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

I don't get it. All you guys are posting a lot of wprime benchmark results...like I would care..
How about some real testing? Is the system really faster? Do you notice anything?
I'm not a big fan of benchmarking as it shows how it in theory is running faster, but in games/applications is another store.

Does SC2 run faster? Is arma playable?
pcsx2 maybe faster? Anyone?

 

If you'd read the thread you know that yes, the results are there.

 

This has got to be the best thing that ever came out for the M11x, has me thinking of buying one again.
Nismo has a good point, game benchmarks would give us a better idea of how much it improves gaming performance.Any volunteers want to do the heavy lifting, I would but I don't have one.
Great job Uncleweb

 

i will run some tests on call of duty 4 full settings for a good while,
might see how it runs on single player on the first mission where there is lots of water and it usually lags a good bit, ill test later since right now im in school ^^

 

I've noticed a stable increase in FPS for L4D2. Maybe around 5 to 10, playing at fullest settings.

I've read a few posts throughout the thread about SC2, also an increase in FPS.

 

@Everyone - can you start posting the stock vs T-stop benches for games?
(These are just examples)
Example - BFBC2 average during 32 man server (full) rush - 42fps avg
Example - T-stop BFBC2 average during 32 man server (full) rush - 45fps avg
Example - Just cause 2 demo bench 45fps avg (settings medium)
Example - T-sop Just cause 2 demo bench 47fps avg (settings medium)

Just post something with details that will allow everyone to understand the gains here. Wprime is good, but game benches, video conversion benches, are going to help show the positive impact that T-stop makes.

Best Wishes,

StevenX

 

Just wanted to say that Intel SpeedStep has to be engabled in bios for all of this to work.
I was getting horrible results until I checked bios settings and noticed I had it disabled.

 

Thanks guys! Now we are talking business ^_^

 

So let me get this straight @ x14 TB is being used on both cores & anything higher (in my case x17) is on one core? So this is why we set it to x10 in TS so it is on a solid x14 under load?

 

3DMark06 with 154 on CPU, GPU 500/900 went from 7420 to 7730. This was with the 257.30 drivers.

 

Intel Turbo Boost 101

The Core i7-640UM has a default multiplier of 9. The value you select in the Set Multiplier box of ThrottleStop is a code that goes directly to the CPU. Setting this value to 1 more than your default multiplier tells the CPU that you want as much turbo boost as possible. That's why that needs to be set to 9 + 1 = 10. It's a code and doesn't represent the exact multiplier you want.

When the CPU gets a request like that, it first checks to see if the CPU is presently operating under or over the turbo TDP/TDC power limits. If you are already over this limit then the CPU will give you zero turbo boost so you will only be running at the default multiplier. If the CPU is operating under this limit, it then checks to see how many cores are in the active state. If one core is active and the other core is in the C3/C6 sleep state, it will give you the maximum turbo boost multiplier which is 17. If both cores are in the active state then it can only give you the 14 turbo boost multiplier.

What most users aren't aware of is this is going on inside the CPU hundreds of times a second. This is why when you are right on the turbo TDP/TDC limit, the multiplier you are getting will start to rapidly cycle between the default multiplier 9 and the full load 14 multiplier. ThrottleStop in the monitoring area does a great job of showing you exactly what multiplier each thread of your CPU is averaging. If during the sample period, half of the time you are getting turbo boost and half of the time you're not, it will show:

(9 + 14) / 2 = 11.50

The high performance timers that Intel has running within these CPUs are extremely accurate at figuring out just how much turbo boost you are getting at any instant in time.

ThrottleStops new ability to raise the TDP/TDC limits, allows these UM CPUs to operate at full turbo boost. That would be the 14 multiplier in your case, even when fully loaded. I'm not sure what multiplier you are averaging when running wPrime without ThrottleStop Enabled but one user with an overclocked Core i5-520UM was able to increase his average multiplier from 8.0 to 12.0 when fully loaded for a nice little 50% boost in CPU speed minus the very tiny CPU load that ThrottleStop puts on the CPU to do its thing.

 

Thanks alot man that helps alot. so if such a large bonus is gained by the x14 on both cores why do they allow TB to hit x17 on one core? Sorry if my questions are newbish this whole process has me interested hehe.

*I understand why the CPU chooses to boost one core but if there is such a gain from adjusting the TDP/TDC limits why do they (alienware, dell, intel or whoever) under rate the performance?

 

I don't think you read right. I originally posted this:

"Quick question, I know there's an option to turn off ThrottleStop automatically when going from AC to battery, but is there any way to automatically turn on ThrottleStop when going from battery to AC?"

I have the same settings, and when I unplug the power cord Throttlestop correctly turns off. However, it is when I plug the power cord back in that Throttlestop doesn't turn BACK on, but instead stays turned off. Anyone else experience this issue?

 

Sorry about that, I bet that still needs to be worked into the code, but it's still pretty easy to right-click on the icon to re-enable it.

