M14x Overclocking/Monitoring Software Discussion

I've noticed it's difficult finding a comprehensive guide online for overclocking and monitoring the GPU respective to the M14x so I've comprised one of my own. It's important to note that this discussion strictly involves overclocking the GPU and not the CPU. Using the built-in Turbo Mode or other CPU overclocking software is officially NOT recommended in this thread. CPU overclocking has been known to cause serious overheating and even permanent damage to the physical composition of the laptop. In addition, most who have overclocked the CPU have noted that it does not significantly increase gaming performance and is not worth the risk.

NOTE: If you wish to post benchmarks/videos/results/settings/screenshots you've had with certain games please feel free to do so! Also, if you're not comfortable with GPU overclocking or do not yet have a m14x and wish for others to post their benchmarks feel free to make a request.

What this thread is not.
A place to discuss CPU overclocking or compare benchmarks.

What this thread is.
A comprehensive guide on overclocking and monitoring the GPU of the M14x and related discussion.



Feel free to share information about different software tools and configurations you have used for overclocking and monitoring your GPU. What overclocking/monitoring software have you had experience with? What are the pros and the cons of each software tool you have used? Once I have verified your information, I will add it to the OP.




Overclocking/Monitoring Guide


F.A.Q.

Q: What is overclocking?
A: Overclocking is the process of running a computer component at a higher clock rate (more clock cycles per second) than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer. (Thanks wikipedia!)

Q: Is overclocking safe?
A: It depends on your definition of safe. Generally, it will not blow your computer up if done properly but will shorten the lifespan somewhat depending on how high you overclock it. It's usually safer to OC the GPU rather than the CPU. Overclocking the CPU is much more dangerous and is therefor not covered in this guide. Using the following tools will normally not harm your computer HOWEVER going beyond the limit of most of these tools can potentially harm your PC. That doesn't mean that there aren't cases of simple overclocking harming a GPU or PC overall. It happens but it is extremely rare.

Q: But don't I have to overclock my CPU and my GPU to get MAXIMUM PWNAGE PERFORMACE?!?!
A: No. It has been thoroughly tested that for gaming (which is what most of us use alienware's for), overclocking the CPU does not produce significant enough results to be worth the risk.


Q: Well I want to overclock my CPU anyway! How do I do it?
A: Go away.

Q: Okay so I'd like to try overcocking my GPU. Where do I start?
A: First off, try playing the games that you want to play on your system as is with your desired settings. In many cases, overclocking isn't even necessary and you will get great framerates with the default settings. In this instance, overclocking really isn't worth it.

Q: My games aren't running at my desired speed. Let's do this!
A: Okay. Check out some of the tools below and choose based on your personal preferences and suggestions people have made. You're going to want at least 2 tools. One for overclocking and monitoring your GPU and (even though you're not overclocking your CPU) a CPU monitoring tool. CPU monitoring is still very, very necessary when overclocking your GPU. If you want to use multiple tools to utilize different unique functions, feel free but generally most people want to compartmentalize the process as much as possible.

Q: What do I need to look out for?
A: Start off slow. Don't max out your clocks, max out in-game graphics settings and hop on Crysis 2 for 8 hours straight. Be nice to your M14X. It is a beast but it is a cute and cuddly beast. We must treat them with care. Slightly increase your settings, load your game for 10 to 20 minutes, and monitor your temperatures. Rinse and repeat until you've found your comfort zones. The preferred CPU temp is 60-80°C. 80-90° is generally doable but anything above 90° is not recommended for non-advanced users. So far for the M14X the sweet spot is 750mhz core clock, 1500mhz shader, and 1080mhz memory clock. Anything above that, enter at your own risk!

Q: So what type of results should I be getting?
A: Here are a few graphics to give you an idea of what overclocking should be doing for you.








Overclocking/Monitoring Tools



Nvidia System Tools
pros: All in one GPU overclocking and monitoring tool. Made my GPU manufacturer, is safe and stable, has fan controls and basic system health monitoring.
cons: Limited in overclocking M14X GPU.


