XPS M1530 RAM upgrade results

Hi everyone!

So I just upgraded my M1530 from 2GB to 4GB of RAM.

During this process I decided to check a few things. firstly, I only installed one 2GB stick, so this left 3GB of single channel (or asynchronous dual-channel im not sure lol) RAM. Although interestingly, in the BIOS startup settings menu, it still said the memory was running in dual channel mode...

On turning on my lappy I didnt really notice it being any slower to boot up, it was slightly over a minute and I find this to be normal.

Upon re-running the Windows Experience Rating (Sorry this probably isnt a very good benchmarking system, but I didnt apply much thought to this at the time ), I noticed the subscore for my RAM had dropped from 4.8 to 4.7, I guess this was down to the loss of dual channel mode.

So then I installed the other 2GB stick, leavin me with 4GB dual channel RAM. my Windows Experience Rating is back up to 4.8.

Also for your information, my installation of 32 bit vista home premium can "see" 3581MB of RAM.

I hope this was helpful to anyone thinking of upgrading their RAM to 3GB or 4GB.

Is there any way to increase performance of installed RAM? or is this pretty much locked to the 667MHZ speed that is the maximum on the M1530?

Oh yeah and also, the total available graphics memory for my 8600m gt increased from something like 1gb (256MB dedicated, the rest shared system memory) to 1.79GB (256MB dedicated, 1534MB shared system memory).

From this I can only conclude that vista will allow a portion of the total available RAM to make up the total available graphics memory to be exactly half of the total available system memory. Sorry i dont think i made that part clear but i tried!! lol

 

Uhmm, yeah -> Overclocking the FSB.

 

You can improve performance of the memory by switching to a 64 bit operating system.

 

Andy, is overclocking the FSB an easy/safe process in a laptop?

do you think it would yield significant results?

thanks for your help

 

I would not advise it on a rather new system, as overclocking increases the max power consumption. OCing will increase the frequency of the CPU, GPU and the RAM. You can undervolt the CPU, but the GPU will remain stressed due to the higher frequency.

However to OC, you need to know the PLL no. To know the PLL no. you'll have to open up the notebook (most users back-down here ), look for the clock generator chip, note down the PLL no. and then find a software that will support that PLL, and then overclock slowly. A 33MHz increase in FSB will increase your CPU frequency about 0.4GHz, the RAM frequency by 133MHz, and GPU frequency = ??....

(Overclocking and disassembling your system can void your warranty !!)

Finding the PLL !!

 

Ok, thanks for that information! I did briefly look for the pll chip when I had the back cover off to install the RAM, but couldnt see it...

I dont think overclocking the fsb is for me just now, i have already undervolted my cpu and overclocked the gpu, just out of interest do you know if i did overclock the fsb, would i have to carry out these processes again, or would the settings remain the same?

For example, with the processor running at a higher clock speed would it require different voltages to those i am running just now?

Also i am guessing the gpu would need to be set to factory default clock speeds and stress testing, before carrying out any additional overclocking?

 

The PLL chip is normally on the upper side of the motherboard, i.e. you would have to remove the keyboard and the front/top cover of the notebook.

And yes, you would have to set new voltages for the increased CPU frequency if the current voltages are not stable with the increased frequency (I had to assign new VIDs), and the GPU will need to be at stock frequency, before OCing the FSB,

 

ok cheers for that!

out of interest andy did you overclock an m1530? if so which processor does it have?? are the performance increases good?

thanks!!

 

What about overclocking a T9400 on the M4400? Unless multipliers are locked? Let's say I get a stable 3.0GHz from the standard 2.53, will I notice any difference and is it worth the loss of battery duration?

 

I've never owned an XPS. I used to have a D630, and I overclocked the FSB on it to 933MHz, with a T7250 installed (from 800MHz). Later, I got a custom BIOS for it and a X9000 ES, and overclocked the FSB to 1066MHz (266MHz*4).

Overclocking the M4400's FSB will be hard, as it is based on the new platform. It depends if the SM Bus on the motherboard can set the FSB and if so, the best way to OC will be to hard-wire the PLL chip, as most software don't support all the new PLLs. Well, only 3-4 PLLs are known from the Santa-Rosa Era that are known to be overclockable through software.

An unlocked multiplier is a really boon, as the frequency can be increased without affecting the temperatures of the CPU cores and the frequency of the RAM and GPU.

You will notice a boost in CPU intensive tasks with a 0.5GHz inc in frequency per core, but not in non-intensive tasks, so it is not worth the battery loss.
(Its better to run intensive tasks when plugged in, as battery gets depleted pretty quick, when the system is at full load....)

 

With 4GB RAM, I don't think I really need to OC. Seems like a good balance (decent RAM, decent CPU) so I guess 2.53GHz is good for me, I can overclock if after a few months I somehow find a need to.

What else can one do to maximize performance on a laptop? Is the Quadro FX 770 worth OCing (if possible)?

 

OC'ing doesn't make sense when it'll affect battery life on top of overheating your system. In the end the question is will you have a significant increase in speed?

 

OCing makes sense only when your notebook is plugged in and when you can assign your CPU stable and low voltages to keep the temps down. Otherwise not, 'cause you'll end up frying your notebook. If done right and the increase is significant, the performance boost will be noticeable.

It is definitely not child's play....!!