Was the Qx9300 better for me then 940x I7

I origanally bought an M17x R1 a year and half ago. The specs for it were Qx9300, 8GB 1333ram, 500GB hdd, SLI 260m's. The computer was a beast when it worked. I could OC it up to 2.93Ghz stabily, just with factory OC. I use it for architectual programs and rendering that can push the cpu to 100% for extended period of times and max out 8GB of ram. On multiple occanions even when not OC the system, when pushed hard, would either freeze up or the graphics cards would fail and the screen would go black. Dell ended up replacing the system after replacing every part in the comp. They gave me a brand new M17x R2 due to not having any refurbished systems with my specs.

The R2's specs are I7 940x, 8GB 1333ram, SLI 285m's, 500GB hdd, and LED display. After pushing this comp pretty hard in the programs I typically use, I feel like the Qx9300 handled the programs better. I also see a small hold up every once in awhile which I feel is being caused when the cpu switches between turbo modes.

So I guess I have two questions. One being how the turbo mode on the cpu works. From what I notice it stays in turbo mode when I'm not doing anything intensive. Then when I push it hard, say a benchmark test, it drops out of turbo mode. This would mean that all 4 cores are running at 2.2Ghz right? Where as the qx9300 would be running all 4 cores at 2.93Ghz OC. I do have the I7 factory OC by 5% but that barely makes a difference.

 

I did just order 8GB of Kingston Hyperx memory at 1600. I dont expect it to make much of a difference due to already having 8GB of stock 1333ram. My current timings are 8-9-9-24 and I dont know if the hyperx will get much lower then that but thats fine. I'm a little worried about it running hotter to and not being able to OC which ive seen some people having problems with but im going to try it. I am also waiting for the C400 series SSD's to come out so I can upgrade the mechanical hdd which I think will be a pretty good upgrade. I know I wont be able to use the maximum performance of the C400 series due to only having SATA II but I heard they are going to have better firmware which im hoping will solve any problems with the R2 and SSD's.

 

have a look at the 940xm overclocking thread. Use throttlestop and raise the TDP.

 

I did mess with some of that but I got the BSOD a couple of times so I just got away from it and never tried it again yet. But what exactly does throttlestop do. does it just modify the turbo settings or will it raise the FSB for all 4 cores

 

ThrottleStop can be used to raise the multipliers as high as you like. It can also be used to raise the turbo TDP/TDC limits which allows your CPU to use more turbo boost when it is fully loaded. Don't let one BSOD discourage you from using it and learning more about it.

An R2 with a 940XM and SLI is one of the most powerful laptops on the planet but it's not going to adjust itself. If you want it to run at full speed then it's up to you to learn more about it. Head to the R2 benchmark thread and start reading. It's only 615 pages.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...icial-m17x-benchmark-thread-part-3-a-615.html

If you do some reading and ask some questions there I'm sure they will be happy to help you get the most out of your R2.
There are many examples of setting up ThrottleStop to maximize performance starting on page 1 of that thread.

 

Here is a good read as well and should get you up and running on using TS with the 920xm/940xm. Trust me and others take you time and learn how to use TS and it can significantly increase performance of your laptop. BSOD is normal when you are testing and pushing the CPU. Once you find a good combination of TDP/TDC and a stable multiplier than you will have no issues with BSOD.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ion-xm-processors.html?highlight=manipulation

 

Yeah im still new to overclocking and I just had the Qx9300 figured out when dell decided to replace. So now I got the I7 and it just seems like a total different game. And the only reason im hesitant on overclocking it further is im just so nervous about ruining anything. My comp is very important to my work and I'm just sick of not having a stable computer. I had an xps 1710 before this which never crashed. Of course I didnt pus it this hard but now I just have gotten used to my comp crashing and thats not the way it should be for a $5k laptop.

I'll give it some more attention though. BSOD is not harmful at all to the computer or hdd? Also could some please teach me about when the turbo kicks in and when it clicks off. For example does it come on during high stress or low stress?

 

Turbo boost is used pretty much all the time except when the CPU is idle. The default multiplier for a Core i7-940XM is 16. Anytime any thread is averaging a multiplier greater than 16 means that thread has been using using turbo boost. The table on the right hand side of ThrottleStop shows you in real time exactly what each thread is up to and you can watch turbo boost in action.

When there is any sort of load on your CPU, the amount of turbo boost can be constantly varying hundreds of times a second based on TDP/TDC power consumption of the CPU, how many cores are in the active state working and also based on how you have ThrottleStop or your bios set up. The bios version you are using also determines how much turbo boost you will end up with.

These new CPUs work a lot differently compared to your previous QX9300 but a new laptop shouldn't be crashing all the time. It would be nice if you could buy a high performance laptop and plunk it down on your desk and have it work 100% reliably out of the box but that's rarely the case with any cutting edge technology. The drivers and bios that are shipped with a laptop usually need to be updated. This might be the source of your stability problems.

 

I get bluescreens and hard restarts whenever I have throttlestop enabled as well. I thought 72 TDP and default 62 TDC was relatively conservative compared to a lot of people who post on the benchmarks thread. I pretty much have to stick with the 62/62 default and just have throttlestop turned on at that (not sure if it improves performance at all in this configuration) to avoid these problems.

 

I have a few questions now and a new benchmarking addiction. However I'm still confused as what the TDP and TDC are doing. I seems as if I need to get my TDP over 100 to try and hit multiplyers of at least 25, but that just brings on the heat. I do have it factory OC'ed 5% with 150v. Another question I had to is what TS its actually doing over stock. Is it pushing all four cores higher? Does it affect the machine when TS is turned off?

From here it shows the multipliers are set to 27 in TS but TS is turned off yet CPU-z still shows the CPU running at a multiplyer of 27. Then when I turn TS on nothing changes. I also tried a rendering on both machinces, my R1 soon to get returned and the R2 with TS on and once off. The rendering took 2 minutes and 10 seconds on the R1, OC'ed to 2.8 in the BIOS. The R2 with TS running but turned off also 2 minutes and 10 seconds then with TS turned on the rendering also took 2.10. So am I doing something wrong. I can also only hit a maximum multiplyer of 22, even though their set at 27.

Here are some screen shots showing the non difference with the multiplyer with TS turned on and off

 

thought i would mention that if you put the laptop in "high performance" mode in the energy options, it will force your laptop to be at max turbo boost all the time.

that cpu IS overclocked. stock bios overclock is 3.5 Ghz, that's at 3.78 Ghz. what's your issue?

 

I also can't break 9.000 seconds in wprime using 8 threads and a 940x. What settings are you guys using to get 7.000 seconds.



I just noticed to that after waking up the comp and running this test shown above it took the factory OC off. The 5% OC would se the bus to 140 and its only showing 133.

 

Well before when I was running some test with OCCT. THe program would be at idle and the turbo would be maxed out. Then when I would start OCCT the multiplyer would drop to 16 and run all four cores at 2.2Ghz. I'm just trying to figure out if all four cores are running at 3.7?

 

Your TDP setting 95/62 is huge variance. I would run it at like 90/75 and see how that goes you normally want a spread of like 5-15w between TDP/TDC. That should help increase power to the chip and help you keep your multipliers higher for longer. On my 920xm my 4th core was the weakest and could not go at 27x stable but i was able to take core 1 as high as 29x stable and 30x for quick bench. I would play with individual cores and lower TDP to 90 and increase tdc to 68-75 and see how it goes. I have got wprime as low as 6.999 on m15x....and m17x with FSB and TS should easily beat that

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...icial-m17x-benchmark-thread-part-3-wprime.jpg