GE60 Optimization/Benchmark/Modding Thread

So, I don't know what it says about me that the first I do after I unboxed my spiffy new GE60 was not to plug it in and turn it on, but to open it up an take pictures and replace the DVDRW with my GX660R's BD drive.

Even right now, I'm using my GX660R while the GE60 waits patiently on the bed. That sounded more erotic that I intended.

Anyhow, the aim of this thread will be:

1. To compile tweaks and tricks to get the GE60 running to its fullest.

2. To collect benchmark scores--CPU, GPU, HDD, temperatures, and so forth--so as to give new owners an idea of how their machine should perform.

3. To give ideas on what mods end users can try on their machine, and to share the efficacy of said mods. I will be focusing on mods to cool the GE60, but other ideas for mods that focus on other aspects of performance will be greatly appreciated. Insight from members who've played with the GE60 for a while already (like Sequencer and Pharm) would be awesome.


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I will be updating each separate section as information comes in. Just so you know, I'm going to be as particular as possible when standardizing benchmark scores, especially temperature ones.




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BASIC PICTURES
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When you first open up the bottom panel, it'll look like this. As you can see, there's an mSATA SSD slot.

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However, it took me a minute or two to install on account of there being some kind of wire running under the slot area. As you can see, as-is the mSATA SSD will not go down.

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Just move the cord around and it'll fit right in.

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Size comparison vs GX660R

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Size comparison vs GX660R - Thinness

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Size comparison vs GX660R - When opened

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I'll admit it, it took me at least a minute figuring out how the battery went in. Also, that photo gave me an ugly shot of how nasty-long my nails are. Rest assured, they are now nice and trimmed.

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GX660R BD drive and GE60 DVDRW

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The two ODDs. Also my hand again. I'm thinking of doing hand modeling.

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Stock HDD is a Hitachi 7k750

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This is what the heatsink assembly looks like, if anyone was curious. It's one big piece.

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ICD7 can indeed put some scratches on your dies if you're not super careful and patient when removing it. Luckily, my GPU die looked better.

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RECOMMENDED PROGRAMS
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GPU-Z: Lightweight GPU monitoring program
MSI Afterburner: Versatile overclocking and monitoring program
Intel Burn Test: CPU stress testing program. Makes your CPU run hot hot hot.
Furmark 1.9.2. GPU stress testing program. Uses a furry doughnut to toast your GPU.
OCCT: Powerful stress testing program. Has subprograms for CPU, GPU, and PSU (both CPU and GPU at the same time) stressing.

3DMark Vantage: DX10 graphics benchmarking program. Very widely used.
Ungine Heaven: DX11 graphics benchmarking program. Also very widely used.



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GETTING THE 660M TO DOWNCLOCK
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With the current drivers (304.78 an 304.79) it appears the GTX 660M will not idle when not being used, and will chug along at 835/1250 clocks. This can lead to high idle temperatures (high 50s) and is obviously not a very good thing. A properly downclocking GTX 660m should have clocks in the neighborhood of 135/205 and be idling in the low 40s

There are two ways to fix this, one that works for me, and one that has not but others has said works for them.

The "lightest" way would be to use GPU-Z and have it running. Make sure that the GTX 660M is selected in the dropdown menu to select what GPU you want to monitor. (This is the method that hasn't worked for me).

The second method is to use MSI Afterburner and have it also run in the background. It's a handy monitoring and overclocking tool, so I recommend you get it anyway.


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OPTIMUS AND THE TURBO BUTTON
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You've noticed the "Turbo" button next to the power button. The glowing blue Turbo is an indicator of whether the machine is using the discete GPU or the integrated HD4000 IGP. When off, the machine is using the HD4000; conversely, if it's on it's using the GTX 660M.

In the above section I mentioned the 660M downclocking. While this is very useful, it's not ideal. For example, with a properly downclocking but always-on 660M, I had about 90 minutes of battery life. However, once I got Optimus to properly work, it increased to over three hours. Very useful.

To get Optimus working properly, you cannot have any programs like MSI Afterburner or GPU-Z running; they'll trick the GPU into staying on. Likewise, if you have HWMonitor displaying the 660M (such as when you opened GPU-Z, and then opened HWM) it will also force the GPU to remain active, albeit low-clocked.

