How to Overclock the Alienware 18 and Haswell CPU (or actually have it run full stock Turbo Speed)

Cooling is key. Keep it cool and you'll be getting 4k+ in heaven.

 

I am using a U3 plus cooler master laptop cooler, I don't know how to make it any cooler asside from taking it a part and putting on new thermal paste like coollabs liquid ultra.

 

Thanks, do you know how to set the XTU to default settings?

 

Yes, go to the profiles, select and apply "Default" and that should do it. XTU should have created a system default profile based on the CPU model during the installation process. If it did not for some reason, go into the BIOS and choose the option to reset to BIOS defaults and that will cancel out any settings applied by XTU.

 

A quick look with 7zip at the A03


oempost.efi presumably happens at post after all other BIOS settings have taken place. Maybe of interest to some would be this part of it.

Code:

Set_55A_Limit:
        sub     rsp, 40
        mov     al, byte [0E00090BAH]           ; PCI-e Controller (x8)
        test    al, 40H                         ; Check Graphics card present
        jz      Exit                            ; No Card Present
        mov     eax, 0E0009019h
        mov     ecx, 0E0000002h
        movzx   eax, byte [rax]                 ; Secondary BUS No.
        shl     eax, 20
        cdqe
        movzx   ecx, word [rax+rcx]             ; Read Device ID
        mov     eax, 119fh                      ;
        cmp     cx, ax                          ; Is it a GTX 780m?
        jnz     Exit                            ; No, skip 55A current limit setting
        mov     ecx, 601h                       ; Yes, carry on and set 55A current limit
        call    _RdMsr
        mov     ecx, 601h
        and     rax, 0FFFFFFFFFFFFE1B8H         ; Clear Previous Current Setting
        or      rax, 1B8H                       ; Current limit in 1/8 Amp
        mov     rdx, rax
        call    _WrMsr                          ; Set 55A current limit
Exit:   add     rsp, 40
        ret


_RdMsr:
        rdmsr
        shl     rdx, 32
        or      rax, rdx
        ret

_WrMsr:
        mov     rax, rdx
        sar     rdx, 32
        wrmsr
        ret

IOW if you using 780M (dual?) whatever you set in BIOS gets overridden with 55A. Unfortunately this can not be fixed by BIOS settings, it needs a BIOS modification unless you can change the card ID from 119F (780M) but that would create other problems.

 

But XTU can override that 55A processor current limit without much issue I thought? Unless you're talking some other current limit..

 

Very interesting... that explains a lot. I wonder if there is another file that imposes a limitation something like this to turn off the machine once it reaches a certain power level, as that might explain why the 18 cannot benefit from the dual 330W AC adapter mod. +1 Rep for your discovery. Unless a BIOS update corrects this mistake, we need to find a way to flash the BIOS without that file or a modified version of it that removes the "Read Device ID" instructions.

True, Processor Current Limit can be set to a functionally valid level with XTU or ThrottleStop on BIOS A03, but that is not the point of concern. It has to be reset manually every time you restart the system because the BIOS/SMI or whatever kind of mess this new type of BIOS design has sets it back to 55A at reboot. This is crippling the CPU performance of machines that should run much faster than those with a lesser GPU. I will reach out to DELL-Chris M at Dell Community Forum and send him a link to this post so they can identify one of the fixes that needs to be included in the next BIOS update. It needs to be 95A by default for a 4930MX CPU to function at stock (not overclocked) core ratios. Anything less than 95A causes the 4930MX CPU (probably all CPUs in a AW18 with 780M SLI) to power throttle and run at clock speeds lower than they were designed to run. It takes more than 95A to run a Dell Level 1, 2 or 3 overclock. This can be set manually when desired, but the CPU needs to at least be able to run at stock clock speed with default BIOS settings.

Setting Processor Current Limit to 55A does exactly the same thing as setting Pri Plane at 256 in the BIOS with an M17xR3/R4 or an M18xR1/R2. This effectively disables Intel Turbo Boost.

What is interesting is they did not impose this limitation on the AW 17. Those with an AW 17 running 4930MX and a single 780M see 95A for Processor Current Limit instead of 55A, so the AW 17 users don't experience the same CPU performance deficit as AW 18 owners do.

 

That's a question you'd have to put to the proper Dell Engineers. Is it just an oversight or do they think the power delivery design is insufficient to run 780m's (overclocked?) and therefore have to skimp on providing an extra 50W or 60W for an overclocked CPU?

