

 

its like 10 hz you can adust the most the bios will let you go too is 103.1 mhz and that reads at 102.9mhz, doing this will give you about 40mhz more out of the ram though

 

Ah, 10 Hz not 10 MHz. Yeah that's in line with what I've read on other SB CPU's. Too bad. Seems like Intel went out of their way to lock down all the non-extreme edition CPU's.

 

its because of the turbo, the fact of the matter is you can get it to 3.0ghz on all cores, but it will not stay there long anyways because of temps and power, I would keep the 3.3 max instead of just overclocking the 2.2 and not getting as high stable

 

The owner's manual outlines all of your OC options, it's in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/571521-alienware-m14x-released-annihilate-anywhere.html.

CPU overclocking is very limited - basically pointless. Luckily you can OC the RAM separately. Which is how I'm running 1600 RAM with the 2630qm (stock RAM...I have HyperX 1866 on order).

You can turn off turbo, etc. in the BIOS as well. It's all in the downloadable manual.

 

Just wondering what you guys are using to get the best out of the GPU.

 

I haven't got an M14x, but for my desktop, I use MSI Afterburner. I know a lot of people here like EVGA's Precision, but I find Afterburner at lot more concise with its information presentation, and it has the added benefit of voltage control (if the 555M even supports this) where-as EVGA requires you to download their seperate utility (at least they did, the last time I used it).

Hope that helps.

 

Why not consider nvidia system tools? It enables you to overclock too, doesn't come with the drivers though. Downloaded separately at nvidia site. It's great!

 

I switched from nvidia system tools to evga precision on my desktop because evga precision allows you to easily build custom profiles for the GPU fan, and nvidia system tools did not, or at least they made it very difficult due to their terrible profiles interface. Evga precision also has the taskbar temperature indicators, which I find more useful than nvidia's obtrusive system monitor panels.

 

I would highly suggest MSI Afterburner because quite simply, it is the most user-friendly and idiot-proof OC s/w out there. Also it comes bundled with a MSI Kombuster s/w which really helps in finding the stability and the temperature difference of the latest OC'd clocks.

But in order for us to perform a highly stable and effective OC, it is very important to find the best available driver out there for the video card first. Because OC'ing is all about the functionality and the stabilty of the drivers to achieve those clocks.

My 460M runs best on 267.76 from nVidia. Although, it is not the latest driver from nVidia, it is quite simply the best out there...and this proves a famous NBR quote, "the newest driver is not always the best driver".

Before OCing anything, it is very important to run some benchmarks in stock clocks so that we can later refer to that in order to determine the performance gain. Why OC if we ain't gaining anything right?

Well, here's how I always do it.
Run MSI Kombuster(or any other benchmark like Crysis,metro etc) in native screen resolution and let it run for at least 10 minutes. Check the highest temperature after ending the benchmark and note the FPS as well. Although Kombuster shows FPS by default, it is advisable that Fraps comes in handy while benching games.

After temps and fps noted, run MSI Afterburner, and slide the core,shader and memory clocks to desired limits. It should be noted that it is better to increment a 10MHz at a time. And leave the core and shader clocks linked. After incrementing the desired speeds, run Kombuster again for 10 minutes and make note of the temps and fps.

Continue this steps until you are satisfied with the fps gained or until your temps start going into danger zone or until you have burnt out your GFX card and set a new benching record...whatever is your cup of tea.

On a side note, OC'ing is fun and effective but one should always keep an eye out for the temps as it can be our only enemy here. Rest is all good and Dell can always provide us with a new GFX card in case things go out of hand right?

Well Happy Overclocking and enjoy the increse in fps. Till then, HAPPY FRAGGING as well.

Peace.

 

Can't really control fan or voltage on m14x I just stick with nvidia system tools seems to have the highest ceiling

 

I would also like to add to Sarg's post, and say that after finding what appears to be a stable OC, to actually play some games. Things will show up in games that won't show up in stress tests.

Alternatively, sub Kombuster for a 3DMark 11 run. You'll know if you're artifacting by looking at it, and you'll also have a handy reference to see if you card is getting hot enough that it's throttling, because your score will decrease.

 

I've seen a few people post up asking about this, so I thought I'd go ahead and post a how-to.

