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

Well check this out. I was running a Handbrake encode when I tried out ThrottleStop. Can you tell when I turned it on? This is on the i7-640UM with hyperthreading enabled. I'm OC'd to 160MHz in the BIOS.

Code:

Encoding: task 1 of 1, 88.00 % (9.78 fps, avg 9.14 fps, ETA 00h29m33s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 89.00 % (7.17 fps, avg 9.12 fps, ETA 00h27m10s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 90.00 % (7.30 fps, avg 9.09 fps, ETA 00h24m46s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 91.00 % (8.30 fps, avg 9.08 fps, ETA 00h22m19s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 92.00 % (9.21 fps, avg 9.05 fps, ETA 00h19m54s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 93.00 % (8.99 fps, avg 9.05 fps, ETA 00h17m25s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 94.00 % (22.29 fps, avg 9.05 fps, ETA 00h14m57s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 95.00 % (16.37 fps, avg 9.10 fps, ETA 00h12m24s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 96.00 % (14.72 fps, avg 9.14 fps, ETA 00h09m52s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 97.00 % (15.97 fps, avg 9.19 fps, ETA 00h07m22s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 98.00 % (17.87 fps, avg 9.24 fps, ETA 00h04m53s)
Encoding: task 1 of 1, 99.00 % (19.92 fps, avg 9.28 fps, ETA 00h02m27s)

 

This is amazing work! So tempted to jump in and purchase an M11x r2!!

 

We're going to have Uncle find a way to kill PunkBuster next

 

160MHz FSB, TS on and off. 3DM06, wprime and 3DSMax 2011 x64. Do you think it can be done more, Kevin? I mean achieving a 14 multi for instance at all times would be so great. Frakers at Alienware haven`t even yet responded to my issue posted on their forums, is this world coming to?

 

Log with prime95 running and TS on, there is a short period of idle before only full load data.

Later edit: I would STRONGLY advise AGAINST buying an Alienware at the moment. From my point of view, they are all overpriced, the fact that the m11x appealed so strongly to me was its unique combination of an up to date processor, dual video and stuff. But the fact that the processor had its balls removed pixxes me off in ways unimaginable.

Here is the thread on the Dell Alienware forums that did not receive an answer yet. All m11x users out there, let`s unite and prove to Alienware that they cannot scam people in this way. 1.8GHz SINGLE THREAD speed on a dual core with hyper threading and 1.2GHz multithread speed is a JOKE ffs.

 

Ok I can verify that this ThrottleStop thing works extremely well. I was trying this out to see if it increases stuffs that are CPU bound and in reality it does give a MAJOR jump. Example I was running FFXIV Online which is really CPU intensive game rather than GPU. The GT335M can handle the game pretty well in low settings except the little CPU in our machine tend to struggle a bit and is what that hold back everything. On default when running outside in the open enviroment onw Low texture setting only gives me about 22-25fps. And this is with everything on stock including both CPU and GPU. Next I still try to keep everything stock while I enable TrottleStop kept the CPU Mod at 100%. Immediately I see fps jump to avg of 30s. So we are talking about 15-20% increase in the overall performance with ThrottleStop enabled. Next I try OC my CPU up to 166 (I never had issue with this setting) while keeping ThrottleStop enabled and everything else the same. I see the FPS manage to shoot all the way up to 45fps. Thats nothing short of amazing. Lastly I try to change the game texture to Standard to make everything look better. Guess what? I still manage to maintain 40fps on avg. Even in the bz city where I use to see only about 10fps now I see myself running at 15-24fps in the most busy area. Thanks to Uncle for sharing this superb software. Now this little M11xR2 I do look scary enough to be a little beast!

 

Unclewebb, your the Man!!! Thank you soo much
Crysis and GTA IV have never been happier on my little M11x. max temp after 3 hours of Crysis 68'C - 20/60

 

Thats what my Q9650 does at 4.05ghz with a large cooler and its perfectly safe so thats impressive on a little laptop!

 

I think you need to get a few facts right before thinking Alienware scam you. From your this post your machine is working within specs. This is how Intel design the CPU to be and has nothing to do with Alienware at all. And for your i5 on single thread being turboboost up to 1.8 is absolutely normal. And in cases of multi thread getting avg of 1.2 is normal too given your base clock of 1.06. Please read up on the implementation and technology on how turbo boost works before whining. So your multithreaded speed being a joke deems completely invalid. I would say its more like you havent gotten yourself into getting something that you are not even sure what you are getting but presume things the way you think they should work. Unfortunately most OEM makers out there only tell you the very layman term of each product and wont go very in depth in explaining them. You gotta do your own homework before concluding something. Like for the case of how the CPU work. Intel.com is your good friend. Go on youtube and you can even find the technology video explaination on how turboboost work across all Intel Core CPU that is out in the market. They all work the same way. Only exception for UM processors which are low voltage they tend to boost less which is also another known fact. This information can easily be obtain via google.com. Lastly overlocking is a bonus that Alienware gives you. Its not something supported directly from Intel. So you cant count that as a "feature" either. So please dont mislead others before you get your facts right. Peace out...

