940XM Worth

Hi,

I am considering an upgrade for my M15X CPU. I'm wondering is it really worth it to upgrade 720QM to 940XM or isit just a slight insignificant boost?

And what temperature would I be expecting on idle and on load, whether it is on OC or stock clocks. (Using Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut since I have extras)

I do occasionally run programs that are single core for work.

Thanks!

 

It really depends on what you're doing.If you want to go for a 940XM you probably need to remove the centerpin to make it not throttle.

temps depend on heatsink fit, thermal paste and fan profile

 

Yes a large performance jump. 720qm does 1.73ghz across 4 cores 940xm is unlocked.

Under stock cooling and power supply you can still overclock to 3ghz on 4 cores.

If you go for a beefier power supply eg 240w (delta) or 210w(dell) then you will have to potential to hit 3.3-3.7ghz 4 cores.

Also throttling only concerns the gpu. The cpu will never throttle if it has enough power and heat is under 99C. It will pull power to whatever is limiting it; heat, power supply etc. Yes I have tested this.

 

Yeah I forgot that the M15X prioritizes the CPU over the GPU. It will throttle the GPU instead, which still isn't desirable. So when going for a 940XM and having a 100W+ GPU, removing the centerpin is a must.

 

If you overclock it (which is certain these days to game) yes absolutely a gaming power supply with center pin removed is critical.

Keep original 150w psu for charging purposes or normal use.

I would also avoid those right angle tip adaptors they can melt under heavy usage. This was a good idea back in the day but time proved us wrong.

 

I see. Thanks for the advice. I have a 240W adapter but with center pin intact.

I'm getting one from ebay. Is this the right processor?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Intel-...867705&hash=item3d51b177f7:g:vX4AAOSwXPNaJMZK

 

.3.3-3.7ghz on 4 cores, roughly what temperature will I be looking at?

 

My heatsinks and fans are on stock. Thermal paste I still have a spare Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut in my cupboard.

 

Yes 940xm will work fine. 240W is fine. What GPU do you have. If you plan to overclock the cpu heavily power draw will be such that pulling the center pin on your 240W will be necessary. This will eliminate any GPU throttling. Just get a small pair of pliers and pull the pin out. You will then no longer be able to charge the battery with it so keep the original 150W for this purpose.

Heat will be high under load. I would recommend propping back of laptop up to ensure very good airflow, clean out the vents, heatsinks and fans to make sure they are free of dust. Also regarding overclocking the cpu you will need to test in increments. Some chips can handle 3.3ghz others more with the limit at around 3.7ghz on stock voltage. At these clockspeeds the cpu will run at 85-95C under load but this is totally fine. Nehalem 45nm chips are incredibily robust so you can run them at 100% load at up to 99C with no issues.

If you hit 100C then the machine will shut off so to keep an eye on this.

 

I'm running GTX 860m for my GPU. Ordered a piece. Hopefully it worth the money paid. Thanks!

 

It depends on what you paid I paid 250 dollars for M390X customs and shipping included

860M MXM = Kepler not maxwell so I personally wouldn't pay more than 120 dollars for it.

 

Well. Sadly PC hardware is expensive in my country.

Btw, I need some help. The processor arrived from the dealer and I plugged it in. I couldn't boot up to windows now. I'm on Windows 10. It spins for 2 to rounds and it stops there. My bios is on A09. But its detecting my CPU as 000 @ 1.3Ghz. What could be the issue?

 

After searching around the web. Turns out I was scammed. It was an Engineering Sample Unit and it wasn't even an 940XM. Gosh! Where can I find trustworthy sources.

 

So what is it? If it has 4 cores and is unlocked then it should serve well. There is zero difference between 920xm and 940xm too so it depends what the ES was based off. With throttlestop both chips overclock up to about the same

 

I doubt its a 920XM/940XM chip. It is reading it as 000 @ 1.3Ghz .1.3Ghz dont seem to be the clockspeed of 940XM. Or maybe Im wrong somewhere. + It couldnt boot up the OS for some reason

 

What PSU adaptor do you have? Some people have under-powered PSU's (ie sub 150W) and this hinders the boot process.

 

240W PSU Centre pin removed as adviced. I was running on i7-740QM without issues. The moment I swapped to this processor it couldnt boot.

 

Well then likely you are sadly correct. Sucks to be misled like this. Do check the NBR forums also to see is a processor is selling. More trustworthy source.

Sent from my SM-A500FU using Tapatalk

 

Yeah. Hopefully ebay refunds my money so I can source for another place.

 

Do you have a picture of the actual CPU you received?

 

Here. Also, are there any Revision to the Alienware M15X Board that does not run 940XM?

 

Just make sure you're on the latest BIOS.

 

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Hi Mate, have you solved your case, I have the same case as you, I just bought the 940MX but after install it was showing 000. @1.73ghz
cannot boot up, trying to install new windows but always stuck after view minute.
i just return it now.

after swap to the old one now is okay..

 

Hi,

Yes I have solved my case. It is a fake chip. I returned to sender and got my refund. Don't waste time with it. I've ordered a 920XM from a local vendor. Arriving next week. Verified working chip. Hopefully it goes well for you too.

 

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Hi Mate,

i have return it to the seller, he promise to send the replacement lets see, because the seller was top rate seller in ebay this is the link

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core...m=131867427343&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

in case he is lying again we have to blacklist this seller.

 

Amazing that there are fake chips out there! Considering how cheap these now are it surprises me to find such fakes in the marketplace.

 

So, my 920XM arrived. I realise it was running on 80-85'c on load (No OC yet). Is this normal?

 

Yes I was caught off guard because they sell at market price. It did not trigger me as suspicious seller at first. Too many good reviews are not to be trusted.

 

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I just refund my money back.. and the seller did already, could anyone has any recomendation for baying I7 940XM or another recomended seller.
pls shared it here many thanks

 

Try finding locally. If you cannot find. I'll ask from a local dealer and you can contact him.