*UPDATE* BIOS A14: Overclocking Enabled

Alienware 17 | Drivers and Downloads | DELL

Enjoy, but be cautious. Overclocking can damage internal components.

J.Dre

 

This BIOS update seems to be working well, so far.

Spoiler

EDIT: After running some benchmarks and monitoring temperatures, I am happy to say that this BIOS update is good in my book. Happy downloading. :thumbsup:

 

running a 4800MQ .. OC LV1 seams stable and a bit better than stock. Finally a good bios.

 

flashed but really need help finding the settings in the BIOS.

 

I think they did adjust the fan tables a bit to account for the extra overclock. With A13, at the same overclock, my CPU would reach over 94C on 3DMark 11.

Good job, Alienware. There are still two more levels yet to be seen, though! Then it's truly an unlocked BIOS.

 

Before:

Spoiler

After:

Spoiler

Hit enter on that white part in the "before" picture, then you should see OC LV 1. Select it by pressing enter. F10 to save and restart.

 

ah ok, thanks for that! might give it a spin!

 

Does this void warranty if you do this. I also have the 4800mq processor. Can you set how much overclock or is it a pre set amount you toggle on or off. Sorry if questions seem childish bit I'm new at this stuff but eager to learn all I can.

 

I had that working already for my 4900MQ from the previous versions of bios... I guess it allows overclocking now for a lower CPU's as well.

 

set to OC lvl 1 and seeing it boost up to 3.6ghz is nice.

will see how stable it is.

 

No, it will not, as long as you do not edit the clock speeds and voltages. If you alter them, and your system explodes or catches fire, it may not be covered.

This BIOS update is considered "factory overclock" from Alienware.

Yeah, the 4900MQ and 4910MQ came factory overclocked before this update. The rest of the CPU's did not, including the 4930MX, which made no sense whatsoever. I believe some of the 4940MX configurations of the Alienware 18 also came factory overclocked before this new BIOS was released. Now they're all factory overclocked!

 

CPU-Z is showing my 4700MQ peaking at 3.6

awesomes!

 

3.8Ghz on four cores, seems to work with the AW17 and 4900MQ combo as well. Finally the factory overclocked option is true.

 

if it's a factory OC then it should be stable.

EDIT: Theorectically what can a CPU OC improve? tesselation?

 

Updating the BIOS does not void warranty, and neither does overclocking beyond what Alienware recommends (but you'll lose support if you go over the supported clocks; to get supoort back, go back to the max supported clock speeds).

 

Is there still a limit of 4600 rpm on cpu fan? Starting fans faster than before? (Usually starts the fans long after the temperature has risen)

 

If your OC the system you should Definately have a cooling pad .... im finally at a stable 3.9 turbo boost on a 4800

 

No need for a cooling pad if they have selected the correct thermal grease on its processor.

 

CPU OC can increase minimum frame rates. It can increase fps in games that are heavily cpu bound. It can also reduce rendering time. All depends on the CPU workload. The factory OC profile,performance wise, is a 200mhz increase. It's 6% faster at best. So you wouldn't really notice it much. Overclocking by let's say 800mhz from 3.6ghz to 4.4ghz, now that would be a much better increase at almost 20% faster.

Either way I'm hoping Alienware is going toward the right direction with their high performance systems. I believe this bios also allows us to overclock further by increasing the turbo ratios, but I haven't played with that since the A03 or A05 bios, I believe it was.

 

My 4930MX is finally running stable & cool at 4.3GHz. I'm glad they finally released a decent BIOS.

 

Downloaded, going to install later today

Edit:
Flashed and running smooth. Have not tested anything, but I did run the microsoft index thing... went up .1 !

I will see about benching tonight when I get off work.

 

Should work out pretty well. So far, everyone has had nothing but good results with the latest BIOS.

If anyone needs any help or advice, don't hesitate to ask. Better safe than sorry if you're new to overclocking.

 

I just changed nothing at all but the lvl 1 option....
Only other overclocking I have ever done is on my 3570k in my desktop.

I did just play a few rounds of titanfall on lunch, didnt see any change really, but the 780m crushes titanfall anyways.

 

I think voltage on Vcore is too high (1.278mv Vcore that I see you as on maximum) under this new bios Overclock profile. At the same time, I see that there is a too high temperature on your processor under this 3dmark11 test (probably because of the high voltages of Vcore) The temperature is 10-15 degrees too high for processor under this 3DMark 11 test. I also see that there is a too low score on your physics test in 3dmark11, you should have over 10.000p on the physics test. I prefer xtu and trottlestop when I have much more adjustment options for overclocking. Why use this bios overclocking profile, when Xtu does a much better job?

 

Because I don't need to use XTU.

You can use it. I don't care. Go for it, lol.

