Successfully running the i7 4930MX CPU in the Alienware 14 :D

Hello folks. Just wanted to update you all with the i7 4930MX CPU AW 14 experimentation. I got the the i7 4930MX this morning before 10:30 via Fedex International Priority and started the CPU upgrade process right away. It took me a couple hours since I wanted to be very gentle disassembling my AW 14. So when I put it all back together, I pressed the power button but nothing was turning on. I was panicking since I was thinking maybe I had fried the motherboard. Turns out that when I disassembled it again to check, I had forgotten to securely fasten some of the ribbon power cables. Once I did that, it powered fine. Unfortunately in the A08 BIOS, there is no option to change the multipliers or voltages there. However in ThrottleStop 7.00 Beta 1, turbo overclocking max is 80 and I am able to change the multipliers fine. I have done a max of 4.1 GHZ so far. Under TPL, I have the TDP level control unlocked which was was locked on the i7 4700MQ. Also unlike the i7 4700MQ which the PP0 Power Limit was limited to a max of 58, the i7 4930MX max limit is 83.

Anyway I did a quick video rendering test in Sony Vegas with a 30 second clip with Gaussian Blur and Glow Affects. I took a before and after picture of the video rendering results done with the i7 4700MQ at 3.5 GHZ (with BCLK overclock at 102 mHz) all cores first and then the i7 4930MX at 4.1 GHZ all cores. I have to say I am quite impressed with the performance and the temperatures were pretty okay under 100% load with this short test. Just to emphasize, I do have modified laptop coolers with desktop fans, mini-portable AC fans, HWINFO fan control I am using and I am still waiting on an ETS laptop extractor to put on the back vent to further optimize cooling. Again, will have to see how this is like in the long run under longer stress test but so far these short test have been promising. I'll post pictures of the video rendering test soon when I find a decent screen capturing program. I'm not too much a benchmark guy to be honest.

If you guys want to know the rendering times of the test before I post the pictures let me know.

EDIT: Pics below of the really short video render test.

This pic below was the render time for the i7 4700MQ at 3.5 GHZ with a BCLK overclock of 102.7mHz. For this one I forgot to take a picture of ThrottleStop with it.



The pic below was the render time for the i7 4930MX at 4.1 GHZ.



Again take this test with a grain of salt. It is just a short test to verify that the i7 4930MX is functional in the Alienware 14 (Haswell 2013 model). Based on this test, the i7 4930MX CPU overclocked at 4.1 GHZ cut the render time in half from 26 seconds to 13 seconds compared to the i7 4700MQ at 3.5 GHZ. Temperatures at the highest was 73 degrees Celsius for the i7 4930MX CPU at 4.1 GHZ under load. I know this wasn't a long test to test temperature but I still do plan to optimize the cooling once I get two ETS laptop heat extractors. Those will certainly help. I also am not really into doing high benching tests as mentioned earlier but I'll see.

EDIT 2: For all you AW 14 owners who are curious about upgrading to the i7 4930MX, I would say it is only worth it if you do any intensive video rendering or any other CPU heavy tasks. Also I would only do it if you have the necessary things to keep it cool like strong laptop coolers, heat extractors, AC fans and good thermal paste. In theory, an i7 4900MQ CPU would have been enough to hit 4.0 to 4.2 GHZ but because of the locked TDP at 47 and the lower maxed out PP Power Limit at 58 compared to 83 on the i7 4930MX, I went with the i7 4930MX.

Edit 3: Just a pic showing proof that I am running the i7 4930MX CPU in my AW 14 Haswell.

 

It would be nice to know if it is able to run without a external cooler. Not 100% stress but some normal stress. The 14 is a laptop most of us will travel around with, and not always can we take a cooler along.