Experiment with both the beta drivers and the stock drivers from the MSI drivers DVD if one of them doesn't work.

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3DMARK VANTAGE BENCHMARKS
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Forge

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7-7-2012. Laptop completely stock except for reseller-applied ICD7 on CPU and GPU. Using Forceware 304.79. Roughly +26% overclock on the GPU. Completely stable through the run. Ambient was 76F/24.4C. Laptop mounted on top of an XPad Slim. Fan was on manual/normal mode.

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7-7-2012. Same parameters as the above test, except I modded the laptop a bit (See below) and ambient temperature is 83.3F/28.5C, warmer than in the previous test.

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7-17-2012. Laptop modded as documented above. Roughly +20% overclock on the GPU core (Which I'm considering as my "usual" overclock for now). Completely stable. 296.31 drivers. Ambient was 75.4F/24.1C. Laptop mounted on top of an XPad Slim. Fan was on manual/normal mode. Test was conducted from almost a cold boot, barring some BIOS flashing.

Most importantly, note in the attached GPU-Z log the max voltage. Stock turbo voltage is 1.1000V, with dips to 1.0870V. My highest voltage with this modded BIOS is 1.0500V, and it usually hovered at 1.0370V.

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UNIGINE HEAVEN BENCHMARKS
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For standarization, use following settings



Forge

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7-7-2012. Laptop completely stock except for reseller-applied ICD7 on CPU and GPU. Using Forceware 304.79. Roughly +26% overclock on the GPU. Completely stable through the run. Ambient was 76F/24.4C. Laptop mounted on top of an XPad Slim. Fan was on manual/normal mode.

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GAMES
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Forge

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Did a little Crysis Warhead, about 36 minutes. 1920x1080, almost all Enthusiast, except for Gamer shadows and particles. Played the mission where you're on the train and then the cutsene where Psycho drowns the random Korean schmuck. Mods are as you see them. Ambient was 74.9F, and laptop was on top of an XPad Slim with regular fan control. GPU-Z log included. Using 296.31 drivers.

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Crysis Warhead with 1140/1300 clocks, for a little more than an hour. Passive cooling with an XPad, and ambient was 77F-79F over the course of that hour. Using the undervolted BIOS. 296.31 drivers. GPU-Z log included.

 

I took off the bottom panel and did some size checking with the 5mm tall copper blocks I normally use for copper modding.



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PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
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Quick shot comparing the copper block to a screw that secures the bottom panel.

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Another shot, with a ruler and without my sexy hand distracting you.

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Clearance is too low to lay blocks on the heatpipes themselves.

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Ditto

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The blocks could fit on top of the CPU heatsink, but I detected some "tightness" as I put the cover back on. Most likely it will not actually work.

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Horizontal dimensions

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There does, however, seem to be a very nice space on top of the GPU heatsink.

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Vertical clearance is fine, and I think I could fit two or three blocks.

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The access panel is very thin.

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And bends.

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However, with careful drilling with good spacing, I think I can get it to look like my GX660R panel.

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Also note that the fan only has about 1/3 of its area open for an intake. That's work looking into.

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Cooling fan

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Fan thinness

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Radiator grills

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Radiator plus fans. Take note of the black object in between the leftmost radiator and the fan. It's my EDC knife, and I was able to get a little bit of the tip in between the grill and the fan. There's a possibility that air could be escaping through that gap and not through the radiator assembly, and thus hurt cooling a bit. Considering the small fan dimensions, that could affect cooling quite a bit. However, the verdict's still out until I conduct some tests.

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MOAR HOLEZ™
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I took a drill to the bottom panel and drilled Moar Holez™.

I used a 1/32'' drill bit and some generic Sears Craftsman drill. I also used a 1/16'' bit for a couple of holes near the main fan vent. Holes were drilled roughly 5mm apart in a grid.

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MOAR COPPAH™
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Well, more like a Little Coppah™. The thinness of the laptop severely limits me to where I can place blocks. As of right now all I did was put two low-profile heatsinks on top of the GPU heatsink. I used these blocks (of which there are many vendors, so look around), and Sekisui thermal tape.

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Since the heatsinks are all one big piece, decided to try some copper sheets I had lying around. Why? Why not!

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Keep up the good work, I just received the GE70, and I think your remarks will also apply to that model.

