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    Why is Overclocking Disabled in the BIOS?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by starwars_fan, Apr 6, 2011.

  1. starwars_fan

    starwars_fan Notebook Enthusiast

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    I was wondering why the overclocking options in the m17xR2 BIOS are grayed out and how to enable overclocking.
     
  2. Necrotopsy

    Necrotopsy Notebook Consultant

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    what cpu do you have? if it's not a 920XM or a 940XM then overclocking in the bios = no go.
     
  3. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    You asked your question here, and your question was directed here , where I answered it here 2.5 weeks ago. :p

    This bios will allow you to access the overclocking features. A10 modded bios
     
  4. starwars_fan

    starwars_fan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Intel Core i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60 GHz
    I've never overclocked anything before, but I'm interested in making my computer perform well. I'm very new to this, so I'd like to know why this is so. I was told that one way was to download a non-official BIOS, but I was not comfortable doing that. Is there any way to overclock with the processor I have?

    EDIT: Thank you for pointing me there, but I am interested in why this is the case. Why is the only way to obtain a 5% factory overclock to use a modded BIOS? Why can't it be done on the normal BIOS if it came that way from Dell? After I got my computer, I bought another hard drive and had to reinstall windows after setting them up in RAID 0. Does this mean that I lost the original 5% overclock? It's good to be shown what to do to overclock, but I'm also interested in the why behind it. :)
     
  5. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    SetFSB, gotta pay to get the validation key, it's $5 to Abo, the SetFSB author. Then use the Asus G73 PLL.
     
  6. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    Asus G73 PLL, then hit Get FSB, use the arrows to adjust the MHz, then click Set FSB. Everything is highlighted below


    Click Asus G73 PLL (Bottom of list), Click Get FSB
    [​IMG]


    Overclocked After SetFSB clicked
    [​IMG]


    Move up two at a time till you crash it, and you can find the limits, run CPU benches like wprime, and superpi to test for stability. Monitor Temps, and such

    No way to make it permant though as you need to set the FSB each time you boot.
     
  7. starwars_fan

    starwars_fan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you very much. Sorry to bother you by asking the same thing again that I asked 2.5 weeks ago. I did want to know some new/clarifying things, though. Anyone know anything about the questions I asked in the EDIT above?
     
  8. GrandpaNoob72

    GrandpaNoob72 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Bottom line, you can overclock by changing BIOS settings, or by using software running within your OS. HOWEVER, there are some caveats...

    As far as the BIOS OC goes, whether you can OC or not depends on whether you have an unlocked processor. By that, I mean that it has an "unlocked" multiplier (built-in limitation) which allows you to increase the operating speed by changing multiplier settings from within the BIOS, which you DO NOT have to go back and reset to your desired speeds every time you boot the computer. Once you find the sweet spot for your multiplier, FSB, and et al, you go into BIOS, set it, and forget it. Generally, processors with the "Extreme" designation come with unlocked multipliers. As stated,

    "if it's not a 920XM or a 940XM then overclocking in the bios = no go."

    However... Back in the days of the old AMD Barton cores, etc, there were folks who experimented with pencil trace tricks and whatnot to bypass their processor's multiplier locks. Nowadays, I haven't heard of any such experiments lately, given the more ready availability and more importantly, the affordability of the "Extreme", "Black", or whatever processors...

    Now, you have a relatively nice processor, but I don't see the "X" in the nomenclature, so that would lead me to believe that it is in fact LOCKED as far as the multiplier. Think of the modded BIOS as a modern-day pencil trick...

    As to software-based OCs, that's the one you can increase or decrease the FSB on until you find the sweet (read: STABLE) spot more quickly than changing in BIOS, reboot, test, crash, bring it back down, etc. The PITA is that if you do not have an unlocked processor / multiplier, you can't really figure out where the sweet spot is, then go into BIOS and change it, so you have to set it every time you boot into your OS.

    EDIT: Something was bugging me, so I looked at TigerDirect, and they CLAIM to have some "non-X" processors for sale that come with unlocked multipliers, but I'm not so sure, it may just be a stepping issue... Take a look Processors Unlocked Multiplier at TigerDirect.com.

    Keep in mind, I couldn't find any MOBILE processors advertised... :confused2:
     
  9. starwars_fan

    starwars_fan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you very much, that was informative. The only question I have left is how a processor comes factory overclocked to 5% (if indeed it does, as I was led to believe by this being an option if one uses the modded bios) while still using the standard BIOS.
     
  10. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    Dell has the bios overclock option only limited to the XM cpus. Your only options are the modded bios or SetFSB. Its the way Dell programmed the bios which is why the modded bios patched that issue.
     
  11. GrandpaNoob72

    GrandpaNoob72 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I can't really speak to WHY you might have received it with a 5% OC right out of the box, but if I were a betting man, I would say that what you're thinking of as a "normal" BIOS is in all actuality a modded BIOS...

    Consider: If the processor is quoted to run at speed X from the factory, and indeed has an unlocked multi, if you pair that with a BIOS that limits whether or not you can use the unlocked multi to increase your speed to X + Y%, then the company gets to claim that they OC'd the processor from the factory / factory specs, by whatever % increase their BIOS allows.

    I could be wrong, but thinking about the whole "OC edition" you see with certain graphics cards...
     
  12. starwars_fan

    starwars_fan Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you very much Dr650SE, GrandpaNoob72, and Necrotopsy. I now know the information that I was seeking. Thank you again for your help.
     
  13. starwars_fan

    starwars_fan Notebook Enthusiast

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    One thing that made me think that it might have come with a 5% overclock was that the thread about the modded BIOS mentioned a 5% factory overclock option that it had. I may very well be mistaken. Windows Experience Index may or may not be a reliable test of system performance, but if it makes any difference, my current score is 7.0 when it used to be 7.4 when I first got the computer (before reloading the operating system because I switched to RAID 0). After reloading windows, it went down to 6.0, but I updated my drivers recently (although I did install drivers directly after reloading the operation system, as well) and it came up to 7.0 (and 7.1 one time that I did it). This also makes it seem as if it was possible that my computer was factory overclocked before. I may remember the turbo option in BIOS not being grayed out at one point, but I could be mistaken there, too.