The G73/53 JH/JW Overclocking Guide

I have gone as far as I can overclocking my G73JH and wanted to share my results, advice and information in this thread. I hope this covers all aspects of overclocking with these models below and I have tried to cover as many of the important points, positives and negatives as I can but I am only human (or British) so forgive me if something is wrong, incorrect or just plain right stupid. I use an Asus G73JH RBBX05 with setup as per my sig, the JW and 53 versions should be adaptable to this information in regards to the CPU overclocking however the GPU overclocking is for the JH only.

Full compliments and +Rep must be given to UncleWebb for his software and continued advice and information in regards to Overclocking. Throttlestop, SetFSB timing fix, Win Timer Tester....There would no Overclocking guide without his support.

Also full compliments and +Rep to Chastity whose continued support on the forum and her driver reference page which is updated on a constant basis provides every driver under the sun. I have used a couple of links to the reference in my guide because it is by far one of the most hit forum topics available to get the latest updates. This can be found here.

You shouldn't have any problems if you stick to the basics, all of the information below covers the majority of questions involved but its a good idea to use HWINFO sensors or similar when overclocking and testing to keep an eye on the temps. You shouldn't see any major problems but stress test with Furmark/Prime 95 at stock to begin with to see what your maximum temperatures are, if you are already hitting 95oC or above on any section of the GPU or 85oC or above on any core of the CPU under full load after 5 minutes you would do best to clean out your fan vents with compressed air or consider repasting before attempting to overclock.

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CPU QM Model:

Programs Required or Recommended:

SetFSB - Donation required for 720QM. Thread with 740QM JW Model free code here.
Windows 7 Timing Fix Original Post
Windows 7 Timing Tester
Prime 95 Stress Tester
HWINFO - Should be used for Sensors and Summary for monitoring.

Load up SetFSB and enter your code to allow you to select the option for Asus G73JH. Or likewise for the JW version. Select Get FSB.

With SETFSB you simply raise the PLL and hit SET FSB to apply the FSB speed, you must then test every couple of mhz by using something like Prime 95 to make sure it does not lock up or BSOD. If you have the 720qm like me you will start at 139PLL or 153PLL depending if you have turbo mode on. Work your way up and as above you will gradually reach a point where things stop responding, gadgets and programs start crashing and you eventually BSOD. For me that used to be around 187PLL although my maximum overclock ability of 2ghz was a lot higher than the norm and I used to hang around 185PLL to remain stable. Remember what your highest clock is and drop it down 4 or 5mhz once you have rebooted from the BSOD and then stress and test the PLL to make sure its stable, if not drop it a few more.

(SETFSB will reset back to default 139PLL if you crash or restart your computer)

IMPORTANT: have a read through the ( Windows 7 Timing Fix Original Post) and apply the fix. This must be applied if you plan to o/c the CPU in Windows 7 as it has an adverse effect which needs correcting through DOS prompt using administrator settings. This also will resolve the issues faced when using the Twin Turbo button which was deemed to decrease performance.

The maximum overclock you can achieve by raising the FSB is limited and this will vary between models. The CPU itself will have been Binned before being implemented into your laptop as such the Binning process requires the CPU to complete tests of its voltage, clocks, turbo, load etc every aspect in which the CPU needs to be able to handle the tasks we ask of it. As such there will be some room for movement between the maximum ability of it to overclock but this is not something that Intel will have specifically Binned it for, overclocking is and always will be experimental because a company has to put a limit on what its item can achieve. This also means that the question 'Why does my CPU only reach this speed' can not be given a specific answer and only advice of how to possibly improve the overclock by lowering the temps or experimenting with the RAM can be provided.

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CPU XM 920/940 Model:

Programs Required or Recommended:

The Throttlestop Guide - Should be read and understood before using Throttlestop
Throttlestop 3.30
HWINFO - Should be used for Sensors and Summary for monitoring.
Prime 95 Stress Tester

I will not act as if UncleWebb's work is that of my own so I will not explain the abbreviation's that I use you will need to read his Throttlestop Guide which he clearly put a lot of work into to understand my references.

The XM is not for the faint hearted and it is quite difficult to explain the process to you because it is a risky process due the nature of the facilities that it offers, meaning its limits of heat are normally hit before it reaches its maximum ability to overclock. The XM is limited to 4ghz on all 4 cores, unless you intend you use liquid nitrogen you will not get anywhere near this at full load with all of the cores active.

The difference between a QM CPU and an XM CPU is its Turbo Ratio Limits and Turbo Power Limits of which are unlocked with an XM meaning that you can specify exactly how much power you wish for the CPU to be able draw in order for it to reach the power output you specify. Simply, More power is needed to reach higher clocks this varies depending how many cores are active and how much load is placed against each core. 1 core being 100% active at 3.2ghz will not require as much power or produce as much heat as 4 cores being 100% active at 3.2ghz.

