Voltage Adjustments? (G73 720qm)

So... Fresh back from a 6 hour tour of the innards of my G73. New screen, got my CPU & GPU all repasted, repadded... I even put a new pad on the North Bridge and a couple between the motherboard cover plate and the keyboard to help disperse the heat from it. Interestingly enough, the keyboard is warmer above the North Bridge. Go figure- Never hurts to over-engineer cooling!

This nonsense has brought my CPU's IBT temperature down below 70c on all 4 cores, with an overclock that reaches 1905mhz on all 4 cores 100% loaded. My CPU fan is OFF about half the time my laptop is idle at the desktop. I would now like to raise my CPU voltage by a notch or two to hopefully increase my potential!

I've looked and been unable to find any example of a program that can raise the CPU voltage on this laptop. Is this something that has been explored yet?

 

just curious, what kind of ram and how many gbs are you using?

 

I have the stock Kingston PC10600 1333 modules. 6gb, as it is the Best Buy version. My memory bus is only running at about 792mhz, so these are very unlikely to be any sort of limiting factor!

 

Please forgive the bump folks, I have just still been searching for a solution and have yet to come across anything. Likely means there is nothing- but I just thought I'd give it one last shot!

Thanks for the consideration!

 

If you want more, buy a faster CPU... What is up with G73jh owners thinking they can OC their GPU and CPU limitless and over-volting is the magic solution to all the problems? If you want faster, buy a faster CPU or buy a desktop. You have the cheapest and slowest i7 Quad, live with it or buy something faster.

 

Try to find the schematics for your notebook, then you can do a volt mod like this:
Google Translate

 

Mostly because the i720qm runs quite cool, and the 5870m is an OC champ (at least, mine is!)

I guess the reason most people with a g73 think they can overclock is because it has EXCELLENT cooling, and that tends to be the limiting factor on overclocking a desktop. I mean, on most desktop systems, a 20% overclock is a given - it's easy, and the hardware generally tolerates it really well - pushing to 30-40%, I tend to run into extreme temperatures before I hit hardware problems.

So if the g73 has great cooling, why not?

 

Sure wish I could read Russian so I could really understand what's going on there! Oh well. I'll wait on a hard voltmod until after I'm finished with school. I'll take the risk of a softmod, but unnecessary soldering on my motherboard is definitely out.

 

My CPU overclocked via the PLL without any fuss to 1920mhz (full load 4 cores). It hits 3.2 on Turbo boost. The PLL has gone from the default 133 to 160 for this. Doing this doesn't just make your e-peen bigger, pardon the colorful phrase, but it actually raises your memory speed and the speed of the interconnecting links between the CPU and the ram. This is far more desirable and far cheaper than simply raising a multiplier on a $1200 CPU.

The ease with which my CPU ran so high, and the incredibly well managed temperatures suggests that a MODEST voltage adjustment could be immensely beneficial.

In living with the slowest i7 quad I choose to make the best of it. Not everyone is wealthy enough to just go out and buy an extreme edition chip. Frankly, I think that most who buy them simply want the unlocked multiplier so they can dial up a speed with little to no effort. The thing is... IF I can get my i7 to xtreme edition speeds, my i7 will beat the extreme processor if it was overclocked via the multiplier. Pretty cool for the cruddiest quad in my opinion.

 

I don't agree. No way you will get your i7 to 920/940xm speeds with just setting the FSB higher... no way to get it stable, I say. You can't adjust the TDP/TDC limits, which is a very limiting factor while OCing. My 920xm runs at 3.2Ghz across all 4 cores easily without any problems and it isn't at the limit with the heat at all, so I could even go further.

You say with turbo boost you get 3.2Ghz (I assume on one core) However, I haven't heard of anyone so far who changed the FSB and still noticed turbo boost kicking in... As far as I heard you won't get any turbo boost because of the TDP/TDC limits...
Of course it'd be great news when you have found a way to push the i7 such far without any issues... but I can hardly believe it.
Can you post a picture or so with the 3.2Ghz?


Edit: The extreme i7's are really expensive, agreed, but you can find them on ebay for about 350-380$ incl. shipping, which is a great deal imo... and with using throttlestop you can easily unlock it's full potential.

 

CPU-Z Validator 3.1

Not really sure what more proof could be desired... Indeed, the 3.33 only happens on a single thread- in practice it generally runs a 17x multiplier and the load dances over all 8 virtual cores. It is dang quick for a garbage CPU, and begs for more! And I didn't do it by adjusting FSB speeds either, it was the PLL (or BCLK) that was adjusted.

I'm still looking for voltage adjustment possibilities in software or BIOS firmware, but I've got another direction I can pursue as well: I believe my RAM is tapped out. Have to try some PC12800 out to see if perhaps it offers a bit more play room.

Is there a known way to change memory dividers? It occurs to me that I could choose a lower divider speed and increase the PLL still further if my RAM is indeed the limiting factor (which I do have reason to believe it is). That would save me a fat $80+ for RAM that I don't really need at the moment...

