How to Supercharge the M11x with Core i5/i7 UM CPUs

M11x r2 640UM 14x167 = 2338mhz x 4, Prime95 max thread/heat run overnight no problem or deviation. Max temp 74.

TDP/TDC 100/100, Force @ 4.

Seriously, Throttlestop is just sick....

 

Having some issues with performance and throttlestop...

M11x R2, core i5, OC'd in BIOS to 1.58
TDP/TDC: 30/60
Force TDP/TDC: 8
Haven't changed any other settings in Throttlestop

Initially throttlestop improves performance massively;

wPrime:
OC'd @ 1.58, no throttlestop - 32m - 40.8sec
OC'd @ 1.58, with TDP/TDC:30/60, and forced to 8 - 32m -31.7sec

However, after literally 2 mins of gaming with throttlestop on (have tested with Crysis, Dragon age, L4D2), frame rate drops by about half. wPrime score, with throttlestop enabled, changes from 31sec to 62sec.

So, is there another option in throttlestop that could fix this, or have I done something horribly wrong?

 

Hmmm... The settings you have in TS are fine, although you may want to lower your Force TDP/TDC value to 5 to see if that helps.

What is Throttlestop showing for temps? Use GPU-Z to monitor GPU temps as well. Are you overclocking your GPU?

 

When wPrime slows down to a crawl, post a screen shot half way through a 32M run along with ThrottleStop so I can see how it is set up and what multiplier it is reporting. You should also run a log file while gaming and post that. Keep track of what time frame rates drop in half so I can look in the log file and see what's happening to CPU performance.

I'd also try 100 for TDP and TDC. As a CPU heats up, this value can increase so setting these values really high can help when trouble shooting.

Here's the latest version of ThrottleStop if you want to give that a try to see if it makes any difference. It also keeps track of the maximum CPU core temperature now so it will show if your CPU is getting too hot and hitting the thermal throttle. It shouldn't be but if the heatsink was put on by a monkey, that could be the problem.

ThrottleStop 2.90 beta 8
http://www.mediafire.com/?p0psm43trbkj5su

 

This is the best I have gotten using TS Bench.
CPU OC=166
TDP/TDC=100
Force TDP/TDC value=4

 

I have procrastinated too long. Just downloaded and going to give it a shot in the next couple of days (gaming). Thanks!

 

thanks for the quick response. I'm now using the latest version you posted, but still have the same problem.

Here are screenshotts of throttlestop before the game slows and after. Obviously the noticeable thing is that all chip%'s have halved from 100% to 50%, and the temp has gone up. This was after only about 2 mins of L4D2. I presume that this is the problem, but I'm a noob and no idea what to do now...

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Here are 3DMARK06 CPU scores without (Black Box) and with (Red Box) TS enabled. No GPU OC.

CPU OC=166
TDP/TDC=100
Force TDP/TDC value=4

Very nice gain

 

pwnYourBrain: You found the problem. Chipset clock modulation is a method to slow a CPU down internally. Dell has been using the two types of clock modulation throttling that ThrottleStop monitors for on a wide variety of their laptops for at least the last 3 years. Since ThrottleStop came along, Dell has done a lot in the last year to get on top of this problem. Your M11x is the first one I've seen that is throttling like this. Are you on AC power when testing? Dell might be using this throttling when you are running on battery power to help protect the battery. That's common in many laptops but never mentioned on the sales page.

A screen shot of ThrottleStop only shows a quick snap shot of what's going on. You really need to run and post a ThrottleStop log file so you can see exactly how this problem develops. You can upload your log file to MediaFire or a similar file sharing site so I can have a better look.

Dell uses CPU throttling for a variety of reasons. Sometimes when the graphics card (GPU) is running hot, Dell slows down the CPU because it is very easy to do and helps to reduce overall system temperatures even if it is not addressing the actual problem.