 

@ destinationsky I'll do some test without the cooler and just use HWINFO64 fan control to max the fans to see how the temps are like under normal stress test. I honestly don't think I will be able to run 4.3 GHZ without getting it too temps getting it to hot without my modified cooling solutions. It should run fine however by using the standard or lowering the multipliers down whenever you can't take a cooler. I plan to optimize the cooling once more till I get my hands on 2 ETS laptop heat extractors for vents and and 4 Octopus fans to put underneath my modified cooler with the the 3 Sickler Desktop fans that I alread have. So far so good. But like I said, I'll do more normal stress test.

 

thanks for sharing the results. +1

 

Ha, I chuckled a bit when I read the title of this thread.

I suppose this is pretty cool to see, but you better keep monitoring programs open every second you're using that AW 14. Better safe than sorry. :thumbsup:

P.S. You should consider purchasing the 180W or 240W Alienware 17 PSU if you plan to overclock.

 

@J.Dre It is working fine. I am using a 330W PSU power brick and no shutdowns so far. The max temps I am getting at 4.1 GHZ overclocked all cores under normal load during video rendering is 73 degrees which is good enough for me since I don't do high heavy load benching. Like I said I do have some strong cooling mods with desktop fans which most likely contributed to the decent CPU temps I am having so far and still waiting for some more cooling radiators to extract more heat out from vents and further optimize cooling. HWINFO works a great ton as well. I always monitor my temps. Thanks for the advice. I will keep on updating with my findings.

 

Ah, okay, you already have a larger PSU. That's good.

I'd definitely be interested in seeing more.

 

@J.Dre three laptop turbines radiators are coming in this week along with four octopus fans to add to my already modified strong laptop desktop fan cooler. I will have some more test for you guys.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing that. Sounds pretty cool (pun intended).

 

@ Mr. Fox so glad I took the gamble and got the i7 4930MX for the AW 14. It might be overkill to some but for video editing it can shave quite a bit of rendering time for lengthy videos. So far it has been a week and I run it fine on all four cores at 4.0 or 4.1 GHZ under normal load.

I was able to get to 4.3 GHZ but just for a quick ThrottleStop bench. It crashed out on me at 4.4 GHZ ten seconds after a ThrottleStop bench due to low voltage (1.125 V) and too low a Dynamic Offset voltage.

Once I optimize my cooling solutions, I'll up the voltage lightly and play around with settings for higher overclock. As of now I don't see a need to overclock more than 4.1 or 4.2 GHZ as it already give me the needed bump and grunt for video editing and rendering.

 

This is awesome! Glad to see some 14 love.

 

It really is. Can't wait to do more tests.

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

Hi
Can you test with Cinebench 11.5
Please

 

Okay I will do a quick test.

Sent from my LG-VS410PP using Tapatalk 2

 

Can you upload a picture of this cooling setup you are currently using with it? I'm trying to visualize and having a difficult time, hehe. Props, by the way!

 

Hello
I look forward to see the results of the Cinebench 11.5 test. I just wished you tested with Wprime1024 too. Also hope and see what temperatures you get during these tests.

 

Hey there, sorry I haven't tested yet. I will say that when doing video editing, CPU gets to about high 80's, early 90's when running at 3.8 GHZ. I used to get better temps. I'm going to replace the AS5 silver paste with better paste and clean out the dust in my fans. I think this may be causing the high temperatures. In short Throttlestop Bench tests, temps are in the mid 80's when overclocked to 4.0 GHZ. If I repaste I might get better temps.

 

Hi
You should choose either ICD or Gelid extreme thermal grease. If you will use the best thermal grease sold, you can use Liquid Ultra. It's just Liquid Ultra that works if you want a higher Overclock on the the ekstreme processor.

 

I just bought a pack of Gelid Extreme!

 

What about the temps now? Was the change to Gelid Extreme worth it?

 

Hi senzazn12
I have a Alienware 14 R1 i7-4800MQ, NVIDIA GT 765M, 16GB RAM, 64GB mSATA Card *SSD*, 500GB Evo 850 SSD. I would like to upgrade to a i7-4940MX or i7-4980HQ, and I would like to know if possible and if you can help me to understand the most important things to take in mind before perform the change.
Is very difficult to do on my own? sorry for my English

Thank you!!!!!