What's the use of an Extreme CPU with DPTF?

So I was always ticked that there was a driver that I can't install since I don't have an Extreme CPU. I wanted to discover what's so magical about this driver.

I was told not to install it but I still wanted to try as my nickname is Curious George.

So I got the 4940MX CPU and by default BIOS was set to tCDP so I installed the Intel Dynamic Platform & Thermal Framework Driver......only to discover that it limits the CPU to 3.66 GHz. , never more. Temps were stable @ 47C on idle

I then uninstalled it and set the BIOS to OC Level 1 @ 4,4 GHz and the temps on idle are still close @ 51C which is great I guess, even less than my previous 4900MQ by 5 degrees celsius.

Now 2 questions:

1) Why on earth would Dell even put such a performance limiting driver for the high end laptop with an Extreme CPU that only cripples the CPU? is it so they limit the customers from going extreme really and not having to deal with a lot of repair/exchange or is there something I am missing here?

2) Why the heck does Windows report my CPU is running @ 2.67 GHz but CPU-Z reports its is running @ 4.4 GHz? I never had Windows 8 speed clock reporting vary in comparison with CPU-Z. Is it because I didn't format and I need to do that? all I did was the CPU swap

 

The stock clocks is what Windows sees. TurboBoost or OC'ing will not show there.

 

1) I have no idea - the DPTF website states that it "is a solution to help enable thin, quiet, and cool platform designs" and that it's supposed to "manage thermals in a system designed with constraints." I'm guessing that it might have only been enabled for Extreme Edition CPUs because of their ability to override power settings.

2) Windows 8.1 CPU speed reporting has been very strange for other 4930MX/4940MX users too - don't worry about it. Mine says that it's running at 3.10GHz/2.10GHz when it's actually running at 4.3GHz/3.3GHz.

Also, BIOS OC is fairly useless - as Mr. Fox has pointed out in his guide, it limits the current severely (I think 55A by default). If you subject the machine to heavy load (and I mean heavy like 3Dmark 11 Physics or XTU CPU Benchmark), you'll notice that it downclocks to something like 3.7GHz even though it has plenty of TDP left. I've been playing around with mine for the last week, and increasing the current at lower voltages is better than having it run at high voltages and low currents.

Basically, keep the voltage as low as it can get while being stable (though 1.280V - default for OCLV1 - might be necessary for 44x4 depending on individual CPU) and increase the current a bit by bit until the machine thermal shuts down under load. Also, be careful when playing with voltages since if you undervolt too much then the machine might fail to boot and you'll have to temporarily replace the CPU for a BIOS reset.

 

Check if you get event 37 in Event Viewer. (Why the heck does Windows report my CPU is running @ 2.67 GHz - 3.10GHz/2.10GHz)Windows is not particularly fond of Hotwell . Windows do not like to behave properly clock speed of the processor. In Safe Mode, you see windows measure a different result. Overclocking with only Dellienware bios is a shame .. Do not use the oc profile in bios. It is rubbish. Garbage ... Garbage.

 

why is OC Level 1 overclock in BIOS garbage bro? have always used it on my previous 4900MQ and now on the 4940MX and its stable.........

EDIT: Just as I was typing ~and it's stable" the computer froze with a BSOD LOL it's like a devil is inside sensing what I was typing.....

 

You can see the correct speed in windows if you use DPTF and puts bios to cTDP ..

 

Stop using Oc profiles in bios. STOP...All setting is incorrect .. Many people have trouble with these oc profiles. To high voltage and incorrect settings is what you get ..

 

why the heck would Dell put wrong values? don't they know any better?

 

Test your processor with Wprime 1024 Cinebench 11.5 and Xtu bench test. Test also 3DMark vantage .. DEllienware can not create bios or Ec. Look at the crippled fan Profi for example.

Se also..
Intel DPTF Driver.. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...r-on-dell-drivers-downloads-confusion.681669/

 

It's stable (and good for non-Extreme processors since it's the only way to allow for higher multipliers), but it's only stable because your processors are not actually running at the desired clock under load. You can't change power settings in 4900MQ, so it doesn't really matter, but for 4940MX you can do so much better.

Dell / Alienware is competent (though whether they want to provide an unlocked BIOS is a different matter), but overclocking is a time-consuming and a highly individual process - it's much easier (and makes sense - I don't blame them for this) for them to put in a very high voltage / low current + TDP preset profile since that will allow people to nominally overclock to ~4.6GHz while having it actually run at 3.7GHz under load. If I remember correctly, setting OCLV 1 limits your short-term TDP to 87W max, which is barely enough to keep 40x4 stable under heavy load on 8 threads at stock voltages.

 

Granted, there is something to be said for having higher maximum clock speeds that don't necessarily hold under load since there will be scenarios where the processor can take advantage of the additional speed, but it's still better to play around with the TDP since 87W / 55A is unreasonably low for 1.280V - the low TDP will limit multi-core speed and the low current will limit single-core speed, and unless you have a really good silicon lottery draw I don't think 1.280V without touching the dynamic voltage offset is enough for 4.5GHz single-core speed.