 

Hey can you do some testing with the game Tera? I will love to see how the Nvidia 660 handles that games at 1080P. Their is a free 7 day trial of it, so you dont have to buy. thanks if its possible.

 

Haha nice so you finally got your new toy GE60, too bad im most likely going with the GT60 instead.

 

You suck. You and I had a duel, remember?

On a different note, I'm ready to start some modding tomorrow. Question, is, though, do you all want before/after temperature comparisons? If so, I'll have to hold off on the mods until I get those done. If not, I can start tomorrow.

Added a benchmark in the second post. +26% overclock on core, +8% on memory. Did get warm, but the laptop is unmodded and the ambient wasn't exactly cool, either.

Delicious score, too, and completely stable throughout the run.

EDIT: Then ran a Heaven test.

Well, huzzah. I broke 12000 GPU on Vantage, while being 5C cooler on the GPU while the ambient was 4C warmer. CPU was about the same, while the HDD was noticeably warmer.

Maybe two blocks on the CPU could help, and a coldplate for the HDD.

 

Hello Forge!
May I ask what method you used to overclock your 660m core to 1200 MHz? (If I am not mistaken 950+135 = 1085 MHz core is the max one can reach without special measures with a 660m)

 

I can answer you that... The same as you currently use to crank up your 650m...


It's not exactly "

" ...

 

Yeah. I used a modifed something-of-other that I've been asked not to disclose by the maker.

 

Oh, sorry, little misunderstanding Sure you can, just don't spread the files. I'll upload the stuff once testing is finished.

Btw, excellent scores

 

Well, in that case, it's a modifed BIOS made by svl7.

From out conversations, the vBIOS is integrated into the system BIOS, so that's why I wasn't able to simply extract the vBIOS and modify it on myself, as I've done on my old GTX 260m and MR 5870. svl7 had to extract the system BIOS, extract the vBIOS from that, modify the vBIOS, and the put it back into the system BIOS.

And whereas a bricked GPU is easily fixable, a bricked system BIOS isn't, hence why I'm not volunteering the files.

 

Why do you black out several parts of the laptop? Is it like a social security, it can get stolen?

 

Serial numbers. It's just good practice.

 

Nice work, been waiting to see this.

What are your before/after idle temps?

Would bn880's 'foiled' cooling method work easily with the MSI GE60/70?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...0em-7970m-gpu-cooling-performance-foiled.html

 

I was actually planning on doing that one I got myself some tape. As you can see in one of the pictures, there's a noticeable gap between the fan and the heatsink.

As for before/after... ahhh I didn't think to document my idle temps, sorry.

But here is my idle with ambient of 76F. I had just finished a 1-hour Crysis Warhead session about fifteen minutes before I started HWMonitor.

(Also, no idea why I have 4% battery wear. I've owned this machine for like a week, haha).

 

Looking forward to you're foiled mod.

I've seen micro copper heatsinks made for R/C Cars/Planes, might want to check into that. (For Electronic Speed Controls, etc.)

As for the 4% battery wear, mine was the same on Day 1, but after draining the battery completely 5 times in the past 3 weeks, it's at 1%. Battery life has increased as expected. Getting around 4.5hrs on 'Balanced' with office work, web, & music.

Thanks.

 

Did a little Crysis Warhead, about 36 minutes. 1920x1080, almost all Enthusiast, except for Gamer shadows and particles. Played the mission where you're on the train and then the cutsene where Psycho drowns the random Korean schmuck. Mods are as you see them. Ambient was 74.9F, and laptop was on top of an XPad Slim with regular fan control. GPU-Z log included. Using 296.31 drivers.

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hahaha

 

Can the fan be upgraded in this?

 

ah man i got to bring out crysis warhead.

that game will look awesome on this

keep up the good work. im most interested in fan and heat sink modifications.

 

Some Sager guy going overboard, says it runs well

 

The fan can be easily removed by removing three screws.

 

I guess the main thing I was trying to figure out is whether or not there is a compatible or "better" fan out there that would improve temperatures or if it wasn't worth it.

 

As far as a I know, there's no better fan for the GE60.

 

Wowzers. So the 660M can indeed be overclocked and undervolted.