Your CPU temperatures are much higher than other users in this forum. That has me wondering if your heatsink was not installed correctly. This would result in excessive temperatures and can lead to throttling. Look in the Options window to see if ThrottleStop can be used to monitor your ATI or Nvidia graphics card. If ThrottleStop does not support your card then use another program like GPU-Z and run a log file with it while gaming while you are logging with ThrottleStop. This will make it easier to see if high GPU temperatures are the cause of this throttling that you are seeing.

Your CPU is hot but it is still well below the Intel specified thermal throttling temperature which is 105C for a Core i5-520UM.

Intel® Core i5-520UM Processor (3M Cache, 1.06 GHz) SPEC SLBQP

GadgetBoi: Your posts are appreciated. It gives other users some numbers to shoot for.

 

ok, so with some tinkering I have concluded that the problem is with the Chipset Clock Mod.
I am able to tick the box and force the Chip% to constantly be 100%, and not halve after it reaches a temperature in the the mid 80's.
However if I do this, the temp will just continue to rise, and after literally only 5 mins, the temperature reaches 100C!

I presume that my laptop is faulty, since a gaming laptop should not be able to literally boil water after 5 mins of gaming. Any advice? (I have the extended 3 year guarantee...)

 

Defiantely use that warranty

 

No one else is hitting those kind of temperatures while gaming so my best guess is that your heatsink wasn't installed correctly. If it was my laptop, I'd pull it apart and make sure the heatsink was tight but that could void your warranty.

The problem now is trying to convince Dell that something is wrong. When not overclocking and when not using ThrottleStop, your computer will run cooler, so Dell might try to convince you that everything is OK. They sell laptops that are overclockable but they don't guarantee that you will be able to overclock them.

Maybe try monitoring with HWiNFO32. I think it combines the clock modulation with the MHz so it might show this throttling as a reduced MHz number.

 

I think you just answered your own question.

Call Alienware (not Dell), and use that warranty.

 

newb alert guys. Just got my m11x r2, i5, 8gb ram and 320g sata. This is my first laptop i've ever owned, never thought about getting one thats all. Anyway, i'm completely clueless to this overclocking thing, but I want to give it a go since i love playing games. I've read a few different threads that have left me dizzy, but I finally stumbled into this one. Please forgive my dumb questions guys. Anyway, from what I've gathered so far (im only on the 4th page on this thread) I've downloaded throttlestop and wprime. In the first post, the thread starter said to put the turbo power limits to TDP 30 TDC 30. I see others here use different TDP/TDC figures, like 20/60. How do you figure out what's the best number to put in there? Actally I don't even know what TDP and TDC are, im just following what other are doing. I also see a box that says "set multiplier" and he has it checked. What does that do? what's the difference if it's not checked? He also states that the figure beside the "set multiplier" box should be set to 10 but mine only goes up to 9. so i've tried this, and I can overclock all the way up to 166, it was able to boot up, i saw that some people it won't even boot up at a certain number. So I tested it, I just made the TS look like the openers, checked the "set multiplier" box and changed the TDP/TDC to 30/30 and turned on the TS. I did the 32M on wprime and it was way faster with it on then off. Also the FID figure on TS shows 12.00, I think thats a good thing and the multiplier on the bottom shows a consistent 12.00 x 167 MHz, I think thats a good thing too. What else do I need to know? thanks guys!

 

i7 640um overclocked 166mhz bus and TS
Scored 38.856 on the 32M Benchmark!

 

jourelemode: Some of the screen shots you are seeing are for different processors like the i7-620UM which use a different maximum multiplier. ThrottleStop might need to be set up a little differently depending on what CPU you have and many of its settings are for different laptop models.

TDP/TDC refers to power in watts and current in amps that are flowing through your CPU. The CPU constantly calculates its power consumption and if it is under the ThrottleStop TDP/TDC settings that you have chosen, it will give you as much turbo boost as possible. A setting of 30/30 is usually enough for most of these UM CPUs to give you full turbo boost even when they are overclocked. Some people like setting these to 100/100. This won't cause your CPU to start consuming 100 watts. These settings only determine when your CPU is allowed to use full turbo boost. If you are getting full turbo boost with a setting of 30/30 then there is no advantage to going any higher.

