Calling Potential Overclockers for the Alienware 17

Hello I just wanted to share some of the success I've had with getting the absolute best performance out of this system. First off I'm running a stable 4.0GHz on the CPU on all four cores. Second I have the GPU at a stable 1045MHz for all your gaming needs. To start off I'll run through the settings on the cpu so many of you can achieve the same performance. The start up of this was taken from Mr. Fox's guide for the Alienware 18 so some of the credit obviously goes to him!

BIOS ~ Let us take a look at these settings



CPU ~ Let us take a look at my XTU Settings: *Updated* Once More ~ to solve some throttling issues





GPU ~ Let us take a look at my Nvidia Inspector Settings (Settings REQUIRE svl7 vbios): *Updated* ~ to solve some long term high load stability issues



After applying these settings ~ 3DMark11 Results http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7847935

Software ~ ThrottleStop 6.00 Settings ~ Please See This Thread For ThrottleStop 6.1 Beta http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...arket-upgrades/531329-throttlestop-guide.html



laptop Cooler Used ~ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G603E2/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If any of you have any questions at all let me know, Also if anyone sees room for improvement I'm all ears.

Thermal Paste Used: Prolimatech PK - 2 (CPU & GPU)
Power Consumption: Anywhere from 225W to 250W) ~ PSU 330W
Heat Output: Full Load ~ 99% CPU 93*C & Full Load ~ 99% GPU Mid 80's*C
Fans: 11.7 & 10CFM Mod From M18x R2 GPU Fan & M14x R2 CPU Fan Respectively (Check eBay)

 

What do you run to get the full load CPU temp?

What's the full load CPU power read in TS?

Try running Intel Linpack: Intel® Math Kernel Library. It will push maximum amount of heat possible on the CPU.

 

I usually just run intel xtu stress test for 15min is this not sufficient?

And throttlestop spikes anywhere from 70 to 86 watts on full load.

 

Nice! Thanks for sharing your experience

 

AVX2 Linpack would push more heat than XTU stress test. But then again it's not really a realistic situation. Useful only to find stability and maximum computation power, by pushing maximum amount of heat on the CPU.

You can run Intel Burn Test (it's uses AVX Linpack) and see the max temp you get. Add another 8-10C on those temps, you are looking at what you will get on AVX2 Linpack.

For what's worth, the max sustained power I can reliably push on my 4930MX is about 86W.

 

You should be able to push it higher on the AW 17. I haven't tried, but it defaults to 95W.

 

That's a whole lot better than the horrible 55W default Processor Current Limit that still needs to be fixed on the AW18. It is really silly that this has to be set manually every time you boot up the AW18. The default (per Intel specs) is supposed to be 95W, so it's a mystery why they haven't taken the appropriate steps to correct this BIOS configuration problem. However, 95W is actually not enough to achieve expected performance from a 4930MX. It still power throttles needlessly with 95W and around 125W minimum is needed at 4.3GHz to hold clock speeds under load. Having the 95W default Processor Current Limit is good for stock CPU speeds (no overclocking at all) and it might work well enough for 4.0GHz. I believe around 112 to 116W would be better than 95W at 4.0GHz.

 

I've made some updates, Increased the current limits respectively. I'll be testing if wattage will need adjusting. Thanks for the feedback!

 

Good points. This is where that 330W PSU would come in handy for the AW 17. Alienware does need to address the issue with the AW 18. I'm surprised they haven't, yet. I think we did a pretty good job with that petition on IdeaStorm, though. Hopefully it gets something moving soon. :thumbsup:

@Hack: Glad you're doing this with the AW 17. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

Of course that's why I needed the 330W PSU I needed more power! Always willing to push my system to the max. Again feedback is appreciated.

 

With the latest ThrottleStop, one does not need to set the power everytime you reboot the machine. It sticks for me. Both the short max power, long max power and current limits.

Something that needs mentioning. Say a situation where a CPU is dissipating 80W of power, the temperature can be drastically different depending on the stress test.

Dell probably limit the power on the 18 that way, because they most likely know that the system will run out of power when pushed hard. Perhaps they only realized it late, after mass production has started. It's likely that they design of the mainboard is finished long before they receive the first engineering sample of Haswell CPU from Intel.

 

You mentioned this about throttlestop yet is it still not publicly available or am I wrong? Because I would very much like that power feature, now my settings are saved on every restart but as you stated when the system is turned off and on power settings are lost.

 

Thanks man! I was wondering why my 4900mq should be factory overclocked to 4.0Ghz but only shows 3.8Ghz on a single thread bench, now I know why. Question, I thought that when you plug a 330w (e.g from AW18) psu to the AW17, it would only use the 240W of the 330W? Did you mod the PSU or the stock Dell psu is enough?

 

Stock is fine I'm using anywhere from 245 to 255W right now and that is with 99% on the gpu core and 40% on the CPU core. So "normal" usage is still not enough to get close to 330W but my watt meter definitely doesn't stop at 240 and shutdown . I thought PSU mods were needed to but none are for the Alienware 17 .

 

Thanks! I'm sold on the 330w I have already ordered the 10 and 11.7 cfm fans. Got a lot of info from this thread. Much appreciated!

 

That is what the thread is for I'm glad you have got what you needed. Also if you have any other questions be sure to ask! We can keep this thread alive for any Alienware 17 overclocker.

 

Go find UncleWebb's profile on NBR, then check his signature. There should be a link there for the latest version of TS. It's now TS 6.10.

 

Perfect thanks!

 

Hei
Is it the same power connector to the new alienware m18 as m17?

 

Power connector? I'm not exactly sure what you mean. Do you mean can you use the 330 watt PSU with the Alienware 17 that is from the 18 yes, you can.

 

Thank you.
google translate

 

seems like AW 17 is power limited. I got 330w psu from aw 18 but nothing changed...it just mainboard limited....no way to unlock it seems.. i went back to my 240.

 

I use the 330W fine and I draw upwards of 290wats from it

 

Can the 330w psu be purchased?

 

Yeah from eBay or Amazon. I purchased 1 genuine 330watt supply for £54.99 with free postage. I tested my AW 18's 330watt supply on my 17 before purchasing another 330watt. My aw 17 does indeed draw off around 280-300 watts under full load when over clocked. It also shows as 330watt in my bios too.

eBay Link