*OFFICIAL* Alienware M18xR1/R2/18 Benchmark Thread - Part 3

No, look at the XTU screenshot I posted. Core Voltage is set at 1.275V with Adaptive Mode and 125mV offset. This allows the CPU to draw more voltage if it needs to, but without forcing the issue. At 45x4 I had 1.400V set for the actual Core Voltage minimum. WHEA 0x124 STOP errors are usually an indication of not having enough voltage. If I set 1.275V with no offset in static mode I will get a BSOD in 3DMark11 Physics test at 43x4.

 

I use static mode as I don't like the voltage spike in adaptive mode. In my opinion, Intel made it too safe, and it pulls too much voltage than needed in synthetic benchmark/stress test.

There's no way I can run it at 4.3GHz stable, unless I do some mods to the cooling. Even 4.1 is pushing it somewhat. I got some help from the weather since it's monsoon season here and it rains all day everyday right now, so ambient temp is slightly lower.

If I have time I will test out 3Dmark11 with 4.2GHz, and see what static voltage is stable.

 

Yup, if it is hot weather where you are and you don't live in a very chilly air conditioned room there's no way you'll be able to run the 4930MX at 4.3GHz with manageable temps... ain't gonna happen.

 

hi , i still do not know how to post a screenshot whit win8 ,,,
i received mine Yesterday and after all a tried a 3dm06 that give me 26xxx points , then a vantage 34xxx and a 3dm11~10xxx .
the bios should be an h2o ok, the core 4900mq is limited to 3800mhz i think but he can go until 4ghz ,,, is this possible whit an unlocket bios and whitch one would you recommand to me ?
other fact is that on the screen that shows the components i dont see any advice of msata just OS (C 687gb DATA + (D 10gb , 2 BD-ROM (E and G ) ?!!?
my 780ms are settet : gpu clock 771mhz / memory 1250mhz / boost 797mhz ,,, i tried to oc the gpu whit afterburner and evga precision but the max oc is + 135mhz on the core...

it goes to 4ghz

 

Ok, so i did a re-paste with AC-5. The processor is a lot cooler. I have descovered why my GPU temps were so high. The GPU heat sink post is broken ON GPU 0. I was woundweing how you all think that i should handle this when I call Alienware. GPU 0 is running about 7 to 8 hotter then GPU1. The re paste got the temps down a few degrees, but I would like to get a new post for the heat sink. 3 out of 4 screws would explaine the temp diff. I am afraid that they will void my warranty if I call about this. I dont know. What do you guys think?

 

This should not void your warranty. This is a result of improper assembly at the factory and it is not like they haven't seen other examples of improper assembly. You discovered the problem and you potentially saved them a lot of money because they would not be able to identify the problem through a remote diagnosis. Did you take a photo so you can show them? That would be very helpful. You are speaking about one of the four posts that are on the support plate that the heat sink screws attach to, correct?

Are you a US customer? If so, just call 1-800-ALIENWARE and let them know what you found. They should be willing to send you the part or dispatch a technician to your residence to replace it. Or, if you are a North American customer, you could shoot a PM over to Luis Porras with your service tag and contact number to start the process that way. The fastest way would be to call them. I doubt you will have any problem at all once you explain what the problems were and how you identified it.

 

Hey Mr. Fox. I was hopping you would show up. Yes that is correct. It is the number 1 post on the left GPU. The screws were really smoked on there. I was carefully when I want to take it off, however I didn't start with screw 1. When I got to it I had discovered it was broken. Yes I took pictures, but with no date on it.

Is the left GPU as you are looking at the screen GPU 0 ? Thanks for the advice. I am going to give them a call. The part probably isn't that much money, it just sucks that I can't enjoy my new paste job temps . Thanks again.

 

Ok. while I am waiting on the phone with Alienware, I figured I would share my new Samsung 840 Pro RAID 0 bench. I like these numbers. They are much faster than my Crucial M4s. I typed this with 1 finger.

 

All is good. Thanks Mr. Fox. They are going to send someone to Illinois where I am at. I told them that I could change that heat sink mount myself, in like an hour. They told me that they would prefer to send a tech . I asked him if the tech would be coming from far away. He said yes. Wow! For a $ 10 part.
Anyway he will be here next week. Question. Do you think it would be wise to flash back to the original vbios before he comes ? I am not sure, but I don't think they would like that. I am guessing.

