Next Gen ION downclock fix? possible OC?

I just got an ASUS EEE 1015PEM, the one with a N550 dual core 1.5GHz atom, dedicated nvidia GPU with actual dedicated video memory! 512MB DDR3 on a 64bit bus. The FIRST thing I did was get rid of W7 starter and put on W7 ultimate, then updated to all of the latest drivers.

The problem I'm having is that the stock clocks are 500Mhz core, 700Mhz memory, and 1070Mhz shader, but while gaming the clocks are running at 405 core, 405 memory, and 810 shader. Is there some way to fix this? I've tried OCing it as well, the nVidia system tools allow you to OC this a pretty fair amount, but no matter what it's set at, in game it's always 405, 405, 810. Temps are good, lots of room for OCing if I could figure out how.

And before anyone asks why you would want to OC a netbook, well this thing has been able to max out several games even at the clocks it's at now, I can smoothly play TM united at near max settings, all of the source engine games, and BFBC2 plays surprisingly well on low settings with high textures. But some others like COD Black ops, COULD be playable if only I could get about 40% higher fps, and that would put it into the 30fps+ range and make it playable.

So, anyone tried yet? I tried searching all over the net and this forum but can't find anyone who's tried it on this version of the ion yet, unless I missed something.

 

Do you mean 1015PN?

 

The ION2 defaults to those clocks when it is overclocked too high unlike normal gpu's which artifact or crash, the ion simply throttles itself.

The way to overclock this gpu is to find the max clocks it will stay at when under load.
I used furmark in windowed mode whilst keeping an eye on gpuz to find the limits of mine and the overclock i settled on is in my sig.
The one i have in the 1215n has double the cores of the one you have but i see no reason why it shouldn't clock similarly since its still based on the same chip.

 

It does this on stock clocks, overclocking does not change it at all, so what your saying is I need to underclock it from stock? That doesn't seem right, there's got to be some kind of power saving feature that's getting in the way or something.

Nah, this is the one I have, the Eee 1015PEM
Newegg.com - ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM-PU17-BK Black Intel Atom Dual Core N550(1.50GHz) 10.1" WSVGA 1GB Memory 250GB HDD Netbook

 

I had that one, it's not ION... So I'm confused... oh well.

 

If you read the specs on that link it says next generation ION. You might be thinking of a slightly different model. And yea it's definitely a dedicated GPU, I don't think an intel netbook IGP paired with an Atom cpu could chug through BFBC2 nearly as well as this can, if at all.

 

I'm not sure maybe I've reached the twilight zone - as I said I owned that exact system (1015PEM-PU), and the newegg specs that you linked say Intel GMA 3150.

I just wanted to clarify your model number for the sake of you getting a good answer.

 

ah, yea sorry about that, your right, it's the 1015 PN

Newegg.com - ASUS Eee PC 1015PN-PU17-BK Black Intel Atom N550(1.50GHz) Dual Core 10.1" WSVGA 1GB Memory 250GB HDD Netbook

But wow, I don't get it, these are the same price yet the next gen ion version is infinitely better.

 

Well I don't have a good answer for you unfortunately, but this thread may have some good tips: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/515917-eee-pc-1215n-performance.html

Good luck

 

Thanks, I think I'm going to just try various different drivers, I can underclock this and have it run at like 300mhz for core/mem and it will still read 405,405,800, so I'm pretty sure its just the drivers.

 

that does sound like a driver issue yes... try the latest 270.51 beta drivers... they are by far the best drivers for the ion so far...

 

Yea I don't get it, I tried about 10 different drivers, then I formatted my drive, installed W7 x86 fresh, installed all the basic OEM drivers and it still says 405,405,810. PCwizard reads the clocks as 405,405,810 in 3D mode, and 500,700,1070 in 2D mode... I think something is screwed up here..

Kinda funny though, I can OC the CPU no problem, heat doesn't even increase but in game performance does quite a bit, yet I can't touch the clocks on the GPU.

