*OFFICIAL* M11x Owners Lounge - Part 3

AW limited the multiplier with OC via BIOS. But if we didn't do that in BIOS, and managed to do throught setfsb, 1.73GHz would be easy. It's all in theory, i wish i had one of these to play with Also with RMclock, voltage could be back to normal...

 

Every single company does that. It's called the "cover their @$$" policy.

Anywho, Everest is installed... what did people want to see?

 

Cpu information screenshot !

Thanks chewie for all you did

 

Chewie, If you can run some stress tests and post screenshots of pretty much anything, temps and such. That would be good to see.

 

Regarding the OC issue

Right now, from what Everest and CPU-Z and CoreTemp are telling me..

At stock, the SU7300 is at 0.900 V when the multiplier is at 4x (hence 800Mhz). Due to SpeedStep, the voltage increases to 0.990V at 6x (1.2GHz) and then when you hit 1.3 GHz, it goes to 1.038V.

When you run the OC feature, it appears that SpeedStep is disabled. I've left it enabled and disabled in BIOS, and in Windows, the clock is locked at 1.600 GHz (6x 266)

Strangely, Everest reads the CPU as a 1.733 GHz, with a 6x multiplier @ 288...

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if this were a BIOS bug. Some possible scenarios with the BIOS:

a) A bug with disabling SpeedStep, which in turn would raise the voltage appropriately (this is corroborated by the fact that SpeedStep is disabled in Windows regardless of it is enabled in BIOS, when Overclock is on)
b) CoreTemp/CPU-Z/Everest are reading the sensors wrong. It's weird to see Everest read it as 1.733 GHz (6x288) but all 3 do read voltage as 0.900 (note: this wouldn't be the first time though that the voltage is being read incorrectly).
c) The BIOS is working as intended and we're being limited to 1.6 GHz at 0.900 V.

All that being said though, I don't see why setfsb wouldn't work since the CPU is obviously capable of being OC'd, it's just a BIOS issue right now.

 

can i ask something about warranty?

 

Edit your post and ask... no need to raise your hand

Also check this link:
http://support.dell.com/support/top...ce_contracts?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1

 

@chewie = I second Dan's requests. We need numbers and the more the merrier. Probably would make the first bits of data to trickle into the benching thread.

 

man this thread grows by hell loads per day. i dint really see what you guys said exactly on the past few pages but..

im quite sure theres no way dell can find out uve been tampering with the oc options as long as u can set it back to default but resetting ur bios when u want to return/get some repairs done.

that is of cos if you even need to tell them youve nv overclocked before. and its not like they will ask if you have oced ur system.

 

@batboy
yeap, checked the link already. but it doesnt help.

my first question:
if i ordered my alienware m11x in malaysia, and 6 months later i bring it to USA. if something happened to my m11x when im in US, can i send my m11x to local dell (in USA) for repair under warranty?
which means, the 1 year premier service warranty is an international warranty service or just local service?

 

thanks mate ive posted a similar question before was waiting for a reply

 

Yes I've already run a bunch of 3dMark06 (as much as I loathe it), 3dMarkVantage, and a PCMarkVantage run.

The pics are all saved up, just getting tired and need to finish a few more runs

 

I've actually had my boss telling customers that to make a more convincing case when claiming for warranty... So your reasoning isn't too far off. And compared to the last few parts, this thread is growing at a leisurely pace.

EDIT: @chewie = Nicely done.

@micheal = I answered that similar question a few pages back... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5913180#post5913180

 

Just an FYI on GT 335M clocks

Core MHz / Shader Mhz / Memory MHz
Standard 2d / idle: 135 / 270 / 135
Low-Power 3d: 405 / 810 / 324
GPU: 450 / 1080 / 790

Also, Everest states 8 pixel pipeliens, 1 TMU per pipeline, 800 MPixel/s pixel fillrate, 3600 MTexel/s fillrate

Im too tired to calculate what that translates to for ROPS/TMUs

 

I believe HardwareHeaven have an official answer from dell regarding OC-ing and the warranty.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/hh-reviews/196228-alienware-m11x-notebook-review-hh-7.html

Who knows, AW/Dell might be more lenient when it comes to it. Anyway, anyone here kind enough to point out to me how big of a performance difference can one see(during usage) between the clock speed of 1.6ghz and 1.73ghz for SU7300?

@shadowarachh
Well I reckon AW/Dell believe m11x has the capacity to safely handle the OC up to a certain level (perhaps in their eyes it was 1.6ghz).

 

Thanks chewietobbacca for doing all that work. It offers more insight into the multiplier issue.

With Speedstep enabled in the BIOS, and with OC on, did you check the power management settings to ensure the system is set to an "Always on" or "Desktop" scheme? Or when you say it's disabled in Windows, are you referring to something else? Although I'd put money on it that AW have disabled Speedstep with OC on to "lock" the multi of 6x.