Nvidia Inspector
pros: GPU overclocking tool with "unlock max" which allows you to maximize overlocking performance and basic system health monitoring.
cons: Can't control M14x fans. (Please verify)


MSI Afterburner
pros: GPU overclocking tool with built in real-time onscreen monitoring of clock, voltag, temperature, fan speed, and framerate. Has built in benchmark and screen capture tools. Great reporting system.
cons: Has overclock limit for M14x and some have reported glitches. Benchmark has been known to produce unreliable results.


EVGA Precision
pros: GPU overclocking tool with monitoring including GPU temp and usage percentage. Can apply new clocks at startup.
cons: Cannot control M14x fans. "Test" tool doest work with M14x.


Riva Tuner
pros:
cons: Outdated.


HWiNFO
pros: Has advanced system health monitoring (temperature, voltage, fan, and power) and controls fan speed.
cons:


ThrottleStop
pros: Great tool for overclocking and monitoring CPU with multiple profile settings.
cons:

Core Temp
pros: Simple, compact, CPU monitoring tool that displays temperature and usage for all cores simultaneously.
cons:


GPU-Z
pros: GPU monitoring tool that displays GPU temp and clocks.
cons: Kind of pointless if you're using one of the better GPU overclocking tools but for those who want separate GPU monitoring this would be the tool.



Additional Software

GameFire
pros: Free. Open source. Optimizes system by temporarily reducing unnecessary stresses on CPU and memory while gaming.
cons:

(If you have used other software, feel free to mention it. I will add it to the list.)

Note: All the opinions regarding each software tool is pertaining to performance with the M14x and the M14x ONLY!

 

If your laptop possesses the same heat management problems a lot of the forum users' M14x's' have been plagued with, overclocking will be the last thing on your mind soon.

My advice would be to disable Turbo Mode on your M14x and leave the GPU as it is because of it's soldered connection to the motherboard. If it goes the whole thing dies too.

Install the latest drivers from Nvidia and fire up game booster whilst monitoring it with HWiNFO or MSI Afterburner.

 

Thank you for adding, Caladdon. Turbo Mode is a CPU overclocking tool and is not recommended by me or in this thread. It will often cause overheating which will lead to dramatic framerate drops and can potentially damage your laptop. It has also been noted that even stable CPU overclocks do not significantly increase results in gaming. This is precisely why I do not cover CPU overclocking in the thread. I don't support it or promote it.

 

Question - Thanks for the easy instruction for overclocking GPU. If I were to overclock my CPU what would the speed be increased to? IE I have a i7-2630Qm 2.0ghz (2.9ghz w/ turbo boost).

Also I am pretty new to this, but can figure it out for myself. When I am running games on Ultra or Highest settings w/ my GPU I currently have GT555m 1.5gb card. Is the game I'm playing taking up most of 1.5gb space? Sorry for a noob question ha

Chris

 

Also what would the GPU be overclocked to?

 

Hey Chris. Please fully read the OP, as both of your questions are answered there. This thread does not cover CPU clocking, the OP explains why (it's unnecessary). Fully read through the FAQ and your questions will be answered.

 

I overclocked my GPU (GT555M) to the recommended settings that you had above w/ the program EVGA Precision w/ a breeze. My core temps are averaging about 95C and are fluxuating around 89-97C. Is that okay? This thing isn't going to blow up in my face right? lol I don't plan on keeping my games on for that long, but is it okay to run for example BF2 Bad Company 2 for a few hours and be okay with those temperatures?

 

It's not going to blow up in your face but 97C can potentially cause damage over time. It is a bit too high. I would shoot for 70-80C. Try using a tool that allows control over fan speed and increase your fan speed. Also make sure your laptop has decent ventilation.

Be sure to let us know your results after this. Many users have been able to clock at 750/1500/1000 and running some pretty graphic intensive games without going over 80C after a few hours of use.

 

Does it make a difference that I have the A05 bios? I know they changed some settings for the fan should I revert back to the A04 bios instead?

 

Personally I like the A05 bios... it will still rock the fans when the CPU gets hotter, it just has more steps so you don't hear silence then OMG WHAT IS THAT NOISE then back to silence... the first time it did that to me I though my laptop was going to take off from the desk...