 

Same here.

 

Mmm, true true, but I'm just a lazy person
UncleWebb, if you could fix this issue, that would be great!

As for some more synthetic benchmarks, I managed to get 8367 on 3Dmark06.
I was very, VERY pleasantly surprised, as I haven't managed to get over 7600 I believe until ThrottleStop!

Assassin's Creed 2 seems to run smoother too and doesn't dip into the lower framerates while running around. Used to dip into 21fps, I think it pretty much stays above 28 now. Or it might just be a placebo effect lol.

i7@154mhz, gt335m oc'ed to 548/1315/897.

 

The AC to Battery Turn Off option was from the early days of development when users were scared to death that their laptop would go ka-boom. This feature was designed to keep the XPS 1645 from killing its battery when switching to battery power under full Prime95 + Furmark load. I have no idea why anyone would want to do that but they did.

The best option at the moment is to create two different profiles. One profile for AC and a second profile for battery. You can use some very conservative TDP/TDC values for your battery profile and your more aggressive settings for your AC profile. Go into the Options window and set AC profile to 1 and Battery profile to 2 and then ThrottleStop can switch back and forth as you switch from AC to battery and from battery to AC.

In the future, I will try to improve the emergency XPS 1645 feature so it goes back to Turn On when you plug back in.

Version 2.89 is out now with the M11x= option built into the Options window.

It is called Force TDP/TDC since that is basically what it is doing. The lower this number, the more often TDP/TDC will be forced to the values you want and not the default values that your Alienware M11x is trying to stick you with.

If you don't need this option, set this value to 1000 or greater. The 920XM/940XM in the M15x and M17x don't seem to need this option since they are not continuously resetting the TDP/TDC values. Maybe Dell could fix this properly but don't hold your breath. Until then, ThrottleStop should be able to handle things.

The Alienware is using low power Core i UM processors. They are sacrificing a lot of performance at full load when overclocking for a small reduction in power consumption. That's why the TDP is set so low. Enthusiasts should stay clear of the UM series but with the M11x, that seems to be the only choice. Intel Turbo Boost is about letting a single core run faster when the second core is not needed to give a nice boost in performance for many applications that are still mostly single threaded. When the second core wakes up to process some background activity, both cores have to slow down to keep the core temperature and power consumption at a reasonable level. It works a lot better than Intel's first try at this. They had a feature called Intel Dynamic Acceleration in most of the recent 45nm Core 2 Duo CPUs but the increase in performance was so minor that it wasn't really worth bothering with. It kept the marketing department happy I guess. Core i Turbo Boost is much improved over that.

 

Whurz the doughnate buttunz

 

Well, they know they can appeal to people who like to fool with their computers....like me...with a laptop you can overclock and tweak.

 

It's in the system tray menu. It won't be too hard to find.

I'll do a full about box and a proper Donate button in the near future but hopefully this option is good enough so I can cash in on the M11x excitement at the moment.

Thanks for supporting free software.

 

awesome, at first I thought showing some benches in game would also be nice but the 3dmark06 scores are so incredable with this new breathrough. remember with better CPU formance mmorpgs should run beter because they require cpu power for netcoding so games like wow, aion and other mmos that didnt run good enough before on the m11x might be better now and worth looking into.

 

I can confirm about a 10-20% FPS increase in SC2, WoW, L4D2.. no exact numbers but its not a "feeling" I used fraps benchmarking to confirm just dont have them organized so they can be posted here.

 

8422 scored

i7UM@166
TDP/TDC 200/200
M11x=6
GPU OC'd (see image)

I pulled GPU OC settings my arse and haven't experimented with different settings yet. Shooting for 9000+ later this weekend.

 

3dmark doesn't equal game benchmarks... Come on guys. You know how it works. Enable fraps, f11 for logging, play on and post some before and after shots here.

It might benefit others see some real numbers to shoot for.

Thanks, StevenX

 

well for games I play mmorpgs, which require cpus and gpus 3dmark06 is a good benchmark but for other games...heh

 

3dmark06 is easy to use, and easy to replicate.

For games, unless if you are running a demo loop, or a replay (SC2), it's cursed near impossible to get the same results, even within a 10fps range. Just look at the ruckus [H]ard|OCPs HD5870 CF results caused when they decided to change their demo map for BFBC2.

"feels" is gonna mean a lot more than "I got 9 more FPS on another map/mission in SC2" (which I did ).

 

NICE! Keep pushing it I topped out at 8600 with the i5 with my cpu score of 2100. I think it is entirely possible for someone to hit 9k if they can OC to ~166fsb with TS and a beastly GPU that can OC around ~600/1480/900. I would be around 8950 if I had the i7 with the GPU i have on my system.

 

Hi Uncle,

Do you have the link for the 2.89? I dont see it on the first page.

 

It's in his sig

EDIT: not anymore !?

 

maybe he was abducted!

