Overclocking the GT 555M card.:-)

Ok, and using the MSI's software to overclock, might "kill" the gt 555m?

 

Wait, how did you get that from what I said?

 

I didn't, I heard it from another forums..

 

Oh ok, well as far as killing it goes, as long as you monitor the temperatures and increase speeds a small amount at a time I doubt it.

Thermal cutouts are built into modern laptops to prevent damage.

One thing to be aware of is overclocking is likely to lower the life span of the chip, however its likely to be obsolete by the time that happens.

 

So you are saying that... :
Lets say I will use cooling pad + expensive themal for it, and another item that will cool it.

Are you saying that:
If I play every day games without OC, so... for example, the laptop will work for 6 years, and if I play every day games with OC, so... for example, the laptop will work for 3 years, right?

 

I'm not sure there's anyway to tell and so no-one can put an estimate on how much shorter the life will be of the GPU if overclocked.

The guys in here seem to overclock when playing games and then use stock settings for everything else. That way the GPU isn't overclocked 100% of the time

 

Yes I know.. I gave an example. When I will get mine, I will post here how to overclock (I mean I don't know.. so..)

Thanks any way!

 

About killing GPUs... I'm getting my L702X with the 555M and a 4-year service plan. Considering such a long period of time, if I fry my GPU after months or years of overclocking, I might still be able to report its failure to Dell's technical support and claim warranty repair. The question is: will Dell be able to tell, if it was the chip, that just failed (which happens) or it was my, who killed it?

 

yeh when you get it, benchmark it with different settings and use which you feel more comfortable using

 

I would love to buy that 4yr service plan too, I think in about 3yrs this GPU could get toasted especially with just the CPU and GPU sharing 1 fan.
However after using the XPS with the 550m and overclocking it to the max with Afterburner (620 clock i think), I saw the temps hit a maximum of 78 during some Crysis2 gameplay for approx 4 hrs. I think thats pretty good compared to some other GPUs. I remember using the HP Envy 17 and those temps hit the 90s for the ATI 5850- thats why I had to return that thing.
Hopefully the 555 can keep the temps in the 70s and I'll be pretty comfortable.

Waffleboy, from seeing all your questions in this forum I think you need to get yourself a gaming laptop like the G53 or G73 especially if you are going to game everyday at high settings. You wont have to overclock the 460 or 480 (G73) to get good results and both those Asus Laptops have excellent cooling systems.

 

Hi all,

Long time lurker of these forums (my old laptop is a Dell XPS m170 gen2). I've always found the conversations and advice here very helpful.

So, I just received my new laptop:

XPS 17:

• 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2720QM processor 2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.30 GHz
• 8GB,DDR3,2 DIMM
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB graphics with Optimus (non 3D version)
• 17.3in FHD WLED AG (1920x1080)
• 1.0TB 500GB 7.2k HDD x 2
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

I'm loving it so far. I have already power tweaked it for performance including the OC of the GPU (thanks to the tips in this thread).

My question is, what software do you recommend for monitoring temps, fans, usage, etc.? On my old XPS m170, I used the I8kfanGUI (no longer updated) to monitor and controls heat/fans and then NHC for watching the stepping of my CPU.

With this new one, I like the included Intel app to monitor the CPU usage. As for temps and fans, I have tried a few apps (including the Afterburn to monitor GPU), but when doing so, the fans constantly spin up and down.

Any tips or advice you have on this would be great. And, to get back on topic with this thread. I will be posting my OC scores for 3D Mark 6, 11, Vantage and PC Mark 7 in the near future.

Thank you,
Ltldogg

P.S. If you are considering buying the Dell XPS 17, be sure to get the back-lit keyboard. Also, I can't recommend enough the 3 or 4 year warranty with accidental damage coverage; especially if you are going to be overclocking.

 

Tell me what is the screen quality??
Thanks

 

The screen quality on the FHD 17.3 is awesome. There is no gloss or glare issues. This is the high-end screen.

 

what are youur recommended settings for afterburner to get good fps on rift at 1080 with high to ultra settings. I only really play wow and rift and while I know niether is as demanding as crysis. Rift does have a lot more demanding graphics engine than wow. I ask cause I only want to overclock just enough to get playable fps on rift in fhd with at least high settings. I amassumming you can see my rig since I put it in my profile. Any help would be appreciated.

 

OC can not push your notebook to the power of an Alienware desktop.
It´s only a little bit more extra power for gaming and benchmarks.
And I don´t think its not a good idea to oc for one game only,because it´s important,that the complete system runs stable.My settings for the 555M-oc has given me the best results in games with minimum in temps.I think thats the goal.

 

I think anyone considering overclocking should do a repaste first. I went back and forth with myself about whether or not the hassle was worth it... but it was definitely worth it.