 

Now that more people have the option of overclocking their processor, maybe have som test With Cinebench 11.5 and Wprime 1024 (with 8 threads) and for checking temperature and stability of the processor? Maybe post some results on their score and the temperature of the processor? :hi2:

 

Installed and running on mine. Activated OC level 1 and had to repaste as I was getting thermal throttling once OCed. On that note....how long do you guys get between repastes? I seem to be doing it every 2 -3 months....

 

3-6 months is about what I do, but I barely use my computer these days. Depends on the paste you have.

 

The only thing Dell has done is to increase the actual voltage on Vcore. As well and increasing clock frequency. It is no wonder that the processor becomes too hot. This will even be a bigger and bigger problem later. After a little while the temperature will increase more and more (thermal grease is going to depreciate very quickly due to the temperature). Dell should also fix an even better fan profile when they are increasing volts. Cpu fan is far too slow to start when the temperature increases. If people use this overclocking profile, they should put on a new and better thermal grease. Even worse are the problem to be with an even higher Overclock.

 

Thermal issues are going to be a major problem due to the overclocking profile that Dell's engineers have made​​. They have given a too high voltage on the processor, and many will even be bothered with thermal throttling. Test with Cinebench, Wprime and Hwinfo64 for and see that everything is ok. The only pasta that works is Liquid Ultra and it will even last 1 year without problems.

 

I paste every 3-4 months when I do my chassis cleanings... dust sucks

 

Company of Heroes is one of the game titles that cpu struggling. Then maybe overclocking help the processor.

 

I have 4800mq and after bios flash and changing to oc lv1 in games I noticed my cpu fan was running a little higher than normal.i thought it was because of overclock I did in bios so went into bios and turned off overclock lv1 and tried to game again but cpu fan was the same. So it seams they changed the fan profile a little to accommodate for people overclocking their cpus.

 

I don't think I even need to overclock my 4800mq with 770m gpu until I install a 980m or so gpu do i.
I quoted myself by accident.thats funny I didn't know it would let you do that

 

They definitely adjusted the fans a tiny bit, but they can still be improved much more... Custom fan profiles are still better.

 

The problem with the fan profile is that the cpu fan does not start until after the temperature has settled down again. CPU can go up to let's say 60 degrees and then go back down to 45 degrees after a few seconds. Then starting the fan and spin. If you have an awesome Overclock with a bad thermal grease does not the fan reach and cool the processor, and the computer just shuts down. This avoids one with and apply a good thermal grease.

 

That's exactly the problem. I don't know why they haven't fixed it. It's like there's a delay in the fan response time.

Maybe it's programmed to spin up only after X seconds at Y temperature. That's dumb. It should react instantaneously.

 

That has def been my experience as well. By the time the temperature starts rising, especially under stress tests like XTU, the temp spikes fast and hard and the fans just take way to long to kick in. As long as I am in a fairly new paste job then I am fine but after a month or two the fans just take to long and I am hitting thermal throttling.

 

The laptop does not get any quieter with the fans start spinning when the temperature has already dropped. When you turn on the fans with hwinfo, they start immediately, so I do not understand what technicians to dell are doing.

 

No the 4800MQ will not be a bottle neck with the 770m.

 

i'm also interested in getting 980m once the install process for it has been determined and that it works.

 

Perhaps you should go for Liquid Ultra? I have used it for almost 9 months and temperatures have not increased at all

 

Any news about Wake on USB? I think not...

 

I have the wake on usb in A14 bios.

 

i noticed that Liquid Ultra is difficult to replace( Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra: Application Problems And Clean-Up - Thermal Paste Comparison, Part Two: 39 Products Get Tested) while some said it only last usually one year or so, how feasible to use this material without risk of further trouble?

 

overclocked processors are often a little warmer than a processor that runs at standard clock speed, especially if you increase volts. As I said earlier in the post, so I have used Liquid Ultra in 9mnd now without increasing the processor temperature. So that such thermal grease only last Usually one year or so, that I do not believe. If you carefully follow the operating instructions (video and manual) and listen to the experiences of others, it is not hard to apply as well and remove the grease without damaging anything. There are some that use electrical tape around the processor die because they are afraid that Liquid Ultra squeeze out during mounting the the heatsink on the CPU. The important thing is not to apply too much and as well as not to spill unde application of Liquid Ultra. :thumbsup:

 

If you want to overclock, use Liquid Ultra. If you don't plan to overclock beyond 4.3GHz, use IC Diamond. (The GPU does not need Liquid Ultra.)

I'm running at 4.3GHz and never see above 90C with IC Diamond while gaming. When I do, I will re-paste.

 

I'll be using Gelid GC Extreme soon for re-paste from the stock TIM, heard about it here on NBR. As I'm not having an MX processor and on GPU it would suffce right ?

 

Just curious will this bios work on my m17xr3 ?

 

No .. Each new generation motherboards have their own bios :hi2: