How to pinmod and further overclock the M11x R1 (SLG= Hardmod only)

Is this with OC mode on or off?

 

I have the SLG board. Cut pin 2 earlier today and found my Corsair RAM would not boot when OC is disabled in BIOS. Swapping in the factory RAM worked but I only have 2 gigs of that. I noticed that cpu-z shows the ram increasing from 400 to 533 Mhz. This is how cpu-z detects my RAM... shouldn't that work or do I have a defective stick?

What's weird about this RAM is that if I plug it into the upper RAM slot the laptop just beeps trying to boot. The lower works just fine, but factory RAM does not produce this behavior. It never gave me any trouble running at 1.6 Ghz all these months.

 

OC mode on.

 

with the pinmod (1.92ghz) my games are running a lot better (BFBC2, COD:BO) and are actually playable now, thanks for the great guide.

 

The issue with the R1 is its stuck running Cas 6 or lower. which is hard on DDR3 RAM at speeds of 533mhz (1066mhz effective) and higher.

OC mode enabled runs the RAM at a looser ratio (3x base clock)
OC mode disabled runs the RAM at same as FSB clock.

 

OC mode enabled: RAM @ 3:2 of FSB (or FSB is 2:3 of RAM)

eg: 266FSB = RAM @ 266*3/2 = 399MHz (400) DDR to 800MT/s (CL6)

OC mode disabled: RAM @ 2:1 of FSB (or FSB is 1:2 of RAM)

eg: 266FSB = RAM @ 266*2/1 = 532MHz (533) DDR to 1066MT/s (CL6)

On a question of RAM I have found this kit:

Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz HyperX Laptop Memory.. | Ebuyer.com

Would this be any good for removing the RAM from the overclock equation?

1333 @ CL7 should make 1066 @ CL6 do-able shouldn't it?

 

Yes that kit would be good, but..... i went thru 2 kits i got from newegg and both were bunk. there are some users on here that have the same kit from a older production batch that work just fine at rated speeds.

So its a shot inthe dark. if you by chance get a good kit more power to you. but i was not lucky with this ram.

 

After reading this, I guess I'm confused on what the best route is to achieve the best overclock.

Can someone explain briefly what the best method is? If the OC is turned off in the BIOS, you get better ram timing... but at that point do you just step up from 1.3GHz to 2.0-2.1 as opposed to stepping it up from the 1.7 to 2.0-2.1?

I don't have my laptop in front of me to answer this, but does the factory BIOS OC only affect the processor and not the GPU?

 

the Ram timings dont change no matter what mode your in. only the ratio changes.

enable OC mode to reduce your RAM bottleneck, most likely highest CPU OC this way (with OC mode enabled you r multiplier is 6 but your RAM ratio is much slower allowing for the RAM to have more head room.) with OC enabled we have seen results as high as 2.1ghz .

with OC disabled its very doubtful you will get anything higher than 1.8ghz. (with OC mode disabled you have a 6.5 multiplier but, the ram ratio runs too fast for most RAM to get anything over 1.7ghz due to the Cas6 timings)

 

Cheers for that, I didn't know a few people have had duff kits.

I am in the UK so perhaps I will stand a chance of getting a good set. We have a 7 day "cooling off peroid" under the distant selling regs so in theory I could try the ram and send it back under DSR if it is no better than what I have already (assuming of course I can test the ram without damaging the packaging - it has to be sent back "as new").

 

Has anyone achieved higher than the hypothetical 1.8GHz (OC mode disabled), just for curiosity sake.

 

i think the highest seen in non OCmode is 1.73Ghz (pinmod).

its really not going to get you far... the higher RAM speed doesn't make up for what you loose in CPU speed stability.

the bottom line here that everyone seems to be missing is we are at the mercy of the Cas6 setting. this really limits our RAM speed, Which in all cases so far is the bottle neck.

-the CPU can be overvolted

-the chipset has been seen running 1600mhz in other laptops

-finding RAM that runs high Mhz @ Cas6 is proving to be really hard.

the few of us that have RAM that is capable of this aren't doing the mod so the results have yet to be seen.

 

I'm willing to help out with whatever is needed. What mod is it that hasn't been done as of yet? Flashing the ram?

 

There's a 2.1Ghz SU7300 in http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...-ul50vt-beyond-turbo-mode-13.html#post6607440. They've got the same configuration: GS45 chipset, DDR3 RAM, PLL running at 200Mhz and with the PLL programmed up and beyond 266Mhz (running RAM at 1:2 ratio), x6.5 multiplier.

Their bios however allows CAS=7. See here. That's the stumbling block for a m11xR1.

 

My Asus UL80Vt-A1 was able to go to 325 FSB. 320 FSB was even benchable for me.

CPU-Z Validator 3.1

 

I really wish we could find a way to change the Cas setting... it seems like its only a bios change thats needed. it seems the hardware is perfectly capable.

We need someone to figure out how to flash the bios to allow higher Cas timings. even just a bump to Cas7 would help greatly. it would basically let almost anyone hit around 2.1ghz with some needing a small bump in Vcore.

Standard RAM = 1066mhz @ cas7 (2:3 ratio = up to 355mhz at stock ram speed/timing)
NonOC mode @ 355mhz = 2.13Ghz

 

Would loosening all the timings on otherwise unbootable RAM via SPDtool do the trick? Out of curiosity, I flashed my Corsair RAM with the same SPD settings as the dell factory RAM to see if it'd boot but screwed it up. Luckily was able to recover it by hotplugging the module and rewriting the initial SPD dump.

 

Ppl have tried that already. dosent work....

Its the Bios that need changed to allow other timings to work. the R1 flat out wont boot @ Cas7 right now with the current Bios.

 

Okay I demolished Pin #2 on the SLG PLL and here's what is happening (and I need to know if this is normal):

Overclocking mode on = Still seeing 1.6ghz (nothing seems changed from stock)

Overclocking mode OFF = 1.73ghz, 6.5x multiplier, can only get the machine to boot up if i'm using the stock 2gb ram stick, it won't boot up at all using my single 4gb ram stick (which actually is a faster chip than the 2gb module).

I thought Overclocking mode was supposed to be on when cutting Pin 2?

Any recommendations as to why my 4gb stick works just fine at 1.6ghz mode, but not when running 1.73ghz? It doesn't seem like the ram timings were changed at all from 1.6ghz or 1.73ghz.

Thanks,

Div

 

Yup, totally normal.

Pin2 doesnt affect the PLL logic for the OC mode setting.

It does affect the Non OC mode setting which will give you 266mhz x 6.5 the issue is that this makes the RAM run out of normal spec (1066mhz Cas7) the RAM tries to run at 1066mhz Cas6. not all RAM can do this.

 

Can I do the 2.0ghz slg mod and use stock ram?

 

So what are my options with my 4gb stick? Reading about flashing the specs of the RAM to work at different CAS.. is this something I can try?

I already picked up a 10k ohm and have all my solder stuff ready for the 2.0ghz mod.. if I go 2ghz, will it allow the ram to run at CAS 7 again?

 

You can try

 

The R1 will only run RAM @ Cas6 or lower.... its locked in the bios. flashing RAM has not worked inthe past....

Going the 2.0ghz pinmod route will make your RAM run @ 1000mhz Cas6. i would say most RAM should hit this speed no prob.

Remember with this pinmod you have to be have OC mode enabled and never disable it. This will set your PC to boot @ 400 base clock(2.4Ghz CPU/1600mhz FSB/1600mhz Ca6 RAM) not possible....

 

So would in overall performance, do you think slower ram + 2ghz CPU would be faster than 1.8ghz and faster ram timings? I wonder what percentage difference we're looking at here. Maybe 10% faster on the 2ghz + slower ram setup..

I know that in pure CPU tests only the clock speed matters so the 2ghz would obviously shine on CPU benches.. but in overall system performance, I wonder if having the faster ram and slightly slower CPU speed would seem like a more viable option.

Just something to think about..

 

The CPU speed is more valuable....VERY rarely will you be waiting on the system ram for data

 

Another question, i'm trying to see if the ram goes back to CAS7 with the 2.0ghz mod (Pin 7 to 3.3v) on SLG? Or am I still out of luck on my 4gb stick that I can't use unless I stopped overclocking... ugh

 

Pretty sure it will never run at cas 7 no matter what you try

 

if we could get a modified bios for the m11x that would unlock cas 7 that would be great..

 

If there's any other Dell BIOSes that do have CAS latency changing, I am sure it wouldn't be too difficult to hack it up to work on our units.

 

I think we have a new project, boys. We think were running out of mods, but modding the BIOS for higher CAS RAM could be the ticket to RIDICULOUS OC's. Maybe we can persuede DavyGT or someone else familar with the BIOS's to reserch this and see if its possible.

 

pretty sure DavyGT tried already and wasn't successful.

ive never tried, i wouldnt even know to begin

 

There was custom bios project underway for the M17x. Looks like they don't even have a release yet.

Alienware M17x-R2 A10 BIOS Unlocked OC Options

We'd need a really talented and dedicated M11x owner to take on that project.

 

You need to get on the bios-mods forum and put in a request. TheWiz did all the magic for the M17x r2

 

I think Davy may have. Who knows. Wait for confirmation from him. If he has, I bet it won't work, but we could always ask TheWiz.

 

He is awesome with the mods. He unlocked a ton of stuff in the R1 bios (unfortunately it did not help much but his work was outstanding). I left him a very generous donation as a token of thanks for all the work he did for us

 

So I tried the 2ghz mod on my SLG and I now get the 7 beeps when I boot up. I pulled off my wire and solder and it looks like Pin 6, 7 and 8 all look flattened somehow? Makes no sense. And it doesn't look like they are bridge anywhere.. I guess add me to the fubared list :/

 

EXACTLY what happend to me!!

 

Ugh.. I have 322 days of next day warranty atleast.. Hopefully they will fix?

 

make sure they wont notice anything different about the motherboard, and yes, play stupid.

 

Lol, will do.. I'm good at being stupid.. such as being stupid enough to think i'm decent at soldering and ruining my mobo :/

 

Try to keep the fraudulent warranty claims to PM guys, not allowed to talk about it in the forum.

To clarify, YES this would be a fraudulent claim. You absolutely caused this damage yourself knowing it is outside the scope of what the warranty covers.

 

Does anybody knows how can I get BCLK hex-values to extends its table in SetPLL ? beyond 357mhz

 

Idk how that stuff works yet...

Why, Are you OCed past 2.3Ghz?

 

Not really, this is new experiment with my cousin's M11x. it has ICS pll and I think there is a way to overclock while overclock-option is disabled in bios.

check this cpu-z shot (have a look at FSB and core VID)



need to test more to make sure and I really need those values

 

how did you got 1.73 Ghz? I just have 1.6 ):

 

You can easily pass 1.6 in overclock mode, just check the first post by DavyGT


@To All (DavyGT, Nando, Moral_Hazard and SomeGuy)

I need BCLK hex-values for above 357Mhz to be used with SetPLL, please share if you have them

 

@someguy
is the ram at stock timings when in overclock mode??

 

i wont be any help here. sorry

the RAM timings are always 6-6-6-15. it never changes and we dont know how to change it.

 

Could you link to this?

I tried searching and came up with nothing close to what i was expecting.