 

I think you need to get a few facts right also. The BIOS of the m11x is what is causing this limitation, not the Intel design, my friend. My main PC is also Intel based and I don`t have any trouble running at 3.6GHz with it and turbo on, it doesn`t clock down when it reaches full load.

And please don`t patronize me, I`ve been fiddling with IT since 1999. Intel.com, youtube.com... are you joking mate?

Alienware says overclocking ok. But overclocking the FSB while the multiplier drops is retarded to say the least, you are taking two steps forward and three steps backwards.

So the advertisment should have been "you can overclock the CPU up to 1.8GHz for single threaded applications" footprint when using all four cores 100% loaded you only get 1.2GHz lolpwnd.

Of course overclocking is a feature of this computer. The fact that Intel doesn`t support it doesn't interest me one bit, Alienware marketed the computer with this as a feature

I hate the lack of transparency, that is all. Ok, "scam" is a very hard word for it and I take it back. But the fact that nobody cared to even look at the thread I opened on support.dell.com gives me an extremely "nice" insight on customer support outside US = it's not so good (to use extremely light words, maybe someone from Dell is watching and they'll cry all night because someone is bashing them on some forum with hard words).

How about the throttle issues on the M15x and M17x? Maybe you should send those users to Intel.com and google.com also. Ah, forgot, also Youtube.com.

Peace out.

 

Roughly 22% boost to Civ5 frame rates. Absolutely no temperature issues experienced after 3 hours of L4D2.

I tried various settings for TDP/TDC. 2x, 3x, 4x, and lastly 1.5x. In all cases the increase in performance was very much the same. For now I'm sticking with 1.5x to see if there's any TB performance degradation over time.

 

Haha i love small debates like this ^^
I will join in.
I think by overclocking the i7 CPU of the m11xr2 alienware gaming notebook we should see an increase in all functions by 10000%
just my opinion tbh

 

The Dell-run Alienware forums have always been a tumbleweed strewn wasteland as far as support or feedback goes.

 

Correct me if i'm wrong...but turboboost is supposed to work that way.Isn't it?

 

Yes, I agree, but correct me if I`m wrong if at 100% load on all cores the multiplier SHOULD drop to the maximum (without turbo that being 8) multiplier on ALL CORES

Yeh, it`s not a bug, it`s a feature. Ftw.

 

those sites are just the baseline for those who does not know much stuffs and obviously not covering everything. dont have to get so hash up. many ppl think they knew a lot but they may just under estimate their counterpart. like there's one saying "there is always a mountain higher than the other even when you are absolutely sure what you think is the highest" so neither I am thinking that I know more than you. but no offense I dislike ppl who brag how many years they are in the field or things like I am Master in computer science and etcs. I seen enough of such ppl who think so highly of themselves but always overlook the most simpliest thing which make them look stupid. just because they are always thinking of the most complicated stuffs. If comparing years win I have been in IT field since 1993. But this is really not relevant neither its important as it does not matter how long you been in the field. No one knows everything. Again I am not referring to you as I have no intention to heat up a war of any sort. Just putting a general remark.

Alienware says OC is ok. Yes indeed but still it's not something that has been advertise by Intel for what you have. the TDP limits are still hard lock in the chips so there is still only that far you can go with 3rd party software assistance. ThrottlingStop is just another example. This application is great as it does help control how the TurboBoost throttle. I do gains extra juice out which I really appreciate the hardwork research and done by unclewebb. But still it will not change how the technology should work. Its like I dont expect myself getting an i3 and expect it to run like an i7 over software hack. Since day 1 most here already knew overclocking on this machine is not a 100% foolproof thing. You can see cases like what you mention move forward 3 steps and end up dropping 2 steps back. Basically Alienware is not going to do magic, its as simple as that. If a car is only meant to run 200mph. no one can make it better. no matter what you do to it, it will still have its own short come. if you intend to go in depth and push another 50mph for it. yes it will go 250mph but then you cant ensure the stability of the car either. and no one would dare you assure you that since its not being designed for to run that way.