Firstly read and understand DTS and set this to 10-15 below the T-Junction and set this to a profile that has its limits lowered or its turbo switched off as a safety feature in order to prevent you reaching 90oC or above.

I cannot advise you exactly how to achieve your maximum overclock in a way similiar to the QM models because there is no limit or at least the limit is higher than what you could achieve without additional cooling. To test this you will need to raise the TDC/TDP from stock 55/45 in increments of 5 at a time (i.e 65/55 - 75/65) (you can raise these in smaller increments when you find your precise measurements), while doing so you must also increase the multipliers against each core to raise the clock speed and then run a stress test using TS Benchmark or Prime 95 which will require the cores to run at 100% load, use HWINFO or FID/CO% in order to check for any errors or throttling and keep your eyes peeled on those temperatures. DTS is very important to be set first as above if you intend to leave the stress test running to achieve a proper load test example.

Throttlestop is used in order for you to control the Power the CPU is allowed to draw by setting the Turbo Power Limits the TDP (wattage) and the TDC (ampage) and adjusting them in order for your Turbo Ratio Limits to be achieved depending on what they are set to and what load is applied. These begin at stock as the following:

Stock - TDP 55watt / TDC 45amps
Core 1: 24 - 3.2ghz
Core 2: 18 - 2.4ghz
Core 3: 15 - 2.0ghz
Core 4: 15 - 2.0ghz

Turbo range from 3.2ghz when 1 core is active upto 2.0ghz at 4 active cores.

My Personal Multipliers - TDP 90watt / TDC 75amps
Core 1: 27 - 3.6ghz
Core 2: 26 - 3.4ghz
Core 3: 24 - 3.2ghz
Core 4: 24 - 3.2ghz

Turbo range from 3.6ghz when 1 core is active upto 3.2ghz at 4 active cores.

Examples:

Warning: Be very careful when setting the TDP/TDC settings and selecting the multipliers in Throttlestop and make sure these are within safe limits before conducting a stress test. You will see what will happen if you apply to much power and request clocks to perform from this power under load in my movie and the temps jump from 50oC to 100oC within a matter of seconds.

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GPU ATI 5870M JH (ONLY)

Programs Required or Recommended:

Furmark - Graphical Stress Test
HWINFO - Should be used for Sensors and Summary for monitoring.
GPU-Z - For GPU information and monitoring



Warning: Before attempting to flash or overclock your GPU you do so at your own risk. My motto is not to flash unless it is the only other option.

You will require the latest Vbios .93 to be able to use ATI Overdrive through CCC a link to my GPU-Z image and BIOS version is found here for you to check to see if you have it. This also fixes the GSOD issue on some versions of the ATI 5870M card. The instruction to do this are here and the .93 Vbios OD2 version with lower timing for battery life is here.

For GPU overclocking you want: ATI Overdrive (recommended), ATI Clock Tool or Afterburner also work from what I have used in the past. ATI overdrive accessed through the CCC facility has a clever facility to check for artifacts and makes sure that the memory clock is stable enough to prevent them and then you can stress test it using Furmark and if it does not lock up/glitch/artifact after around 5-10 minutes you should be ok using those clocks. Overclocking is also dependent on the software as well some programs/games can still crash or cause the display driver to crash when they are run at certain clocks, you must trial and error this yourself to establish which program conflict.

I use 825/1100 but can handle 840/1135. Good to test and find what is stable and works best for you. Above 825/1100 I notice flickering in some games so I stick with what I have apart from when benchmarking.

The GPU overclocks are limited by voltage and thanks to Asus it would appear because of hardwiring the G73JH 5870M cannot be changed so as long as you have good temps at the moment or good paste you wont really need to worry about the small increase in temperature, but use HWINFO to make sure everything is running as it should by using the sensors. Also every chip is different so do not expect to reach what others have or expect to reach more this is dependent on the same factors mentioned above in regards to the CPU binning however because the GPU is hardwired we cannot tell it to draw more power as we can with an XM for instance.

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As always if you are still not confident after watching and reading all of this then don't attempt it because the majority of serious problems result when someone does not know what they are doing, with overclocking the problems are normally minor (BSOD, locking up, crashing) but anything you do is at your own risk. If it is not broken dont try and fix it, with overclocking only attempt it if you really need it and the majority of the time its just an added extra for most.

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Its been a pleasure.

Dallers.

 

Sweet thanks!!

Just watched it, and I could understand you much better. Time to test tomorrow.