 

The technicians are not Dell employees and won't care about the vBIOS. Having a firmware mod does not void your warranty. If having it causes damage that damage is not covered under warranty but everything else is still covered. If you feel more comfortable, flash back the stock vBIOS. Otherwise, don't worry about it. Glad they are getting it sorted for you so quickly. North American Alienware Support rocks. Yes, the left GPU is GPU0, right is GPU1. Unless you prefer to call them GPU1 and GPU2, in which case is it GPU1, LOL. If you call it GPU0 all the techies will know which one that is. It's the GPU1 that needs clarification sometimes.

 

Why not call it first GPU and second GPU?

 

where is the msata 64gb ?

 

If it's a cache drive you won't see it there. Try installing/opening Intel RST and you'll be able to see it there.

If it's not a cache drive, check the disk manager and you'll be able to activate and/or format it in there and it will then show as the other drives do 'my computer'.

 

hi i tried aquamark3 but i wont start then at last i find one here .... Hotfix HWBOT Aquamark3 Wrapper V2.27 Available For Download in it you can set the number of cores to bench ,,,, the fact is i tried to save the screen whit result but when a past it on paint it will give only a black screen .. any idea ?
to make a screenshot i press fn+prt scrn then i past it in paint ,,,

 

BCLK to 107.8 running 1866mhz memory at 2000 mhz lol
now my ramdisk feels a tiny bit faster and its awesome
just need for my 32gb get here.. at 2000 mhz!

 

Download the version of Aquamark3 from HWBOT.org and it should provide an alternate score window and help you with the screen shot.

Here's my last best run... should look like this...



Don't burn a lot of calories on overclocking the video cards. This benchmark is so old that, like 3DMark05 and 3DMark06, it is very CPU dependent.

 

Here are my new M18xR2 high scores...

---

Futuremark Benchmarks

3DMark11: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M SLI card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - P17197 3DMarks	Vantage: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - P48415 3Marks
3DMark11 Extreme: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M SLI card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - X6897 3DMarks	Vantage Extreme: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - X32852 3Marks
Fire Strike: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - 10685 3Marks

 

Jesus Christ Fox, you never cease to dissapoint :thumbsup:.

 

I owe my life to JC, but benching... not so much, LOL.

I learned that art from the best... Brother Johnksss.

 

LOL!
You have past the master! Great job!!

 

Thank you, sir.

Only because of your help and influence. The cold temperatures outside right now also did not hurt. I spent some time on the patio instead of benching on AC in the office. My feet and fingers got pretty cold out there, LOL.

 

Not quite that cold, but it sure as heck feels like it! I have the a window open now and it's pretty chilly out.

 

have you a link please ... and on the top what is the program that show the core speed and temp ,,,?
how can i proced to flash the bios of my 780m s ( is there a thread ? )

 

You can download this and other benchmarks from this page at HWBOT.org

The desktop gadget is the HWiNFO64 gadget. If you are using Windows 8 it does not provide native gadget support. You will need 8GadgetPack - Gadgets for Windows 8 to use it along with any other gadgets you want to use. As an alternative, Open Hardware Monitor - Core temp, fan speed and voltages in a free software gadget has a desktop gadget that shows similar information and it works under Windows 8 without third-party software support. (It does not provide support for other gadgets like the 8GadgetPack does.)

You can find a link to instructions in the opening post for Kepler VBIOS mods thread.

 

rofl its -7C here in canada and I went 5.0ghz OC but my memory only at 2ghz is limiting my cpu performance.

on another note heres my single samsung 840 pro 256gb SSD with rapid mode on (samsung just made 4.3 magician release now supports rapidmode for the pro version as well, not just evo)



funny thing is I dont feel no difference with rapid mode caching my files, cause it probably isnt doing anything other than for benchmark softwares LOL. I tried installing adobe premiere and bridge cs 5.5 multiple times right after and the time of installing is the same. I tried loading shogun 2 and borderland 2 level multiple times right after and no difference in load time.. so there we have it LOL rapid doesn't do a thing other than for benchmark, and to "look" good, expected from a company to overclock their phone for benchmarks only =/

however I'm still glad the 840pro is made up of MLC instead of the crappy evo TLC with an overclocked controller.

all that aside, samsung just made 1tb 840 evo msata SSD. if the thickness is right, alienware R2 laptop can have a maximum up to 10-12TB SSD LOL

 

Yes, that SSD memory caching is a pretty sweet marketing gimmick. It works really well for my Neutron SSD RAID0 setup as well.

 

currently have around 16gb of ram in four different ramdisks set up all of my profile for browser and window temp cache files are in it, along with my adobe and photoshop work/cache folders. this is by far the best and way faster than any of gimmicks they have got. opening up a saved profile with 300+ tabs in my firefox took around 14 sec in my raid 0 array which only took 8 sec in ramdisk.. its instant win!

