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    Enabling and disabling overclocking?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by JNeal, Nov 27, 2011.

  1. JNeal

    JNeal Newbie

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    I'm new to overclocking. Is it safe to enable CPU overclocking in my M11x r2's BIOS whenever I want to play a game, but disable it whenever I need more battery life or is it better to just stick to one speed (either enabled or disabled)? Also, does overclocking the CPU noticeably affect battery life?
     
    JNeal, Nov 27, 2011
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  2. DivineAura

    DivineAura Notebook Evangelist

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    I always use setPLL as it is more flexible and I can change the FSB frequency without having to restart my laptop.
     
    DivineAura, Nov 28, 2011
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  3. Rypac

    Rypac Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes, it is perfectly fine to enable overclocking in the BIOS.

    Every CPU is different and some can handle overclocking more than others. For example, mine is stable at 160MHz but anything higher than that and it is unstable and will result in a BSOD. Lots of people seem to be able to OC to 166MHz with no troubles but some can't even make it past really low overclocks, so it is all luck of the draw.

    Overclocking doesn't have any significant effect on battery life for our R2s. Mine is OD'd to 160MHz 24/7. Back in the day when we were testing it, battery life didn't change with an overclock and performance actually seemed to decrease. This is because it was throttling really badly when stressed, like in a game. It all changed when ThrottleStop was released.

    How to Supercharge the M11x with Core i5/i7 UM CPUs

    If you are going to overclock, you pretty much have to use ThrottleStop to see the performance increases you are after. Have a read through that thread as it has heaps of great guides and helpful tips on how to use it properly.

    Goodluck and just ask if you have any more questions.
     
    Rypac, Nov 28, 2011
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