 

Thanks Dallers for the Tips

 

Dallers how long should I test stability to ensure that I don't kick over to my lower DTS. I'm at work now with my lappy, but ambient here is 21oC and at home it is 26oC. I was trying your clocks last night and I got to 95oC and my DTS kicked it. I was testing with ThrottleStop Bench and doing 8 cores, 1024.

Also what is a good program to test 1 core, 2 cores, 3 cores, etc?

 

As I explained in the movie that you cannot just load up my clocks and stress test them at 90 watts I made it clear mine are not stable under full load for longer than around 5 minutes but as I never see full load on all 4 cores for that long I can use them for general use with good temps and without throttling.

Read the thread above it explains clearly how you can find your highest overclock you either do it the correct way taking your time and increasing in small increments and log your temps or you just increase it and test to see if that is stable.

You can use TS Benchmark to select how many threads you choose to run.

I will say again as I said above very clearly READ THE THROTTLESTOP GUIDE before attempting to use an XM.

If you intend to go above 2.8ghz and 75 watts expect to reach temperature of 90oC + with ease when under a stress test because the cooling of the G73 is made for 55 watt TDP maximum anything above is done at your own risk. If you want 90watts and 3.2ghz at full load you need additional cooling.

You will most likely see a stable overclock of around 2.6-2.8ghz on all 4 cores running around 65/55 upto 75/65 and this should stay below 90oC when under a stress test if your cooling is adequate, if your ambient temps are not too high and you have a successful working paste job.

 

That's what I am going to attempt today. Just thought I would try and see. Thanks again.

 

I will be uploading the movie again shortly, slightly cropped as I was slightly rushed when making it and left all IP details showing on screen LOL. It failed to upload overnight so will upload it when I get home from work in case you need it.

 

Awesome work Dallers, thanks!

Do we get a Sir Laurence Olivier accent or what?

Talk s l o w l y so the old non-native farts can understand too!

 

You got to talk quickly and run even quicker when you live in Landon

 

I'm able to get 24/24/21/21 with 80/72. When I try to up it to 24/24/22/22 85/77 and test with 1024 over 8 cores I get a max of 83'ish volts, and max temp of 90oC. During the test though I see the FID clock down to 9-11 but then ramps back up, and then when I cancel the test I normally get a freeze on the system. I think it may be this crappy building I work it.

Should I have the set multiplier set to Turbo? BD PROCHAT was disabled stock, so I enabled it. Is that a bad idea (not based on what I read in the guide, but wanted to check)?

 

You do not want it to throttle so you will need to test lower and find what clocks are stable, it would sound as though it is not getting enough juice rather than throttling because of the temps if it is drawing 83watts and you only have it set to allow 80.

Your ambient temperature will make a big difference with these models as well.

 

Oh Poop forgot to say I had it set to 85/77 when I upped the 21's to 22's so I wasn't throttling with the voltage.

Well I guess I won't get any higher than 21 for 3 and 4 cores. Now I'll test 1 and 2.

 

93/75 for me is sufficient to manage 3 and 4 cores at multiplier 24 - 3.2ghz at full load for 5 mins straight before the heat/throttling becomes a problem. I use 90/75 because generally I do need to have all 4 cores running at 100% in fact I never do and during general usage it stays below 90watts, this along with low ambient temps and additional cooling. As mentioned the heat you are seeing and the location you are at which has a high ambient temperature is going to effect you.

2.6-2.8ghz is normally the most stable at full load in a G73 for me and others who have tested thouroughly because the temps become a problem above 2.8ghz 75watts if you are in a hot area especially not to mention the stock power brick will be nearing its limits at 90watts and above being drawn solely by the CPU, the G73 cooling is very good but not fantastic without a little extra help. Rarely do you need 4 cores running at 100% load at say 2.8ghz so you can have active cores 1-3 running higher clocks if you manage to stabalise full load on 4 cores to begin with.

 

RGR. I'm happy with it. I've been able to get the 1 Clock to 27 multiple. So I am happy with 27/25/21/21 80/72.

 

Yup I would agree they look pretty good to me.

So you are ranging from at a guess:

920XM 2.8ghz at 3 and 4 active cores to 3.5ghz at 1 core.
720QM 1.6ghz at 3 and 4 active cores to 2.8ghz at 1 core.

There is your difference

Is the additional heat worth it? course it bloody is!

 

If you dont have the turbo on it will not go above 2ghz. I am also not an expert with throttlestop so cannot explain the other facilities it offers to you im afraid, that is something for Unclewebb. The FID will show you the multipliers for each thread if this is not reaching/maintaining the multipliers that you specify at full load then it is throttling, if it is not at full load and doing this then this is normal as it will clock down automatically that is the way Intel turbo mode works. The CO% will show you if the CPU load is at 100%.