I'm not sure what Core i5 model you have but a turbo multiplier of 12.00 when fully loaded sounds like full turbo boost to me. If your wPrime times have dropped like a rock then you must be doing something right.

The Set Multiplier option does not seem to be needed for most of these CPUs. As always, do your own testing and benchmarking to see if there is any advantage. Set this value as high as it can go and try benchmarking with and without Set Multiplier checked. You'll probably see no difference.

 

thanks for that reply...I understand it more thanks! I guess i'll leave the TDP?TDC as it now since i'm getting 12.00 multiplier. I'll do further test with the "set multiplier" box, but I don't think it does anything. Thanks a lot unclewebb!

can anyone suggest a good fraps application that I can see while playing games and a temp app that I can see during games?? thanks

 

Hi,

I have just installed Throttlestop today.

These are my system settings:

CPU OC'ed to 158
GPU not Oc'ed

TDP/TDC = 30/30
Force TDP/TDC = 5

My FID values across the cores are fluctuating between 8-11 mostly. How can I get this to 14 and stay stable?

Thanks

 

They won't stay at 14 unless your CPU is under a full load such as with TSBench, wPrime or some other application that fully utilizes all threads.

 

Thanks for the update. When I run TSBench, the values across the cores fluctuated between 13.97-13.99. My score was 42.76 seconds when i pushed the 32M button of TSBench. Is this a good setting?

 

Based on your OC of @158 I think that's pretty much spot on. Mine @166 is 37 or 38 seconds.

 

awesome. Good to know.

 

hey guys, whats a good fraps app and an app to monitor temps with? is there usch an app where you can see the temps while running a game like how the fraps shows while running a game?? thanks

 

MSI afterburner, eVGA precision, or Rivatuner. All are the same thing, ironically.

 

Is there anyway to make it startup when you turn on your computer?

 

Throw a shortcut of it in your Startup folder or use a schedule task set to run it at logon.

 

Precision has a toggle to automatically run at startup, no need to do it manually. It doesn't take long to start either. >1 second.

 

Woops. For some reason I thought we were talking about ThrottleStop.

 

I copied a shortcut of TS in my startup folder but the program doesn't load up when restarting my M11x; also tried checking startup in msconfig, it shows that TS is checked to start, but nothing upon load up.

What am I doing wrong?

 

Not sure what you've got going on there. I have mine setup with a scheduled task and it works.

• Start
• type "task" and click on Task Scheduler
• click on Create Basic Task (on the right pane)
• give the task a name like TS Startup
• Next
• choose When I log on
• Next
• choose Start a program
• Next
• Browse to the folder where you have TS unpacked and select ThrottleStop.exe
• Next
• Finish

 

If for some reason the Startup folder doesn't work for you, here's my tutorial for adding ThrottleStop to your start up sequence using the Task Scheduler.

Task Scheduler Method

Someday I'll add an option so you don't have to do this manually.

 

you guys are awesome.

 

hey guys, is a temperature of mid 70's ok??? while playing bioshock on the highest setting oc'd at 166 with TS on, the highest temp i've reached is 76c.

 

Yes, that's very much OK for the R2.

 

sweet sweet!!! thanks!!!

 

Here are the official Intel specs for a Core i5-520UM.

Intel® Core i5-520UM Processor (3M Cache, 1.06 GHz) SPEC SLBQP

The maximum TJUNCTION temperature is listed as 105C. This is the point where Intel designs thermal throttling to begin to keep the CPU at a safe temperature. The official thermal shutdown temperature isn't until 25C after this number so that's not until 130C.

Core temperatures while gaming in the mid 70C range are well within the Intel design spec for these CPUs. Intel's quad core CPUs usually have a maximum TJUNCTION temperature of 100C before they start to throttle and a 125C shutdown temperature but the quads aren't used in the M11x.

 

Hmm.. if you overclock from BIOS its suppose to stay that way unless you change it right? After a few shutdowns it always goes back to 133.. It's pretty annoying.. Anyone know a fix?

 

Drop it down a notch or two. Whatever setting you chose wasn't stable and it reverted back to default.