 

The end of his first post says,
"Last edited by unclewebb : Today at 04:11 PM. Reason: Added mod warning"

 

You probably thought I was kidnapped by the Intel Secret Police.

I was just trying to change my email address so I don't have my email box overflowing every morning. Everything is OK now. The 2.89 link is working again. Better grab it fast before I go missing again.

 

Can I ask what drivers are you running on? I am on an i7, my machine can't seem to overclock between 152-164, but it can be overclocked to 166? :S. I am running TS and it appears that my scores are lower with TS off. I will test all this again, but I only achieved a 3Dmark06 score of 7193 with overclock 152. no GPU overclock and no TS.

Thanks.

 

bump (for the drivers)

 

He's running the modded 260.89 beta desktop drivers.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/524203-nvidia-260-89-beta-desktop-drivers-released-10-11-10-a.html

 

Thanks!

How did you over clock to 166? I ran 166 when i got my machine last week. But now I can't do it, and the machine just reboots itself before loaded (without even getting a BsoD or going into windows). It just restarts again as soon as 166 settings are set. The max I could do is 150...

 

Think of it this way, is every human the world's fastest runner?
All computers are made differently even if it's the same brand. Some people just get luckier with M11x's that can be OCed at faster speeds.

 

hmm but initally my system could do 166. its just strange that the max it can go is 150. that is way too low...

 

nvidia drivers shouldnt effect CPU overclock FYI and I am using the 260.89 drivers as slickie said

 

I went to the Dell forum to share this simple solution with other M11x owners. I tried to post some download links to help out but it looks like my name is mud over at Dell. I wonder why?



Hopefully you can post the download links over there on that thread you started Cosmin. They don't seem to like me anymore. They should put me on their staff since I'm always mopping up the messes they leave laying around and I usually come up with a solution faster than they can get around to first acknowledging a problem exists.

 

Uncle, you fix Optimus and I'll get a change and have your baby. Find a way to infiltrate Evenbalance and bring all their servers down, I'll go the extra step and even make myself look good.

 

Wow, Dell. What a class move...

 

don't know if this game is worth taking tests on (never quite hit 100% with cpu usage when i checked in task manager, and the multipliers stayed around the same when i was running around with/without ts on - multipliers went below when i was sitting still though with ts off) but here are my scores with i7 core
on external monitor 1920 1080
eqII max settings ts off oc152 m11xr2 - 3 fps/
ts on - 3-4 fps
eqII high settings ts off- 7-8
ts on - 8-9
this is in a very laggy spot in the game*

my nvidia is still 257.30... not sure if i feel like fixing it yet

my 3dmark score went up about 300 with ts on vs off (oc 152)

i know you may refer me to the optimus/nvidia threads but do you peeps find that upgrading the nvidia software gets you a large boost/is worth it?

 

you should change your nvidia drivers. i cant say which is better as it depends on what you are running but am pretty sure the dell driver sux. anything that release after that are better

 

wow i planning to get the i7 version soon but i was wondering if there would be a chance if m11x will sport the standard i7 processor and not the UM version.

for comparison, here's my overclock m11x R1 wprime result @ 56 sec compare to 25sec of the i7 version

 

Not likely...

But we can always hope, eh?

Maybe the halfstep low voltage variants


But all that is dependant on how much of a hit battery life takes. I think there is the possibility of fitting in a higher capacity battery, just see how willing Dell is.

 

yeap, why cant DELL just accept the fact that their BABY M11X have grown up to be with the game changer and enthusiast level for such a laptop dimension. i bet the chassis can handle all the heat and power... but i am really sure that MARKETING WISE... DELL people is slowly savoring all the profit they can make before a new option will be added. JUST IMAGINE a m11x R3 sporting a higher 3xx card or a 5xxx ATI card... i would bet many would be replacing or adding a new m11x to all m11x owners and ner prospect buyers... and afterwards they will introduce the R4 m11x with the standard i5 or luckily the i7 full voltage version and i bet the SALES will go overboard again...

THAT is WHY i cant see why DELL would NOT be gearing for the much powerful M11x... :cry: :cry: :cry: OUR BABY M11x have grrown so much alreadyy :cry: :cry: :cry:

 

I wonder if anyone can really overclock the GPU to 600/1480/900

9000 might not be possible,but I think some vbios modding(if it's possible) can increase voltage which allows further overclocking

 

I can swear that yesterday I saw a picture in your post with Acces Denied for you on Dell forums or something like that.
Today is not. NBR mods (which are not affiliate with Dell, of course ) remove it.
Smart move.
To all NBR users which enjoys ThrottleStop to remove those stupid limitations made by Dell "engineers" I can say that thanks to Dell a**holes and NBR "impartial" mods Kevin has lost his interest in NBR forums.
Freedom of speech my a*s.
But you can still find him on XS.
Have fun with Dell sycophants.

 

ok, i7, overclocked to 160, 200/200 and m11x=8 i got 39.9 seconds without TS and 25.9 with it !!!

That is simply a staggering improvement.