If you are throttling it is one of two things lack of power or too much heat.

 

XM Movie is finally up. Had to edit and remove my IP address before half of the people who dont like Dallers from the forum take a dump on my front door step

I am officially retiring until the G75 is released.

 

It was my power supply at work. It was causing freezes as well. Guess I will be setting up a OC Tab for when I take it to work!!

Glad to hear the video is back up.

 

Good to hear mate was a little strange why it was locking up at such low clocks although it wont be able to handle it at full load you should be able to get it to 3ghz & above.

Just thought if anyone was considering a 920XM and couldn't decide if they should get it I saw this awesome picture earlier next to some HyperX Memory, the 920XM glows did you know this? It was created using diamond cut angels tears. (this is not flash projection this actually is glowing)

 

cant open page with .93 bios

 

That is just a link to Chastity drivers reference page found here.

Fixed it now too.

 

after v93 vbios update i still cant see overdrive in ccc. did something wrong?
drivers are from link on 1st page

 

in the gsod fix thread, go to post #10

 

I was just wonderin, I know there's a minimalistic difference between each CPU, just as there is one between each GPU.
But shouldnt there be like standard values to test from ?
I wouldn't know which values to pick for my multipliers, TDP or TDC..
Since they are dependant from one-another, its just trial and error untill one becomes its optimal values. And how do you set the 4 multipliers ? I know that one core only can have a higher multiplier, and that the more cores you use, the lower multiplier-value the cores should have. But if you take for example 26 for 1-core, what value should 2-core's have ? Can anyone just provide some "standard" numbers for me to begin with ? .
And for stress-testing, the only number thats important is the 4-core multiplier, right ? So theoraticly I might set it to 1/1/1/22, and the cores will still run at 22x. (I'd probably use 22/22/22/22 thoug). And what about the TPL values ? I guess 22x would require a 85 / 65 ? Those are based on previous posts though, so I'm not sure about all the things I just said.

Edit: Yaay, just ran my first CPU-OC ^^. 80/70 and 26/24/20/20.
After a minute though, the multiplier went to 19.20 on all cores, and C0% went to 99.8.
A case of throtteling ? Probably should go for 85/70 ?

Also, temps runnin stable at 90°C, are these to high for those clocks ?

 

The beginning of your post is that of a man who has just bought himself an XM model and has not got a clue how to use the bloody thing. Welcome to all of our worlds when we first did as well I knew nothing before I joined this forum remember that.

On the first page I explain in my own words how the XM works but as you just showed by your ((Edit )) that the more you play around with it the more you learn and understand it and the better it is when you manage to control it yourself without another telling you how to.

I could make you a video and force you to read what I have written a thousand times over but at the end of the day your brain is not my brain the best thing you can do is understand what you can and cant do and then teach yourself how it works, how it does not work and what your ideal situation for what you need is set to.

The CPU works no differently to how it does at stock just it is limited to 55watts 45amps and multiplers of 24/21/15/15 when it is locked. All you are doing is unlocking the multiplers and making use of the power the CPU can produce because it is no different to any other Gen 1 CPU apart from the fact it has different settings and limits put in place without the lock Intel placed into the QM models.

In regards to you mentioning about core 1 being higher than core 4 that is only because when only 1 core is active and at full load it requires less power than 4 cores will. So you could just have your multipliers set to 24/24/24/24 if you wanted, but to gain more from single and dual core processes it will benefit you more allowing it to run at a higher clock when only 1 or 2 cores are active. Even so it is unlocked for a reason so that you can set it to exactly what you want, I personally have it running as high as it can go flat out all the time because I am a greedy Brit! Others will utilise it more for intensive use so they will not want it running so high and so hot.

 

Yah, but Dallers, if the overclock I used gives me 90°c, and such a low score in 3dmark, i'm must be doing something wrong.
What are your temps on 26/24/20/20 and 80/70 without a cooler ? I've posted my results somewhere in one of these threads...I'm getting old...

 

Your throttling dude. We are having discussions on two threads at once haha.

Run the old battery test to see what W/ph are being used and I bet you are using around 180/190watts with those clocks and your GPU overclocks.

The Targus is required.

 

Will do sir.
But I thought throttleing was that the load on the cores would drop ?
I didnt see any of that when I OC'd mine. They were solid on 100 procent (sometimes 99.8%).

And last but not least, where could I monitor the W/ph ? HWinfo doesnt show, unless you want me to start calculations.. wish I lived in russia right now.. than calculations will solve you !