My torture test was to run 8 instances of Prime 95 and then go into 1920x1080 ultra-high Starcraft II and play a game with 3 AI characters. Steadily, factory paste job would hit 92-95 degree cpu temps (all four cores) with 82 degree GPU temps.

I did a very simple repaste with arctic 5, no repolishing or anything funny like that, just thorough removing of the old stuff and a proper application of as5. I also removed the mesh screen that sits in between the outer case and intake fan... this may not be a good idea for people with pets or that otherwise use their laptop in dirty areas.

Results after the test are 78-81 cpu temps and 59 degree (!) gpu temps. GPU temps stay at 59 max stock or with a 770 overclock using the MSI utility.

Totally worth the effort, and a much, much bigger difference than I expected.

 

Here are my OC results for the Dell XPS 17 (L702x) w/ GeForce GT 555m 3gb vram:

stock settings (590 core, 900 memory... no artifacts, max temp 68C):
3DMark06 = 11255
3DMarkVantage = 6204
3DMark11 = 1322

OC'd (770 core, 970 memory...no artifacts, max temp of 70C):
3DMark06 = 13642
3DMarkVantage = 7737
3DMark11 = 1660

I only have the basic editions of the 3DMark software so the tests are using the locked settings.

 

That's all?? 70C!??!!? NICE!

 

Yep. Here are some additional stats so far playing games at max settings with the same OC settings:

EQ2 ~ 25 FPS (turned on GPU shadows instead of CPU)
Vanguard ~ 25 FPS
SWG ~ 25 FPS
LOTRO ~ 27 FPS (High Detail Textures)
DDO ~ 27 FPS (High Detail Textures)
Dragon Age: Origins ~ 45 FPS

So far the highest I have seen the GPU get is 72' C and no artifacts.

I will say the left-hand side arm-rest gets really hot. I'm researching now any cooling accessories that will work for this laptop. The battery protrudes out from the bottom so it's not a flat surface and direct contact (which is good to prevent burning yourself if you have the laptop on your lap). However, this eliminates several cooling pads will help dissipate the heat quicker. If anyone has any good suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks!

 

Well,I tested some cooling pads over the last months,but all of them are not really effective.The problem is,if you remove the big battery from the XPS,the laptop lies flat on the desk.So it cannot intake air from the bottom side...the temps are going up.

 

The main reason for the lower temperatures is the fact that the laptop is not running the GT555M all the time due to being able to use optimus.Optimus allows the CPU to switch to on board Intel graphics when the demand is low. Remember, he doesn't have the 3D version, but what I would consider the best configuration for this laptop, and which I hope to have after switching my system board(fingers crossed that the new one works this time) and a FHD screen.
I can't knock the the ability of having 3D, but it limits you only to your discrete GPU, in most cases the GT555M.

 

I tested 4 laptop coolers and here are my results:

1st place: CM Storm SF-19 - when plugged in with the 5v adapter, the 2 large fans have a very high speed and really kept the left arm-rest cooler when gaming at max settings. I usually play games with a Razor stereo headset that covers my ears so the fan noise doesn't bother me.

2nd place: Zalman nc2500 plus - nice design and the fans run great when plugged in with a 5v adapter, but the fans are not larger enough to cool like the SF-19.

3rd place: Zalman nc2000 - again, nice design, but cools less then the nc2500 plus. I believe the Zalmans would be great for keeping non-gaming laptops cooled while on your lap.

4th place: CM Notepal 3U - this device is great because you can place the 3 fans anywhere on the device helping for spot cooling; in the case of the XPS 17 you put them on the left side where the cpu and gpu are located. However, the big design flaw is no bottom cover, which makes this good for placing only on solid surfaces. Don't bother with this if you want to ever use on your lap, cushions, etc. as the fans would be directly exposed to your skin, clothes, material, etc. Additionally, this cooler is rather flimsy because of the lack of base panel and the wires to the fan/usb joints are also very flimsy. In just reading reviews from several distributions sites (amazon, newegg, etc.) you see a lot of complaints about the wires breaking off, coming loose, etc and I concur based on my own experience.

In the end, I've returned all the products except the CM SF-19, which I'm very happy with. I hope this feedback is helpful!

 

Also, in all my laptop cooler testing I DID NOT remove the battery. I choose to keep it in for a couple reasons:

1. I don't want the power cord to accidentally fall out and the laptop to power off.
2. I prefer the space between the laptop and cooler created by protruding battery to allow for better circulation of the hot air away from the laptop.

 

This right angle adapter should cut down on your chances of the power cord coming out. I had this problem and this item really eases the stress on the power cord being moved back and forth from storage place to laptop placement(board, tray, etc.)
It helped me, thought I pay it forward...

 

Hi all,

I've been looking to buy the Dell XPS17 with the 555m card for a few weeks now and I've been doing as much research as I can to make sure it is the right buy.