 

Ok. I was feeling good about my RAID 0 until now. Wow! Those numbers are off the charts, both of you. I must be doing something wrong.

Good news my GPU bracket is in town. No call from the tech yet. I wish I had it. I could have it in my laptop in less than an hour. Oh well patients I guess. I will have to game on the desktop tonight,poor me.

 

Question. The guy enjoytokillyourself is getting a better Vantage score than me at 771 MHz. How is this possible? I am falling behind here people.

 

Lol Where? Would you mind linking it. I have a feeling your tripping mate

 

nothings wrong, chart just uses ram to cache files for crystaldisk mark thats why you're seeing it. not to worry though those speed aren't real unless you use ram lol

 

it tells cpu near at 4 GHz^and gpu 849mhz and not the 771 that shows gpu-z , ?!

 

Yah.i must be tripping . I saw your screen shot on page 57 post number 557. It has vantage score of P35 and some change, but CPUZ is up as well and it says 771 MHz. Threw me a curve ball. 849 on the core sounds better. The screen shot as depicted looks like you got that score at 771.

I have the same 4900qm with the GTX 780s. I would like to get mine higher than 4 ghz, but I am a little behind on the newer gen processor overclocking. I don't know if it is even possible with the current bios issues. I got the first gen overclocking down,and the previous LGA 775 as well. Since sandy bridge came I have no clue. Everything is totally different.

Anyway I hope you like your new beast.

 

Correction. That was on page 56 post number 557

 

Unityole thanks for the response. You and Mr. Fox have the highest CD scores that I have seen. Nice score. I wish that the samsung software worked on RAID0.

 

naw, i'd rather buy another SSD instead of getting myself into benchmark scores alone as those often can be easily manipulated via SSD firmware programming. samsung evo uses a overclocked controller chip on it's SLC to present it's speed in benchmark thats why it looked so fast compare to 840 pro, which is to mask it's TLC flash speed and latency. the rapid mode software is no more than a fake when compared to a real ram disk caching software.

if you want something of a similar CDM result I'd opt for what Mr. Fox have, use real ram to cache it with software or just leave it as it is, simply because in raid0 you're overall performance over a longer period will by far surpass any SSD + ram caching.

 

4900MQ should easily get to 4.0ghz no problem with multiplier and few bclk + voltage changes.

 

Unityole, thanks . The ram cache sounds interesting. I will have to look into that. I got this problem. I am always looking for more speed. I can't help my self.

My 4900 is at 4Ghz with turbo boost, I think on 1 core. I hardly get excited about 200 MHz
When I am getting in the Ghz overclock on the desktop, so I am interested in pushing her a little more. I see where everyone is using throttle stop and other software to bump it up a bit. I am use to the good old go into the bios and Change the multi ,volt the crap out of it and your good to go. That's what an overclocking board will do for ya tho.
So you Think just move up the BCLK a little with some volts will do the trick? I am a little apprehensive about it. Kh90123 has had a few bad times with his 4930mx, but I think he is starting to get some ware with it. He has been working hard on it. So what do you think? Brick or no.
Thanks

 

Hehe, try running stuff with high ambient and no AC and that's what you'd get, without watercooling. Ambient is 27C during the day, and 24C during the night here. Meanwhile, some of my friends are having fun with -5C or -10C weather.

I might have gotten a bad chip, I won't know until I can test out another 4930MX in my system, but I am not really inclined to do that. Instead of dumping more money in the Alienware, I'd just save up and go for a desktop 4930K + 780 SLI or 290 Crossfire.

The problem with running the 4930MX on the 18 with the 780M SLI is, with everything overclocked power draw gets kind of out of control. There's an onboard circuit breaker now, which wasn't there in the M18x I believe. More voltage isn't required. You need no more than 1.135V to run the 4930MX at 4.1GHz, and 1.16-1.17V should be good for 4.2GHz. Under the same power envelope, lower voltage would enable the CPU to pull more current, and maintain the clock speed much better. With the CPU overclocked beyond 4.1GHz, and the 780M SLI overclocked beyond 1GHz on the core clock, you will start running into power issue. Fire up 3Dmark11, and before at Test 1 you will trip the circuit breaker. Test 1 is the most demanding of all the test, more demanding than the Combined Test at the end. One way to go around it is to use ThrottleStop to peg the CPU at lower clock speed until the Physics Test, then let the CPU run wild after that.