First, you're going to need some tools. You will need a tool to change the frequency, and a tool to monitor temperatures. These are the tools I chose to use:
- nVidia System Tools (to overclock - also has monitoring app) - NVIDIA DRIVERS 6.06
- GPU-Z (to monitor GPU temp/usage) - GPU-Z Video card GPU Information Utility
- Coretemp (to monitor CPU temp/usage/clock speed) - Core Temp

1. Install tools
2. Right click on desktop -> NVIDIA Control Panel
3. Go to the "Performance" tab, click on "Device Settings"
4. Adjust Graphics Clock and Memory Clock to desired specifications
4a. I set mine at 700 / 1080 and had no issues
4b. If you want to be sure of stability, run a benchmark suite such as Furmark and look for artifacts. Also, watch GPU-Z to see max temperature.
5. Profit

A video is coming as soon as I get it compressed. 1.6GB for 2 minutes?! Thanks, FRAPS.
Video! YouTube - How to Overclock an Alienware M14x (or any laptop with NVIDIA graphics)

 

I'll add my own tidbit here and say that I've never been fond of NVST. It has a tendancy to be a little glitchy, and for me at least has reported temperatures - and voltages (!) - incorrectly in the past. My recommendation would be to use MSI's Afterburner.

Also, I would highly recommend not using Furmark for testing. If you just want to get an idea of your maximum temperatures, fine. For stability testing though, nothing - nothing - will beat actually playing games. I've been able to get my 580s past the 1.0GHz core mark and still be stable thirty minutes into Furmark. Needless to say the cards crashed within a minute of running 3DMark 11. I can only run about 965 stable on both cards 24/7.

If you want an accurate stability test, set 3DM11 or the Crysis benchmark, on loop for an hour. After that, play whatever your most intensive games are. If you don't get any artifacting, then it's a stable OC.

 

I dont use the nvidia app for monitoring, only setting the speeds. I've never seen any issues with gpu-z or coretemp accuracy.

Also, I only used Furmark as an example... You'll notice in the video I actually say futuremark (i.e. vantage or 3dmark). Either one works.

The highest temps I've seen so far have been after playing BF:BC2 for a solid 2 hours. Still stable.

 

Nobody uses nvidia inspector? It has the option to unlock max/min which allows the slider to go from 0mhz to 3000mhz for all three clocks. Also options for fan and voltage control and basic monitoring.

 

Using MSI Afterburner I overclocked the GT 555M to 745/1490/1080 and have been playing Crysis 2 for 2 hours straight. Max graphics settings, no vertical sync, I am getting 35 fps average. Spikes to 53 fps indoors. Completely stable.

 

Sounds awesome! What kid of temperatures are you seeing? If you dont mind monitoring it for like 10 minutes

 

I've done the same thing... 750core 1500 shader clock...
My temps hit around 80s at most. But typically come down to the 70s after the fan kicks in to higher speeds.

Playing Crysis 2 to on "High" setting @1280x720 and getting a pretty constant 60FPS+

 

Another important thing to point out might be whether or not you have a cooler or if the laptop is elevated at all. I propped the back of mine up on some old CD cases and it dropped by CPU temperatures by ~15* when playing BF:BC2

 

Can anyone post a good set of numbers to overclock the GPU? As well as what software your using? Preferably safe temps, but not shying away of getting the most performance.

Judging from Ray's post, 745/1490/1080 is a reasonable set up to have?

 

I kept alt tabbing out of the game to check and see the temp at 73-75 degrees, but I didnt get a chance to monitor the temp in game. I will test later tonight. BTW I have not been using a laptop cooler at all. It sits flat on my desk.

 

770 1080 i would recommend

 

What are the highest stable everything (benches, games, etc) GPU clocks people are getting without increasing voltage?

 

I can get 773 1080 no artifacts good heat running 3dmark06 constantly. Some games may get slight artifacts here and there after a few hours of gaming, while others may not but it is not a heat issue probably just certain games causing more stress. The fact that the gpu turns off when not in use really helps stability due to conventional gpus in desktops. I would 700 and 1000 if you want to be uber safe at a minimum, and if your feeling bold 770 and 1080. In addition I have my cpu overclocked to max bios settings, and my ram is running at 1644, and I have 0 stability issues. Shaders are linked so just multiple 2 by core clock I dont feel like doing the math with a linked shader.

 

Interesting.

Then:

Artifacts are a sign of stability issues.

