2.8Ghz in m15x

Hello, I'm a bit of a noob, so plz bear with me.
I've been reading this forum for some time now, observing the chatter on the m15x, and I have to say I'm a little concerned. I've had my eye on getting one (or the m860tu), and am willing to spend to get the top of the line of what I'm looking for(IE futureproofing). I'm curious about the 2.8 X9000 processor. I've heard there are problems with it and downclocking (as I understand it this issue comes from a heat issue). I'm just wondering if there is any chance this will be fixed (at present or in the future) with a BIOS upgrade, or if I can somehow overclock it (as in http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4248). Something that doesn't void the warranty.

P.S. I am in no rush to get my comp, so time is not a major issue. I can wait a month or two if I have to.

P.S.S.- If I have misused any computer lingo, again I'm more of a gamer than a computer hardware specialist, and am mainly blathering off tidbits of knowledge I've accumulated through skimming websites.

 

this cant really be fixed unless AW suddenly designs a new cooling system. the fans are already spinning at max rpm but the processor gets too hot. you wont be able to overclock the x9000 since its locked in the bios. i dont see why you would want to either since it gets hot enough as it is. there is a fix which is to undervolt your processor.

 

regarding the X9000, not only it downclocks but also not OC'able (it is supposed to OC from 2.8 to 3.2 with intel factory spec.)

 

I s there any chance that Alienware will upgrade their cooling system? If not I suppose a 2.6 ghz processor will do the job.

 

I wouldn't recommend the 2.8 X9000 to anyone at this point in time. You are almost guaranteed to downclock under stress and this issue has not been addressed by Alienware nor do the future prospects of a fix seem auspicious. It appears to be exceeding the thermal constraints of the system and unless they force a lower voltage on the core (doubtful), it simply will never be addressed. As fond as I am of the m15x, I simply don't think it can handle the Extreme processors and don't think they should even be offered.

The only fix will be Taco's guide on lowering the voltage with RMClock.

 

if you want the 2.6ghz CPU, get the 2.5ghz CPU. you won't notice the difference while gaming but you'll save over a 200 bucks i believe.

 

the heat problem is only a problem of using to much paste on the cpu.
use less paste and a very good one and you wont get any problems
my stresstest 20minuts and i didnt got over 80°C at my x9000

 

Just for the sake of clarification... Blackpit and Markus.rainer are the ONLY users with extreme processors that report not having overheating. Both of them opened the laptop, took the fans out and accessed the different components in one way or another. They both also used different thermal paste.
All this WILL VOID your warranty.

Appart from that, ABSOLUTELY EVERY SINGLE M15x that comes out of AW with the extreme processor, downclocks. And I mean... 100% of the extreme CPUs.

 

nope we gotta german user in the alien-forum.net who got the x9000 original when i remembered right and he doesnt have dc

and all the ones who are not in any forums we dont know about
but the rest is right of course

also a choice would be to call aw because of dc and ask for changing the thermalpaste on their own....

 

Blackpit, if you read the thread on the CPU downclocking you would notice they are aware for the problem for the past 2-3 months and nothing was done to solve it. You would also see that everyone that owns the X9000 has downclock. And these people do not even come here aware of the problem. They just realize it afterwards.

Just last week, an Alienware rep said they are aware of this and working on a solution. I'm sure if the solution was less paste and better paste, that would have been implemented already. Unless they are just sleeping at their work...

 

yes but strange that the only 2guys who did it like that have no more dc xD

and as i said, there are some more with x9000 who have no dc.

if i got an original x9000 dc cpu from aw, i would call and ask if i can do it without voiding the warranty, because i got the information that it can be solved like that

 

I'm a big supporter of arctic silver thermal paste and have used them and others many times in the past, but I've never seen a 10C decrease in temps from using it. As happy as I am for you Blackpit, I think you might be an anomaly as far as the cpu temps are concerned, but count yourself lucky. It would be nice to have someone as a guinea pig in here to see before and after results. I think we had someone use AS5 for their gpu but don't think they noticed a very significant difference in temps.

 

yes, honestly im thinkin of using it for the gpu also^^

i think the whole trick is to use SO LESS thermal paste which doesnt dare much people ^^
as is said, i just so less that the cpu still blinked, but only in the color of the paste ^^