Overclocking the m15x

Ok, so everything Ive read says that the core 2 duo EXTREME 2.8 is perfect for overclocking. I have personally never overclocked my processors in the past due to being afraid Id screw something up. Is OC worth the time and effort? Also, where can I learn everything there is to know about OC and how to OC correctly?

 

You can't (nor would I recommend) overclock a notebook processor, for a myriad of reasons. Processor overclocking not only voids warranty, it also increases heat output and decreases potential stability. Alienware wouldn't support it either, to the best of my best knowledge.

 

Well I opened up my bottom cover last night and for having the 2.8 extreme, it has to have the smallest heatsink I have ever ever seen on such a processor. I was hoping to overclock my CPU aswell but to be honest with such a small heat sink I don't think I would even bother now.

And if anyone is askig the bottom plate is huge and gives you awsome access to your RAM, HDD, GPU, CPU, Cooling FANS, and MOBO Baterry. This system will be super simple to self upgrade and or apply some AS5 to the GPU and CPU.

 

Read up on it a little bit. From the reviews Ive read OC is really easy on this model....havnt been able to find any results as of yet though.

 

A few things need to be clarified here.

If Alienware does not provide options in the BIOS to overclock the processor, then you can't do it the way Extremes are designed to work.

An Intel Extreme processor has unlocked multipliers. That means that by changing the multiplier, you can get higher clocks. Read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_multiplier
There are two ways to overclock a CPU: 1) Overclock the FSB and 2) up the multiplier. #2 is much easier and Intel knows that so they charge a premium for it.

I am testing a Sager NP5793 with an Intel Extreme and it has BIOS options to overclock the processor by changing the multiplier.

 

Yeah I am extremlyu disapointed the Extreme is not OCable. I was hoping to get a littl eoc with this processor. Hopefullt they wil release a new BIOS in the future to OC. But I really doubt it.

 

I think the reason that AW wont let you OC the processor is perhaps because of heat issues. I'm sure that they don't want a ton of computers coming back to them because of people OC'ing. The M5550 was bad enough, so I don't think they want another M5550 fiasco to happen so they're playing it safe.

It would be pretty nice to to OC the Extreme to 3.2Ghz from 2.8Ghz

 

So Alienware doesnt give the option in the BIOS? Has anyone confirmed that?

 

Well newfiejudd owns it and so I presume he's tried it already with no success.

newfie, have you tried contacting AW support? Maybe see what they have to say about any possible future BIOS updates?

 

Hey GRB yeah I emailed them today asked them exactly that. Hopefully they will get back to me on monday.

I have searche dteh BIOS over and ovr and no Sign of any overclockig tab.

Real Bummer. But I really think these processors run a little hot in this laptop if you ask me. I had 2.33g in my XPS m1710 and at 2.8 oc it wouldn't pass 68c. This system seems to idle at around 50 with just surfing. Do a litle crysis crunching and it will reach over 75c. I also contacted AW about that aswell.

The highest I have ever seen my Work M90 reach was 64c.

 

2.8 is good why overclock ?

 

I know I'm resurrecting an older thread here, but I was interested in OC'ing the m15x. While I don't think the 2.8 really needs to be OC'd, I can see why you'd want to OC the 2.5. Why pay $250 extra for the 2.6 when you can overclock it for free

Anywho, is there any way to OC the m15x at the moment, or are we still stuck with what speed we bought?

 

so far we are stuck at the same speed.

 

What about Clockgen? I've puttered around with it a bit on my current laptop (m15x is on the way. Phase 6), and haven't had much luck. Might that be an option?

 

I tried alot of different programs to OC the system and nothing worked. RMclock Clockgen and a few others. The BIOS seems to be locked, teh only OC'ing on the CPU will have to come from AW.

 

im gonna bump this thread here. has anyone heard anything else about overclocking the m15x processor? has anyone heard anything about overclocking the video card????

 

Doesn't it matter what exactly you're overclocking? In your case, I suppose it would be the T9300 but it could be very different for different models.

I asked about overclocking the 8800M GTX, and basically there's no real reason to do so yet. Overclocking it shouldn't be necessary for a while, as it is still a beast.

 

if you want to dig post a couple months back theres a thread that told you how to overclock the 8800m gtx in the m15x.

EDIT: here i found it for you

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=269345

 

Look at the M1730, It can bios overclock from 2.8ghz to 3.4ghz.

 

Yeah, I didn't really consider it because the sli setup on the 1730 would have put that notebook out of my price range. I do wonder if I could have bought a cheaper notebook for school and built a nice $2k desktop that would be more upgradable.
This notebook is great, though. Just expensive.

 

Thanks a lot! I'll look at this and try to figure out whether I want to or not. Maybe I'll wait to get a notebook cooler before I try this.