One thing to note, with higher ambient temp, power draw increases as transistor leaks more at higher temperature. Haswell introduced a new kind of voltage regulation. Not sure why but on the 18 on Adaptive voltage mode, the lowest it'll go with offset is 1.167V. That's still too high for 4GHz/4.1GHz. I am 10 pass Linpack stable with 1.11V @ 4GHz. Running synthetic benchmark/stress test on Adaptive mode is not encouraged from what I read, the CPU can start pulling quite a bit more voltage than the voltage you set.

The 2 main problems I have with the 18:
1) Inadequate wattage on the ac adapter.
2) Heat with the Haswell CPU.

I have fine grit sandpaper and spirit ready to clean and lap the copper plate of the CPU heatsink. I also have ICD7 and Coollab Liquid Ultra coming in about 1 or 2 weeks. Not sure which one to use yet, but my hands are itchy to lap the copper.

 

@pa2806n there is a known issue with new AW18 machine it seems to be bios support not supplying enough current to the computer, and the newer EC doesnt seem to cool the machine properly and fan doesn't kick in until high temperature. if all these are fixed no doubt the newer machine will overclock great.

try not to change BCLK unless you can no longer up your multiplier in your bios. ask Mr. Fox I think he owns one of the newer machine and can tell you how Bios work, I only have M18xR2 so bios maybe different.

temperature wise it is not wise to go above 4.3-4.4, even if cooling is properly implemented this is mainly because haswell runs hotter than ivybridge due to a more powerful integrated graphics and on die voltage regulator where in 7 series chipset (Ivybridge) is not on the cpu but on the motherboard.

my Ivybridge runs at 4.4ghz and it will not throttle (temperature, modulation or chip throttle) but if I were to go 4.5 or above, it will down clock itself at times due to heat unless room temp is very low. anyway haswell runs hotter than ivybridge so you're best bet is at around 4.2/4.3ghz.

by changing multiplier for all 4 cores to the same will give you 4.2/4.3ghz across all 4 cores. if 4900MQ doesnt allow you go that high, you can try to up the BCLK after maxing your multiplier. also default your VID value to 20 to prevent stability issues.

 

hi, i tried whit XTU to set the BLOCK max 102.3 then it freeze . at 42/40/39/39 block 101.4 or 99,3x43 @4270mhz i was able to run all 3dm06/11/vantage ,,,,, but it gets me a lower score also in the superP1m as all default

 

That's why I said, higher clock speed doesn't necessarily mean it's faster.

 

if changing bclk freezes your computer then I would recommend you not to do it. normally it is dependent on the CPU but times also because of the mobo as well as other limiting factor such as RAM too.

if your maximum multiplier is 42 40 39 39 then I would only overclock to 4.0ghz across the board. 4.3 is really pushing it with that multiplier you will really need an unlocked processor or a golden one lol

 

Hey thanks for your input guys. Yes the power draw is a real issue. I have had my 18 shut down on me 2 times with the 780s @ 850 on the core and level 1 overclock on the 4900. This is going to be the limiting factor I am afraid. Seems as tho an R2 with the GTX 780s is the way to go.

Yes a good lap job might help. I have discovered on my last 2 desktop builds that applying more pressure on the processor with the heat sink will drop the temps significantly. Intel doesn't recommend this but I have found that a little more pressure has caused no harm. This will not work on a laptop tho. I just did a re past on the 18 with Arctic Silver v and it did drop my temps down. I did notice that the coper face of the heat sink had a grain to it. I think a mirror Finnish would help drop the temps a little. I might try that the next time I repast. Some 2500 sand paper and Finnish with 5000 micro mesh.

 

if you are getting lower score with higher clocks than default clock then your system is throttling. one good way to check for throttle is prime95 test results during the test and use throttlestop to monitor your cpu values. if its not enough current due to bios then theres nothing you can do.

check your modulation and chipset, also temperature when you run those benchmark and see which one is throttling. pay close attention to FID value in throttlestop too to see if multiplier decreases. don't use CPUZ or Hwinfo64 as they are often inaccurate.

 

bclk freeze at 102.x whitout overvolting , max multiplier 44,43,42,42
finally after the all day i get it work the win7 and thats the result stock
2400 points more then whit win8
and here the vantage

3000more

 

What do you guys think can be done here? What do I change to get 4ghz on all 4 cores?

 

Is the core ratio limit the multiplier? could I do 40 40 40 40? or 41 41 41 41?

 

in the picture see if you can adjust OC level to 2 or 3, if those arent avaliable and highest you got is 40 39 38 38 then stick to that and change your bclk. also change your VID values and up it to 20 first and slowly bring it down until you find a stable value.

 

hey guys

NVIDIA Maxwell GeForce 800M Mobility Lineup Launches in February 2014 - GeForce GTX 880M To Lead The Pack