 

The problem is their 55A default setting for a system with 780M won't even power an ordinary run-of-the-mill MQ CPU running at stock clock speeds, much less overclocked. If they did this because 780M draws too much power they should either not sell 780M, or beef up whatever is lacking in order to provide adequate support for the CPU and 780M GPU. Although, it may be a simple programming error. We probably should not try to guess why, but it is an important discovery that needs to be fixed so people can enjoy the level of performance they paid for.

The negative reviews where professional reviewers such as AnandTech commented that the 18 has poor 4930MX performance are a reflection of this. This may also explain why folks that ordered an 18 with the less expensive video cards are not seeing as dramatic CPU performance deficiencies. It also explains why booting the 18 on Haswell Integrated Graphics does not impose the 55A "crippled mode" on the CPU. I don't know of anyone that cares or expects excellent performance when running on Integrated Graphics. The only reason to have that is to run in battery mode. Any kind of serious gaming or benching is done with discrete graphics, and this is also when one expects their CPU to function correctly.

I sent a PM to DELL-Chris M as I mentioned above. Hopefully we will see a fix for this soon with the offending feature of the BIOS having been identified in your inspection of that file. Good work on that. I did not know you could view the content of those files as you did. That's good to know for future reference.

 

I agree, but to get answers questions need to be asked. The question I gave was supposed to be put in a way to help solicit an answer. Well, at least that was my intention.

Hopefully your email reply brings good news.

 

I agree with Dufus. They know that dual 780M and the 4930MX will have problems with using too much power. Perhaps they are playing it safe this time.

It's no coincidence that on the 17 it's 95A and on the 18 it's 55A.

I fully support the notion of beefing up the power delivery for the GPU and CPU. More phases of VRM here and there, means less load on each phase, and less load means less heat, which means less AW 18 will burst up in flame.

We have seen too many problems with the 18. And 1 machine (owned by Mr. pathfindercod) has gone up in flame. If I remember correctly on some other forum there was also a guy who has his went up in flame.

 

Properly designed there should be safe guards built into the Laptops hardware to prevent fires ever happening. Fires are more likely as a result of a defective component or production defect, which should be rare in occurrence. Drawing more than the designed power capability built of the laptop should shut the power down.

I don't know what the 18 is capable of so I can not say they have a power problem. It might seem that way but better if Dell responds with the answer and hopefully a fix.

 

If Dell does not approach this problem then I sure hope someone will make a modified BIOS. Is it not possible?

 

It has been more than 6 months, and with Dell going through restructuring, chances of having it fixed are slim. We have been pushing for it since July 2012.

 

A modified BIOS was available from day 1. Problem is not modifying the BIOS, but the evil thing called Secure Flash that Dell elected to include. It cannot be flashed because it does not have a signature. This is absolutely not required. So far, it's not breakable by the enthusiasts with the most talent working on trying to circumvent it. The fact that Secure Flash was deployed is very discouraging. I hope they will see fit to remove it in future BIOS updates.

 

Hoping for a good email response from the to the above posts then. Everyone should be heavily spamming Dell employees' inboxes about this problem.

 

This is normal turbo boost right? I did a stock benchmark on 3Dmakr11.

 

No, that is not stock turbo boost. Stock turbo is 3.9GHz. That is the advertised "factory overclock" that doesn't actually work for anyone.

ARK | Intel® Core i7-4930MX Processor Extreme Edition Specifications

Unless your new machine has a BIOS that nobody else has yet, I believe you will find that misleading because using stock BIOS settings the 4930MX will not run at Intel reference clock speeds. The CPU most likely dropped clock speeds severely and ended up running around 3.0GHz (the non-turbo speed) under load during the benchmark.

When 3DMark benchmarks are launched they go through a scanning process before the benchmark goes full screen. It captures system information, so whatever your CPU clock speed was at the time of that snapshot is what the benchmark will show whether it is accurate under load or not.

 

mine went completely up in flames...right at work in the middle of a police station. station was ice cold from the air conditioner, and i literally just turned the computer on to show off some battlefield 4. after literally 2 min the room began to fill with heavy smoke and actual flames were coming from the rear or the laptop...it was nuts...i was not a happy camper.

 

Is there any update for eta on a BIOS revision? Not being able to use the full potential of my system is getting a bit old.

 

Wow, scary...very sorry to hear that. .Alienware should make this up to you, beyond just giving a new laptop. ..Were your cpu/ gpu settings at stock? If you could please share any info, would appreciate it.