 

Sorry for the newb question but:

When you throw around numbers like 700/1000 are you referring to the GPU's Core Clock Mhz and the Memory Clock Speed?

b/c the Shader Clock is by default x2 the GPU clock but sometime you would refer to it as 700/1400/1000 ??

thanks.

 

That's it exactly.

 

That is at 773 i get artifacts at 770 I do not, in addition im just to lazy to go 700/1400 when i can just do 700 all of the time.

 

So i started playing around with this last night.

I set Shogun2 to the highest settings i could and left the MSI Afterburner settings at default. I was getting 19fps (somewhat choppy) on campaign map and 40+ (nice) during battle's. The GPU temp hit around 55-60ish.

Using MSI Afterburner I maxed out the GPU 770 and raised the mem to 1080 and ran Shogun 2 again... this time I got 25fps (better) on campaign and 50+ during battles. GPU hit 60-65ish. After about 20 minutes of gameplay the game did crash after making a routine movement on the campaign map. unsure if this is related.

NOTE: Shogun2 has been a little flaky with the M14x, it would NOT start when MSI Afterburner (or any other application I think) was running. However once it started I as able to alt-tab out and start up the other applications.

finally i tried the middle ground and set the GPU to 700 and Mem to 1000, i did not notice a difference between this setting and the default, the FPS were almost identical.

 

wow those are really good temps and fps. not sure how big your battles are but with most things on high at 900p i usually get between 25-30fps in battles and the same on the campaing map

 

good point, it was very early in the game so not huge battles, but man it looks good (also 900p)... I definitely noticed it slightly choppy in the campaign which annoyed me.

 

Has anyone got the overclock on the igp to work, I want to game on battery and see if I can get an improvement with the current 555m on battery issue.

 

Hi All,

I just received my new m14x with Core i7-2720QM, 8GB 1600MHz RAM & GT555M and am trying to do some overclocking to improve its performance.

After viewing a guide on youtube by Tom's Technology, I enabled the Overclocking in BIOS and made the following changes:

Long Duration PWR Limit: 51
Long Duration Time Window: 52

Short Duration PWR Limit: 85
Bus Clock: 101MHz

1) I would like to know if the above changes will push the CPU too much and hence shorten its lifespan?

2) I have not done any changes to the Memory Overclocking. But with the RAM in my m14x, is overclocking it possible? And what are the "ideal" settings for them without overstressing the RAM?

3) I also notice that most of the overclocking mentioned in this post refer to the GPU, so does it mean that overclocking the CPU in the BIOS is not advisable?

4) With overclocking, is a laptop cooler absolute necessary?

Thank you very much for answering my queries!

 

I think the general consensus here, as I've noticed, is that GPU is worth overclocking, but CPU isn't necessarily worth it. Remember that overclocking the CPU will increase temperatures quite a bit, and possibly negate the benefits of overclocking if the CPU temperature reaches TJmax (100 degrees Celsius?) as the CPU will downclock itself, at least that's what I understand anyway. In my opinion getting the HyperX XMP memory from Kingston and then setting an XMP Profile 2 in the BIOS (which automatically clocks the memory above default settings based on the manufacturer's profile settings in the memory) is worth doing, as for manually overclocking the memory I can't really advise.

Finally, with overclocking the memory and GPU, and leaving the CPU alone, I didn't need a laptop cooler. I am currently using a stand which slightly tilts the back of the laptop so that more air can get underneath it easier. This does help reduce temperatures.

 

Just got through running another 15 min session of Portal 2.
I7 2720QM CPU running 102.9MHz bus speed and bios settings set to youtube video.
555M set to Core Clock 750 Shader Clock1500 Memory Clock 1000 using MSI Afterburner.

Monitoring with CPUID Monitor
Ambient room temp 75.2F.

Pre game play @ idle desktop.
Core 1 53C
Core 2 53C
Core 3 53C
Core 4 50C
GPU 46C
HDD 37C

Post 15 min Port 2 game play. Settings to High/Very High, 8X, 8X, Triple Buffer. Saw no signs of lag, FPS ran 60-80 dipping to 40 in very intense scenes like glass breaking.
Core 1 86C
Core 2 84C
Core 3 83C
Core 4 80C
GPU 73C
HDD 37C

I did notice with Intel Turbo Boost Monitor that the turbo did flicker upwards of 3.3GHz at times and consistently running 3.17-3.25GHz. The processor is rated @3GHz in Turbo mode.