Agreed on the fact about Everest reporting the incorrect speed. The bus is definitely not raised to 288MHz (therefore 1152MHz FSB) as AW clearly states in the manual it's raised from 200MHz to 266MHz OC'd. I'd put faith in the voltage reading at 0.9v.

I agree about SetFSB (providing they support the PLL) being an option and RMClock to fix the voltage but that is not something we should have to do.

 

You'll have to check with your country's Tech Support on this. There are repair depots Dell uses in the US, however this is basically a 'Dell sends you a box with a shipping label and you send it off to the depot' type service call.

When speaking with your country's tech support, ask them what the terms are for international warranty repair coverage. They should be able to provide the necessary details.

 

@nuke yeap i saw it.
but ur warranty is 1 year or 3 years warrantY?

 

Standard issue, didn't upgrade but like Batboy said, it might differ from country to country. But Malaysia bought and repair in Australia works, dunno about the US of A

 

Great to hear, and I agree. It's better with all this out in the open early, let's hope a BIOS fix is on the way.

 

I dont believe this is correct. The way Dell handled the XPS M1730 which had the ability to overclock an intel extreme CPU via the BIOS is (quoting from the DCSE Service Manual):

Now I post this as an example of Dell's previous policy. The policy may have changed, it may not. As long as Dell mentions (I'm not sure since I have not looked at their specific comments on the Product page nor been following here), the system can be overclocked, I believe the same 'thinking' will apply. Again, if Dell makes it so this can be OC'd using the BIOS, then OCing via the BIOS will be covered if something goes wrong.

I suggest contacting Tech Support and asking them for confirmation.

 

Thanks for the info, the problem with SetFSB is that we need the PLL to be compatible. If it is not, and we can't get a software to OC it, then the other option is a pin mod to the pll, which would definately void the warranty.

Also, what version of CPU-Z do you have, is it possible it's an older version. I know the first version I had had some bugs and as a result reported the wrong CPU. Another thing to look at is if the Mandrake trick is possible. If it is then you can check the Windows info option where it tells the RAM, CPU, WEI, ect, and it might say there. I found that after doing Mandrakes trick, it will give the stock speed of the CPU, and the Actual speed it's clocked up to next to it. Below is the trick from the NotebookForums. Its tailored to a quad core, but I think on the M11X it should be the same

 

I've got all the latest software, and I doubt right now that Everest + CoreTemp + CPU-Z are all reading the voltage wrong, though I find it weird that Everest thinks its 6x288 for whatever reason

 

Anyone that has one play World of Warcraft yet? I'm curious to see how it handles the game because at the highest detail settings it can be very demanding.

 

If that's so, I suppose it won't be unreasonable to assume Dell would be more than happy to replace any parts that are damaged due to OC-ing it to 1.6ghz.

 

@Gstaiano = It can run wow just fine. nagshead had it and ran WoW on it outputting to 1080p to an ext monitor and it ran fine.

 

Cottabe posted 3DMark06 scores @ 1.3 and @1.6OC. They were ~5600 and ~6200 respectively, check the benchmark thread out.

 

Does any fellow geeks here not appreciate (yet) the irony here with OC discussion?

1. This is a gaming rig
2. Most people were expecting it to OC to 1.6 with no warranty debate
3. Then it is logically assumed it would go to 1.73ghz, since 30vt does as a standard feature and same chipset (shame about the weak 210m)
4. Now people are worried that even OC at 1.6, that is open in the bios, may void the warranty and reps are wording in a vague way to help support the concern.
5. Meanwhile, the 30vt and several other laptops ship as standard with 1.73 OC and the UL models from Asus has it as a soft switch (again, shame about the 210m)

None of this BS discussion should be taking place. This is a gaming rig at a premium price, so the OC of 1.6ghz that is well under the SU7300 ceiling should not be a concern at all.

Unless Asus has some form of patent on the "turbo boost" they market for their UL models, it is VERY lame the way Alienware implemented the OC feature in the first place. Not to mention the 1.6/1.73 issue.

I will be OK with the 1.6ghz, but not OK with Dell's lame a55 explanation of the warranty in using it. What I am NOT OK with is my m11x being on production hold due to a power supply shortage. Who does their production planning- the same people that designed the overclocking implementation?

 

No Throttling Issues so far?? lol I wonder where does this applies to.. haha Dell Products?

 

Keep in mind Asus has the fortune (and misfortune) of being able to manufacture their own products, whereas most other OEM's rely on the Foxconn's and other groups out there to do it for them. There's very definite pro's and con's to each approach

 

@Rushy = about the shortages, no one is actually clear on what is going on in the factories save for the people actually assembling the units, so flame the reps who are giving you the bad inf, its their fault. And I won't blame the engies for doing a halfassed job, they were too distracted cause they were laughing too much after reading the thread.

@eugene = Its a ulv c2d processor... throttling is for full strength iXs with turbo boost.

@chewie = Dell relies on Winstron I think...

 

rofl, I definitely appreciate the irony. Guess Dell prefer to play it safe (to an extreme extent).