 

If your Overclock is reverting back to 133 that means your to aggressive on your settings and the Bios is resetting itself. Its meant as as fail safe so you cannot brick your laptop. Not all laptops will be stable at 166. If you started at 166 and it reverts drop it down by 2 MHz till you are at a stable Overclock.

Good Luck

 

I thought that only happens if it BSODs or something? I'm only overclocking to 152.. Everything is normal just after a few shutdowns it goes back to 133. I'll try lowering it though.

EDIT: One other thing, it still shows 152 in the BIOS it's just in TS and some other programs (so I'm pretty sure it really doesn't overclock) that it says it's at 133 again. All I have to do is go into bios and press f10 and it will overclock again.

 

thanks for that info unclewebb! man, since I've gotten this m11xr2 (my first laptop ever) i've been getting pretty obsessed and i'm finding myself looking at the alienware desktops...my fingers getting itchy...

 

It has always been my understanding that the thermtrip signal is activated at max TJ (and proctherm at a few degrees below). Is this incorrect then?

 

I'm a little busy today but I'll post a screen shot of the Intel documentation by tomorrow. It always takes me a while to find the correct info.

The THERMTRIP signal, which tells the CPU to shutdown immediately, doesn't go active until approximately 130C on the Core i5 Dual Cores. Intel builds this 25C headroom into all of their CPUs so even if there is a serious problem, this can help give users a chance to shut their computer down without losing any of their work if the heatsink gets loose or a fan fails or whatever.

Some CPUs, especially when overclocking and over volting, can randomly shut down before you reach PROCHOT or THERMTRIP so a lot of users think that the THERMTRIP shutdown temperature is a lot lower than what Intel officially sets it too.

 

Is the 2.89 the last version of the TS?

I was using mine and I have the 2.90 beta version, with no GPU temps, and I remember having GPU temps before....

 

Here's what I was looking for. This info is from Section 6.10 Error and Thermal Protection in Volume 1 of the Core i7/i5/i3 Datasheet:

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/322812.pdf



Vidaluko: Did you click on the Options... button and try selecting ATI GPU or Nvidia GPU? The ATI code is driver dependent. I haven't changed anything recently that I can remember. If it still doesn't work, let me know and let me know what GPU you are using and what driver version.

 

Oh my gawd, I feel like an idiot....

Thx...

 

uncle web can you add an option to disable throttlestop polling for GPU temps, the multiplier, and all the other cool features it does? i found out even stopping throttlestop while on battery still reduces battery life because of background polling. I would like to use throttlestop purely to set the TDP/TDC and would like to keep it on at all times but dont want to sacrifice battery life. Even if I set the TDP/TDC to 1 on battery there is still an overall drop in battery life in completely turning TS off because of all the cpu cycles used while polling keeps the mW usage fairly high.

 

is there a fix yet for the punkbuster thing?? i keep getting kicked. it says multiple direct3d something...im trying to play bfbc2

 

Wrong thread.

Newest BETA drivers with PB fix (266.35)
Community drivers with PB fix (265.90)
Community drivers with PB fix (266.44)

 

Vidaluko: No problem. I'm just glad to hear it still works.

tassadar898: When running on battery power, most users that want to maximize their battery life, shouldn't be running ThrottleStop.

The way Dell has written the bios for the M11x-R2, the TDP/TDC registers need to be constantly checked and adjusted to maximize the amount of turbo boost you are getting and unfortunately, that wastes CPU cycles. The overall performance increase while plugged in makes it well worth it but nothing is free.

I'll look into adding a few more options so a user can disable the unnecessary monitoring stuff when not needed. Manipulating the turbo TDP/TDC settings has been so successful for the M11x that I think the best thing to do would be to write an M11x specific app that only concentrates on TDP/TDC and then ditch all of the other ThrottleStop features and baggage. That would be the perfect app when gaming since most of these M11x laptops don't have over heating or clock modulation throttling issues so constantly monitoring for this is not needed. Remind me in a week if I forget.

What should I call it? TS Junior or maybe TS M11x-R2