 

You know this is no joke, I took my 18 home from work last night after reinstalling the OS. When I got home I plugged it in and heard a high pitched noise coming from the laptop and then it started to smell like something burning. Not like wood but a plastic burning smell. It was a very distinct smell. I unplugged the machine right away and verified that nothing was on fire and then plugged it back in with no problems. I have to reinstall a HDD tonight so I will be able to look to see if anything looks burnt.

 

it was my second replacement 18 in 2 weeks of getting it. that one i think was a week old , everything stock because the overclocks would always BSOD or cause system to freeze. alienware sent me a new one and gave me a gift card which i used to get a samsuns 512 GB SSD drive to run a raid array with my 18. The raid array is insane by the way on the 18. have two 512 SSD in raid 0 and then the 780 gb drive as a data drive. still the scary thing about the fire was what if i left it home to download something ect and the fire started..granted i was gaming so the GPUS were heating up but still...very scary situation. teh machine is awesome . I just pray they can fix the bios. I check everyday fox's posts ect because he will have it and let us know once its done. lol.


also big thank you to fox for helping out answering questions to everyone all the time.

 

Mr Fox is the yo. I'd buy the man a beer.

 

I did another stock run.







Added prior system stock benchmark

 

Your CPU is definitely not running at 4.3GHz under load. At 4.3GHz your physics score would be in the 10.5K+ range and it's only 8535. I suspect it is dropped close to 3.0GHz under load. Run the 32-bit version of 3DMark11 with on-screen display from EVGA Precision X or MSI Afterburner using CPU core clock output from HWiNFO64 and you can actually watch it happen.

Or, you can run a custom benchmark with the physics test only in window mode and watch it drop with CPU-Z or any other monitoring app.


If you want to get it to run at 4.3GHz under load, have a look at the XTU settings in the opening post. It simply will not do it with the stock BIOS power settings and CPU falls flat on its face every time. Processor Current Limit is way too low and voltage is way too high with stock BIOS settings.

See this physics score on this run at 4.3GHz with correct power settings for the 4930MX...

 

I'm sure you'll be glad to know that Afterburner 3.00 Beta 18 supports OSD in natively 64-bit applications

 

Thanks, I did not know that. I will have to try it. I have been liking EVGA Precision X better, so I haven't been using Afterburner for a long time.

Edit: It's actually the RTSS 6.0.0 bundled with the Beta 18 and I can still use EVGA Precision X. Sweet! Thanks for letting me know. +1 Rep

 

Oooh I do like the OSD layout on that screenshot. If it's something that's made convenient by Precision I'd better move to that too. There's nothing like looking at real-time GPU utilization in 3DMark 11

 

Actually, I used the RTSS support from HWiNFO64 for CPU and GPU and turned off OSD output for GPU data in Afterburner and Precision X.

The reason I prefer EVGA Precision X is that it allows GPU voltage control directly instead of having to use NVIDIA Inspector and it has 10 profile slots. K-Boost is also pretty nice.
I appreciate those three extra features. Otherwise, Afterburner functions just as well. Precision X does not have screen video recording, but I use ShadowPlay for than now anyhow.




The Alienware themed Precision X skin is also pretty slick.

 

Mmmmm.....Guess I better read the fine print in my AW/Dell warranty and see if it includes fire insurance.

If AW/Dell starts including a free fire extinguisher with all new AW 18s...you know there is a problem...

 

I have repasted the CPU with Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra and it has helped to compensate for the absence of fan activity on the Alienware 18. This is a liquid metal TIM that does a phenomenal job of transferring heat, but it can cause serious harm if not used with great caution. With Liquid Ultra I am actually able to run 4.5GHz and complete benchmarks that caused a thermal shutdown before the fans would start to spin up using the stock phase-change TIM or IC Diamond thermal paste. The improvement in performance of the 4930MX is nothing short of amazing. It's still not an Ivy Bridge XM, but it's very healthy when it's not about to crater from heat. These examples are temps using the stock fan table. No artificial cooling technique was used other that raising the back edge of the laptop to allow better air circulation.

<iframe class='imgur-album' width='100%' height="850" frameborder='0' src="http://imgur.com/a/NN4vg/embed"></iframe>

The Liquid Ultra dramatically slows down CPU heating and this allows enough time for the latency in the fan tables to "catch up" and confirm the temps really are too hot and the fans actually need to come on, and the fans eventually do begin to run. This is not a permanent solution to the messed up BIOS and fan tables, but it's going to make the machine a lot more usable while we are waiting.

