Better performance at stock speed...

I OCed my m1530 since day one, and has seen great results in terms of 3DMark06 scores (see my sig for details). My lappy does run 10-15 degrees hotter when under stress, but still bearable.
I have sat RivaTuner to auto apply OC on startup, and has kept it that way for almost a month now. Then today, when I was browsing the web, I noticed my lappy getting a bit too hot to be comfortable at the palmrest, so I went and changed the clock speed to default in RivaTuner.

I ran WOW later today without putting the OC back on, and the result? Well, there's a 10-15fps increase with the stock clock speed (475/702)! whf?

I had everything to max, and I usually get around 60 fps in WOW, but with the stock speed, the fps bumps to 70-75 in the same areas.....

So I ran the 3DMark 06 again with the default clock, and the score is in close proximity to what I had tested before, and the score does improve when I tune the clock back up....So I don't know...maybe 3DMark does not provide a holistic judgement on performance? Maybe WOW doesn't react too well to OC? I'll test other games to see if stock speed actually gives better fps....

Anyone else experienced same/similar scenario before? Feel free to share/comment! (Hopefully mines not the queer among the other lappies....hehe...)

 

My guess is that despite your OC, the system will down-clock as the overall system gets too hot to prevent it from burning up. By NOT OCing it, the system won't heat up too much, and can therefore run at full speed, as opposed to lowering either or both of the CPU and GPU.

 

Well...maybe...but the OCed system does get a higher 3DM06 score, and what I mean by fps increase is not the fps after a few hours of running the game, but the general fps range when I first enter the game world (in this case the SilverMoon City, for those into WOW)....

Same place, same settings, but different fps...and that I think can only attribute to the OC of the GPU...and no, it is not heating up, my graphics card runs at about the same temp with or w/o the OC, at around 77C, which really isn't that hot...

 

You say it heated up 10-15 degrees...what was it actually running at while you had it overclocked? It was probably downclocking because you were running it too hot.

EDIT: Nevermind, I saw you posted 77C as the temperature. This is pretty close to what I get on stock (78C). Like you, my temperature didn't change at all while the card was overclocked, but I only overclocked to test my card. There aren't any games I need it for at the moment. If I were you I just wouldn't play WoW while the card is overclocked. It doesn't need the extra power at all. I actually play in power saver mode because it runs so much cooler and I still get 45fps.

Also, if it's the palm rest that's heating up, it's more likely to be the hard drive than anything else. I noticed that the hard drive on mine seems to be really dependant on room temperature. There's a certain room temp where it goes from staying cool all day to just getting really hot.

 

Oh really? My HD goes to about 50C even if I just browse the web or perform some simple tasks...and downclocking my GPU does help in reducing the HD's temp...(by 5-10 degrees)

As for the room temp, at what temperature does your HD stay cool? My room is about 76F, and the HD gets hot quite often...