What I need is information regarding its performance while playing Crysis 2 in 3D. Some stuff I've found on other sites suggests this card is either too weak for Crysis 2 in 3D such that performance drops by half compared to non-3D or performance barely drops a few frames per sec. I don't know what to believe.

Also how does this card compare to the GTX 460m, in normal and in 3D? If someone can provide the benchmark scores, normal and overclock, that would be most appreciated.

I could trawl through this thread, but it is way too long and I am at work so the boss will not like that.

 

When rendering in 3d ANY machine halves it's FPS since a frame is dedicated to each eye and both frames capture the same point in time.

 

I've done a bit of digging on nvidia's 3D vision - makes a lot of sense now.

What I need are the numbers to see how it stacks up.

 

anyone use EVGA Precision to clock their 555m?? it has fan control too. i use it in my desktop with my 8800gtx cards..........wasnt sure if it would work on a laptop??

 

Unlikely, each notebook model usually has a different fan control system.

 

Can someone tell me or point me to where I can repaste my laptop properly without doing any damage? Also this voids the warranty no?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/554789-xps-17-repaste-step-step.html
Its same for L702x

 

I´ve heared,that the 3D-Version has no optimus.Is that right?

 

That's the case in Australia with the Dell XPS 17. It's either 3D or optimus, you cannot have both. Not sure if this applies elsewhere.

 

You are both correct. The 3D option requires a dedicated GPU and this renders the on-board graphics built into the Central Processing Unit useless. Just another case of Dell rushing a product out just to take advantage of the current trend. This also can lead to receiving a system board with the maximum RAM of 8GB (only 2 dimm slots). I am attempting to see with Dell's newly released system board if it will be possible to have the maximum of 16GB of RAM and having the optimus and WIDI option as well. A Dell tech is due today to replace my system board with the 4 dimm slots version. I am to test and make sure that WIDI works with this system board( tentative Dell part number 8DW4W). I should have my answer barring another dud of a system board(first attempt, the replacement system board would not work with my mundane display HD+1600x900) later this evening. I will post the results once the deed has been done .

 

Yep, sadly that's the case everywhere. A real bummer

 

This GT555M overclocks like a champ. 13,658 in 3DMark06 at default settings. Not bad for a laptop. My config is 2630QM, 8GB. Overclocked to 790MHz in Afterburner. Temp never exceeded 61 degrees.

 

You can't do 3d and optimus, there is not enough PCI express bandwidth RoosterRed. It's not a case of rushing.

 

The 275.33 driver was released today. No issues during installation.

 

Thanks for the link. However, unlike my old XPS m170 gen 2, my new XPS 17's power adapter does not come out easily (hasn't come out for me once yet). Instead it has a much firmer fit.

 

good to know i can expect to push a decent amount of performance out of the laptop when it arrives. thanks

 

I think the new driver is producing a lot more heat with the overclocking.And has only 100 points more power in the 3Dmark11.

 

ahhh that's no good I may have a go again and I'll give you my benchmark results

 

What score are you getting?

 

Just installed the new 275.33 Nvidia drivers. Installation went fine, not noticed any temp increases/performance increase yet. Ran 3DMark11 with my gt555m core clock set to 700MHz and shader at 1400MHz.

Here are my results.

 

Just did a few tests, on the game I mainly play, battlefield bad company 2 I am seeing some performance increases, im playing with everything set to high except shadows, it has bloom, ambient occlusion and Anti Aliasing disabled, and its running in dx10 mode, also running at a 1600x900 resolution.

Im getting an absolute minimum fps of about 70 and average is about 80, that's about 5 fps increase since before the new drivers. My card is running at 700MHz atm, with a 1400 shader (as it did before the new driver.)

I am however experiencing some higher temps now you mention it, i played for about 30 mins and the temps were settling around 74 degrees and occasionally going up to 75, thats about a 2 degree increase than before :/ not rly worth it for the 5fps increase lol.

 

question............im still running 267.21 drivers..whats the best way to update? direct from nvidia? or from dell site? sorry i know its been asked, but i also know a lot of people have issues when updating these XPS laptops......i just want as few hiccups as possible........and with these laptops is it better to uninstall existing software first then installing update? or update over existing??

thanks!

 

I think there are newer drivers from NVidia than available on Dell site so the choice is yours whether you want to stick with what Dell have test (probably safer). Do you have any issues that makes you want to upgrade though?

 

nope no issues..........figured id just do an upgrade here and there LOL
i try to always wait for the WHQL drivers

 

I would recommend doing a clean install of drivers, you dont need to uninstall before hand, whilst in the nvidia updater just select custom install and check the box that says clean install, hope that helps.

 

Result

See if you can match that one

For reference my clocks are 900/1150(4600 in Nvidia speak) for that benchmark.