 

Well, M11X isn't really a premium price, part of the apeal. Getting an Alienware brand rig for under $1k. The M17X is, but the M11X is a gaming rig. Although not as serious as the M17X. The reason for 1.6/1.73 is, again, battery life and portability. Thats the main push for the M11X. Alienware has already proven that they can push a serious gaming rig. But lets face it. A 17" 13lbs monster isn't all that portable.

 

Unless you are bigfoot or Superman or Darth Vader. Well... 5kgs nearly killed me so this is heaven compared to that old Studio 15 klunker.

 

Going off benchmarks from synthetics (god I hate synthetic benchmarks), the GT335M is quite the beast...

And if I had to guess the configuration core of the GT335M, besides the confirmed 72 SP's, there are probably 24 TMU's and either 8 or 12 ROPs. This makes sense given that the previous GT240M is 48 SP's, 16 TMU's, and 8 ROP's and Nvidia likes to scale things with SP's

 

@chewie = Great point- no Dell getting in the way

@nukey = Probably

@dobby = Dell is probably a main issue here and they may be ticked that AW even allowed it in the bios. Seriously- my guess is this was debated at least.

@DR650 = For a new netbook gaming segment, it is a premium. Heck, without discounts, even my same config would be premium for a small lappy ($900 vs almost $1200)

 

That extra 8% of clock with 1.73ghz would be appreciated by the 335m

 

Tried out my m11x for the last time, it runs fine oc'ed on intergrated graphics but crashed when I switch to discrete. So I'm clueless now maybe a mobo problem?

And I've decieded that I'm getting my money back and will get one again in a couple of months to see if any more problems arise in that time. I rang up this morning but the people arent there on a Saturday to refund me or whatever

 

10%! Make it relative to the 1.3GHz speed, it sounds better!

 

Based on the temps you reported, heat seems to not be the issue and the fact that it OC fine with 335m disabled / Also, the memory speed issue is not the problem if you can OC. I wonder if there is a voltage threshold issue with the motherboard, since the common issue appears to be power load? Ironic for a ULV...

 

Deceiving, but better!

 

I agree with the rest. The GPU is bottlenecked by the CPU so yes 1.73ghz will make a difference over 1.6ghz.

 

The bottleneck isn't as apparent outside of 3dMark06, or when you actually push the resolution. The GT335M is quite capable. Anywho, go ahead and refresh the benchmarks thread as some preliminaries will be posted in a sec. Then i'm going to sleep but don't flood the thread with 20+ posts for me to catch up

 

So, for those who used DPA, how often does it update itself? My balance is 20bux lol

 

Would be good to find out out from any people who the machine to test it with 1080P youtube videos and see how it gets on with youtube and 1080P videos.

That would be really helpful.

 

any benchmark on 1.3ghz cpu?

 

Dell is Alienware. There is no difference anymore. They have direct input and I would imagine approval on each feature that goes into a system design.

 

@batboy
exactly. That's one of the main reasons why Alienware systems are looking tamer year by year. Of course, imo, this is a good thing. I never liked the bulging alien head logo present on previous models. And those alien fins...gives me the shivers.

 

Oh well...from what I am reading here, everyone is right. Yes, most of us took the decision to go ahead and spend our hard earned money on this new Alienware product even before we new about the overclocking option, and yes at the time it looked like a deal. After the HH review, the picture started to look even better and we all got excited for a reason, than after some research and simple examples like Asus UL series, we came to the conclusion that 1.73ghz actually would be the logical choice by AW (sine other manufacturers chose it) and we got even more excited.
Me being a little skeptical about all that, started asking for a real proof from the members that received their laptops first and off course a lot of people jumped on me an blamed me that I am not right to think that it will be different than 1.73ghz since the logic and the multiplier that Intel have for that CPU is set to x6.5...
Little that we know, AW had a different plan for us, what were their reasons? Only AW engineers can say, IMO they were trying to play it safe, it is not unusual for a big corporation to play it safe, so that the customers be more happy with the product with no issues.
Apparently they did not took the fact that actually this product is catered to segment of customers that are very demanding, because they are gamers and tech enthusiasts and every possible additional frame rate is a huge thing.
Probably DELL/AW will realize the mistake they made, and change/update their BIOS in a short future, in to variants, benefiting the customer giving them the desired 1.73ghz OC or just removing the option from the BIOS an leaving the choice for OC in the hands of the clients.
Than again my skepticism emerges and tells me that, as always, they just going to close their eyes and turn their backs to us and hope that the people we still continue to buy this model despite the miss-advantages that come with it.
Personally I would have canceled my order if that information was disclosed earlier, but my m11x was already shipped. I value very highly my money and the hard work I put to earn it and a small equilibrium like this by Dell/Aw can totally made me turn around in 180 degrees.
Now I just have to suck it up and be a man about it, after all, all the decisions we are making is our own fault and we can not blame some one else for clicking the "Place your Order" button, and wait and hope that I am not going to be right about the short future.

 

Wait...

All this over a measly 133Mhz that may or may not be unlocked with setfsb or other oc methods? Go look at some benches first...