M17x-R2 OverCLocking Options in BIOS

I noticed in my m17x-r2 BIOS that under the performance option there is an overclocking feature. It lets me turn up the overclock to 5% or something. What does this mean? If I turn this on, does the computer automatically overclock my processor by 5%? And what about turbo boost? Should I leave it on or turn it off? I realize when turbo boost is working, it can only shut down 3 cores and run 1 at 3.2Ghz, but id like to contantly run all 4 of my cores at 3.0ghz at the same time intead of others having to be shut off. I am an overclocking noob!

 

Yes.

You should leave it on, unless you want the CPU to run at it's base frequency all the time. I don't know what that speed will be (as you haven't mentioned your CPU), but you can find it out from this table below. Also, you can't run all 4 cores at 3.0GHz at the same time. When Turbo Boost is enabled, the max operating frequency of the CPU depends on how many cores are active (which you can't control). This is listed below too.



If you're a noob to overclocking, you should have a read of this. It will help to familiarise yourself with the basics.

 

Please refer to the R2 OC thread by Mandrake. No need for a new thread.

All your questions are answered in that thread.........

How to OC noobs edition by The_Moo:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=408230

 

Intel Core i7 920XM 2.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
Dual 1GB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4870 in CrossfireX
17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
1TB Raid 0 (2x 500GB 7,200RPM HDDs)

This is way old, it doesnt talking about overclocking the M17x-R2 with the 920XM

Ill turn on the 5% overclock thing in my BIOS, I just didnt know it was that easy and its turned off by default, so ill turn it on and see what kind of performance overclock it gives me, but i didnt know it was so easy or i would have already done it. But i know there are ways to overclock it even more right?

 

5% is a 5% increase in your cpu bclk frequency. This means your bus speed goes from 133 to 140. Since all i7 based systems have the memory controller built in, it is also a 5% OC with the memory.

You can also use evga eleet to control your turbo boost multipliers for OC'ing.

 

Jared,

I'm actually appauled at how fellow forum members are treating you! Some folks seriously need reminded that we were all 'noobs' at one point and need to be considerate of those just starting out...

Since you're interested in overclocking your iCore, I'd highly recommend you read this article from MaximumPC:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fe...overclocking_guide_we_push_nehalem_its_limits

It explains the basics, how things work, and the caveats involved.

iCore is a totally different animal than what most of us have dealt with. For me at least, it was easier throwing out everything I knew about overclocking and starting from scratch instead of trying to apply outdated concepts.

Hopefully this will give you a good start.

 

Ya, thanks DenverESullivan. I figured people here should be able to tell me exactly how to OC my Processor a little since a good mojoity of the people here probably have a m17x-R2, but as you can see I couldnt just get a straight answer. I am reading that article though. So, the evga eleet will work on an Alienware M17x-R2 even though it doesnt have an Nvidia chipset? And my computer seems slower when I turn on the 5% overclock thing in my BIOS, so i turned it off and it seems to perform faster with it off. And another big question i had about the special perfomance tab in the BIOS is it has an option to adjust settings in what its says is VCORE. What is the Vcore setting in the BIOS? I have the 1%-5% overclock disabled. Does the Vcore need to also be adjusted? or the RAM voltege?

 

Jared,

EVGA Eleet is basically their version of the Intel overclocking utility. It will work on the R2.

Most likely the reason your system seems slower when you enable the factory overclock is if I remember correctly it disables Turbo automatically.

In my honest opinion, you're better to leave your 920xm on Turbo and forget overclocking. The thermal profile of that chip in the laptop doesn't really give you much to play with before it will overheat. However, if your're into the whole 'numbers' game you can experiment - but do so with caution.

Vcore is the core voltage of the processor. Until you've read up on the iCore and how it works I'd definately recommend not monkeying with voltages or manual settings. You can cause your machine to fail to boot, or worse, fry something accidentally.

After you're done with the MaximumPC article, visit the folks over at Overclocking.com. They have a wealth of information and actually have some Intel folks lurking who can help you.

 

I didnt know there was an Intel Overclocking Utility for the 920XM core i7. Can i get a download link? And whic is better, the Intel overclocking utility or the EVGA Eleet utility?

 

The Intel one doesn't work with the M17xR2 because it requires additional bios support. It's called the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility.

Also when you start OC'ing up to 5% that does not change your turbo multipliers in any way so when it hits a single core multi of 24 your speed goes from 3.2Ghz to 3.36Ghz. That can actually cause instability in some system. More so if you change all your multipliers to all equal the same thing.

 

What about the Zfactors BIOS? I know some people flash that on their alienware M17x-R2 instead of using alienwares BIOS. Are the zfactors bios better? Is it stable? Should I switch? More overclocking support? Who made these custom BIOS?

 

I think you are thinking of the wrong laptop. AFAIK Zfactor's bios is only for the older M17.

 

correct the old one.. to my knowledge there isnt a customer bios for the M17x r1 and r2

 

Ok, i cant find where to download the EVGA ELEET tool. It wants me to register a product even after i signed up and i cant find on google.

 

So im still looking for a place to download the EVGA ELEET tool. Anyone know? Maybe someone could send it to me or uplaod it using rapidshare or something.

 

Don't know if this is the one you are looking for but if you look under tools on this thread there is a download link for this tool.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5853419&postcount=1

 

Ya, thats what I was looking for, but I need the new version EVGA's E-LEET v1.07.0 (03-16-2010). Know where i can find it?

 

E-LEET v1.07.0

Code:

http://www.mediafire.com/?mgmjwnr0tgy

 

Awesome, Thanks a bunch for the link. I was looking everywhere for this.

 

Yeah I noticed it's very hard to get a download of the latest version of this software as you have to have a motherboard registered with them to be able to even download it.

I had to request for it on another site.