Anyway I am just sharing my pov and as far as I understand how TB works I seriously dont see problem with what you have posted. But if you still feel likewise I have no interest in further debates either. This will be the last post to you as I have no interest to go into a flaming party. Peace

 

You mentioned that on low load(I mean not on full load),the multiplier is 14,but when all 4 threads are fully loaded,it drops to 8,right?

As I remember,that's how turbo boost work.For single-threaded apps,it will boost it's multiplier to 14 (133*14=1826MHz).But for multi-threaded apps,it should increases(e.g. for apps that only use 2 threads) or remains the same ,therefore the multiplier remains 8,resulting 133*8=1064MHz.Not matter what BLCK you are using,the concept stays the same.





So it's quite normal if the multiplier drops.

 

as far as what I understand for i5 ULV yes.

 

very good and detailed explaination.... just to add on one more thing. even with OC in place its not going to change the concept either since its still limited by the TDP

 

come on guys.. no need to fight, just relax already.

 

I can confirm that my multi rarely hits x14 unless it's a light application/most likely single threaded. Most of the time and even with TS, it does x12.

I think Win7 architecture spreads single threaded apps over all available cores unless the application is written to utilize specific threading, so the chances of getting x14 are probably going to be rare and only in very short bursts. That's just my guess.

I also see no real heat increase either so far.

 

Why not several folks just utilize throttlestop, run a game like sc2 or something, have performance logging, and just post the differences. Or you can try BFBC2 as we know it utilizes multiple cores. See what the differences are in gameplay.

I think this is a great find by UncleWebb and hopefully the R2 folks see good increases out of this.

Best Wishes, StevenX

 

I have had seome intersting results with this. All tests done with no OC and turbo boost on with an i7.

Bear in mind I am by no means IT savy when it comes to understanding a processor but thought I would give it a go.

Ran prime no throttlestop to get an average of around 42-43

Ran it again with throttlestop on to get an average of 38 odd

Restarted and ran prime again with throttlestop on average of 34

Restarted and ran again withought throttlestop on and am now getting 32's.

Im more confused now


Im back to 41's now.

Maybe the throttle action takes some time to stop affecting the machine? I noticed even when i turned it off and closed throttlestop, when running cpu-z my multiplier would never hit 17x like it does normally when under full load.

 

When you're starting wPrime, open up task manager and make sure that you do not have a cpu-z process running amuck. If there is one then kill it with fire and then run your tests with wP.

 

I was testing it with FFXIV. But not sure how I can provide any form of log to show the differences. ;/

 

I am at peace

 

The Core i5 and Core i7 Dual Cores all seem to support adjustable TDP/TDC. Now that we've seen the performance gains that are possible by adjusting this, why doesn't Dell add this as a feature to their Alienware M11x. This thing is marketed as a small performance gaming laptop so why not include TDP/TDC adjustment in the bios for enthusiasts. It doesn't lead to out of control core temperatures and gives a big boost in performance so why not make it a feature that separates the Alienware from other laptops.

The Alienware M17x R2 with XM CPUs sets the turbo multipliers to the same value whether 1, 2, 3 or 4 cores are active. That is outside the Intel design spec so there's no reason why Dell couldn't do the same with the M11x and allow users to raise the turbo TDP/TDC limits with a simple bios option.

Intel included this feature in their processors but it's up to manufacturers like Dell to use it. At the moment, ThrottleStop has to continuously battle against the bios to try to give you guys some more turbo boost. That's a waste of CPU cycles and if this feature was done properly at the bios level, the performance increase would be even greater than what you are seeing now.

goha01: When fully loaded, a Core i5-520UM can give you full turbo boost so the multiplier can increase from 8.0 to 12.0 for a 50% increase in performance. Unfortunately in the UM CPUs, the turbo TDP/TDC limits are set so low that as soon as you start raising the BCLK, you are hitting this limit so at full load you are not gaining anything from overclocking. The BCLK goes up but the average multiplier throttles down to keep the CPU within its TDP/TDC limit so there is no performance increase at full load.

Interesting to see that the Intel TDP limit for a Core i5-520UM is 18 watts.

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

Why is the default turbo TDP value set to only 10 watts? Is this something Dell has done deliberately to limit performance?

In the M17x R2, the 940XM has a default TDP of 55 watts and as delivered from Dell, the default turbo TDP value is higher than that at 62 watts so you end up with a faster CPU than Intel intended, not a slower CPU.

 

Ahh ok that was the problem.