 

Just out of curiosity you have looked at the clocks in gpuz aswell havent you as PCwizard might not read the ION correctly whilst gpuz does... sorry if thats something obvious you've already tried but i've been there before myself.

If that is a true reading then it could be a vbios issue but you can't pull and flash the vbios on this card so it's not an easy thing to look into.

Also you said that it plays bfbc2 quite well... if it were dropping to the lower clocks all the time then that would lag like a bugger as mine did when it dropped to those clocks when i was overclocking - everything became extremely laggy... including bfbc2. Did you keep an eye on the clocks with gpuz whilst specifically playing this game?

 

haha yea, along with firefox and VLC, one of the need to download things for me when installing windows is GPU-Z. The clocks don't fluctuate, when I launch a game like BFBC2 it will operate at 405,405,810, I have GPU-Z constantly log the clocks.

Is there no current version of rivatuner? Or something like it that can force the clocks in 2D&3D mode?

 

To be honest i havent tried rivatuner on the ION but it does override powerplay on ati cards - forcing it to run at the selected clocks constantly. However if the gpu is throttling for some reason then i cant see rivatuner overriding that.
Be my guest and try it, see what happens.
Theres also a utility out there called powermizer switch which turns off the an nvidia gpu's ability to drop from 3d clocks but im unsure how it would function with an optimus setup, but it might be worth a try.

Heres a link to powermizer switch if you're interested:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...izer-switch-get-most-out-your-video-card.html

 

I thought the ION was an integrated chipset from nvidia that just happened to be more powerful than usual.

 

I could never get mine to OC, even the slightest, tried Nvidia System Tools and MSI Afterburner, not much else though as it wasnt a very high priority. If you do ever get something that works update this thread if you would, Id like to know

@DCx... Definitely not for the full version in the 1215n, but as for the 1015PN, at this point im not sure.

 

This netbook has a dedicated GPU, and an intel integrated GPU that you can switch with optimus, I have the intel one disabled. I don't believe this is the "full" version of the next gen ion, but it's still a dedicated setup and as such "should" be able to OC or at least run at the stock clocks. I'm still putting some work into trying to squeeze more performance out of it and if I finally come across something, I'll let you guys know, and if anyone wants to give me some more ideas I'll definitely try them, thanks!

I don't think powermiser switch will work due to this not having the registry entries for powermiser and I'm pretty sure all that program does is change those registry settings for you.

This is by no means my primary gaming computer though, I have a fully capable GTX460, 4GHz i5 quad, etc. water cooled desktop, but that doesn't mean I'm going to just give up.

 

Yes you are right, the NG ION is a dedicated GPU with its own 512mb of dedicated Vram. The only difference between the one in the 1015PN and the 1215n is that the 1015PN version has 8 cores instead of 16.

 

Hello

I got exactly the same problem, no matter what load and temps the GPU clocks stay at 405. I tried several games, several drivers and over-clocking (which doesn't work at all). Actually im running on 270.61. The same situation is on both optimus and high perf mode set in asus graphical switch. System running is Win 7 HP. This must be a bug or the card is running too hot preventing entering highest perf profile.

How do you overclock your Atom CPU?

 

I don't know, I think the BIOS may just be messed up. PC wizard reads the 405,405,810 clocks as the 2D clocks, the 3D ones are 500, 700, 1070, it just won't go into 3D mode, and while overclocking changes the 3D clocks, it does not change the 2D ones, and that's why overclocking doesn't work either.


I use an older version of SetFSB that's free, use the clock generator (ICS9LPR427AGLF) If you OC too high and the system freezes, unplug the machine, and remove the battery, then let it sit for about 45 seconds, then plug it back, that resets the BIOS back to default so it can boot.

 

Thanks.

I wonder if more people have the same problems? Maybe its time to RMA the thing or could it be that all 1015PN have the same issue...

What r u going to do with yours?