7-17-2012. Laptop modded as documented above. Roughly +20% overclock on the GPU core (Which I'm considering as my "usual" overclock for now). Completely stable. 296.31 drivers. Ambient was 75.4F/24.1C. Laptop mounted on top of an XPad Slim. Fan was on manual/normal mode. Test was conducted from almost a cold boot, barring some BIOS flashing.

Most importantly, note in the attached GPU-Z log the max voltage. Stock turbo voltage is 1.1000V, with dips to 1.0870V. My highest voltage with this modded BIOS is 1.0500V, and it usually hovered at 1.0370V.

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EDIT: Attempting to run Vantage with 1200/1325 clocks results in crashing.

Crysis Warhead with 1140/1300 clocks, for a little more than an hour. Passive cooling with an XPad, and ambient was 77F-79F over the course of that hour. Using the undervolted BIOS. 296.31 drivers. GPU-Z log included.

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I'm a complete noob at these mods, but what is the purpose of undervolting?

 

Less voltage going thru the circuit means less heat generation. Every CPU or GPU is different, but manufacturers put a baseline voltage value for their products, which is always set pretty conservatively.

Getting a good undervolt can be pretty time consuming since it involves dropping the voltage going into your components tiny fractions at a time, runnning stress tests, and repeating until you can crash your system, at which point you knock the voltage back up to the last stable value and party hard.

 

Will undervolting reduce performance then? Also would the dropping of voltage be the same for each computer? Like would I need to do the tests myself or can I just use the values from Forge?

 

Should't be any performance loss undervolting unless you somehow damage your system, you're basically just getting rid of the unused current that's doing nothing but heating up your chip.

And I would imagine Forge is probably going with pretty aggressive undervolting values, so straight copying his values could lead to problems. Undervolting is alot safer then OCing though, since you're not at risk of burning out components.

 

Undervolting will not reduce performance, all other things being equal. In otherwords, if I have a 1140/1300 660M running at 1.1 volts and 1.05 volts, they'll perform exactly the same, save the 1.05v card will run cooler. However, undervolting will reduce the amount you can overclock.

As I like to say, no two components are the same. My GPU seems to run perfectly fine at 1.0370v and 1140/1300. Your card, on the other hand, might be able to run at 1.025v and 1200/1400 without a hitch... or it might crash at the slightest overclock or undervolt. You need to do a bunch of testing to get it working correctly. Cards are only warrantied/guaranteed to work at their stock settings, after all. Any overclock or undervolt you achieve is just icing on the cake.

Kinda-sorta. You'll only really burn out your GPU if you don't monitor your temperatures and let it bake inside your laptop. If you overclock more than your cooling system can handle, just rein in the clocks until the heat is more manageable.

Overclocking isn't for the faint of heart or the lazy, that's for sure.

 

I've been told overclocking isn't for the faint of heart, but how about undervolting?

I am perfectly fine with the performance of my ge60 with 660m and don't necessarily see any need of overclocking at this time. However, if the benefits from undervolting can help reduce temps, I'm all for that.

any instructions or things to read about undervolting?

 

Well, to be honest, I'm not really doing the undervolting myself. The GPU vBIOS is inside the system BIOS and is not edittable by programs like NiBiTor. Svl7 is actually editing the BIOS by hand (which I have zero idea how to do) and I'm just flashing it and testing the limits of dual undervolting/overclocking.

Since it's still a work in progress, he requested that the experimental BIOS not be distributed, which I'm of course honoring. However, you can PM him yourself and ask about the modded BIOS. If you want to be a fellow guinea pig, I can help you with flashing and testing.

Concerning undervolting vs overclocking, they're almost the same in terms of testing. Bump down voltage until your system is unstable, then go back to your last stable voltage and have at it. Since you're not interested in overclocking, I'll bet you'll manage an ice-cold GPU.

 

Just purchased the MSI GE60 from Newegg. I am planning on upgrading to a SSD drive eventually and I don't believe I was sent a restore CD to install windows on the new drive when I do upgrade it.

Before I install anything, I want to make sure I do what I need whether it be make a boot CD, etc. I need to know exactly what I need to do. What are the steps I should take so that I can transfer my OS and stock programs/drivers to the SSD?

 

I undervolted my last laptop for 4 years, the thing would never crash.
It's still working. Everyone in the forum said it ran great at far lower voltage, so I tried the setting they said. Took about 3 seconds.