I'll look into the 920xm's and 940xm's on ebay. Perhaps in a couple months, after the next school quarter, I could swing it. $1000 plus is unacceptable for a single piece of computer hardware at my current stage in life. $400 is right about my upper limit on what I'll spend on any one piece of hardware.

 

Especially when an easy overclock on the stuff I already own gets me about the same results.

 

That is exactly what I was previously referring to.

But.. the "easy" overclock on an extreme edition chip *via the multiplier only* is not as good as the PLL overclock. I would be a little worried that the lure of an easy big overclock number could corrupt my normal practices and leave me with a situation like this:



Where my normal "hard" overclock leaves me with something more like this:



If you --only-- overclock your CPU, you aren't getting the whole picture of what can be achieved...

 

Wow, that's great, as long as it runs stable... and without any errors.
If you don't mind my asking, how did you overclock your i7 exactly?

 

Please show me where.. Im probably really bad at searching for great prices.. The best deal i found for a 920xm was around 465$, and 830$ for 940xm. If i could get the 920xm for 350$, ill buy it right now.

 

It seems that's the cheapest on ebay at the moment... You'll have to look everyday... they tend to sell really quickly when someone is offering a good price. I managed to get mine for 380$ inclusive international shipping, but I've seen them for as low as 350. At the moment they're rather expensive. Anyway, go for a 920xm, it's nearly impossible to get a 940xm for a decent price and there's not really a difference, at least not one that makes it worth paying more imo.

At around October/November the 920xm's were really cheap on ebay... like I said, just check regularly. And with sandybridge just around the corner they'll definitely get cheaper again, I say.

 

I used SetFSB. I "donated" $5 to Abo for a registration key and asked for a couple clarifications on the program. It is actually really easy to use if you just take your time. I have it set up so that it applies my overclock on each Windows startup. The overclock that I am running is stable on Intel Burn Test, Prime95 and daily applications, software development and gaming. Adequate, yes?

Still want voltage control and ***RAM divider adjustments***!

 

Ok, great! I thought you could only change the FSB with setFSB Always good to learn new things!
I'm afraid it will be very difficult to get access to the voltage control...

 

here you go. I don't get as high of an OC as the OP though.

 

380$?, mine showing 440$US. you certainly dont live in USA or Can. Oh well

 

That's a terrible metaphor. I know what you're trying to say - an OC'd 720 does NOT equal a 920. But, given that I can get more performance out of my 720 with no additional cost (like boring out the pistons) *OR* Spend $1000 for an upgrade, the end result remains the same - faster CPU, faster calculations. Sure, it's not *as* fast, but it's still faster.

 

I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to say, other than getting the clear impression that you disagree with my metaphor. Let me explain what I was intending to be clearly visible:

Picture 1 features a little truck thing (a normal laptop) with a retarded huge engine (a super-overclocked processor). Yes, that processor is capable of some intense feats of ridiculous power... But it is wasted in the chassis!

Picture 2 features a Rolls Royce Ghost. A beautiful work of sublime art, both in performance, luxury and experience. The engine (a 12 cylinder, 48 valve, 563bhp glory box) is far beyond what most people in the world will ever sit behind in its own right. It is nothing like the engine in Picture 1 though. However, the engine (in picture 2) is scaled to fit the rest of the car, all crafted to go together.

Picture 1 results when too much emphasis is placed on one aspect of a PC. If I overclock my ram, buy the world's fastest ram, tighten the timings to unheard of levels.... but I run a stock 720qm?? Do you not see that I am just plain silly? The same holds true for the CPU. Yes, there are some situations where the CPU is not bottlenecked by the rest of the system, but in real world applications, as numerous and diverse as they are, should you put all of your focus and effort into ONE aspect of the PC (the engine metaphor), or should you go for versatility, ability to handle anything with increased grace and speed (Picture 2)?

I ask rhetorically, as people will choose what suits them best. I choose versatility.

I don't see a 920qm in your signature, but I would love for an owner to chime in with a g73 and post up a Cinebench 11.5 score or two: One at stock speeds, and one at your typical stable overclocked setting if applicable. Do be fair and post up if you are using an SSD or some other hardware that may yield a disproportionately inflated score! I would like to see what the worth of all this effort is, whether or not it is even worth it!

 

+1 Finrod *cheer*

 

Sorry, a little misunderstanding, the link I posted was the lowest price I found for just now which is about 440. I got mine back in November, I'm sure the prices will drop again, just make sure to check regularly. Some forum members got the 920xm for 350$, but you'll need to be quick when you see such a deal.

Thanks, great picture! Really great that it works so well, the cooling system on the g73 is great.

 

Bumping this thread - Is there any news on overvolting the 720QM or a 100% effective way this can be done? Im running at 68oC max with my CPU o/c at the moment that to me is not an acceptable overclock. I understand the 5870m is hardwired is the CPU the same?