<iframe class='imgur-album' width='100%' height="850" frameborder='0' src="http://imgur.com/a/JUQvK/embed"></iframe>

be sure to view the text where you see " Mouse over for image description" in blue text

​

 

Well done brother fox! That's amazing. I'm going to call it a necessity for Haswell MX chips.
Question to confirm, the liquid metal spreading beyond the copper rectangle part of the Heatsink is the 'no-no' right? Scary, I watched that video. Got to be EXTRA careful so excess TIM doesn't blow out the sides.

 

It's a huge no-no getting it on the aluminum part of the heat sink or any circuitry. As shown in the comments and photo, it's crazy how little needs to be applied for it to be extremely effective. I was careful to only apply it to the part of the copper that touches the heat sink so there could be no "drips" or anything beyond the die surface. I could see it getting on those surface mounted components and frying the CPU if a person was careless or sloppy. There is no need for anyone to be fearful having the right awareness before they start.

 

With the CPU at 4.5GHz, how high of a GPU clock speed can you reach on the 780M without tripping? I see that you run it at 1007MHz.

 

That is pretty darned close to the limit unless you use ThrottleStop profiles to toggle the CPU to a lower clock speed in 3DMark11 Tests 1 through 4, then kick up the CPU to 4.5GHz only for the Physics and Combined tests.

1007 is an offset of +157 for the core and it takes 1.025V or 1.037V to keep the driver stable (varies by benchmark which voltage is most stable). Going higher than 1.037V starts tripping the AC adapter circuit breaker, even without a significant CPU overclock.

 

Yeah past that point and the dam bursts on power. I run at 1045/1750.

 

If you want to watch the CPU temps in real time, here's a Metro: Last Light benchmark video with OSD. Rendering this video was done at 4.3GHz and the max core temp was only 83°C, which I thought was impressive. The last attempt at video rendering resulted in a thermal shutdown at 4.3GHz and I had to drop the clock speed to the stock 3.9GHz, but it was still pushing over 90°C at that point So, until we get a BIOS/EC fix, it looks like Liquid Ultra may allow us to use the system overclocked at reasonable temps even without having properly functioning fans. I did not repaste the video cards. They are still running IC Diamond.

<iframe width='853' height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ACcJVGF3b8c?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

 

Thought I'd post this here in case some people haven't seen it.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...de-run-fans-max-anytime-alienware-18-a-4.html

 

How much time does the gallium need to fully solidify once it's applied?

 

Awesome work brother fox. I wonder what you could pull with fans running at max with the line mods?

 

Thanks, Brother electrosoft. Probably a little more, but since the Alienware 18 is not able to benefit from the dual AC adapter it will have limited application to achieving impressive benching results. Unfortunately, a single 330W AC adapter is insufficient to support extreme GPU overclocking. The problem with the 330W AC adapter's limitations is far worse than that it is with the M18xR2 because the 4930MX can draw between 120-130W when heavily overclocked. It's rare for the 3920XM to hit more than 98-105W under the most demanding conditions.

But, this is still a HUGE win for gaming or anything else that can benefit from a faster CPU without a need for GPU overclocking. Being able to game at 4.3GHz with reasonable temps is a significant benefit for everyone that owns a new 18. If they will fix the fan tables to eliminate the lagging response to temperature changes and remove the 500 RPM reduction in maximum fan speeds, this will be a really great outcome for gamers.

I have no idea.

 

I read that the alloy in Liquid Ultra has a melting point of 8 degrees C so it should not solidify at room temperature. In addition the vapor pressure is negligible which means it shouldn't evaporate either but we'll see about that..

 

Alrighty then thank you. It depends on how viscous this stuff really is. I don't want it slipping outside of the bounds on where it's applied.

 

How would I overclock my Alienware 18's CPU (Intel i7-4930mx)
What are the required programs? (BIOS?)

Thanks!

I also heard that there's an existing fan heat problem.

 

Alienware 18 BIOS A04 Released!

Driver Details | Dell US

 

It's mostly for adding support for the 880m and 290xm.

 

It actually improved the fan tables quite a bit. My 18 CPU does not overheat nearly as much as it did with A03.

 

It's a shame the 18 can't use this mod... would be a much better machine if it could. The section of this video that includes the Alienware 18 demonstrates why it needs it... real bad (even more than the R2 does because the 4930MX draws a LOT more power).

<iframe width='853' height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7CoeOq-lkdY?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

I wish...Any idea what is preventing it? Is it hardware or software prevention from using more than 330w?