I’ll post screenshots when I got home today. Work computer doesn’t like the photo web hosting sites.

-CI

 

@ stock base clock it turbos at clocks up to 3.3Ghz on one core, 3.2Ghz on 2 cores, or 3.0Ghz on 4 cores. hen you saw it go over 3.3Ghz it was switching to one core active mode.

 

My experience

Portal 2 doesn't need allot of GPU it can even run very well on battery, try other games that do demand GPU and do your test

 

Hi CI,

May I know which youtube video you are referring to? Thanks!

 

Since nobody has replied to this question yet, I will. I believe he's referring to the following Youtube video.

YouTube - ‪[HD] Alienware M14X - Nebula Red with Soft Touch Finish - How to Overclock CPU.wmv‬‏

I've managed to get the GPU overclocked at:
- GPU Clock (core): 775MHz
- Memory Clock: 1120MHz
- Shader Clock (proc): 1550MHz

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/95ewu/

This was tested with 3DMark06, Cinebench, Call of Duty: World at War and Star Trek Online all with the highest possible configuration to stress things to their possible limits. The above works for me with no artifacts and reasonable temperatures of 50-60C on the GPU (note that I use the Coolermaster Notepal U3 for a laptop cooling pad).

I've managed to get the CPU overclocked at:
- The settings mentioned in that Youtube video link above, and turbo remains at around 3.0GHz to spiking 3.2GHz when CPU is under considerable load.

My memory is overclocked at the following configuration:
- Using Kingston HyperX XMP memory, I have set XMP as Profile 2 in the BIOS.

 

Is it worth overclocking the CPU?? If so what settings should I use?? If not what are the stock settings so I can set it back to stock?

 

Well in my view, over the past week or so of using the CPU overclock, I've found it hasn't gained that much performance boost, possibly a hinderence at times more than anything due to the increased temperatures. I've set my bus speed back to 100.00MHz. I've left the GPU and memory as they are still (as mentioned in my previous reply to this thread).

 

I just try OC the CPU just a little - to 100.00 , that will get me 3,0 with turboboost. However two quick questions : Thats all I need to do, should I change some of the other numbers as well?

When it comes to the ram - all I did was to change it to 1600 mhz , getting two more options but I just let them be defualt - is this right ?

 

Sorry I missed the question about which YouTube video I was referring to, but yeah it's the one that was linked. To be honest I'm going to return the CPU settings all back to the original OEM settings playing Dirt 2 today on LAN at work during lunch break I saw my core 0 temp hit 98C monitoring with CPUID. I'm playing on a benchtop in a laboratory with controlled environmentals at 71.8F and 44.4RH so 98C on the CPU is concerning. I'm hoping I can just go back into the BIOS and click on default for the CPU settings and be back to OEM. we'll see. Hopefully I don't have a problem with the CPU heatsink or thermal paste.

 

Ok so CPU clocks are back to OEM. Sitting at an idle desktop I'm seeing 55/57/57/54F on the cores. My coworker has an M11X i5 and he's seeing 44/49F. I know they're different machines, but I'm still a little concerned about the temps of my CPU cores. Hopefully I don't have thermal paste problems or a problem with a fan although I doubt there is a fan problem since the fan is screaming during gameplay. I'll run through 15 mins of Dirt 2 later on and see what I log.

On the other hand it is running Dirt 2 with the graphics set to ultra with zero problems! Running very smooth and quick load times!

 

I thought the fan was just to cool the GPU, not the CPU...

 

I can't imagine that there's no fan cooling of the CPU, even if it's beneficial cooling coming off another component that passes over the CPU heatsink it's got to be getting flow from somewhere, but I guess anything is possible.

Ran Dirt 2 for another 15 minutes and did 4 or 5 stress tests tryin out different video settings and I never saw higher then 80C. 18C drop in temps by returning back to OEM. Also noticed no difference in performance by lowering the clock back down.

 

I think the single fan works to cool both chips.

 

I have my GPU OC'd to:
760 Core Clock
1520 Shader Clock
1000 Memory Clock

Its stable, and my temps havent gotten any higher then 122-124 Farenheit, and I was hitting about 80+ FPS in EVE Online (Max settings), and my Lappy was on the arm of my couch. (poor ventilation)

Im thinking of playing with the memory OC setting in BIOS, but I dont know much about it, anyone have a tutorial or a youtube linky on it?