Oh yeah, and I was undervolting and overclocking at the same time!

 

Over here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi...70-owners-lounge-post8650093.html#post8650093

 

I used WinToFlash along with the .iso Ben linked to make my bootable Wondows USB. There are many ways to do it, but that worked for me.

Take note you'll also need an .iso mounter (Daemon tools, Alcohol, etcetera) to load them onto your USB. WinToFlash recognizes folders, not .iso files.

 

guys by how much will the difference be between this and a Sager 9150 with a 7970?

 

um a sager 9150 with a 7970 will be reallly really far ahead...5542.3 for 3d mark 11 gpu vs 2347.8 thats almost 2x.

Hey forge I have a question on the Xpad slim you have, how much of a temp drop is it with one vs just on a wooden desk?

 

Was able to add 4 mini heat sinks to the back portion, it touches the plastic cover for sure but BARELY so there isn't really much flex or anything. Decreased Furmark temps by 5C which I am dumbfounded by. I wish I could get a couple of more of these things in there but the heatsink is only low in one spot.

Secondly, I want to undervolt the laptop for when I have it on my lap and am not gaming, anyone know what program can change the voltages on ivy bridge? I tried RM Clock but it wouldn't run. I also think finding the optimal voltage under load would drastically reduce heat, what do you guys think?

 

Here's hoping. Ivy Bridge puts out a good amount of heat. I've gotten into the habit of disabling Turbo Boost (setting Max processor state to 99% in power settings) if I'm ever gaming in a spot without decent AC because I'm paranoid about temperatures after burning out an Dell m1730 years ago. Among all the games on my computer the only ones I've seen it have an effect on is PCSX2 and Dolphin, which are both CPU heavy, and it keeps the cpu/gpu floating in the 75-80 range generally

 

So does anyone know what program to use?

 

Oddly enough I was making the same choice!

So strange to be choosing between such very different laptops, but it makes sense in an odd way, they are one of the best choices in their category.

The 7970 is more than 2x faster. My 3dmark11 score is 2594 without any overclocking set.

But still I chose the GE60, fast enough for my needs.

My effective price was a little over $1000 (sold the free xbox that came with it) which is drastically cheaper than the sager.

Also, the laptop is much lighter and somewhat thinner, making it significantly more portable.

The power brick is much lighter and smaller also (freakishly huge on sager), a big deal if you travel with it.

And the sound & speakers are much better, and the headphone jack isn't terrible like on the sager.

And the fan is much quieter at idle.

The sager is fantastic if you really need the 7970m, but not worth the cost/weight/size if you don't.

 

You know, to be honest, I don't know. I just know it would perform better than bare desk, but not as good as a true active cooler.

 

yoo! Anything to think about when putting an msata in? A

And is it easy to remove cd-drive and put an 2.5 SSD there instead?

Still doesnt have the GE60 but doing my last reseach before deciding between MSI GE60/Clevo W150ERM/Sager NP6165.

 

does anyone's ge60 heat up around the left hand/left palm rest during games? When I play d3, it's definately heating up and sometimes gets uncomfortable, even with the fan on max

 

The left palm rest appears to be where the hard drive would be located. the three heatpipes are directly in front of that also. May be where it's getting hot from.

 

Hmm. It appears that my 1140/1300 clocks at those voltages isn't completely stable. I seem to have some minor driver crashes while playing Stellar Impact (fun game, by the way). I think raising the voltage a tiny amount would get it perfectly stable.

Alternatively, I could dial back on the clocks, but I dunno. I like saying I have a 20% overclock. Nice round number.

 

Alright, so before I start, I'll mention that I'm a noob at upgrading anything other than the HDD and the RAM on laptops. However, I have to start somewhere, and it might as well be now.

So, question: is the GPU on the ge60 user-upgradable, or is it soldered to the motherboard? Judging from past MSI'S it shouldn't be soldered, but I heard somewhere that it was and I'm just checking.

Second, can any guide me to a helpful and thorough GPU upgrade guide, for any MSI computer, as long as it involves all the steps, such as changing the heatsink and whatnot.

 

The GPU is unfortunately soldered in the GE line laptops. (The GT ones' are upgradable.)

Any progress on the modded BIOS btw (assuming that it'll be published when it's relatively stable)?