 

A05 bios should be fine. Just make sure you're not in Turbo Mode, unnecessarily over-clocking your CPU. What game are you playing that are bringing your cores up to 97C? What settings are you running it at and how long are you running it for?

 

Battlefield Bad Company 2, Crysis 2 among a number others. How do I turn off turbo mode for the processor? I'm running settings on high/medium and it's usually 10 minutes after I start playing any game.

 

In the bios, under the "Advanced" tab, make sure Turbo Mode is disabled.

Also in the "Performance Options" menu under the Advanced tab make sure the over-clocking features are disabled.

 

I was in the same boat, some people say its just the way its suppose to be, however I don't like hitting that hot on any machine so I turned mine off and it now stays at 75-80c.

 

I called Alienware and complained about the heat I was getting from playing games so he ran a benchmark and he saw I was hitting around 90-95C. He recommended that I have a tech come out and replace the fan and heat sink. Do you guys think this will make a difference? I asked the guy over the phone if I should disable the turbo boost, but he recommended not to do that since it would shorten the span of the processor. Is this true?

 

I'm the same way. 90-100°C isn't going to instantly melt your laptop but it will generally cause throttling and definitely shorten the lifespan significantly if those are the temperatures during your average use. And for us gamers, our average use involves GAMES which put a heavy load on the computer overall. Even 70-80°C will shorten the lifespan but not as dramatically. At this temperature you should still be able to get ~5+ years out of the machine.

I overclocked my last laptop, got greedy, and allowed it to run at ~100°C. This shortened it's lifespan significantly and before I knew it I had random glitches such as the trackpad and keyboard not working and the backlight on the LCD being inactive after starting up. These errors didn't occur all the time but they were obviously a direct result of my negligence since the heat had worn on the conductivity of some of the internal connections. This sort of thing is normal to happen after a while, but not after only 2 years. In other words, try for lower temps!

Let us know how the performance is after turning off turbo. You should find that it lowers the temp and NOT your FPS.

 

If they are willing to send someone out to replace the fan and heat sink, I say let them... makes me wonder if they haven't already released a new heat sink/fan combo that works better...

As for the shortening the span of a processor by "disabling" overclocking? That seems almost counter-intuitive in my opinion.

 

I agree here also. Get your free upgrades while your warranty is still valid!

Also, there is no logical reason why disabling Turbo Mode would decrease the lifespan. Can anyone derive a reasonable explanation for this?

 

While they are in there suggest they use your much better cpu paste and make sure they do it right not glob it on and run...

 

Hrm - interesting. I've been running TF2 for a little bit and without the turbo boost on I've been running about 75C MAX and averaging about 65ish. Seems to be the answer, but doesn't it make a difference if I'm playing using 2.9ghz processor vs 2.0ghz processor?

 

Honestly I couldn't tell the difference, most of the work should be offloaded to the GPU anyways. I fired up Dues Ex and it ran exactly the same, just 20 degrees cooler...

 

The biggest differences the majority have reported between 2.0 and 2.9ghz have been in the range of 0-3FPS. Not worth over heating if you ask me. I'm glad this was able to resolve your issue.

 

I'm going to start posting some benchmarks and videos for certain games along with notes on what tools I used and their respective settings. Feel free to post your own as well or request certain games and benchmarks/vidoes/gpu overclock data from other users.


I've also updated the op to inform everyone that posting here for a request for benchmarks on a particular game is allowed along with posting your own benchmarks for a certain game just to brag/inform.

 

11/24/2011:

Since most of the m14x users are overclocking their GPU for games like BF3 specifically, can the MODS please PLEASE MAKE THIS A STICKY?

I was searching google and searching this forum, and the "overclocking the gt555m" topic is scattered amongst the Dell XPS section and the M14x section and then scattered with CPU overclocking.

CAN YOU PLEASE JUST MAKE THIS A STICKY SO EVERYONE COMING TO THE M14X SECTION WILL KNOW HOW TO OVERCLOCK THE GT555M?

I searched for 5hours on info, and found it ALL scattered, but I could have just came to this thread and got all the neccessary info...

Thanks Kristofer.