Base line no throttlestop is now 32.5
With throttlestop 20/60 getting 31.2

 

Here is a quote from the programmer of CPU-Z so don't put too much faith in the multiplier it displays when a Core i CPU is lightly loaded.

 

Cause the 18w is not only use by the CPU core but also the Intel HD Accelerator which is build into those 2 processors. Unlike the previous C2D ULV where the TDP is dedicated to the CPU Core. But I have no info on how the TDP is being scaled between the 2 within

 

Perhaps Brian from Alienware can help us with this, I think he personally knows the team who update the Bios. He may well be able to have a word in regards to the A04 release or at least get some answers as to why that kind of tool couldn't be implemented in the bios..... I sense a petition to Dell coming on

 

Thanks kopicha for that info. I forgot about the GPU hiding in there in these CPUs.

 

Also, CPUz by default only displays one core. Right click on it, and it will give access to the others.

 

Brian was reassigned

 

is that the reason why the updates has been rather slow lately? have not been very proactive lately due to tons of projects at work to deal with. dead tired. maybe i should just quit IT >"<

 

Key word ULV. If you`d have had mentioned this bolded and underlined I`d have agreed. But no, you need to tell me to go watch on youtube how turbo works

Are you absolutely sure that the TDP is accounted for both the Intel HD and the processor? I know it`s integrated in there somewhere on the chip, it would make sense, but meh.


All in all the argument with kopicha has one flaw. The i5 520UM has maximum turbo multiplier 12x for 2 cores loaded (NOT 8x) and 14x for 1 core full loaded. It`s still a dual core, not a quad. Mkay? Then why does the multiplier drop to 8? My guess would be hyperthreading, which gives us 4 cores and robs us of the +4x multi.

The alienware bios supports adjusting the FSB, but not whether Hyperthreading is active or not. Yeh, a feature also

 

in one of the m17x threads, he mentioned being reassigned, and his successor might not even interact with this forum

He also said to forward all questions to "Chris" I don't know who he is, though.

 

Really? I thought he'd gone into hiding in light of the hinge issues that dominate this forum.

 

or did you guys drive him to nuts with the hinge issue?

 

Yeah, according to the intel ark site, the TDP of arrandale chips includes both dies on the package (CPU+GPU/NB).

Great... cannot disable HT? First thing I noticed, when I disabled HT on my i7 930, was a 7C-10C temp drop across all cores (idle-load).

 

Chris did made a post here in this forum once. On the Optimus feature how to add whitelist. And I think thats about it. Whether he still constantly looking here would be another question. OT a bit here. I think we need another official video driver release from them. It has been a few revision since the last one they posted. And of cuz add this TDP thing in BIOS

 

more testing.. I just tried running Cities XL again today and it is F amazing, it is on all HIGH and it is smooth .. it is even too fast to scroll around.. same thing with warhammer chaos rising.. this is amazing, I was feeling like junk for not being able to play the game I played the most (cities) and now I can... yes!

 

Yeah, the news Brian gave us...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6777012-post48.html

EDIT: I should of just edited my earlier post. I blame my slow internet, not me!

 

I just had a look at Cosmin.'s log files and I think there is still plenty of room for improvement with my algorithm.

I never thought I'd hear a user complain that his computer was too fast.

Time to start up Visual C++ to see if I can take this one step further.

 

What settings do we use for throttlestop? The only thing I did was change the TDP & TDC, and set the multiplier to 10. How do we set it higher?

 

hah! have you tried making programing for any of the new i5 and i7 macbook pros? I think the pro has the i7 620M processor

 

what is your FSB on the bios?

 

RTFM

The Set Multiplier number in ThrottleStop needs to be set to the default multiplier + 1. The extra plus one tells the CPU to use as much turbo boost as possible. The i7-640UM has a default multiplier of 9 so the maximum Set Multiplier value you can use is 10. The CPU will use a higher multiplier than that depending on how much turbo boost it thinks you deserve.

 

Well I tried both 133 and 164. Should Throttlestop let me go above 10.0?

******************************
Edit: Doh! BSOD on 164, Im trying 162 now.

Thanks Uncle, sorry, I wasn't being lazy I was just using this thread as my guide and figured someone would have mentioned the settings we need to use. I will read the file first and see if it answers my questions.

Yeah that OC was too high, now I actually see it's running at 2500mhz+. I think at 164 it was just a little more than my system could handle.

 

Try running wPrime and watch what your multipliers are running at in ThrottleStop. That will give you an idea if the multipliers are going higher than 10.0. The FID column for those that hate manuals.